"YAHOO!" Lucy cheered with joy. Dressed in her white bikini, she was wave-boarding, pulled along by a large, yet fast fish. On the board itself was Natsu, who was wearing swimming trunks and his scarf became a headband. He was also bulging at the cheeks from motion sickness as he begged, "Get me off this thing!"
"This was your idea in the first place." Lucy pointed out, finding it hard to be sympathetic to the Dragon Slayer.
"Why didn't you try what I'm doin'?!" Palva asked, who was racing alongside them. She was in a pink and black-stripped, one-piece swimsuit, and she was riding on her lance like it was a witch's broom. The dragon fang was pointed behind her, where it was unleashing a jet of flames that propelled it across the water.
"Taste my Fire Dragon's Jet Lance!" she shouted, climbing up the top of the wave, performing a spinning trick, then sliding back down the wave next to the pair.
"I didn't know you could do that with your lance!" Lucy pointed out excitedly, "But wouldn't it act like a vehicle, too?"
"It's probably due to bonding with it for so long, or maybe the dragon fang, but I never feel nauseated when riding it." Palva stated with a grin, "And I can guarantee it's way faster than that fish!"
"Oh, yeah?!" Lucy demanded, hearing a declaration for a race, and the two took off across the water as fast as they could, with poor Natsu hanging onto Lucy's board and his stomach for dear life.
On the shores of the beach, a crystalized beach net was formed as Erza and Leon were on one side, and Dori and Gray were on the other side. They were playing a powerful round of volleyball, while Pastry was refereeing, and Happy was just dancing on the hot sand. While Gray and Leon were in their swimming trunks, light blue and navy blue respectively, the two young ladies were showing off their well-endowed figures with their two-piece bikinis, with Erza in black and Dori in purplish-red.
"Comin' at ya!" Leon roared, spiking the ball over the net.
"Gray!" Dori shouted, making a leaping dive as she bopped the ball back up into the air again.
"Yeah!" the Ice-Make mage shouted, spiking the ball right back over the net. Erza tried to catch it, but she missed and it hit the ground, scoring a point for the opponents.
"Aw, yeah!" Gray cheered as Dori got back up, tightening her bikini straps after her slide. She looked to one side, seeing Palva and Lucy racing, seeing the joyous grin on her face. It had been so long since she had seen such an expression on her sister's face, that it felt so nice to see.
"Dori!" Erza shouted. The crystal mage turned in time to see the volleyball slam headlong into her face, causing her to fall back.
Leon, who served the ball, held his stance as he gave a sweat-dropped expression. "Whoops." he muttered.
"You okay?" Pastry asked as she rose back up.
"Yeah. Sorry about that." Dori answered, looking towards where the rest of their team was, "Just noticing the laughter my sister is displaying."
Leon, Erza, Gray and the cats all watched as Lucy and Palva slowed down to a crawl, laughing eagerly at one another, while Natsu was close to barfing. "Couldn't agree more on that part." Leon agreed with Dori's statement.
"After what we witnessed before with Ashes, it's good to see her laughing with joy, right now." Erza stated.
"She truly needs this kind of vacation." Pastry stated, "We all do, in fact. No more runnin' unless we're racin' one another!" Dori nodded in agreement, and looked to the massive resort building next to them.
'Akane Resort. A beautiful seaside resort filled with everything needed to have fun, whether you are a kid or an adult. According to the guidebook, it's one of the most popular tourist attractions in the kingdom, featuring a 5-star hotel, amusement part, a casino, and a beach with everything you can imagine. And thanks to Loke, who was really a Celestial Spirit, Leo the Lion, we all got tickets to enjoy our time in this resort.'
The Fairy Tail members all gathered together once more to do all kinds of activities in this resort, from running along the beach in a race, to building sand castles and burying one another in the sand, to riding on rubber rafts along the water, to Natsu and Palva even having a competition to see who could hold their breath the longest. Natsu managed to barely scrape out a win in the last thing. They even did some watermelon snatching, although Natsu tricked Lucy into hitting a muscular guy instead.
"Ah, this is so nice!" Dori sighed as she and Erza decided to rest on beach chairs, the former with her eyes closed and a crystal mirror for tanning.
"Yes. We do need this kind of rest after everything we've been through." Erza stated.
Dori opened eye as she amusedly added, "Now if only the rabble behind us wasn't so loud, I could enjoy this more." She was speaking to the rest of the group behind them, with Natsu somehow snatching Gray's trunks off of him, and the latter using Happy to cover up his privates to the public.
"Give me back my bathing suit!" Gray demanded as Happy looked disgusted in his position.
"No way, man!" Natsu barked back, waving his trunks away from him.
"My eyes!" Palva screeched as she and Lucy looked the other way.
"He's a cat, not a coverup!" Pastry barked at Gray.
"Natsu, just give him back his swimming trunks." Leon glared.
Just then, Palva's nose picked up something, and she looked towards the palm trees, where she saw a familiar face. Knowing who it was, she turned to Lucy and said, "I'm gonna go and get a snow cone. Be right back."
"Okay." Lucy answered, and Palva ran off towards one direction, but was really making a roundabout route towards the person she saw.
Hidden behind a palm tree, someone was watching the Fairy Tail members, mainly Gray. A certain rain woman, wearing now a blue and light blue polka-dotted bikini. "My beloved Gray." she swooned, "What a hunk!"
"I thought it was you." Palva spoke up, startling the woman and turning to see her standing there, "Long time no see, Juvia."
Juvia was quite startled at the sight of Palva, and stammered, "H-How did you know where I was watching?!"
"I can tell by your scent." the Dragon Slayer answered, rubbing her nose, "Despite the rain the last time we met, I was able to get your smell to memory."
"I-I see…" she muttered, "Just like Gajeel, huh?" She looked a bit nervous, twiddling her thumbs.
"So…you were set free from the Magic Council?" Palva asked, finding the situation a bit on the awkward side.
"Yes. With Phantom Lord guild disbanded, I really had nowhere else to go." Juvia answered.
"So you decided to stalk us, instead, huh?" Palva questioned, then recalling their last battle with one another, she added, "Or rather, are you stalking Gray?"
"I can't help it!" Juvia stated with hearts floating off of her, "The first time we met, it was almost like love at first sight! 'sigh' What I wouldn't give to be in the place of that cat."
"That's just disturbing and gagging at the same time." Palva muttered with a sweat-dropped expression.
"WHY?! ARE YOU AFTER MY BELOVED, TOO?!" the obsessed woman demanded in the tone of a yandere.
"Hell no!" Palva barked back, frightening Juvia into submission. The sudden change surprised the little Dragon Slayer.
"S-Sorry." she replied fearfully, "I forgot you were not interested in my beloved Gray. Forgive me!"
Seeing this fear reminded Palva of their past endeavor, along with what Gray told her what happened when she was 'out of her mind fighting'. It dawned upon her that the whole experience might've caused Juvia some fear towards Palva and her magic. Fear that she regrets a whole lot.
