A/N: Hello from the Arctic. Celestial Sky Dragon here reporting live from Snowmagedon central! Holy Shit did it snow today, I wasn't expecting it to be deep but damn. Snow is literally coming through my window and it's freaking sealed shut, it's insane. Too bad I'm a Celestial Sky Dragon and not an Ice Dragon, or I would have eaten all this pesky snow.
Setting that aside, today I bring you the conclusion to the Crystal Cove arc. You all get to see what lies at the end of the cave, though for those of you who get the reference, you'll know exactly what's at the end. I hope you like this one, I worked really hard and put in a lot of research into it. After this we'll go to a small cut off of Magnolia Town before diving into another mini arc. I think I'll be going into more mini arcs until I get to the Fighting Festival Arc, which reminds me, I need to watch that so I can write it. Still not sure what I will do, but I was thinking of having Aiden compete in the Fairy Tail events, like have a day or two where it's just him competing in events for Prizes, and some other contests, and then the day of the Fairy Tail beauty pageant happens and that's when shit gets real. I'm also not sure if I'll have Aiden be part of the fight against Laxus...I really want to add him into that fight, which would piss Laxus off a lot since Aiden isn't even part of Fairy Tail.
After that, I think there will be a bit of a break between arcs, until I set up the beginning of the Oracion Seis arc. It will also give me time to develop the new characters I'll be adding in the coming arcs. So far, Team Flaming Skies consists of, Aiden, Wendy, Phoebe and Carla, the founders, Yamato and Chelia, with a few more people joining in soon. It might be a big team, but they won't always be together, the founders will most likely be the main part of the team you'll see. I'm also planning on having a cute little chapter for Chelia to go on her first mission. It's going to be a Valentine's day special, since the holiday is coming up.
Shoutouts to RedBurningDragon for being helpful as usual, thanks to those suggestions, I have gotten a lot of movesets completed for a few characters and you've given me loads of ideas, so this chapter id dedicated to you friend.
Shoutout also goes to my man G King, for being a loyal reader and for reviewing my stuff constantly, check out his story the Outcast, which is getting really good now that it's nearing its end.
Now, without further adoo, let us tunnel through the snow and read this chapter together!
This Chapter is brought to you by Taco Bells new Chicken Shell Taco. I would have tried one buy my lack of a vehicle is preventing me from doing so. Oh Blizzards, gotta love them...
Fairy Tail
Tales of the Hellfire Dragon
Chapter 13
A New Discovery
The second they stepped into that passage was the second they realized the cavern was different. Drastically different. While the top part was a bit more rocky and had crystals growing out of the rocks and the ground, the underground part was entirely made of crystals. Every wall, every path, the ground and the ceiling, it was like being inside a giant crystal. The walls were glowing a bright blue, and the crystals growing out of the ground seemed to be different from the ones above. Aiden had already collected several crystal samples, knowing that William would love to study them.
Walking further into the cavern, they found the first empty chamber, seeing all of the large deposits of crystals. The glow was even more intense than before, almost making the room look like it was being shined down by sunlight. Aiden walked to the center of the cavern, looking around for any signs of monsters, but so far he didn't sense anything. He too a whiff of the air, shaking his head.
"All I smell is dust and crystals, nothing more nothing less." he said.
"So it really is safe down here. There's no creatures here because the crystals kept this place hidden." Wendy said.
"I still have a hard time believing this...do you think there's a treasure trove hidden here?" Carla asked.
"Treasure? That would be so cool, Pirates could have enchanted this place, or it could belong to some ancient tribe of wizards." Phoebe said.
"While I believe in an ancient tribe of Wizards, seeing our guild belongs to one, I don't really think they would have kept treasure here. But it doesn't hurt looking." Yamato said, taking the lead this time. Aiden's brow furrowed, and he purse his lips.
"Wait...our guild is part of an ancient tribe?" he asked.
"Seriously? You've been part of our guild for how long now and you don't know our history?" Carla asked.
