Well, we're finally getting to the exciting parts! I hope you're enjoying the story thus far, and I would really appreciate any comments, favorites, or follows ;) I'd be glad to hear your opinion (as long as it doesn't crush my heart and soul and make me want to go cry in a corner...) Thanks, and happy reading!
Chapter 3: In Which Ellura Makes Some New Friends
The spot was rather secluded. Of course, that made sense, considering this was the intended ransom money drop-off point for some bloody kidnapper. Adam grimaced, thinking of the poor little girl who'd been taken. According to her parents, Rina was only eight years old. He couldn't help but anticipate the moment when he'd get to punch the kidnapper in the face. Anyone willing to take little kids from their families was clearly a sick creep.
Dresden came up next to the bush that Adam was crouching behind. "Think this is going to work?" she asked.
He sighed. "I sure hope so." The plan was simple enough. In the forest clearing that the ransom note had directed them to, the four wizards had instructed Mr. Bollar to place a large briefcase, supposedly filled with stacks of 1,000 Jewel notes. In reality, it was mostly strips of paper; only the top piece of each stack was a 1,000 Jewel note. They were hoping that if the kidnapper opened the briefcase, he wouldn't look too carefully before taking it back to his hideout. However, if things went awry, the team was prepared to fight.
"Alright, well I'm going to go take my position," Dresden said. "Ellura and Lizz are all set." With that, the blonde wizard disappeared into the branches of a large oak tree.
If the ransom note said that the money had to be delivered within five days, Adam figured that the kidnapper had a system of checking the drop off point. Adam hunkered down, not really sure how long they'd be waiting there. However, it hadn't even been twenty minutes when he heard Dresden's signal whistle. He tensed and looked up over the edge of his bush toward the briefcase.
Ellura was surprised when she saw not one, but two kidnappers edge out of the forest and walk to the briefcase. Great, she thought. They were probably dealing with some sort of gang of kidnappers. She thought about how quickly the two villains had gotten there, and realized that they had probably put up surveillance lacrimas around the perimeter. Ellura hoped that the lacrima images had only shown Mr. Bollar in the clearing, and not four hired wizards as well.
One of the kidnappers, a tough looking woman with cropped, orange hair pulled out a photon pistol and scanned the clearing, before gesturing to the other kidnapper to pick up the briefcase. The other one was a short, bald man with beady eyes. As Ellura carefully watched them, she wondered if they were wizards.
As soon as the two kidnappers had disappeared back into the trees, the four wizards convened in the middle of the clearing. "You guys ready?" Dresden asked.
"Come on let's just go before we lose them," Lizz suggested.
Together they dashed into the woods, ready for anything. Up ahead they spotted the orange hair of the woman, and began to follow her movements about ten yards behind. The mages walked as quietly as possible, not wanting to alert the villains of their presence. About fifteen minutes later, Adam halted, and Lizz looked around him to see that the two kidnappers had stopped in front of a large tunnel that looked like the opening of a mine shaft. More shady looking people stood outside the opening to guard it. "Guessing that's the hideout," she whispered to Dresden sarcastically.
Dresden slit her eyes and watched the original two kidnappers disappear inside the abandoned mine tunnel. They would need to take out the two guards before they could yell out an alarm.
"Dresden," Adam snuck over to her side. "You thinking what I'm thinking?"
"I'm on it." She smiled, a little too manically for Adam's comfort, and put her back against a tree.
Dresden's magic was probably the most curious out of the four, considering she hadn't followed in the footsteps of either of her parents. She didn't use fire magic, and although her mother, Lucy, had attempted to teach her some Celestial Spirit magic, Dresden was a requip wizard like Adam.
"Requip," Dresden said lightly. Rather than producing a new set of armor like Adam and Erza's requip magic, a pointed, golden longbow materialized in her hand. This bow was called Lightbearer, and each magic arrow that appeared, notched onto the string, was made of pure energy.
"Oooh," Lizz said with excitement. "This one's my favorite."
"Shh," Adam cautioned.
Dresden turned to face the two guards, and slowly brought the bow up. As she pulled back the string she muttered, "Two." Immediately, two intensely glowing lines appeared on the bow to form shimmering arrows of golden light. Her breath slowed and she aimed.
The guards were down within a matter of seconds, each arrow hitting its mark accurately.
"Nicely done," Adam complimented, observing the archery-requip wizard's handiwork.
"This should keep them out for awhile." Dresden's bow glowed slightly, and then dematerialized. "Let's go."
Ellura took the lead, holding her hands together in front of her, prepared for action. The dark tunnel stretched wide before them like a hungry mouth. She edged forward into the dimness, straining her eyes. "I can't see anything," she whispered to the others. The sound of her voice reverberated along the tunnel walls eerily.