Palva bowed her head in shame, and muttered, "Sorry. I guess I frighten you, don't I?" Juvia looked at her, worried she might've hurt her feeling.
"I-I know you didn't mean to and all…" Juvia retorted, "But, it was a bit scary…"
"But you don't have to worry anymore!" Palva assured her, "I learned to control my flames better than before, thanks to Natsu. The whole thing is complicated to explain, but look; I'm not even holding my lance. That's proof of it."
"Really?" Juvia asked. Palva nodded in response, smiling at her.
"I'm really sorry I scared you back then." she apologized, "I promise you, I won't burn you with my flames. Let's start things over again, okay? As friends."
Juvia looked at Palva, touched by her words. She wanted to have a second chance with Juvia. She wanted to be friends with her, not enemies. Even after everything they did to one another, the little Dragon Slayer was wanting to start over again.
"I mean, I guess if you want to." Juvia muttered, "I wouldn't mind being friends with you, too."
"Great!" Palva stated eagerly, "Oh, by the way, I think we're gonna be heading to the casino tonight. Meet me in there, and I'll get you some alone time with Gray."
Juvia became very flushed in the face at the two words that came out of her mouth. "A-A-Alone time?!" she stammered. Palva nodded in response, smiling.
"Hey, where's Palva?" the two heard Dori ask the other mages of her guild.
"She said she was gonna get a snow cone." Lucy answered, "It's been a while. Wonder what's taking so long?"
"Guess that's my cue to head back." Palva understood, turning to Juvia, "I'll see you later tonight!" She waved as she raced back to her friends, calling to them and telling them she was having a tough time choosing what flavor to get, and ended up eating a few of them on the way back.
Juvia watched as she giggled in embarrassment at the others critics at taking too long. She couldn't help but smile at the change from when she saw her before and now. 'She really is a kind soul.' she told herself, 'I regret ever targeting her or stating she was my love rival.'
Later on that day, at twilight, Dori and Erza were alone in the hotel room they purchased with the tickets. Erza was still in her bikini, laying in a beach chair on the patio, looking out into the sunset. Dori had just come out of the shower, washing off all the seawater from her, and got into some dressier clothing for the casino. What she wore was a long, dark red gown adorned with silver sparkles. It hugged her figure, revealing a couple inches of cleavage, with a triangular cut up her left leg, showing her Fairy Tail mark. She also wore a pink hibiscus as a hair ornament, and tied her hair into a ponytail.
"I never, ever would imagine wearing one of these dresses before." Dori muttered, examining herself in the mirror. She then continued to talk to herself in her mind as she followed, 'I've been fighting, training and studying so much in my life, I pretty much forgotten what it was like having a normal life. Now that I don't have to constantly worry about my little sister, where do I have left to go? What is my path in life? I keep asking myself that before, but now…I'm not too sure.'
She looked to Erza on the patio, continuing, 'Being in Fairy Tail is amazing and all, but is my path more than that? Can I be more than just a mage? More than just a sister? Wonder if I should talk about this with Erza?'
As she approached the scarlet-haired mage, she noticed something was off about her. Her face was contorting a bit, drops of sweat her forming from her forehead, and she looked scared. 'She's having a nightmare.' Dori realized, worried for her comrade, 'Better wake her up.'
She reached down and shook Erza, calling softly, "Erza? Erza, wake up!" She was not responding quite yet. Dori shook more vigorously as she barked, "Erza, snap out of it!"
Erza's eyes snapped open, gasping in shock. She panted as the Crystal mage stepped back. "Finally, you woke up." she said, getting Erza's attention.
"Dori!" Erza stammered, surprised to see her there.
"You looked like you were having a terrible nightmare." Dori told her, "You okay?"
"Y-Yeah." she answered, trying to calm herself down. She looked down at her wrists, flipping them over. "I must've fallen asleep without realizing it."
"Want me to get you something?" Dori asked as Erza stood up.
"No, but thank you." she replied, walking past her comrade as she went into the room. Dori wasn't sure that Erza was alright, but followed her as she stopped in front of the mirror. She examined herself, kinda pulling a bit of a girly position as she held her hands to the bangs near her shoulders.
"You gotta admit, your figure is breath-taking." Dori stated, getting her attention.
"As if your figure isn't something to scoff at." Erza replied, "I bet you get some boy's attention with it."
"Yeah, well, it's hard to find a good guy when you've been running away from people your whole life." Dori answered, looking embarrassed.
"Oh, that's right. I forgot." Erza remembered, feeling guilty she ever said that, "Sorry I mentioned that."
"Don't be." Dori answered, walking right next to her and looking at the mirror, "After all, it's gonna be a new experience for me. I've got a chance at a normal life, but I don't know where to begin. Working at a guild, making new friends, possibly finding a guy. All those normal things are just alien to me. Still, I'll be glad to have people like you around to help me learn how to adapt."
Erza kinda understood that. Looking back at the mirror, she concentrated, and used her Requip magic, reverting to her Heart Kreuz Armor. "I know the feeling of things that others consider normal to feel uncomfortable to me." she assured Dori, "I always feel more at ease wearing armor. Although, as a wardrobe choice, it's not the most feminine."
"Guess you do have that warrior spirit about you." Dori agreed, waving to her attire, "And wearing something this dressy is just too weird. Gotta say, we're more alike than just our hair color, right?" Erza smiled and chuckled under her breath. Truly, they were two birds of a feather.
Just then, there was a knock on the door, and the two turned to see Lucy standing there, wearing a gown the same dark red color as Dori. "Hey, you two. Get out of the room and have some fun with us." she told them, "Natsu, Palva and the others have already made their way downstairs, saying they want to win some games."
"Oh, that's right. There's a casino here." Erza recalled.
"I was just getting ready for it." Dori assured Lucy, then to Erza, "Maybe you should put on something a little less combat ready than that."
"I suppose. In that case…" Erza muttered, and she used Requip again, replacing her armor with a gown similar to the girls, purple with rose patterns, with pink gloves, her hair tied up into a bun.
"Is this good enough?" Erza asked.
"Um…maybe a little on the glitzy side, but whatever." Lucy muttered in a bemused tone.
"Well, I for one think that looks really nice." Dori assured her, "Come on, let's go downstairs. I hope the boys haven't convinced Palva to gamble. She's too young for that."
As Dori passed her, Erza looked at herself in the mirror again. 'I guess it's okay to relax every once in a while.' she thought to herself, smiling at her look. She then followed the two girls out of the room, closing the door behind.
The casino down below was extravagant. There were so many things down there, from slots, to roulette, to bucking bronco, to the roller coaster that ran in and out of the hotel.
The Fairy Tail mages were all split apart in the casino. Lucy, Erza and Dori were down in the Blackjack tables. Natsu and Happy went to a roulette-styled game. Gray went off to the poker tables, while Palva told him he was gonna get something for him, and ran off. Leon didn't favor gambling, so he went outside to the beach to train, with Pastry at his side.
"HRAH!" Leon swung his sword, doing this several times over.
