Good grief, it's been a bit! Sorry, guys, this chapter was kicking my butt trying to write...Luckily, the muse is back, so here's a chapter!

I do not own Fairy Tail or its characters. That would be Hiro Mashima, King of the Plot-twist trolling (how many of you started screaming and/or swearing at the computer screen after that last chapter?). I only own this story and its OCs. Read, review, and enjoy!


Chapter 7: One down

"So…why are we doing this, again?"

Phoebus peered cautiously around a corner and looked from side to side. The long, narrow tunnel he was currently walking down opened up to a spacious cavern a little larger than the old guild hall, according to Happy. The opening to another tunnel was on the far end. More of the indigenous moss covered the side and patches on the ground. Stalactites hung from the ceiling and luminescent mushrooms lay scattered about against the walls.

"Divide and conquer, Natsu. Remember, Ilios may be the size of an average island, but underneath the water there's a ton of caves and tunnels that connect like a big maze. The place goes on for miles and miles and miles! So if we're gonna find where the rogue wizards went, the best thing to do is split up, right?"

"But why are you two dressed like that…?" Happy stared at the two Dragon Slayers with a look of utter confusion on his little face. Natsu simply smiled.

"Stealth, Happy!" he exclaimed. "This way, they'll never see us coming."

"I don't know about that Natsu…"

So far, so good where Erza's plan was concerned. When Hero (familiar with all things rock-based) explained the complex network of caves and tunnels underground, the Requip mage decided immediately that the best course of action was to split into teams of two or three wizards—depending if an Exceed or Lycaon was included. The cave entrance that the thieves had gone into had three separate tunnels. Each team would pick a tunnel and explore around until they found the mysterious intruders. Because of their similar fighting styles and Dragon Slayer elements, Phoebus was partnered with Natsu and, by extension, Happy. Then the three were ushered down the first tunnel available.

What wasn't part of the plan was the two boys' impromptu "disguises". When Phoebus mentioned trying the "stealth approach" in locating the targets, Natsu got the bright idea to dress up as a ninja. Naturally, this just meant wrapping his scarf around his head and repeating "Nin, nin" every five minutes. And Phoebus, not one to pass up a chance to goof off, followed suit by pulling his goggles down over his eyes and pulling his bandana up over his nose.

So in a nutshell, the two Dragon Slayers were slinking around underground, acting like a couple of nut jobs. Nothing new, if you asked their friends and family.

"But what if the others find the wizards first?" Happy asked. "There's Wendy, Dia, and Lycaon sniffing them out too."

"Like hell I'd let Ice Princess beat me to them!" Natsu shouted, eyes burning fiercely. "Besides, we've got twice the nose power. There's no way they'll find them first!"

"Aye!" Phoebus cheered, raising his fist in the air. Unfortunately, the volume of their voices had caused some of the stalactites on the ceiling to shake. A small snap later and a chunk of rock broke off from one of the more fragile pieces. And in true Phoebus fashion, the bit of rock fell right on the top of his head…

"Ow!" His shout bounced eerily off the walls.

"Nice echo…"

A deep, raspy new voice caused the three to whirl around, only to be met with nothing. Natsu immediately sunk into a crouch as his eyes darted around. Phoebus scanned the area around them as well, sniffing for any trace of the voice's owner. But there wasn't a single person (unaccounted for, anyway) in sight. What was going on?

"What the heck…" Phoebus strained his senses for any sign of another person, but found none. "You heard that too, right?"

"Oh, come on. Natsu should at least recognize me," the voice taunted, appearing out of thin air once more. "Then again, it is Natsu…"

"Hey!" The Fire Dragon shouted indignantly as flames started to light off of his clothes. "Show yourself, dammit!"

"G-Ghost!" Happy wailed.

