In a wooded grassland, tucked hundreds of miles away from Magnolia; four of Fairy Tail's self-proclaimed "strongest team" as well as two others were making their way to the home of Warrod Sequen; fourth strongest member of the wizard saints and more recently, the newest client of the Fairy Tail guild.
"This place is beautiful." Wendy smiled warmly as the sun's golden rays shined on her face. She stopped walking, rolling up the map in her hands, and moving a length of hair behind her ears as the breeze caressed her face. Carla was at her side. She too enjoyed the crisp cooling air.
Behind them walked Erza, Lucy, and Aura. "The air here is so fresh." Lucy commented happily as she stretched her arms out into the air.
"Yes, the breeze is quite nice as well." Erza nodded. Aura walked at her mother's side, enjoying the atmosphere like the others.
Bringing up the rear were Gray and Alana, the latter being chosen as Natsu's replacement for the job. "I'm not really sure why I'm here." Alana laughed nervously.
"Me either." Gray agreed nonchalantly as he flicked some earwax into the wind.
"No need to be nervous, Alana." Erza reassured with a knowing grin. She slowed down her pace, allowing the heiress to catch up. "If the master chose you to meet a wizard saint, then he must acknowledge your strength."
Erza's words - surprisingly - didn't make Alana feel any better. "I-I see." Alana nodded. "I'll try not to let him down."
"They say the Wizard Saints are the ten strongest wizard's on the continent, right?" Lucy asked Erza.
"That's correct. Master Makarov and Jura are just two of them."
"Jellal was a saint too, right?" Wendy inquired.
"He was." Erza nodded.
"And Phantom Lord's old master was one." Gray informed.
"I never knew that." Alana said with surprise. She had always read articles when she was younger about the wizard saints, but they only held descriptions of the position and their overall importance to the country. It never really gave much mention of the group's members outside of the guild masters previously mentioned and Jura. Most likely for confidential reasons. Until this moment the only wizard saints the dark-blonde knew of were Makarov and Jura.
Erza resumed her explanation. "The four strongest among them have earned the title of the 'Four Emperors of Ishgal'."
"I'm getting more nervous by the second." Alana sighed.
"Me too." Lucy added.
Wendy looked up from the map and turned her head to look at Erza with curiousity. "Ishgal?"
"An ancient name for the continent." Erza clarified.
Lucy held her arms close to her body, the cool wind was starting to get to her. "Why would someone so powerful ask for Natsu and Gray of all people?" She looked back to Gray as if he held an answer to her question.
"I don't know." Gray shrugged. "I could do this job without Natsu anyway."
"No. If he requested the both of you then there has to be a reason." Erza said. She sounded like she was scolding Gray for some transgression he had yet to commit.
"Too bad we couldn't wait for him to come back." Alana commented. " But I'm curious. Why are you not a wizard saint, Erza. You're certainly strong enough." She looked wide-eyed at the redhead, who replied with an amused grin.
"I would be honored if I was considered for sainthood, but I'm not as strong you think. Jura and Master Makarov are both leagues above me in terms of power, as was Jose. There is also Laxus. I would even consider making Mirajane a saint over me…if only slightly. But I thank you for the compliment."
Alana was taken aback by Erza's rather honest response. A simple "Oh" was all she could muster in response.
"You're way too modest, Erza." Lucy smiled.
"Perhaps." the redhead smirked. Aura looked up at the two in confusion.
"I think I see the house!" Wendy pointed ahead. Everyone's eyes faced forward, gazes falling onto a home sitting at the top of a small hill. It was a medium sized house, roughly the side of Natsu and Erza's. It even seemed to be made of the same materials, but the most distinctive feature about it were the trees that seemed to grow outward from the walls. Lucy was slightly underwhelmed.
"That's his house?"
"For someone so famous, I thought it would be…well...bigger." Alana tried her best not to sound rude.
The group entered the home, whose door was strangely unlocked. Despite the rather unimpressive exterior, the wizards were instantly overwhelmed by the overabundance of plant life that decorated the floor as well as many shelves inside the humble home. Seeing no immediate sign of their client, they decided to call out into the home.
"Excuse us…" Wendy began.
"We are wizards from the Fairy Tail guild." Erza continued.
"Shh." A voice echoed through the home. "Be quiet."
Erza and the others followed the voice further inside. The sound of flowing water could be heard in front of the wizards when they stopped walking. There was a man, a coat flowing his somewhat lean frame. He was also wearing a cape with the wizard saint's insignia on the back. It looked as if they were standing behind a literal tree-man. He spoke again, his back still to the group of wizards.
"Plants prefer peace and quiet. If your minds cannot comprehend that, then keep your noisy mouths shut!" his booming voice startled the wizards, especially Lucy, Aura, Wendy, and Alana; who all covered their mouths in order to better silence themselves. Everyone stood silent, a trace of fear running up each of their spines. They wouldn't dare further upset the man in front of them. Slowly the man grinned, a small snicker escaping from his lips. "Just kidding!"
Suddenly the plants in the home rapidly grew in full bloom, the ones on the floor nearly overtaking Carla and Happy. The man continued laugh uproariously, twirling around with a wide open mouthed smile on his face as the water from his can poured onto the still growing plants. "It was a joke! Plants love to hear the sound of human voices!" He stopped spinning round and faced the Fairy Tail group, still laughing guests were more confused and surprised than amused at the display.
…
Jura raised a quizzical eyebrow at Natsu and Gajeel. "You say you need my help to make a diamond?" He still had trouble getting past what was asked of him by the pair of dragon slayers.
"Yep." Natsu nodded. "I heard you make diamonds by making coal hot and crushing it a lot. So since you use Earth magic, I thought you could help me make a diamond."
Jura laughed lightly at Natsu's explanation. "Diamond creation is a bit more complicated than that, my friend."
Gajeel was growing more irritable by the second. "Can you help or not?"
"I can." Jura nodded, ignoring Gajeel's rude tone. "I assume this is for a ring for Ms. Scarlet?"
Natsu's eyes widened in surprise. He blushed. "How did you know?"
"Well the drawing in your hand clearly resembles a wedding ring, and I've heard the rumors of your and Ms. Scarlet's relationship."
"Not like it was a secret." Gajeel commented under his breath.
"Shut up." Natsu said to the Iron Dragon. He turned his attention back towards Jura. "Promise you won't tell about the ring." He sounded like he was pleading for the rock wizard's silence.
The wizard saint grinned. "You have my word. Now…" Jura clapped his hands together, summoning two massive rock pillars from the ground. "Let us begin."
…
"It's a talking tree!" Aura exclaimed in awe as she pointed at the elderly man before them. By all accounts she wasn't really wrong. He was fairly tall, as tall as his fellow saint, Jura. His head was the shape of a vertical rectangle, showing no sign of a chin. His skin was very wrinkled, resembling the bark of tree. It didn't help that the messy gray hair gathered at the top of his head spread out like a leafy treetop.
"That's not nice, Aura." Erza chided, although she couldn't help but internally agree with her daughter's observation.
"She's not really wrong." Lucy sweat dropped.
"What is with this old guy?" Gray commented.
"Is this really the wizard saint?" Alana asked.
Wendy was speechless, her eyes going as wide as her mouth.
The old tree-man stopped laughing and donned a more serious attitude. "I must welcome you all to my home. Now, which two of you are Natsu and Gray?" Just before the group could answer, the old man picked up Carla and Happy. The cats sat in the palm of his wrinkled hands, Happy looking on in confusion while Carla gazed on with exhaustion. "I must say, you two are much more cat-like than I imagined!" He began to laugh again as he placed the exceeds back on the ground. "I'm just joking! What a joke!"
"He sure is energetic for an old guy." Lucy commented as the tree-man continued to flail around in his hysterics.
Erza nodded in agreement. "That he is."
"It seems all that laughing has made me parched." The old man cleared his throat and lifted the watering can he was holding overhead. He began pouring the water into his mouth, laughing all the while. Once again he succeeded in shocking Wendy.
Attempting to take control of the more than odd situation, Erza stepped forward. The redhead cleared her throat, successfully gaining the old man's attention. "Forgive my presumption, but you are the wizard saint Warrod Sequen, correct?"
Once again becoming serious, the old man looked at her with a confident grin. "Indeed. I am Warrod Sequen." His grin slowly turned into a smile. "I'm joking."
"What?!" The Fairy Tail group exclaimed in disbelief.
"…Actually, that was a joke."
The girls nearly fell over. "This guy is wearing me out." Gray sighed.
Warrod straightened his cloak. "Come with me outside. We have much to discuss about the job I requested of you all." He grabbed a book from the shelf next to him and walked past the group, they following his lead outside. Warrod led them to a wooden table near the edge of the hill his house sat atop. Tree stumps were used as the table seating. The humans sat on the stumps, while Happy and Carla sat on the table itself. The breeze continued to blow lightly as the Fairy Tail group watched Warrod place the book on the table, opening it to a dog eared page in the middle. He then looked up and visually scanned the assembled wizards. He cleared his throat before talking. "Is Natsu Dragneel not here?"
"I apologize, Master Warrod, but Natsu was unable to come. He is currently on another job." Erza nearly gritted her teeth in anger as she spoke those words. She was already suspicious of his mission, but now she was getting irritated that he missed an opportunity to meet someone so important. It was a silly thing to get upset about, for all she knew his job was just as important as theirs, but she couldn't help it. It was more about her missing him than anything else.
"I was chosen to take his place, sir." Alana spoke up, raising her hand.
"I see." Warrod nodded solemnly. "And who might you be, young lady?"
"I-I'm Alana Engel. I'm a member of Fairy Tail." She stuttered. She was completely oblivious to her hand still being raised.
Warrod chuckled at the girl's anxiety. "I would assume you are. Otherwise you wouldn't be here. Also, your hand must be quite tired."
"Huh?" She looked up and quickly lowered her raise appendage, an embarrassed blush lightly dusting her cheeks.
"No need to be nervous." Warrod smiled. "I'm sure there is a good reason why you were chosen to take Mr. Dragneel's place."
"I-I hope so."
"Now onto my request." Warrod cleared his throat once more. "Ever since my retirement from guild life I have dedicated my life to returning deserts to the green lands they once were."
Erza's eyes widened in intrigue. "You were a guild member, Master Warrod?"
Warrod chuckled at the question. "I was, and a fine one too!" He then returned to his more leveled demeanor. "I'm determined to stop the spread of deserts with my Green Magic." Warrod held out an open hand to the curious group. A red and pink flower slowly sprouted in his palm. Clearly a demonstration of his form of magic. "I could boast and say that it's philanthropic work, but it is really more of a hobby than anything else." He handed the sprouted flower to Aura. "Here you are, my dear." He smiled.
"Thank you." Aura smiled in return, taking the gift from the wizard saint.
"That's the same magic Shizuka uses." Wendy said aloud without thinking.
Warrod raised an eyebrow to the young girl. "Shizuka? Is she a member of your guild?"
"Not really." Wendy answered, realizing her words were now in the open. "She's sort of like a friend of the guild. She hasn't joined, but she uses the same magic you do…I think."
Warrod stroked his chin contemplatively, apparently he had one after all. His interest was piqued. "Interesting, I would like to meet her someday. It's not every day that I hear of someone that possesses the same magic as I." He began to laugh again but was cut off by Gray.
"I don't want to be rude, but can we get back to the job?"
Warrod refocused. "Of course. Of course. Forgive me. As I said earlier, my wanting to restore deserts to their natural green states is a hobby. As such I've been travelling many deserts over the years, but during of these travels I happened upon a very peculiar village."
"Peculiar?" Alana repeated, titling her head to the right.
"Yes." Warrod placed his hand on the book sitting in front of him. The others looked at the page, seeing a picture of what looked to be a sun shining down on a village of people. There was also a drawing of a giant fire next to the sun. "According to records, it is known as the 'Village of the Sun' or 'Sun Village' for those not living there. Its residents worship an eternally burning flame as their guardian deity." Warrod pointed at the flame in the picture.
"An 'eternally burning flame'?" Erza repeated.
"Natsu would have loved that." Happy commented.
Warrod nodded. "Yes, but now the village has been frozen over."
Gray's ears perked up. Warrod continued his explanation.
"I do not know whether the ice is a natural disaster or if it's man-made, but everything in the village: the people, the animals, plants, even the eternal flame itself; they have all been frozen solid."
Lucy's disbelief was evident on her face. "A frozen flame?!"
"How is that possible?" Wendy asked, sharing the blonde's surprise.
"I do not know what happened to the village, but the frozen people are still alive." Warrod said.
"Their frozen but, still alive?" Happy thought aloud.
"Is such a thing even possible?" Carla pondered to herself. Warrod's face grew even more serious, his eyes narrowed firmly.
"Living beings are frozen in that village. My conscience cannot allow me to simply let them be. I ask you all to save that village. That is my request."
There was a silence that fell over the Fairy Tail wizards. This would be no simple job, and the fact that it was requested by someone as powerful as a wizard saint made it even more dangerous. Nonetheless, they all smiled, their resolve written across their faces.
"We'll do it." Alana accepted.
Wendy nodded with a determined look in her eye. "We have to save those people."
Lucy voiced her agreement. "You're right. Although it'll be pretty hard without Natsu's fire."
Gray turned his attention to Warrod, unlike his friends he was less than onboard with the idea. "If the job is melting ice, then I don't see why I need to be here."
"Quite the contrary…" Warrod argued. "This is no ordinary ice. I'm certain your abilities will be needed as well."
Gray raised an eyebrow in response. He had no idea why his magic would be needed to do the opposite of its intended use, but he nonetheless relented.
"Forgive my impertinence, Master Warrod…" Erza began. "But are you not a powerful wizard in your own right? Why would you need our aid in solving this problem instead of doing it on your own…?"
"I believe you all may have overestimated me some." Warrod smirked. "Though we are given the title of 'Wizard Saint' that doesn't exactly mean that we are all-powerful. We are mostly assigned the position by the Council without much say in the matter. Truth be told there are numerous wizards in Ishgal who surpass my ability, and I am even smaller in terms of power outside of Ishgal. I have very little in the way of offensive magic so I doubt I would be victorious if I were to do battle with a young wizard."
"Perhaps but…" Erza began to protest but she was quickly cut off by Warrod.
"All have their strengths and weaknesses. This is why we have comrades to supplement and make up for those weaknesses, correct? Is that not what a guild is for?" He gave the wizards a small smile as his words began to sink in. Erza and the others looked at each other, smiling warmly as they confirmed Warrod's words with affirmative nods and more smiles.
"You're right." Erza nodded with a pleased grin. "Wise words indeed."
"We'll take the job!" Alana shouted again.
"Yeah." Gray smirked.
"We won't let you down." Lucy declared.
Warrod smiled at the wizard's collective resolve. He could feel the determination and confidence in their words. He knew he had made the right decision by enlisting in their help.
"So where is the village?" Alana asked.
"About 1200 miles to the south." Warrod answered.
"That is quite the distance." Erza said.
"Indeed. I can't accompany you, but I can at least provide you transport there." Warrod stood up from the table, creating a wooden cane with his Green Magic in order to better steady himself. He pointed his cane to an area a small distance left of the table. "Now, just stand over there. Don't forget your luggage."
The others complied, but Erza instead walked to Warrod before joining her comrades. "Excuse me, Master Warrod, but I have a favor to ask."
He turned to her. "Yes, what is it?"
"I hope I'm not overstepping my bounds, but would you please look after my daughter until we return?"
"You have my word." Warrod nodded.
Aura's eyes widened in shock as she looked up at Erza. "But I wanna go with you, Mama."
"Absolutely not." Erza's tone was stern, but also filled with concern for her daughter's safety. "This job will no doubt be a dangerous one. It is no place for a child."
"But Wendy gets to go." Aura pouted in protest as she pointed at the dragon slayer.
"Wendy is a capable wizard and full-fledged member of the guild. She's allowed to go."
"But…"
"No buts. You are staying here and that's final."
Aura's lower lip began to quiver as tears pooled in her eyes. Seeing her daughter's increasingly saddened state, Erza sighed before smiling empathically. She knelt down to her daughter's level, placing her hand on top of Aura's head. "I promise we will return soon. Wait for me, ok?" Aura wiped the tears from her eyes and reluctantly nodded. Erza leaned in, planting a kiss on her daughter's forehead. "Good girl." She stood up and rejoined the rest of her team, who stood where Warrod instructed.
"Don't worry, Aura." Alana cooed. Her lower lip was also quivering, she couldn't stand to see Aura cry.
"We'll be back before you know it." Lucy smiled.
"Right face!" Warrod shouted. He sounded like a drill instructor. The Fairy Tail wizards followed his instruction, with the exception of Happy who faced left either out of stupidity or an attempt to be funny. Warrod looked at the group for a few more seconds before saying: "Just a joke."
"Could you take this seriously?!" Alana, Gray, Lucy, and Wendy shouted. Erza gave an exasperated sigh.
"Sorry. I will transport you now." Warrod closed his eyes, holding his staff into the ground. He began to mumble an incantation that no one could make out clearly, causing the leaves around him to float. A seed pod on the ground began to sprout, growing bigger and bigger until it began to lift Erza and the others off the ground with its leaves.
"What is this?" Alana asked. She and the others were now lying on giant tree leaves, floating higher and higher into the air.
"I will be depending on you, young wizards of Fairy Tail!" Warrod said as he looked up at them from the ground. The tree then darted to the south, its trunk twisting and turning as it literally grew its way to Sun Village, cherry blossoms floating and flying around the wizards. The Fairy Tail wizards looked down around them, the ground becoming nearly unrecognizable from their current height. All of them were amazed by what was happening.
"This is amazing!" Gray exclaimed, looking over the side of the treetop.
"This tree moves like a living creature!"
"We're so high up!"
"Wow!"
"Yay!"
"It's like were on a ride!"
"Careful or you'll fall off." Carla warned.
Erza looked back in the direction of Warrod, a warm smile on her lips as he quickly faded from view. "He may be modest, but he is an excellent wizard. To be able to control nature in this way…it is simply awe inspiring."
Warrod looked at the growing tree with a smile. "It does flow ever onward, doesn't it?" he closed his eyes, his mind wandering back to a simpler time. His time as a young man to be more specific. He thought back to when he was with his friends, of a small girl with long flowing blonde hair, and more importantly he thought back to the formation of a guild named Fairy Tail. His smile grew wider. "It's been 105 years since then, hasn't it?" He looked up to the sky. "Mavis…your desires live on in these young people." Having seen them off, Warrod turned and faced his home. "Well, let's say we head inside." He said to Aura. He looked down, his eyes widening when she was nowhere to be found. He frantically searched high and low for the child. "Aura? Aura?! Aura?!" he called, but received no answer. A creeping suspicion slowly presenting itself in his gut, Warrod turned and looked back the giant tree. "Oh dear." He gulped.
…
The tree stopped an hour or so later, with the Fairy Tail wizards all landing safely on the ground. They appeared to be in the middle of a rocky prairie.
"We here?" Gray asked.
"That didn't last too long." Erza commented.
"That magic was amazing!" Wendy happily exclaimed.
"I agree, we should travel like that more often." Alana said as she stretched her arms over her head.
Carla and Happy walked a small ways ahead of their companions. As they approached a group of rocks, they noticed something rather odd.
"The rocks over here are frozen." Happy informed the others, pointing at said rocks.
Carla put her paws on her hips. "Then the village must be that way."
"Is that so?" Erza said, approaching the cats from behind along with the others. "Then let's go. The sooner we save the villagers, the better."
Walking through the path of frozen rocks and trees the Fairy Tail wizards reached their destination, Sun Village. Just as Warrod said, the entire place was frozen over. From the buildings to the plants.
"Wow, he was right." Lucy said as she looked around the frozen village in awe.
"I wonder what happened." Wendy thought aloud.
Erza searched the visually scanned the village for any signs of life. "According to Master Warrod, the people were frozen as well. But I don't see anyone."
"Maybe they were frozen in their homes or something." Gray suggested. He too looked around for anything resembling a frozen person.
"Yeah, that could be it." Alana agreed.
"Even so, keep searching." Erza instructed.
"You got it." Alana stopped next to the base of a building. She looked up, her eyes widening in surprise. "Umm…guys!" Everyone turned to her, following her shocked expression upwards. Once they saw what she did, they shared in her surprise.
Alana wasn't standing next to the base of a building, she was standing next to a foot; the foot of a very large man!
…
"I'm lost." Aura whimpered as she wandered through the frozen forest outside of Sun Village. Having hitched a ride on the tree Erza and the others rode, Aura ended up a small distance away from where they were currently. She searched for her mother and the others, but to no avail. She was alone, and growing more afraid by the second. "Mama? Happy?" she called out, but received no answer. "Wendy? Uncle Gray? Alana? Aunt Lucy?" