Chapter 64 - Gone

Fairy Tail: Paths of the Soul

Tightening his fists, Davin readied for the fight to resume.

Vax hovered in the air above his three undead vanguard, calmly clasping his hands behind his back like a scientist observing an experiment. Any expression he may have had was obscured by the helmet he wore, but the occasional chuckle and giddy mumble betrayed his state of mind.

The bandit warrior, Keel, eventually looked up at his master. "So... We waiting for something? Or-?"

"Attack!" Vax ordered with a wave of his hand.

Nico moved first, teleporting just above Davin's head in mid sword swing. Davin tried to grab at his arm but the mummified man rolled in mid air, keeping just out of reach. The tip of his sword dragged down Davin's chest, but did no damage against the guild master's magically protected skin.

Just as he sprung away, a barrage of icicles rained down on Davin from the ceiling. They too did no damage, but the force they carried was enough to keep him in place for the moment. With his arms folded over his head, Davin spied Siri running at him with a long spear made of ice in her pail, cold hands.

She danced through the barrage like a river through a thick forest, and thrust her spear at Davin's chest. The guild master shattered the weapon with a swing of his fist just as the rain of ice ended, and moved to strike back. Suddenly, Keel came flying overhead with a strong kick to the side if his face. It didn't hurt, but it was still a surprisingly strong blow. Trying to fend off both Keel and Siri, Davin had only half a second to react when he noticed Vax flaying at him with sword in hand.

Not wanting to risk falling within his reach, Davin dropped backwards under the sword swing. He threw an uppercut, but Vax disappeared the instant he realized he'd missed the mark. Davin landed off balance, and rolled over to his hands and knees right in front of Keel. The bandit grinned at him and, already in a crouched position, Davin launched himself forward.

"Smash..." He roared, flexing his arm. "Lariot!"

Swinging his arm like a hammer, Davin planned to knock the undead bandit's head clean off. In the same maneuver Davin had just used to dodge Vax's sword, Keel flopped backwards, allowing Davin's closed fist to slam into the magic walls surrounding them.

Davin winced in pain as Keel retreated, using a tether of blood from his wrist to quickly make his retreat. "Dammi- Aaaagh!" He cried, feeling a cold pain wash across his forearm. He flailed blindly, throwing Siri away from him.

In that same instant, he felt a hand close around the back of his neck, and felt a draining sensation throughout his whole body. "Yes!" Vax hissed, clinging to Davin's back. "More, give me more of your magic!"

Grunting in annoyance, Davin threw himself backwards, crushing Vax between himself and the arena barrier. He turned to try and finish the masked man off, when two throwing knives jabbed into the back of his hand. Nico ran at him from the side, but Davin's fist closed around his torso when he raised his sword arm.

A block of ice crashed over Davin's head, stunning him before he could re-establish his magic protection. Something akin to the noise of a buzzing insect filled his ears, and Davin doubled over as blood ran down both sides of his face. As he tried to raise his head, Nico slipped from his hand and delivered a slash just under Davin's arm.

Davin blindly swung at them, dispersing Vax's three vanguard as they got out of his reach. The buzzing in his ears subsided, only to be replaced by the sound of his own beating heart. The pain he was feeling became more apparent, and the arm Nico had slashed suddenly felt ten times heavier than before. He huffed a few times, watching Keel, Nico, and Siri observe his struggles from across the arena. He expected them to resume the attack. Even with his magic protection returning, they had never yet backed down from an engagement. Something was up, they where waiting for-.

In the middle of that thought, Nico flopped onto his back. Siri began to wobble on her feet, and Keel doubled over to rest his hands on his knees. "Yes, yes, you're out of time." Vax appeared in the air above them, as did three of his coffin like machines. "I suppose I didn't give you enough for this fight. Time to sleep again."