Adam joined her at the front. "Just keep moving. I'm sure we'll see light up ahead eventually. These kidnappers must be keeping Rina in here somewhere." The team entered the mined tunnel and were enveloped in the inky abyss. Adam must have already requiped, for he now had a broadsword in his hand, and Ellura could see it glint dangerously.
"Why don't you take the lead," she suggested, shoving him forward. She was not about to get sliced to death, just because Adam mistook her head for an enemy's in the dark.
Together, the four wizards moved through the darkness, inches at a time. They followed an old track that had been used at one point in time to transport materials to and from the heart of the mine. Occasionally, Lizz could feel drafts of cool air flowing from openings that branched off of the main tunnel. Adam had proposed that they simply follow the main one, seeing that they didn't want to wind up lost in a mysterious mine. Suddenly, a chorus of rough sounding voices echoed through the tunnel. Lizz found that she could distinguish the flickering light of a torch up ahead, and she watched as the silhouettes of her fellow teammates stopped in front of her. She followed suit and put a hand of Dresden's shoulder.
Using her softest voice Lizz inquired, "What's the plan?" Dresden shrugged, looking to Adam and Ellura.
"We need some kind of distraction," Dresden said so that the other three could hear. In the vague torchlight the others watched as she grinned. "Anyone here good at making loud noises?"
Ellura raised her eyebrows. "Do you even need to ask that question?" She began to walk toward the voices and the light.
"Wait? Hold up!" Adam blocked her path and held up his hands. "What are you doing?!"
Ellura just walked around him with the wave of a hand. "Causing a distraction. What else would I be doing?" With a quick glance over her shoulder, and a wink to her friends, she disappeared in around the corner.
Lizz slapped her forehead. "She's gonna get herself killed," she groaned. Ellura was always jumping headfirst into dangerous situations.
"Nonsense," Dresden countered with a grin. "I think this is going to go quite well."
"Well, there's no stopping her now." Adam hefted up his sword. "Get ready."
They waited for about ten seconds before they heard Ellura loudly say, "Why hello there friends!"
"Friends?" Adam turned towards Dresden with an exasperated look on his face.
"I...uh...must have taken a wrong turn!" Ellura's voice carried through the tunnel to her teammates. "I was looking for the bathroom." Ellura had found herself in a large, circular cavern, from which multiple tributary mine shafts branched out. She had also found herself facing twenty or so dangerous-looking, and possibly murderous, people, who each brandished a weapon of equal countenance.
The kidnappers' faces stared blankly at her for a few moments, not quite taking in the situation, until the same woman from before stood up and yelled, "Don't let her get away!" A certain, unsavory word slipped from Ellura's mouth, and she started running, a mob of angry villains chasing her.
Dresden heard the din of the mob before the other two. Quickly, she grabbed Adam's arm and dragged him with her into one of the satellite tunnels.
"Hey what are you–"
She silenced him with a quick, "Shh!" and peeked her head out to look at Lizz, who gave her a confused look.
"What are you doing?!" The white-haired mage asked.
"Once Ellura passes with most of those goons chasing her, Adam and I will try to find out where Rina Bollar is and get her out!" They could now clearly hear the shout of angry voices and the echoing rumble of feet, just around the corner.
"And what am I supposed to do?!" Lizz demanded above the deafening clamor.
"RUN!" Ellura screamed hysterically, appearing from around the corner, twenty kidnappers on her tail. Lizz barely had enough time to squeak in surprise before Ellura began yank her towards the opening to the mine tunnels.
Dresden and Adam waited until the gang of villains had hurtled past their covert hiding spot, and then slowly slunk across the tunnel to the source of the torchlight. Listening closely, Dresden found that she could no longer hear voices coming from the open chamber. She cautiously poked her head around the corner and sighed with relief when she found that it was empty.
"It's clear." She tapped Adam on the shoulder and they quietly entered the large area.
Adam scanned the chamber looking for the girl. Although the flickering torches lining the walls cast about deep shadows, the red haired mage was able to spot movement on the darker side of the chamber.
"Over here," he whispered to his teammate. He moved closer with his sword drawn to discover a small girl, gagged and bound. She let out a muffled cry, but Adam put a finger to his lips. Adam started to untie the gag that had been roughly fastened around her mouth, and Dresden untied her feet.
"We're Fairy Tail wizards and we were sent by your parents to rescue you," Dresden said gently while untying the ropes around Rina's small wrists.
"Well it's about time!" Rina spat as Adam removed the rag from her face.
Ahhh! There's the end of Chapter 3. You might be wondering, why have the last two chapters been so short compared to the first? I have no answer to this question, unfortunately. Honestly I just sort of start a new chapter whenever it feels right . What did you think? Do you have a favorite character? What kind of wizard would you like to see in this fanfic? Comment below and tell me! Also, I will try to put Chapter 4 up in the next few days, so keep a look out for it!