"I never asked and no one told me, fuck!" he snapped back, earning a hiss from the white haired girl.
"It's alright, I'll tell you what master told us. Apparently, master and all of the members of Cait Shelter happen to be the descendants of an ancient tribe of mages known as the Nirvits. They were apparently the strongest tribe 400 years ago, and were known for various discoveries and magical advances. That's why we mostly wear tribal attire and live mostly off the nature around us, because that's how our ancestors did it." Wendy said.
"Even though we weren't born to the Nirvit, Master Roubaul welcomed us into his guild and considers us part of his tribe. It's quite an honor to be part of it, so make sure you learn more about our tribe when you have the time." Carla scolded.
"Yes mother, I'll learn everything I can later." he said. Carla grit her teeth in annoyance and looked away, flicking a strand of hair over her shoulder.
"This still so exciting...what do you think is at the end of this tunnel?" Dilynn asked.
"I dunno...more crystals I think...we've come really deep." Aiden said, running his hand along the crystalline walls. Reaching another chamber, they noticed the cavern opened up, turning into a large room. They all gasped, seeing all of the light blue crystals that were sticking out of the ground, and from the ceiling. It looked as if the stone floor had been over taken by the crystal, giving it a glossy look. They heard the sound of water lapping at the shore and ran ahead, seeing the crystal chamber was actually a large underground lake. The water was a cool blue, and several smaller crystals could be seen sticking out of the water. They all looked at it amazed.
"Who would have guessed there would be a large lake under the Crystal Cave?" Yamato asked.
"It's breathtaking. Aiden, we should grab some of these for Mister William." Wendy said. He nodded and headed to one of the large crystals, giving it a firm kick. It tumbled to the ground, splitting into three large chunks. He grabbed a medium sized one, placing it in the knapsack that had filled to the brim.
"What's that glow over there? Coming from the center of the lake?" Dilynn asked, pointing to an area past a few crystals.
"Let's check it out!" Aiden said, letting the bag disappear into his spacial pocket. They ran off, going around the edge of the lake toward another area, they noticed a path that lead almost toward the center of the lake. They stopped near the edge, seeing a large crystalline shelf sticking out of the water. The glow was coming from that shelf, there was a pedestal on it, and on top of that something had been placed.
"Undiscovered treasure, some magical jewel no one has ever seen, museum quality artifacts that will line our pockets with cash! This is so fucking awesome!" Phoebe cried, zooming forward, only for Carla to grab her tail.
"There she goes again, talking about money...I'll hold her here, go and check out that pedestal." she said. Aiden nodded and started walking forward, with Wendy by his side. As the approached the pedestal however, he felt an abnormal amount of magic near the area. He could sense the one in the crystals, but this one felt almost stronger than that, and near the same level as Yamato's. He looked to his left, eyes widening when he saw a pillar of water heading in his direction. He grabbed Wendy's arm and pulled her back, just in time to avoid the water.
"Jeez, what was that?" he asked.
"What are you doing here? Do you dare trespass on my domain?" a firm feminine voice cried out. The entire area rumbled a bit, causing a few large crystals to break off, hitting the ground before shattering into millions of pieces. A large pillar of water formed behind the pedestal, causing them all to go wide eyed. Before they could even react, the water slammed down on all of them, sweeping them back toward the back end of the cavern. Aiden grabbed onto one of the crystals, holding onto Wendy's hand so she wouldn't drift away. Sadly however, the others had been washed away by the water. The tidal wave finally died down, allowing the two dragon slayers to breathe, though now the felt a stinging sensation on their skin, as if it was burning away at them. They were soaking wet, and water dripped around them.
"What the hell was that?" Aiden cried out, panting a bit. He heard foot steps ahead of him and he looked up, seeing a girl around his age, standing at the center of the path.
