Chapter 49 - Lightning Strikes Twice

Fairy Tail: Paths of the Soul

The light disappeared from Shelly’s sight as the ground fell out from under her. It happened so fast that she didn’t even have time to scream. She looked down to see the diamond shaped chunk of roof she’d been standing on crash into the floor below. She landed a millisecond after, barely able to keep on her feet, when the floor below them dropped out once again. Panic almost gripping her, she flung her hand out to the side as her fall resumed. “’’’Solid script: Wool’’’!” A mess of fabric landed on the floor below her, and she curled into a ball bracing for the next impact. This fall was longer than the last, but still lasted only a second. She closed her eyes in fear, so she wasn’t fully prepared when the impact finally came.

She landed on a pile of rouble at an angle, bounced, and instantly began to roll. The floor eventually levelled out, but Shelly didn’t stop until her back slammed into a wall. She lay there for a moment, dizzy, disoriented, in pain, but suddenly sat upright and gasped for breath. She could hear her heart beating in her ears, and was too dizzy to stand up at the moment. “I’m ok…” She tried saying it out loud to convince herself, because she certainly didn’t feel ok.

Her wool spell had kept her from smashing her head opened on the ruble, but it didn’t make the trip any less jarring. She patted herself down, making absolutely sure she wasn’t injured or in shock. One of her pantlegs was torn at the knee, and one sleeve of her shirt was ripped at the shoulder. She was battered and bruised, but it probably felt worse then it was. Then again, it still felt pretty terrible.

“Amber?!” She yelled up at the ceiling. “Amber, can you hear me?!” All was silent, but Shelly chose to believe that was because of how far she’d fallen and not because Amber had lost the fight. A pile of crushed concrete and twisted rebar sat a few feet from her, but it wasn’t nearly high enough to make climbing back up a viable option. That, and it didn’t look that stable either.

Huffing in annoyance, Shelly began looking for a way out. She timidly peaked around the door before entering the hallway; the last thing she needed was to be spotted by one of these creeps. She kept a hand on the wall to keep her balance, as a pain had developed in her leg after a the first few steppes of tiptoeing through the prison. She must’ve rolled her ankle when she landed, but didn’t have any idea what to do about it now. Dozen’s of Jaina’s first aid tips raced through her mind, but none of it seemed useful at the moment.

A drop of frigid cold water dripped from one of the pipes along the roof of the hallway, landing on the back of Shelly’s neck. “Kyaaah!” She covered her mouth to catch her surprised scream, but that was a brutal blow to her already frayed nerves. She fought back the tears that began to well up in her eyes, thinking about how much she wanted to see Leo or her dad, or any familiar face for that mater. “Keep fighting…” She muttered, remembering Amber’s advice to her. “Just keep fighting…” Telling herself that over and over seemed to quell the thoughts racing through her head. Or at the vary least it kept her moving. She was still careful to watch around any corner she came across, but kept her pace brisk. “I wish I never came on this stupid job.”

Checking around the seventh corner, she still had no idea where she was, but something else was beginning to bug her as well. Where was everyone? They must be on high alert now, why was nobody looking for them? She couldn’t think of a reason. Not a satisfying one at least. But if all of the bandits where preoccupied with something else, she wasn’t going to complain. One turn after another, and still nothing. Finally, she spied an open-door half way down the next hallway, emanating a feint light from within. Growing sick of the hallways, Shelly decided to investigate.

She gently pushed the door open to find it was set up and decorated like a bar. It reminded her of the guild hall, but a lot more rundown, and smelly. She winced away from the foul odor the instant it hit her. The only thing that kept her from turning away was a familiar face leaning against the wall opposite her. “Geno?” He didn’t respond, and Shelly could instantly tell something was wrong. “Geno!” She raced across the room to his side. He looked pretty beet up, and a few cuts littered his already scarred frame. “Wake up, wake up! Please don’t be-!” He grumbled under his breath, and when he did, a thin trail of blood leaked from his mouth. Shelly sighed in relief despite this; he looked awful, but he was alive.

“Hey there, little mouse.” Shelly froze, recognising that voice. She slowly turned around to find Oran sitting cross-legged on one of the tables in the middle of the bar. She must’ve ran straight past him, but didn’t notice him at all. “Havin’ a fun night?”

Shelly stood up straight as Oran kicked off the table and began to approach. Feeling her heart beat in her throat, she softly mumbled. “Oh crap…”

Axel hoisted himself up over the railing on the side of the building, slowly making his way across the roof. Amber caught him glancing at her a few times, but for the most part kept his attention on the fallen dark guild master.

“Amber!” Something hit her in the pit of her stomach, sending a shock to her numerus wounds. She looked down to see Zeke’s teary eyes looking back at her, clutching at the frayed edges of her shirt. “We found you! We really found you!”

