2/5

"It doesn't matter anymore," Erigor said, giving Bambietta a fleeting glare and nothing more. "The past is the past. What has been lost can never be regained. But revenge, that is what I can offer my brethren! The reaper has come for Oshibana and there's not a thing you Fairy Tail flies can do to stop me!"

Revenge, yes, Bambietta could understand that. The Quincy had obtained power to save themselves from Hollows when the Soul Reapers could not. Yet in the end all they had experienced was further bloodshed, the Soul Reapers killing them centuries before Bambietta herself had been born. Yet all those years later had the atrocities continued. Quincy hiding in the World of the Living, only to be slaughtered or captured by Soul Reapers, as if instructed by a cold and calculating devil who worked behind the scenes.

In the end her parents had fallen to that fate, leaving a young girl to find salvation under through the grace of her own personal savior, a god in the flesh. Bambietta had pledged herself to Yhwach and the Vandenreich then, hoping to exact revenge on the Soul Society that had wronged her. So yes, revenge was something she could understand. However, there was one rather large difference between the Stern Ritter and the forces of Eisenwald.

"You fools," Bambietta said, her voice low for a moment. Then did it burst forth, very nearly filling the room. She pointed at the teaming masses of Eisenwald before at last turning to Erigor himself. "You jerks want revenge? Well fine! Be my guest! Go find whoever kicked Eisenwald out of official matters and sing them a tune, whatever! But leave the innocent out of it!"

Bambietta could see it then, unwavering expressions of dedication to their cause forever remaining on the faces of Kageyama and his fellow wizards. Erigor, however, seemed quite irritated, if only for a moment. Yet it was when Bambietta turned to face her fellow Fairy Tail members that she was truly horrified. Lucy, Gray, Happy and even the sick Natsu were staring at her in shock. Erza, however, was simply exuding an icy stare.

"What?" Bambietta asked, nervously rubbing the back of her head with one hand. "Was it something I said?"

Erigor was composed once more, yet his megalomania continued. "Eisenwald now has the power to wipe away the sins of the past! Once that is complete we shall control our fates and the future as we see fit!"

"I guess I can still relate," Bambietta whispered to herself.

"You people are completely insane!" Lucy shouted, her harsh judgment hitting Bambietta as well.

"Before us stands a new age of darkness! But a fool such as yourself won't be around to see it!" Kageyama suddenly slammed a hand down on the station floor, tendrils of shadow issuing forth. They sprung up then, lunging for Lucy.

Bambietta saw it coming and began to move, to protect her roommate, when suddenly Natsu sprang into action. The Dragon Slayer moved away from Lucy's shoulders, swinging out a flame covered hand that shattered the attacks and dispelled the shadows.

"Hey, your that dude from Eisenwald I fought on the train!" Natsu exclaimed, the Dragon Slayer no longer showing any signs of motion sickness. "I thought I recognized that foul stench when Lucy dragged me in here. Guess we've got ourselves a party now, huh?"

"No, Natsu!" Lucy shouted. "These are the guys we have to fight!"

"Like I said," the Fire Dragon Slayer slammed his fists together, "we got ourselves a party."

"Oh yeah, I like him still." Bambietta could not help but smile, the Quincy slamming a fist into an open palm. "Let's rock, baby!"

"This is the best Fairy Tail has to offer!" Lucy shouted, trying to instill whatever concern she could into Eisenwald. "You ready for a beating?"

Erigor only laughed once more, the ace of Eisenwald flying upwards. "I leave these flies to you, my faithful allies! Show them the terror that is the dark guild Eisenwald!"

Then he was gone in a flash, air currents and wind moving through the space he had once occupied, as if filling the void that had been left.

"Great," Bambietta mused. "So the Soul Reaper cosplayer can use Shunpo. That's just super."

"Natsu, Gray," Erza began to say, "I need you two both to go pursue Erigor. He cannot be allowed to reach the broadcast room, no matter the cost. With your combined strength I am certain that Erigor will have no chance."