She had long cornflower blue hair that reached down to her lower back, and was kept neat and straight. She was wearing a navy blue sailor outfit, which consisted of a sleeveless button down shirt, with two breasts pockets, the tops of which were white in color. She wore a blue ascot, with a white line on the edge of it. She had a red clip on tie attached to it, the tie was red in color, and bore a weird insignia on it. She wore detached sleeves, which were also blue in color, and covered most of her hands. She wore a pleated blue skirt, with a few bird designs on the hem. She also wore black biker shorts underneath the skirt, and were barely visible. She wore black knee socks, along with matching blue boots, with thick black laces. Her sea green eyes bore into his own blue ones, he could tell she was angry.
"I'll ask you again, why are you trespassing on my domain?" she asked firmly. Aiden stood up, ignoring the fact that he was soaking wet and that his skin was burning a bit. Wendy stood up beside him, wringing her hair out.
"We aren't trespassing, we're from Cait Shelter, a wizard guild. We came here to look for crystals." he explained, showing her his mark. She narrowed her eyes a bit, holding her hand high in the air.
"Wizard Guilds are not welcome here!" she said, forming a large whirlpool above her head. She sent it at the two with a firm shout. Aiden and Wendy ducked out of the way, in time to dodge the attack that broke apart as soon as it hit the ground. The area where they stood was sizzling a bit.
"Alright, you wanna fight, then we'll fight. Fire Make: Blooming Roses: Fire Machine Gun!" he chanted, throwing five flaming seeds into the ground. They sprouted from the ground forming large rose blooms above her. They started firing large blue fire balls at her, which she was easily able to dodge. She took a deep breath, a bubble of water forming in her mouth.
"Water Basilisk's Breath!" she chanted, willing the bubble to explode, a large torrent of greenish blue water came shooting at them. The roses sizzled out of existence, being taken out by the water magic. Aiden jumped above her, a smirk on his face.
"Now Wendy!" he cried.
"Right, Sky Dragon's Crushing Fang!" the girl cried, sending large blades of wind magic at the green eyed girl. At the same time, Aiden cast his own attack.
"Hellfire Dragon's Wing Attack!" he cried, sweeping his arms in a half circle, the fire melded with the wind magic, both exploded on contact with the girl. She howled in pain, flying back into the pedestal. She grit her teeth and stood up.
"You are making a grave mistake!" she said, taking a deep breath, large streams of water started flowing into her mouth, causing the two to grow slack jawed.
"She's a dragon slayer?" they both said in unison. The girl finished drinking the water, a smirk on her face.
"Please, I am nothing like those over sized lizards...I am someone who is far stronger than them. Right now you are trespassing on my Kingdom and my domain, so leave before it gets ugly." she said.
"She's bluffing Wendy, this chick isn't anything more than a treasure hunter like us, probably found an underground river that leads to this lake. We can't let her win." he said.
"Right, I'll give us a boost. Arms, Armor, Vernier, enchant!" she cried, the boosting effects instantly swirled around them, getting rid of the stinging sensation from before. The girl snapped her fingers, forming hundred upon hundreds of small glowing bubbles, she held her arms above her, closing her eyes.
"Water Basilisk's Bubble Beam!" she cried out, snapping her fingers, the bubbles shot off, bouncing in different directions. Aiden grabbed Wendy's hand, quickly spinning so they were back to back. He rose his hands above his head, channeling magic to his palms.
"Fire Make: Shield!" he chanted, forming a fiery dome around them. All of the bubbles that struck the dome instantly turned into stream. His quick thinking had saved them from a serious attack, as soon as he brought the dome came down, Wendy shot forward, her feet covered in a swirling funnel of wind.
"Sky Dragon's Crushing Claw!" she cried, swiping her leg at the girl, large tendrils of wind slammed into the girl, sending her flying back toward Aiden. She righted herself in mid air, a swirling mass of water covering her leg.
"Water Basilisk's Tsunami Strike!" she cried, slamming her water coated leg into Aiden. He cried in pain, slamming into the ground hard by the tidal wave of greenish blue water. He grit his teeth, gasping in pain as he clutched his chest.
"Aiden!" Wendy cried, worried about her friend. She looked back at the girl who had landed in a low crouch.
