A/N: Here's chapter fourteen! Yes, I know Erza might seem a bit dramatic, but it's all intentional, I promise. :)
Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail.
"Now then…" The Emerald Knight cracked his shoulders, "I think I'm beginning to learn how your magic works…"
"Oh, you think it's that easy?" She laughed, then held out her hands, "Alright, rock doll, let's change the game for him!"
A giant rock monster appeared from out of the ground next, with three simple holes for its eyes and mouth. It roared at the Emerald Knight and charged at him.
"What in damnation!" The Emerald Knight tried to jump back, as the rock doll punched the ground, still causing bits of earth to smack him and knock him back.
Sherry gave a demonic laugh as her mascara-stained cheeks raised with an evil grin, "Smash him to dust!"
The Emerald Knight sparked up his lance, charging at the beast, the electricity not having much of an effect on the rock monster. It growled and picked him up. The Emerald Knight thrashed about, trying to free himself, but he was unable to move in the monster's iron-grip. The rock doll threw him into a tree.
The Emerald Knight cried out as the entire tree shattered with the force of his landing. He got up slowly, his eyes homing in a Sherry. He ran at the girl, lightning whipping out of his lance like serpents.
The rock doll slid in the wall, holding out a single hand to block his lance.
Sherry gave a wicked sneer, "What, you think you can reach me? No, you'll never be able to touch me!"
The Emerald Knight growled. She was right, as long as this thing was fighting him, he'd never be able to hit her, he put his lance away, his gauntlet glowing green, "Gauntlet Hammer!" He swung his fist into the rock monster, but it only knocked loose three or four rocks.
His eyes widened, he swallowed hard. That thing had to be made of hundreds of rocks, he would have to use that attack at least another dozen times to reduce it to rubble, and he didn't have the magic power for that.
The rock doll advanced to its foe, giving a big smack and sending him sailing. The Emerald Knight crashed into the ground not that far away.
Sherry snickered a bit, "My love, your fragile little façade of armor is bound to break if my doll keeps beating you around." She sat on a stone.
The rock doll advanced upon the Emerald Knight, but this time the knight raised his shield up high, blocking the punch. How can I be so pathetic? Am I going to lose in my first bout of combat as a part of this larger team? No…there has to be something I can do? Swords of Retribution? Maybe…I would at least have to hit her with all twelve…but first to even use it I'd need this rock monstrosity away from me. He did a somersault under the monsters legs, running back a bit to create some distance, "Swords of-
The monster reared back and punched him, knocking him over. It appears even though the monster was slow, his reach with much better due to his sheer size.
Damn it. The Emerald Knight felt pain rack all over his body. Despite being fully armored, he'd been hit so many times his muscles were beginning to ache.
Sherry laughed, "This is so tragic! So lovely! So entertaining!"
Veins cropped up all over his forehead. He had one last trick. And there was a reason why he was saving it for last. It was ridiculously risky. Lancer Fader would cancel out her rock doll and nullify both their magic for five seconds. But that's all he had. Five seconds. If she feels her magic power return before he defeats her, her rock doll will just rise from the dead and it'll be over. He had five seconds to run up close to her and completely overtake her with close combat while neither of them had magic.
The Emerald Knight got up and shook himself off, fighting the rock doll and blocking his punches, but ever-so-closely, he would inch towards Sherry, his eyes darting back at her every so often. He needed to close as much distance as possible, as this surprise attack would only last a few moments.
Sherry yawned, "Rock doll, you can stop toying with him now. Pounding him to the ground would be appreciated."
The rock doll clasped both its hands together and reared them back, ready to turn the Emerald Knight into mush.
A green light brighter than before emitted from the Emerald Knight's lance. He turned to Sherry, performing an elaborate sword flourish, "Lance Fader!" A green wave whooshed out, the rock doll shook madly and eventually fell over. The Emerald Knight's lance also stopped crackling its familiar green lighting. The Emerald Knight gave a piercing yell and put his shield away, sprinting towards Sherry.