Natsu and Gray could only glare at each other, anger in their eyes. Bambietta sighed in response, once more knowing that things would clearly never change.

Yet this time they did, Erza taking notice of their rivalry. She glared at them then, gritting her teeth before speaking. "What did I just say?"

"Best of friends, working together for the greater good!" Gray shouted.

"Aye, sir!" Natsu added.

Then they were off, leaving Erza to stand beside Bambietta, Lucy and Happy.

"They're going after Erigor," Kageyama said softly, turning to face one of his teammates in Eisenwald. "Rayule, let's go! The mage with the pink hair and I have some unfinished business!"

Rayule suddenly issued forth whips from the sleeves of his coat, the cords wrapping upon the banister of the station's upper level. He flew upwards then, disappearing out of sight to the other floor. Kageyama, meanwhile, simply disappeared into the shadows beneath him.

"I swear, that Eisenwald kid would have been a natural for the Vandenreich," Bambietta said to herself. She then turned to Erza. "That's going to mess things up, huh?"

"No," the armored mage replied simply. "We'll take care of them after we settle things with the rest here."

"The three of us against an entire magical guild?" Lucy said in fear. "A dark guild at that?"

"What about me?" Happy asked.

"Like I said," Lucy began to reply, "the three of us against an entire dark guild."

"I'm sorry, my pretties," one of the Eisenwald wizards began to say, "my mom always said not to hit a girl but you three ain't going to be so easy on the eyes once we're done with you!"

Bambietta was ready and willing to reply back with a quip, yet Erza was quick to action. The armored mage had raised a hand forward, a magical seal appearing in the palm of her hand. "This ends now!"

As if appearing from thin air, a broadsword formed in the palm of Erza's hand, the mage making certain to point it towards her influx of opponents.

"Oh, so that's what Levy meant by saying my power was kind of like hers," Bambietta said in awe. "Neat."

"Is that a magic sword?" Lucy asked, completely mystified.

"I swear on my honor," Erza began to say, her tone never shifting for even a second, "that your mad plot will not succeed!"

"Oh, we're shaking!" one of the members of Eisenwald retorted. "We've got plenty of magic swordsmen too, you know!"

True to his word, several members of Eisenwald began to summon blades to their hands. They then charged Erza without any fear or hesitation. The group descended upon her yet Erza did not waver in the least. She swung the flat edge of her sword out once, then twice, striking those that were approaching. It was quick, it was efficient, the force of the blows sending the men careening backwards as if they had posed no challenge to Erza at all. Then did Erza leapt forward into the fray herself, landing amidst a dozen of Eisenwald's forces. With one quick movement she swung her blade out yet again, sending them flying from the force alone. Then did the trio of wizards in the back resort to other methods, firing magical energy from the palms of their hands. It did them no good, however, Erza simply leaping into the air to evade the attack with a grace befitting one known as Titania.

Bambietta and Lucy both watched on in awe, taking note of Erza's sword vanishing and being replaced by a spear. Again did the mage leap into fray, bringing the weapon to bear with precise attacks, once more sending her foes away with sheer strength. Yet then did the spear vanish as fast as it had appeared, replaced by twin swords.

"What the heck kind of power is that?" Lucy asked.

"It's called Requip," Happy began to explain, leaving Bambietta to begin to feel like an audience to the situation unfolding. "Erza can summon magic weapons whenever she needs. You ain't seen nothing yet, though! Erza's just getting started!"

"And yet I thought you said she made her enemies bleed," Bambietta mused quietly to herself, watching as Erza switched to a massive axe. "She's so damn good she's beating them down without even inflicting any fatal wounds or even drawing a hint of blood."

"Well now it's my turn to kick some butt!" Lucy shouted, pulling forth one of keys. "Open the Gate of the Giant Crab! Cancer!"

"Oh God, what kind of freak is this going to be?" Bambietta waited and watched, the Quincy ready for just about anything now.

What she was greeted with then was an impeccably dressed man with hair braided into red cornrows, several crab legs protruding from his back. In his hands were twin pairs of scissors, the hands appearing as if they were the pincers of a crab.

