Lost Echoes, part 14

It seemed like they had walked for days, but time was difficult to gauge within the ruins. A mere five hours had passed since the mages entered the temple and so much had happened. The two groups navigated the complex corridors, slowly making their way to a meeting point. Gajeel's group was following the scholar, Maiara, to avoid traps, but when she ceased her directions, nervous looks were passed. "Are we lost?", asked Happy. The old woman turned to face her new comrades. "No, but I can't lead you any further", she replied grimly. "Why not?", asked Ronen, impatient to get back to Yona. "I've yet to find a way passed the guardian ahead", explained Maiara. "Guardian? Like that spider?", inquired Blythe. She nodded. "So, what is it?", smirked Gajeel, confident they could defeat it. The woman was in no hurry to discuss the details. She stared distantly into the shadows. "Is it that bad?", asked Rani nervously. "It killed my husband", stated Maiara sullenly. "What can you tell us?", inquired Levy. The old scholar sighed, lost in her memories. Finally, she met the inquisitive faces before her and replied, "It will try to destroy you."

"Destroy?", repeated Happy nervously. "You mean kill us?", asked Lily. "No, I mean destroy. Nothing will be left - not your bones, not even your soul", said Maiara darkly. "What happened?", inquired Charle, trying to get a better picture. "Never you mind the past. If you can't defeat that monster, you'll all be suck down here like me for the rest of your lives", replied the old woman. Turning, she pointed and said, "Follow the right path at the corner and you'll find your challenge. My old bones will stay here, out of the way." Options were briefly discussed, then it was decided. Lily, Gajeel, Levy, and Wendy would try the beast while the others remained behind. "But I can help!", argued Blythe. Gajeel ignored his pleas and lowered him to the floor against the wall. "Not like that, you can't", he sighed. Blythe was annoyed, but his friend was right. He was still too weak to be of any use. He watched them stride forward with worry. How fearsome was this thing that waited ahead? The remaining four exceeds spread out along the halls to form a communication line should something go wrong. Rani remained closest to Blythe, keeping a keen eye on her guild mate.

The others followed Maiara's directions and came to a thick wooden door. Cautiously proceeding through it, a huge chamber lay before them. Blood stains of various ages decorated the floor. With a firm glance, Gajeel let the others know to hang back while he checked it out. Several paces into the room, something passed him so quickly, he couldn't even see it. The dust settled back to the stone floor as the resulting breeze died down. In an instant, things got very strange. As he scanned the room, shadows of what he had done within the temple danced around him. Visions of trying to hold onto Levy during the separation from the group, finding his friends, and even trying to save Blythe. "What is this?", he uttered. Back at the doorway, the others could see nothing, but his confused stare. "Is something wrong?", hollered Levy. There was no response. It was as if he couldn't hear her. As Gajeel watched with caution, the visions faded as quickly as they had come. A dark voice whispered inside his mind, "Have you enjoyed it here, dragon slayer? Your kind built this place." He darted to face the voice, but no one was there. Again it whispered, "You are welcome here, a fine companion for my hollow time. You and the girl may stay as long as you like. The others must be expelled." He grit his teeth and shouted into the darkness, "You want a fight? Then fight me!"

His comrades exchanged nervous glances. "Who is he talking to?", said Levy, thinking aloud. From the corner of her eye, she could see Wendy shocked expression. Her skin was pale and her eyes were wide. She trembled as if something had found her deepest fears. "Wendy, what is it?", inquired Lily. She slowly shook her head side to side and uttered, "But I don't want to hurt them." Levy shook her shoulders gently, trying to call her back to reality. "Hurt who? Who's talking to you?", she asked with worry. Something whooshed between them , taking Wendy further inside the chamber. Levy darted her gaze in disbelief. Her guild mate had been in her hands only a moment ago. She followed Lily stare and spotted the girl standing face to face with Gajeel in the center of the room. They seemed to be in a trance of sorts. Wendy swayed slowly from side to side while Gajeel stared angrily into nothing. It seemed he was still fighting whatever was trying to control them.

