Welcome everyone to another collaboration between Kytrin and Mslead! It's been a while, but we've been busy writing ahead. I know everyone was expecting us to come out with Mythos before a new fic, and while that one is finished, it needs heavy editing. So in the meantime, we present you with GOLEM! It's over halfway completed, so you will have your regular updates the same way you had them with our previous story!
Speaking of which, hopefully you have stuck around from our previous story 'Parallels,' but if you're a new reader I'll tell you the breakdown on how we run things! New chapters happen once every two days! You can count on regular updates from us, as Golem so far has 24 chapters! It's shaping up to be a big one like our last fic! So I hope you'll stay with us for the ride!
Disclaimer: We don't own Fairy Tail or the characters seen in this fic.
UPDATES ONCE EVERY TWO DAYS
CHAPTER 1
Golem
Jewish Folklore. a figure artificially constructed in the form of a human being and endowed with life.
They obey the every whim and command of those who give them life.
Lucy had no idea how she'd found herself in her current situation, but she was not pleased. She was a Rune Knight not an Archaeologist! How had she somehow gotten saddled with poking through dusty, moldy, old ruins in the middle of the monster and demon infested wilderness? Sure, she liked history and ancient cultures, but she generally preferred to confine her interest to books and museum trips or relics already discovered.
"Lu look!" An excited voice cried out a few feet away.
Oh yeah. That was how.
Her best friend, and fellow Rune Knight, was a historian as well as a script mage. And there was no deterring Levy once she started chasing a lead on something. A fact that was as well known as Levy's ability to melt people's brains within the first five sentences.
Which was perversely how they'd become friends in the first place, and how she'd been assigned to watch Levy's back during the expedition.
No one else would do it. The cowards.
She shook her head a little, her irritation fading as she headed over to join her friend, "What did you find?" She asked with genuine interest.
It was very hard for her to remain annoyed when Levy was so excited about something. It was infectious.
"If I'm reading the glyphs correctly, it's a protective seal!" Levy replied excitedly, "Or at least it was supposed to be. The magic's worn out or we'd see the magic circle too. But Lu it's the exact same style as the seals Zeref favored! I'm certain of it!"
Now that got Lucy's attention.
Zeref had been an incredibly dark wizard over four hundred years in the past. He was legendary for his ability to both inspire fear and achieve pinnacles of magic no one had ever achieved before or since. To this day some even still feared and revered him as a god. It was all nonsense as far as Lucy was concerned though.
To worship a single man as a god? Especially one as terrible as Zeref had been was unthinkable to her.
But then again, she was a human still alive in a world being torn apart by demons. The demons created by Zeref.
As a consequence, it was hard for her to shake off her animosity towards them. Magic Knights struggled day in and day out on the front lines to crush the demons that laid their planet to waste and inched towards human settlements.
Nothing they did could stop the demons, even their most powerful wizards were unable to stop the steady ascent the monsters took towards claiming their cities and towns. At best, they were able to slow them down. If they were lucky.
But it was always a battle, even within the safety of the walls. Not everyone appreciated what the Magical and Rune Knights fought and died for, and more than one otherwise promising wizard had turned to a life of crime when humanity could least afford it.
Lucy scowled at the thought of the magical insurgents that had sprung up in her very own city. She hated them and what they represented. They chipped away at the control of the Magic Council and formed discontent and rebellion. They had no interest in anyone or anything other than their own selfish gain,and Lucy hated that they existed in such hard times. Unfortunately, there were always people who would try to take advantage.
"Lu?" Levy's voice floated back to Lucy, grounding her back down to reality.
"Ah, sorry-" Lucy's cheeks flushed, her animosity fading for the time being, "I didn't mean to float off there."
Levy smiled at her, her cheeks puffing out, "Come on and help me open this thing!"
Lucy grinned and moved to the other side of the seal, "Alright, on the count of three? One... two... three!"
They both pushed at the seal top with all their might, and slowly, inch by painstaking inch, it ground away until an opening just large enough for them to squeeze through appeared.
"Let's hope we don't need to deal with any more of those." Lucy panted, shaking her arms tiredly, "Seriously. What could Zeref have hidden here that required a three foot thick slab of stone and magical protections?"
"I'm not sure." Levy replied as she caught her breath and pulled out a couple of flashlights, "But let's be careful from here on in Lu. The damage to the inscribed array on the outside was what made the shield fail. There's no telling if any of the other traps still work."