"Can't you just go inside and at least WATCH one of the guys or gals play?" Pastry asked, "You really can't just settle down, can you?"
"I don't really feel like gambling is my thing. Too distracting, whether I'm playing or watching." Leon answered, continuing his sword swings as he spoke. He stopped and looked up at the building as he added, "Besides, this place…I don't know what it is, but it just gives me a nostalgic feeling. Like I need to practice in order to become better."
"Better?" Pastry echoed, confused.
"I think…maybe better than someone from my past?" Leon asked, "I don't know."
'So a rival, huh?' Pastry pondered, looking at the castle, 'Knowing his past, I can think what this all means. His memories may not know, but his sub-conscious does. Oh well, I guess I can't stop him. Let's just enjoy the night, however way we can.'
"17! COME ON!" Natsu cheered, pounding the said number button as he looked at the globe, watching the swirling numbers on the balls within. "Don't be mean, 17!" Happy added.
On the part of the globe in front of him, five magic circles in an X-formation were showing random numbers. Two numbers on opposite ends didn't have the numbers he was looking for. The other two ends showed 17. Now was for the center number, and it was going towards 17 as well. At first, Natsu and Happy cheered that they won, but then the number changed to 16 on the last second, causing their hopes to fall.
"Sir, please don't hit the machine." a worker told Natsu.
The Dragon Slayer turned with waterfall tears as he argued, "But it acted like it was gonna give me my number! It's not fair!" "17!" Happy barked angrily.
"Crying won't help, sir…" the worker sighed.
Nearby, Gray was playing poker while hearing the complaining mages with a sweat-dropped expression. "Man, they are such sore losers…" he muttered.
"Hey, Gray!" he heard Palva's voice, and he turned to see her approach him, wearing a casual pink dress with a ribbon tied around the waist. She was also accompanied by, to Gray's surprise, Juvia, who wore a dark blue dress that hugged her figure, and had a golden Fairy Tail emblem for a pendant.
"Look who I found for you!" Palva said, waving a hand to her.
"Hello, Gray, my darling." Juvia greeted, "I'm Juvia. Do you remember me?"
"Yeah! You're that Phantom chick!" Gray realized, looking cautiously surprised.
"Relax! She's not our enemy anymore!" Palva defended, "We reconciled, so you should be at ease." Gray looked to her, then to Juvia, who looked a bit nervous from his defensive state against her.
"Okay, now that that's settled, I'll let you two be." Palva told them, "I wanna go and see what there is for me to play."
"Wait, what?!" Gray barked, surprised as she left.
"I promised her that you two can be alone together. I'm sure you'll be fine. We're in a public place. What could happen?" And with that, Palva departed, leaving a flustered Gray and Juvia alone.
Back at the magic roulette machine, Natsu was still pouting that he didn't get the number he was looking for, while the worker was trying to reason with him.
"Cool your jets, boy." said a gravely voice from behind. Natsu and Happy turned to see someone sitting on a stool near a slot machine. He wore a royal blue suit with a red tie, a white scarf loosely around his neck, a boater hat, and sunglasses. However, what made this guy's appearance strangest of all was his body. Sure it was average, but it also looked like it was made out of geometric shapes, not one piece on him was curved.
"Either play nice, like the rest of the grown-ups, or hit the bricks, you get me?" the guy spoke like he was some sort of gangster.
"Square?!" "Blockhead?!" Happy and Natsu exclaimed the description of this guy's body.
"Now, I'm gonna give ya some friendly advice, pal." the guy started, "In life, you got one or two paths to take…" He suddenly glowed, and suddenly, the lower half of his body transformed into groups of blocks that came at Natsu, carrying him into the air by the arms, and pinning him to the glass globe.
"What's the big idea?!" Natsu demanded, struggling against the blocks. "Natsu!" Happy cried in fear.
"Either you can live a dandy life…" the man started, raising a pointed finger, which after a glow of magic, transformed into a large gun, "…Or die a jealous poser, see?" He grinned as a targeting laser on the top of the gun glowed, aiming at a terrified Natsu's forehead.
Meanwhile, Palva was walking about, looking at the people and the gambling. It felt really weird for her to act this…casual. She had been so cautious all her life, that now that she was free from the curse of her flames that Ashes had her in, the term 'casual' felt alien to her.
"There's not much for me to do around here." she muttered, "I'm too young for the gambling…" She heard screaming, and looked up to see the roller coaster pass overhead. She felt nauseated as she finished, "…And that just makes me wanna hurl, bad!" Her cheeks bulged, and she bent down, holding in her lunch.
"Nya! Are you doing okay, little girl?" a young female voice asked. Palva looked up, and saw a girl the same age as his sister, and had a cat-like appearance to her. She had cat-like eyes, nose and mouth, brown hair styled into cat ears, tied into two ponytails, and red markings on her cheeks that resembled whiskers. She wore a cleavage-revealing pink dress, with a white ribbon and blue cat prints under a yellow and black-trimmed jacket, a light pink ruffled skirt, white leggings, black boots, and a purple choker with a bell on it.
'What's with the cat motif?' Palva questioned when looking at her, then she followed, "Uh, nothing. Just seeing that roller coaster ride made me a bit sick in the stomach. Not a big fan of rides like that."
"Oh, we can't have that." the girl chimed, reaching down with a helping hand, "Don't worry. I know a perfect ride for you."
"Really?" she asked, confused.
"Sure! It'll make you die from joy!" the cat girl chimed, and a magic circle appeared from her helping hand, and Palva saw a winding orange rope come out, shocking her. Within seconds, she found herself bound from head to foot in the rope, unable to move.
"What…are you…doing?!" Palva moaned, struggling against the binds. She tried using her flames to burn them off, but for some reason, she couldn't activate her flames.'What the…I can't use my Dragon Slayer magic!' She looked to the cat girl in front of her, who gave a grin and a stern expression, pleased at her struggle.
Back with who Palva left behind, Juvia and Gray decided to take a break from gambling, and went to the bar to have a drink together, and talk about things.
"I heard Phantom was disbanded afterward." Gray started.
"Yes. But now I'm a free mage, and I can join any guild I want!" Juvia said gleefully. Gray didn't need to be a psychic to guess which guild she wanted to be part of, especially since she was bearing the emblem of his guild on her pendant.
"So I am right to say you want to join Fairy Tail?" he asked, knowing the answer.
"Yes! Very much so!" Juvia answered in a hopeful manner.
"I dunno. After everything that just went down some time ago…" Gray muttered, reminding her of their last battle, "I mean, I don't personally mind, and I can see Palva wouldn't mind, either. But I wonder what the Master has to say about this though."
"I will do anything!" Juvia declared joyfully, insisting on joining the guild.
"I wouldn't say that so easily if I were you…" Gray warned her.
Just then, he heard someone say, "Gray Fullbuster." He turned in time to see someone with a tall, muscular man with a white turban, an eyepatch and a steel jaw, before he created a magic circle, and all of a sudden, there was an explosion that destroyed the bar.
