Chapter 21

Picking Up The Pieces

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

"Magic"

Flashback you

Location / Date / Time Skip

Lahar stared out over the broken chunks of the Infinity Castle and sighed. "First we fail to capture two of the criminals behind this mess, and now we have to clean up their mess." He chuckled at the irony of the situation before turning back to his tent.

A council soldier ran up from behind and saluted. "Sir, we have some incredible news!"

"What is is?" The captain asked.

"We found someone in the rubble!" The soldier replied, shocking Lahar.

"Take me to them, now!" He ordered before the two raced through the rubble clean up crew. A wave of magical energy radiated from the debris as a wall of heat nearly knocked the duo off their feet. "What was that?" A pillar of fire erupted from a section of the camp before screams filled their ears.

The pair quickly stood back up and picked up speed before they reached the focal point. There they found scorched earth, twisted metal and injured council workers. Lahar quickly leaned down to a nearby man, second-degree burns covering his arms. "What happened?"

"We... we moved some giant gears..." The worker explained, using his Water Magic to soothe the burns. "There we... found this woman... She was in a kimono. We sent Louis to get you and then... she attacked us. Flames shot out of her broken sword before she stabbed some of us."

"Get the medics here, now!" Lahar shouted as others reached the sight. "Everyone one else, find this woman and arrest her! Use of magical force is allowed during this manhunt!"

Ikaruga panted as she stumbled through the woods. The woman glanced back at the camp as the sound of Maker-made dogs chased after her. She gripped her broken katana and raced further into the woods, ignoring the branches destroying her clothing. Her sandal strap broke on against a root, sending the proud warrior rolling through the dew and dead leaves before stopping at the bottom of the ravine.

She landed in a small pile of mud, dirtying her even more. The blind woman pushed herself up and turned, finding a cave next to her. Not caring she only had one sandal remaining, she rushed to hide herself. Curling her dirt and leaf covered body against a larger rock just as a pack of hunting dogs reached her. Each one was a different element, the rightmost one was popping like a fire, the back left was crackling like electricity, the biggest one had earth shaking steps of rock, and the smallest one made no sound a normal human could hear, but the disgraced assassin knew it was made out of air.

Her magic was too low and her body too damaged to be able to take out things that she'd normally find no more annoying than a fly. Being forced to hide her presence wasn't anything new for the ex-mercenary, but she still found it infuriating. Lying in wait due to her inability to protect herself was different than waiting for a kill, and it made her sick.

Listening to their gait, she could figure that the Rock and Electric dog went North, the Fire dog ran East, but the Wind dog patrolled around the cave for far longer than the others. Yet it too followed the trail of its brothers, finally letting the tired mage take a moment.

After waiting a few minutes to ensure it wouldn't return, Ikaruga left the dead-end cave and went deeper into the forest. Continuing onwards, the mage still kept her poise and cockiness in her stance and walk. Even with her hair being matted with dirt and twigs, darkened from bright pink into this drab brown, kimono torn to pieces, only having one shoe, and her prized Mugetsu-Ryu being shattered yet again, the dark mage only graciously smiled when she found a river.

Slowly and calmly walking into the shin high waters before kneeling to clean herself, leaving a thick coat of brown going downstream as she methodically cleaned her hair and face despite being hunted by the Magic Council. The woman stood up and followed the river, hoping to find an obscure town at the end of it.

A family of birds chirped in their nest as the mother flew next to them and landed. The woman smiled at the scene only for a growling sound to ruin the moment. A forest Vulcan was standing behind her before two more came up from the side. All three were drooling at the disgusting thoughts going through their heads.

Ikaruga turned around and quickly stabbed the closest one in the neck with her broken blade. She pulled out the metal and it gargled in pain before falling over, trying in vain to save its life. "Woman feisty!" The second ape shouted before the pair charged.

The human jumped to the side and the primates crashed into a tree. Shaking the nest out onto the ground. Ikaruga just heard a splat as the chirping stopped while she dodged the punches that broke trees in half and threatened to do the same to her skull. Taking a breath as the monster wound up its attack and slammed its fist on the spot she stood.

As dust spread into the air, the Vulcan stared at its fist unable to process what happened. The creature was unable to roar at the fact that its hand was no longer attached to its body as its head quickly followed suit. Ikaruga avoided the spray of blood as she had no time to rest with the final Vulcan upon her.

"Woman! Woman!" The imbecilic ape cried, seemingly happy that the others died so it didn't need to share in the bounty. Feeling her legs wobble and her stomach started to heave, Ikaruga was readying the last attack she could muster. Flames began to spark from the broken sword in her hand as her arms violently shook.

The Vulcan took one step before vines shot from the trees and spread its arms and legs, leaving it completely open and defenseless as it dangled in midair and something sawed it up the middle.

Keeping her magic flowing, Ikaruga tried to envision her new threat, but nothing appeared, even turning towards the sounds of footsteps showed her nothing of the person before her. "It's good to see that you're alright, but you need to stop using that spell, your magical spike is sending all of the Council towards us."

