It was an average and relatively quiet morning at the Fairy Tail guild hall. Cana thumped her empty glass on the bar, idly shuffling her pack of cards while she waited for a refill. Mirajane quickly stepped over to provide one, although she gave Cana a subtly disapproving glance as she slid the glass under a bar tap. Cana just responded with a shrug of her slender shoulders. A couple of seats over, Bisca was cleaning and polishing her magic sniper rifle as she talked animatedly to Alzack.
Elsewhere in the bar, some other members of Fairy Tail were also relaxing in their own ways. True to form, Levi was seated in a quiet corner of the room deeply absorbed in a novel, not using her Gale-Force Reading Glasses so as to savour it longer. One of her teammates sat beside her, spending as much effort appearing to keep an attentive lookout as he was using to actually keep an attentive lookout.
Lucy sat at another table nearby, leaning forward eagerly as she chatted with Gray, who was slouched back in his own seat. Though Gray appeared laid-back and idle, and Lucy was doing most of the talking, she could tell through subtle cues that he was actually fairly interested in what she had to say.
Happy hovered over Natsu's shoulder as the young Dragon Slayer idly skimmed over the contents of the job request board, viewing most with disinterest… until his eyes locked with sudden intensity on one particular request. Natsu's eyes widened, and he leaned swiftly in, blinking as he scanned the job request again, making sure there was no mistake, that he wasn't just seeing things… Confirming the job was the genuine article, Natsu tore it eagerly off the board. He waved it excitedly over his head as he cheered delightedly and made incoherent noises of exhilaration, which sounded a little like "Ohmygod-yes-thisisgonnabeso-awesomesweet-wickedcool!"
"Natsu…" Happy said worriedly, trying to peek over Natsu's shoulder. "Just what is that job request?"
Natsu practically hugged the request as he replied ecstatically.
"Demolition!" Happy wasted no time in sweatdropping. "Hell yeah, this job is so for me!"
"I don't think so," came a sharp female voice from over Natsu's other shoulder. Natsu slowly turned around to look fearfully into Erza's eyes, the S-Class Battlemage having just come down from the second floor.
"W-what do you m-mean, Erza?" Natsu stammered. Erza glared at him with narrow eyes, one of her harsh expressions on her face.
"There is no way…" Erza said sharply, before relaxing her face into a light smile, "that you are getting all the fun to yourself, Natsu. No, this job's one for the team." Natsu gave a relieved grin as Gray, having heard the mention of his team, lifted himself to his feet and slouched over, followed by Lucy.
"What's going on?" Gray asked coolly.
"Check out this job request! We get to blow stuff up!" Natsu said eagerly, momentarily forgetting in his excitement who he was talking to as he waved the paper in Gray's face.
"Well, no different from any other day with you, then, pyro?"
Natsu gave Gray a glare.
"It's just a shame there's no job requests for a stripper… then you could have a job that fits you perfectly too, you jealous streaker!"
"That's enough, you two!" Erza snapped, determined to head off any possible escalation. It was far too early in the morning for a bar brawl, not even ten o'clock yet. "The old ruin we're supposed to clear away is a couple of hours from here by carriage. We'd better get moving to get this thing wrapped today and get back nice and early." Lucy and Gray gave neutral, affirmative nods, while Natsu nodded a little less eagerly, having been reminded he would have to endure his least favourite activity in the whole world… travel.
….
"So what do we have to wreck up, anyway?" Gray asked, looking over to Erza. Erza tugged the job request off Natsu, who was too busy staring out of the window - and trying not to be sick - to stop her.
"Apparently, a dark magic cult – not quite a dark guild, more the sort of people who worship dark magic and demons while being too ignorant to cast any more than a simple spell themselves – built a large stone structure, a temple of sorts, in what they thought was a secluded location. Ravinstrad."
"Ravinstrad? As in Ravinstrad pass? But isn't that a major trade route?" Lucy piped up. She clearly remembered hearing her father talking about delays on the Ravinstrad pass at one point, making it sound like it was a regular route for shipping.