"Now that's uncalled for." Natsu and Phoebus let loose a loud shriek when the voice called out again, this time from right behind them. Spinning around, sunlight and fire flared to life at their fingertips, the two wizards prepared to released their attacks. All Phoebus saw was a black blur before something slammed into his torso with enough power to send him reeling back. A brief surge of pain passed through his body as he slammed into the wall on the other side of the cavern. Brief, because the next second Natsu slammed into him and all Phoebus could see was a bunch of little Exceeds chasing each other around his head.

"What the—?! Rin, what are you doing here?" Kicking Natsu's hand from his face, Phoebus looked up and saw a young man around their age standing over them. Judging from the look of recognition on Natsu's face, Phoebus guessed that this guy was a friend, not an enemy. But just to make sure, the Sun Dragon Slayer took an experimental sniff to see if this "Rin" matched one of the scents from earlier. What he was met with brought an uneasy shock.

He…He doesn't smell like anything! Nothing at all, it's like he isn't even here. How is that possible?

Phoebus wasn't sure of what to make of this stranger. He was tall and perhaps a year or so older than Natsu and Phoebus; he couldn't tell. Long hair fell down past his shoulders in a choppy, somewhat shaggy style, black as night except for the front. Bone-white locks of hair hung down to the man's chin, almost completely obscuring his face. Phoebus caught a glimpse of pale skin and dark eyes under the curtain of white.

He was dressed from head to toe in dark colors, black and gray with only a little bit of white and red. His shirt was gray with long sleeves and a high collar buttoned all the way up to his chin. A cross pattern ran across his shoulders and down to the wide cuffs in a darker gray color. Black slacks bagged around his ankles over a pair of dark sneakers with dark red straps buckling onto them. On top of that was an ankle-length custom-made trench coat of black leather. The jacket had no sleeves and was trimmed with white material and two large buttons fastened across his chest. A plain crimson ribbon was tied around his neck like a sloppy bowtie. And lastly, a slender metal staff was strapped to his back.

Made of black metal, its design was similar to that of a magician's stage wand, with silver at both ends. The staff was the same height as its owner.

Happy flew up to the stranger's face, eyes wide with confusion. "What are you doing here, Rin?"

The older teen, Rin, rubbed the top of Happy's head. "Master wanted me to tell you guys to finish this request ASAP. Seems like he's got something to tell everyone, and he wants all of us back to the guild so he can say it…Natsu, where's everyone else?"

"Friend of yours?" Phoebus stared at Rin curiously as he helped Natsu back to his feet. The pink-haired Dragon Slayer grinned, jerking a thumb at the more somberly dressed teen.

"That's Rin. He's a member of Fairy Tail, like us…Rin, this is Phoebus!" Natsu, grinning widely, slung an arm around the blond's shoulder. "He's a Dragon Slayer, just like me!"

Rin chuckled. "You don't say? Nice to meet you. I—!" Rin tensed, and in one fluid motion removed the staff from the sling on his back. "Alright, come out! Gravity Force!"

Twirling the staff between his fingers, Rin ran to the center of the room. With a flick of his wrist, one end of the metal pole slammed into the ground. A shockwave rippled out from it, exerting a tremendous amount of magical pressure around the entire area. Phoebus could feel it pressing down on him from all sides. It was all he could do to keep himself from falling to his knees.

What is this pressure? It's incredible!

"Rin…you bastard!" Natsu grunted, struggling under the same force as Phoebus did. "Y-You're magic! It's…"

BAM!

"Found you." Rin twirled his staff once more and the pressure pushing down on the others vanished. Able to move again, Phoebus and Natsu rushed forward to investigate what had crashed down from above. A figure rose shakily from the cloud of dust formed from his impact.

"Tch…Gravity magic. And you knew I was here. What a pain…" With a rustle of fabric, the dust was whipped away by a figure shrouded in a dark cloak with a deep hood covering his face. He might have been tall if he actually stood up straight, but the man seemed to have a permanent slouch. However, the slouch did allow a few strands of steel-gray hair to fall out of the hood.