Siting upright with a groan, Django glared at Axel. “Guess you’re the forth guy Oran mentioned. The one who flew off a cliff, right?” He grumbled, clutching at his shoulder. Axel’s attack hadn’t just blasted him away, it also cauterized the wound in his shoulder from when Amber stabbed him. “How the hell did you find this place?”

“Scent!” Zeke yelled proudly. Amber glanced at him in confusion, but he pointed at Axel with an explanation. “His nose cleared back up. We followed your scent all the way here.”

Django got back up again, summoning more cards with a wave of his hand. “I’m warning you, boy…” He growled. “I’m not in the mood to-.”

Another blast of lightning flew from Axel’s hand. Django had to dive out of the way to avoid being struck, hiding behind the rooftop hut he’d first emerged from. Amber gasped and winced away from the noise, just now realising that she’d been holding her breath. Doing so also seemed to agitate her wounds, because they all began to sting as the adrenaline left her system.

“Amber?” Axel glanced over his shoulder at her. “Cover your ears for a while.” She was slow to respond, but had a pretty good guess as to what was coming. Electricity sparked up and down his entire body like a living lightning rod. She’d seen it happen to him before, but it normally it would fade away after a moment. Not this time though, it was continuous, and it only took a moment for her to figure out why.

Axel was pissed.

A card flew at him from the darkened shadow beside the hut. Axel dodged to the side, trailing a light blue glow through the night. Another lightning bolt launched from his hand, blasting the corner of the hut. Django flew from the shadows, running straight at Axel with a pair of cards between his knuckles. “’’’Two pair’’’!”

Moving with lightning fast speed, Axel grabbed Django’s wrist, stopping the attack mere inches from his throat. He swiftly kicked the dark mage in the stomach, causing him to choke for air, and gave a rough tug to pull him to the ground. Standing over his opponent, the electricity arcing all over his body condensed into his hand. “’’’Lightning Dragon’s Claw’’!” A flash of lightning shot into the sky accompanied by an explosive pop. As if cut by a sword, the roof in front of Axel split open all the way to the edge of the building.

Axel’s hand was imbedded in the metal of the roof, but Django had just narrowly escaped harm. There was a slight cut across his chest, severing his tie and splitting his vest open, but it seemed like his moral had taken the real hit. “Ok…” He mumbled, taking a few deep breaths as a sweat broke out over his brow. “You’re a dangerous one.” He flicked his hand, launching four Cards in Axel’s direction. “’’’Four of a Kind’’’!”

Not waiting time, Axel yanked his hand from the roof and went on the offensive. “’’’Lightning Dragon’s Chain’’’!” He reached out towards the rooftop cabin, where a glowing chain flew from his hand. It latched onto the Cain’s metal door, and Axel yanked it off it’s hinges and swung it at Django.

The door was ripped to pieces, but had also been just enough to knock Django’s cards off their path. The flew out over the roof, crashing into the building next to them as the door clattered to the floor. His attack having failed, Django’s irritation was really beginning to show. “Dammit, you little-.” “’’’Lightning Dragon’s Spear’’’!” He clasped his hands together and interlocked his fingers, and in doing so a barrage of lighting bolts flew from his shoulders.

“Holy shi-! ‘’’Fold’’’!” Cards flew from Django’s hand, taking up a barrier around him. It wasn’t a wall like last time; the cards zoomed around their master like a swarm of bees. Django danced within the flurry, waving his hands to deflecting Axel’s lightning bolts. It seemed to be all he could manage to keep on the defensive, as each impact seemed to knock him back a step.

“Go Axel!” Zeke cheered from Amber’s lap, turning up to face her after a moment of silence. “Hey, come on. Why aren’t you cheering too?”

It took her a moment to respond, still caught up in the display before her. “I, uh…”

She tilted her head down to look at him, and some of the blood from the cut on her cheek dripped onto his face. “Ah, what is-?” He began to complain, but froze when he wiped the blood off on the back of his paw. He looked up at her again, his eyes widening when he realised the state she was in. “Amber, what happened to you?” He began to tear up as he clutched at her shirt, franticly looking around form anyone else. “Where are Shelly and Geno?”

She just shook her head, not sure where to begin. “I don’t know…”

Zeke berried his face in her stomach, which she found a little heartbreaking. A gentle touch on her arm almost made her jump out of her skin, and she looked to find Armeria laying next to her. Her body was littered with glowing blue cracks, and it looked like her legs hadn’t properly reformed yet, but just seeing her again brought Amber relief. “We’ll be ok.” The tiny imp muttered. “Everyone’s going to be ok.”

Axel’s attack ended, even if a fluty of electricity still assaulted the dark mage. He suddenly hunched over, then threw his head back and took in a massive breath. The lights on the roof began to glow, rapidly growing in intensity. Brighter and brighter, until eventually they all began to pop one by one.

