Okay, new chapter! Sorry I haven't updated in a while; I sort of had a little trouble deciding how to do this part, but I'll get back into updating this more often! The next chapter will be out tomorrow, since I was planning to post it and this one as a single chapter, but it got so long, I decided to break it into two.
As always, please review and thanks for reading!
Chapter 7: Meeting
"OHH! This makes me so MAD!"
That would be Levy.
The short girl was pouting after her who-knows-which attempt to decode the runes that had been eluding her for three days. Even with Lucy's help, it wasn't getting any easier. Sure, they'd managed to break down a lot more than the archaeologists had managed on their own, but the most crucial bits were still a mystery.
Moreover, Sting and Gajeel had basically cleared the ruins of monsters. They were getting bored.
Sting shook his head in amazement, as he and Gajeel were standing behind the frustrated girls, "Wow, I can't believe we picked a job with a language even you two can't recognize. That's…surprising."
"It doesn't make any sense." Lucy sighed, "Most of this stuff is easy enough, but then we get to these weird runes and…and nothing. Even our Gale Force Glasses can't decipher them."
Gajeel looked over Levy's shoulder, peering at the runes. He pointed at the one shaped like an upside-down wing, "What, is this what's bothering you?"
Levy puffed up her cheek and nodded, "It's gibberish…"
"Pff!" Gajeel almost laughed, then glanced to the burning talon right beside the upside-down wing. He shrugged, "Looks to me like someone got his ass handed to him by a fire mage."
Lucy frowned, "Why assume that?"
Gajeel pointed from the upside-down wing to the burning talon, "Look here, it's like this wing was a person who got beat. That's why it's upside-down. The claw thingy is the person who beat the other guy, and since it's on fire, maybe that guy used fire magic."
The room got quiet.
"…Okay, if you're going to call me an idiot, at least have the nerve to say it out loud!" Gajeel snapped.
Levy was staring at the runes. You could almost see the gears turning in her head.
Finally, she gasped and sat bolt upright, "That's it! It's not a code at all! It's a story!"
Gajeel blinked, "Huh?"
His surprise was multiplied exponentially when Levy jumped to her feet and kissed his cheek, then spun back around and started scribbling on a piece of paper without taking a breath, "If I change the context of the runes and fit them to the format of a story rather than a combination of multilingual races, then I can decipher the true meaning of the message!"
Gajeel blinked again, "Huh?"
Lucy was trying hard not to laugh. Gajeel was staring at Levy like she'd grown wings.
Sting snickered, "I think Gajeel broke."
That was it. Lucy started laughing hysterically.
Gajeel reddened and roared, "SHUT THE HELL UP!"
Levy, oblivious to the situation around her, wrote like a madwoman for several minutes, then held up the papers in triumph, "Got you!"
"Great work, Levy!" Lucy cheered.
"About time." Sting grunted, "Now let's take that to the ruins and open up that gate."
Levy got out of her chair and spun to face Gajeel again, who still looked stunned. She smiled brightly, "Gajeel, you're brilliant! Thanks so much!"
Lucy giggled mischievously, "So, you gonna kiss him again?"
The bluenette glanced at her friend questioningly, "What…!" Suddenly, her cheeks glowed crimson and Levy's mouth fell open, "Oh…umm."
"Did she just realize that she kissed him?" Sting muttered, trying not to show that he was about to die from laughter. Oh, wait until I tell Natsu and Rogue…we'll give Gajeel so much shit…
/\/\/\/\/\
"You're sure you can smell it, Savannah?" Millie asked.
The girl nodded, "Sure, I'm sure! I can definitely smell Dragon Slayer Magic just a short distance from here!"
Cross shrugged, "I'll take your word for it."
The three travelers had been heading to Magnolia through a small desert to avoid people, in case anyone tried to arrest Cross again. Halfway through, Savannah had picked up the scent of Dragon Slayers, or so she said. They hadn't seen anything for hours.
Millie frowned at a heat haze in the distance, "Savannah, are you really sure? It's the middle of the day and it's scorching hot…maybe you're just imagining things."
"I'm sure I can smell Dragon Slayers…" Savannah protested, but she was beginning to sound uncertain.
Cross's eyes narrowed, "Perhaps we should rest. It's too hot out here to travel."
"Where?" Savannah asked, "There's no shelter around here that I can see. We have to keep moving until we find the other Dragon Slayers."
Millie sighed, then stopped flying and stared at something in the sand. A strange mound that seemed less natural than the rest. She pointed, "What's that?"
Savannah shrugged, "I dunno. Who cares?"