"Wait…" Phoebus twitched. The scent of plant life filled his nose, a smell so pungent it made him dizzy. "He's one of the thieves! Quick, get him!"

"Crap! Run away!" Whirling around, the thief turned and bolted down farther into the tunnel with the three wizards in hot pursuit.

"You wanna fill me in on what's going on here?" Rin kept to the back of the pack, obviously unsure of what was happening.

"Two wizards raided the village on this island and stole some relics," Natsu explained.

"The Sun and Moon are lacrima that originally belonged my mom and dad!" Phoebus growled. "I won't let these people take them away from this island!"

Up ahead, the thief cackled. "Last I heard, these things belonged to a couple of scaly lizards that haven't been around for years! As far as we're concerned, it's 'Finders keepers, Losers weepers'! So weep, loser! Seed Bomber!"

Whipping his hand out, small pellets came flying out of the thief's sleeves. Phoebus held his arm up to block but as the pellets hit his arm, vines sprouted from them. As the vines wrapped around his arm, small flowers bloomed all over his wrist until the only thing that could be seen was a flood of red petals.

"What?"

"Boom!" The thief snapped his fingers and in an instant, the flowers lit up and exploded. Pain flared all over his limb as Phoebus cried out, more from shock than anything else. The force of the blast caused him to stumble, but quick wing-work on Happy's part kept the young Dragon Slayer from crashing into a wall.

"He uses some sort of Plant magic, I bet!" the little Exceed exclaimed as he set Phoebus back on his feet. "We need to be more careful."

"Got that right," the blond grunted. Even though Phoebus had a high pain tolerance (thanks to all the injuries caused by his bad luck), those explosive seeds packed quite a punch. Phoebus was worried for a second about Natsu and Rin, but when he looked up he found that worry unnecessary. Natsu simply roasted the seeds with a Roar attack and Rin was having an easy time batting away any projectiles that came his way. The ease at which the raven-haired teen knocked the seeds away astounded Phoebus; he was barely even moving and kept his gaze focused straight ahead of him.

"Fire Dragon's Brilliant Flame!" A blazing mass of fire shot past Rin as Natsu released his attack at the thief. The fireball whizzed past the stranger's head, eliciting a panicked yelp as he fell backwards to avoid getting singed. Phoebus saw his opening and rushed in with an attack of his own.

Phoebus took a leap and landed squarely in front of the startled thief. His arm shot up, hand tucked into a gun shape as a small orb of gold fire formed at his fingertip. The blond smirked. At this close range, the little spell was gonna hurt.

"Sun Dragon's Solar Flare!" Pressing his thumb down like the hammer on a gun, Phoebus shot the orb of sunlight directly at the thief's hood. To his joy, the attack hit and sent the thief hurdling into a wall in a burst of golden light.

"Give me back the Sun and Moon!" Phoebus shouted. "Sun Dragon's Claw!"

"Wait, Phoebus!" Rin moved forward to intercept the blond Dragon Slayer as the thief slammed his hands on the ground.

"Creeper Vines!

At once, a green spell circle appeared under Phoebus and Rin. Vines exploded from the rocky soil, as thick as a man's arm, and wrapped around the two like snakes. Phoebus struggled to keep one vine from winding around his neck as Rin smacked his staff against the ones near him.

"Rin! Phoebus!"

"Focus on the thief, Natsu!" Rin ordered, noting how the pink-haired teen had moved closer towards them. "Don't let him get away!"

As Natsu and Happy went after the thief, Phoebus and Rin focused on freeing themselves from the Creeper Vines. Phoebus struggled as the thick vines twisted around his wrists and ankles. To make matters worse, he was a good five feet off the ground, belly up, as the vines kept on growing. If things didn't slow down soon, he'd find himself with stalactites through his gut. Provided he didn't pass out from having a plant wrapped around his neck first…

"Grr, get off of me!" he shouted. No matter how hard he tried to stay calm, the blond was starting to panic. He should have been more cautious! Had sleeping for so long affected his ability to fight that much? For crying out loud, Helios had taught him better than to fall into such a stupid trap!