"It's you, the faker." Ikaruga swiftly released her magic and resheathed her broken blade. Even with her body beginning to fail, Ikaruga remained stalwart in addressing the other Seis member. "Next time, don't get between me and my enemy or else I'll be sure to have you taste my blade for them." Remaining prideful to the very end, those were her last words as she fell forwards into Imitatia's arms.

The green woman looked nearly as bad as her compatriot, but she still carried her away as the sounds of the Council's minions were mere far to close for comfort, jumping down a waterfall just before the Council broke through the foliage and saw the river.

Ikaruga groaned as she opened her murky eyes, instantly realizing that her sword was no longer at her side, she used her hands to feel around for it. "Mind the fire." Imitatia spoke from the side, twiddling with an object that sounded very familiar.

"If you would be so kind as to hand over my belonging, I'll be on my way." Her dead gaze landed on the doll. She had dealt with her team dying before, this event was no different.

"Well that just won't do, your body needs to heal. You're covered in cuts and bruises, and that's not even mentioning all your internal damage." The infiltrator was examining the craftsmanship of her companion's sword, viewing all the differences in the make and style, yet now they both were left using broken blades.

"How generous of you." Ikaruga spoke flatly. "Now what is it that you want of me, after all, a Doll can't have sentimentality among cohorts given that they can't feel." Even without her sword, her tongue was an equally sharp tool.

"... The two of us are the final members of Neo Oracion Seis. I didn't save you to put you in debt, but to ask for your assistance in rescuing our friends." She couldn't argue against Ikaruga's harsh truth, although she believed it to be emotions, for a creature that was bereft of feelings their entire existance, she was still unsure of if what she felt was real.

"So you want the two of us to break into a high-security prison? I can't say that I've done that before, but I would be lying if I said I the prospect didn't intrigue me." Ikaruga wouldn't admit it, but she did have something deep down inside her that cared about that squad of lunatics she spent seven years with.

The Doll made a smile as she straightened up and looked at the injured woman. "You'll truly assist me?"

"Yes, but it is as you said, we need to lick our wounds. And neither of us will be a match for any swarm of prison guards with our current equipment." The proud woman felt bile in the back of her throat as she had to admit her weakness.

Imitatia merely looked down at her own broken sword and damaged shield. "Then what is it you suggest we do?"

"That's simple, poppet." Ikaruga smirked before standing up. "I need to get my sword fixed. And I know just the place to do it..."

Council Prison

Huntress walked through the prison cafeteria and stopped before a worker slapped some potatoes on her tray. "Any grapefruit today?" She asked. The worker motioned to the side and she nodded, walking away.

"You hear the news? We're getting a new batch of prisoners." One prisoner said from behind. "All males this time, not one female among them."

The redhead ignored the talk and stopped at the last station. There the worker handed her the last segment of her favorite fruit. She walked away with a small smile, only for a hand to reach under the tray and flipped it into her chest. "Sorry, Scarlet."

The woman glared and looked up to see the pitiful excuse of a "top dog". Erigor the Reaper, his tattooed chest on exposure. Ever since those two Fairy Tail wizards bested her and the Rune Knights arrested her, EVERY prisoner had taken their shots on her. One fat man who kept crying, a skinny french man and others where just one and done, but for Erigor, it seemed to be his sole purpose for living now.

"What do you want?" Knightwalker deadpan, fully expecting what was to come next.

"I can't just say hi?" He chuckled. The red head let out a sigh dodging he easily telegraphed gut punch and hitting back with the metal tray, denting it against his face and sending what remained of her food flying.

"You got lucky when I was still adjusting to my first day here and knocked my lights out, I've tolerated your menial attempts of revenge against "Erza Scarlet", but just so you and you're idiot friends get the message..." She picked him up by his belt as he held his face in pain.

"I'M NOT HER!" She threw Erigor into the table besides her. Knocking men into one another as tempers boiled over and people threw fists. Some attacking Erigor, some using the opening to go after enemies or guards, but most of the people in there went towards her.

The name "Erza Scarlet" was a curse forced upon her. A target that rightfully belonged to some lady in Fairy Tail, now coming against her for sharing a face. But she would show them, she would show all of them, she wasn't someone who they could push their revenge fantasies onto, she was her own person, and she'd bust the head of everyone in here until they understood.

"Huntress, your collar!" The fat angular faced man called out to her. Her sneer lessened as she turned her gaze to the man outside the circle of convicts around her, a worried look on his face.

"I don't care, Hoteye, I'm not gonna go down without a fight." She raised her fists as the normally blue collar turned orange, many of the other inmates stopping in their tracks when that happened. Dodging a punch from behind, Erza elbowed the man in the face and threw him over her shoulder and into two others, her collar beeped.

They grabbed their trays and she blocked it with her arms, the flimsy metal barely tickling her skin as she grabbed their head and bashed their skulls together, the beeping grew faster. Throwing her own punches sent some of them down to the floor, but there were still too many for her to take down all alone, the beeping was about to crescendo. So it was a good thing she didn't have to.