The coffins landed on the ground. Siri stepped back into hers and slumped over, her glowing yellow eyes fading out in an instant. Keel lifted Nico into his, who seemed to have already returned to being dead, before hopping back into his own. "Sure you got this, boss?"

The bandit slumped over before getting an answer, and the three of them blinked out of existence with a wave of Vax's hand. "Yes, I can do this on my own now. It's best not to waste magic…" Vax chuckled, summoning his sword to his side again. "I'm sorry, Davin of Blazing Soul. But you're not going to be able to stop me. Not in your condition."

"I still don't know what your trying to do." Davin mumbled, trying to buy time. His magic was taking longer to come back than it had last time. Whatever method Vax had for stealing his magic away, it seemed to get progressively worse each time. The more time he had, the better. "What is this about? Why do you need so much magic power?"

"To do the impossible!” Vax roared, a sudden rage emanating in his voice. "Those vanguard where failures. I didn't have enough for any of them, they came back wrong! Wrong, wrong, wrong!" His head twitched, glancing to the side as the walls around them flickered. "But this time... This time I'll have enough. Thanks to you. You, and your machine."

Davin's eyes widened, following Vax's gaze to the control panel of the arena. It was swarming with Vax's insectoid machines, pulsating with a blue glow. They'd somehow disassembled the console, and each sat latched to a wire that lead into the ground. Davin had no idea how the system worked, but it was obvious what they where doing. The ceiling was full of the machines, each glowing with energy, there where only a few on the ground, and as soon as the pulsing stopped, one of the insects would crawl away, making room for a new one to take its place.

"No way..." Davin mumbled. He thought he'd trapped Vax in here with him, but it'd turned out he'd brought the masked man exactly what he wanted. "You need to stop that."

"I don't." Vax shook his head. "You took it upon yourself to try and stop me, and you failed. Now you're just in the way." He extended a hand, and a bright pulse of magic flew from his hand. "Wave."

Davin crossed his arms in front of his chest, but the attack packed quite a lot more of a punch than he'd anticipated. Was Vax getting stronger? Or... Was he getting weaker? The impact knocked him into the wall behind him, smashing the back of his head in the process. The walls flickered again, but Davin braced himself and pushed back to his feet. He charged at the masked man, who had yet to look away from the machines swarming the control panel, and drew back his hand. "Fifty Percent: Smash Hammer!"

Vax teleported away, just as Davin's fist annihilated the floor. Broken floorboards and rivets filled the air, as did Vax upon his reappearance. "Form: Hammer!" A gigantic, translucent blue hammer assembled in his hands, which he brought down on the guild master. Too exhausted to defend himself, Davin took the brunt of the blow to his shoulders, knocking him down to his knees.

He tried to get up, but Vax appeared next to him and swatted him aside with his ethereal hammer again. Still reeling from the last blow, Davin gasped as he suddenly felt a cold sting in the thigh of his right leg. He opened his eyes to find Vax's mask staring back at him, his sword jutting into his leg. "Don't get in my way, Davin of Blazing Soul." He sounded calm, almost tranquil, even as the debris of the destroyed floor rained down around them. "Give me what I need."

He withdrew his sword and turned away, causing Davin to gasp again. His armored skin had failed him completely this time, the brunt of Vax's last three attacks had broken it down completely. Off all things, through the pain of his wounds and watching the blood pool around the wound to his leg, thoughts of his kids filled Davin's mind. Images of Leo and Shelly flashed through his head, from when they where both barely able to walk, right up to a few days ago. They could never see him like this, neither one would ever leave his side again if they did. "I'm not..." He wheezed, biting his lip through the pain that just standing up brought him. "Not done with you yet."

"Such bravado." Vax chuckled again, rubbing the chin of his mask to think. "But... I've wasted too much time; I've got work to do. And we've used far too much magic than I wanted..." Snapping his fingers, he held out both hands, summoning one of his insect machines in each. "Very well, I'll let my seekers finish the job."