"Okay, so I was wrong," Bambietta said in shock. "I so wasn't ready for that."

"Hey, baby," the Celestial Spirit said, looking at Lucy, "you want me to fight these bad dudes for you?"

"Oh yeah," Lucy answered. "And take them out with style."

Cancer was glad to oblige, the spirit charging forward then and there. He tore through a barrage of Eisenwald wizards, appearing behind them. Bambietta simply watched in morbid fascination, the Quincy sure she was hearing the sound of scissors snipping left and right the entire time. Then it happened. As Cancer appeared behind the wizards, their weapons began to fall to pieces, as if cut apart. Yet then did their hair do the same, leaving the men bald and in shock.

"Well, I won't lie," Bambietta said, trying to fight off any disbelief, "it was strange but effective."

"That was quite impressive," Erza said, watching from afar.

"Oh, thanks," Lucy replied bashfully, the Celestial wizard surprised by the sudden compliment. Then did she whisper under her breath. "All right, I so totally made points with Erza."

"However," Erza continued, "I do find it rather insulting how that crab spirit refers to you as baby."

"And there go my points," Lucy whimpered.

"Well then it looks like it s my turn to score some points for the newbies!" Bambietta reached out with her hand, allowing her short sword to appear in her hand. Then did she begin to whisper. "Two can so play this game, Erza. Well, kind of."

Bambietta leapt into the fray then, using Hirenkyaku to appear amidst the remaining members of Eisenwald. Having already witnessed two of Fairy Tail's own battered their compatriots, this group was quite hesitant to attack another. Bambietta glanced away for a moment, noticing that Erza and Lucy each were still laying waste to the others in Eisenwald, then did she turn back to her own little group.

"Oh come on now," Bambietta all bit cooed, placing the index finger of her free hand against her lower lip and tugging against it gently. "Just because my friends are totally mangling your guild, don't go and chicken out against little old me. I promise to show you boys a good time."

Bambietta brandished her sword then, letting the light flash against its spiritual metal. The Eisenwald guild members were hesitant, yet little did the Quincy know it was not solely due to the weapon. No, it was the looking of glee present on Bambietta's face that left their blood running cold.

"Let's have some fun!" Bambietta went on the offensive then, swinging her sword out and towards the nearest opponent. Yet that was when it happened.

A flash. A glimmer. A transcendent burst of memories playing through her. Of Hollows and Arrancar alike falling to the ground of Hueco Mundo, dead or dying. Of Soul Reapers being cut down in the prime of their afterlives. It was how Haschwalth had trained her in the art of swordplay after all. Cut off limbs, go for the head, aim for the heart, tear out the throat, those were the lessons he had drilled into her without hesitation or repose.

To fight in any other fashion with her sword was completely alien to Bambietta. She simply knew of no other way. The moment a blade was within her grasp it was like she became another person perhaps, or simply allowed herself to fall under the sway of the darker impulses the life of a Stern Ritter had encouraged and valued.

For the time being, however, Bambietta had a very different family and a very different set of rules she had to work under. Her hand quivered for a moment, her sword vanishing then, returning to the particles that it had formed from. The Quincy allowed Blut Vene to flow through her body, knowing it could protect both herself and her opponents. At least now she could fight with her bare hands and not worry about playing too rough or causing any inadvertent death.

"Well will you look at that," an Eisenwald wizard said, brandishing the dagger he held in a reverse grip. "I guess she got cold feet. Poor gi-"

He never finished the sentence, Bambietta's fist slamming into his face with enough force that he fell upon his back, completely out cold.

"Cold feet? No." Bambietta looked to the others than, motioning for them to come closer. "But I guess I can't have a cold heart anymore either. Consider yourselves lucky."

Those from Eisenwald began to inch forward then, slightly hesitant to engage the Quincy after what she had just done. That only prompted Bambietta to yawn.

"Okay, fine," she said, stretching her arms up for a second. "I'll just have to bring the fight to you!"

