Chereads / Fanfiction Dog / Chapter 38 - Chapter 38-39

Chapter 38 - Chapter 38-39

Meanwhile, Gray and Racer's battle continues. Racer goes after Natsu's escaping team, but then Gray shields everyone using Ice Make: Rampart. This leaves him visibly fatigued, but Gray tells him that however fast he may be, he will always eat Fairy Tail's dust.

In the meantime, Jellal has stolen Erigor's clothes, with the only thing in his mind being "Erza."

Inside the Worth Woodsea, Natsu carries Wendy, Happy, and Carla to Aira's location, when he suddenly hears a voice inside his head. "Natsu-kun, can you hear me?"

"Who are you?" Natsu asks in confusion. Happy wonders why Natsu is talking to himself.

"It's me. Hibiki, from Blue Pegasus." Hibiki replied. "Thank goodness. I was getting worried after not being able to contact anyone, but thanks to Satsuki and Cain they told me where you were."

"Oh! Where are you?!" Natsu asked.

"Not so loud. One of the enemies has very good hearing. It's possible he could intercept our conversation." Hibiki stated. "That's why I'm speaking directly into your mind. So, how are Wendy-chan and the cat?"

"They're here, although she's unconscious. Happy's awake, though." Natsu replied.

"I see. Thank goodness. Great job." Hibiki said. "I'm going to upload an app directly into your head that'll guide you here. The cat seems to have use too much magic and taken too much damage for me to connect... Anyway, hurry back here."

"Sure. What about an apple? I don't get you." Natsu confuses the word "app" with "apple." Suddenly, he gets a Magic app in him, knowing where Aira and the others are.

"Why have you been talking to yourself?" Happy asked.

"I really don't get it, but I have an apple in my head! Wait! I totally know how to get where Aira is! It's like I've known all along!" Natsu responded.

"I don't have any apples in my head!"

"Hurry, Natsu-kun." Hibiki watches Natsu through his magic. "You have to hurry... There's no time."

"So, how did you tell Natsu where we are?" Lucy asked.

"My magic, Archive, can compress information. By compressing it, people can transfer information between each other more quickly." Hibiki explained.

"Interesting..." Erza commented.

"I've been in a dark guild almost all my life. But I've never heard of that type of magic before." Satsuki remarked.

"Using magic to convert information into data is a recent concept, you see." Hibiki stated.

Cain was looking at Aira. "I failed you, Aira. I couldn't protect you. If only I had flew you to safety before you were attacked, you wouldn't be suffering." Cain remembers Aira being bit by Cobra's snake while battling him.

Satsuki looked over to Cain. "Hey, it's not your fault. Aira will be fine once Wendy gets here." She told him.

Cain sighed. "I know. I just hate seeing my best friend like this." He said.

"There's one thing that bothers me though... Doesn't Aira have healing magic like Wendy?" Satsuki questioned.

"Yes. But I suppose it's not strong enough to fight off poison." Cain responded.

"Anyway, thank goodness Wendy is safe." Lucy says in relief. "Just wait a little longer, Aira. You can do it! We'll protect you until Natsu comes back. I promise!" Hibiki softly smiles at her.

"Hey! What are you smiling about at a time like this?!" Lucy asked.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you!" Hibiki replied, smiling nervously.

Elsewhere, Gray fights off against Racer of the Oracion Seis. Gray meets up with Lyon and Sherry whom they team up and fight against Racer.

Back in Magnolia, Master Makarov receives a report which links Brain to the Bureau of Magic. Not only that, he is linked to the R-System incident as well. The Master is worried, but Mirajane reassures him. She is, however, concerned that they will destroy something again.

Gray, Lyon, and Sherry confront Racer, who they ultimately defeat after a hard battle involving teamwork. However, Lyon later falls down a cliff with Racer.

Elsewhere, Brain feels Racer's defeat as one of the marks on his face disappear. He is shocked at the defeat of one of the six pillars and mutters that he underestimated the enemy. He turns to Midnight, sleeping by the sides, and orders him to wake up and destroy every last one of their enemies. Midnight complies, referring to Brain as "Father."