"That's correct. Many years ago, when this temple was built, Ravinstrad Mountain was thought to be impassable but for daredevils and powerful wizards. They never anticipated magic could be used to blast an effective passageway through it. The once-secret temple now lies only a few hundred meters from the main road. So now, the ruins are a blight upon the landscape, giving off an ominous presence and inspiring fear in all who pass. The great wizards who carved out the trade route didn't think the strange ruins worthy of their time and attention, despite the ominous energies, so the common people tried to remove the strange black stone through conventional means and brute force. Several times they tried, several times they failed. Perfectly forged tools broke. Strong men fell ill. Misfortune of every kind plagued the demolition teams. Eventually, there was a terrible accident which almost claimed a life, and the workmen were forced to retreat permanently and call for magical aid, reasoning that the structure was protected through dark sorcery."
….
"This is as far as I will take you," the carriage driver informed them, as he parked just off the beaten track. "I wish you luck in destroying this abomination."
He glanced over at a cluster of black stones visible just off in the distance, down a narrow path. As Erza had said, the strange obsidian-like stone gave off an evil presence, and they all shivered slightly as they clambered out, even Natsu and Gray.
"Thank you," Erza said, handing the coachman his fee. "You will return for us in an hour?"
"Yes, ma'am," he confirmed, tipping his hat and shaking his reigns.
As they headed down the narrow path, Erza taking the lead in order to contemptuously slash aside the vines which had overgrown the walking track, Natsu voiced everybody's thoughts.
"Something about that rock seems wrong to me," he said, sounding grumpy, although that could have just been his travel sickness.
"Aye, sir," Happy agreed weakly, shivering in his arms.
"Do you think there could be something in these tales of misfortune?" Lucy asked Erza nervously.
"I do not know," she replied. "There are strange magics in this world, and such jinxes have been seen before, but none have proved a match for solid wizardry. If there is a curse on these ruins, it will be broken with the stone." She hacked aside a thorny creeper, as if for emphasis.
….
Fifteen minutes later, they came to the crest of the hill which housed the dark temple. Everybody's spirits seemed dulled by this point, even Natsu's, although he perked up a bit as he reminded himself that they were here to destroy this place. They pulled themselves clear of the undergrowth, first Erza, then Gray and Natsu, and finally Lucy. Happy still clung nervously to Natsu, and unconsciously resisted as his master lowered him to the ground.
The four black stones were arrayed in a box formation. Each one appeared fairly naturally on the outside, but the inner faces of each stone were cut and polished down to a perfect, glinting flatness. Despite this, they were black as night, and reflected nothing but darkness. Ominous symbols circled their edges, words written in an old language nobody present knew.
"Okay," Erza said, loudly and firmly, stepping to face the other three. "There are four monoliths. That means we destroy one each. Natsu, left. Gray, right. Lucy, behind me. I'll take the one I'm facing. Hold nothing back. The client wants this… profanity… utterly eradicated."
"Oh yeah!" Natsu grinned, flames forming around his fists as he stepped to face the black monument he'd been assigned. "I'm fired up now; I've been looking forward to this moment all day!"
"This feeble stone won't stay standing long," Gray said coldly, as he stepped around in front of his.
"The sooner this thing is gone, the better," Lucy shuddered, looking nervously at hers.
"All right! On my mark, let's-" Erza started to say as she walked towards the final black rock… only for the most unexpected thing to happen. Her foot caught around a thick vine, and Erza staggered forwards, falling face-first into the ground with an undignified clank of armour. Everyone turned around at the sound, and for a moment there was only silence and sweatdropping. Then Natsu held his stomach and bent over in a deep belly laugh, pointing at the fallen Erza as he roared with laughter. Erza picked herself up off the ground and glared at Natsu, the corners of her eyes daring the others to join him. None dared.
"As I was saying," Erza said, turning back to her rock to hide the blush she couldn't hold back any longer. "On my mark, we eradicate these accursed things!" Everyone turned their bodies back towards the monoliths and their minds back towards the job. Fire formed around Natsu's fists. The air chilled into mist around Gray. Lucy reached for her Celestial Gate Keys, leafing through them for the most appropriate one. Erza held her sword tighter as she started to glow faintly with magical energy in preparation for her Requip magic.
"Three…two…one…mark!" Erza called.
Natsu slammed his flaming fists together, releasing a burst of red energy into the shape of a magical seal as he took a deep breath.
"Fire Dragon's Roar!" He shouted, as he formed his hands in front of his mouth. When he next opened his mouth, a blast of concentrated flame shot between his hands, blazing through another magical seal before it fanned out into a great conflagration to assail the dark stone in front of him.
