"Zzzzz....fish." Happy murmured as he sat half asleep on Natsu's shoulder.
"Yeesh..." said Mikoto as she walked alongside Natsu. "I didn't think that nightmare would be that big a deal to him."
"Me neither." said Lucy. "I mean Happy's always been big about fish, but this is ridiculous."
"He didn't drink about any old lake." said Natsu. "It was the one by Magnolia we always used to hang around."
Mikoto raised an eyebrow at this. In some of her classes back at Academy City, in many of the brain developement courses she had learned about how someone's reality and view of life was very important to them. And how when one's reality was wrenched away, it could be a very mentally damaging or traumatizing thing.
Could Happy's nightmares be him worrying that the war might make things...different? Indeed..with Dravis invading, there was a chance that fishing and hanging around with friends might soon be drawing to a close.
Right now, Mikoto and the rest of the entire company were traversing through the thick tree covered wilderness along with the other soldiers in their group. Mikoto, Natsu, Lucy, and Accelerator had been assigned to the rear gaurd by a liutenant named Rufus, a man from Britian.1
Given the history between Mikoto and Accelerator, had Erza done the squad assignments she probably wouldn't have assigned them.
"Regardless of history, they're in the same guild and they are two of our strongest powerhouses." Rufus had said. "Our rear is the most likely area any ambush would come from, so it's important we have strong ones up back."
The entire hike, Accelerator had remained silent, walking silently on his futuristic looking walking stick, wearing the same angry/bored expression he always had. This wasn't anything new. Unless you counted Gildarts, Accelerator rarely talked with anybody.
Natsu narrowed his eyes as he watched Accelerator. "Eh...he must be constipated.."
"Natsu, just because somebody scowls doesn't mean they're constipated!" said Lucy.
"Hmmm.." said Elli. "But I wonder what it's like when he smiles."
Mikoto suddenly remembered a psychotic laughing face reveling in the blood of destroyed enemies. "Trust me Elli...you probably shouldn't think about his smiles.."
Everyone in the guild was pretty cautious around Accelerator. Of course, as was common in the guild, many thought of him as part of the Fairy Tail family, some even called him the second Gajeel.
Mikoto liked to think that Accelerator was definitely a second Gajeel, he had definitely changed a lot from the demon like boy who murdered 10,000 people for a cruel experiment.
Laxus had once had a talk with Mikoto about Accelerator.
It had been around sunset, and Mikoto was sitting inside an old straw hutt she had found in the woods. It wasn't until 2 weeks before then that she had found out that Natsu and Lisanna had built the hutt as kids when Happy was still in an egg.
Mikoto sat in the hutt watching the sun set for a bit before Laxus showed up much to her surprise.
"Yo!" said Laxus. "What are you doing here?"
"Just relaxing I guess." said Mikoto shrugging.
Laxus sat next to Mikoto and sighed. "Truthfully, I sometimes come here too...it's a nice place. So, what do you think about Accelerator?"
"Eh?!" said Mikoto slightly taken aback by the sudden question. "Well I guess he's...erm...okay.."
"Really?" said Laxus raising an eyebrow. "I hear you avoid him more then the other guild members. I think Natsu's already tried to fight him 5 times."
"Well that's just Natsu for you." said Mikoto remembering how all 5 times Natsu had flown through the roof from Accelerator's vector deflection. "Did you know he challenged me to a fight last week?"
"Yeah I saw that!" said Laxus with a chuckle. "You took him out in 5 seconds flat. He's a bit more challenging when he's motivated though. I should know...I still remember how hard he hits when he gets down to it."
"Why are you asking me about Accelerator anyways?" Mikoto asked. "I don't talk to him much...that's it."
"Yeah..except from what I hear there's more to the story between you two...You and your Sisters to be more precise." said Laxus.
"...I guess." said Mikoto. "I'm just a little afraid....that inside, he still hasn't changed. Touma says he's changed..and I trust him, but every time I see him...I don't know, I feel....scared he's going to suddenly go back."
"You're not the first." said Laxus. "I think it's probably a good thing that not many of the guild knows his past, or the whole atmosphere would be pretty tense."
"How do I deal with something like that?"
"I'm not saying you have to go talk to him or anything." said Laxus. "But he's hardly the first boy with a troubled past to join Fairy Tail. This guild is practically made of ex-crazies and misfits. You shoulda seen me, I actually got expelled from the guild after I tried to destroy the town and take over the guild by force. Just know that being in this guild, this family, it changes you. You can try and fight it all you like, but Fairy Tail is contagious. Just you wait...Accelerator's got a bit of fairy in him too."
Back in the present Mikoto watched Accelerator not knowing what to feel about him. Before she could think more on the subject though, Natsu suddenly looked alert.
"Hold up.." said Natsu. "I smell somebody...familiar."
Nowadays, when a Dragon Slayer said they smelt somebody familiar, the first thought that came to mind was an enemy.
