Mavis couldn't believe the kind of trouble she was in. Five dragons, attacking her troops on her way to hell. "Well this is a nice surprise." She grumbled sarcastically. Going through all this trouble and letting her people get hurt just to end some stupid war? She wasn't even sure saving the demon king was worth it.
Then again, when Acnologia had him finished off, he'd come after her and Mavis couldn't allow that to happen. "Turn around and return to your kingdom now, or things might get ugly." A gray one that seemed to be made of metal said.
"I don't care." Mavis told him. "I made a deal with the demon king and I intend to follow through." Mavis said, raising her spear of divinity.
"Princess…" Yuri said through gritted teeth. "Should we really antagonize them?" Mavis titled her chin.
"Whether we do or do not antagonize them the results will be the same." She answered. "Now, raise your swords and fight!"
As Mavis was about to charge she felt a hand on her shoulder. "No, empress." Erza said quietly. "Leave these dragons to us. You go and help the demon lord defeat the black dragon." Mavis frowned, unsure if her army could handle this many dragons without her.
"Are you sure?"
"You must go now. Or he'll be dead before you reach him."
"You don't seem to think very highly of his abilities." Precht told her, his eyes serious.
Erza turned to him and shook her head. "It isn't that. I know that he's powerful. I'm only saying that if the black dragon is as strong as the rumors claim, then not even the demon lord will stand a chance by himself." Erza turned to her. "So, you must go help him. If he dies before you both get there then you don't stand a chance against him alone either. Please… we'll take care of this."
"Are you sure?"
"Dang nabbit, just go out there and fight! I know that if you go out there and show those two good-for-nothing scoundrels, you'll spank them into next week!" Laxus growled what Mavis assumed to be encouragement.
"Spank them?" Erza asked doubtfully. Laxus glared at her.
"Don't go making things up in that dirty little mind of yours! Everyone knew what I meant."
Mavis smirked and sighed. "Yes, Laxus, I did know what you meant so there's no need to fight, you two."
"Well, if there's one thing we can all agree on, it's that you have to go help the demon lord!" Warrod exclaimed. Mavis nodded and gripped her spear.
"Since you're all sure that you can handle these beasts… I will go. Please, all of you, be safe." Mavis said, still concerned that they might get killed.
"We will princess, we will." Yuri said. So, Mavis dove down as fast as her wings would carry her, down to the palace. She dove through several layers of the universe, down to the very bottom where hell rested, in all it's glory. Mavis frowned as she closed in. In the doorway of the castle there were four people. Each was a young child, around ten years old. And they stood in the middle of a heap of bodies. Mavis's boots touched the pavement just at the foot of the steps leading up to the castle.
Now that she was closer she could see the eldest was a dark-haired boy with spikes sticking up every-which-way. Then their appeared to be two boys. One with blonde hair, the other black. They were around the same age. Then the last was at least a few years younger than the others and she had long blue hair.
Each child looked ready to murder her the instant she stepped foot on the castle grounds. "What do you want!" the first snarled. Mavis tilted her chin.
"I'm the empress of angels, Mavis Vermillion, and I'll have to ask you to please step aside, as I am on a very important mission and to complete it, I must have access to this palace."
"Is that so?" the blonde asked in a taunting tone. Mavis scowled and pointed her spear.
"Whether you believe me or not it will become clear to you once I have decimated this stronghold." She said. The blonde rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, yeah, let's see if your bite is as big as your bark."
"I am not a dog." Mavis deadpanned. "And very well." She added, "I have no quarrel with you and so I shall get rid of you all quick and painlessly."
"Wendy, get back." The tallest boy said, metal piercings all over his face. The girl complied and took several steps back. Mavis didn't think it would matter this would all be over soon. "Divine… Light!" Mavis shouted. From her spear golden light erupted and went sailing towards the children. Mavis wished that there was no need for bloodshed, however, there was no other way to get past.
