Chapter 21
We were sitting on the rocks by the shore, thinking of where else the flags could be. We had been attacked twice more on our way down, once by Gray and Juvia, then once by Lucy and Cana. Neither team stood much of a chance, but I was exhausted, nonetheless. Natsu looked like he was getting tired, too. Even though the heat wasn't affecting him like it was affecting me, fight after fight and constantly trying to figure out puzzles like the ones laid out before us.
Yawning, I stood, and looked around. I didn't see any evidence of human activity, so I considered us safe for the moment.
Natsu was cooking some fish I had caught, while I did another perimeter check. There was no smoke, since he was cooking them with the fire in his hands. He handed one to me, and I sat next to him, eating.
After we finished, I made some fresh water in a half coconut shell I'd found on the beach. We both drank some of it, then he headed off on his own. I decided to head north. The sun was beginning to set. I didn't have a lot of time left.
I headed upwards, towards the tree. It wasn't long before I noticed recent signs of passage. Footprints, broken twigs, rocks turned over. I followed the path made, and found the base of tree, where several guild members were sitting, waiting. Upon further inspection, I saw a flash of red in the roots of the tree. The last flag was hidden underneath the ground, deep in the roots of the tree, surrounded by tons of people who were still at full fighting ability. If it were Natsu, I knew he'd charge right in, not thinking about the consequences. But I was one to think about stuff. I noticed that Erza was walking a perimeter of sorts, as was Laxus, who didn't look so hot. He had numerous cuts and bruises, and the arm where I'd hit him with the ice spike was wrapped up tightly, the bandages soaked with blood. It looked like I wasn't the only one he'd gotten in a fight with.
The others were sitting around in various places, each one keeping an eye on a different area. There was no way to slip through without being seen. Unless… I made a water clone and bent the light through her, seeing if she could make it to the roots without being seen. But as soon as she left the safety of the trees, she popped like a balloon, making everyone within hearing distance look over, suddenly on alert. There was a barrier around the tree. This would be the hardest test yet. I didn't want to fight all of them, and I didn't know how to get in without being seen. But, since they had all looked over when my clone had distracted them, I bet I could use that. I made several more, and sent them out to various points, also testing for weaknesses in the barrier. All the clones popped, while several of the guild members followed after the clones.
While they were distracted, I moved in closer to the tree, hiding out behind a tent erected by one of the guild members. I tried to make the water refract around me, but it wouldn't work. The barrier had let me through, but not my clones. So, an anti-magic barrier. Would explain why my clones kept popping. But that also meant none of the other guild members could use magic. Of course, they had numbers on their side. Strategy, strategy. What can I do? I tried to make another clone, but nothing happened, and even when I tried to make her appear outside the barrier, nothing happened. The guild members were starting to return, now, Erza right in front of the pack. I quickly ducked into a bush near the base of the tree, watching them. Then I took the flags I had gathered and hid them in my shoes, one in each. Then quickly cut my arm with a piece of sharp stone next to me, and strolled right up to the camp. Erza charged at me as I held up my hands in a sign of surrender. Upon seeing the blood dripping from my arm, she stopped in her tracks.
"What happened?" She asked.
"Cut it when I fell down a hill a little while ago. I didn't have any bandages, so I came to see if I could get some here. Is that okay? I'll be off again as soon as I have some." I said, covering my cut.
She nodded, and led me towards a medical tent, where I saw the people I had beaten up throughout the day. Shit, if they mentioned how I could heal myself…
Instead, Levy just watched me, confused, and the others said nothing. I assumed they hadn't realized that I could self-heal, then. Erza sat me down and bandaged my arm, tying the bandage off. "There. You should be all set, now. Be careful out there." She said, and led me back out to the barrier. I had had all the time I needed to scout out the area.
As soon as I got out, I made it start raining. It slowly got heavier and heavier, sending everyone rushing inside the tents for cover. Now that the clouds were releasing their wrath upon the camp, it would be awhile until they blew over. I used the falling water to travel up into the sky, positioning myself over the tree, and changed my body into rain, and fell onto the tree, travelling down until I hit the top of the barrier, and fell the rest of the way into a small ravine just a few feet from the exposed roots of the tree. But to my surprise, Erza stood there waiting for me.
"Did you forget that I know you can self-heal? I knew what you were doing. A good plan, for sure, but know you'll have to fight me without your magic." She said, sword in hand. She must have requipped outside the barrier, then brought her weaponry inside. Clever.
Of course, she was right. Now I would have to fight her without magic. No healing, no water body, no spells. Cussing, I ducked behind the tree roots and grabbed a branch I found. It was thick and strong, and would at least deflect her attacks. She swung at me with the force of a lightning bolt, nearly breaking my branch. I rolled out of the way and swung the branch at her, which she deflected, causing it to splinter and send the shards everywhere. To my surprise, one flew and stuck in the invisible barrier, making a miniscule crack. I picked up another piece of branch and smashed it against the barrier, making a good sized hole. I felt magic flowing through it, and while I didn't really get how the tree had broken the barrier, I went with it.
