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[X784, Era]
— Siegrain —
The Magic Council chambers were alight with noise.
Arguments bounced off each council member that in the end were entirely pointless.
Siegran leaned against the back of his seat, arms crossed, listening as yet another elder member ranted about "unacceptable risks" or "long-term consequences." His fingers tapped against his arm in an impatient rhythm.
"Need I remind you what we're dealing with?" Leiji snapped, the only other person that Siegran managed to convince to activate Etherion. "The R-System is no idle threat. Should it succeed, we may be dealing with Zeref himself!"
"And destroying the entire tower as well as the numerous islands surrounding it with Etherion is the solution?" Yajima countered sharply, his gravelly voice calm but resolute. "There are people living there. Villages filled with families. We'd be sacrificing everyone inside. Children, Leiji."
"So you propose we do nothing?!"
"As I've mentioned before, we already have visual confirmation from our satellites that Fairy Tail is in the tower." Yajima reminded. "They will put a stop to it."
"You're leaving the fate of the world to those bunch of trouble makers?!"
Siegrain closed his eyes and took a long, deep breath. 'This is taking too long.'
He opened his eyes, and the usual mask of indifference that he adopted when he infiltrated the council began to crack. Siegrain was known to be eloquent, persuasive, and composed. But right now, Jellal's fury started to bleed through.
'If I have to listen to one more of these cowards…'
It would be so easy to end it all. All it would take is a single wide-range spell. One pulse and no one would oppose him. He could activate Etherion himself. No delays, no votes.
His magic surged briefly at the idea—but just then, the chamber doors clicked.
Unusual.
The Rune Knights always announced guests. Even Council stewards were not permitted to enter without being called. The murmurs in the chamber paused, all eyes turning toward the archway.
Ultear walked forward nonchalantly, the sway in her steps and the sultry smirk told them all that she was back to her usual self.
"Ultear?" Belno blinked, startled. "Are you fully healed, my dear?"
Siegrain stiffened. She hadn't been announced. Hadn't even bothered with protocol. Something wasn't right.
She smiled—a slow, sultry curve of lips that didn't reach her eyes.
There was no sign of anything. All Siegran could detect was a spark of magic from within her and suddenly, all eleven council members collapsed to the floor.
Leiji, Yajima, Belno, Gran Doma, and even Crawford Seam. A single, surgical strike.
'Did she speed up her movements using the Arc of Time, or did she stop time itself?' Jellal mused. 'That magic is much more dangerous than I thought.'
"…What do you think you're doing?" he asked.
Ultear met his gaze with amusement. "Saving you time," she said with a purr. "You wanted Etherion activated, didn't you?"
Siegrain raised a brow. "And what's your angle? We both know that doing this means that neither of us could influence the council anymore. You never do anything without a plan."
She laughed, a low and dangerous sound. "Wouldn't you like to know?"
She stepped closer to him, her heels clacking against the marble. "Consider this the end of our alliance, Siegrain. Or Jellal. Whichever mask you prefer nowadays."
His gaze narrowed.
Ultear reached into her robe and withdrew a small glowing orb—transparent and glowing with green colored magic.
"With this, our goals no longer align," she said, spinning the orb lazily between her fingers. "Good luck with the R-System. I sure do hope you don't get disappointed."
Siegrain noticed the tone of amusement laced behind her words. It was as if she knew something he didn't.
Siegran scowled at that, the first real crack in his composure. "You're playing a dangerous game."
Ultear's grin sharpened. "So are you."
She turned her back on him and walked away without another word. She was doing something with the orb in her hand but Siegrain ignored it.
It didn't matter in the end. If the R-System was successful, no one would be able to stand in his way.
He stepped towards the Etherion activation panel and held his hand against the crystalline interface.
The panel pulsed.
A glow lit up the chamber like dawn.
Far away, on the eastern horizon, the Etherion satellite began to gather power.
With his job finished, he began cancelling his magic. The Thought Projection of his body dissolving into blue motes of light.
The last thing he saw was Ultear raising up an orb and the entirety of the Magic Council headquarters turning into rubble.
…
— Laxus Dreyar —
'Fuck, I might've overdid it.'
Seeing his pops injuries, he let out a sigh as he rubbed the back of his head. He was supposed to get information from his old man about Oracion Seis. But his emotions after seeing his dad after so long, added with the sight of Bickslow being near death really clouded his judgement.
