Alyx lead the others through the cave in complete silence.
No one knew how to respond well enough to start a proper conversation, and she claimed that she knew how to navigate through tunnels like the back of her hand. It was strange how they hadn't met up with any other guards.
Wendy felt like she was in a constant dilemma. She didn't know whose side to assist, because she partially knew Alyx's reasoning behind her attitude, but Natsu and the others were her friends. The conflict replayed itself in her mind over and over again, until Wendy decided to drop it for another day. The small girl almost walked right into the back of Erza as Alyx signaled for them to stop.
"Why'd we stop?" Lucy asked, being the first to break the heavy atmosphere in the cave.
"Natsu, put out the fire." Alyx ordered, her eyes clamped shut in concentration. She completely ignored Lucy's question, as to be expected.
"Why should I do that? It's our only source of light in here." He protested, the flame in his hand illuminating just to the walls of the tunnel.
"If we are to go any further showing off a light source, any guards will be quick to attack and send reinforcements. They would alert their master and most likely take off deeper into this maze." She explained, not turning towards the pink-haired male much to his discontent. "Besides, they aren't stupid. They will be able to sense your magic output if we go any further down the line. You will need it, too."
He glared at her response. Everything she did seemed to piss him off even more. The way she responded so highly of herself, the way she acted like she was stronger than him, the way she treated him like he was a useless moron that couldn't do anything right, he couldn't stand it! He would give anything at the moment to strangle her and punch some sense in that egotistical brain of hers.
The pale female sighed. "I am tired of fighting as well, but remember that this was your job originally. If you so choose to, you may back out and fight me when we return. Stop thinking so ill of me." It was as if she read his mind, what was she, a psychic?
He was about to verbally retaliate when Erza, in all her shining glory, stepped in. "I don't know why you two hate each other so much, but now is not the time to solve it. She is right, however. We need to put out the fire so we can go undetected. That means no flying as well, Happy." She ordered and Happy floated down to the ground.
Natsu grumbled to himself and let the flames die away. Alyx had a slight smirk on her face for getting what she wanted, before turning away so no one else could see. Natsu only began to hate her more.
When everyone was focused yet again, Alyx began to lead them down the tunnels once more. After a few minutes of walking in silence, her voice could be heard, saying, "It seems as if there are two paths we can take," before she started to walk to the right.
"Wait, how do you know we're taking the right way?" Gray asked. He didn't know squat about where they were going, but he wanted some reassurance at least.
"It is easy. Most people, without thinking, take the left choice rather than the right. It would makes sense for someone to take the latter choice if they wanted to escape properly."
"But isn't that just going on a whim?" Lucy wondered. She didn't doubt Alyx that much as she's lead them decently so far, but she want to be sure.
"For most people, it would be. However, I can actually hear the guild down this way." She pointed down the long and dark tunnel. "They must have gotten arrogant of themselves and began thinking that they had nothing to worry about."
"Hear them? You mean you can hear them down there?" Gray questioned. "I can't hear a thing. You must have some great ears."
"Wow! I can't hear a thing!" Wendy whispered, straining her ears to catch anything at all. Nothing happened.
"How can you hear better than Wendy, who happens to be a Dragon Slayer?" Carla asked. She was curious, but also suspicious.
"...Let me just say that I grew up around caves for a while. I know my way around them, and how to pick out their secrets." She wasn't lying in the least. Maybe a bit vague, but it was the truth. Alyx sighed. "If any of you do not have faith in me that much, you can stay behind and guard the tunnel while we settle this."
No one spoke up.
"Alright then, but I can go without the complaining about my decisions. I know what I am doing." She continued walking down the chosen route, with a still angry male trailing behind her.
It seemed as if the group had walked close to an hour by the time Alyx held out her hand for them to stop again. This time, everyone could hear the sounds of possibly drunk people. There was even a faint light around twenty-five feet away.
Everyone inwardly groaned in happiness. They were sick of the awkward silence that hung over them, and they were glad that no one spoke out when they hit another fork in the tunnels just a few minutes prior. They were ready for some action.
Without warning, Alyx disappeared into the direction of the drunk men.
(A/N: [rises from the pits of hell] Hey there! I haven't forgotten about this story one bit. as it's still one of my favorites. If I ever stop updating for month at a time, it doesn't mean that I dropped it with no warning (I will post a chapter if I ever do), it just means that I needed some inspiration and time to work things out. And yes, I know that this chapter is achingly short - barely reaching 1000 words! But I had to ask one thing, should I turn this into a Natsu x OC story or a Sting x OC story? Just a fair warning, they're both going to be incredibly slow, with the Sting one being even slower. If you choose the Sting route, then I'll have to come up with my own ideas (which will take forever), and Alyx most likely won't be around Fairy Tail much. Tell me what you feel, yeah? See ya!)