Gray coldly crossed his hands in front of him, a blue magic seal forming with precision and elegance.
"Ice Make: Hammer!" he called, firmly and confidently. A massive hammer of ice formed from the thin air in front of him. Glittering brightly as if to mirror the obelisk it was poised to smash, it rose larger than two men. Gray uncrossed his arms and gestured as if to push towards the black monolith, and the titanic hammer shot forward, slamming into the rock with a thunderous crash.
Lucy selected a golden key from her ring, spinning it fluidly and gracefully between her fingers before slashing it at the air, her face alight with the joy of practicing her craft despite the aura of depression coming from the black monoliths.
"Open, Gate of the Golden Bull: Taurus!" An arc of golden light followed the swipe of the key, a glow which quickly blossomed into a momentary, blinding radiance. When it faded, Taurus stood there with his axe held ready, the massive black-and-white spotted bull always ready to serve his attractive mistress… or serve his attraction to his mistress.
"Well, aren't you looking smoooth as always," the perverted bull commented, eyeing Lucy up eagerly.
"No nonsense! Smash down that stone!" Lucy commanded, firmly, but not sharply. The lecherous spirit reluctantly turned its eyes onto its target.
"No trouble at all," the Golden Bull commented. He charged forwards, bringing his axe to bear for a mighty, earth-cleaving two-handed strike.
Erza threw her arms out to the side, her hair billowing as golden magic formed over her body, centred in her armour. The armour seemed to shatter into wisps of golden light, her body hidden behind the same radiance, as a ruby magic seal took shape beneath her feet.
"Requip!"
The golden light reformed again, arraying Erza in shining armour once again, but an entirely different suit. Large pauldrons and gauntlets enhanced the appearance of might created by the bulky golden armour, and a crucifix adorned the lower front of the torso plating. The Armour of the Giant appeared to increase Erza's already impressive stature twofold. She held out her right hand, and in another seal of ruby energy, her Spear of Hajah sprang into her clenching fist. With a great battle cry, Erza hurled the mighty weapon at the centre of the obelisk she faced. Twin flames ignited on its sides, like booster rockets.
Four obelisks. Four attacks. Four bursts of powerful magical energy. All united in one instant, into one great surge of power.
Just as the structure's long dead creators had intended.
Just before each attack landed, the evil runes around the edges of the monoliths lit up with violet energy. Natsu's grand inferno seemed to fizzle out and be drawn into the stone, leaving behind only wisps of smoke. Gray's hammer of ice slammed into his obelisk, and froze to it… and quickly began to melt, the magical energy holding it together flowing away into the rock. The edge of Taurus's axe slammed into Lucy's obelisk… ineffectually. Worse, Taurus was flung back by the impact, staggering backwards and landing on a hand and knee, appearing as winded as though he'd been fighting for hours. Erza's spear hit the final obelisk, and simply fell to the ground. It didn't bounce. Just fell. All its momentum and magical power drained.
The violet runes glowed brighter as they absorbed the power from the heroes' respective attacks, and now violet lines formed across the polished black surfaces of the monoliths, tracing ominous spider webs of purple energy. The sky seemed to darken, as though storm clouds had drawn across the sun, although it was still clear; black mist robbed the Fairy Tail wizards of the light of day. Everybody staggered back, gaping in horror, frozen to the spot. Just what had they unleashed; what had their attacks unwittingly set in motion? Erza was the first to recover.
"Everybody get down! NOW!" She shouted, as the purple energy gathered in the centres of each obelisk. Four beams of purple light – one from each monolith – converged in the centre of the obsidian formation, narrowly missing the wizards, who had followed Erza's command in the nick of time. A churning ball of violet energy formed, drawing upon the energies from the four lines of indigo power. A sound floated through the air, almost like a sinister chuckle. The core of dark energy seemed to pulse, the evil power extending itself to form a shape. Robed arms and legs seemed to form out of the darkness, a hooded figure seeming to take shape out of the nightmarish energies.
"What are you?" Erza demanded, hefting a sword. The malicious creature chuckled in an echoing voice.
"I am the Shade of Inzith. I thank you, foolish wizards, for awakening me from my age-long slumber. In return, may I offer you the gift…of oblivion!" It raised a cloaked arm, a violet magical symbol forming at its insubstantial fingertips. A burst of violet energy shot from the wraith's palm, a purple beam headed directly for Erza's heart. Erza defiantly raised her sword, and slashed aside the burst of energy.