"Porlyusica'll fix him up," Laxus muttered, half to himself, half as justification. "There's nothing that old bat can't fix."
Besides, as bad as it was, the injuries weren't lethal. Ivan was too tough for something like this to do him in. He'll definitely wake up with pain wracking his entire body, but he won't die. That should be enough.
He turned away from the unconscious Ivan and looked upward—toward the fractured ceiling, where battle noises still echoed from higher up the tower.
'Now then, to deal with this whole mess.'
Lightning sparked across his boots as he jumped, soaring through the gaping hole above. Debris crackled under his weight as he landed on the next floor.
Natsu, Gray, and Juvia were there, tending to Bickslow. Happy hovered nearby, his tiny wings flapping with nervous energy.
From the looks of it, his injuries were bad. They need to get him out quickly. It seems defeating Ivan had cancelled out all his puppets. Dannis' wraiths were nowhere to be seen.
"Laxus!" Natsu shouted, hope lighting his face. "You beat him?!"
"Of course I did." Laxus scoffed. "Where did Dannis' shadows go?"
Gray stood up from Bickslow's side. "I think they all went up the tower. Toward the top. Probably looking for this Jellal guy."
Jellal. That name again.
"Then that's where I'm heading." Laxus said as he walked away. "You three go find the rest of the Thunder God Tribe and get out of here."
"What? You want us to run?" Natsu questioned.
Laxus remembered the massive lacrima that was present in the center of the tower. He had an inkling to this Jellal person's plans after seeing it.
"The Etherion is gonna come down soon and none of you wanna be here when it hits. Dannis and I will handle it."
Gray's eyes were hesitant. "But… Erza…"
"I'll get her out," Laxus promised. His tone brooked no argument. "You all focus on getting Bickslow and my old man clear. Contact the Master as soon as you can. We need him to talk those council bastards down."
Natsu looked like he wanted to argue. But a single look to Bickslow tamed his emotions.
"…Right," Natsu said quietly. "Okay. Got it."
Seeing him still feeling down rotten, Laxus interjected.
"Natsu." He looked at the dragon slayer in the eye. "No one's gonna die today."
"I know." A grin appeared on Natsu's face. "With you and Dannis, I doubt anything could stop you guys."
Laxus clenched his jaw to stop the smirk that would've appeared. "Go."
Gray and Juvia nodded, carefully lifting Bickslow between them. Natsu hoisted Ivan over his shoulder with a grimace, and even Happy looked determined.
Laxus took one last look at them before lightning surged through his body. He blasted upward in a bolt of raw magic, leaving behind a thunderclap that rattled the walls.
…
— Dannis Martell —
Dannis stepped through the cracked double doors, finally arriving in the throne room.
Despite the clear opulence that was sent to decorate the room, all of it was now gone from the clear battle that happened between Erza and Jellal.
Shattered stone and broken pillars lined the hall. Plenty of scorch marks and cuts that he knew came from a sword littered the walls. His gaze then went to the edge of the room, where a cloaked man stood over Erza's prone body.
Dannis could see the strands of blue hair that peeked over the darkness of the hood, everything else was incomprehensible.
To the side, past some collapsed walls, was also the defeated form of Simon. There was someone else above him, both arms partially morphed into a single large blade, ready to deal the killing blow.
Dannis' eyes sharpened immediately. With a mental thought, the wraith that hid itself in Simon's shadow surged forward and deflected the blow with a shriek of magic. It immediately dragged Simon back into cover as the dark-skinned man skidded to a halt, a scowl on his face.
As he stepped into the light, Dannis finally recognized him. Orion Strong, a former member of Quatro Cerberus who quit just prior to their guild's S-Class trials. A famous user of Take-Over magic, Machina Soul.
Orion jumped back to create distance from him. Dannis ignored him.
Another wraith darted across the floor and wrapped around Erza's prone form, pulling her swiftly towards Dannis. She didn't stir. Her armor was battered and her swords had shattered. Unconscious, but alive.
Jellal didn't bother stopping the wraiths as he simply walked back up the steps and sat on his throne, an amused smirk on his face.
"You will not stop us." Orion began. "Jellal-sama is Zeref's chosen, he shall lead the next generation of mages and become a god amongst men. Someone like you will ever be able to stop him."