"Calm down, will you?" Phoebus looked to his side, glaring irritably at Rin. The dark-haired teen seemed as cool as ice compared to the Dragon Slayer. Unlike himself, Rin was right-side up and in a better position. One arm was free and no constricting vegetation had made its way around his neck, although he had lost his grip on his staff. The slender piece of metal lay just out of his reach at the ground beneath his feet.

"Easy for you…to say!"

"Can't you just use your magic?"

Phoebus bit back a scoff. "I'm a Sun Dragon Slayer, emphasis on SUN! I doubt that would do any good with plants!" If anything, Phoebus was sure his magic would just make the situation worse. Why did Rin have to send the Fire wizard off before they could get help?!

"But that's perfect. You're a Dragon Slayer; aim an attack at my arm!" Rin's chin jerked in the direction of his immobile arm.

Phoebus blinked in confusion and shock. At his arm? Looking down, he noticed how the limb in question was held in place by a considerably thick vine, wound around his elbow and waist. Even one of his weaker attacks could injure Rin!

Rin sensed the blond's confusion and let out a huff. "I can't get to my staff, but if you can free my bound arm I should be able to get us out of this mess. Now quick!"

"But—!"

"Now, Phoebus!" Phoebus bit his lip, flinching at the harsh tone of the other's voice. He didn't want to hurt anyone. That had always been a concern of his, even as a child just starting out with his Dragon Slayer training. But Rin did have a point. They needed to get free. Natsu and Happy were facing off against the wizard thief that had hurt his village.

His home…

~But Papa, what if someone gets hurt?~

~Phoebus, what you are learning is no easy task. You and your sister cannot be afraid of this magic if you are to become true Dragon Slayers. Remember, the light of the Sun is a power that provides warmth and protection to others. Under the sun, we all flourish…~

Phoebus twitched as Helios' words rang through his mind. That's right. His magic, it wasn't like Natsu's fire. It wasn't like Wendy's Sky magic either, but somewhere in between. Maybe if he could keep that in mind, Rin would be okay.

"Okay…" Phoebus took a deep breath to calm his nerves and reached down deep. What spell could he use that could blast away the vine but leave Rin relatively unharmed?

"Wait…! Sun Dragon's Sunflower!" Putting all his weight into it, Phoebus swung his body around until his wrists were facing Rin. Bright light, golden sunlight, swelled around his fingers like the petals of a flower. It was almost like a sunflower, radiating warmth.

Don't hurt the guy too much…Please?

Phoebus' fingers came together, making the smallest of claps. As the "petals" came together, the light was forced to compact into a tiny sphere. The sphere shot forward and once it made contact with the vine a small, almost indiscernible spell circle appeared. The sphere burst as a blast of light so bright that even Phoebus had to squeeze his eyes shut. Being a Sun Dragon Slayer did give him resistance to bright lights, but it wasn't perfect immunity.

"Gah!…Shadow Weaver!"

A few moments passed and suddenly Phoebus felt himself dropping and landing on the ground with a dull thud. The vines around him loosened and a slight tap next to him signaled Rin's presence next to him. Opening his eyes confirmed this fact.

CLANG!

Phoebus jumped as Rin's shoe came in contact with his staff, producing a loud metallic sound. As the dark-haired teen bent down to retrieve it, Phoebus saw something flash, almost hidden by the wide cuff of his sleeve. A knife blade?

"What…What was that?" Phoebus rubbed at his eyes, hoping to make the little red dots vanish from his sight. He sensed the other teen shift, fingers twitching as a black and red knife slipped out from his sleeve. Flipping the blade's handle, Rin caught it backwards as the blade began to pulse with this strange, black mist. A wave of cold washed over Phoebus as he watched the mist curl around Rin's arm.

"S-Shadow magic…?"