"You Dragons think you can just come into my domain, after so many of our own were killed by you. I will not allow you to steal my precious jewel. This is where you both end. Water Basilisk Secret Art!" she chanted, a bright blue magic circle appeared under her feet. Thousands of glowing bubbles formed around her body, larger in size than the previous one. Looking around, Wendy could see them surrounding every square inch of space, and more just kept popping up. The girl smirked, slamming her hands into the ground.
"Queen Basilisk's Primordial Seas!" she cried out. The spell for a second looked like it was actually going to take effect. Wendy jumped onto Aiden, using her body to shield him from the attack, only for it to completely disappear. The two of them looked at the girl, seeing the blank look on her face, just before she passed out, falling down onto the ground. They noticed a glowing purple stinger sticking out of her shoulder.
"Man, it's a good thing she was distracted." Yamato said, lowering her hand.
"You poisoned her?" Wendy asked, eyes wide. Yamato shook her head.
"It was a special kind of poison that puts people to sleep. She'll be fine in a few hours. I however wasn't expecting a Basilisk Slayer here of all places." she said.
"A what?" Aiden asked, sitting up, ignoring the fact that Wendy was now sitting on his lap. He was more focused on what Yamato was talking about.
"Yes, they are a rare bunch of lost magic users just like you two and myself. Basilisks were apparently sea dwelling creatures, that were preyed upon by dragons, but after the fall of the dragon race they became more abundant. Those who get lucky enough not to get eaten by one, will instead be granted the use of their magic, something tells me this girl was living here with her Basilisk parent...now would you get off his lap Wen? You are too young for that." she said, brushing past them. Wendy screamed, realizing what she meant and quickly stood up, pulling her soaked skirt down. Her face was glowing red.
"It isn't what it looks like." she said.
"Don't worry about it, you were trying to protect me, and I was the one who sat up. It's cool." he said, brushing it off. He walked over to the girl and knelt down before her, pulling the stinger from her shoulder. He frowned, looking back at Yamato.
"She said this was her domain...does that mean she was living here along all this time?" he asked.
"Possibly...this could be the first time she's seen humans." she replied.
"Hey Aiden look at the treasure...it's just another crystal." Phoebe said, holding the blue crystal in her paws. Aiden took it from her, looking it over. It felt a little odd, especially with all of the magic radiating from it. It was around the size of his fist, and was cut out almost into a diamond shape. And it looked to be filled with crystalline blue water.
"Don't...touch that."
Aiden looked at the girl, seeing she was already awake, though looking a bit weak. That spell must have taken a lot more out of her than they thought. He looked at the crystal in his hand, handing it back to Phoebe.
"Put it back. Wendy, can you heal her up?" he asked, earning a nod from her.
"I'll try, but I'm a bit tired." she said, hovering her hands over the girl, the warm glow of her magic seeped into the girl's body, easing her pain a bit.
"What's your name?" Aiden said, looking at the girl.
"I'm not telling you anything, Dragon." she snapped, looking away from her. He rolled his eyes.
"Listen, I'm not sure what the Dragons and Basilisks did when they were around, but I'm not a part of that. I'm just someone who uses their magic. I wanna know why you are here alone, deep beneath the Crystal Cave, after that we'll leave and never bother you again." he said. She sighed, closing her eyes.
"I was raised here by my mother. She was the Queen of the Basilisks. Her name is Illgardia...I don't know where exactly I was born, but I've always lived here, eating the fish that swim in the lake. My mother also made me this outfit from her magic and her scales, it's one that changes as I age so I don't need new clothes, it also never gets dirty. When I was seven, she decided to teach me her magic, seeing as I was the only human she had taken a liking too. She taught me everything she knew, and the one day, I woke up and she was gone." she said.
"Just like Atlas Flame." He said.
"And Grandeeny...why are all parents like this?" Wendy wondered, a frown on her face, earning a shrug from Aiden.
"You two...were left by your parents?" she asked, eyes widening a bit.
"Yeah, on July 7th 777, that's when our dragons disappeared." he said.
