Lost Echoes, part 6
The mix of two guilds stood near the rock face, looking for a way in. The weeping statue was proof enough they had found their mark. Finding no obvious entrance, Kavi placed his palm flat against the stone and closed his eyes. A heavy pulse rushed forth, knocking a few of the exceeds off their feet. Gajeel watched with interest, wondering what Kavi was capable of in a fight. After a moment, Kavi opened his eyes and waved his comrades over to follow him. They found a sealed doorway several yards down from the statue. "That's amazing!", said Levy. Kavi hid his shy grin and said, "It's nothing. The question is - How do we get in?". Yona smirked and threw a a wave of water without warning. Several of the mages were now soaked, but the door collapsed as she intended. "Yay, Yona-chan!", beamed Blythe, ignoring his dripping clothes. Unamused, Charle said, "Your friends are interesting." Rani smiled and Ronen laughed. Natsu tried not to laugh at the soaked felines, but he couldn't hold it in.
After a moment of laughter passed, Yona grabbed Natsu and shoved him forward. "You first, Flashlight". Lighting his fist, he led the group in. Kavi didn't need the light, quite capable of echo locating his way through the darkness, but he humored the mages that had come so far to help. Eventually, they stumbled into a large chamber. "What is this place?", uttered Lucy, peering at the archaic equipment within. A long table held many unknown devices and rotten tomes. Magic circles had been carved into the floor near two large, shattered glass tubes. One was marked "Wahid". The second was so disfigured, on "Fa" could be made out in the gloom. A chill ran down Lucy's spine at those inscriptions, though she wasn't sure why. Her gaze settled on Natsu as she fought off the feeling. "Lucy, look!", cried Happy. She joined him at a stack of books beside Levy. Most were damaged from water and time, but one was still legible on the cover. It said, "Valentine". She peered at it closely, but the pages were stuck fast. "What do you think it means?", inquired Levy.
Beside them, Yona peered at the book. Her eyes flickered momentarily at the title. "Well, I'll be damned", she smirked. She grabbed the tome from Lucy's hand and looked it over. "Hey!", cried Lucy, worried she would damage it. "Chill out, Princess. I can't hurt it. It's magic", said Yona. Running sea water from her finger tips, she showed Lucy that no liquid actually touched the book, instead beading and rolling off. She handed the book back, bored with it. "Yona, it this about our Valentine?", asked Lucy carefully. "Our? I think you mean your, and yeah, it is", replied Yona. "I didn't know they had books about individual spirits", uttered Levy, taking a closer look. "They don't", said Lucy, still confused. Sliding it into her pack, she turned her focus to helping the others.
Wendy and Charle stood in the center of the chamber, staring down at spiral pattern below their feet. "Is this important, Kavi-san?", she asked. Stepping beside her, he kneeled down at inspected the carved stone. Rising, he sent her a reassuring smile. "Yes. You've found the next marker", he replied. She grinned, glad to be of help. Natsu seemed less interested. He looked at it flatly. "What's so special about it?", he inquired, unimpressed. Kavi waited for everyone to gather before explaining. "What we're after will be in the vaults below. As you may have guessed, this is ancient site. It was used for research and worship. Whatever was in those tubes is long gone. It should be relatively safe to press on." Levy glanced toward him with question. "Relatively?", she repeated. Blythe stepped forward and said, "We don't really know what or who could be down there. The cult is supposed to be extinct, but..." Gajeel sighed, "But what?". "We might get to kick some ass after all", beamed Yona. Lily smirked at her attitude. "That still doesn't explain why you need all of us", said Natsu. Kavi met his gaze and replied, "The vault is supposedly locked via magical means. It takes five different people to open it, all using different types of dragon slayer magic at once." Natsu blinked plainly, not having expected that answer. "That's some lock", he grinned. Kavi smiled faintly and motioned everyone to step back. Blythe set to work on what was deemed the lock for the spiral and within moment a whirling click sounded and the stones began to move. He beamed proudly. "Sometimes I come in handy", he stated sheepishly. "You're just a valued as we are on this team", said Kavi. Yona rolled her eyes. Ronen explained, "Blythe has training as a bounty hunter. That gives him skills such as tracking, lock picking, and stealth. It comes in handy." Rani smiled and added, "He's also good for the team morale." Blythe blushed at the praise.
