Celestial Heart (A Fairy Tail Fanfic)

Chapter 25: For You, the Faithful Idiots

Winter's POV

Dammit! Where the hell is that brat?

Phantom Lord's guild was a maze of twists and turns and useless rooms. And especially now, considering more than half the building had been reduced to rubble and more and more of it was coming down with each thunderous rumble that shook through the place. I couldn't decide which direction the impacts came from, but I was sure the culprits was either Natsu or Candor (along with Gray and possibly Elfman, whatever happened to them). 

I was surprised at the lack of, er, lackies I found as I struggled through the crowded hallways in search of a couple lovable (at this point that was debatable) idiots. There had been a few guild members with Jose and Gajeel in the "control room" or whatever, but they were nowhere to be seen now. 

Cowards. Obviously, they were a bunch of goddamn cowardly little flowers afraid of being plucked from their roots.

Ugh. That sounds like something Candor would say... about me...

Whatever. I jerked myself from my thoughts as the building shook again, listing a bit precariously to the side. I stumbled, barely saving myself from going head-first into the nearest wall by bracing my hand against it, nails scraping over the rough wood in a way that made my skin crawl with revulsion. Regaining my balance, I shook the blurred thoughts from my head and pushed onward through the guild.

The ceiling groaned, like it was undergoing a ridiculous amount of stress. Sweat gathered at the back of my neck, trickled down my profile. It that gave way.... 

I gritted my teeth and quickened my pace. No way was I gonna get snuffed out by a creaky old building collapsing!

I made my way through the halls, ducking into rooms, giving them a quick look-see and then moving on when I found nothing of interest. Certainly no wintry mages or little lawn-heads, anyway.

It was only after another frantic ten minutes of searching that I caught even the barest trace of my idiot friends, and that was in the form of a very masculine voice demanding, "What the hell do you think you know about Lucy and Winter?!"

I skidded to a halt, my heart firing in my chest like a machine gun, hitting my ribcage with all the force of a charging lion. I didn't think, didn't question anything; my body moved of its own accord, bustling me into the adjacent room, throwing up an arm, magical enegery crackling at my fingertips like an overbearing build-up of static.

My lips formed words without my knowledge, and when the next shout pierced the air, I didn't even realize it was mine until everything had settled back into a semblance of normalty.

"Solid Script: Lightning! Disband!" 

Golden electricity flickered about the word, interlacing the distinct letters so that that all but bleared into one; but at my command they flung apart as though scattered by an unseen hand, taking different angles as they surrounded Jose in a voltaic circle. Startled, he abandoned his prisoner (AKA the one and only Miss Erza Scarlet) and threw up a wall of magical energy. 

Just in time, too, as my little electric "bombs" detonated and, had he not made to protect himself, he woulda been barbecued on contact.

I went into a rough, ill-formed slide, crashing down just in time to catch the falling redheaded mage.

Note to self: just because she has the physique of a model does not mean she won't crush your ribs when falling onto you from a substantial height.

"Ow, damn," I moaned, doing my best to be gentle as I rolled Erza's dazed body off me. "Even without the usual armor that hurts like a bitch!"