"What? That's when my mother disappeared...this can't be a coincidence!" the girl said, sitting up. She hissed a bit, clutching her shoulder. Wendy hovered her hand over that spot, seeing the purple spot from Yamato's stinger.
"That's really interesting...what reason would our parents have for leaving us on the same day? And why the 7th of July?" Aiden asked. He shook his head, standing up a bit.
"Well...I think we've done enough damage here. We'll be leaving now...we won't tell anyone about what we found."
"But Aiden, what about that crystal? Think of all the money?" Phoebe said.
"Phoebe, that artifact is special to this girl, we are not selling it for profit. We collected enough crystals from the cavern, they will do." Carla scolded, earning a huff from the orange exceed.
"Before we go, do you think we could get a name?" Yamato asked. The girl looked at her, a small frown on her face.
"My name...it's been so long since I even heard it. Regardless, my name is Princess Iona Illgardia...daughter of the Basilisk Queen." she said, giving them a formal bow.
"Wow, a princess...how cool." Wendy said, mimicking a certain blond magazine article writer.
"She isn't a real princess." Carla muttered dryly.
"Sorry about her, she's always snarky. My name is Aiden Flame, son of Atlas Flame. This is my partner Phoebe." he said, gesturing to the orange exceed.
"My name is Wendy Marvell, daughter of Grandeeny, this is Carla, my partner."
"I'm Yamato Sakatonaka, pleasure to meet you."
"Hi, I'm Dilynn."
"It's...nice to meet you all I guess. Sorry for attacking you, it's been so long since I saw a human that I thought you guys were enemies. I hope you'll forgive me." she said, sounding a bit remorseful. Aiden grinned, shaking his head.
"Water under the bridge now, as they say. And don't worry, we aren't telling anyone what happened here or about you..and we aren't talking about the crystal either. I swear it in the name of Cait Shelter." he said, holding his hand out.
"Oh right...that's your guild name right?" she asked, earning a nod from them.
"We should be going, it's gonna take us hours just to reach the exit of this cave." Yamato said.
"What will we tell William? We collected all of these crystals." Wendy said firmly.
"We'll just tell him that we found a secret cave, but that there was a really strong monster that we couldn't defeat. He won't be coming down here, besides there are Golems on the top part of the cave anyway." Aiden said.
"That's true I suppose...well, it was nice meeting you Iona...once again sorry for trespassing!" Dilynn said.
"It's alright...have a safe trip up." she said, giving them a shy wave. The wizards took off, leaving the young girl alone. She frowned, looking back at the glowing crystal.
"Mother...you told me one day this place would be found, and that I should leave if it was...should I follow them?" she said, looking to the crystal for an answer. It pulsed a bit, glowing a bit brighter than before. She smiled, taking it as an answer.
Around the time they got out of the cave, it had become dark, and the city was lit up by the beautiful crystals surrounding it. They continued walking toward the mansion on the hill, watching the amazing scenery. They reached the front door of the mansion and gave three firm knocks. It wasn't long before the butler from before opened, looking quite surprised.
"Master Aiden, I was expecting you all back hours ago." the man said.
"Uh...yeah, we have a reason for why we are so late...I'd rather explain it to you and William at once." he said, giving the man a sheepish grin. He nodded, letting them into the house once more. He lead them back toward the study, where William was still sitting, writing a few documents. He shared the same look the butler had on his face moments ago.
"Aiden, everyone...you took so long, I grew rather worried." he said.
"We took our time, but we have a reason why. You remember the three crystals you spoke of?" He asked, earning a nod form him.
"Yes, the three giant crystals at the final chamber of the Crystal Cave. I have never seen them in person, but a few mages did take some pictures for me. Did something happen there?" he asked curiously. Aiden pulled the knapsack from his Requip Pocket, setting down on the deck with a low thump. He gave the man a grin.
"Boy, do we have a story for you." he said.