It was only a little bit of magic flowing through the hole, but I could use it. I made the rain swirl around Erza, blinding her, then ducked behind her, heading towards the roots. She requipped into an armor covered in gills, and instantly made the water disperse. In giving myself magic, I also let her have some. Then other guild members came out, hearing the ruckus, and rushed over to assist her. I groaned, biting my lip. This is not what I had wanted. So much for my plan.
I collected the rain around me, making a barrier of my own, and thrust it out away from me, flinging everyone to the ground. Lightning flashed, and Laxus appeared in front of me, just barely missing the barrier I had made. I was already exhausted, and frustrated to boot, so I just growled at his appearance, and slammed my fist into the ground, making the rain that had already fallen into the earth come rushing out of the ground, creating a massive geyser of steaming hot water. I ran through the water, and used some more water to pull a flag out of the roots. The geyser stopped, and I shoved the last flag into my shoe. The rain fell even harder than before, now including all the water that had already fallen.
Suddenly, a column of flame shot up into the middle of the storm, dispersing my clouds. I looked over, shocked, to see Natsu standing there. He rushed over and grabbed the other flag as a buzzer sounded from camp.
Everyone stood, drenched and steamy, bruised and beaten, and headed back towards what was the camp. I had kind of destroyed that, too. They all headed towards where the buzzer sound had come from, while I stood, watching Natsu. I was amazed. No one had ever stopped my storm before.
He came over to me, and stood inches from me, looking down at me, smiling a tiny smile. "What?" He asked. "You're looking at me like it's the first time you're seeing me."
"It is." I whispered.
He looked confused. "I don't get it."
I pulled him down and kissed him. I didn't even care if anyone saw. I was soaked to the bone, as was he. It was dark out, but the moon leant just enough light to see. When I opened my eyes, he was silhouetted against the stars, and he looked so much like my first love that for a second I believed they were the same person. I put my hands on his face, looking at him. "We can't do this." I said.
"Why not?"
"You're not meant to be with me." I said with a sigh. "I'm not even supposed to be alive right now." I looked towards camp, where I saw Lucy getting a bandage on her leg. "You're meant to be with someone else."
He shook his head. "That's nonsense. You belong with us. You see this?" He pointed to my guild mark. "This means you're one of us. It doesn't matter where you're from. It doesn't matter what you've done. We're a family. And you're a part of it." He said, pulling me up against him.
I closed my eyes, breathing in his smell, absorbing his words. I smiled. "If we're family, then this is definitely a no-no."
He laughed. "That's not what I meant." He said, his arms wrapped around me. He smoothed a piece of hair out of my face, looking at me. "You belong with us. You belong here."
I couldn't help the smile that spread across my face. Belong. Such a strange word. I'd only ever heard it one other time, when my father told me I belonged in the village, not in the water. This was different. This time, I believed it. Reaching up, I pulled him down to me again, and tried to convey my feelings through things I couldn't say.
He responded in turn, pushing me up against the tree, one hand running down my side and coming to a rest at my hip. My breath quickened, and my body seemed to move on its own, pulling him closer. I wanted him so much in that moment that-
"Hey, let's go!" Someone called from near us. I stopped immediately, embarrassed by the situation I found myself in. Blushing madly, I stepped away from him, and put my hand to my lips, hiding the smile.
He smiled, too, and pulled me back up against him. "You go meet up with them. I'll be there in a few." He whispered against my lips.
I nodded, and headed to the demolished camp, where everyone else was already waiting, even Gajeel. Master was standing on a barrel that had somehow survived the carnage, with Mira behind him. I was glad I hadn't had to fight her. She was super powerful, and I didn't know how much luck I'd have against her.
Master then decided to speak. "The three who were in the challenge today, please step forward." Gajeel and I stepped forward, while master searched the crowd for Natsu. "Where is that boy?" He asked, but no one knew. "Well, he'll be disqualified if he isn't-"
"Ah HAAA!" Natsu was suddenly beside me, loudly proclaiming his entrance. "Trying to start without me, Gramps?"
Master just sighed. "Okay, the three participating today. Please step forward and present your flags." The three of us walked over to Master, where I took all three flags out of my shoe. He just nodded like he expected me to have them all. Gajeel presented two, and Natsu handed over three. Meaning whatever the last challenge was, it was against Natsu. "Very well." Master continued. "Then the two moving on are Natsu and Lilly. The next trial will be in two days, so we all have time to rest and recover. It was a very long day for all of us, and some sleep would be much appreciated." With that, we all began to head back to the base camp, where we were greeted by those that had stayed behind.
After a dinner consisting of fresh tuna, bananas, wild rice, and other such thing found on the island, I headed in to the tent, and was surprised to find Lucy already there. She looked up at me worriedly. "Lilly, I don't… I don't really know how to say this, but I think something is wrong with Elia. She's still having those nightmares, and each day she seems a little… darker, I guess. I heard her mumbling about how much she hated you today." She stood up, and came over and hugged me. "It's probably nothing, but be careful, okay?"
I nodded, unsure what to make of this development. "I will. Thank you for telling me."
She smiled. "Of course. You're my friend, and I don't want you to get hurt." She said, then left the tent.
I lay down, snuggling into my sleeping bag, and was suddenly overcome by a fit of coughing. Huh, must have swallowed spit the wrong way or something. Not long after, I fell asleep, dreaming of things I hoped would never come.