Bambietta did just that, launching herself forward. It was controlled chaos then and there, poetry in motion. The Quincy bobbed and weaved, striking out and dropping one Eisenwald wizard after another. An elbow strike to the face to one, a jumping kick administered to the face of another, a fist burying itself into the stomach of yet another. On and on it went, Bambietta working her own brand of magic, fists and feet flying out in every direction as she controlled the tempo of the brawl she had instigated. She had found her grove now and nothing could quite take her out of the veritable trance.

"Oh, swing and a miss!" she exclaimed as she swiftly dodged to the side, allowing a battle axe to slam down to the ground beside her. "Care to try again?"

Another wizard of Eisenwald struck from behind then, swinging a short sword low, hoping to cut Bambietta's feet out from under her. The Quincy was quick still, hopping up and leaving the weapon to slice through nothing but thin air.

"Strike two!" Bambietta said with a smile. Then did she pause and glance away for a moment. "Wait a minute. I have Blut Vene. Silly Bambi, dodging is for the defenseless!"

The wizard with the axe struck again, swinging the weapon downwards towards Bambietta. She let it connect this time, the weapon colliding with her shoulder with a loud smacking sound.

"Now I got you!" the wizard shouted with some twisted sense of satisfaction.

"Oh, this was the highlight of your day?" Bambietta asked with a shrug that gently moved the axe resting atop her. "So sad, too bad."

"What the hell?" the Eisenwald member said in shock, staring at the edge of his axe, taking note that it had down no damage or even drawn the faintest amount of blood. "You're a damned monster!"

"A damned adorable monster, thank you very much!" Bambietta said as she gripped down on the axe with a Blut Vene empowered hand. She then began to push it away gently. She shoved it aside then, allowing it to hit the floor hard. Before the wielder had a moment to retaliate, the Quincy decked him in the face, just as she had done the first victim of this battle.

Then, however, did she take notice of Erza stealing glances her way despite her own battle still going on.

"Serious," the Quincy whispered, "take a picture. It'll last longer."

"You're wide open!"

Bambietta barely reacted, instead simply reaching up and blocking a downward strike from a sword with her forearm. She turned around then, glaring at the Eisenwald wizard who had attacked her from behind.

"No," Bambietta said, looking his way with cruel intentions, "you are."

The Quincy kicked forward then, catching the man in the groin with a ferocity he had not encountered before. He dropped his weapon in response and collapsed, leaving Bambietta to glance towards the other then.

"Oh, I bet you think you're pretty cute, fighting dirty like that" one of the other wizards said, trying to keep himself brave despite the circumstances.

"Please," Bambietta replied, "didn't I just establish that I'm adorable?"

Bambietta turned then, taking note of a dark mage casting a spell at her. The blast of magical energy covered the distance quickly, yet it was to no avail. The Quincy simply raised her arm up, the beam striking the palm of her hand and dissipating not long after.

"Oh you better not have singed a fingernail underneath these gloves," Bambietta offered up, "otherwise I'm going to be rather cross with you."

"Impressive work, Bambietta," the Quincy suddenly heard some speak from a distance. She turned then and caught sight of Erza dropping another dark wizard before speaking once more. "Your skills in hand to hand combat are indeed a sight to behold."

"Yes," Bambietta said under her breath as she punched away a sword strike with a closed a fist. "Points scored."

"You and Lucy both are rather impressive," Erza continued to say, striking down several more Eisenwald wizards with a warhammer, "however, this battle is taking longer than I would wish. We have to take care of those scoundrels going after Natsu and Gray."

"And how do you propose we end this quicker?" Bambietta asked. Oh, she had her own ideas of how precisely to do that, to use lethal force, but the Quincy had to imagine that Erza was not accepting such notions unless under truly trying circumstances.

"There's many left, an annoying fact," Erza said, letting her weapon vanish in a burst of light, "but I'll end this soon enough."

Bambietta watched in awe then, magical energy beginning to pool around Erza, fragments of it dancing about her body. Then did the woman's armor become light itself, fading away. Nothing could be seen, no, but the Quincy could not keep herself from going red in the face despite the magical energy obscuring Erza's body.