Over the next hour, he and his friends explained everything that they had witnessed in the cave. They talked about the color changing crystals, the new part of the cavern that lead deep under ground, making sure to leave the meeting with Iona out of it. Aiden showed off all of the crystals they had grabbed, making the man gush over every single new specimen. When he asked if it was still accessible, Aiden shook his head, saying there was a cave in blocking the way down. The man frowned, but was still happy with the crystals.
"You guys had a simple request, and not only did you successfully complete it, but you have brought back so many crystals for me to examine. I'll have no issue proving my hypothesis correct. For this, I'm raising the reward from 25,000 Jewels to 300,000 Jewels, you all deserve it." the man said, his butler walked in holding a large briefcase, no doubt filled with cash.
"Oh wow, you didn't have to do that. We would have gladly accepted the previous reward, seeing that new cave and all of those crystals was more than enough for me." Wendy said.
"Same here, though I never got to find that clear crystal, I wanted to see the rainbow." Dilynn said.
"A clear crystal you say...why I have plenty of those..here, I found this one by the sea shore a while back, you are welcome to have it." William said, handing the girl the prism like crystal. Her eyes lit up as she held it in her hand, a grin breaking across her face.
"Thank you so much. It's too bad the sun went down already." she said, holding the crystal tightly in her hand.
"Well, we made arrangements in town to see the crystal light show by the pier, so we have to get going before we miss it. If you ever need anything, don't hesitate to call us, Cait Shelter will happily fulfill your requests." Aiden said, giving the man a grin.
"I'll definitely call you if I need your help. Thank you so much!" he said happily.
"If your thesis proves correct, please tell us, we really want to know if these crystals can substitute lacrimas." Wendy said.
"You'll be the first ones I contact. I hope you enjoy the show, the Crystal Light show is one of the best attractions Crystal Cove has." he said.
Team Flaming Skies finally left William's mansion, heading back down toward the beach to see the light show. The night was breezy and cool, and the sky was dark and filled with millions of brilliantly shining stars. They finally found a spot near some rocks, and away from the other patrons at the beach, they could see the people setting everything up for the show. Aiden leaned back against a boulder, his hands behind his head. Wendy was a few feet away from him, talking with Carla who was grabbing things out of the small cooler they had brought with them. Yamato was sitting with Dilynn who was looking at all of the crystals she had collected on her adventure.
"Well Phoebe, we completed another mission." he said, glancing at his partner who was busy making a sand castle.
"Yup...it's weird...we've been in Cait Shelter for a little over a month, but it already feels like we've been doing this forever." she said.
"I..honestly don't think I can see myself doing something other than this. I felt so alone while we were traveling Fiore...but now I feel like I'm finally part of something great. I honestly hope we can be in Cait Shelter forever." he said, looking up at the sky.
"Same here...so, I heard from Yamato earlier that Wendy was on your lap...what was that about?" She asked, looking at her partner. He coughed a bit, looking away from her.
"Uh...what are you talking about? That was an accident...Iona attacked us and she used her body to shield me from the attack." he replied.
"But that doesn't excuse the fact that she was on your lap...do you perhaps have feelings for her?" she asked in a teasing tone.
"What? Me like Wendy? That's preposterous!" he whisper yelled, making sure the girl didn't hear them. Dragons had acute hearing after all.
"Not it isn't...I find it so cute. Carla would probably kill you if she found out about that lap dance she gave you!"
"Christ, it wasn't a lap dance!" he snapped angrily, causing the others to look at him. He blushed brightly, though thanks to the darkness of the night, they didn't notice. He looked down at the sand, frowning a bit.
"Besides, what would a girl as pretty as her see in a reckless idiot like me? I mean, I'm a slum kid, I swear more than a sailor, I'm impulsive and all around not romantic." he said. Phoebe rolled her eyes, shaking her head in disdain.
"You are over thinking it you know...hey look they're starting!" She said, pointing to the pier. Several performers walked out, but due to the darkness the only thing that they could see were the brightly glowing crystals, moving around leaving long streaks of colored light as they started to dance, accompanied by loud drum music. All around them, several torches lit up, glowing a bright fiery orange, only the torches were actually bright glowing crystals. Oohs and ah's from the crowd could be heard drifting from all over the beach.