Rin's head turned face Phoebus, expressions unreadable under the white fringe of his bangs. It felt like he was being studied, although Phoebus couldn't tell what for. Instead of providing an answer, or even acknowledging Phoebus' remark, Rin turned and started down the way Natsu and Happy went.

"We should go now." And without another word, he dashed down the tunnel, leaving Phoebus to chase after him.

Just my luck, he thought. Shadow magic…

Not five minutes later, Phoebus' nose picked up the acrid smell of smoke, along with burning plants. With renewed enthusiasm, the blond rushed forward, speeding past Rin as they ran to meet Natsu.

"About time you two showed up!" the pink-haired Dragon Slayer teased. "I thought I was going to have all the fun by myself!"

"As if, Natsu." Rin scoffed.

Phoebus looked past the two Fairy Tail wizards and back at the thief. His cloak was now scorched in several places, with a few massive holes burned into the ends. His hood remained intact, but more strands of long gray hair leaked past the fabric. He was slumped against a wall, panting heavily as more vines curled around him in the form of a barrier. But even so, Phoebus caught a glint of something that glowed gold, coming from the thief's pocket. He recognized the glow instantaneously, and saw red immediately.

"Sun Dragon's Solar flare!"

Natsu and Rin lurched back as shot after shot of blazing gold fire sailed past them, colliding with the thief's vines in miniature explosions of bright light. The thief hissed in pain as the assault continued, Phoebus moving closer and closer until he was a mere foot away.

"G-Get away!"

"Give me back the Sun!" Phoebus roared, face formed into an animalistic snarl. His fangs glinted dangerously in the light caused from his magic, and his eyes seemed to glow hellishly, silver and gold, as they bored into the thief's hood.

The rogue wizard flinched, pressing himself deeper and deeper into the wall. He wasn't seeing the blond wizard for what he was. Instead, what he saw was a great, powerful beast towering over him. Covered in golden scales it was, with two enormous eyes of liquid gold trained right on him. A long snout barred wickedly sharp teeth, each about as long as his arm and more deadly than any sword. Two curled horns sat on top of its head, and spikes protruded from the creature's hide along its back to its tail, and from the leathery wings resting between the shoulders. This thing, it wasn't human.

It was a dragon.

"Sun Dragon's…"

"M-Monster!"

Phoebus flinched at being called that, snapping him out of his rage. Monster? No, he wasn't a monster. Not now, not then either…"I just want the Sun back. Please…"

As Phoebus stretched out his hand, harmless as it was, the thief let loose a shrill scream. Flinging his own hand out, a barrage of explosive seeds hurled themselves at the shocked blond. The plant-like bombs exploded and Phoebus held his arms up defensively, waiting for the pain.

"Oi!" A hand reached out, catching him back the back of his vest. The fingers clasped the old leather and pulled sharply, jerking Phoebus out of the cloud of fire and smoke produced from the seeds. He fell to the ground with a thud, wincing as he realized his forearms were slightly burned from the blasts. A shadow loomed above him as he heard a strange sucking sound echo through the cavern.

"Now I've got a fire in my belly." Natsu grinned as he finished eating the fire from the Seed Bomber spell. Slamming his fists together, a flame ignited across his fingers as he grinned towards Rin. "Wanna give me a hand with this guy, Shadow Fairy?"

Rin made a scoffing sound and Phoebus wondered if he was rolling his eyes under those bangs. "How many times do I need to tell you people to stop calling me that? Honestly…But yeah, let's show this guy what he gets for messing with the Fairy Tail guild and their friends…" Rin twirled his knife in his hand as shadows swirled around it, engulfing his opposite hand.

"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"

"Shadow Sphere!"