Cross looked at the odd mound carefully. He didn't like something about it and muttered, "Let's take a different route. We need to find shelter of some kind."
The girl looked over her shoulder and pouted, "It's fine! Just have a little faith, would ya?!"
She took one step by the odd mound when the sand beneath her exploded.
Savannah shrieked as a giant scorpion burst from the desert with a shrill cry, grabbing her by the leg with a huge pincer. The monster easily rivaled something the size of an elephant, with a jet-black carapace.
Millie screeched, "Savannah!"
"Move!" Cross snapped, grabbing the exceed and jumping away as the scorpion launched a massive stinger at them and stabbed the ground. The barb was dripping venom that made the sand sizzle and dissolve.
Savannah tilted her head back and sucked in a deep breath, then shouted, "Grass Dragon's Roar!"
The scorpion hissed in pain as the breath hit the joint of its pincer arm, forcing it to release the girl. Savannah hit the sand with a gasp, clutching at a wound on her leg from the sharp pincers.
Cross set down Millie and rushed for Savannah, trying to get to her as the scorpion brought back its stinger for another shot. He got the girl in his arms quickly, then dove under the monster to avoid the next sting by mere inches.
The scorpion hissed again, frustrated that its prey had disappeared. Millie had wisely chosen to fly sky high, well above its attack range. Cross and Savannah were underneath it, where the monster couldn't reach.
Cross took one look at Savannah's leg wound and knew she wasn't about to run anywhere. The gash wasn't deep, but it looked like it had cracked the bone.
He tch'd. Great. The only magic user in our group is already down.
Savannah swallowed and gave him a frightened, guilty look, "I'm sorry."
"Forget it. We'll just have to improvise." he muttered as the scorpion above them shifted and finally managed to move enough so it could see its prey again.
"SHREE!" the monster screeched and dove at them again. Cross picked up Savannah and dodged a lethal pincer strike, then a sting that moved quick as a snake.
Millie flew down briefly, picking up Savannah and lifting her so she was clear of the danger zone.
Savannah gasped, "Millie, lower me down! I have to attack that thing from above!"
"You can't!" the exceed said with fear, "That shell is too thick! You won't get anywhere against it!"
The giant scorpion glared at Cross with many, beady red eyes. It snapped its pincers and slammed its tail down.
So I'm to be the prey of an insect. Joy, Cross grimaced, "Come on, then."
"SCREE!" the scorpion shrieked and lunged at him.
/
The Fairy Tail mages were about to head into the ruins when they heard strange noises not far away. Weird shrieks that sounded like a monster, along with the cries of what could only be humans.
Sting glanced at Gajeel, "What is that?"
"Let's find out." Gajeel smirked, cracking his knuckles. He was always up for a good fight.
"No." Levy stopped him, "We need you to come with us into the ruins. Sting can deal with it on his own."
Black Steel didn't look happy about that, but he relented. Sting meanwhile, took off and ran up the sand dunes surrounding the ruins to find the source of the strange noises.
/
Cross avoided another sting from the giant scorpion, trying to formulate a plan while he dodged attack after attack. The monster was getting frustrated that it was unable to hit the man, and started slamming its pincers on the ground to demonstrate its anger.
I've just about figured its movements, but I still don't know how I can beat it, Cross thought worriedly.
"White Dragon's Roar!"
Cross froze as he heard the furious shout, then saw a beam of light racing towards him and the scorpion. ?! A Dragon Slayer?!
The breath attack crashed into him, completely missing the huge scorpion. Cross brought his arms up to block and skidded back quite a distance before coming to a stop. He glanced up after the breath dissipated and stared at his attacker.
He was faced with a blonde, spiky-haired teenage boy with intense blue eyes and a scar across his right eyebrow. The Dragon Slayer looked furious, but it was more anger directed at Cross than the scorpion. This newcomer didn't look like he gave a flip about the monster, as a matter of fact.
The teenager growled, "What the hell are you doing here?!"
Cross stood up warily, noting the scorpion's confusion to make sure it didn't chance another strike. He called back cautiously, "Why did you attack me?"
"Don't avoid the question!" the Dragon Slayer snapped, "I don't know why you're here, Reyos, but if you wanna get out alive, then get lost!"
Reyos. The name sounded familiar to Cross, but he still couldn't…
He shook his head, "I don't know what you're talking about. Who are you?"
The teenager looked furious, "If you keep messing with me, I'll kill you."
"I don't want trouble." Cross muttered, "Please, tell me who you are."
"Don't play like you don't know!" the teen roared, "I'm Sti-!"
The scorpion finally quit watching and made its move.