No sooner had the lights gone out then the soft, ghostly blue glow illuminated the rooftop. Electricity flowed from every light filament, power socket, and frayed wire that had been torn up in the battle, all flowing straight into Axel’s mouth. He was gathering power.

“Dammit!” With one final curse, Django swatted the last of Axel’s lightning bolts aside. He looked exhausted now, and was long since out of patience when he looked back at Axel. “This is my domain, boy!” He grabbed one of his cards out of the air, which began to glow with magic. “’’’Ace High’’’!”

The card sliced through the air, just as the last of the electricity gathered in Axel’s mouth. His head recoiled sharply when the card hit him in the face, and he began to stumble. “Axel!” Zeke and Amber yelled in horror.

Just as he was about to fall over, Axel took a step back to rebalance himself, the card clenched between his teeth. He looked back at Django, who’s victorious grin instantly disappeared. “’’’Lighting Dragon’s-!’’’ Amber covered her ears, realising exactly what Axel was about to do. “’’’Roar’’’!”

A massive lightning bolt ripped across the rooftop, lighting up the night sky. The hut Django dove behind for cover was instantly annihilated, scattering stray bits of charred wood and ash over the entire city block. Any trace it had ever existed in the first place was gone in an instant.

Amber could feel the heat of it from almost thirty feet away. Was this really the same Axel? The easygoing guy she’d come to know was gone, every memory of him conflicting with everything she’d just seen. He was focused, determined, and mad. Really, really mad.

“C’mon, little mouse!” Oran roared, flipping a table up and with a single hand and kicking it across the room. Shelly dove out of the way, narrowly escaping being crushed between it and the wall. “Quit runnin’ away, I wanna be friends!”

Keeping her back to the wall, Shelly was trying to keep as much distance between them as possible. Oran was in the center of the room, and had proven he was faster than she was the two times she’d tried to make for the door and he stood in her way. It was a big room, sure, but Oran was still way too close for comfort.

Oran, meanwhile, seemed to just be toying with her. And his favorite game appeared to be throwing furniture. He hoisted a cabinet up onto his shoulder, which rattled with the sound of breaking glass, and lobbed it across the room. “Catch!”

Shelly huffed, his aim was way off, but maybe she could use this to her advantage. “’’’Solid Script: Smoke’’’!” A thick purple cloud burst from her hand, filling her half of the room. She heard the cabinet crash against the wall, spilling glass and booze everywhere, and ran towards it.

She could only see a few feet ahead of her through the smokescreen, but the crunch of broken glass beneath her feet told her when she was close. The cabinet had landed sideways on top of a small pile of chairs, many of which Oran had also tossed at her. There was just enough space amongst the splintered wood for her to squeeze between, and the overturned cabinet made the perfect place to hide. For the first time in her life, Shelly was thankful that she was so small.

Carefully so as to not cut herself, she crawled inside the gap and waited. She kept crouched, ready to make a break for it at any moment, and peered through a small hole in the back of the cabinet as the smoke began to dissipate.

She spied the exit instantly. The door didn’t seem to have a lock, but with the way Oran had been smashing things, she doubted whether a lock would make much of a difference. She also spotted Geno, resting just where she’d found him. She hated the thought of leaving him behind but there was no way she’d be able to carry him, even without Oran hot on her heels.

Suddenly her small hideaway was yanked forwards, pulling Shelly with it. “Aaaah!” She screamed in surprise, landing on her hands and knees inside the cabinet.

She had just enough time to discern that she was unharmed before feeling a shadow loom over her. “You know… I can’t help but notice you haven’t tried to scream for help yet.” Shelly flipped over to find Oran leering down at her. “It makes me feel like I’m not doing a good job. You know, being the tormenting bad guy and all.” He crouched down, resting his elbows on his knees, and stared at her for a moment before violently grabbing her ankle. “It kind of makes me want to try harder!”

Standing up, he dragged Shelly out of the cabinet and began walking towards the bar. “Stop it!” She cried, kicking and fighting to get free. Despite this, nothing seemed to be able to break Oran’s vice like grip. “Let go of me!” Nothing seemed to help, and in her struggling, she decided to go on the offensive. “’’’Solid Script: Volts’’’!”

Electricity jumped off her fingertips, and as close as she was to him, she figured there was no way she’d miss. In her panic however, she failed to take into consideration the effect of such a spell. Electrified letters hit Oran square in the back, coursing all over his body, down his arm, and right into her leg.

Shelly gasped for breath, feeling the sting of her own attack course through her. Stunned, she rolled over to her hands and knees and made a dazed getaway. With every muscle in her body beginning to ache however, she didn’t make it that far before having to stop at a table to rest. “Ughh… That was a mistake…” She mumbled to herself, growing queasy.