"Did she just pull a Gray?"

The Quincy's spiritual sense came alive then, her vision finding itself wrapped in sights that may well elude others less aware of such forces. The world seemed to change around Erza, as if the very forces of magic were being drawn to her. The wizard was reaching out then, her fingertips brushing against the power and creating ripples as her hands began to drop. Then did her arms suddenly extend outwards, a magical seal flashing for a moment. The light around Erza began to fade at last, leaving the mage standing before both friend and foe alike in a very different armor than before.

It was a pure vision to say the least, silver plating all around her frame, a white dress hanging from her hips. Yet it was the sharp edged metallic wings that hung from Erza's broad back that truly took hold of Bambietta's attention. For but a brief moment she could remember her own Voll Stern Dich, an ability she was missing so very much now.

Then did Happy mysteriously appear by Bambietta's side. "That's what makes Erza so special. Nobody requips as fast as her, not to mention there are very few who can requip anything more than simple weapons or cloth. But she can summon all kinds of nifty magical armors at the drop of a hat. It's a technique that's called the Knight."

"Yeah, thanks for the info, kitty," Bambietta grumbled. "I'm sure the viewers at home are thrilled by your wealth of knowledge but this isn't a spectator's sport."

Bambietta whirled around, kicking away an Eisenwald wizard that was daring to get close to her. Yet then did she take notice that he was the only left, the others clearly going after Erza now.

"Seriously?" Bambietta said with a slight edge of irritation. "What a bunch of dumbasses." The Quincy stomped a foot slightly and turned to watch the carnage about to unfold, folding her arms across her chest as she did so. "Fine, fine. I'll be a captive audience."

Twin swords appeared within Erza's armored hands then, the wizard staring down those of Eisenwald who dared to challenge her newly revealed power. She swung the weapons to her sides, the wizard's armor allowing her to propel up into the air. Erza was no longer under the mercy of gravity and she stared down at her foes.

"Now then," she began to say, "dance, my swords!"

Around Erza did several ornate blades appear, all of them hovering in the space near her, as if they too could not be held down by gravity. Then did they begin to spin around the armored mage, moving so fast that they appeared to simply blur into a circle of pure magical energy. Bambietta could only watch on in utter fascination then, the Quincy unable to remember seeing a technique quite like this.

"Oh no!" one of the Eisenwald wizards began to scream. "It's her! It has to be her! We're doomed!"

"We have to warn Erigor!" another shouted. "He's the only one of us that can-"

"Circle Sword!" Erza swung her blades forward then, commanding the legion of blades around to do her bidding. They flew outwards then, striking down Eisenwald wizards one after another.

Yet still were the blows damaging yet not fatal, leaving a pile of unconscious foes in Erza's wake. Bambietta had to admit that she was impressed. "Is this what I felt earlier? No, this... this is just the beginning, isn't it?"

Only two members of Eisenwald remained then, the duo standing in fear of Erza herself. Yet one began to crack under the pressure. His hands began to come alight with magical energy and he lunged for the armored mage.

"Fine! You're dealing with me, woman!"

"Byard, you fool!" the other member screamed. "Do you have any idea who that woman is?"

Erza simply sidestepped the attack of the man known as Byard, striking him down with ease. She then turned to the last one standing. She began to power down, shifting back to her standard armor. Yet that did nothing to alleviate the man's worries.

"You," he began to whimper, "you're Titania! The Queen of the Fairies!"

Bambietta only looked in in simple shock, having not expected such a spectacle. "Wow, wish I had that reputation. Sooner or later..."

Lucy, meanwhile, was caught up in the moment. "That was so cool! I think I may be in love!"

"Oh?" Bambietta asked, moving closer to Lucy and leaning an arm down on her shoulder. "Smitten with the hottie in armor are we?"

Lucy glanced over then, her expression losing its composure. "No, it's like that-"

"Lucy and Erza," Bambietta began to giggle, "sitting in a tree..."

"Bambi, please."