When it died down, Juvia looked like she took a bad hit from the blast, while Gray seemed unscathed. "Juvia!" he cried, seeing her in pain. He looked up at the man with a glare. Now that he got a good look at him, he could see the guy had a muscular body, only hidden by a light blue and white-trimmed cloth with black, axe-like motifs on it, going from his left shoulder to his lower waist, a single, dark green and white-striped sleeve on his left arm, a white sash on his waist that tucked in the cloth, loose dark pants, and light ankle-high boots.
"Jerk, what do you think you're doing?!" Gray demanded with a warning glare.
The man didn't answer, but instead gave a question that he and the two that had Natsu and Palva in a bind asked.
"Where is Erza?"
"Come on. Sing!" the blocky man ordered Natsu, holding him at gunpoint.
"I know you know where she is." the girl binding Palva added.
"What?!" Gray questioned, wondering why the man before him would want Erza.
Down below, Dori, Lucy and Erza heard the sound of outcries and explosions. "What's going on?" Erza asked.
"I guess it's about time the parade begins." a guy dressed as a mascot answered.
"I guess that makes sense." Lucy understood, with Erza making a sound of agreement.
Dori, on the other hand, knew the sound too well, and narrowed her eyes. 'That was no celebratory noises. Sounds like a commotion.' she summed up in her thoughts, 'I hope the others aren't getting into trouble up there.'
"Oh, wow! You got a straight!" Lucy exclaimed, and Dori looked back, seeing that Erza had indeed gained a straight, from a ten to an ace.
"Looks like today is my lucky day." Erza stated with confidence.
"Don't say stuff like that, or else you'll ruin your luck." the Crystal mage warned her.
Just then, someone from behind the current dealer called a dealer change, and so they swapped. Dori saw the dealer, who was a dark-skinned young man, with spiky blonde hair and a suit the same as the dealer; a white shirt over a black vest and pants. For some reason, she could feel magic energy prepping from him, and she grew even more cautious.
"Don't worry about that, Dori. I have a feeling that I won't lose, no matter who the opponent is." Erza stated, still confident from her consistent wins.
"Oh, yeah?" Lucy asked with a wink.
"If that's the case, how about we play a special game?" the dealer asked, and he tossed out five cards to Erza. Puzzled, she looked down at the cards, and they perfectly spelled out the word 'DEATH'.
"While we're at it, let's increase the stakes of the game, big sis Erza." the dealer asked. Erza got a good look at him, and her eyes went into shock.
"It can't be…" she muttered, "Sho. Is that you?"
"So you do remember me?" the boy called Sho stated. Erza was too amazed for words at the sight of him.
"Do you know him?" Lucy asked Erza. "Big sis?" Dori questioned also looking to Erza.
"You were… safe?" Erza asked. "Safe?" Sho echoed back.
"Uh…I mean…" Erza tried to correct her question, but she was too startled for words.
"You okay?" Lucy asked her.
"Lucy, stay sharp." Dori warned her, "He's ready to do something…" Lucy looked to her, then back at Erza, then at Sho. There was just too much happening at this moment.
"Now, where is she?" the muscular man confronting Gray asked again.
"You'd think I tell you, huh?" the Ice mage retorted harshly.
Just then, water came in from all around, forming in front of Gray as Juvia. "I will not allow you to lay a finger on my beloved Gray!" she warned their mysterious attacker, "You will have to go through me, first!"
"Juvia…" Gray muttered, seeing her dedication to protecting him.
"Erza is in danger." Juvia told him.
"Sure seems that way." Gray agreed, looking at the man before them.
Just then, the man sensed something, and placed two fingers to his temple. After a couple seconds, he said, "Ah. You already found her?" he asked someone no one heard or saw, "Yes, I see. So I should clean things up here. Understood."
Juvia and Gray were startled that they found Erza, but were even more startled when the man's eye turned red, and all of a sudden, everything went dark around them. They could barely see an inch ahead of them.
"Hey, who turned out the lights?!" Gray questioned, trying to see through the dark.
"It's Dark Lineage Magic." the man answered, disappearing and reappearing behind them, "Dark Moment." The two mages were petrified as they felt a presence behind them, as the man readied a magic spell.
"What gives?! I can't see or use my magic!" Palva barked, struggling against her binds.
"Seems like Simon is working his magic." the girl chuckled, "Now, what to do with you…" She heard an oncoming roller coaster approaching them, and chimed, "Oh, I know! I'll just kill you from motion sickness!" Palva seemed scared at the thought what she was planning.
"Hey, what gives?! I can't see a thing!" Natsu demanded, looking about in the pitch-darkness as he was still pinned to the glass globe.
"Where are you, Natsu?!" Happy called out to him, despite how close he was to him.
"I'm right here… wherever here is!" Natsu barked back.
The block man wasn't hesitating, as he still had a lock onto Natsu with his laser. Grinning, he said, "Good night, boy."
"Don't screw with me, you…!" Natsu roared with his mouth open wide. There was a gunshot, and Natsu screaming. "Natsu!" Happy cried, seeing the flash where the gun was fired.
Outside the casino, Leon stopped training at the sound of the gunshot. "What the hell?!" he demanded.
"Did someone fire a gun in there?!" Pastry demanded. The two looked to one another, nodded in understanding, and rushed in, knowing that they needed to see the issue inside.
Down below, the three girls at the poker table heard the gunshot through the darkness.
"A gunshot?!" Lucy gasped. "What's going on?!" Erza demanded.
"The magic is making it hard to see." Dori stated, looking about.
Suddenly, the lights went back on, and they were blinded by the sudden illumination. Next thing they noticed was that Sho vanished from view. "Where did he go?" Erza asked.
"Everyone else vanished as well!" Dori added, noticing the vacancy of the room.
"I'm right here, sister!" Sho's voice spoke from behind, and the trio turned to see him spilling cards from his hands, along with the sounds of distorted screams.
"That is!" Erza gasped. "There are people within the cards!" Lucy said in shock.
"He uses Magic Cards!" Dori realized, looking at the dark-skinned man before them, "That's Card Dimension! I've seen it used once before."
"Aren't you clever?" Sho asked, raising a card that had the man dressed as a mascot.
"You can use magic?!" Erza asked in shock, her tone stating she didn't know he could do it before.
"That's right. I'm now also capable of such things, sis." Sho sneered at her.
"But who taught you that?!" Erza demanded. Sho only smirked in response.
"Nya~!" mewed a second voice. Two magic circles appeared beneath Lucy and Dori. While the latter escaped the circle, Lucy ended up getting bound from head to foot with orange rope, restraining her arms above her head.
"Lucy!" Erza gasped in horror. "That was too close!" Dori stated, fortunate for her safety.
"Aw, I only caught one." chimed the voice, and the girl who got Palva before now was sitting on the poker table behind Lucy, "Well, aren't you all rosy?"
"Milliana…!" Erza recognized the second figure, "You know how to use magic as well?!"
"It's been a while, Erzy-Werzy." the girl called Millianna greeted the scarlet swordswoman.
