Shana's P.O.V
Natsu, Lucy, Happy, Kilala, and I are following Brandish who's going to try to negotiate with August, the Wizard King. Gramps made it clear that I was not allowed to cast Tenpa Josai all thanks to freaking Natsu. The whole time there it was awkward between us.
"The August I know is kind and warmhearted, and I believe he's the most reasonable member of the 12. However, he's also quite loyal. His support for the emperor will be hard to sway." Brandish said.
"So how are you gonna get past that major sticking point?" Lucy questions knowing it's going to be hard to change his mind.
"No idea," Brandish said simply bluntly.
Lucy yelps.
I sigh getting annoyed. "Would you quit following us, already? Ya can't hide from my Judgement spell." I mentioned to Mest who was hiding behind a tree.
Lucy gasped unaware he was following us. "What do you expect? I can't believe you'd put all your trust in this girl." He spats.
"Just get over it. It's not like she's a bad person." Natsu deadpanned.
Mest groans. "But did you have to take off her Magic Sealstone? She's still our prisoner, ya know!"
"Don't worry about the details, man!" Natsu brushed him off.
"Natsu, is there anything going on inside that spiky head of yours?" Mest yells in his face. "Haven't you taught him anything, Shana?" He goes pale when he sees my zombie-like expression.
"I don't think now is the best time to piss her off," Alastor warns.
Natsu glances over at me as I turn around. Lucy frowns noticing my whole deminer has changed. "It's fine. You already know I'm not going to cast Tenpa Josia. I just thought it would've been easy for me to..." I stopped knowing Natsu already knew what I was feeling.
"Shana..." He mutters feeling guilty.
"Are we really gonna walk all the way there?" Brandish questions getting tired of walking.
"I'm not gettin' in a vehicle!" Natsu shouts. With that, we can agree on something.
"And I can only carry one person at a time." Happy mentions.
"Well, I can carry one and Kilala can only with three," I said. I could with more if I summed more shadow clones but I wasn't in the mood for that.
"I know what we can do." Brandish snapped her fingers.
Everyone screamed when Happy grew into a giant. "Seems like we can ride him now." Brandish suddenly hugs the blue cat. "So jump on his big ball of fluff."
"Is she making a cutesy face?" Lucy asked dumbfounded.
"Whoa! Hey, lady, can you make me big, too?" Natsu asked wanting to big too.
I yelped when Happy picked me up. "Oh, wow! This rules! I feel so freakin' cool right now, you guys!"
"Yeah, man! That's totally cool!" Natsu says amazed.
"Happy, put me down now!" I yelled being dangled in the air.
Opening: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1FHXWd5ebnAu-wgI1IifNLob_3rzc-t69/view
"Bein' huge is pretty awesome, huh?" Natsu laughed his head off once we rode on giant Happy to get to August faster. Though, Brandish made Natsu have a big ass head.
"Aye!"
"I've never felt this cool!" Natsu cheers like an idiot.
Brandish too was acting all so cutie having Lucy to sweat-dropped. "Could you turn him back?!" Lucy asked not liking how Natsu ad a big head.
"So fluffy!" Brandish kicked her legs back in forth like a little kid.
I was rubbing Kilala's belly to keep my mind of off things.
Mest eyes me strangely. "What's gotten into you? You've been quiet ever since we left the guild?"
The frown continue to be on my face. "It's nothing." I said looking the other way to ignore him. The other's can't know about Natsu's fate.
"I'm getting the feeling you don't trust our new friend." Alastor said knowing I didn't feel like talking.
Mest groans. "Something like that."
"Sorry, Lucy, i just did what he asked me to." Brandish said as Natsu was enjoying his big head.
"But the way he looks is really freakin me out! Shana do something!" Lucy says freaking out grabbing her head.
I ignored her.
"He seems to enjoy it." Brandish pointed out the pinknette laughing his ass off.
Lucy screams when her chest suddenly turns small then went bigger than usual but then went back to their normal size. "Stop playing around with people's bodies, would ya?" She yells covering her chest.
"I'm not sure why, but you're definitely the most fun to mess with, Lucy." Brandish smirks.
"Ain't she? Shana is too if is wasn't so moody right now." Natsu comments he shovers catching my narrowed eyes.
"We don't have time to be playing these foolish games. " Mest cuts in but gasped sensing something.
I gasped feeling it too.
"Whoa, you feel that?" Lucy asked eyes widen.
" Magic power." Natsu said uneasily.
"There's no mistaking him. " Brandish mutters knowing who it belong to.
"You can't be serious." I mumbled this magic power is insane. It's too overwhelming.
A wizard was below us. "That's why he's called the Wizard King." Brandish pointed out.
Natsu smirks. "I'm fired up now!"