"To hell with this! I'm out of here!"

The two mages turned then, no longer lost in their moment of amusement and embarrassment, and took notice of the last Eisenwald member beating a hasty retreat out of the main hall.

"Oh no you don't, you big ball of evil, you." Bambietta began to summon her Quincy bow, taking aim down the corridor at the man. Yet then did she feel someone's hand gently pushing down on her straightened arm. "Erza?"

"He's probably going to report directly to Erigor about who I am," the armored mage said. "You and Lucy should follow him."

"Me?" the blonde asked in surprise.

Erza found herself snapping slightly then. "Just do it! Don't let Erigor's dreams come true!"

"Whatever it takes to not make you angry!" Lucy was running off then, in pursuit of the Eisenwald wizard that Erza had let go.

Yet Bambietta was staying put, her eyes on the wizard. Erza too notice of that then and glared her way. "Just do it!"

"Or you'll head-butt me again, right?" Bambietta asked. "Though I imagine you're a little too worn out for that sort of thing."

Erza said nothing then.

"Look, I get it," Bambietta continued, noticing she still had an opening. "You're the best. But even the best needs help every once and while. Between the magicmobile and busting out that armor, you're probably all tuckered out."

Again, nothing.

"Look we're both of Fairy Tail, right?" Bambietta began to ask. "I'll be honest, the last thing I'm interested in is leaving a teammate alone when they might not be able to defend themselves. Been there, done that. Been abandoned, hated that. So you're going to be stuck with me until you recoup."

"And what of Lucy?" Erza asked, the armored mage unwilling to be forthcoming with the Quincy for the moment. "Aren't you abandoning her?"

"Oh, she's not alone," Bambietta retorted. "She's got crabs. Oh and pervie bulls. Not to mention that masochistic maid she introduced me to yesterday. She's the furthest thing from alone. She'll be fine!"

Then did Erza began to shake slightly, the mage dropping to one knee. "I suppose I did overdue it a bit after all. But I'm not worried in the least," Erza began to say, "because I know I can count on Natsu, Gray and Lucy."

"Oh, and what about little old me?" Bambietta asked, the Quincy keeping herself tense for any potential attack that may come. "I'm so totally going to take that Erigor guy on if he starts gunning for you now."

"Yes, I do believe I can depend on you as well," Erza replied.

"Well that's good to hear," Bambietta said in return. "Makes me all warm and fuzzy inside, considering how much you've been watching me like a hawk today."

"I assumed you might notice."

"Well I did start to wonder if there was something on my face," Bambietta quipped, "but I have to believe you had bigger reasons than that."

"It was... nothing."

"Uh-huh, yeah," Bambietta replied with no hidden amount of sarcasm. "The long pause definitely made that sound legit."

Once more did Erza say nothing, at least at first. "Master Makarov asked that I keep an eye on you."

"Okay, between this emblem on my hand being a radar in case I cause problems and now you being told to keep a close eye on me," the Quincy began to say, her voice cracking slightly, "I'm really starting to feel like I'm not welcome or trusted."

"Such nonsense." Erza forced herself to stand then and moved close to Bambietta, placing a hand on her shoulder. "If you were not welcome within Fairy Tail, then the master would not have given you the right to wear our emblem proudly."

"But you still don't trust me."

"Trust comes in time, Bambietta," Erza continued to say. "And while I do not understand everything about you, I do not see any reason to believe that my trust is misplaced."

"Funny," the Quincy began to say, "I feel the same way about Fairy Tail. But... trust only opens your heart to betrayal."

"Is that right?" Erza's eyes narrowed for a moment, wondering what exactly had prompted that statement. Yet when the mage saw Bambietta turn to face her, Erza got her answer. The skin beneath the Quincy's eyes was red, as if she had fought against a need to express sorrow with tears. It was not a threat of any sort, simply a bitter recollection.

"But that's just a thing of the past," Bambietta said solemnly, trying to smile. "So anything we can do to keep busy while we wait for the others to take care of Erigor?"

Erza paused for a moment. "Yes, actually."