Sherry's eyes shrunk and she screamed, holding her hands out to use her marionette magic, but she was unable to. She was stabbed right in the chest, going right through his lance.
The Emerald Knight heard a choking noise, then the sound of something hitting his armor. He saw a bloodstain, it came from her mouth after she coughed it up.
He looked surprised, taking the lance out of her body and watching her fall to the ground. He was a little shell-shocked. He'd seen Natsu beat practically hundreds of people, always wittingly getting in the last word. Yet, here he stood, not having a thing to say. It was probably because she was a woman. He rarely fought women on the battlefield in his olden days, and his chivalrous nature just made this feel so wrong.
She slowly moved, giving him some form of reassurance that he at least hadn't killed her. She gasped for air, then screeched, "Angelica!"
Angelica flung herself in the air, still a bit charred, with green sparks coming off of her every so often. She was about ready to crush him.
The Emerald Knight swallowed hard. This was it. He couldn't beat this rat, he was completely out of magic power.
Suddenly, he heard Angelica screech in agony as she was sliced open right across the chest and belly. He heard the familiar sound of armored feet landing in the sand, and the bright red hair.
The Emerald Knight screamed. He would much rather fight against the rat. Much, much rather fight against the rat.
"Ant." Erza said softly, "Tell me. Why do you think I am here?"
He shivered from head to toe, "I…can think of a few good reasons…"
"Ant! Yay! You're okay! You didn't die!" Happy flew over, then he saw Erza, promptly making a terrified expression and flying off.
Erza's gauntlet caught his tail like a snapping turtle, "Happy." She said, very seriously, "Where is Natsu?" She held him upside down, looking him dead in the eye.
"I haven't the slightest idea…it can be hard to track him down at times…" The Emerald Knight said.
"I didn't ask for an excuse. You will tell me where you last saw him, what he was doing, and where he was going, immediately, or there is no telling whether or not you will ever be able to return to Fairy Tail."
He went pale, "He was fighting some of the Cold Emperor's followers, like I was." He said, "He was in the village last, although, it's more of an acid wasteland by now…"
She cocked an eyebrow, then sighed, "This is why you dimwits should never have taken an S-Class quest…" She growled, then she snapped, her eyes opening wide as she screamed at him, "Do you realize how serious this is? Why there are differences between S-Class and regular quests now? Have you at least realized how stupid you are for listening to them?"
He closed his eyes. Their little training bouts in the canyon flashed into his mind, for some ironic reason, perhaps just to taunt him. After going through all these lengths to get a friend who he knew was so much like him, he ruined the opportunity in half the time he took to gain said opportunity. "I know…" He said.
She gave an irritated sigh, "Your actions won't go unpunished." She gave him a cold glare, "Take me to Natsu."
"What will you do when we find him?"
"Punishment is inevitable. I will bring you all back to the guild and you will be at the Master's mercy."
His eyes opened and hardened, "Now wait just a second, I think the punishment should wait until after we save all these people. There's a demon encased in ice, and a ritual that's causing all of the villagers to suffer. And Gray…he…" He paused, not sure on whether it was okay to divulge Gray's personal matters.
"Ant." She said his name softly, before giving him a glare so harsh it grazed his core, "I'll say this once and once only. I don't give a damn. I will take you all back to the guild before you get yourselves killed. You betrayed the Master, for that, you will be punished." She drew a sword and pointed it at his face, "Any objections?" She narrowed her eyes.
He closed his eyes again, this time, he had no rebuttal.
"Damn it…I had such a good idea, but then I went and overslept…not cool…" Natsu rubbed his forehead and kept walking. He eventually made it to the temple he and the others stumbled upon a night or two ago, "Now, let's put this plan into motion." He grinned.
Gray woke up, covered in a lot of bandages. He looked around, seeing that he was in a tool shed, "Where am I?" He got up and looked around outside, seeing a place that sort of resembled the village, but it wasn't the exact same place.