'Another person Erza knows?' Dori noticed, 'What's going on?!'
"Please, you have to let Lucy go!" Erza demanded, "It's okay! She's a friend!"
"Nya! Friends?" Millianna echoed quizzically.
"We were friends once." Sho reminded her, "Or don't you remember that, sister?"
'They were friends?' Both Lucy and Dori wondered. hesitant at this point, that it looked out of character for her.
"Uh… Yeah…" Erza agreed to Sho's question. She looked so hesitant at this point, that it looked out of character for her.
"Yes, you were." Sho sneered, "That is, until you decided to betray us!" Erza gritted her teeth at this statement.
Dori stomped the floor, creating a magic circle that drew the group's attention. "Crystal Saber!" Dori chanted, summoning a crystal plinth with a sword in it. She grabbed ahold of it, pulling it out of the plinth. "I don't know what the hell you guys are talking about, or what your current relationship with Erza is." the crystal mage sneered, "But you guys are crossing one too many lines by hurting civilians and my friends. I'll stop you, right now!"
She was starting to charge forward when she saw a red laser hit her forehead. She then heard a gunshot, and took a step back as the block-shaped bullet flew in front of her face. "A gun!" she gasped.
"I wouldn't move if I were you, doll!" said a gravely voice, "And Sho, why don't you cut the dame a little slack." There was a pixilation of magic, and the block man who got Natsu reappeared with a draped around Sho's shoulders. "Keep your emotions in check, and everything will be real dandy." he finished.
"What a blockhead!" Lucy exclaimed.
"Magic changed his body structure." Dori noticed, "Was he the gunner?"
"Very nice. Life on the outside has been good to ya, eh, doll?" the man spoke to Erza.
"W-Wait a minute…Wally?!" Erza asked in shock.
"I've gone through a couple of changes, myself." the man called Wally said with a tip of his hat, "Ol' Mad Dog Wally you use to grow up with has seen a lot since the old days. Ya see, I'm much smoother now." Lucy groaned at the pun he gave.
'So that makes three people Erza recognized.' Dori understood, 'However, based on that darkness before, there must be a magic user with a Darkness magic. None of these guys have that capability. Meaning there is one more!'
"So you practice magic, too?" Erza asked Wally.
"Why are you so surprised?" as if cuing Dori's prediction, the muscular man that took out Gray and Juvia appeared from shadows behind Erza, "It's not that hard once you get use to it. Of course, you already knew that, didn't you?"
"Simon!" Erza gasped, turning and stepping away from the final person.
"I take it you're the one who killed the lights before, right?" Dori asked, readying herself for anything as she positioned the saber in her hand.
"Very observant of you. Of course, I wouldn't expect less from someone of your wits and caliber, Dori Himeka." the man called Simon addressed her, startling her from being recognized.
Millianna pushed Lucy to the ground, the magic rope binding her pulling in her arms held above her head towards her bound feet. "Erza, who are these guys?!" she demanded, "Why are they calling you, 'sister'?!" Dori, too, wanted to know this question as well.
Erza looked to one side as the four gathered together, then she answered, "I'm actually not their sister, but we were friends in the past."
"You're friends?" Dori echoed. "But haven't you been in Fairy Tail since you were really young?!" Lucy questioned.
"This took place before that." Erza explained, turning to the four 'friends', "Why did you find me? What do you want?!"
"Really wanna know?" Millianna replied.
"We're here to take you back with us." Wally answered.
"I'm begging you! Please release Lucy!" Erza pleaded.
"Instead of that, should we go home now, sister?" Sho suggested, deflecting her plea.
"Listen, babe. Don't make this get ugly." Wally warned her, transforming his arm into a gun, pointing it at Lucy.
"No! Don't hurt her!" Erza begged.
"Crystal Cataclysm!" Dori roared, stabbing her blade into the ground to make a magic circle, and unleashing a wave of sharp crystals at the four enemies. They all leapt out of the way, putting distance away from Erza and Lucy.
"Dori!" Erza gasped, looking towards her.
"Bad move, babe!" Wally retorted, and his arm suddenly vanished in pixilated light. At the same time, Simon cast another magic circle as he called out, "Dark Moment!" The lights went out, but Dori's senses were on high.
Without fail, she did a side jump as a gun fired from behind her, narrowly hitting her. She then detected another magic circle as Millianna unleashed a spiraling tube towards her. At the same time, Sho unleashed several magic cards like throwing knives, going along with the tube. Dori twisted around and slashed with her saber, cutting the two attacks short before they struck her.
'They obviously haven't thought of hiding away their position!' Dori pondered as, with a free hand, she unleashed her Crystal Barrage, sending a storm of crystal shards down at where the attack came from. Erza's former friends grunted in pain from the shards striking them. This also caused the Dark Moment magic to lift, causing Erza and Lucy to see the situation behind the crystal formed from Dori's first attack.
"Dori, stop it!" Erza called out, "I don't want you to…!"
"Erza, your opinion doesn't matter here!" the crystal mage retorted, startling Erza at the glare she was giving, "You may have seen them as friends, but they didn't come here as ones. They came to endanger the lives of my friends, so I will stop them!" Erza was torn apart, seeing people she was once friends with fighting with the most recent friends she gained.
"This girl was able to cut our attacks, even in Simon's Dark Moment?" Sho questioned in shock.
"Nya! She's really something else!" Millianna exclaimed.
"Her level of magic is far higher than what we can deal with." Simon warned the group, "Let's finish what we came her for. Wally?"
"On it!" the block man answered, creating another gun with his arm, and making it vanish.
"You can't fool me twice!" Dori retorted, readying herself.
"No, stop!" Erza pleaded to both sides. However, there was a gunshot, and she gasped in pain. Wally's gun didn't aim for Dori, but shot Erza in the back, using a magic circle as it did so.
"ERZA!" Lucy and Dori exclaimed in horror.
Simon quickly disappeared and reappeared, catching Erza as she fell, and picking her up in his arms. "We got what we came for." he said, "Let's go."
Dori's hair wavered from the increase magic energy she was emanating as she sneered, "How can you just do that to someone you considered a sister?!"
"Relax, doll. That was a tranquilizer shot." Wally assured her, "And if you want it to not be anythin' worse, to her or your friend, I'd suggest to stay still, got it?" Dori gritted her teeth, not sure if he was bluffing or not.
"Hold it!" Lucy cried out as she struggled in her binds, "Where are you taking Erza?! Give her back!"
"I'm not gonna let you get away with this, one bit!" Dori barked at them, "We have friends up above who'll make sure you guys are blown down to the ground!"
"Sorry, tuts, but those geeks are gonna be lickin' pavement for a while, you get me?" Wally retorted, surprising the two.
"Those three were nothing but talk." Simon said, walking around the Crystal Cataclysm to his comrades.
The thought of Natsu, Gray and Palva being defeated by these guys was hard to believe. And yet, the trio showed no sign of descending towards their position. If they weren't able to come, then that could mean what they were saying was the truth.
"No…that's not possible!" Lucy gasped.