"Oh wow, look at those girls go!" Dilynn cheered, clapping her hands for the women who were dancing all over the place, adding new crystals to the ropes they were swinging around, with great practice and skill. Aiden glanced at Yamato, who had a peaceful expression on her face. She glanced back at him, giving him a warm sisterly smile. He smiled back at her, turning his eyes back to the performance.
"You know...Yamato reminds me a lot of someone else I used to know...someone that's been gone for awhile." he said sadly. Phoebe looked at him, giving him a curious look.
"Who does she remind you of?" she asked.
"My sister." he said simply.
"She reminds you of Flare? Didn't you say she was awkward around people?" she asked.
"No no, I didn't mean Flare...I meant my other sister, my blood sister."
"Hmm...didn't you say you grew up in the Sun Village?" she asked.
"Well...I did but I did have a family before reaching the village and meeting Atlas Flame. He's my step father, of sorts. You see, I had an older sister at one point in time, her name was Kurumi...and she loved nothing more than pampering me. Even though I didn't want it, she would always get me anything I wanted, whether it was a new toy or some candy...she would always buy it for me. When I was five, she was eleven, so we were several years apart...I remember her getting me this Yo-yo once, it was something I had been looking at forever...she ended up buying it with the last of her allowance. It was the best gift I had ever gotten from her...and the last one." he said softly. He reached into his pocket, pulling out a worn looking red Yo-yo, with a dragon etched into it in black ink.
"What happened to your sister?" she asked. He sighed, shaking his head.
"I don't wanna talk about it. It would ruin the show." he said, looking back at the performers, who had now started doing more intricate dances, while throwing larger crystals into the air, juggling them between each other. He glanced over at Wendy and Carla, seeing them completely entranced by the performance. The soft glow from the crystals seemed to make Wendy's hair glow in the low light. Her cute face and brown eyes were sparkling with amazement. He couldn't help but smile. Phoebe giggled, tugging on his shirt.
"You are totally in love with her!"
"I am not, shut the fuck up before I bury you headfirst!" he snapped, bearing his fangs.
"Is it possible for you to go one day without swearing?" Carla asked, clearly annoyed with Aiden and his use of language.
"I'm a slum kid, what do you want me to do?" he asked, giving her a shrug. She just sighed and looked away from him, keen on enjoying the rest of the performance.
Aiden felt someone poking his face, making him groan slightly. He batted the person's hand away, burying himself deeper into his bedsheets. He felt a sharp pinch his cheek, causing him to yelp in pain. He shot up from his bed, slamming into the wall before falling back onto the bed. He rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand, glaring at Yamato who just gave him a sheepish grin.
"Sorry sweetheart, I didn't mean to pinch you so hard." she said.
"Forget it. What time is it?" he asked.
"Just past seven, our train leaves in fifteen minutes. We're gonna have breakfast at the station cafe." she said. He nodded and stood up, grabbing his black boots and putting them on his feet. He grabbed his vest and his scarf, hastily putting them on.
"Ready, are the girls all set?" he asked.
"They went on ahead. Let's go, before we miss our train." she said, leading him out of the motel room. They paid off what they owned the owner and walked off, heading toward the station.
"You know...since we don't need that reward, I was thinking of giving it to Dilynn, so she could have a good start in Magnolia. Hell knows it would have been great to have money when I was traveling around. Being an independent mage is really hard sometimes."
"That's so sweet of you Aiden, you really do bring out the best in Cait Shelter." she said, making him blush.
"Please...I'm just doing what I know is right. While she didn't do much fighting, she did help us mine the crystals, and in the end it's getting the job done that matters." he said, earning a nod from her. They saw their friends and gave them a wave, hurrying up toward the station.
"Morning Team leader, did you enjoy sleeping alone with Yamato?" Dilynn asked, earning a groan from the boy.