Wendy turned to face her friends with a strange look in her eyes. "Impure", she stated. That made her colleagues worry all the more. It was the same thing they had heard just before getting separated. She lifted her hand and aimed her palm toward them, preparing to attack. Lily's quick reflexes saved Levy from a nasty blow. The ancient door beside where they had stood shattered into splinters. "Wendy, we're your friends!", pleaded Levy. Her words didn't seem to reach the girl. She readied another attack. As she did, Gajeel turned and grabbed her arm with a seething glare. "Don't hurt her! She can't help herself!", yelled Levy. Wendy turned her bewitched face toward her fellow dragon slayer in question. He smirked as he let go of her. Shaking his head as if to correct her, they both turned and simultaneously released their roars at their friends. Lily had already transformed and took the brunt of their landing to save Levy. Getting to his feet, he said, "Take Wendy. I'll deal with Gajeel." Levy nodded and the split up, each seeking their own target.

Levy ran fast and tackled Wendy to the ground. Pinning her arms, Levy pleaded one more time. "This place is messing with your head. Fight it!" Wendy's soulless eyes slowly looked her in the face. "We belong here. You're trespassing", she uttered in broken tones. Levy blocked the sound of her friends fighting nearby from her mind. "Fight it!", she yelled. One deep breath was all it took to send the solid script mage flying. "Your magic is inferior", said Wendy, striding confidently toward the tumbled Levy. "The Wendy I know would never say that!", retorted Levy. This seemed to hit something inside of the girl. She paused and looked almost sad. Then, her expression turned to anger. "No, she wouldn't. She's a weak child who only heals those even weaker", she sneered. Levy got her feet and prepared to defend herself. "Weak child? No one thinks that. We all know there's a dragon inside of you. Show it now! You have the will to fight this!", she pleaded. A dark smile formed on Wendy's face. "The only one to say such things was Natsu because he understands. He's one of us", she stated. "A superiority complex? I thought you were above that", said Levy. "I'm certainly above you", said Wendy, releasing several more attacks.

Several yards away, Lily and Gajeel were exchanging blows. "Like I'd lose to a damn cat!", smirked Gajeel. He wasn't holding anything back. If his opponent were anyone, but Lily, they wouldn't have stood a chance. His partner was strong enough to fend him off, at least for a while, and familiar with all of his moves. Catching his fist in his hand, Lily stared him down. "Is this what you really want to be? A crazed imbecile?", he asked. An unexpected transformation of the captured fist sent a sharp blade straight through the exceed's hand. Blood trickled down his arm as he held tightly onto his partner. "You don't know anything", seethed the dragon slayer. Lily stood his ground. "Look over there. Do you see those girls? What do you think they think of you now?", he argued. Gajeel grinned and replied, "The little one will get stronger in time. The other is unimportant." Lily's face lit up with rage. "Unimportant?! If Levy dies, then what?!", he shouted, now holding both of his partner's fists at bay. Gajeel's arms started to tremble faintly at that question. Was he getting through? "You saved her life and she's saved yours! Doesn't that mean anything?!" Gajeel's expression flickered.

Taking the opportunity, Lily used all of his strength and threw the dragon slayer across the room. Levy watched with alarm as he quickly flew toward her. He crashed into Wendy, knocking her several feet away. Lily shouted, "Levy, I know you heard what I said! This is your chance! Make it count!" She sat breathlessly for a moment, staring at her stunned guild mate. Registering what Lily had said, she nodded. It was now or never. She rushed forward and kissed Gajeel deeply. Time seemed to slow as she fought her embarrassment. She had to get through to him. It was the only way. After a moment, he opened his eyes in shock. She released him and waited to see who was in control. He sat up straight and stared at her with a red face. "Gajeel?", she asked carefully. Shying his gaze, flustered, he replied, "What'd you do that for?". He was back. She smiled in relief despite his curious stare at her goofy grin.

A few feet away, Wendy got back to her feet. She was not alone. A tall shadow stood beside her. It was around seven feet tall and stared with two different colored, glowing eyes. "Not bad", it whispered into their heads. It had no mouth, but clearly had the means to communicate. A claw like hand rested on Wendy's shoulder. "But this one is still mine", it gloated. A distorted laugh filled the chamber. "I haven't had this much fun since I made that old mage attack his beloved wife so many years ago. She had no choice, but to kill him", it taunted. A shout from the doorway jolted everyone. "Hands off my little sister!", demanded Blythe. Rani held tightly onto his clothing, hovering just above his head, supporting him as best as she could. The other exceeds stood around him and watched with fascinated horror at what they saw. Both Levy and Gajeel were injuries. Lily, too, wore streaks of blood. Charle stared at Wendy with worried eyes. Happy held her hand, staring down the thing beside her partner. "Wendy!", shouted Charle.