"You're awake." A villager walked over to him, "You must be a bit confused. We lost our village yesterday, so we moved out here. Originally, this is where we kept all our supplies."
"You…lost your village…?" Gray asked, remembering that Lyon gave the order to wipe out the villagers.
"But thanks to Natsu and that Emerald Knight, all the villagers were spared."
"Are those guys here now?"
"Yes. They're in that tent over there." The villager pointed.
Gray walked in the tent, seeing Erza sitting in the middle of the room, "Erza?" He gasped, then he saw Happy and the Emerald Knight tied up on the side, "Happy? Ant?"
"This is barbaric…" The Emerald Knight muttered, "I shall bite through this rope if I have to!"
"Reel it in, there, Ant…" Happy sighed.
"I've learned the backbone of this little story from Ant." Erza crossed her legs and looked up at Gray expectantly, "I might be mistaken." She gave a dry laugh, "Perhaps I've…lost my mind and it's all a dream!" She smiled, then it faded in a heartbeat, "But wasn't it your job to bring them back, Gray?"
"Where's Natsu?" Gray asked, he seemed to be on a completely different plane of thought at the moment.
She was silent, then she said, "Do you honestly think if I knew the answer to that question, I would have these two tied up in a tent?"
Gray looked at the Emerald Knight, "Ant, where's Natsu?"
"I haven't the slightest idea." The Emerald Knight said, "When they attacked the village, we split up. I fought Sherry, while Natsu took on Yuka and Toby. But when we returned, all I saw were Yuka and Toby's unconscious bodies. He must've defeated them and ran off…"
Gray sighed and crossed his arms, "I'm surprised you guys even found this place…"
Erza sighed, "So in other words, Natsu is wandering around like the idiot he is, lost out of his mind. Nothing unusual there, I suppose." She stood up, "Gray. You will stay here with these two while I find Natsu, then I'm taking you all back to the guild. The Master will deal with you from there."
"Are you out of your mind?" Gray asked, "If you learned the story from Ant, no, if you were actually listening, then you know how much danger these people face!"
She seemed even more peeved, "I did listen. I always listen, Gray. Unlike you, unlike Happy, unlike Ant, and especially unlike Natsu. Not only did I give you orders multiple times, and you disobeyed me, but you broke guild rules. That is something unforgivable. I'm disappointed in you. It's one thing for Ant to break the rules, but you've been a part of this guild since you were a child. Doing something as reckless as this goes without saying that you will face consequences. And they will be harsh."
"You intend to leave the people on this island like this?" He frowned.
"Yes." She said, "This is a job for an S-Class wizard. Being here, acting like fools and trying to take a position that you can't is only putting their lives in more danger. I thought you out of all people would know that."
He paused, choosing his next set of words very carefully. Erza perhaps thought that he was going to attempt to make amends, so it naturally surprised her when the next thing he said was, "I really thought you were better than that, Erza."
Happy gasped, "Gray, you can't talk to the great lady Erza like that!"
"Reel it in, Happy…" The Emerald Knight sighed.
Erza's eye twitched, "What?" She spat.
The Emerald Knight looked away, this was starting to bring back too many painful memories of his times in the sacred, secretive order of Fiore.
Upon Gray's silence, Erza got furious. She drew her sword and took a step forward, Gray had to step back to avoid being sliced in the throat, "Anything you say to me has no merit." She spat, "Not anymore. If you want to break these guild rules, then you're hardly a guild mate in the first place. You will listen to your superiors and obey, or I won't hesitate to stop you myself."
Gray caught her sword, a bit of blood trickling from his hand as he did so, "You do what you need to. I intend to save these people and see this through to the end. I can't walk away from something I know is the right thing to do. If you feel compelled to stab me for that, then stab away!" He challenged, he moved her blade aside and he left the tent.
