These past few years, Yang had changed. In age, yes but there was something more vital that matured within her.
Her principles and goals. Meeting so many new people in Earthland, making friends, adding new people to her family and finally realizing the depth of love she had for her twin had matured her. Often, she wasn't so introspective, simply preferring to live her life carefree and doing what came naturally was how she lived until this point. But as she achieved more, grew more and talked with her sister, she realized that just wouldn't cut it anymore.
To grow, she needed ambition. It wasn't enough to simply let Yin take care of changing their world, she needed a plan too. Her little sister, Ruby, believed she had the makings of a hero, especially after that little trip where she got the Witchblade. But while some selfless and heroic ideals perfectly suited her just fine, she realized she was a bit too selfish to be someone Ruby would geek out over while reading a comic book.
She wasn't ever going to be a symbol of hope, justice and moral righteousness. But she was inclined to help the innocent and the good.
Because it felt good to. Because it aligned with her own principles. Because she loved the way her Yin looked at her when she was doing so.
"Heh! Hey Yang! Look! Look!" The sound of her newest partner, Scorch called out, snapping her out of her introspection.
"Huh? Yeah? Pffft!!" Yang looked over and started laughing.
After she knocked Elfman out, Scorch had worked his magic (literally) to set his ass on fire. Given he had very weak heat magic, Yang encouraged him to practice until one day, he could reach the level of a fire dragon's breath. And with Elfman's face in the ground with his ass in the air, Scorch had the perfect target. So he had been practicing his heat beam on him for a full minute.
"Good job! It only took you a minute and a perfectly still target. That's way better than the five minutes it took when you started!" Yang wiped her eyes and high-fived her Exceed, ignoring the flames on Elfman's ass.
"Uh... not so hard, Evergreen.." Elfman muttered before pausing and quickly leaping up and holding his ass.
"OW! Hot! Hot!" Elfman began patting and yelling before glaring at a lauging Yang and Scorch.
"Ha! I knew you wanted Evergreen.. Though I shoulda guessed you were a sub. She does have that 'Dommy' energy, doesn't she?" Yang smirked, amused as Elfman looked away and grumbled to himself.
"Huuuh? What's Dommy energy? Can I learn it?" Scorch asked innocently.
BOOOM!
Before Yang could respond, a large impact shook the ground nearby. Yang raised her brow, her senses picking up multiple foreign magics all over Tenrou. The one that just shattered the ground nearby was pretty strong, giving off a weakened version of magic she saw Yin use.
"Huh.. Gravity magic then? Cool." Yang's words stunned Elfman, though he also saw Yang wasn't very worried, so he wasn't as on edge anymore.
Out of the forest stepped an odd looking man with sideburns at the sides of his face and a stubble in the center. He had a long, tight ponytail, a white overcoat, a black jumpsuit and a blue tabard with a black hole design at the bottom flap. His black, almond shaped eyes locked in on Yang.
"You're strong, I hear. Stronger than even Gildarts. Show me. Or I'll bathe in the blood and viscera of Fairies after I kill you."
He then immediately attacked with the full might of his gravity magic. Something that put the untransformed Elfman and Scorch on the ground. But Yang? She stood there and watched his expression warp into shocked outrage as trees uprooted around her.
"I'm gonna give you one more try before I attack you. None of that weak magic. Hit me with your strongest attack. One hundred percent. Hard as you can." Yang stated.
"Oh.. is that so?" Bluenote's brows twitched.
"Now now.. you might have misheard me. Not half as hard.. not some arbitrary percentage. I want you to attack me as hard as you can."
VRRRR!!
Bluenote thrust his hand out, coated in potent Gravity magic and punched out into Yang's abs. The ground cracked apart and formed a crater, yet Yang remained unmoved. Her brow raised in more amusement than confusion as Bluenote's eyes widened.
"Touch a nerve there? Let me make this crystal clear for ya. Creation Dragon's crushing fist~"
CRA-CRACK!
In a blur of motion Bluenote could barely see, Yang's fist struck out, blazing with white flames that burned and clung to his body like a leech as he flew through over a dozen trees before forcefully stopping himself with his Gravity magic.
His eyes bulging as he looked at the unmoved Yang, standing over fifty meters away from him with her muscular arms folded.
"You..." Bluenote groaned, spitting out a mouthful of blood onto the ground and touching his ribs.
Four of them were broken, resting uncomfortably close to his lungs. He had to use his Gravity magic to make sure they stayed connected. Then, furiously, he walked back, fists clenching as he stared at the target Hades set for him. Originally, he had wanted to seek out Mavis for Fairy Glitter, but settled on one of the strongest mages of Fairy Tail.
Because he needed to prove himself. That was the reason for his being. Battle. Battles against powerful foes completed him. But now? This felt unnatural. Like he wasn't dealing with a human.
"Welcome back. Did that nice walk through the forest clear your ears? Well, since I know you have issues following directions, I'll give you one last chance. You, me, hard as you can. Are we clear?"
The playful cockiness in her voice immediately enraged him. Bluenote summoned all of his magic into his hands as blood vessels within his head bulged.
"Crystal."
An immense gravitational attraction started to form in front of his hands. And a black/purple orb grew in the space between his hands as he fed it more and more magic.
"Black Hole.." Bluenote stated, like a judgement call as he cast the magic.
The ball of Gravity magic surged and shot forward like a speeding bullet, pulling trees and earth around as it shot into Yang, who caught it in her hands. Her feet goughing out trenches in the earth as the Black hole impacted her bare hands.
