A/N: Chapter 25 of Fairy Tail: Earth and Phantom. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters except my own. Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima.
Special thanks to the reviewers, I truly appreciate it.
Chapter 25: Narrowly escaping death
Lexi gazed outside the hotel window in silence, her eyes set on the outline of the castle. Lucy and Wendy sat on the couch, lost in thought as they tried to figure out something out. Happy watched Charla loom quietly over a piece of paper, scratching the graphite of her pencil against the white sheet. Occasionally she would bite her lip or scratch her head in bewilderment.
"Is there any way we can get into the castle?" Lexi turned her head to look at Charla.
"Give me a moment." Was the response followed by more scratching of the graphite on paper. "Without a proper strategy, we will fail. We can't return them to their original forms at the moment."
"Everyone…." Wendy whispered in a tiny voice, "trapped in a crystal like that….How do we get them back to normal?"
"I think our only choice is to ask the King himself." Charla spoke though she was still concentrating on her drawing.
"There's no way he'll tell us." Wendy objected. Suddenly Lucy stood up, her facial expression told clued her fellow teammates that an idea had crept into her head.
"Does the king know a way to return them to their original forms?"
"Probably."
"It might actually work." Lucy continued, using vague hand gestures to get her point across. "If we could just find a way to get close to him….."
"Do you have the power Lucy?" Lexi asked excitedly.
"With Gemini." Was the simple answer but she was greeted with a look of confusion. Like any professor would, Lucy broke down the condense information into simpler terms. "Gemini has the power to transform into any one they touch, but on top of that, they can even find out what the person is thinking in that period of time. In other words, if they transform into the king, we might find a way to save everyone."
"Excellent plan Lucy, it's foul proof for sure!" Wendy pumped her fist into the air with glee.
"There's one set back with Gemini's power. They can only hold the transformation for 5 minutes. The number of people they can transform into is limited to two. The problem lies in how we are going to get close to the king…." Lucy pouted.
"As we would expect," She sighed. "The sheer number of guards means it won't be easy..."
"There's a way to get near the king." Charla held up the piece of paper with an elaborate drawing of the underground passage that would lead them directly into the castle.
"The tunnel at the outskirts of the city should be connected to the basement of the castle. It was intended as an escape route out of the castle."
"That's amazing! How did you know that!?" Wendy asked.
"Information. Fragments of information surface in my consciousness." She replied as she placed a paw on her forehead. "Since our arrival to Edolas, I've been supplemented by information about the geography of the area bit by bit."
"In any case, if we manage to infiltrate the castle from there we'll probably figure something out."
"We'll leave tonight so everyone rest up." Lexi spoke. "We'll turn our friends back to normal and return to Magnolia together."
Nightfall…...
Under the faint luminosity of the two moons, the small gang of Fairy Tail mages found themselves stumbling through the tunnel of an abandoned coal mine.
"Sure wish Natsu was here, we could've used his flame to light our way." Lexi commented as she held out a torch. Wendy was looking at the surrounding walls while Lucy was bringing up the rear. Happy followed Charla who was busily looking at her paper map.
"It's here." She lowered her map and pointed to a blocked off entrance. As the only one who can use magic, Lucy summoned Taurus who smashed the wall in. It crumbled to dust, rewarding them with another passage.
"That's amazing! There was actually another path." Lucy squinted as she was trying to see how far the tunnel actually is but it was too dark to see.
"Let's just hope this one leads us to the basement of the castle." Charla murmured almost to herself as she led them through.
"This tunnel looks like it could collapse within seconds." Lexi looked at the structure closely. Before she would nonchalantly gaze at the walls without care but now that her senses were on full-throttle, she paid full attention to her surroundings.
"Don't say unlucky things like that." Lucy panicked slightly, wrapping her arms around herself for comfort. "You'll jinx it!"
"But this really is a really old tunnel." Wendy added while Happy was talking about monsters living in the tunnels. They followed Charla who stopped once in a while to gather her thoughts, basing her intuition on the information. There were many twists and turns but they finally ended up in a large cavern. Sharp stalagmites jutted down from the ceiling and from the ground. Columns of rock structures towered over them as they continued walking.
"Hmmmm?" Lexi stopped and looked uneasy, the hairs on the back of her neck stood up and her stomach began to churn.
"What's wrong? Did something happen?" Lucy asked when she noticed the dragon slayer's frozen posture. Lexi placed a finger on her lips indicating silence. Standing pretty still, her ears picked up the faintest sound such as breathing. She soon found the sound that she was hearing for: a sickly squelch and oozing slime mixed together.
"Duck!" Whipping around, she tackled to two others to the ground as something shot above their heads. A glob of substance splashed onto the walls, hardening on contact.
"W-w-what the hell is that?!" Lucy squealed as the three of them dodged the slimy goo which reared back like a snake.
"Yikes!" Wendy covered her head as another one struck out from behind another rock.
"The soldiers! They're trying to surround you guys!" Charla yelled as she and Happy took to the air, hovering just enough for their wing tips to brush the top of the tunnel. From there, they had a good view of what was happening.
"Well if that's the case than we're bailing out of here!" Lexi grabbed Wendy and Lucy and made a run for it, running in a zigzag pattern and making it hard for the enemy.
"They're getting away! Everyone fire!" A loud voice barked and the soldiers quickly gave chase. Happy and Charla flew from above as the girls back-tracked to the entrance. They made it out before realizing that it was a trap. The group from the inside was just bait to lure them out into the open.
"AIEEE!" Lucy yelped as the goo wrapped itself around her.
"AHHH!" Wendy screeched as she fell forward, the goo wound tightly around her middle.