Mikoto suddenly became alert as well and began sniffing the air for the scent that Natsu was talking about. But since she didn't know whoever Natsu was talking about, she couldn't distinguish the smell among all the other scents of the woods.
Accelerator turned to look at Natsu. "Who is it? Ya remember?"
"Hmmm..." said Natsu. "Can't quite remember...it had something to do with...puppies..."
Accelerator just stared at Natsu. "Puppies....so we're looking for puppies...."
Suddenly an explosion rent the air nearby and several men were thrown through the air screaming. Massive explosions began to erupt around the company as a cackling voice could be heard from beyond the trees.
"Dang it!" spat Accelerator as he activated the knob on his choker. "Get behind me!!"
As several more explosions erupted, Accelerator proppelled himself forward using vectors to let wind speed him through the air. He swiped aside the explosions easily and did a light controlled landing near the edge of the company. "Hey...are ya just gonna keep laughing and blowing? Or are you gonna show us your ass ugly face?"
There was another laugh, and a strange man jumped out of the trees. He had light brownish hair with two ear like structures on his hair. His teeth were sharp and pointed and his eyes looked extremely kill happy. He had a fox-like tail.
Wait..thought Mikoto. I recognize him...he was on the news reports about the new leader of Skill Out.
"Jackal!" said Lucy.
"OH!" said Natsu. "Now I remember! He really looks like a puppy!"
"The next idiot to call me a puppy is gonna turn to cinders." said Jackal glaring at Natsu. "Hahahaha!! Long time no see fireball! Looks like your little guild got several new idiots!"
"What are you doing here Jackal!?" said Lucy as many of guns began to point at the demon. "I thought you were the leader of Skill Out now."
"What can I say?" said Jackal with his psycho grin. "Hydra Head made me a pretty good offer! I'm now Jackal, Number 20 of Hydra Head!! AND I'm rarin to kill some fairies!! Who wants to go first!?"
"My my.." said Accelerator as a dangerous smile crossed his face. "Attacking when most of the guild's strongest members are here...you're either very brave...or very stupid."
"SHUT UP!" said Jackal waving a hand at Accelerator. A huge explosion engulfed Accelerator but when the flames and smoke cleared, Accelerator walked out completely unharmed.
"Are you done?" said Accelerator. "Because I think I can see where you'll be 5 minutes from now...a little bit of you here...a little bit of you there...and a lot of you way way over there splattered all over the trees.."5
Jackal's eyes widened in anger. "You've got a pretty arrogant mouth human...But you're the one whose gonna be in a lotta places at once!!"
Jackal laughed psychotically as he thrusted his hand out at Accelerator and set off explosion after explosion. "HAHAHAHAHAHA!! Where's your gusto now!!? HUH!?"
Suddenly a hand reached out of the smoke and flames and grabbed the shocked Jackal by the neck. Accelerator grinned as he looked straight into Jackal's face. "For a demon...you look awfully stupid...are ya supposed to be some kind of fox? hehehe.."
Jackal suddenly grinned. "You're touching me....big problem for you..."
"ACCELERATOR GET AWAY FROM HIM!!" Shouted Natsu.
"Eh?" Accelerator looked at the hand that was grabbing Jackal's neck and noticed that strange dark blotches were appearing all over his hand.
"Let's see you avoid an explosion that close bub!" said Jackal as he cackled some more.
How Mikoto knew it was a bomb...she didn't know...maybe it was her dragon instincts...or maybe because Accelerator's arm was starting to glow. She did know one thing though...she had never seen Accelerator deflect his own skin...
Time seemed to slow down as Mikoto suddenly activated her wings and tackled Jackal from the side. Jackal's eyes widened in surprise and he threw his fist straight into the side of Mikoto's face as Accelerator's arm stopped glowing.
There was a huge explosion that erupted from Jackal's fist, and Mikoto felt her clothes tear a bit as she crashed through the trees. However, she did not let go of Jackal, she grabbed his arm and together the two of them crashed through the trees and straight onto the side of a massive cliff.
As Mikoto fell along with Jackal down the hundred foot cliff she saw an amazing waterfall and moss covered rocks on the sides. There were several more explosions in the air as Jackal attempted to blow up Mikoto while they were falling.
Mikoto gritted her teeth and her wings turned into two massive electric hands. "SECRET ART: THUNDER CLAP OF THE DRAGON BORN!!!"
The massive electric hands clapped themselves into Jackal and then smashed him against the waterfall as they got closer and closer to the foaming water below. Mikoto could feel Jackal struggling in the waterfall as the water conducted the electricity and increased the damage of her attack tremendously.
Then next thing Mikoto knew, she was shielding herself from the impact of the water with her wings as she plummeted through a mass of foam and bubbles. Her wings dissapated as her head burst out of the water, gasping for air. The current thrashed her against the bottom of the river and up to the top over and over again as she was carried away. Had she not had Dragon Slayer durability, she imagined she would probably have been dead 20 times over after the first 30 seconds.