Shocks ran through every prisoner in the mess hall but Hoteye, who had not moved from his seat since the battle began. The prison had a disturbing definition of "Mercy" for their punishments. The life-link collars would distribute the same power electrical shock for everyone, all that changed was your collar grew more erratic as the time spent.

Even the basic 5 second surge would knock most criminals out like a light, but as Huntress' muscles spasmed and cried in pain, she still didn't fall over after one whole minute of continuous discharge.

As everyone in the mess hall had been dealt with, guards flooded the room to properly cordon off the prisoners, even Hoteye who complied with every poke and prode. Clearing the room while all of them stayed away from the smoking red head in the center of the room. Both out of fear, and of orders of the Warden.

It took a few minutes before the room was cleared out and only Huntress remained. He calmly walked in, the pale man standing tall above all his humanoid frog workers, eyes sunken and white hair receding. His shoes clicking with his long slow steps as he made his way towards the riot's instigator.

The ghastly man bent down to look Huntress in the face before he chuckled. Sending her unconscious body to the floor with a simple tap on the forehead.

The red head groaned in pain as she pushed herself up. Cold stone littered the ground, even the walls of her darkened cell. She stumbled around and found the bed was the same before light came into the room. "Good to see you awake, Huntress."

"Warden Goetia..." She mumbled, resting on the stone bed. "Why am I here?"

"You did start the riot, so you should the one to face punishment." He replied. "Of course, you could reduce the time in here. In exchange for doing something for me."

"That will never happen." She said back. "Anyone who does anything for you never comes back the same. Why would I-"

Her collar started zapping her again as she fell off the bed, gripping her neck in pain. "I was so hopping that you would be more open to reason. I shall see how you are in a weeks time. Until then, enjoy your little guessing game." He closed the visor and turned around, walking past the cells filled with maddened prisoners.

"She certainly is quite a disturbing human, that gives me far more hope for her than the Oracion Seis member she replaced, Richard was it?" He mused to himself as he walked out the hall. A groups of guards stepped aside to show two newcomers walking forward to the warden. "Macbeth, Aliases: Midnight and Brain II. Sawyer, Alias: Racer. I welcome the two of you to my prison."

He turned to face the two on guard men. "This is the tenth circle of hell, and it is here that you will learn how to repent and atone for the crimes you have committed." His gaunt face split open as he smiled, sending shivers down the spines of these hardened dark mages. "You will understand that from now on, everything you do will be by my order. Your lives as individuals have ended, there will be no other purpose to existing than my commands."

His voice always remained calm and steady, even his posture was with a straight back and hands held behin his back. It seemed as though everything he said was not spoken out of malice or as a means to scare them, it was purely just an objective fact.

The two mages looked at one another with sweat dripping from their brows as the severity of their situation sunk in. This prison had changed drastically due to their escape, and now they would be forced to deal with the consequences of their actions.

Sorano and Kinana sat in their cell, crude bandages on their arms. The racks were still in the cage ready to be used as incentive for Natsu. Angel gripped the bars and tried to pull them apart, only to find the seemingly old metal was tougher than it looked. "If only I was as strong as Natsu." She sighed in defeat before looking at a table on the other side of the room.

On the stone surface were her coin purse and her three spirit keys. "What is that bastard doing to my spirits?" She growled. Every night, the man who kidnapped them would take one of her golden keys away and do... something to it. She couldn't tell what, but she knew anything to do with these crooks was no good. "When I get out of here, I'm going to kill him."

Kinana just stared at the floor, holding her arm before Angel turned around. "So, how did you know Natsu?"

The bar maid looked up, surprised that the girl was actually talking to her. "I... I don't think I do." She replied in honesty. "It's just... for the last seven years, I haven't been able to remember anything. And then one day, I heard a voice called out to me. I went out from the guild hall and raced to the falling star. And then I found you two in that crater."

"Wait, you mean you don't remember what happened?" The snowette asked, making the second girl nod. "You saved us. Whatever magic you used to fly up there and pulled on us slowed us down enough so the crash pad Aries didn't end up our coffin."

"Magic?" Kinana asked in shock. "No, no, I can't use magic." She unknowingly grabbed the metal cage. Angel pointed to it and to the violette's surprise, her hand was glowing a deep purple.

Shocked, she pulled her arm away before the glow died. The two leaned in and noticed the metal was slowly eaten away, half a centimeter at best. Angel blinked before turning back Kinana. "Whatever you just did, do it again. We're getting out of here together."

A different chapter than what I've usually done for this story, so I hope you like it. Basically wanted to show what was happening over the three months before the games started. Imitatia and Ikaruga are gonna be getting their weapons fixed, so they'll probably show up again at some random point.

As for Angel and Kinana, yes they are trapped by this new force. But they aren't just going to be sitting around waiting for Natsu to save them. Because that would be boring. We'll check back up with them first thing next chapter.

See ya then.

Beta read/co-written by Natsu is Awesome.