Happy and the Emerald Knight felt a chill, they exchanged a glance.
"Don't listen to him Erza!" Happy quivered, "He's just mad because something happened to him and all! It's just crazy talk!"
The Emerald Knight was much quieter. There was a defiance in his eyes. Even though he had already put an end to Sherry for now, he wished he could do something more to help Gray.
A wave of magic power surged from her, then she turned around and faced Happy and the Emerald Knight with her blade, her eyes small and merciless.
Happy screamed and hugged the Emerald Knight, "Ant, I don't wanna die!" He cried.
She threw her sword across the room with a scream, it was far from the fierce warrior scream she always gave, and more reminiscent of an angry teenage girl. Her sword went right through a bag of rice and outside the tent, rice poured out onto the floor. She then turned and kicked a crate over, reducing it to splinters. Thankfully, the crate was empty. Afterwards, she ran and hand through her hair and gave a shaky sigh. "I suppose we have no choice."
Happy and the Emerald Knight exchanged another terrified glance, cowering in fear.
She materialized a dark dagger and walked over towards the Emerald Knight, towering over him.
The Emerald Knight closed his eyes and looked away, while Happy bit back tears.
He heard a slicing sound, then a thud. He looked down and saw she cut off his ropes. It was easy since he had the armor. She was more careful with Happy, gently grabbing him from behind and slicing the ropes.
Now Happy and the Emerald Knight looked at her like two deer frozen in headlights.
She dematerialized the dagger, something about her face reminded the Emerald Knight of the day he asked her where she learned her magic. She turned around and left the tent without a word.
Happy looked hopelessly confused, trying to brush his tears away, "Come on." The Emerald Knight helped him stand, "Let's continue helping Gray. I assume she'll punish us once this mess is over."
"Such a disgrace…" Lyon sat in the center of the highest room of the temple, almost like a throne, "You're the only one left?"
Toby gave a yip and nodded.
"Those Fairy Tail wizards aren't half bad…"
"Could you keep the fact that I defeated myself between you and me?" Toby asked.
"No."
"This puts Deliora's revival in jeopardy." Zalty's voice rang out as he hobbled in.
"Zalty." Lyon nodded, "How is the ceremony going?"
"If we stay productive, this evening we will be able to filter in all the moon drip onto Deliora and revive him. However, if there is any source of interference, then he will remain inside that ice."
"Damn it all. I should've just done all the fighting myself from the beginning." Lyon fumed.
Toby wilted in shame.
"Well, it seems the Salamander from Fairy Tail seems to be one of our prime targets." Zalty said.
"As always, you seem to be well-informed of our enemy." Lyon smiled, "But I do not fear him. No, not the slightest. Even Ur would be jealous of my power now. Fire wizards cannot stand against it."
Zalty gave a low chuckle, "Well then, perhaps I can join the fray as well."
"Wait a second, this old guy can fight too?" Toby asked.
"Yes, I happen to know a bit of lost magic." He snickered.
"Hmm…lost magic, huh?"
There was a pause. The temple began to shake erratically, and crumble apart.
"An earthquake?" Toby panicked.
"What the hell is going on?" Lyon growled.
"The ruins are falling apart!"
"No…" Lyon gripped his throne and winced, "They're being tilted!"
Zalty snickered, keeping his balance, "….so he has made the first move…."
Toby looked down a hole at one of the lower temple levels, "Ah! It's him!" He gasped.
"Who…who is 'him'?" Lyon walked over to the hole with the other two.
"Jeez…I usually bust stuff up all the time without even thinking about it…" Natsu cracked his neck, "But when I try to break stuff, it's really hard…"
"Cretin! What is the meaning of this?" Lyon glared at him.
"Well now this whole building's tilted." Natsu said, as flames billowed in his hands, "So the moonlight won't get down to that demon of yours."
"How dare you!" He snapped.
"Okay…I'm completely confused…" Toby said.