Dannis didn't bother replying as the wraith gently put Erza down. Dannis' gaze remained locked on Jellal.
Orion scowled once more at being ignored as his arms morphed into massive robotic fists and launched himself forward.
[Image here]
Multiple wraiths erupted from Dannis' shadow that engaged with Orion. Two held back the metal arms as another sent a kick towards his abdomen. The cyborg-like mage flew back like a ragdoll towards the entrance, only to be caught by the neck by a muscular arm.
Sparks crackled along the arm before electrocuting Orion, who let out a silent scream. His body dropped unceremoniously, limbs still twitching in place.
Laxus Dreyar stepped through the smoke, his cloak that Dannis gifted still billowing behind him.
They locked eyes.
Dannis scoffed. "What took you so long? Need to charge the batteries for your headphones?"
"Shut the fuck up, nerd." Laxus replied.
Dannis' mouth quirked at the edges.
Their gazes went back to Jellal, who had an arm supporting his head and leaning against the armrest.
"Finally," Jellal said, rising to his feet with slow grace. "I've been waiting for this."
"Really?" Dannis asked. "Cause it looks to me like your plans have all gone up in flames. All your mages are dead, and you failed to grab either me or Erza. Etherion could fire anytime and kill all of us."
"Actually it won't," Laxus said before Jellal could reply. "This whole tower? It's a decoy. There's a massive lacrima behind the stone walls—one that absorbs magic. When I hit it earlier, it sucked up my lightning. I bet Etherion activating was the real plan to turn the lacrima into a battery for whatever fucked up plan he has."
"Congratulations," Jellal said, slow-clapping. "Truly. The Thunder God and the Dark Swordsman. You both exceeded my expectations. But I'm afraid your arrival changes nothing. After all—"
Dannis felt it before he saw it—an influx of magic that came suddenly. The wind picked up as Jellal's power began to grow and grow.
Dannis raised an eyebrow as Jellal's magic swelled to monstrous proportions. It wasn't quite Gildarts level, but it was certainly up there.
"—I am much more powerful than either of you."
The winds caused by the power up caused Jellal's hood to drop, allowing Dannis and Laxus to see his face for the first time.
"Oi, Laxus. Am I wrong or does he look like Siegrain?"
"Nope. I recognize him too." Laxus replied, still relaxed in his stance as he crossed his arms. The winds blew both of their coats as they swayed in the wind.
"So we're about to fight a Wizard Saint?" An excited smile appeared on Dannis' face. "Sounds like fun."
Laxus matched his smile with a fanged grin. "Took the words right out of my mouth."
Dannis closed his eyes for a moment and issued a silent command. His shadow came alive as more wraiths appeared that filled out the room. Every wraith that had been scattered throughout the tower suddenly stirred.
'Go.'
All the souls in his command burst from the walls and floors, sweeping through the corridors with unearthly speed. They found the Thunder God Tribe, Natsu and his friends, Levy, Gajeel, and Lucy—everyone. Gently, but firmly, the shadows enveloped them and carried them away like drifting spirits.
Even the injured—Erza, Simon, Sho, Wally, Milliana—were swept into their arms.
'We're about to escalate. This isn't their fight anymore.'
Dannis opened his eyes, unsheathing his blade in a clean, quiet motion.
"You ready for this?" He asked Laxus.
"Born ready," Laxus said, casting off his coat and cracking his knuckles. Arcs of electricity sparked across his body.
Dannis surged forward, darkness coating his body in armor. Laxus exploded into motion beside him, a streak of blinding gold.
At the center of the throne room, Jellal raised his hand.
"Meteor," he said softly.
And vanished.
The air boomed as all three forces met in the center—darkness, lightning, and celestial speed colliding in a single heartbeat.
…
AN: Told ya Orion was unimportant in the large scheme of things.
Guess we're finally here. About 5 chapters should be left in this arc, after which I'll take a small break from this fic and completely focus on my Skyrim one. That'll go on for another few months while I plan out the details for the next few arcs for Fairy Tail. Then I'll take a break from Skyrim to plan out the next arcs and continue with this, keeping with that loop for the rest of the year.
Erza got no diffed off screen since I determined writing about their fight to be a waste of time and would only drag the arc even more.
Now we get to the long awaited reunion as well as a fight with a Wizard Saint.
Hope you enjoyed the chapter!
Cheers!