A/n: tt_reed here's our answer to your question in chapter seventeen, the moment everyone has been waiting for, hope you enjoy!!!
Erza POV
It seem to happen in slow motion. One minute we were winning, and then suddenly Mard Geer appeared from the shadows, his face grinning darkly as he whispered in my ear. 'You knew what the cost of betrayal would be, Erza Scarlet.' I immediately looked up to Lucy and Levy, but they were still safely taking out phantom soldiers. I whirled back around to face him, but he was gone. It wasn't until then that I saw it.
"Look out!" I screamed just a second too late.
My heart stops as I watch Juvia spin around just as an enormous thorned vine came at her. I helplessly watch her jump away, but not fast enough. Something hot sparked in me I witness a thorn slice her from her hipbone to her stomach. Juvia gasped and leaned forward a bit, as if more surprised than in pain. Levy screamed and dashed down stairs as fast as she could, sprinting over to Juvia just as pressed a hand to her side slightly perplexed at the blood that was oozing from her hand. Dazed, Juvia looked up and met my eyes just as her knees began to wobble. Levy made it just in time to catch Juvia, gently easing her down as a pool of blood began to form around her.
All noise seemed to be muffled as I turned around just as multiple vines of thorns shot out from all directions, surrounding the entirety of the Phantom Lord castle, grabbing both our allies and our enemies, wrapping them in a tight grip. Natsu, Gray, Gajeel, and Jellal tried to fend off the thorns with magic, but it was coming too fast. They soon found themselves wrapped in it too.
'You were warned the price of betrayal, Erza Scarlet.'
I looked back to Juvia again, Levy was sobbing while desperately applying pressure to Juvia's wound and I watch as Juvia's breathing became more and more labored. Gajeel and Gray cried out Juvia's name in alarm, but all I could really focus on was the enormous pile of blood that was pooling around Juvia. So much blood...
"AHAHAHAHAHA!!! "
All my senses rushed back to me when heard Mard Geer laughing maniacally while staring right at me, relishing in my torment.
I finally snapped.
"I'VE..... HAD.... ENOUGH!" I yelled to the sky as the hot feeling in me exploded into a red magic circle, my hair flying about my face wildly from the force of it. "REQUIP: HEAVEN WHEELS ARMOR!"
A bright light surrounds me as my current armor changes into a much longer skirt that was covered in feather-like silver plating and a revealing breast plate. A tiara and two large wings appear on my back. Lastly, two magic swords appear in my hands and over a dozen swords spin in a circle behind me.
Wasting no time I immediately jump up and furiously shout "DANCE, MY BLADES!" and with a wave of my hand the amount of swords behind me double and triple as they spin even faster before shooting out in all directions, effectively slicing the vines and beginning the process of setting everyone free.
Mard Geers laughter stopped as he stared at me in shock. "You're a witch!"
"TRINITY SWORD!" I yelled as I jumped at him, slashing my swords at him in a delta formation. He immediately called up a thick wall of vines to protect himself. The crash was loud and made the wall break. Mard Geer slid back from the impact of the collision, raising an arm to protect his face from they flying debris. Once it all settled he lowered his arm and squinted through the dust and debris. A flash of red was his only warning before my fist connected solidly with his face, knocking him back several feet into a wall, cracking and denting it horribly. He hacked and coughed, raising his hand to grab onto a vine to lift him out of the way seconds before the sword I threw could pin him there through his stomach.
Gritting my teeth, I run full speed at the wall before jumping and sprinting horizontally up the wall, wrenching my sword out of the wall in the process. I then push off the wall and rush forward, attacking Mard Geer relentlessly from all directions. At first he clumsily brought vines up to stop my attacks while stumbling back, but then he suddenly smirked and two vines burst from the ground in front of him coming straight at me.
"Tss... You're no stronger than any of the other witches I've taken out!" He yelled while attacking me from all sides with his vines.
I jump and flip out of the way, skidding to a halt to catch my breath. "REQUIP: CELESTIAL ARMOR!!"
A white light surrounds me again as I switch armors while continuing to dodge his vines. Soon there were so many all I could see were his vines and all I could do was dodge the thorns.
"Hahahaha! Look at you! I have you jumping all over the place like a puppet!" Mard Geer laughed.
From the corner of my eye I saw Jellal and his brothers, still struggling out of the vines since I unequipped my swords could completely finish cutting them out, except, Jellal wasn't trying to get out. He was too busy staring at me with open disbelief and....awe. His eyes shifted from mine, to my armor, then back at me before they lost focus for a second and widened. "ERZA LOOK OU-"
My distraction was all Mard Geer needed. He appeared suddenly, running up one of the vines and catching me completely off guard. His kick to my stomach sent me flying upwards and he used a vine to catch me in mid air, squeezing the air out of my lungs and slowly trying to kill me. I heard Jellal yell my name but I squeeze my eyes shut as the thorny vines tighten more and more on me.