Dori snapped. Hurting her comrades was one thing, but hurting her sister was a whole different level. "YOU'LL PAY!" she roared, unleashing her Second Origin. "Crystal Lock!" she roared, the intensity of her powers unleashing a sheet of crystal along the floor, reaching the four and starting to cover their bodies.
All four of them were in shock as Wally called, "Simon, get us outta here! This gal's gonna stop us!" In a panic, Simon produced a magic circle above their heads, and all four of them and Erza vanished before their eyes before the crystal consumed them.
"Erza, no!" Lucy cried out, struggling through her restraints. "Dammit all!" Dori growled, restraining her magic again, seeing as unleashing it right now would be pointless.
Out at sea, the four 'friends' of Erza reappeared on the deck of a large boat. Apart from Simon, the other three were sweating from what they just experienced.
"She…was so powerful…" Sho stammered, "What kind of level of magic was that?!"
"She was super terrifying, nya!" Millianna added, her hair standing on ends from that near death experience.
"True that. If we didn't escape in the nic of time, we'd be six-feet under, ya got me?" Wally pointed out, wiping his forehead.
"Then there's no time for dilly-dallying here." Simon told the others, "We must make haste if we are to escape Dori Himeka's reach. We got Erza, so we must restrain her magic, as well. Millianna, bind her." The trio managed to calm themselves enough to get their senses back. Millianna used her magic to produce a small bit of tubing to bind Erza's wrists together.
"By the way, Millianna. I scored a little somethin' for ya." Wally spoke up, getting her attention. He raised his hands, and from pixilated lights, he produced Happy, fast asleep, also hit by a tranquilizer shot.
"AAH! A kitty of my very own!" the cat girl exclaimed, taking Happy out of his arms and dancing with joy all about the ship.
As Sho past Erza, who was barely regaining conscious, he looked back at her with tears flowing down his eyes as he said, "Sister, I can't believe you're coming home; The Tower of Heaven."
'The Tower of Heaven?' Erza pondered as Simon walked with her, taking her below deck, 'They actually finished constructing it?' She couldn't do anything as her consciousness faded, and she blacked out.
Back in the casino, Leon and Pastry looked about, seeing the place was completely deserted. "Where did everyone go?!" Pastry demanded.
"I don't know. And I got a bad feeling about all of this." he muttered, cautiously looking about. By the looks of it, most of the damage came from the bar and the magic roulette machine.
However, before he could go to those, he heard a scream that sounded like a mixture of panic and queasiness. It was mixed in with the sound of an approaching roller coaster above them. Looking up, they saw the coaster pass by. However, looking closely, both guys were in shock to see none other than Palva, bound by orange ropes, looking like the motion sickness she was feeling was too much to bear.
"It's Palva!" Leon gasped. "What the heck is she doing on that roller coaster?!" Pastry demanded. The roller coaster went back outside again, Palva lurching badly with it.
Down below, Dori raced over and started cutting off the bindings on Lucy. "This is bad! What do we do?!" Lucy questioned, worried for Erza and the others.
"First of all, we're not gonna panic!" Dori answered, finally freeing her of her binds, giving her a chance to stand up once more, "Secondly, we should go find the others. I know those guy's magic was good, but not good enough to kill our friends that easily. If I hadn't overreacted, I would've realized it. Now they've escaped, with Erza in tow. I'm sorry…"
"Don't blame yourself! You were doing what you can to stop them." Lucy assured her, looking at the magic card on the ground with people on them, "But what can we do about them."
"For now, we can leave them for the authorities to take care of." Dori answered, "Let's head up top and see where everyone else is at." She nodded in agreement, and they raced upstairs to the upper part of the casino.
When they made it up, the first thing they heard was Pastry shouting, "Dori! Lucy!" The two looked up to see him descend towards them, with Leon standing on top of the roller coaster railings above.
"Pastry!" Lucy responded. "What's going on?" Dori demanded, "Why is Leon up there?"
"We don't know why, but Palva's riding on the roller coaster right now!" Pastry explained, "We think she might've been forced onto it, so he's gonna try to stop it!"
"Wait, what?!" Dori questioned in shock as she and Lucy looked up at Leon, who stood ready. He could hear the sound of the roller coaster gradually approaching his position.
"Requip!" he roared, and his arms and legs glowed, Requipping them in the Herculean God Armor gauntlets and greaves. He then gripped his feet to the railing as the roller coaster approached him, with Palva unconscious from the ride. He held out his gauntlets, and caught the coaster. He skidded back several meters, almost leaving the building. However, before that happened, the coaster came to a stop, with Palva's head lagging to one side. "Got her!" he stated, leaping over and grabbing Palva, pulling her from the seat, and leaping off the roaster as magic restarted it, and it took off.
"Great work, Leon!" Dori stated as he landed in front of the group.
"Is she gonna be okay?" Lucy asked as he laid her down, snapping Millianna's bindings on her with his bare hands.
"She should be fine, but she could've been a lot worse off if I hadn't stopped that ride." Leon answered, looking up at the two girls, "Speaking of which, what happened? Are you two okay? Where is everyone else?"
"We're okay, but we're not sure about everyone else." Dori answered.
"Some guys just came in and kidnapped Erza!" Lucy exclaimed.
"WHAT?!" "They took Erza?!" Pastry and Leon's reactions were understandable.
"We need to find the others and make sure they're okay!" Lucy told them, "They said they took them out, but that just can't be true!"
"And I think I see one of them over there." Pastry called out from above, pointing at the bar.
The four mages, with Leon carrying Palva, raced over to see Gray passed out among the rubble of the bar, his eyes blank.
"Gray!" Leon called out. "Oh, no!" Lucy gasped as she raced to him first, "Get ahold of yourself! Talk to me!" She touched his shoulder, and noticed, "He's cold!" She tried shaking him, but for some reason, he transformed into ice, and fell apart, causing Lucy to panic.
"Hold on! It's only a duplicate!" Dori assured Lucy as she was about to pick up the pieces.
"In that case, where's the real Gray?!" the Celestial mage asked her.
"There's no need to panic." said a female voice, and they all turned to see water rising up off the ground, taking the form of Juvia, crouching on all fours.
"I know you! You're one of the Element 4!" Lucy barked, stepping back, readying her keys.
"She's the chick who kidnapped Lucy and knocked me out!" Pastry added, gritting his teeth as he sneered, "I won't let you get away with that, you water witch!"
"I think I remember her being defeated by Palva and Gray." Leon recognized her as he and Dori looked cautious.
"Wait, Lucy!" called out a familiar voice, and Juvia raised herself up more, revealing Gray underneath her, rising from her watery body, and still in one piece.
"She's not our enemy anymore." the Ice mage assured the group.
"That's right. I pulled my precious Gray inside of me to keep him safe." Juvia explained.
"That sounds dirty on so many levels." Pastry muttered. "That does sound pretty weird…" Lucy added.
"Are you jealous that Gray was inside of me and not you?!" Juvia questioned Lucy with a sinister glare.