Lucy frowned a little and nodded, "Yeah. Good point. It may be a good thing we're here and not a normal team after all." She huffed a bit, "Not that a normal team would've made it past the demons anyway."
"The demons can't be everywhere." Levy replied with a small smile as she squeezed through, "And while the high level ones are a problem the low level ones can be dealt with by average powered wizards. There aren't that many high level demons anyway. They just seem like a lot more because of all the destruction they cause."
Lucy cocked her head slightly as she squeezed past the seal with her friend, "I never really thought about it like that." She admitted, "But even so, it's still dangerous."
"Maybe." Levy grinned, the light from her flashlight making it look somewhat sinister, "But what I mean is for some people the potential reward is worth the risk."
Lucy rolled her eyes, "Alright, you've made your point. It's still better we're the ones out here than a normal team. All the stories say Zeref was really good at putting up nasty surprises. I wouldn't want to risk that on non-magical people."
"No argument from me!" Levy laughed as they cautiously crept further down the tunnel.
The earth rumbled around them menacingly, and Lucy held still as the ominous shower of small stones and dust rained down from the cave ceiling.
"Can we get a little more light in here Levy?" Lucy whispered, the hushed tone bouncing off the echoing walls. As much as she would have loved to linger around this area, she wasn't sure how this place would continue to stand.
Moving the entrance slab seemed to have upset the foundation of the place, and Lucy was not at all inclined to wait for the roof to fall down around their heads. There was only so much they would be able to do even with their magic if that happened.
"Sure Lu," Levy's voice came near Lucy's elbow, and with a few swipes of her sparkling fingertips, the word 'LIGHT' glowed in the air around them.
The magical script floated above their heads and illuminated a back wall.
The room as a whole seemed very small. There wasn't much in there aside from an ornately decorated wall. Oddly enough, the one directly in front of them was patterned differently from the walls nearby, as if it were a door of some sort.
Lucy crept close to it, squinting against the darkness as she tried to read the text. It was indistinguishable squiggles to her eyes but she knew Levy would be able to read it.
Her hand flattened down against the ancient text, while Levy floated in behind her, the light following and shining down on the crumbling wall.
"This is old," Levy breathed in awe, "the text is amazing, and it's definite proof this was made by Zeref!"
Curious, Lucy dragged her fingers over the carvings in the wall, oddly fascinated by the images of dragons and wizards fighting in the reliefs.
"What makes you say that?" Lucy asked, not understanding what Levy seemed to see so easily.
Sometimes it frustrated her that her friend was so clever. But Levy had a tendency to blow people away with her fast chatter.
Even Lucy, who stood a better chance than most sometimes got completely lost by her rambunctious friend.
Thankfully Levy was always patient enough to explain her findings, and often seemed to relish in the ability to share her knowledge. A fact Lucy always found welcome.
"Do you see this?" Levy pointed over Lucy's shoulder, "The inscriptions here refer to 'the dragons END,' but the way it's spelled can only be meant for-"
"The weapon, END," Lucy clarified, her eyes growing wide at the revelation.
Everyone knew of END and its mysterious decommission. It was like the boogeyman of humans, responsible for tipping the scales which began to drive their world to ruin.
END, the most power of all Zeref's demons. The weapon to end them all.
"What's it say?" Lucy asked, her attention now fully captured.
"Hmmmm..." Levy mused as she studied the inscription carefully.
"When light and darkness become flesh and bone,"
"The empty body a life to own."
"My magic a spark to feed the demand,"
"The Golem within mine to command."
"What does that-?" Lucy started only to gasp in shock as a powerful magical surge pulsed from under her fingertips. She tried to move her hand back, but found it would not budge from its position over the door.
"Levy!" She yelped, tugging at her wrist, "I can't move my hand!"
Levy's eyes widened as she leapt to her friend's side and tried to help her, but her hand was stuck fast. Fiery scrawl crawled all around them, too numerous for Levy to have any hope of making sense of all of it, until the entire chamber was covered and a magic circle appeared under Lucy's feet.
Levy let out a yelp of her own as it zapped her with a crackle of energy and hastily leapt out of the way.
"Levy!" Lucy cried, panic creeping into her voice, "What's going on?!"
"Hang on Lu!" Levy replied as she looked around desperately, "I'm trying to-"
She was cut off as a flash of bright light flared up all around Lucy and then suddenly it was over.