Blythe struggled forward, Rani helping him along with her wings. "I've never had a little sister before and I'll be damned if you think you can take her from me!", he shouted. The shadow seemed genuinely amused. "And what will you do?", it asked, holding a sharp claw to the girl's throat. "In the words of my team mate, I'm gonna kick your ass!", he replied. Ronen flew in, offering more support, and the exceed siblings rushed Blythe toward the monster. He ended up passing straight through whatever the being was. They turned and tried again, this time scooping Wendy in his arms and safely away from the shadow beast. They dropped her safely in Lily's arms before returning to face their adversary. The shadow chortled with glee. "You can barely stand! What can you possibly do to me?!", is taunted. Blythe glared at it with all of the anger he could muster. "How dare you mess with my friends", he said. One eye turned blood red with a dark line running from it down his face. "You idiot! You're not recovered yet!", yelled Gajeel, getting to his feet. Blythe grinned faintly, struggling to control his new-found power. "You can't always run away. You taught me that", he stated.

"Perhaps I should let the girl kill you", teased the shadow. Wendy fought to gain her freedom from Lily's arms, but he held her tightly and refused to let go. "After all, dragon slayers made me. It's only suiting that they should fight their own battles after so many years", said the guardian. "Why are you even here?", asked Rani. "What is it you're still guarding?", inquired Ronen. Those questions only seemed to irritate the specter. Having had more than enough, Blythe threw several needles at the thing before him. If they hit and his aim was true, it should paralyze the creature. However, it failed, the needles passing through it just as he had. "What are you?", he asked. The shadow loomed ahead, making itself look even bigger. "I am the result of an experiment, just like all of the other guardians. We remain here to keep the cult's secrets from being used to make more lost souls such as ourselves", replied the creature. Blythe's red eye faded back to its natural amber hue. His expression was sad. "I don't want your pity!", seethed the shadow. Rani and Ronen were getting tired. He relied on his own strength to stand. Rani landed, trying to catch her breath. He brother maintained the effort of keeping Blythe on his feet. He slowly walked toward the creature with pity in his eyes. "You don't want anyone else to suffer like you did", he ventured. "You know nothing of my pain", snapped the creature. With one swift movement, it said, "Let me show you."

Blythe clenched his eyes, bracing for impact. After feeling nothing, but wind pass him by, he opened his eyes and scanned the chamber. Charle was screaming. He quickly darted his focus to Wendy. Lily's transformation had run out. He was now in the floor, unconscious, his blood on her hands. Her eyes grew wide as it registered she was bleeding. She instinctively grasped her throat, trying to stem the blood that now poured over her. "No!", screamed Blythe. The shadow laughed mockingly as Ronen carried him as quickly as he could toward the falling girl. Wendy collapsed as they caught up to her. Gajeel charged the guardian in fury. Blythe gathered his new sibling into his arms and pressed his fingers over the major arteries in her neck. Ronen stared as his guild mate's body began to shake. "Blythe?", he ventured. He was crying, his forehead pressed against Wendy's. Hearing his name, he slowly looked up. Both eyes were now blood red, the lines marking his face clearly. The blood pooling around him started to rise and take shape. A massive scythe of red liquid darted toward the guardian with furious speed.

A distinct 'shink!' sounded and Gajeel stared in shock. It actually worked. The creature creamed as it fell in two. Once it hit the floor, the pieces began to evaporate. The blood scythe boomeranged back to it wielder. It slowly resumed its liquid state and flowed back into Wendy's body. Charle and Happy ran forward to see the damage. Blythe doubled over in pain as his magic closed the wound in Wendy's throat. He wasn't used to wielding it and the strain was proving too much. As her skin pulled together, the lines faded from his face. One eye resumed its natural state, but he focused hard to hold the other red until Wendy was out of danger. Panting heavily, he grinned at her serene face. The wound was closed and she looked as if she were only taking a peaceful nap. His own wound was bleeding again. He passed out as his eye turned amber once more, a grateful smile on his face as he clutched Wendy to his chest. Charle breathed a sigh of relief, glad Wendy had been saved. Maybe she had misjudged Blythe's affection toward the girl.

Gajeel and Levy stood over the fallen guardian as the last of its remains evaporated into nothing. Maiara slowly entered the chamber, taking in what had happened. "It finally over", she said, faintly grinning. "Thank you", she said, tears starting to fall. He husband had finally been avenged and now she could leave this awful place once and for all. She owed Fairy Tail and Serpent Wing a great deal an she would see to it they were rewarded.

-

To be continued...