As the smoke cleared it revealed the blonde-haired boy, eating her divine light! What was going on! There was no way someone could simply eat her light attacks. "What… what happened?" Mavis asked, confused and a little fearful. She was certainly stronger than these children but if her attacks couldn't reach than it didn't matter how powerful she was.
"Holy dragon's roar!" the blonde cried. Mavis frowned, this dragon child possessed holy magic. That shouldn't be possible. Dragons were dragons and they possessed several different types of magic, which was one of the reasons why even demons and angels feared them. However, there were two magics that dragons should not be able to possess, Holy, and cursed. Those were the magics that angels and demons possessed and at no other time could any other species wield such magic.
Mavis raised her spear and blocked the attack. The light shattered immediately, and the boy was left panting. "What! That was my most powerful attack! How are you still standing!"
"Do not try to use my own magic against me." Mavis told them. "It will end in tragedy. Now then, I suggest you let me pass before I have to unleash my true power." She said. The children glared at her and the blonde stubbornly shook his head.
"No!" Mavis scowled and raised her spear.
"What are you four anyway? And how can you, of all people, use holy magic?"
"I'm an angel. I'm an angel who decided to use dragon slaying magic!" the boy said proudly, crossing his arms. "I ran away from home like, five years ago, because everything was so boring and all of you were too "kindhearted". I couldn't stand it." The boy spat. "I mean, what's the point of being good if you can't be bad once in a while? Answer, there is no point, and it makes for a pretty boring life!" the boy said. Mavis furrowed her eyebrows, not remembering this boy. Someone who had ran away years ago…
"Sting?" Mavis wondered. He was much older and bigger than she remembered.
"The one and only." Sting said, smirking. Mavis frowned and looked at the other children.
"Why on earth are all you children serving Acnologia of all people?"
"We don't serve him." the pierced kid said. "None of us even like him, he's a prick. But our parents serve him, and I guess you know what that means for us."
"Your parents… who are your parents anyway?"
"Our parents are the dragons you were fighting before you came here." Wendy said.
"So, then you must be…" Mavis started, not believing it.
"The "rumored" dragon children? Hell, yeah we are!" Sting said, smirking. "I'm Sting, the white dragon slayer!"
"I am Rogue, the shadow dragon slayer. Together, Sting and I make up the twin dragon slayers."
"I am Wendy, the sky dragon slayer, also known as maiden of the sky!"
"And I'm Black-steel Gajeel, the iron dragon slayer."
"And you don't want to mess with us!" Sting growled. Mavis sighed and lowered her spear slightly.
"Listen, I don't want to mess with you, you're right. I just… want to get passed you. If I don't then many people could die. Do you want that to happen?" Mavis asked. The children all looked at each other, at a loss for what to do.
"Well… I certainly don't want anyone to die." Wendy said quietly.
"This is a trick! Our parents said that nobody was going to die!" Sting growled.
"And just how gullible are you?" Mavis cried. "I mean, this is war, of course people are going to die! But if you let me through right now then I can help defeat Acnologia and all of you can go on, living with your parents in peace." Mavis knew that it was a very tempting offer.
"Aw c'mon! You don't really believe her, do you? She's obviously lying! She's our enemy, of course she would lie! You can't trust anyone but yourselves." Gajeel growled.
"But what if a lot of people die." Wendy whispered. "What if… what if we die?" she wondered. Mavis nodded.
"I promise that if you all stop now, then you will all be safe."
"What about our parents?" Rogue asked.
"Angels don't kill people if they don't have to." Mavis said.
"You've been killing demons since the beginning of time!" Sting exclaimed.
"Only because there's no other way. If we don't kill them, they will kill us." Mavis told the children. They were too young to understand now, but some day they would. "So, what do you think?
"Come on, are you really falling for this?" Gajeel cried.
"Well, it's better then dying." Rogue said.
Sting sighed. "All in favor of letting her pass say I."