"Do not take us lightly, fiend! Requip!" A lightning-fast requip put Erza back in her standard armour, the Armour of the Giant being too large and unwieldy for open combat.
"Yeah, don't screw with Fairy Tail!" yelled a voice from behind Erza. The shade turned in time to see a burning streak flying through the air towards it. "Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"
The flaming energy gathered around Natsu's fist tore through the shade's form of violet energy, burning it momentarily asunder… but only momentarily, as even as Natsu landed on a hand and a knee, the energies were already reforming, reinforced by the violet beams which still flowed into it from the black obelisks.
"Fool. You cannot defeat me with mere force, no matter how great your magical power. Now taste my wrath!" The revenant cupped its hands, and a ball of purple energies gathered, flying at Natsu before he could recover or respond.
"Ice Make: Shield!" Gray stepped forward in front of Natsu, his hands already forming the sign for one of his signature spells. A blue seal burst out of the air, closely followed by a wall of pure ice. The violet pulse slammed into the wall, exploding into a burst of darkened energies and black smoke.
"Taurus! Strike now!" Lucy commanded. The drained bull staggered to its feet, tightened its grip on its axe, and charged towards the wraith, leaping at it to strike from above with a wild two-handed swipe. The shade spread its arms, and tendrils of darkness burst from its aura, wrapping around the Celestial Spirit and arresting it mid-lunge. The spirit lit up with golden energy, golden energy which was engulfed and corrupted by the darkness, corrupted into violet energy which flowed down the shadowy tendrils into the malevolent wraith. The Celestial Gate closed, and the spirit of Taurus vanished in a blink of golden energy. The shade gave a nasty chuckle.
"Foolish, foolish Celestial Wizard… your spirit's energy has only fed my own…" It raised a hand, and slashed at the air, a crescent blade of violet energies flying through the air towards Lucy, sending her staggering backwards on impact, winded.
"I've seen enough! Requip: Heaven's Wheel!" Another burst of golden energies engulfed Erza. The heavenly light fanned out behind the Fairy Queen, and when it began to fade, Erza was dressed in a new armour forged seemingly wholly of silver. The armour featured angel's wings forged of razor-sharp metal, a breastplate which served to emphasize her feminine shape, and a skirt of silver 'feathers'. Dual swords, also silver and embossed with blue highlights, were clenched in her fists.
"No more playing around! Now you get a full taste of my might!" Innumerable swords sprang from the thin air around her as Erza spread her arms along the wings of her armour. "Dance, my blades! Circle Sword!" The blades swung into formation, tearing through the air like a disk of sheer destruction around Erza, ripping into the violet energy construct that was the Shade of Inzith, scattering the sinister power. But no sooner had the blades vanished again that the beams sprung back from the dark obelisks, joining with the scattered wisps of energy to reform the shade's cloaked body of darkness.
"No way…" Natsu gasped.
"It can re-form itself as long as the obelisks stand," Gray growled. "They're reinforcing its magical energies!"
"But if we strike the obelisks, they'll drain the power from our attacks and send it to that abomination!" Erza spat. The shade chuckled nastily.
"Precisely. Your situation is hopeless. You have no means to defeat me. I am immune to all attacks, magic and mundane!"
"Yeah, we'll see about that!" Natsu snarled, flames forming around his fists again as he defiantly charged the shade. "Fire Dragon's Brilliant Flame!" He cupped his hands together and raised them over his head, the flames around each palm merging into a far greater conflagration, an infernal ball at least as big as Natsu himself. He lowered his arms and threw the giant ball of raging fire directly at the core of the abomination. In a large explosion, the thing was wiped from momentary existence once again. But no sooner was the shade blown away and the explosion fading, the purple beams brightened, and the last few remaining wisps of darkness met the four rays of channelled power, reforming the spectre once again. Natsu gritted his teeth in fury, glaring from the purple shafts of light burning brighter than ever, to the already half-reformed shade.
"The magical energy flow…" Natsu muttered, the gem of another idea coming to him. He slammed his fists together, forming another red seal.
"Natsu, don't waste your power! You can't hurt that thing!" Gray yelled.