The red script and the magic circle vanished as if they'd never been, and Lucy's hand was free as her knees buckled.
"Lucy!" She exclaimed, rushing back over, "Are you alright?"
"I think so..." Lucy panted tiredly, "But I feel like I just ran a marathon."
Levy helped to support Lucy, holding her arms up and steadying her shoulders, "I don't know what happened, but it seems like whatever spell that was siphoned off some of your magic!"
"Some?" Lucy whined around a smile, "I feel like it almost bled me dry!"
"Oh good, you're whining - at least now I know you'll survive," Levy teased.
Lucy aimed to stick her tongue out at her friend, but froze when the inscriptions began to glow again. Both women recoiled from the door, shielding their heads when it slowly began to draw upwards.
A rumbling echoed overhead, dust trickling down to coat their hair with small debris.
The door moved, opening up wider and wider, showing a shallow recess behind it. A small space, barely large enough for a person to squeeze into.
And that was exactly what was on the other side of the door.
A man, covered in dust, stood in front of them, his eyes creaking open into tired slits.
Black, inky spirals tattooed his skin, sliding over his shoulders and down his arms. Lucy could see peeks of the ink along his sides and drawing down his hips.
The ink disappeared into his torn pants. They were held up by a sash that looked more moth eaten than fabric, and Lucy swallowed hard when he took one stumbling step forward.
His legs buckled, and he dropped down to a knee in front of Lucy, his steps unsteady and faltering.
Lucy gasped and managed to lift her hands up to settle on his broad shoulders. from her fresh angle, she was able to determine the man's hair was a strange shade of pink under all the dirt.
The man's shoulders tensed at her light touch, and she jumped back in surprise when he looked up suddenly and growled at her.
"Is that...?" Levy started only to jump herself when the man turned to look at her and the growl increased. Though he didn't make any effort to move.
"Oh my gods!" Levy breathed in wonder, "It's really END! We found him!" She looked over at her friend, "And your magic is bonded to him!"
"What?!" Lucy exclaimed in alarm, "But I didn't do anything!"
"Your hand was on the door when I translated the inscription." Levy contradicted, "It must've been a spell linking your magic to END's." Her eyes widened as the implications of what that meant hit her, "Lu... this means you control the greatest weapon in history!"
END had stopped growling while they talked, and had sunk back into an apathetic, blank eyed, crouch.
"So... why isn't he going on a rampage?" Lucy asked in confusion, "I mean, wasn't Zeref supposed to be the only one strong enough to control him?" She tried not to tense as he cocked his head slightly at the word Zeref, "The last time I checked I wasn't that strong."
Levy shrugged, "I don't know." She admitted, "The stories about END are confusing at best. Right now, I'd say he's not attacking because you're the one linked to him, and you haven't ordered it."
Lucy frowned a little, "END, I order you to stand up and come out of that alcove." She commanded, not convinced he would obey, but to her surprise he struggled to his feet.
Of course, four hundred years of confinement, magical or not, was bound to take its toll and he stumbled as he took a step. Lucy reached out automatically to steady him, and blinked at how warm he was on contact. She wasn't sure why but she'd expected him to be cold to the touch. Not warm. Though he certainly felt gross from four hundred years worth of dust and dirt on him.
She very nearly resisted the urge to wipe her hands off on her pants. It was hard enough keeping his heavy form supported until he regained his balance.
She eyed his face, his eyes dull and unfocused, but looking at her - almost expectantly she thought. As if he were waiting for his next order.
This was the demon that helped to rip their world apart four hundred years ago? Calling him a man didn't seem right - but calling him a weapon when he breathed and looked at her didn't seem right either.
It was clear though, he had no real sense of self behind those lifeless eyes.
"Amazing," Levy breathed as she watched END move as commanded. His body swayed just a little as he seemed to get used to moving around again. Aside from that, he showed no outward sign of being aware of his surroundings.
"I have to see what else the wall says," Levy said eagerly, cautiously stepping around the passive demon so she could pull out a recording lacrima to save the images and study later.
She swept it around, letting the light illuminate the passages and Lucy looked at END's face.
He followed her motions, eyes tracking her even though no other part of him moved.
"Can you speak?" Lucy asked, hesitant. The answer to that made her nervous, as she wasn't sure she wanted the answer. Levy glanced at her, waiting with all the eager interest of the historian she was.