Everyone hears the explosion Racer caused, then Gray and Sherry watch it with wide eyes. Gray doesn't believe that Lyon is dead and goes to search for him while Sherry starts to ask herself whose fault Lyon's death was.

Meanwhile, Jura finds one of the Oracion Seis, Hoteye. Their battle commences where they seem evenly matched, for Jura's Magic hardens the earth while Hoteye's softens it.

Elsewhere, Lucy, Satsuki, Erza, Cain, and Hibiki are waiting for Natsu to arrive with Wendy and the cats. Something moves in the bushes which catches everybody's attention. Natsu pops out in excitement. "We're here!"

"Natsu!" Lucy's happy to see him arrive on time.

"How'd this happen? Suddenly a map to this place popped into my head..." Natsu muttered.

"Anyway, hurry and wake Wendy-chan..." Hibiki said.

"Oh, right." Natsu sets her down, shaking her awake. "Wake up, Wendy! Please, save Aira!"

"Calm down, Natsu!" Lucy yelled.

Wendy finally wakes up, backing away from him in guilt. "I'm sorry! I..." The group stares at her while she shakes in fear.

Natsu bows down to her with his face in the ground. "I don't care about that right now!" Wendy looks at Natsu. "Aira's been bitten by a poisonous snake. Please save him! Even if I hate that water jerk, I won't let him die! I'm begging you!"

"Poison?" Wendy looks at Aira who is suffering in pain.

"We need Tsunami's strength to fight Oracion Seis." Satsuki said.

"Please, save Aira!" Lucy bows down to Wendy as well.

"Please!" Natsu said.

"Of course! Yes, I'll do it!" Wendy complied, determined to heal Aira. Natsu looks up to her with a wide smile.

"Thank goodness..." Happy muttered.

"How long are you going to be splayed out like that? It's unbecoming..." Carla commented.

"Aye..." Happy replied.

Wendy sits next to Aira as the group watches her. She holds out her hands above Aira and uses her magic to heal him. "I can't believe Jellal would do such a horrible thing to Erza-san..." The poison fades away. "I can't believe it..."

At the same time, Cobra follows Jellal because he can't read his thoughts. Jellal stops in front of a huge tree that Cobra has never seen before. Jellal touches the tree and a black light bursts out of it. Cobra discovers that this is Nirvana.

"Finished. All the poison is gone from Aira-san's body." Wendy said.

"And...?" The Fairy Tail group question altogether. Aira slowly moves. They hear him breathe for a second and cheer about it. "Y' alright!"

"Lucy, high-five!" Natsu happily said.

"Thank goodness!" Lucy high-fives Natsu. "Satsuki!"

"Finally, Tsunami is alright." Satsuki high-fives Lucy as she cries tears of joy afterwards.

"Carla!" Happy walks over to her.

"Just this once." Carla replied in annoyance.

"Aye!" Happy and Carla high-five.

"Wendy..." Natsu smiles and high-fives her. "Thanks!" His smile turns into a wide toothy grin.

"He might not wake up for a little while. But he'll be fine now." Wendy stated.

"Wow... His complexion is returning back to normal." Hibiki is close to Aira's face. "So this is Sky Magic?"

"You're too close!" Lucy yelled.

"May I have a word? Please refrain from using Wendy's Sky Magic any more." Carla said. "As you can see, it uses up a lot of Wendy's magic power."

"Don't worry about me!" Wendy said. "Besides, I..."

"After Aira-san wakes up, it's time to launch a counterattack." Hibiki said.

"Yeah! We'll K.O. those Oracion Seis!" Lucy said.

"Yeah! We ain't gonna let 'em have Nirvana!" Happy added.

Suddenly, they see the black light that erupted from the ground. "A pillar of black light..." Wendy muttered. Happy hides behind Carla in fear.