"Uh, not really, no." Lucy answered with a sweat-dropped expression.
"This dude cast a darkness spell, so I figured casting a decoy would distract him until my next plan of attack." Gray stated, unbuttoning his shirt and taking it off.
"I wanted to make sure my beloved Gray was safe, so I pulled him inside my Water Lock until the danger passed." Juvia followed up.
"Good thing. Guess we're glad you were here to help us when you did." Leon stated, though Pastry was not in the slightest bit relaxed around her.
It was then that Juvia noticed Palva in Leon's arms and asked, "Is Palva okay? She's not harmed, is she?"
"She should be fine." Dori assured her, "Someone bound her onto the roller coaster, so her motion sickness was overkill. I know it was that cat girl, Millianna, that did that to her. I'll make sure she pays dearly for that."
"Still, they got away." Gray told the group, looking to Juvia, "I couldn't do anything when I was in your Water Lock." The rain woman looked shocked and guilty for failing her beloved.
"Still, at least you two are okay." Dori stated, "Now all that's left is Natsu and Happy. I hope those two aren't in trouble."
"What about Erza?" Gray asked.
"Unfortunately, they took Erza away!" Lucy answered, worried for her and Natsu's safety.
Just then, the group saw a large amount of flames blow into the air, along with the sound of Natsu roaring. "Is that…?!" Lucy and Pastry started. "Natsu!" Dori and Gray finished.
Over at the broken roulette machine, Natsu was gasping as smoke came out of his mouth. "The nerve of that guy…" he weakly moaned.
"Natsu!" Gray and Lucy cried out as their group raced towards him. He turned to them as Dori asked, "What the heck happened to you?!"
"Hey, what kind of jerk shoots people in the mouth, huh?!" Natsu demanded, "I mean, someone could get really hurt!"
The others looked quite shocked and bemused as Leon pointed out, "Wouldn't that normally kill a guy if that happened?"
"If it was to a guy who wasn't a complete weirdo like Natsu." Lucy answered.
"As expected of Salamander…" Juvia agreed.
"I'LL SHOW THAT BLOCKHEAD!" Natsu roared, and he raced off to who knows where, "I WON'T LET HIM GET AWAY WITH THIS!"
"Where are you going?!" Pastry demanded.
"We'd better follow him." Gray told the team, "Natsu has a nose that would put wild animals to shame."
Just then, the team heard a groan, and saw Palva waking up. "You're awake!" Dori sighed in relief.
Shaking her head slowly, she muttered, "Truth be told…I thought I'd died and gone to hell… I need to hurl…"
"I can provide you with some fresh water if you need some." Juvia requested.
"Not a bad idea. But let's follow Natsu for now." Leon said, putting the young Dragon Slayer back onto her feet, where she wobbled for a moment.
"But what about Happy?" Pastry asked, "I didn't see him with Natsu!"
"We can worry about that later! Lets get decent and get moving!" Dori ordered the team, racing towards the stairs to their rooms, so the girls could change into something more combat ready. 'Hold on, Erza! I promise you, we will save you!'
Down in the brig of a certain ship, Erza was regaining consciousness once more. The first thing she felt was the fact that her arms were bound around a wooden post behind her. However, that didn't explain one other thing. "Where am I?"
"Inside the hull of a ship." Sho appeared to answer her question.
"A ship?" Erza echoed.
"That's right. And our course is set for the Tower of Heaven."
The captive mage looked surprised, then looked down, sighing, "I see… I should've known… Can you at least untie me? I promise, I won't fight back."
"I can't do that, since you've proven yourself untrustworthy." Sho answered.
Erza expected this kind of an answer. Instead, she tried to use her Requip magic to change her attire. However, it didn't seem to work. "It's pointless. Millianna's bindings contain Power-sealing Magic." Sho explained, "There's nothing you can do about it yourself. The efforts will just tire you out."
Realizing this, Erza bowed her head in shame as she muttered, "Fine, I won't resist. But please, could you at the very least allow me to Requip into my armor?" For once in a long time, she started to shudder in fear as she continued, "I'm afraid… of having to return to that tower. I just want to have it on, so I can…feel safe."
"But you look so beautiful in that dress, Sister." Sho answered, smiling at her, not even caring about her woes.
All at once, he bent down, and gave Erza a hug, surprising her. He began to whimper and sob, "Honestly, I didn't want to end it like this."
"Sho…" Erza muttered, seeing the tears fall from his eyes.
"I missed you so much! It hurts me!" Sho sobbed, "But tell me… Why… Why did you do it…?" He pulled back and gave her a demented glare as he demanded, "Why the hell did you betray Jellal?!"
Erza was petrified at Sho's sudden outburst. Never did she think she would see him speak to her in such a manner. However, what she asked pained her even more. Jellal. A name of a person she feared now, but there was a time where that name…that person gave her hope. A hope to survive and fight on.
Back with the rest of the mages, while Dori got her and Palva's normal garments, Gray and Leon managed to find a boat that could fit them all, since according to Natsu, they were out at sea, and Happy's smell was with them. However, there were a few problems they had. One, Natsu and Palva didn't want to go into the boat at all. Two, the magic motor on it wouldn't make it go fast if they all sat in it. The solution for both of these things? Well…
"Yahoo!" Natsu cheered, swerving the flying lance from left to right as he and Palva rode the Dragon Fang, using Fire Dragon's Jet Lance to travel. Not only that, but the lance was tied to a rope, connecting it and the boat that carried everyone behind them.
"This is awesome!" Natsu cheered, "I'm not puking my guts out, and I'm not even flying with Happy!"
"Speaking of which, can you let me do the steering while you keep your nose on where Erza and Happy are?!" Palva demanded, "It's my lance and my magic, you know!"
"Right. Sorry about that." Natsu apologized.
"Why couldn't Natsu be more serious at this point?" Lucy moaned as she picked her self up after being tossed around by Natsu's swerving.
"He can't help it. He's never experienced something like this before." Pastry assumed.
"Still, we can't be messing around, right now!" Gray barked loudly enough for Natsu to hear, "We have to save our friends!"
"We will save them. No ifs, ands, or buts." Dori sternly stated, "I won't allow them to take her away!" Juvia and Leon nodded in agreement to this statement. Hearing all of this, as well, Natsu grew more serious as he kept his nose peeled, making sure to keep a whiff of his two friends in them at all times.
The next day, at the Magic Council Building in Era…
"You mean that thing still exists?!" Org gasped, "That's preposterous!" The ten members of the Magic Council stood on a large magic circle in a dark room, hearing something from Siegrain that shocked them all.
"About a decade ago, construction began on the R-System; a structure designed by a group of Black magic users." Leiji explained.
"But we had all seven of those towers destroyed!" Michello recalled, refusing to believe this was real, "There shouldn't even be any ruins left!"
"Apparently, there was an eight one that we failed to destroy, settling amidst the Ka Em Ocean." Belno explained, produce a sphere with the picture of the said structure on it.
"How could we miss it? Is this structure close to completion?!" Org questioned her.