"Seems this little salamander was smarter than I had assumed." Zalty mused before elaborating, "He must have destroyed a half of the support columns underneath this tower, thus knocking the entire temple out of balance. Now the moon beam cannot reach Deliora."
"Alright, now let's do this." Flames wrapped around Natsu's feet and he rocketed up in the air.
"Flames on his feet?" Lyon asked, bewildered.
Toby yipped and nodded, "He can shoot flames from any part of his body!"
Natsu flew up and punched both Lyon and Toby, knocking them in the air quite a distance. Toby's body flew back and hit the wall, while Lyon's body completely dissolved into ice crystals. It turned out to be a fake.
"Over here!" The real Lyon said as he blasted out icy eagles at Natsu, "You can't dodge in midair!"
Natsu abruptly stopped his flaming feet to land on the ground, "Looks like I can." He smirked. He walked forward on his hands a bit and he swatted at Lyon with his flaming feet, "Fire Dragon's Talon!"
Lyon jumped back, "I won't fall for that!"
"Good. Now let's see your midair game." He puffed his cheeks out, "Fire Dragon's Roar!"
Zalty gave a short chuckle, holding a hand out. A hole in the ground swallowed Natsu up before his Roar could reach Lyon. Natsu yelled out as he fell.
Lyon looked at the hole with overflowing confusion.
"Can we keep the fact that I completely failed to dodge his punch a secret?" The charred Toby asked.
"No."
"Quite the bout of luck you've run into, Cold Emperor." Zalty said amusedly.
"What did you do, Zalty?" Lyon asked.
"'Do'? I didn't 'do' anything." He snickered, "I simply cannot having you dying before Deliora is revived, that's all."
"Don't try and play me for a fool." Lyon said, "The ground dissolving…that was your magic…besides…" He took a deep breath, the entire interior of the temple began to freeze up, "You really think that pathetic flame could defeat me? I am Cold Emperor Lyon. The only wizard in existence who has the ability to defeat Deliora! It would bring shame upon my name if I couldn't beat that brat!" His bloodshot eyes widened, "Both of you, tend to the ceremony, I'll defeat anyone who enters my presence."
"Of course, Cold Emperor." Zalty said as he skittered off with Toby.
"Defeat Deliora?" Natsu climbed up from the rubble, facing Lyon, "He's half-dead already, why the hell are you going through all that trouble just to unfreeze him?"
"It is so I can surpass Ur." Lyon said, as he fired off icy eagles at Natsu, "So my dream can finally be fulfilled!"
Natsu dodged as many as he could, "If you want that, then why don't you just challenge Ur directly?"
"Fool! Do you know nothing! Ur has been dead for years!"
Natsu froze in place, "Ah…I see…I guess when she cast that Iced Shell…she lost her life in the process…I had no idea…"
"It was all Gray's fault!" He fired off more icy eagles.
Natsu grimaced as he was smashed by a few of the eagles in his arms as he raised them to block the hits, a bit of bloody scars cropping up on them here and there. "Look pal, I have no idea what went on in your past. But I know you're hurting a lot of people in the present. I'm going to wake you up!" He roared as his fists burned with flames, "A nice, good, smacking should do the trick!"
"Since the two of us were kids, Lyon's biggest life goal was to surpass Ur." Gray said, he, the Emerald Knight, Erza, and Happy, were running (flying in Happy's case) towards the temple, "So since Ur isn't around anymore…he thought he could defeat Deliora…the one monster that she couldn't beat."
"I see…" The Emerald Knight said, "In a twisted sort of way…I at least see why he's doing it…"
"Aye…" Happy said.
"But there's something he doesn't know!" Gray said as he kept leading the pack.
"Oh?" The Emerald Knight cocked an eyebrow, "And what is that?"
"I mean…Ur's no longer with us…but…" He looked ahead, "Ur is still alive."
A/N: So? How was that? Let me know with a review! Thanks for reading, I hope you liked it!