"I see her as nothing more than a sister Dil..just because I'm in a team that consists of mostly girls doesn't mean I got a hard on for any of them." he said with a shrug. He brushed past her, ordering a small egg salad sandwich and a bottle of green tea.
"Anyway, when we get back home, we need to make sure everything with the construction is coming along fine. They were supposed to start building yesterday." Aiden said, taking a bite from his sandwich.
"That's right, we were supposed to get brick houses instead of huts...that last minute change was a good one, we'll be able to have personal bathrooms along with the guild hall shower rooms." Wendy said.
"Having our own little house is much better than a hut, although I have enjoyed ours, the heating in the winter is quite a pain." Carla added. All of them headed toward the platform. Aiden decided to take his motion sickness pills instead of having Wendy use her spell on him, that way he wouldn't develop an immunity for it.
"What do you say we make light fixtures from all of the crystals we still have? We collected hundreds of them, so we wouldn't need to spend extra money on light bulb lacrima." Aiden said.
"Not a bad idea Aiden, really smart actually." Yamato added. The train pulled into the station, releasing a loud shrill whistle calling to anyone who was about to leave Crystal Cove. They waited for a few passengers to leave before getting on themselves, not a lot of people got off, they noticed.
"Do you think that conflict Fairy Tail is in ended already?" Dilynn asked, a hint of worry in her tone. Aiden frowned, leaning into his seat.
"Phantom Lord is quite the strong opponent. Even with Fairy Tail's sheer numbers, they still have a lot to deal with. The Element Four, Black Steel Gajeel, and even Master Jose of the Wizard Saints...it'd be a tough battle, that's for sure." he said.
"Hey kid, didn't you hear the news? The Master of Fairy Tail totally destroyed Phantom Lord! It's all over the news!" one of the passengers said, earning surprised looks from the teens.
"Really?" Wendy asked.
"He used some special magic that only Fairy Tail mages can use and annihilated all of them in one fell swoop, though it was just the master and his shade magic, all of the wizards were taken out by Fairy Tail in a surprise attack. I heard they attacked and injured three members from the guild and wanted to kidnap some girl." he said.
"A girl...do you perhaps know her name?" Yamato asked curiously. The young man looked at the ceiling, humming to himself.
"She was blonde...and I think she used Celestial Spirit magic...what was her name...Lucy I think?"
"What? They wanted to kidnap Lucy? What for?" Carla asked, quite surprised at this turn of events.
"Well...Lucy is actually the daughter of a very rich, very powerful man. I bet he would stop at nothing to have his daughter back in his grasp, probably to sell her off to the highest bidder." Aiden said, sounding angry.
"Heartfilia, that's her last name. I remember getting a couple fliers during some of my missions with the council. He hired me to help him search, but I knew there was some ulterior motive behind it, so I declined...somehow, I think you are right Aiden." Yamato said, looking out the window. She focused on a few people at the station, seeing a familiar looking girl, but before she could look closer, the train pulled out of the station.
"Maybe we should...pay an earlier visit...to see how they are all doing you know?" Aiden said, glancing back at his friends.
"I could use my healing magic to help the injured...it would be good practice." Wendy said.
"I can go and get Chelia too, we'll need both of you there to help out." Yamato said.
"Dilynn, I was going to give you the reward from the mission last night, but I'm sure Fairy Tail needs it more, since it's going to be your guild soon, would you mind if I give it to them for the damages done to their guild?" Aiden asked.
"Of course! Even if you gave it to me, I would use it to help them. Let's do all we can to help." she said firmly.
"Alright, then at the next station, let's switch off and grab a train to Magnolia Town. I'm sure the rail line is fixed by now, so there shouldn't be an issue getting into town." he said.
"You know, you kittens sure are a nice bunch...think I could join your guild?" the guy from before asked.
"Sorry, our master isn't accepting people, our guild is under reconstruction at the moment." Yamato said firmly.
"Bummer." he said sadly.
With their plan set, Team Flaming Skies would head on to their next personal mission, all the while not noticing the gaze of a certain green eyed girl.