"That's... Nirvana!" Hibiki exclaimed. Everyone who saw the black light became surprised.

"Is that Nirvana?" Satsuki questioned.

"So it was awakened by Oracion Seis first?" Lucy added.

"That light... Jellal is there!" Natsu runs towards Nirvana.

"Natsu! What do you mean, Jellal?!" Lucy asked, shouting at Natsu who completely disappears.

"I'll go after him!" Erza runs after Natsu.

"Erza!" Lucy called out.

"I-I... It's all my fault..." Wendy blames herself, close to crying.

Natsu continues to run to Nirvana where Jellal is. "I can't let him meet Erza! I can't let her see him! I... will... crush him!"

Aira finally wakes up, thinking to himself. "Jellal's back, huh?"

Nirvana's activation causes Sherry to fall into the darkness and attack Gray while Hoteye joins the Allied Forces in their quest to stop Oracion Seis.

Natsu is heading towards Nirvana with hopes of finding Jellal. "I ain't gonna let you near Erza!" He stops running when he realizes something. "This smell..." He slides down the hill to find Aira unconscious in the water. "I knew it! Aira!" He walks through the water. "What the hell are you doing here?! You're supposed to be resting!" He doesn't get a response from him. "Hey!" He looks back at the black light then at Aira. "Damn it... I'm in a hurry here! Wake up, idiot!" Aira stands on his own. "Aira..." Natsu's smile disappears when he notices Aira glaring at him with an evil expression. "Aira?"

Aira pulls a rope to reveal a trap. Instantaneously, a raft springs from under them. "On a raft?!" Natsu screamed. It causes Natsu's motion sickness to take effect.

"Looks like you fell for it, Natsu. Your weak point really is "transportation." Aira said. "So how do you like the feeling of riding a raft bobbing up and down?"

"You're... not..." Natsu grunted.

"Shut up! Hurry and kick the bucket, you slanty-eyed, seasick bastard! Or something like that..." Aira's foot squishes Natsu's head. "The usual battle between us two..." He uses his Magic to create a water sword. "...ends today." He evilly chuckles at Natsu. He is about to attack Natsu, but something breaks through his sword. "Who's there?!" He shoots water arrows from his hand, but the arrows from the other end go through them.

"What are you doing, Aira?!" Lucy asked with Sagittarius summoned by her side.

"It's us!" Happy yelled.

"As it were, moshimoshi!" Sagittarius said.

"L-Lucy..." Natsu hurled, happy to see Lucy and the others.

"Would you try and refrain from hurling after saying my name?!" Lucy yelled.

"Moshimoshi!" Sagittarius commented.

"Anyway, that's horrible! You're going to far, Aira! Unless he stole your fish or something, then it's okay!" Happy yelled.

"Even then, I don't think so." Lucy added.

"Shut up, jerks. You're annoying." Aira coldly said, glaring at them. "I'll get you after I finish this guy off, so don't get in my way!"

"W-What's this?! Could Aira have fallen into the darkness?!" Lucy questioned.

"It's..." Natsu grunted. "...swaying... swaying..."

"It's stopped, so get it together already!" Lucy shouted.

"Natsu, I'm coming to save you!" Happy flies to him, but gets attack by Aira's Magic.

"He-cat!" Carla called out.

"Happy, what are you doing?!" Lucy yelled.

"Happy can fly in the sky. He can carry one person. He has no offensive abilities. Information gathering complete." Aira muttered.

"What are you saying, Aira?! Wake up, already!" Lucy exclaimed.

"Is that how you become if you fall into the darkness from Nirvana's influence?" Hibiki wondered out loud.

"Lucy as seen by Aira: A newcomer to the guild. Looks are very much to his liking. Somewhat interested in her." Aira informed.

"W-What the heck?!" Lucy yelled as her heart pounds rapidly.

"More naive at first glance. A Celestial Spirit Wizard." Aira said. "Spirits, eh?" He takes position to attack. "Interesting!" Aira attacks Lucy, but Hibiki uses his Magic to shield her.