With the thief pinned, there was nowhere for him to go as the two Fairy Tail wizards launched themselves forward. Natsu slammed his fist into the plant wizard's chin, giving him a mighty uppercut that sent him rocketing up into the air. At the same time Rin leapt up, the shadows around his hand compacted into a small, dense sphere. The raven-haired young man closed his fingers around the little, black ball and smashed it into the chest of the thief. The shadows exploded, sending the wizard to the ground in the blink of an eye. He howled in pain as the rock beneath him cracked, the force of shadow alone creating a crater in the earth. He lost consciousness in seconds.

Phoebus watched in awe. Was this the power of guild wizards? The Sun Dragon Slayer marveled from his spot on the ground, amazed at how strong Rin and Natsu were. The ease at which they fought was incredible and their pride and loyalty towards their guild, inspiring. And when Phoebus thought about how much fighting he actually did, he hung his head in shame.

I was stupid enough to fall for such obvious attacks. Was it the fourteen years of lost time? Or are these two way beyond my skill level?

Natsu had been fighting that thief when Phoebus was struggling to get free from some silly vines. And just now, he had the chance to end the fight. But he lost his nerve, his conviction. And why? Because he had been called a monster…

"Am I really some sort of monster?" Phoebus stared down at his hands sullenly. This had been the second time he had been called a monster. Although, last time it was on a much large scale, with a lot of people saying it. He couldn't help it if his temper got away from him now and then, but did that really mean he was a monster? Something despicable, and less than human?

"Why would you think that?" Phoebus lurched back as Natsu stuck his face up close to his. The pink-haired teen's eyes were alight with curiosity while Phoebus just looked off to the side bitterly.

"If enough people say it, it must be true, right?" Phoebus asked. "And I guess it makes sense. I'm a Dragon Slayer, so even among wizards I'm not exactly normal…"

"But that doesn't make you a monster, kid." Rin finished tying up the unconscious thief, turning his head slightly to face Phoebus. "You're just different; nothing wrong with that."

"Aye sir! Besides, I think Natsu's more of a monster than you are!" Natsu screamed in protest as Happy landed next to the downcast blond. "You even asked that thief guy for the Sun back. Remember, you said 'please'. Monsters don't say that, do they?"

Ignoring the biting remark from his furry partner, Natsu leapt up to his feet, grinning wildly as he pulled Phoebus up with him. The Fire Dragon Slayer hadn't known this Sun Dragon Slayer for long, but he already considered Phoebus a friend. And as a wizard practicing the same magic, he wasn't going to take this sitting down.

"You were just trying to get something important back that belonged to your dad. There's nothing wrong with that!" he exclaimed. "Dragon Slayers are supposed to be proud of what they are, so don't let some thieving scumbag get to you."

"Right. Take it from the guy who has single-handedly destroyed more property than any monster in the history of Earthland." Rin stood up, snickering softly, and walked over to the two boys. He held out his hand toward Phoebus and placed something the blond's glove-covered hand. "Don't let anyone tell you who you are and what you aren't."

Looking down, Phoebus' eyes went as wide as plates. Sitting in his hand was a small yellow orb, about the size of a large marble. It glowed brightly, like shimmering gold and felt warm through his leather glove. An imperfection within the crystal caught the light and made it look like there was a shinning sphere inside, like a miniature sun. a silver clasp was fasted to the top and a black cord ran through a loop so it could be worn as a necklace.

It was the Sun.

Phoebus' face lit up with a smile just a dazzling as the glow from the lacrima. Quickly, he looped the cord around his neck and tucked the orb underneath his bandana for safe keeping. The warmth from the Sun began to seep through as he felt a sense of peace wash over him. It reminded him of when he was little and Helios would let Phoebus sleep curled up against the mighty dragon's neck.

"Natsu. Happy. Rin…Thank you for helping me retrieve a memento of my father."

And I hope the others can help Dia find the one from our mother…


And that's it for this chapter! Phoebus has the Sun back, and mysterious newcomer Rin enters the fray! And we get to see a little uncertainty in the Sun Dragon Slayer, and know that it's not all sunshine and smiles for this unlucky blond.

Next time, Ashes to Ashes and Dust to Dust.

Bye!