"I." Rogue and Wendy said.
"Great! Now we have a tie!" Sting cried throwing his hands up.
"We wouldn't have a tie if you'd just vote yes!" Wendy said, exasperated.
"The same could be said for you! If you'd just vote no, then we wouldn't have a tie either!"
"It's a yes." Rogue said.
"NO!" Gajeel growled. The four glared at each other. Mavis just blinked and watched as the group of four started turning on each other and fighting.
Mavis slowly started to creep into the castle and closed the door softly when she was inside. Now, she was at the entrance, but she had no idea where to go from here.
"Hello?" Mavis called. Mavis slowly walking forward. She frowned and started looking around, trying to find something, anything. "Is anyone in here?" Mavis felt like she was setting herself up to get attacked, but what else could she do? This wasn't her castle, she didn't know where she was going.
Mavis walked into one room and looked around, "Hello? Where is everyone?" Mavis was a few steps in when the wall behind her moved. She let out a small scream before backing up. "What is that?" she cried.
Mavis couldn't believe that the wall just moved. What sort of crazy castle was this?" Mavis rolled her eyes and continued onward. Even the castle was crazy. Demons were completely unpredictable. One moment they looked like they wanted to rip her throat out, the next, they were begging for her help… while still looking like they wanted to rip her throat out. Mavis sighed and kept searching, but not sure what she was looking for. "Hello?" Mavis thought she might be about to die. Maybe this was all some elaborate ruse to destroy her… still, it was hard to fake the fear in the demon lord's eyes. And her mother's memories… well, they confirmed that he was telling the truth. "Someone answer me before I leave you all to die!" Mavis growled, searching. "Hello?" Mavis called again.
"Hello." Mavis jumped and whirled behind her, spear pointed. The boy raised his eyebrows. "Seriously? Your even more jumpy than Dumbo."
"Dumbo? Who's that?"
"You know, Zeref, Dumbo."
"… You know, that's a really mean name uh…"
"Gray. And I know. That's why I call him that."
"I take it you're not on the best of terms." Mavis said, crossing her arms. Another child? Did she have to fight this one too?
"Actually we put up with each other pretty well. To me he's like a… stupid, good-for-nothing, bad influential, murdering father figure." Gray said. What Mavis found amusing was that he managed to sound chipper and yet she could tell he knew he was mocking Zeref.
"I see… so, is he around here?" Gray tilted his head and looked her up and down.
"You're not from here, are you?"
"No, I'm an angel." Mavis thought he might freak out, but he didn't.
"Are you here to kill Zeref?"
"No…" Not right at this moment anyway.
"… I should've known it was too good to be true." Gray said with a sigh.
"You really don't like each other."
"It's how we show affection."
"I don't think that's healthy."
"Well then, it's a good thing I don't care what you think." Gray said and turned around. "But if you want to find him, you're going in the wrong direction."
"You know where he is?" Mavis asked hopefully.
"Oh, I don't know, do I?"
"You are insufferable." Mavis said, scowling. Gray shrugged.
"Beggars can't be choosers you know. I mean, if I had a choice do you really think I'd be in hell right now? No, I'd be on Earth with my REAL mom and dad, but no, I'm stuck here."
Mavis's eyes darkened slightly. "You're human."
"Unfortunately. If I was powerful I'd give Dumbo the what-for!" Gray raised his fists and punched the air.
"Uh huh, how's that working out for you?" Gray scowled and sighed,
"It's a work in progress. Now then, if you want to find him, then follow me. If you try to find Zeref by yourself then you'll be lost down these tunnels in a manner of seconds."
"Oh yes, that reminds me. Did you know that your walls move?" Gray gave her an infuriating blank look and said flatly,
"No, we're all blind." He said sarcastically. Mavis growled and followed him.
"How many times has lord Zeref threatened to kill you?"
"Too many times to count, but we all know that in reality… I would win." Mavis rolled her eyes and didn't even comment on that ridiculous claim.