END however, did not respond.
He blinked once at her, his tired, unfocused eyes gliding over Lucy.
"Guess that's that," Lucy sighed and took END's hand, pulling the almost unresponsive demon with her further from the wall so Levy could get to other portions of the door.
"This is a brilliant find Lucy!" Levy whipped around sharply at Lucy, "just think of what we could learn from him! Having END on our side can finally change the way this war against Tartaros is fought!"
END's head twitched at the word 'Tartaros.'
Lucy raised an eyebrow at the reaction. She'd noticed his reaction to Zeref as well, but that had been different. Like the kind of reaction you'd get from a dog after saying a word they knew. By comparison this had been a full body cringe even though his face had barely twitched.
Was it possible the fearsome demon didn't like Tartaros?
The idea seemed ridiculous at first, but if END had been linked to Zeref in this same kind of blankly passive state then it was possible things had been unpleasant for him at the hands of the other demons. She knew perfectly well how much above humanity they saw themselves. To them END would seem like a failure. A powerful one perhaps, but still a failure.
A trickle of reluctant pity ran through her.
She wasn't a fan of END, by a long shot, but suffering at the hands of the Tartaros demons wasn't something she would wish on her worst enemy. Let alone someone who clearly couldn't fight back without orders.
"I think we should avoid saying Tartaros Levy." She said slowly, watching as END twitched again and took his eyes off her long enough to glance around, "Call me crazy, but I don't think END here likes them a whole lot."
Levy blinked a little and nodded, "Right. Good idea."
She grinned, "But maybe that's a good thing?" She suggested, "He won't fight your orders to attack them or anything if you have to."
"Well that's a good thing I guess," Lucy cringed herself at the idea. Although she had to admit, she was a little interested to find out what END could do.
At the moment it didn't look like he could do much of anything at all. He just sat there and blinked. It seemed like he was about as useful as a floor lamp at the moment.
"You ready here Levy?" Lucy asked, growing worried over being around there for so long.
Knowing Zeref, he had placed a seal over END for a reason. Though only the gods, and Zeref himself, knew why he would do something like that.
He had decommissioned his most powerful weapon. A demon that seemed dangerous even to the other Etherious grade demons that commanded the lower level, bottom feeding monsters.
Accounts of END and the great tragedies he had committed while at Zeref's side were spread all over the world.
It was hard to believe this dusty, bleary eyed man was responsible.
Aside from the clearly demonic markings painting his skin, Lucy could almost mistake him for human.
His ears tapered slightly at the end into delicate points, sharp fangs lined the inside of his mouth, and his blank stare was highlighted by slitted pupils. But there were no horns, no claws - nothing to speak of a demonic nature.
But still, he was considered a weapon. Which meant he would be wanted.
Lucy didn't want to bank on their presence remaining unnoticed for long.
She edged towards the tunnel, uncertain if she would have to order END to follow her or not, but to her relief he moved after her. His steps were a little wobbly, but there was no hesitation in his movements, and his gait got stronger the more he moved.
"Interesting." Levy mused, "He follows automatically. I guess that means you have to order him to stay put when you don't want him following after you?"
"Probably knowing my luck." Lucy sighed, a slight throbbing in her head warning of an impending headache, "But let's worry about that later."
She led the way back outside, keeping a wary eye on the tunnel as she did, grateful that the trip out didn't seem nearly as long as the trip in, and it had more light thanks to the entrance being open all the way.
Her brain faltered on that and she paused without warning as she eyed the entrance with sudden caution. When had the entrance been opened fully? She and Levy had barely made enough room to squeeze through, and that stone had been very heavy. So why was the whole doorway standing open without the slab that had covered it anywhere in sight?
"What's wrong Lu?" Levy asked, "Why did we stop?"
"Levy..." Lucy said lowly, "Why is the entrance open fully?"
She could almost hear her friend thinking as her hand strayed to her keys. Her instincts were screaming at her that something was very wrong and she really wanted to stay alert, but she couldn't hear anything outside.
Of course, she'd learned the hard way, that didn't necessarily mean much.
Low snarls filled the entranceway, along with hulking deformed shapes.
Monsters. They were the low level kind, that dwelled in wastelands and the wild. They littered all over the countryside and roamed in packs.
One of which, seemed to have sensed the magic emitted from unleashing END, and ventured close to investigate.
They growled eagerly at the sight of food, acidic saliva bubbling from their maws and sizzling onto the stone below.