"Heh.. You're far too arrogant, taking on my Black Hole like that. It's my Ultimate Magic, Gravity taken to the extreme. A point of infinite gravity that will suck up everything!" Bluenote boasted with a wide, twisted grin.
Yang snorted in derision. Her hands holding onto the black hole steadying as the golden energy of Creation surrounded the magic attack. Her eyes gleaming with a disappointed and calculating light as she stared at the magic.
"No. What you're describing is an actual Black Hole. With an event horizon that draws even light in. This? An imitation." Yang held the black hole in her hands, Creation surging inward as a small field surrounded the attack.
"What are you..." Bluenote started to ask before a bright light emanated from within his attack.
The black hole became a blinding orb of white. And the gravity increased to an absurd degree for a moment before settling as the energy containing it increased in intensity. Bluenote's breath was taken, witnessing his attack change on a fundamental level.
While yes, it wasn't a true black hole, the spell was modeled after one. He couldn't fathom how she had turned it into a miniature star. Even the immense radiance was contained within it.
"Creation. I altered the nature behind that messy imitation and changed it. Also, my sister's version is way better. Bye."
And with that, she thrust her palm out launching the mini star into his gut and making him fly away.
"FAIRY TAIIIIIL!!!" He cursed, body heating up as the protective field around the mini star faded, the mini star carrying him over the sea before the field completely vanished.
Bluenote's eyes widened, his sight burned as the star surged and exploded.
Thankfully for him, no more magic had been added to it. Although his body burned and his eyes were temporarly blinded, he got off easy when his body sunk into the water and put the flames out.
.
.
.
.
Bluenote lived. Which is more than what Zancrow could say when he stumbled across Yin.
She walked past the burning blue corpse of the God Slayer, who had threatened to dismember her sister after having his way with her. Mildly annoyed, she was walking over to Yang, letting the rest of Fairy Tail's members to deal with Grimoire Heart's mages.
Then she felt the large explosion and Creation energy.
"Huh.. Yang's pretty merciful. Only turned Bluenote's magic against him." Yin mused.
"Hmph.. that is soft. What if he one day seeks revenge after undergoing a training montage?" Shade asked, seated on her head, arms folded.
"Natsu could dogwalk him as he is now. And you saw how fast I beat him. He's of no consequence." Yin shook her head, then felt a strange increase in her heartbeat as she walked ahead.
"Hm.. ah maybe he's one of those villains who seems like a big deal in early arcs but then gets beaten by the protagonist in one move in a later arc.. umu. I understand."
Yin would have snickered and agreed, but a strange attraction had overcome her. Within five minutes, she reached Yang and locked eyes with her once more.
πΏππππ-πΏππππ/πΏππππ-πΏππππ
A resonance not felt since they fused in the Underworld was felt once more. And in front of Shade, Scorch and Elfman, their bodies blurred into golden and dark violet energies. The energies swirling together in the sky, shaping into a spiral as their essence and bodies merged into one, singular entity.
Just like before, her hair was a wild, almost living flow of interwoven black and gold. Her eyes, a heterochromatic mix of four color gradients. The left, a red and lilac. The right, a gold and umbral purple. Her previous appearance was unstable and partially draconic with umbral violet and bright golden patterns and scales. But now, she was in her human form. Her skin a balance between pale and sunkissed and her clothes a perfect blend of the two. A cropped jacket, black and yellow Ember Celica on her fists, a sleek violet and golden bodysuit underneath that showed the definition of her muscles, a waist cape and thigh high Dragonscale greaves.
"Haaah..." She took a long exhale and smiled as she looked up at the sky, then at the beautiful if partially wrecked nature around her.
"Sorry to rush this. It was getting unbearable, staying inside so long.." She complained, then looked at the awed Exceed and Elfman.
"Woaaaah.. they became one! Like 'WHOOSH' and 'KSSSH'!" Scorch emphasized, gesticulating wildly as he made noises.
"I... was unaware that you could merge into one. Incredible as always, Master. Sasuga.." Shade admitted.
Equinox covered her mouth with her hand and chuckled, "Ah I'm not quite who you expect."
"Then.. who are you? You give off a MANLY aura!" Elfman said, trying to compliment her in his own unique way.
She understood what he meant though and smiled, patting the big man on the shoulder.
"I suppose you can say I'm like.. their child? I was born from the union of the two of them. I am of them but not quite them. I understand them both better than they understand themselves. And it's their love for you all that brought me here." Equinox stated, her smile fading as she looked out at the horizon.
Closer and closer she felt him. The frenzied lust for battle, to kill and destroy. Acnologia was almost upon them. In mere minutes, he would arrive.
"I need to clean up before that.. Elfman, Shade, Scorch. I need you to gather everyone and head toward the tree. Yin left behind two capable Mages there who can protect you all from what's about to come." Equinox looked at them, her expression oddly serene yet determined at the same time.
"Everyone..? Got it. Are you going to be okay?" Elfman asked, watching golden and violet wings sprout from her back as she took to the sky.
"Trust me. I'd never allow you guys to be hurt. What they love, I love. Now go, please." Equinox ordered, smirking as the Exceed both saluted and flew off in different directions, with Elfman transforming into a cheetah beast and taking off to the East, toward where Natsu and Lucy were fighting the Dark Mage controlling Capricorn.
Equinox flew up, instantly locating Hades' airship.
"I have a Dragon to slay. So I'll make this quick.."