It lunged for Cross, snapping its pincers in an attempt to slice him in half. Cross jumped and dodged again, watching the Dragon Slayer suck in another breath to strike again. The teen jumped skyward.
"White Dragon's Holy Breath!" he roared, unleashing a massive blast of white light at Cross and the giant scorpion. The huge breath attack crushed the monster into the ground with a shrill screech, but Cross leaped back further and avoided it.
Cross came to a stop and faced the new Dragon Slayer cautiously, now aware that he was a lot stronger than he was. He took a stance in preparation to dodge any more attacks, "I don't know you. What's your name?"
"Sting Eucliffe." the Dragon Slayer growled back, "Now what the hell are you doing here Reyos?!"
"Reyos…" It was that name again. Cross's eye narrowed, "Is that my name?"
Sting seemed to regard him coldly, "Don't bullshit with me. You don't remember your own name? How about I beat you senseless and make that for real?"
"Wait!"
Millie lowered Savannah to the ground so the Grass Dragon Slayer could face Sting. She winced in pain as her bad leg touched the ground, but shouted anyway, "He really doesn't remember anything! Honestly! He barely survived his wounds!"
Sting glared at her, "Who are you?"
Savannah flinched back nervously, "S-Savannah…I'm a Grass Dragon Slayer…Y-you're the White Dragon Slayer…right?"
The White Dragon regarded her cautiously, "That's me…what do you mean, he doesn't remember?"
"Cross doesn't have any memories…not of himself, or anything else." she swallowed, "We offered to help him find out who he is, so we went looking for you and the other Dragon Slayers. You all fought dragons in Crocas, right? What happened to Cross back then?"
"Cross. Is that what you're calling yourself now?" Sting's anger went back to the older man, "Alright. You really want to know what happened on July 7th? It was the Dragon King Festival. Reyos…in other words, you, summoned seven dragons and tried to lay waste to the whole city. Natsu and I were the ones who beat the living shit out of you, but I guess you're tougher than I thought."
Millie bristled, "Wh-what?!"
Savannah stared at Cross with wide eyes, "H..huh? That's not…"
Cross took the information in slowly, trying to piece together what Sting had told him. The words and accusations seemed to shake him to the core, forcing up images in his head that didn't feel as if they belonged to him.
A shadowy form with sharp teeth, a hissing voice, the one he recalled as Skyadrum…
The young boy with dark hair and piercing red eyes, who called him his shadow...
The Dragon King Festival...Seven dragons…
Reyos…
There was Sting and a rose-haired boy who looked very much like him, fighting against Cross on dragonback above the city.
A power that wasn't truly his at his hands as he fought the two Dragon Slayers, but finally, they struck as one and defeated him.
A warning, a promise to survive, then darkness.
The short memories went through him, and Cross realized he really had lived through it.
Sting watched him with smoldering eyes, "Remember, now?"
"…" Cross said nothing, just stared at the ground.
"SCREE!"
The giant scorpion got up with a shriek of fury, then lunged for Cross, pincers snapping and stinger lunging forward to impale him.
"Cross!" Savannah gasped.
He held up a hand at the oncoming monster, feeling a strangely familiar power come over him. Suddenly, Cross's body flashed bright white on the left side, while the right became enveloped in shadows.
"White Shadow Dragon's Rough Silk…!"
Thin, but sharp beams of white light and shadow pierced the scorpion's hard carapace, slashing it to ribbons. The monster gurgled once in pain, then collapsed in death.
Savannah's jaw dropped. Millie bristled and gulped nervously.
Sting stared at Cross with a guarded look, and it seemed as though he were about to explode.
Cross met the White Dragon's gaze without flinching, "…No. I do not."
Sting's eyes widened, "What?!"
"It's true insofar that I can recall this power and the battle I waged during the Dragon King Festival, but…" Cross clenched his fist, "This power doesn't belong to me, nor do these memories. It does not feel as though it was I you fought that day. It's as though I watched it through a window, or…"
"You did mention that your future self and your present self fused…" Sting muttered, still unconvinced that Cross was being honest, "But Rogue told me you were always evil. And you proved that during the Dragon King Festival."
Savannah bit her lip, "But he…he helped me escape from the scorpion…He can't be all bad…"
Cross closed his eye, "Perhaps…but that isn't to say I'm necessarily on your side, either. I was created to be a power for someone else…does that mean I have no purpose? Am I just a shadow?"
"If there's one thing that's for certain, it's that you're a murderer." Sting hissed, "And I won't ever forgive you for that."
BOOM!
Everyone froze as an earthquake ripped through the ground, the result of some incredibly violent force.
Sting whipped around to stare at where the ruins were, "What happened?!"