Mard Geer rose calmly on a vine as more and more vines appeared. Lucy and Levy screamed and cried as they were dragged away Juvia's lifeless body, blood still oozing from her wound. They tried to lung back towards her but the vines merely tightened their grip. He leaned closely to me, putting a hand under my chin and forcefully turning my head so I would meet his eye. "Such a shame I have to kill such a beautiful creature." He said with a wicked smile. I glared at him. "You won't get away with this!" I screamed at him while struggling against my restraints.
He laughed at my retort. "Oh, but you see Erza, that's where this becomes interesting! I am actually a hero! Would you like to know why?" I glare at him. "No? well I'll tell you anyway. You see, I saved the day by killing a crazed witch that used the siege on Fairy Tail as an opportunity to massacre countless Phantom Lord soldiers." My bangs overshadowed my eyes as he reached up a hand to cradle my cheek.
"Don't touch her!!" Jellal yelled angrily, struggling to get out of the vines but Mard Geer ignored him, focusing only on me. "So really, I have you to thank Erza. Thanks to you, my council judgement won't be as harsh. AhahAHAHAHA-"
A bright red glow from the ground caught his attention even through all his writhing vines. "What the-"
Before he can comprehend what is happening I slice through his vines with the dagger I used against the giant knight earlier and grab Mard Geer, pinning his arms to his sides with my legs as he stared up at me in horror.
"THEN I'LL MAKE SURE THE SEVEN STARS JUDGE YOU MORE HARSHLY!!!" The red light becomes brighter and all seven seals I had scattered around while I was dodging Mard Geers vines earlier revealed themselves. Jellal's eyes widen in alarm when he recognized the pattern of the seals. "ERZA! STOP! YOU'LL KILL US ALL!!"
"GRAND CHARIOT!!!" I yell loudly as my body is engulfed in a white light. Red beams shoot up to the sky from each seal, becoming larger and brighter the closer as we near the ground. The floor cracks and breaks from the immensity of it all and large boulders from the torn ground go flying and everything is engulfed in a bright blinding light that can been seen for miles.
When it's all over, I'm standing beside a large crater, breathing heavily in my Adamantine armor. The barrier I encased around Levy, Juvia, Lucy, Gray, Natsu, and Jellal in order to protect them from the spell flickers a bit before dissolving entirely along with my armor. They emerged unscathed. There is nothing left except for a few dead vines and a large crater in the middle of what used to be the Phantom Lord courtyard. The last thing I remember was Jellal calling out my name as I wobbled a bit before I falling to my knees and face planting in the dirt.
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I watch excitedly as I wait for my turn to open my birthday present. We had flour and icing all over ourselves since our guardian insisted we bake the cake together. "Alright, calm down everyone it's present time!" Our guardian said while smiling at me brightly while stepping away from a large box that she really wasn't doing a good job at hiding. We all gasp and I jump up and down excitedly.
"Is it from that far away place you always go to?" Levy asks with sparkling eyes. Our guardians smiles down at her and nods. "This one especially took me a long time to find. Over three months!"
Lucy giggled. "But you've never left us alone more than a few hours!"
She laughs. "Indeed, I haven't."
"Juvia is dying of curiosity! Open it Erza-chan!"
With a nod from our guardian I dash forward and rip the wrapping from the box. "ARMOR?!" I squeal excitedly as Levy, Juvia, and Lucy huddle around me and awe at the large armor.
"It's not just any armor Erza. It's a special defense armor. Best one I could find." Our guardian said, clearly pleased with herself. "It's called Adamantine armor."
Unable to contain my excitement I yell "Requip: Adamantine Armor!" A red magic circle forms at my feet but nothing happens. I frown and try again. Same result.
"Maybe it's broken?" Juvia suggested after my third try. I shook my head. "It's new! It can't be broken already."
"This armor will take time for you to master, Erza. You're only six years old. Remember how long it took you to even summon your Heaven Wheels armor?" Our guardian asked me with a gentle smile.
"A year..." I mumbled dejectedly.
"Exactly! Tomorrow we can begin training for your new armor, for now, let's finish this delicious strawberry cake we made!"
My eyes light up at the mention of strawberry cake and we all run back to the kitchen table.
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I slowly try to blink away my fuzzy vision and gather myself. But bit by bit, from the outside in, each inch of what I could see was clarified and I internally panicked for a moment, unsure of where I was. I blinked once more before I recognized that I was in a room, not in a dungeon. My head whips in the direction of the door when I hear someone opening it.
"Erza!" Is all I hear before Lucy throws herself at me and crushes me in a tight hug. She has quite a grip. "Thank heavens you're awake!"
"Ju-Juvia" I croaked, my throat a bit dry.
"She's fine. Levy sewed her up."
My jaw hit the floor as I stared at her incredulously. "Levy? Our Levy McGarden sewed Juvia's open wound up?!" I all but shrieked as Lucy handed me a cup of water.
Lucy grinned a bit as she nodded and handed me a cup of water. She watched me drink for a moment before biting her lip nervously. "You were asleep for three days Erza."
Damn.
"...Well it has been a long time since..."
Lucy nodded when I let my sentence hang. "Juvia woke up yesterday. She's been wanting to see you for a while."
I throw my legs over the side of the bed and test how steady I was. I wobbled a bit but I refused any help from Lucy.