But that wasn't the most frightening thing.
No, it was the animalistic snarl that started up behind her, and Lucy turned only partially to see END's whole body tensed to fight. Sharp fangs were baring, lips pulled back in a deadly warning, and veins cobwebbed up his arms.
He took a step forward, and the monsters made a confused sound, as if unsure to stand their ground or retreat.
Lucy stared in shock as END stood steadfast by her side against the monsters, none of which dared to come towards them upon seeing END.
It seemed there was a certain kind of unspoken language going on between them, like wild dogs trying to mark out new territory.
It seemed they pushed their luck too far, when one dared to advance further towards Lucy.
Fascinated, Lucy watched END let out a furious roar as he sprang forward, fire erupting around him in a blaze.
It was a little like watching a statue suddenly spring to life. Where before END had been docile to the point of her doubting he really was END, now she saw where the stories had come from. There was nothing weak or hesitant about the way END fought. His moves were as deadly as they were smooth, and in moments he'd taken down the monster that had edged closer to her with a violent precision that left her faintly nauseated.
Still, she was glad to see it. She and Levy probably could've dealt with two or three of them, but she could see at least six more converging on END from where he was perched on the carcass of the first beast and snarling threateningly at them.
She grabbed her keys just in case, aware that despite END being a weapon there were six against one, and help might be needed if they all converged at once.
However, there was nothing to worry about as a moment later END belched out a gout of flame that literally fried the monsters to a crisp and blew them back.
Lucy and Levy looked at each other in stunned shock for a moment while END stood up and returned to his original vacant expression.
"I think I'm going to just go get the truck started!" Lucy exclaimed nervously, "We should have enough fuel we don't need more before getting back right?"
"Absolutely!" Levy agreed fervently, "I'll just get everything put in the back! We didn't unpack much anyway!"
They stared at each other for another moment and all but bolted to their self-appointed tasks.
Neither of them had any idea if more monsters or demons would be incoming, and weren't very eager to find out. They weren't particularly eager to ride around with END either, but as long as he wasn't snarling at them they would ignore it in favor of getting out of there and back home as quickly as possible.
Preferably before something nasty like Tartaros showed up.
Of course that caused the question of how to get END inside their vehicle. Lucy doubted such a things existed in his time, and how she could convince the puppet to climb into it.
It took a little beckoning and creative phrasing, but eventually Lucy was able to drag END into the back seat. She hid a cringe every time she touched him, even as it forced her to grab him by the wrist.
He was filthy before, but after attacking the monsters with such uncontrolled savagery, he had blood splattered across his chest and sprayed over his face.
It dotted and flecked in his hair, but he didn't seem to even notice as Lucy encouraged him to lay down on the seating.
"Drive a little bit, okay?" Lucy asked Levy, "I'm going to try to clean him up and sit with him. If something happens, we at least know he'll listen to me."
"Good idea," Levy flashed END a nervous look, who was merely staring up at the carriage overhead.
It seemed she wasn't keen on him suddenly going crazy once they started to move.
However, nothing happened as Levy started to drive. END shifted a bit, which was to be expected, but he made no other outward sign of reaction except to shift his gaze to Lucy, and when she didn't react adversely he seemed to settle down again.
Lucy breathed softly in relief that he was apparently taking his cues from her, which perhaps explained the sudden violence earlier. Still, she was cautious as she rummaged through their supplies for a sponge and some water to try and clean him up a bit, but he didn't react to her movements at all.
In fact, he didn't react to anything even as she gently touched the wet sponge to his arm and started scrubbing. She was careful not to scrub harshly on the off chance he protested that, but she could've been cleaning a giant doll for all he seemed to care.
It was vaguely insulting actually.
But she wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth and between her work, and a few well placed commands, she was able to get him at least cleaner than he had been. He would still need a thorough shower at some point, but it was still an improvement.
Levy didn't say anything as she quietly drove them back home, but kept a sharp eye on Lucy and END. They were definitely going to have some very interesting reports once they got back. This was going to shake up a lot of things, and there was no telling just how the pieces would fall.
With luck, they would fall in favor of ending this seemingly endless war.
And there you have it ladies and gents. The end to our first chapter of GOLEM. We hope you like it! :D And our chapter titles will be named after the creatures we list! So keep an eyes on those!
LET US KNOW WHAT YOU GUYS THINK!