Finally, after what seemed like hours to her, Mikoto managed to retain enough of her senses to activate her wings and morph them into tendrils which stretched out and anchored her to a rocky shore...pulling her through the hard current.
Mikoto crawled on the rocky pebbled banks of the river, exhausted, every single one of her muscles and bones hurt. She lay on her back, soaking wet, using her electrical flow to try and lessen the pain signals going throughout her body...a trick she learned about 2 weeks ago.
On a normal day, right now Mikoto would be getting ready for her first day of highschool, she would have passed the entrance exam after all, she never had any trouble with academic things. Because she would have studied and worked hard like she always had...it was how she became a level 5 in the first place.
Mikoto sighed. Here she was wondering about what could have happened when she should be focusing on what was happening and could happen. Besides...it wasn't as if academics mattered anymore...not with the end of the world coming...and even if she didn't go to college and all that...she already knew the job she wanted to do for the rest of her life. The job that meant you had people you cared about and people who cared about you.
The pay varied quite a bit...depending on what kind of work you did...but the family you joined was the biggest payoff of all.
"Jeez..." said Mikoto tiredly as she let the sun dry her off. "There really is a fairy in me.."
Mikoto sat up and shook her head a little. That's when she smelled it....a wet and angry demon. Mikoto stood up and activated her wings again as Jackal pulled himself out of the water, dripping wet, burned and exceptionally angry.
"Ya little whelp!!" said Jackal. "I'm gonna blow ya to kingdom come!!"
"Some threat coming from a wet puppy." said Mikoto. "ROAR OF THE THUNDER DRAGON!!!"
Jackal jumped aside as the powerful beam of lightning blasted the ground near him.
Jackal thrust his hands forward and Mikoto closed her wings over herself as the explosions engulfed her.
"HAHAHAHAHA!!!" Jackal cackled. "You may be a tough squirt!! But I'm the stronger one here!!"
Suddenly the ground at Jackal's feet erupted as Mikoto burst through the rocky pebbles, her fists engulfed in lightning.
"WHA!?" Said Jackal as Mikoto gave him a lightning enhanced uppercut straight to the jaw and sent him flying.
"The thing about explosions." said Mikoto. "They provide excellent distractions for your opponent. Your power's got too many risks."
"SHUT UP!!!" Jackal yelled as he waved his arms in a circle and caused several more explosions to blow a path straight towards Mikoto.
Mikoto blocked the explosions with her wings again jumped into the air as her wings suddenly morphed into six tendrils which were now surrounded with purplish swirling spatial energy.
"Flashing lotus...EXPLODING SPATIAL SPEAR!!" Mikoto threw a tremendous spear made of lightning at Jackal.
Jackal moved aside to dodge, but suddenly the spear dissapeared as it traveled straight through a swirling portal.
A portal appeared right behind Jackal and the spear came through, blasting against him in a tremendous blast of electric power.
Mikoto suddenly puffed up her cheeks. "ROAR OF THE SPATIAL THUNDER DRAGON!!!"
A massive beam of lightning surrounded in purplish spatial energy rammed against Jackal, causing him to fly straight into the wall of the steep river gorge.
Mikoto stepped backwards and dissapeared through a portal as Jackal yelled out furiously and sent several more large explosions hurling in her direction.
Suddenly multiple portals began opening and closing around Jackal at random as more lightning infused with spatial energy shot out of them unpredictably, even from under Jackal's very feet.
Suddenly Mikoto came out of a portal to Jackal's right and opened her mouth. "ROAR OF THE SPATIAL THUNDER DRAGON!!!"
Jackal jumped aside as the beam passed him. "HA! YA MISSED!!"
Suddenly a portal opened up over Jackal's head, and the roar attack blasted right into Jackal like a hurricane of power from above.
Jackal fell to his stomach, tired and defeated.
"Hehehehehe...ya little squirt....." muttered Jackal.
"What are you laughing at..?" Mikoto growled as her tendrils turned back into wings and dissapeared.
"You...just didn't learn from that white haired boy did ya?" said Jackal. "Haven't you already seen what happens to the people I touch?"
Mikoto suddenly looked down the hands which had punched Jackal only moments before and saw her skin had become dark and blotchy like Accelerator had.
"Goodbye ya little electric freak." said Jackal right before a tremendous explosion erupted around Mikoto.
However when the smoke cleared, Mikoto walked through, her skin looking slightly bruised and ash covered from the impacts she just endured. "Ya seriously thought that was going to work? Oh please..."
Mikoto glared at the stunned Jackal with a stare that could scare a 3 ton bear senseless.
"H-How did you survive!?" said Jackal.
"I trained with Natsu for months..." said Mikoto. "And a puny explosion like yours....Let's just say I've felt more then that on a tuesday..."
"I'll get you for this..."
Mikoto sighed. "Say that when both your arms and legs aren't broken...."