"Lucy! Wendy!" Lexi shouted, ducking and punching soldiers that got too close. She crouched low, growling with murder intent but she knew she was at a huge disadvantage without her magic powers.
"So these must be the magic-users from Earthland I have been hearing around." A voice spoke out among the ranks and the cavalry stepped aside to reveal their captain. The mages from Fairy Tail looked shocked at the captain for she looked exactly like their Erza.
"You look exactly like them. Lucy Ashuray….are you really different people?" She gazed coldly at them, definitely not like the warm gaze that their Erza would give. She suddenly lowered her weapon, pointing it at them. "It seems like you missed one but don't fret, she'll join her friends soon enough."
"Lexi, run for it!" Lucy cried out as she struggled against the binds. "We'll be fine, promise!"
"Please escape!" Wendy called out, trying to kick one of the soldiers in the shins. Charla and Happy watched from above as Lexi contemplated her next action. She glanced up at Edo Erza then back to Lucy and Wendy; their eyes pleading for her to run away. Biting her lip till the skin broke, Lexi turned and dashed off, using the surrounding soldiers as stepping stones. Some of the soldiers fired goo at her retreating form but stopped when she disappeared beyond their range.
"Take those two back to the castle and hand me another spear. I'll deal with that little rat." Edo Erza motioned with her head before running off after her prey. Lucy and Wendy shared a knowing look as their captors dragged them off. It didn't take long for Edo Erza to find her prey. Running zigzag underneath the canopy, Lexi noticed the slight difference of air pressure and realized who was following her. Skidding to a stop, she looked up, glancing at the sky. She was sure she would see the figure of her follower fly overhead but she did see anyone. Instead she didn't see an attack from the back. The impact sent her flying and she landed heavily, shattering her right shoulder blade on impact. Laying there, she gasped for breath before a searing pain rattled her midriff. Glancing down, she saw the shaft of a spear sticking out of her side, the jagged tip already inside of her. Snarling, she grabbed the shaft and broke it in half, throwing it off to the side. She stumbled to her feet and tried to run away.
"It's over for you." Erza's voice whispered in her ear before the scarlet warrior thrusted her weapon through Lexi's back, ripping a wound through her stomach and pinning her against a rock.
"Arggghhhhh!" Lexi gritted her teeth in pain with each struggling breath, sweat beading down her face.
"It seems like you're running out of energy." Erza spoke as she calmly stood back, marveling at her work. "That's too bad."
"Heh," Lexi smiled as she slowly looked over her shoulder. "if you think a small scratch like this….is going to kill me then you are greatly mistaken." She frowned for a second then she shook her head. "I was hoping that my death wouldn't be by Erza's hands but I guess it can't be helped."
"Enough talking." Erza gripped her weapon and roughly twisted it. Lexi swallowed down a scream as she held in her pain. She could literally feel her innards rip from the inside. Erza calmly pressed her body against her prey, leaning in close to whisper in her ear. "I prefer my full name Erza Knightwalker, Fairy Hunter. Remember that." Stepping back, she suddenly removed her weapon, making sure that it exited the body as quickly as possible and stood back. Turning over so that her back was against the rock, Lexi looked up to see Erza charging right at her.
"I'll end your life." Erza shouted, aiming her spear to where it would pierce Lexi's heart on impact.
Is this…the end? Lexi thought as time slowed around her. She knew that she was slowly losing consciousness. A sudden whistle sang through the air and the ground shifted violently. Caught by surprise, Erza stopped her advance and watched as a huge fissure opened up. Toppling off balance, Lexi felt the ground disappear from underneath her feet and she started falling.
"Damn it!" Erza spat when she realized that Lexi was falling backwards, right over a cliff. The two of them were too focused on each other that they didn't realized that they were on a cliff. The sudden attack sliced the ledge clean off. Rushing over, she peered over the ledge and Lexi's body drop into the raging water below. Sighing, she wiped her blood-stained weapon on the grass and returned to the castle.
Somewhere inside the city…...
Hidden within the confine of the city, the water filters out into a secret basin. The only ones who knows this location is the king and his army but because it doesn't hold any value, he lost interest in it and told everyone to ignore this place. The bushes rustled violently and out stepped a woman, well actually a woman with cat ears and a tail with an empty basket slung over her shoulder. Looking around, she made her way to the riverbank and rolled up the cuffs of her fur jacket.
"Heard that the king has received a giant crystal that grants him magical energy. Heard that he got it from another world." She muttered to herself as she lowered the basket into the water, watching it being filled up. "Haaaaaa, I wonder how Panther Lily is doing. It's been awhile since we were kicked out of Extalia." Dipping her hand into the water, she noticed a slim line of red running across the surface. Looking closer, she realized that it was blood.
"What the hell? Someone's fuckin with my water supply." Lifting her basket out of the water and placing it on her back, she quickly followed the red color upstream. It wasn't long until she noticed the river turning dark red; its source somewhere around the bend. A few more steps later and she found someone laying on the bank below, her body half submerged in the water. Jumping down for a closer look, she noticed that the girl had a really nasty stomach wound and a messed up shoulder. Shit, she's in bad condition. Her wound might get infected if not treated. Shit I don't even know her…. Resting a hand on the girl's forehead, she narrowed her eyes and removed her hand.
"Mmraghh…" A groan escaped between the girl's lip but her eyes remained closed.
She's still alive?! This poor motherfucker…..The catwoman gently lifted the girl out of the water and hoisted her over her shoulder, grimacing at the amount of blood staining her jacket. Some fucker messed her up bad and yet she's fighting to stay alive…I want to know what keeps her going. It's been a long time since I have encountered someone with such persistence to resist death. Grabbing her basket filled of water, the mysterious woman disappeared into the bushes.