“So, the little mouse had bite.” Hearing Oran’s voice, Shelly sobered instantly. He looked a bit dizzy, but her attack only seemed to intensify the crazy look in his eye. “Guess you still got some fight left in ya’, huh? Good, I’d hate for the game to be over so quickly.” He shook off the damage, which even then didn’t look that extensive, and slowly began to glow.

His arms began to expand, and he became enveloped in a bright blue light. Shelly covered her eyes at first, but forced herself to look back again when she realised what was coming. Long horns protruded past a narrow, toothy snout. A hunched stance with spines protruding from the back. A trio of whip like tails brushing back and forth across the ground. The monster that had attacked them at camp made its reappearance.

Oran slowly opened his eyes, taking a long breath. “Now…” He growled, the corners of his lips curving into a monstrous grin. “Scream for me!”

A set of massive claws burrowed into the floorboards, and the massive monster shot forwards. Shelly ducked and rolled out of the way, more knocked aside than an intentional action. The table she’d been leaning on was obliterated, and Oran crashed into the pile of furniture he’d been making sport of not moments ago.

It all splintered under his weight, cracking so loud that it sent a shiver down Shelly’s spine. He grabbed a fistful of the debris and lobbed it back at her. Shelly desperately dove behind an overturned table as wooden shrapnel peppered the room. She couldn’t fight this. She’d barely hurt him when he was still human, how was she suppose to win like this? The floor shaking indicated that Oran was charging again, and she dove aside just as her cover was swatted aside.

“Aww, what’s the matter!” Oran roared, rearing upright. “You’re not afraid of playing my game anymore are ya? I promise it won’t hurt too much!”

Shelly just stared back at him, too busy trying to keep one step ahead to formulate a response. Of-course she was afraid. She couldn’t ever remember being able to hear her heart beating this loud before. One thing stood out through the chaos though; the door was on her side of the room now.

With a lightning quick motion, she spun around and made a break for it. Oran wouldn’t be able to follow her down the narrow hallways as he was, he’d have to turn back into a human. Maybe then she’d be able to do… Something. She didn’t have a plan after that, but hoped that an idea would come to mind once she didn’t have this monster breathing down her neck.

She heard a sudden crack, and the hairs on the back of her neck instantly stood on end. Every instinct she had told her to duck, and that’s just what she did when the entire bar top soared over her head.

It slammed hard against the wall, blocking the door and shaking the entire room all at once. Shelly stumbled and fell, sliding just short of the barricade that now prevented her from running away. “No…” She desperately took hold of the first thing she could find, trying in vein to unblock her escape. “Come on, I want to go home!” The sound of glass breaking made her spin around, giving her just enough time to dive out of the way when another cabinet came flying at her.

Shelly dove to the ground, broken glass and splintered wood landing all around her. The floor quaked with each of Oran’s footfalls, signaling that he wasn’t far behind. She tried to get moving, but a sudden tug followed by a sharp pain in her leg stopped her cold. She looked back to find her foot caught under a some of the debris, pressing it down onto a jagged piece of glass that had sliced open her shin when she attempted to pull free.

Too panicked to feel the pain, Shelly yanked and tugged any way she could. “Come on, move!” She urged, watching a small pool of blood begin to gather on the floor. “Please, please move!”

A shadow loomed over her, and she looked up to see Oran leering over her once again. His horns where on either side of her, leaving his jaws mere inches from her face. “End of the road, little mouse.”

She sunk back to the ground, trying to get as far away from him as he could. Oran reared back and raised an arm, about to swat her aside like an insect. Shelly was frozen in fear, so when the ceiling behind them caved in she almost had a heart attack.

It started with a single crunching noise, but soon a spider web of cracks appeared in the ceiling and it all came down. Oran stopped and glanced over his shoulder, looking just as confused as Shelly was. “What the hell…?” A cloud of dust and falling rouble made it impossible to decipher what had happened, but something was moving within the fog.

Someone rolled out of the cloud, moaning in agony and appearing barely conscious. A long, scaly tail brushed him aside, and whatever it was sat upright. A huge, muscular arm stretched out and began scratching its head, and with a grunt it lurched through the dust. Shelly gasped the instant she ley eyes on him, but recognised the fourteen-foot tall cross between a human and a crocodile instantly. “Jak?”

“Jak!” Oran yelled with cheerful glee. “What’cha up to, Jak?” The thing gave no response; Shelly couldn’t tell if he was glairing at Oran, or if that was just how Jak’s face looked when he transformed. “What, you don’t remember me? I’m one of the guys who caught your dumb ass!”

Jak’s brow furrowed. There was no doubt now, he was definitely glairing at him. “Yeah…” His low voice seemed to shake the room, tightening his clawed hands into fists. “I remember you.”

‘’’Next Chapter – The Better Monster’’’