"Natsu, we're here to talk, not fight remember!" Alastor scolded him.
I eyed the old wizard below. 'I've got a really bad feeling about this guy.'
We were now face to face with the wizard named August. "Tell. What is the meaning of this?" He questions Brandish.
"I've come here to negotiate with you." The Spriggan 12 member announced.
"I assume the enemies killed Jacob?" August asked.
"He's been defeated. However, instead of killing him, they've taken him prisoner. " She mentions that's not what we do to our enemies. "God Serena, where has he gone?"
August placed a hand to his chest. "He's confided to our memory." He meant to say that he's dead.
"I thought Brandish's magic power was crazy, but August is on a whole other level." Lucy whispered.
Natsu growls. "It's like night and day."
"I think they're putting that extremely lightly." Alastor said.
The power coming from his is not even of this world. I'm... I'm not sure that casting Tenpa Josai would even defeat him anyway.
"So then, what do you mean by 'negotiate'?" August questions seeing that's what we originally came here to do.
"I'd like you to walk away."
August arches an eyebrow. "Hmm. It doesn't appear to me that you've been tortured, which leads me to wonder...What's brought about this betrayal of our homeland?"
"I'm not betraying anyone. I'm still devoted to Alvarez. However, I feel like there's no meaning to this war." Brandish explains her reasoning.
August narrows his eyes. "So you''d dare act in direct opposition to His Majesty's wishes. We've pledged our lives in service to the emperor. If you cannot comprehend why His Majesty wages this war, then you are among the enemy."
"Listen, August. Emperor Spriggan is leading us down a path of pure evil. It's genocide, nothing more. No matter what name it goes by, you can't change what it is. This war isn't about some sort of philosophical disagreement between two sides. It's plain slaughter." Brandish did her best to reason with him.
"Of all the members of the 12, you hold the most wisdom. we're fighting for nothing, that's what's left at the end. Just emptiness. " Brandish pushed on.
"His Majesty will make the final decision--"
"But think for yourself!" Brandish cut him off.
"Um, you might not wanna get too pushy with him." Lucy said hiding behind me.
"I finally saw things as they are. The people of this land, they haven't done a thing to wrong us." Brandish finally mentioned us.
Lucy gives them a nervous smile. "Oh, hey there."
August still looked on fazed as he eyed Natsu and me. "You!"
Natsu growls at him as he stood in front of me protectively.
"Natsu, would you stop giving him the stink-eye? Now!" Lucy scolded him.
"Please, August. All I ask is that you at least try talking with them. " Brandish pleaded.
"Well, if it means that much to you. But I'm only doing this because I value you companionship." August said closing his eyes.
"Oh, thank you so much, Grandpa!" Brandish clapped her hands and smile.
"We're comrades, not blood relatives. "
"Yeah, but you are like a grandfather to me!" Brandish said cutely.
"Wow." Lucy mutters confused.
Brandish takes a step back. "Grandpa I..." All of the sudden Brandish stopped talking.
"Something wrong?" August asked her with concern.
She took out a knife and stabbed him.
"Ah! What the hell?" Natsu shouts as we gasped in shock.
"Old fool. I've been dreaming of this day. Die. Like I've always wanted." Brandish says strangely.
August groans knees touching the ground as blood spill from his stomach.
"Grandpa?" Brandish snapped out of it when she dropped the knife.
Natsu gasped seeing it was Mest that did it. "All right, you! What the hell did you do?" He grabbed his shirt.
"I implanted a memory inside her. Some feeling in the back her mind that she had to kill August! " Mest says almost evilly.
"But why?!" Natsu shouts in his face.
"Because I'm protecting the guild!" Mest argus.
Brandish began to cry seeing the blood stain her hands. "Brandish..." Lucy mutters worriedly taking a few steps closer to her.
"Stay back Lu!" I held her back knowing this won't be good. Mest just fucked things up for us.
The area began to shake. "Hey. What's happening?" Happy asked making the two boys stop fighting.
"I don't know. " Natsu said.
"Wait. It feels like magic power." Mest mutters.
I gasped uneasily as August stood up and a red power surrounded him.
"It's him!" Natsu glances back at the old wizard.
My eyes widen when August's skin turned red and markings appeared on his face. "Now do you understand why we're here, Brandish? They've finally revealed the true depravity of their character."
"We're fuckin screwed." I said with a shaky breath. This magic power... we can't beat him.
Brandish waled closer to him. "I'm sorry." She gasped when August attacked her.
"Brandish no!" Lucy goes to her aid.
"Lucy don't!" I pushed her back as Natsu got in front of me.
"Stay back!" He yells.
"Melt away." The ground beneath us began to burn.
We all screamed getting caught in the blast.
I bit my thumb. I know I need to be touching the ground but please... please come...
"Summoning Jutsu!"