Davin's vision cleared just in time to see a swarm of mechanical insects fly at him. He shrunk down to his original size, condensing his power into his fists. If his defenses where gone, he'd have to focus on speed and offence. He threw a wide, right hook, leaving a swath of destruction before him. He threw another from the left, with similar effect. No mater how many he destroyed through, there where still more, which quickly began to overwhelm him.

Surrounded as he was, he failed to notice a handful had clamped on to him. That is, until Vax raised his hand toward him, "Detonate." Davin was lost to the explosion, which annihilated the swarm around him. Smoke filled the arena, as metal shrapnel and machine parts littered the area. The broken, lifeless body of Eddie was blasted into the corner of the ring, almost buried under falling debris. The last seeker on the arena control panel detonated as well, causing the walls around them to flicker momentarily, before fading out of existence all together. "Such a waste..." Vax mumbled, clapping his hands together. "He still had a fair bit of magic..."

Without warning, Davin burst through the smoke, his spike covered arm raised back and ready to strike. One hit. One strong hit was all he'd need. Vax was distracted, and at full power, Davin had no doubt he could finish him off. "One hundred percent-!" Davin roared, his fist radiating with energy. "Nail knuckle!"

"Pause."

Vax glanced back at him, just as Davin's spike covered fist was inches from his head. In that instant however, time seemed to stand still. All in one instant, he saw the masked man's mask walk out of his view, retrieve his sword, and walk back towards Davin. His fist stopped in mid air, and he felt a number of slash attacks litter his body. Vax reappeared to his left, and the slash marks all burst with blood. Davin dropped to his knees, his attack fizzling out and wondering what he had just experienced.

"You..." Vax growled, shaking and twitching with rage. "You made me use more magic. More, precious, magic!" He leveled the tip of his sword next to Davin's ear, then shouted. "Blast!" A bright blue plume of magic tore forth, carrying Davin through the wall of the arena.

Blinded by the light, Davin had no way of defending himself as he felt the magic burn around him. He felt himself land, but couldn't make sense of what had just happened. In the instant he was suppose to hit him, Vax had simply walked away. More, he'd returned and delivered what felt like a dozen sword wounds. Less precise than his last, but no less damaging. He'd seen it all, but it all happened in a single instant, like he'd been frozen in time for the duration of Vax's outburst.

Finally, Davin pushed himself up on his hands and knees, dropping onto his backside against the bar of the guild hall. That last assault had knocked him back to where their fight had begun. Vax appeared near the hall's front entrance with a dull flash, hunched over gasping for air. It was impossible to tell if his tantrum had subsided, or if he was just out of breath. His heavy panting behind his mask could've been from either option.

Vax slowly began to approach, dragging his feet through the broken wood and swatting aside any furniture that remained with his sward. The chill in the air was ever present as the wind howled through the many broken walls of the building, sending a nervous chill up Davin's spine. His thoughts immediately flashed back to his family again. Any attempt to think of a strategy was forced out by images of Leo and Shelly. "Wait..." He mumbled, trying to raise a hand to keep him at bay. "I have kids."

Vax buried his sword in Davin's stomach, right up to the cross-guard. "So do I." He mumbled, his mask barely an inch from Davin's face as he threw up a mouthful of blood. "That's why I'm doing this. Magic will help me do the impossible. Magic that you've just made me waste in a senseless battle!" He ripped his sword from it's fleshy sheath, splattering the guild master's blood across the hall. "You made me... Made me use too much... I need more..." Gripping at the back of his head like he was in pain, Vax stopped twitching and slowly knelt down in front of the guild master. "You've still got magic left, don't you?"

He didn't wait for a response. Vax's cold, robotic hand closed around Davin's jaw. "W-wait..." He tried to brush the masked man away, but didn't have the strength as the draining sensation filled him again. "Don't do this..."

"I am sorry." Vax mumbled. The glow if his mask's eye as he drained the guild master's magic away. "Your children... I am sorry for them. But my children need me. And I... I need your magic."