"I'm afraid I don't know. Our team mysteriously went missing after showing us these images."
"Well, it looks finished to me." Ultear stated, looking at the structure with calmness. However, her answer did not calm the hearts of the rest of the council members. Well, all except one.
"But why would they revive the R-System after all this time?" Michello questioned.
"The Tower of Heaven." Siegrain corrected him, who's calmness was more stern than anything, "It's not the R-System, it's the Tower of Heaven. Are we clear?"
"It makes no difference to what it is called!" Org retorted, "It utilizes forbidden magic! If such a thing's existence is made public, calamity will break out!"
"We'll have to find a way to subdue them." Belno suggested, "Our best bet is to dispatch the military."
"That's not an option." Leiji retorted.
"Why not?!" the elderly woman demanded.
"The incident that took place at Akane Beach last night…" Leiji started, "According to claims from the witness who was staying there, the people who are trying to make use of the R-System do not belong to that cult." Yajima, who's eyes were closed through all this, opened one of them in concern.
"Then who on earth could they be?" Michello asked Leiji.
"It's a group of mages, led by a man named Jellal." The name struck a chord with everyone in the room.
"Isn't that the name of your twin brother, Siegrain?" Org questioned.
"Yes, I am perfectly aware of that." the said blue-haired council member sighed, "That would be him."
At this point, in the Tower of Heaven, Jellal, who wore a black cloak and hood over his body, smirked, hearing his twin brother's thoughts.
In the middle of the Ka Em Ocean…
"I'm worried about the people who were trapped in the cards." Lucy muttered in concern, "You think they're okay?"
"They should be." Dori answered, "They're trapped, but not in some sort of pain."
"Besides, we let the military know before we left. So I'm sure they will be fine." Gray added.
"I hope so…" Lucy sighed.
"So forgetting that, where are we now?" Leon asked, looking about.
"I don't know. We've been following Salamander's lead." Juvia answered.
Lucy turned to the two guiding them and called out, "Natsu, are you sure we're going the right direction?" It was then that they noticed Palva was actually slumped over Natsu, holding onto him as she was fast asleep. Natsu, who was trying to use the same technique as her on the lance, was only getting short spurts of flames.
"Ah, man! Why can't I do it as well as her?!" he barked angrily, "Come on, you stupid lance! Work with me here!"
"Guys, we're placing all our bets on your nose! Pull it together, Natsu!" Gray angrily shouted.
"How dare you disappoint my beloved with your childish actions!" Juvia added.
"Palva, get up and help Natsu!" Leon finished.
"Easy, Leon. Palva has been using her magic all night, and hasn't taught Natsu to use that technique yet." Dori reasoned in a motherly fashion, "Besides, Natsu is still keeping his nose out for our friends. He's just…not showing it." Looking at the pouting Natsu, she questioned whether she was honest about that or not.
"Still, it sucks that they managed to knock all of us out and kidnap Erza and Happy." Gray grumbled, "How pathetic can we get?"
"I was also at fault for being outside with Pastry instead of with you guys." Leon added, "I should've been more wary."
"Still, how could a mage as strong as Erza be defeated?" Juvia asked.
"Huh?" Gray questioned with a glare and a raised eyebrow, "Erza didn't get defeated! Stop talking like you know her!" Juvia whimpered an apology for angering her beloved.
"Gray, in her defense, Erza was hesitating." Dori retorted, "She said that they were her former friends, and by the looks of it, they were attached pretty close. I tried to stop them, but managed to make a quick escape after knocking her out." She looked down, saddened she couldn't do more quicker.
"If they were her friends, it makes me wonder if we know her any better than Juvia does." Lucy wondered out loud. The others all wondered the same thing, especially those who knew her longer.
Just then, Natsu stopped trying to use the Lance Jet just as Palva suddenly awoke. They both looked around with concern as Natsu muttered, "I just got a weird feeling." The others heard this, and noticed, from afar, a group of pelican-like birds, which were flying high in the sky, suddenly twist and fall to the water, dead.
"The birds…!" Lucy gasped. "What the heck is going on with them?" Gray questioned.
"Guys, look!" Palva called out, and they saw in the waters around them, broken wood and dead fish floating off the water.
"Even the fish?!" Leon gasped. "This isn't natural." Juvia stated the obvious.
"I don't feel so good." Pastry moaned, tilting back onto Lucy's leg, his eyes weary. "Not you too!" Leon added, reaching down and picking up his partner in worry.
Dori calmed herself, sensing the magic energy around them. "There's something…sick in the air around us." she muttered, "It's like whatever is in the air is affecting the animals. Pastry isn't like the other animals, so he isn't as bad."
"Check it out. That's wreckage from a Fiore naval ship!" Gray noticed the wooden debris having a logo of the said naval ship."
"I don't like this at all…" Lucy muttered.
Just then, Natsu and Palva looked ahead, the former called out, "Hey, guys. Over there." The group turned and saw an eerie sight in the distance. Underneath the cloudy sky, there was an island, surrounded by jagged rocks. On it was a strange tower, with a twisted structure on the outside, reaching towards the sky.
"What is that?" Leon asked, startled at the sight as the rest of the group.
"That must be where they took Erza and Happy." Lucy assumed.
"Palva, Salamander, come closer to the ship." Juvia called out to the Dragon Slayers, "I need to do something." The two looked to one another, and Palva turned the lance around and came next to the boat. As soon as they got close, Juvia raised a hand as she called out, "Water Dome!" the water around them gathered into her hand, and then dispersed around them, forming a thin semi-sphere of water around them.
"Let's use this camouflage to make our approach." the rain woman told the group.
"Smart thinking." Dori commended her. With that, they began their silent approach towards the tower.
On the shores of the said island, Erza, now standing with her hands tied behind her, looked up at the tower in surprise. "The Tower of Heaven… It's been completed?!" she gasped, barely able to see the top of it.
"I don't know why you're so surprised. It's been eight years since you left, after all." Sho pointed out.
"Has it been that long?" she asked, looking to her 'friends' surrounding her, "It's amazing how you've all changed…" She looked back at the base of the tower. So much had changed, and yet the memories of being in this tower eight years ago…they stayed fresh in her mind. She couldn't believe that she had once again, just like before, kidnapped and forced to be in this dreaded nightmare of a tower.
Inside the Water Dome, Natsu and Dori both gave similar glares of determination as they looked at the tower. Inside the top of the tower, Jellal smirked, sensing Erza's arrival. Inside the Magic Council building, Siegrain looked down with a look of concern on his face. The approaching battle that will soon commence would affect all parties, and big changes would happen from it.
There you have it! The start of the Tower of Heaven arc. A lot of it is pretty much copy and paste from the anime, both Japanese sub and English dub. So now, the group, now bigger than the one in the anime/manga, silently make their approach to the Tower of Heaven. A tower that Erza fears, both it and the 'king' of it. What will the changes be from this story to the original manga/anime? How will each character make their mark in this arc? We'll find out soon! As always, leave a review, tell your friends, and please wait for the next chapter!