"Don't worry, I've got a plan!" Natsu called back, swinging his arms out behind him, and then over his head, another magic seal momentarily forming. "Fire Dragon's Wing Attack!" Whips of flame sprouted from his hands, crossing over and slashing through the air. The attack missed the shade, the lashes of flame swinging by either side of it. Gray almost facepalmed, even despite the seriousness of the situation… then he saw the true intent behind Natsu's attack. The whips of flame tore through the streams of purple energy, cutting clean through them, and the shade gave an involuntary cry.
Erza's eyes widened as she saw Natsu's surprisingly ingenious plan come to fruition, and she determined to add her part. Raising her swords in her hands, she flung each blade at one of the two remaining dark energy channels feeding the shade, severing the remaining two violet energy streams with unerring precision. The shade screamed and writhed in mid-air, bleeding purple energy.
"Gray! It's up to you! Finish it!" Erza called.
"Right!" Gray nodded, slamming a fist into his palm and forming another glacial blue magic seal. "Ice Make: Lance!" A dozen shards of ice sprang up from the pool of melted water left by his last two attacks, scything through the air and ripping through the shade's magical structure. The shade's scream grew to a screeching banshee's wail as the ice shards tore more and more holes through its body; it bled magical energy through each gash in violet streams. Then at last the construct collapsed in on itself, detonating with finality into a violet explosion. Erza heaved a laboured sigh of relief, allowing her magical armour to fade back to her usual attire.
"And that's done it!" Natsu cheered.
"Not quite…" Erza panted.
"Right, we still have to blow this place up!" Natsu grinned, igniting the flames around one of his hands once again. But then another hand grabbed his wrist.
"Stop and think, pyro!" Gray growled. "If you hit these rocks again, that thing is just going to come back out and we'll have to kill it again!" Natsu gritted his teeth, and shoved his face into Gray's, locking foreheads.
"So what do you suggest we do, streaker?"
Lucy peeked from around the side of one of the obelisks.
"Those runes go across the backs of the obelisks too; it wouldn't be that easy. But I don't suppose the makers of these things would ever suspect an attack… from beneath." She giggled as she held up a Gate Key. "Open, Gate of the Maiden: Virgo!"
Lucy slashed her gate key at the air, and in a flash of golden light, the pink-haired maid appeared before her, bowing elegantly before her mistress.
"What may I aid you with, princess?"
Lucy pointed at the nearest obsidian obelisk.
"Go underground, and take a look at the bottom of that thing. If you see any runes like those, come back and let me know. If you don't… blast it to smithereens."
Virgo nodded, folding her arms and sinking away into the ground, the earth literally swallowing her up under the power of her magic. Soon after, the ground began to shake, and cracks started to run up the hitherto pristine face of the indicated obelisk. The Fairy Tail wizards held their breaths as the cracks reached its edges, wondering if the runes were about to alight and herald the return of the phantom… until the rock shattered to pieces, collapsing in on itself, and a rotating Virgo emerged from a hole in the earth at the centre of the disaster and landed in a perfect kneel before Lucy.
"There was a powerful enchantment on that monolith, princess. Fortunately you were able to accurately guess its weak point, and I was able to exploit it. Shall I dispose of the rest of this trash?"
"Please do, Virgo," Lucy nodded, relieved.
In short order the remaining three monoliths met the same fate. The black mist faded a little with each obelisk destroyed, and now they stood blinking in the full daylight. Three of the Fairy Tail wizards were feeling the satisfaction of a job well done, relieved to be out of the dispiriting aura of the former shade's lair.
The fourth, of course, was Natsu, and he was distinctly disgruntled.
"Man, this sucks! I signed up for a demolition mission, but what do I get? Some stupid shade comes out of nowhere, and princess pantaloons over there steals all the glory!" Virgo - who the insult was directed at - didn't dignify his outburst with a response, but Lucy put her hand on her hip and gave Natsu a smirk. Natsu clenched his fist, and Virgo shifted protectively towards Lucy. Erza just stared off into the sunlit sky, a true and radiant smile on her face, while Gray rolled his eyes and started to walk off down the path, back towards the road. Erza soon followed him, then came Lucy, while Virgo returned to the Spirit World. A fuming Natsu followed a while behind.
The sun shone at their backs, a merry wind rustled at their hair, and the last of the black fog blew away in the jolly breeze. The obsidian shards in the distance glittered in the sunshine, reflecting the light for the first time in years, and all the travellers who passed looked on in wonder. Another mission successfully completed by Fairy Tail's strongest team.