The stones settled into a staircase that spiraled into the depths below. "Be aware of your steps", warned Kavi, taking the lead. Natsu followed behind him, lighting the way for his guild mates. Bored, Yona flicked droplets of water into the flame making a hissing noise. Kavi gave her a mild glare and she stopped with a 'hmph'. At the bottom, it was dank. An awful scent filled the air, hitting the dragon slayers the hardest. "What is that?!", spat Yona. "You don't want to know", said Kavi, stepping over something in the darkness. Natsu turned up the heat, bringing the chamber to light. They were ankle deep in muddy water. Algae and partially decomposed corpses lined the wall. "I didn't think anyone would be down here", uttered Gajeel. "They couldn't have been here long", observed Levy. "Yeah, they're still squishy", sneered Yona. Happy climbed onto his partner's shoulder, Rani doing the same to Kavi. Wendy carried Charle while Ronen and Lily walked through the sludge. "I wouldn't be so sure", said Lily. Lucy felt it, too. Something powerful permeated the air.
"Over here", called Kavi. A large stone circle with intricate designs took up a large area on the wall. Sure enough, five carved hand prints could be seen. Each dragon slayer placed their palm on one of the marks and, at Kavi's nod, released their magic. The flame Natsu sustained with his free hand went out. The stone cracked down the center and slid apart. The other side as dry and seemed to light at their presence. They all stepped out of the murky fluid, but something wasn't right. All of the slayers stared at their palms. A strange mark had appeared on each hand that unlocked the door. Even worse, none of them could feel their magic. "What gives?!", fumed Natsu. Gajeel grabbed Kavi by the shirt and stared him down. "You knew about this", he glared. Blythe jumped over, hugging Gajeel's arm, trying to pry his fingers loose. "Jeel-kun, no!", he pleaded. "It's all right", said Kavi calmly. Slowly, Blythe let go and took a step back. "Did you?", asked Lucy, worried. "There's no cause for alarm. Our magic is part of the temple right now. It's what's lighting our way", explained Kavi. With several unsure glances down the hall, it seemed true enough. With the torches burning various colored flames, pitfalls and dead ends could be easily seen and avoided. "We'll get i back, won't we?", asked Wendy. Holding Gajeel's furious stare, Kavi simply replied, "Yes, at the end of the vault." Gajeel pushed him aside, annoyed. Without a word, he started down the long corridor. Adjusting his glasses, Kavi didn't seem particularly upset, simply following his lead.
Several yards into the hall, something triggered. A strange voice said, "IMPURE". The walls opened up and the group was separated. Something grabbed Lucy, dragging her into the darkness. Yona grasped her hand, trying to pull her free, but ultimately ended up falling into the void with her. Natsu scanned the walls carefully, ready for the next attack. "IMPURE." This time, the ceiling opened. Something grasped Levy and hauled her away, Gajeel along with her. The group closed itself tighter. The floor opened, taking all five exceeds by surprise. "Dammit!", yelled Natsu. "IMPURE." Before he could move, Blythe and Wendy were gone. Natsu stood alone with Kavi, unsure of what was next. Nothing happened. That odd voice said "PROCEED". Natsu turned to his new comrade for answers. For once, Kavi's placid expression was gone. He squinted ahead, almost angrily, and grit his teeth at his own foolishness. "What just happened?!", demanded Natsu. "We should have made them wait outside", uttered Kavi. "It sensed there weren't one of us", he said, scanning the area cautiously. "Make sense!", yelled Natsu, worried for his friends. Kavi took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. "This place was created by and for the sole purpose of use by dragon slayers. Their memory must have somehow imprinted on the temple itself. Whatever fail safes they behind picked up on a different magic and removed what it deemed to be intruders."
"What do mean 'removed'?", asked Natsu carefully. Kavi ran his fingers over the wall where it had opened. "I don't think they'll be harmed", he uttered. Natsu glared, irritated. "Don't think?" How the hell would he even know? "Then why did it take Wendy, Gajeel, and Yona?", inquired Natsu, unsatisfied. "Didn't you see?", asked Kavi, "They were all holding onto someone that was being taken." Natsu flexed his fingers, uncurling the unintentional fists he'd made. "They'll be safe as long as they stay together. The temple won't hurt a dragon slayer", stated Kavi. "What about Happy and the others?", questioned Natsu. Kavi grew quiet, unsure himself. "When we get what we came for, it should disable anything the vault set into motion. Everyone should just fine so long as we hurry", he explained. Natsu sighed, annoyed. "Fine. Then let's get this over with." He strode down the hall with determination. He tried hard not to blame Kavi for what went wrong, but he was the only one who would have had any chance of knowing. Now they were all separated and stuck without their magic. He had no choice, but to keep his faith in comrades strong.
To be continued...