Juvia POV
It was Levy who had sewn me up. That was enough of a shock that I almost melted back into a week of unconsciousness. Our tiny, Weak-kneed, slightly green at the sight of manure or moldy cheese in the fridge Levy, had found it in herself to disinfect my wound with alcohol- thank heavens I had been unconscious- thread a needle with sinew, and sew up my side like I was an elementary school project.
Imagine my shock when I woke up and was told that Gray himself raced me back to Fairy Tail, screaming at everyone to find a medic. The nearest one ways days away so Levy stepped in. She saved my life. Unfortunately,not that I'm alive she wont stop teasing me about jow Gray would come every day to check on me. If I didn't know any better I'd say he was worried for me! I was more worried for Erza though. It had been over ten years since she used her magic, and of course, she over exerted herself in doing that Grand Chariot spell.
I lifted my shirt and stared at my six-inch wound again, gaping at the perfect, even curves of each stitch.
I looked up just as I heard Erza's voice say "My gosh, Levy actually did it."
"Erza!" I cried happily, wincing in pain when I move my still tender wound a little too much. Erza immediately rushes to my side and pushes me back down onto the mattress and examines my wound up close. "They'll have to come out" she whispered quietly while throwing me an apologetic glance.
I closed my eyes and winced, thinking of the pain to come. But not yet. Levy explained to me that we had to let the flesh weave itself together again without letting the sinew become embedded within it.
I could feel the whisper of air as Lucy fell to her knees beside me. "What are we going to do? They're calling us ....princess warriors. Literally. They think we're All That and more. And that Tall dark guy and Natsu are following Levy and I around everywhere we go." She rolled her eyes.
'That's super cute.' I almost squealed. Even Erza was smirking.
"Well, you and Levy saved all our lives with your arrows," I said. "I'd bet you money they've never seen a woman do that before."
She shook her head. "How are we going to get out of this? Erza already revealed that she's, what these people call, a witch and I pretty sure they're suspecting us too."
I closed my eyes, heaved a sigh, and then peeked at her. "I have no idea.... How is Simon??"
"Oh, amazing," Levy said. "Apparently, that's just another reason to throw us a big party. They're all excited because he's back from the dead or something."
Erza and I looked at each other and smiled. I for one, was afraid that I'd wake up to find Simon gone, even buried.
Levy rose and gestured in the direction of the courtyard. "You guys, everyone's been going crazy out there every since they found out Juvia woke up, and now that you're both back from the brink, there's no way they're going to be able to hold it off any longer."
Erza's smile faded. "What do you mean?"
"It sounds like the entire town is coming in for the celebration." I said. "Something about a three-day feast to celebrate our victory. And we're the guests of honor."
Victory. Phantom Lord defeated. For Fairy Tail, it would be huge.
"I don't get it." Erza said quietly. "Jellal and the others saw first hand that I wield magic. I heard firsthand from Mira that witches are to be executed on sight. Why did they bring me back?"
Lucy said the only thing that came to mind. "The he must really like you."
Erza shook her head and began pacing. "This goes beyond that, Lucy. His own mother was killed by a witch! There's no way he can just find out I'm one of them and just be okay with it. Most likely, the only reason he hasn't told everyone in Fairy Tail that I'm a witch is cause he feels indebted to us for saving his life, his brothers' lives, and his cousins life."
She had us there.
"We have to get back to the tomb." Lucy said quietly. "Try it together. I mean, to make the jump back."
"Maybe we can get you to the tomb on my own somehow," Levy said, looking at my side again. "It'd be better if we could get you home and to the doctor."
"And how do we explain that?" Erza asked, pointing to my side.
"That'll be tricky," she said, pursing her lips. "I still can't believe I did that, sewed you up. Ha! And Minerva teased me for reading DIY sewing books! Who's laughing now, Minerva!?" Levy laughed while shaking a tiny fist in the air.
A knock sounded at the door, startling us all, and a moment later, Mira peeked in. She looked at me with her kind eyes. "I thought you'd enjoy a bath."
Her eyes widened and she squealed uncharacteristically when she saw Erza sitting beside me like nothing happened. "You're awake!! Oh my gosh you're finally awake!!" She shot across the room and hugged Erza tightly.
"Of course. Juvia gets wounded in battle and Erza gets all the credit." I joked in english with a giggle. Lucy and Levy laugh as Erza just awkwardly pats Mira on the back but almost as immediately as she had grabbed her, Mira pushes her away in shock. "Oh my gosh you're awake! You're awake! I have to- I have to-"
"Don't hurt yourself, Mira." Erza sweatdropped.
"I have to tell Simon and the others" She said while bolting to the door, her voice carrying down the hall.
"I need to tell them right away!"
We stared at each other questioningly, wondering what exactly just happened, when a large yell of joy came from the courtyard.
"Well, sounds like everyone knows your both awake now..." Lucy said with an awkward chuckle.
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THERE YOU HAVE IT!!!! WAAAHHH I FEEL SO ACOMPLISHED AND ELATED!!!! BUT WAAAH THERES STILL SO MUCH IN STORE!!! SO MANY UNSOLVED PROBLEMS!!!! WAAAAAHHH
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