"Where are we headed anyway?"
"We're headed to the west wing." Gray said.
"How do you know lord Zeref's there?"
"Dumbo is painfully predictable. Acnologia is here, and there's only one place in this castle that offers some protection, holding a beast that, when angered, is almost as savage as Acnologia."
"And the demon lord would hide out there willingly?" Mavis cried, appalled.
"I see your starting to understand why I call him Dumbo." Unfortunately, she did. "The west wing has a barrier and only those with Zeref's permission can cross. You don't have permission, but I do." Gray said.
"And he just lets you roam around with a beast!"
"The beast is docile when I'm in there." Gray gave her a look, a mischievous glint in his eye. "She killed all the others." Mavis blinked and was still horrified.
"But then… why would she keep you alive?" Mavis asked.
"Because I interest her." Gray said proudly. Mavis sighed and kept following him.
"Alright, does this beast have a name?"
"Anna." Gray said. Mavis stared at him for a long while before glaring.
"I thought it was an actual beast!"
"It is." Gray answered. Mavis was silent for a long time.
"Point taken." She said finally. As they moved through the halls of the palace there were several walls that just flipped around whenever. Mavis frowned. "What is this place anyway?" Mavis asked.
"This is the castle of hell. Maybe I should call you Captain Obvious because… well, you point out the obvious, obviously." Mavis glared at him.
"I mean, why do the walls move like that?"
"Well, they move like that because this is a maze. And I know what you're thinking and no, it's not random, although it is very complicated. The castle walls move every hour, the combinations change every day, except it's the same for the entire month. So, like, all the Monday's of April will have the same combination, as will the Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Then, the combinations for the week days and hours change every month."
"That's… that's impossible!"
"Maybe for someone of inferior intellect." Mavis only glared at him and Gray sighed. "Alright, it's not impossible, but I won't lie, it's not easy. Not even the demon lord knows all the passages you can take." Mavis looked thoughtful.
"Isn't that rather troublesome?"
"Yes, it is. However, this makes it impossible for enemies to storm the castle. Sometimes, it can take weeks to find a dead body…" Gray smirked. So that's why Natsu told me that I would fail if I tried to storm the castle Mavis thought.
"Alright then, are we almost there?" Mavis asked.
"Yes." Gray said, continuing onward.
Soon, they reached the west wing where Gray stood on the edge. "Alright, I'm going to go find Dumbo in the west wing and you wait here. I'll get him to let you in."
"I'm not just gonna sit here and wait for you!" Mavis cried.
"Well, it's not like you have any other choice."
"Well I could just destroy this stupid barrier!"
"And make the rest of us lose any protection we might've had? I don't think so." Mavis scowled and raised her spear. Gray sighed and glared at her. "Come on, it will only be a moment. I'll be out in no time." Gray said.
"Only a moment?" Mavis asked. Gray nodded.
"Well… Alright." Mavis agreed reluctantly. When Gray dashed off into the west wing Mavis sighed and leaned against the wall, already growing impatient.
Mavis had only been there a few moments before she heard some footsteps to her right. Frowning, Mavis turned in that directions, "Hello?" she wondered.
"Hello." She heard. As the man rounded the corner Mavis saw that he was tall and had a strong build. Long light blue hair ran down his back and blue markings appeared all over his body. Overall his appearance was rather frightening. He was tanned, and his muscles were well defined.
"Who are you? Mavis asked, taking a few steps back, sensing danger and death all around this man. He was smirking and stood straight.
"I'm Acnologia. What's your name?"
A/N Here's the new chapter. Sorry it's a little short. I was wondering if I should go into more detail about the layers of the universe. Do you guys think I should? If so, tell me. If not, the don't answer the question. I plan on updating twice this week. One today, and one Sunday so keep an eye out for the update! As always reviews/favorites/follows are all welcome. Bye! :)