"This magic... That's not Aira... He sees his comrades as his family. He wouldn't put them in harm's way because he would never forgive himself if he did." Cain thinks to himself.

"No... You aren't Aira-kun." Hibiki claimed. "Who are you?"

"Not Aira?" Lucy repeated.

"Hibiki as seen by Aira: A member of Blue Pegasus. Handsome. Doesn't know the details. Lack of information, huh?" Aira mumbled.

"He is acting strange, that's true. Is this the effect of Nirvana?" Carla asked.

"No... I know Aira better than anyone. This isn't him." Cain replied.

"That's right... The people who fall into the darkness are ones with feelings in the gap between good and evil... Aira isn't the one to be moved so much by those kind of feelings!" Lucy stated. "Who are you?" Aira chuckles, changing his form into Lucy. "M-Me?!"

"Are you dumb? Even if you transform into Lucy-san, you aren't going to fool us." Hibiki informed.

"I wonder about that. Men like you have a weak spot for women, yes?" The fake Lucy pulls up her top, revealing her breasts which greatly shocks Hibiki and Sagittarius.

"Men..." Carla mumbled.

"B-Bobbing..." Natsu stuttered.

"Indeed!" Hibiki and Sagittarius agreed.

"Cut it out with the boob bobbing ogling!" Lucy kicked them away.

"Honestly! What an uncouth wizard you are!" Carla sweat dropped.

"It's not me! It's that one! Although it's me! Argh, I don't know anymore!" Lucy complained.

The being then manipulates Sagittarius into attacking Hibiki, and Lucy closes his gate in order to stop the being from manipulating him. However, Sagittarius is called back by the imitation of Lucy, who commands him to attack Carla, who was flying away to safety with Wendy.

Lucy and her companions encounter the Celestial Spirit, Gemini, and it's owner, Angel. With the rest of them incapacitated, Lucy fights the Celestial Spirit Mage in a battle of Celestial Spirits. After an intense battle between Celestial Spirits, Lucy successfully defeats Angel.

Meanwhile, Natsu's raft gets swept away by the current. Lucy tries to save Natsu, but ends up going in the rapids and falling off a waterfall.

At another location, one of the marks on Brain's face disappears, troubled by Angels' defeat, he vows to crush the light. However, Angel says that she's still alive.

Erza continues to find Jellal. Flashbacks of him run through her head. She thinks to herself on how she should face him.

Hoteye explains the magic of Nirvana to Jura. Hoteye explains that all the bad things he had done in the past were all for the sake of finding his little brother, but Jura helped him see the light.

After defeating Eve, Midnight finds Ren somewhere else in the Worth Woodsea. Ren is already beaten up and wonders why none of his magic is hitting Midnight. He casts Aerial Shot but it misses. Without moving an inch, Midnight sends his red waves towards Ren, causing his face to get slashed across.

As Ren falls, Midnight notes that makes two, as he complains that the hunt is very dull and asks if there's no one stronger.

Wendy questions herself if she shouldn't have come and Carla warns her that those negative feelings will get her heart stolen by the darkness. Wendy then starts to tell Carla about what happened between her and Jellal seven years ago.

Erza ends up finding Jellal and realizes that Jellal has lost all his memories except for the word "Erza." Erza cries, feeling bad for Jellal.

"What was that for, Aira?!" Happy shrieked, recovering from the attack.

"Carla, Cain, stand back! Leave everything to me! I'll save Natsu... again!" Aira exclaimed, already getting angry that he has to keep saving his frenemy. He then noticed that everyone was gone with the expection of Hibiki. "Wait, no one's here... What the hell happened?"

Erza walked towards him, but Jellal panicks and tells her to stay back by attacking her with his magic. In anger, Erza yells all his faults at him: how he desecrated the dead, hurt his friends, killed Simon and destroyed the Magic Council. Jellal stared at her in shock, unable to believe everything that he had done. Erza wondered if this was the real Jellal.