Fairy Tail: Bandits vs Fairies (Part 2)

After leaving another pile of clobbered bandits at the end of the hall, the three Fairy Tail girls rushed towards the main chamber. Erza was in the lead, outpacing Lucy and Wendy, despite the fact that she was wearing metal armor.

“Erza, wait!” Lucy called after her as she tried to catch up, “What about… the Siphons of Hedrick?! What’s so-- GYAH!”

The blonde tripped over a fallen bandit, windmilling her arms and staggering several steps to keep from falling on her face. She had to pause, catching her breath with her hands on her knees, heart pounding from her near fall.

“Erza!” she called.

The scarlet knight continued running, not looking back, “The Siphons of Hedrick drain magic from all things!”

Lucy stiffened, “D-drain… magic?!”

Erza lowered her chin, the very thought making her angry.

“Like a vortex. A black hole of magic.”

Lucy paused, her eyes wide at that thought. It was possible to use someone’s magical energy to power things such as cars or households items, but to actually suck the magic out of everything around it was a frightening prospect. She could see now why Erza was so determined to stop something like that falling into the hands of bandits.

Shaking those thoughts away, Lucy ran after her friend with a new sense of urgency.

On the other hand, Wendy had almost managed to use Lucy’s pause to catch up when the girl took off. Red faced and panting, her heart sank as the blonde girl left her behind again.

The little dragon slayer gritted her teeth and tried to run faster, but she was already sprinting and still the other two left her in the dust.

“L-Lu-chan!” she gasped, “Wait! Wait… for me!”

Continuing down the long hallway, Lucy glanced over her shoulder, “Hurry, Wendy! We have to stop them!”

Wendy pumped her arms and legs, focusing on Lucy’s back, willing it to get closer as she ran, but it only grew farther away. It wasn’t that she was unathletic, quite the opposite, but she was more than a head shorter than both of them, with shorter legs to go with it. Running as fast as she could, she couldn’t catch up to the spry Lucy, much less the insanely fit Erza Scarlet.

Then there was also her penchant for being slightly clumsy.

The fallen bandit made quite the tripping hazard for young wizard’s running down that hallway, but rather than stumbling and catching herself as Lucy had done, Wendy’s feet were knocked right out from under her. With a frightened squeal, she flew forward and planted face first into the floor, arms stretched out in front of her.

Face throbbing, pride stinging, she lay flat, needing a moment to gather herself.

“Oww…” she whined, before slowly crawling back to her knees.

Rubbing a big red mark on her forehead, the little girl stared after Lucy’s bouncing pigtails and flapping skirt, watching the older girl get further and further away.

Like many girls her age, Wendy was uncertain of her own capabilities, particularly in comparison to her older teammates’. She’d grown more confident in her abilities as one of the world’s few dragon slayers, but she was naturally cautious and a bit insecure. She didn’t like being left behind or feeling like she wasn’t pulling her own weight, which she certainly felt right now. And it wasn’t even fair! How could she be expected to run as fast as these older girls?!

Tears started to come to her eyes, but the little blue-haired girl shook them away, tightening her bottom lip. The old Wendy would have started crying, but now she scrubbed her eyes and shoved those self-pitying thoughts away. She wasn’t a crybaby, she was a member of Fairy Tail, the strongest guild in Fiore! She was a wizard!

Her young features scrunched in a slightly adorable glare of determination, Wendy climbed to her feet, dusted off her skirt, and focused on her magic. She didn’t have to run faster than anyone, she was a Sky Dragon slayer. Her power was the wind, faster than any creature on the planet.

Bracing herself, the young wizard threw her arms behind her like the wings of a diving eagle. She hadn’t used her magic in this way before, but there was a first time for everything. And she refused to be a hinderance to her guild mates.

“Tenryu no…” she called out, “Yokugeki!”

Cyclones erupted from her palms, blasting her straight down the hallway like jet engines.

She regretted it immediately.

“NYAAAAA-AAAAH!”

A terrified, squealing Wendy shot through the close confines of the hallway, her slipstream alone knocking paintings off the walls and wobbling the windows. Her cyclone propulsion struck a moment later and sent everything not nailed down flying.

She blew past Lucy in less than a second, throwing the blonde off her feet with a frightened cry, then past Erza as well. The scarlet knight managed to dive for cover as Wendy rocketed by.

The little dragon slayer wanted to scream an apology but was too busy screaming in terror as she saw the double doors to the central chamber rushing to meet her. They were thick, heavy wood, more than capable of splattering against them like a bug on a windshield if she couldn’t stop.

Wendy ceased generating the cyclones, but her momentum carried her towards the doors, her pigtails flapping behind her like windsocks.

Out of fright more than having an actual plan, she called on her Sky Dragon Roar.

“TENRYU NO HOKO!” she shrieked.

A blast of concentrated wind erupted from the little girl’s mouth. It halted her momentum but also blew the doors off their hinges, throwing at least a dozen bandits on the other side across the room like leaves.

Wendy dropped to unsteady feet, waved her arms and almost fell down, barely managing to keep her balance. Eyes still wide with fright, she stood ungainly and stiff, legs a bit too far apart and her little chest heaving beneath her blouse. Dressed in a school uniform-style jacket and pleated skirt, a bow tie with leggings that stopped mid-thigh, along with black loafers, in another context she would have looked like an awkward schoolgirl.

However, after having appeared from nowhere in an explosion that took out handfuls of armed men, the bandits were looking at her with fear. She may have been small, cute, with a little blush to her cheeks and wide eyes, but she was a wizard. They stared at her, mouths open, unsure what to do.

Wendy responded reflexively, “Um… s-sorry…”

Before the bandits could make sense of that, Erza’s voice cried out, “Rengoku no Yoroi!”

Golden light erupted from behind Wendy, silhouetting the little girl’s figure against it as Erza summoned a set of powerful magic armor. When the light died out, the red-haired warrior leapt into the chamber in armor of spiky obsidian, wielding a sword the size of a doorway.

“Well struck, Wendy,” she grinned coldly, “Your warrior’s spirit has grown impressively! Now let us have at these scoundrels.”

Several nearby enemies collected themselves enough to mount a charge, but Erza swept them aside with one swing of her massive sword, scattering them with cries of anguish. Bat-like wings sprouted from her back and she leapt into the midst of others like a creature from a nightmare, shattering weapons and sending men flying.

Wendy blinked, realizing Erza had just paid her a compliment. They were in a battle, after all, and she didn’t need to apologize to kidnappers and thieves. Heck, what she’d done had even been cool, if unintentional.

“Y-yeah!” the little dragon slayer grinned, “Have at you bad guys!”

Another group of men rushing towards her were blasted away by a Sky Dragon roar and Wendy pursued.

On the arrival of the wizards from Fairy Tail, the tide of battle changed abruptly. Even with Lucy still picking herself off the floor in the hallway, Erza and Wendy were more than a match for any number of bandits. Wendy called on winds to hurl men around and into one another by the dozen while Erza cleaved through platoons, glowing occasionally to change armor and weapons before striking again. There were a few magic users among the bandits, but none of Fairy Tail caliber. They might as well have been scything through wheat.

The library guards were hemmed in and couldn’t see beyond the enemies facing them, but they could feel the pressure being taken off them. Bandits began to scatter, losing unit cohesion, blasts of magic and words of power gouging their ranks while the guards looked around with alarm but also hope.

Erza fought her way to the largest group of remaining guards, zipping through the ranks of a bandit column too fast to follow, leaving only the zig-zagging pattern of glowing her swords etched into the guard’s eyes. She struck so fast that the nearest cadre of raiders surrounding the guards collapsed in unison, leaving Erza standing among them in skimpy cheetah print armor with two small swords in either hand.

The library guards were stunned then, realizing they were saved, began to cheer. They had been outnumbered, outmanned, and outmaneuvered, but now they had powerful wizards on their side. They could win this battle!

Despite the display she just put on, Erza wore a wisp of a smile, allowing herself a hint of pleasure at raising these men’s spirits. She nodded in approval at their fighting spirit, then turned to the most decorated guard she saw, assuming he was in charge.

“You,” she pointed her sword, “Your masters should not have kept all three Siphons of Hedrick in this place. But nevertheless, they must be protected. Where are they?”

The guard blinked, “I… I don’t…”

“Look out!” another man pointed, “More are coming!”

Erza turned as the battle cries of more bandits hurtled towards her, others having joined the battle and reformed their lines. There was at least a hundred of them coming in a single wave, intent on slamming into her and the guards behind her and crushing them under foot.

The library guards formed a shield wall, preparing to defend themselves, but though Erza was fa out front of her allies’ defensive lines, she didn’t retreat. Swords held loose at her sides, she squarely faced the onrushing bandits, her pretty features wearing a stern scowl.

“Come, then,” she growled, “Let all who wish to be cut down step forward.”

The tide of warriors swarmed towards her, about to meet her blades, when a figure in green armor landed in front of them with a thunderous crash. A jade-haired woman, with taloned gauntlets and armored boots thigh-highs absorbed her fall in a crouch, stood, then held up her hand, fist closed.

At that single gesture, the entire bandit force stopped in its tracks, taking position behind their commander and awaiting her next order.

Erza narrowed her eyes, watching this woman carefully. There was magic about her and a warrior’s arrogance. This wasn’t just some thug with a sword in his hand, but someone with power and skill.

Lydia stared back at the queen of fairies in kind, her expression cold and severe. Earlier in her career she would have attacked someone like Erza for the sheer joy of it, lusting after her defeat, yearning to dominate someone so lovely and powerful. Now she felt that same thrill, standing so close to the mighty Titania, but she kept it in check. There was profit to be had.

“Erza Scarlet,” she called out, “Slayer of Ikaruga and Azuma. Destroyer of the demons of perdition.”

Erza met the woman’s jade gaze and nodded, admitting that was she.

“In respect of your skill and power,” Lydia continued, “I offer you the chance to take your friends and withdraw from this place. This is no concern of yours.”

The two forces on either side of the warrior women shifted, teeth gritted, waiting to hear Erza’s response.

Erza’s brow lowered, “Any matter involving theft, kidnapping, and preying on the innocent is of concern to me. You know of me, so you know I will not let you have your way. Nor will I allow you to have the siphons.”

Lydia’s eyebrow twitched, a hint of an emotion she barely kept under control. Though she was still, chin lowered and eyes hard, those skilled at sensing feeling would see it seething within her, a hunger yearning to be sated.

“I have taken this place by right of arms,” she said, “What’s within it is mine.”

“Then I will take it back the same way,” the scarlet knight glared, “And you will face justice for what you have done here.”

Lydia bit her bottom lip and suddenly looked away, as if her attention was drawn to something on the wall. Shifting in place, her clawed fingers scraping off each other, she struggled to rein her feelings in. Only once she felt she had them under control did she look back at the powerful, beautiful warrior posed before her.

“Last chance,” she hissed, eyes narrowing to slits, “Withdraw. Or I will break you, fairy queen. And your friends will join you.”

The library guards gulped, gripping their weapons with white knuckles. With the legendary Titania on their side, they could win. If she took the green knights offer and left…

Erza raised her sword, staring down its length at the bandit general. Her pretty features were hard, jaw set. Her scarlet bangs fell over one eye but the other was cold fury, containing not an ounce of doubt.

“Know this,” Fairy Tail’s strongest woman declared, “When the fate of my friends is at stake, I will not lose. If you stand to harm them, or this world, I will stop you. I will not stand aside, no matter your power.” She narrowed her eyes in return, “Take your forces, leave this place, or you will taste my blade.”

Lydia didn’t bother restraining her grin this time. It curled her lips, showing her teeth, adding a hint of wolfishness to her pretty features. As a commander she knew this wasn’t the best result of the parlay, but she hadn’t always been a commander. That old side of her, the warrior side, rose up inside her, her eyes alight and eager.

“Sing, my steel…” she hissed.

A green glow shone from her and her bikini-cut armor came alive. It grew, spreading over her shoulders and forming spikes, her boots rising up to form leggings of polished green steel. Swords sprouted in her grip, twin blades to match Erza’s, wide at the hilt then narrowing to wicked points. Her hair even formed into spikes, a ring of emerald armor forming low on her brow, demonic in aspect.

The green knight didn’t carry weapons, she WAS her weapons.

When she spoke, her voice was rougher than before, gleefully savage.

“Then let your blades taste mine, Titania. Let us see who will fall.”

Erza raised her swords, meeting Lydia’s bloodthirsty gaze with one of pure, righteous fury. Taking joy in battle was not unknown to her, but this wasn’t a game. She would destroy this evil for her friends; there was no other option.

Lydia sprang forward and Erza leapt to meet her, blades clashing with a flash and a shower of sparks.

---

Elsewhere on the battlefield, Wendy threw another platoon of bandits off their feet, then put her hands on her hips and glared at them. She certainly didn’t pull off the pose the same way Erza did, but she tried, giving them all a stern, gimlet eye.

“You shouldn’t steal things and you shouldn’t hurt people,” she scolded, “And because I’m from Fairy Tail, well… I’m not going to let you! So… there!”

Most of the bandits just groaned in response, the few that had any level of consciousness making no attempt to attack her. There wasn’t much a bunch of guys with swords could do against someone who could hit them with a tornado; they crawled or slunk away, leaving Wendy to look around at the library’s central chamber.

This area looked more like a museum than a library, with artwork and antiques from past civilizations in display cases surrounded by velvet ropes, placards describing various artifacts to the viewing public. A lot of the displays had been shattered and their contents looted, but there were still several statues standing about, a stone tablet inscribed with ancient writing, a set of ancient clay pots, and an old globe.

Wendy furrowed her brow at the damage that had been done. She had never gone to many libraries, but she knew they were to be treated with respect and this place looked like it could be fun to peruse. In fact, she decided that maybe after they saved the day, she would ask Erza if they could come back just to enjoy the library.

“If they aren’t too mad at us for breaking everything…” she amended out loud, wincing at a sword she’d accidentally put hilt-deep into an ancient bust.

“Hi!” a girl’s voice came from behind her.

Startled, Wendy squeaked and whirled around, hands raised to defend herself.

Usually when someone sneaks up on you during a fight, it’s for bad reasons, but when Wendy turned, she didn’t see a grinning bandit. Instead, it was a girl her age with her blonde hair in curls, smiling broadly with her hands clasped behind her back.

“I said hi!” the girl said again.

Wendy fluttered her lashes, surprised to see another girl in a place like this, especially this particular girl.

On the one hand, the blonde looked almost embarrassingly girly, wearing a short red dress with suspenders and a striped shirt, a big bow tied in her hair. Her smile was guilelessly wide, head tilted curiously, but her cutesy, juvenile ensemble was almost covered up beneath many pieces of mismatched, very old-looking jewelry. Several gold and pearl necklaces of varying lengths draped down her chest, layers of bracelets jangled on her wrists, and she even wore a tiara that rested unevenly on her head.

Realizing she was being rude, Wendy smiled, blushing bashfully, “Oh, hi! Sorry!”

“I’m Alice.” The girl said.

“I’m Wendy!” Wendy smiled back. Having been raised in wizarding guilds, she hadn’t met many girls her own age. She was always eager to make friends and the other girls she met had almost always been really nice.

However, this girl began acting strangely the moment the introductions were over. Instead of following up the introduction with a friendly question or otherwise trying to start a conversation, the girl leaned forward so suddenly they almost conked heads. Bent at the waist, oblivious of Wendy’s personal space, leaned to one side, then the other, looking her over with a bird-like curiosity.

Wendy drew back and frowned, not sure how to respond.

“You’re a dragon slayer?” Alice asked, tilting her head and looking the other girl up and down.

Wendy blinked, “Um… yes.”

“Hmm…”

Jewelry jangling, the young blonde continued to bob and inspect her like a piece of abstract art, even frowning thoughtfully as if considering something about Wendy’s appearance.

Not wanting to be rude, Wendy chewed on her lip and watched as the girl peered, then began circling around her, inspecting her from various angles.

“I like your clothes,” Alice said, continuing to circle, “You’re pretty too. Do you have any jewelry?”

Feeling funny about this, Wendy turned to face her, hoping the girl would take the hint.

“Uh, thanks, I like yours too!” she smiled hopefully, “I have a little pendant with a blue dragon, but I don’t think it’s as pretty as yours! Where did you get it?”

The blonde didn’t respond. Pursing her lips, she looked Wendy up and down once more, then finally nodded, a sharp jerk of the head that indicated she’d come to a decision.

“Okay,” she said, “I’ll have it all then.”

Silence hung in the air.

Wendy blinked again. Her brow furrowed, worried that she’d missed something.

When the other girl didn’t explain, Wendy squeaked, “Sorry. Have… what?”

Alice sighed, put out that she had to explain something so obvious.

“You, your dragon slayer power,” she rolled her eyes, “Your clothes and your jewelry. Everything I just said!”

Now it was Wendy’s turn to tilt her head, a frown drawing her eyebrows together. She wasn’t sure what this girl was talking about, but it didn’t seem friendly.

“You want my… clothes?” she clutched her skirt defensively.

“Yes!” Alice smiled, glad this girl seemed to finally understand, “And you and your jewelry and your powers!”

Wendy blanched, staring at this strange girl, mouth agape, somehow even more confused than before. She also was beginning to have the unfamiliar feeling that she didn’t like this girl very much.

When the young Fairy Tail girl didn’t immediately protest, Alice took it as consent. She stepped forward, took Wendy by the wrist, then turned to lead her away. She pontificated as she did, her voice sharp and speaking very fast, clearly not expecting any input from this blue-haired wizard girl.

“You can keep your clothes for now, but I want your jewelry as soon as we get to the balloons. Your powers too. You can ride in my seat with me so I can play with you, or you can be in a cage if you’re going to— hey!”

Politeness and sheer patience allowed Wendy to be led a few paces, but as soon as the other girl mentioned her being put in a cage, she stopped in her tracks.

Alice glared at her, “Come on, I said! Lydia said I could have anything in the building as long as I got the Siphon thingies! I’m going to get them and you’re in the building so I get to have you!”

With this logic, Alice clearly expected Wendy to come along quietly, but the schoolgirl wizard didn’t allow herself to be led away. She glared back, a rare expression for the shy, polite Wendy Marvell.

“You do not!” she yanked her wrist from the girl’s grasp.

“I do so!” Alice snapped back.

Wendy’s cheeks pinkened with the heat of her glare, “Do not! I’m a Fairy Tail wizard!”

“So?!” the bratty girl sniffed, “I’m a bandit princess!”

“You’re not a princess! You’re… you’re just a bad guy!”

“Well, you’re just a slave! And you’re going to get a spanking for not minding me!”

Wendy wrinkled her nose as she thought of what Erza would say to something like this. Her first instinct was to tell Alice she was NOT a slave, but she doubted the scarlet knight would get in an “Am not/Are too” exchange with a girl like this, even at Wendy’s age.

A quiet, thoughtful girl, Wendy drew in a deep breath, then let it out before responding.

“I am a wizard of Fairy Tail,” she clenched her fists at her sides, “If someone is doing something bad, I stop them. So, if you have the Siphons and are doing bad things, I’m going to stop you too!”

Wendy puffed out her chest and struck a forbidding pose, no longer a timid, polite young girl. She was a dragon slayer and a powerful wizard and she wasn’t going to let this girl push her around. Her Fairy Tail brand was hidden beneath her jacket, but she stood as tall as she could, chin held high, representing her guild with a surprisingly steely gaze.

Alice glared and harumphed, sticking out her bottom lip in an angry pout. For a moment it looked like she didn’t know how to respond to the display, like she had nothing she could do if the other girl wasn’t immediately cowed into submission.

Then she drew back her hand.

“Dark energy BURST!”

Still posing dramatically, expecting the girl to try to retort, Wendy was unprepared for the ball of magic power that struck her in the chest. With a cry of surprise and pain, she was flung off her feet and through the air, the attack hurling her into the ancient tablet in its glass display case. The case shattered and the time-worn stone fared little better, breaking into pieces when struck, then into little more than dust and chalk when it hit the floor.

Wendy landed with a grunt amongst broken glass and bits of powdery rock. Lying on her side, scraped and dirtied, she cringed in pain. The magic blast had hit her with physical force, but it hurt inside as well, like it had attacked her spirit as well as her body.

With a lofty, “told-ya-so” smirk, Alice strutted towards the fallen girl with her hands on her hips, her curls bouncing with each step. As Wendy turned onto her back, she stopped a few paces away to stand over the Fairy Tail wizard with her nose held high. One hand still on her hip, she raised the other, producing another ball of energy that hovered over her palm. It was almost pitch black, like a hole had opened in reality itself, but for spurts and crackles of violet electricity that arced around it, errant strands of the wicked power that had created it.

“Guild wizards aren’t as good as bandit princesses.” Alice told her, “And I want a dragon. So, you’re going to do what I say and give me what I want, or I’m going to beat you with my magic! Got it?”

Tears were in Wendy’s eyes as she glared at the girl from the floor. The fall had hurt, but she wasn’t crying from pain. Every villain she’d met until this point had been an adult, never someone her own age. She couldn’t believe another girl could be so mean, even hitting her with magic without even warning her! She definitely didn’t want to be this girl’s friend anymore; her tears were tears of anger.

Pushing herself to her feet, Wendy lowered her chin and curled her lip, no longer sweet, no longer polite.

“Just give up.” Alice scoffed, “I’m going to beat you anyway.”

“I’ll never give up.” Wendy narrowed her eyes, “I won’t lose to someone like you. You’re evil and I’m not going to hold back.”

Calling on her dragon slayer magic, she thrust her hand forward, fingers held like a claw.

“Tenryu no namioroshi!”

A glowing blue tornado of pure magic erupted from her palm.

“Dark energy shield!” Alice formed her magic sphere into a protective barrier, but the force of the spell skidded her along the floor.

Not waiting for her enemy to recover, Wendy leapt at her like the little dragon she was, throwing a kick with a gale-force wind behind it.

Alice counter attacked, firing her own beam of violet energy and the magics met with a clash of light and force that shattered every display case within a 25-foot radius.

The battle of the tiny titans had begun.

----

While the struggle inside the main chamber went on, the hallway outside the chamber was already in ruins. As was typical of Fairy Tail, Wendy and Erza had charged into the battle without noticing the destruction in their wake. Or that one of their guild members had been left amongst that destruction.

A mound of furniture had been left piled against one wall by Wendy’s cyclones, a table having wedged there and everything else clumping against it like a sink clog. The pile shifted. A painting fell onto its side, a chair scraped away from the pile, then a perky blonde crawled through the gap on her hands and knees.

“Oww…” Lucy whined, “What was that?”

After getting out from the wreckage, the tousled blonde plonked down on her rump, swatted at her dirtied outfit, then coughed as this created a small cloud of dust. The library halls were kept fairly clean, but some of the furniture hadn’t been moved in ages, collecting ounces of loose dirt and other leavings. Now Lucy was covered in more than her fair share of it.

“Kaff koff… gross… kaff hack…” she swiped at the cloud, “Smells like… koff koff… old shoes… and I look like a dust monster!”

From the chamber in front of her, one of Erza’s battle cries rang out, followed by an explosion that shook the floor. The terrified cries of bandits came next, several of them scurrying past the doorway with the air of men very late for an appointment. An appointment with the rest of their lives.

At the sight, Lucy crossed her arms, plopped them under her breasts and scowled. The movement caused another small cloud of dust to waft into her face.

“You guys could have checked on me, you know,” she grumbled, her nostrils flaring, “Instead of just jumping into the fight and leaving me here…”

Feeling left out, abandoned, and generally badly-used, Lucy allowed herself several seconds to pout. Her nostrils burned but she wrinkled her nose and ignored it out of principle. She knew her friends meant well, but they could be really thoughtless sometimes. She expected it from Natsu, but other girls were supposed to be more considerate than lunkheads like him.

Her button nose wiggled like a bunny’s, then she sneezed, once, managing to make the sound sharp and annoyed. Growling, letting out a bit of excess frustration, she stood up and decided to see what they were doing.

Dusting herself off with angry swats at her vest and skirt, Lucy made her way down the hallway, managing to reach the destroyed doors into the library’s main chamber relatively dust-free compared to when she began. When she saw what was happening beyond those doors, her annoyance with her friends immediately evaporated.

An area that had been for quiet reflection and perusal of bygone curious was now a battlefield. Around the vast chamber, library guards were battling bandits and although the odds were more even after Erza and Wendy had entered the fray, it was still a desperate situation. The floor was littered with bits of armor, weapons, or just gaping holes from a magical blast. The room had housed numerous artifacts and valuables, but everything was either looted or destroyed by this point.

“Oh, man…” Lucy winced, knowing the magic council wouldn’t like this.

Looking up, she saw the destruction wasn’t limited to the first level. Most of the normal soldiers were meeting sword to sword at the tower-like chamber’s base, but the bannisters on the higher levels looked like hunks had been carved out of them in several places. Swathes of books had been smashed or bore long gashes, their shelves crumbling.

Lucy was starting to wonder how the bandits had managed that sort of damage, when two figures, one red and one green struck each other in mid-air, moving so fast she barely made it out. There was the ring of steel on steel, a flash of sparks, and then the two figures darted away and met again almost before the flash faded. They were high above her, bounding off the bannisters and walls of the library, moving so fast they reminded Lucy of fireflies bouncing around inside a jar.

There was another clash, then the red fell back. The green shot after it, trying to press the attack, but red bounced out of the way, causing the attack to slice a deep gouge in a bookcase. Parts of books fell, pages fluttering like leaves, then the red counter attacked, slamming into the green and pinning it against the wall.

For an instant, Lucy saw two young, armored women with their weapons locked, one she didn’t recognize with green hair, but the other with long, flowing hair of scarlet…

“Erza…?” Lucy blinked, surprised to see Fairy Tail’s most powerful woman having trouble with someone.

A crash directly beside Lucy almost threw her off her feet, making her teeth rattle. She screamed and covered her head reflexively, only peaking out after the dust settled.

In the center of the impact crater she’d created, her clothing torn and covered in dust, Wendy groaned and climbed to all fours. Blinking dazedly, she shook her head. Bits of dirt and rubble fell out of her hair as her eyes cleared.

Before she could get up, a blonde girl in a red dress floated into view and hovered across from the two Fairy Tail girls. She was likewise dirtied and a bit tattered from her fight with Wendy, but had a broad grin on her face, surrounded by an aura of dark, violet energy that kept her aloft, her curls floating about her young face.

“You’re losing, stupid dragon.” Alice sneered, “After I beat you, I’m going to take ALL your clothes off and make you walk to the balloons totally naked where everyone can see! That’s what you get for being a brat and not doing as I say!”

The little girl drew back her hand, then threw a ball of dark power at Wendy, even as she tried to get up. She cried out her own word of magic power and swept the ball aside with a powerful wind, but she was still thrown back, hard-pressed into the wall behind her.

“Wendy!” Lucy cried out, reaching to the keys at her waist. She chose the key for the gate of Leo, one of her most powerful celestial spirits. She didn’t know what kind of power the girl in the red dress had, but at the very least she could help Wendy catch her breath.

“Open,” she called, “Gate of the l--!”

The floor beneath Lucy’s feet vanished. The final words of her spell became a squeal of fright as she fell straight down.

The fall was far enough to hurt, but she landed on something relatively soft, knocking her breath out but not breaking any bones.

“ULF!” she grunted on impact, wincing as she stared up at the hole she’d fallen through. Black energy of some sort surrounded it, wavering almost like a mirage, unstable. She could still see the library’s central chamber through it; the energy had created that hole. No, not a hole. A portal.

The ring of dark energy shrank, closing the hole and Lucy’s way out with it. But before she could protest or try to escape, a throaty giggle rang out from very near.

Yelping, blue eyes wide, Lucy sat up, looking around.

This room was definitely not part of the library. It looked like some sort of creepy, circular bedroom, done up in equal parts purple and pitch black. Tall and broad, the room had purple carpet with black fringe, a purple door every few feet along the walls decorated with a different symbol in dripping black paint. Lucy had landed on a four-poster bed with purple cushions and sheets, but a black frame and drapes.

However, what was truly creepy about this room was the statues. Everywhere, scattered amongst the curtains and cushions, were porcelain statues of girls sharing several traits: naked, pretty, and unconscious.

Lucy gulped, blushing as she looked at the statues. They were all unnervingly realistic and detailed, several of them looking like they were curled up for a nap, while others seemed like they’d been frozen while collapsed in some awkward state of repose. They were TOO real and she had enough experience with magic to trust her instincts on things like that…

The throaty laughter came again and a figure strutted out from behind a curtain. There was no doubt this room was hers, with her dark, purple-streaked hair, black top, fishnets, violet eyes.

“I was hoping for Mirajane,” the girl swaggered towards the bed, her pleated skirt swishing along her thighs, “But I have to say, the way your boobs bounced when you landed…”

She stopped, her sly expression dropping off, replaced by genuine surprise when she saw Lucy’s face. However, her pause was only momentary and soon her eyes narrowed, grin returning broader than before.

“Well, well…” she purred, “Lucy Titsfeelia…”

Lucy wrinkled her nose, peering at the other girl in return. There was only one person that called her by that gross name.

“Gutride Longcaster?!”

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