The fireworks had been going on for the past hour and a half now, so as such, the mages of Blazing Soul continued making their way to the guild hall. Amber's condition didn't improve, not that Axel really expected it too. Several times, he turned around to ask Geno if the show really would be continuing all night, but he just shrugged and shook his head. Jon led the way, clutching a small flame in the palm of his hand to illuminate the path.

"I'm sorry..." Amber mumbled to Shelly, currently tucked under her arm. It was probably the twentieth time she'd apologized since they turned down the road to the guild hall, apparently the thought of pulling everyone away from their night of fun weighed quite heavily on her. "I'm really sorry."

"It's ok Amber." Zeke said, resting on top of her head. He held his paws over her hands, which hadn't left her ears since the fireworks show had started. He glanced back down the road, watching Geno and Jak drag the semi-conscious Elligr. "It's not your fault, Uncle Wraith is sick too."

"Yeah and who'd have thought they'd actually keep this up all night." Rift complained, gesturing back towards the town just as another vast burst of color filled the air. "I mean seriously; who thought this was a good idea?"

"Oh, there's no harm in just trying something new." Jon shrugged, pushing the front gate to the guild open. He waved the others through the door, glancing out as a vibrant green explosion lit up the sky. "Though... I suppose you've got a point about that. Some piece and quiet wouldn't be unwelcome right about now."

Stepping into the yard, Axel felt a shiver run down his spine. At first, he'd throught the cold had followed them to the guild hall, but now... Now it seemed like it'd goten worse the further from town they got. He'd tried to put it off; summer was ending after all. But it shouldn't have gotten this cold this fast, should it?

Before he could think on anything, Shelly passed Amber to him and began rubbing her forearms. "Ugh... Why is it so cold?"

"We should head inside." Jon suggested, extinguishing his flame with a wave of his hand. "Come along boys."

He gestured for Geno and Jak to follow, just as Elligr began to ster. "Muhhhhh..." He complained, shifting on both their shoulders. "Ta... Aten..." He mumbled slightly, stomping his foot on the ground. "Ten-hut!" Suddenly standing upright, Elligr threw his fist into the air, punching Geno squire in the face in the process. Geno stumbled away, leaving Jak to bear the large man's weight on his own. Needles to say, this was no easy feat, and Jak soon sunk to his knees, just low enough to allow Elligr to get his footing again. "Privat Wraith, reporting for duty!" He said, offering a mock solute.

"Oh dear..." Jon mumbled, rushing to Geno's side. "Are you aright, son?" Even with his bloodied nose, Geno nodded and waved off Jon's concern. He'd been hit far worse than that, something Jon should have known the moment Rift and Zeke began to laugh. "We should let him rest..." Rift chuckled, opening the door for the others to drag the old man inside, when Jon added. "I fear he get's rowdier when he's drunk. Makes him think back to his military days."

Amber, Shelly, and Axel where the last to go in, allowing the others ample time to get Elligr inside without falling into his reach. "Thanks..." She mumbled softly, to which Shelly and Axel both smiled at her. "So much for the double date..."

When they did finally enter, they found the building was pitch black. "The hell's it so dark?" They heard Rift complain. "Gimme a sec, the light switch should be..." The lights clicked on part way through his sentence, but only half of them. The rest sparked, but little else. "The Fu-?"

What they could see was utter chaos. Furniture was smashed to pieces, flooring was ripped up, and a large hole had been punched in the wall just above the now destroyed bar top. What stunned them all into silence however, was the guild master, resting slumped against the bar with a thin, lanky man's hand held against his chest.

The man turned around, but his face was obscured by a mask, lacking any features save for a single, glowing slit running from his chin to his forehead. He looked beaten, warn out, but the guild master fared much worse. Cuts everywhere, bruises, what appeared to be burn marks, and blood. Far too much blood.

"Oh..." The masked man seemed surprised, stepping away from Davin. "You're here."

Time seemed to stand still for a moment, the howling wind echoed across the guild's still open door. "D-dad?" Shelly took a small step forward, her mouth hanging half open in disbelief. "Dad, what's going on?" She rushed forward, shaking her arm from Jon's grasp as he attempted to stop her.

She ran to her father right past the masked man, who's gaze didn't shift from the door. "I suppose it's time..." He blinked away with a flash, reappearing in the center of the room. "To bid farewell." Closer now, illuminated by what few lights where working, they saw he clutched a sword in his hand, and the blood they say dripping off it send a chill down all their spines.

Geno was the first to recover, dashing forward and using the blood from his nose to draw a cross along the back of his neck. "Mammon!" He ripped the hulking cleaver from his skin, bringing it down on the intruder with a rage filled sneer.

The intruder held out his hand, deflecting Geno's strike with a glowing blue wall of magic. Rift moved next, crafting a large broadsword with his magic. But this proved just as ineffective when the masked man raised his own sword to block him.

Axel was about to join in on the assault, but stopped when he saw Amber back into the door from the corner of his eye. "No..." She gripped at her scalp, her panicked eyes never leaving the guild master's slumped form. "We need to go."

"I'll go get Jaina!" Jon yelled, racing out the door as fast as his little legs would carry him.

Axel tried to say something, but his racing mind moved to quickly to put any thoughts into words. With a bright magic flash, Jak's reptilian Take Over form launched forth, mouth agape and poised for the kill. He crashed into the floorboards, but Rift, Geno, and the masked man all disappeared before falling victim to his jagged teeth. The masked man appeared above them, kicking Geno into the second story balcony and dismissing Rift with a blast of blue magic.

"Amber...?" Axel tried to watch as the scene unfolded, but couldn't pull his attention from the near panicked Amber. "C'mon, we need to fight." She shook her head, sinking back into the wall and covering her mouth. "Amber, what's-?"

Axel felt a buzz in his ear, and felt a shadow loom over him. He turned around to see the masked man peering down at him from only a few feet away. Surprise seized him, even as the masked man turned his head to the side. "You..." He disappeared again, just as Axel began gathering electricity in his hands. Seeing a bright flash in the corner of his eye, Axel turned around to find the masked man standing between himself and Amber. His hand landed on Amber's shoulder, and he glanced back at them all. "Don't follow."

Axel felt his stomach drop, and he spun around on the attack. "Lightning Dragon's Claw!"

A streak of lightning carved across the front of the building, leaving a great gash along the wall. Axel shut his eyes from the light, but when he opened them again, nobody was there. He quickly looked around the guild hall, but only found his dazed teammates picking themselves up off the ground. The masked man had vanished.

"Dad?!" Shelly begged, frantically trying to shake the guild master back to consciousness. "Dad, please get up!"

Davin stirred a moment, rolling his head back and half opening his eyes. The edges of his lips curled upwards when his eyes met Shelly's, and he reached up to stroke her hair. "Yoshi... You should see out little girl..." He mumbled in a daze. "She looks just... Like..."

"Dad, no!" Shelly cried as Davin slumped over again, leaving a slim smear of blood along her cheek when his hand fell. "No, no. Please!"

Ignoring the turmoil going on behind him, Axel rushed through what used to be the guild entrance. The upper parts of the doors had been sliced clean off by his claw attack, and the lower parts hung at a strange angle by their hinges. For some reason, he expected Amber to be standing in the yard waiting for him. Dazed maybe, but unharmed. The courtyard was empty though, no sign of anyone. "No way..." He mumbled, unable to fathom what had just happened. "This can't be happening..."

"What the hell was that?" Zeke asked, swooping out the door to meet him. "Where's Amber?"

"Gone..." Axel muttered, unable to believe his own words. "She's... Gone."

Next Chapter – In a Flash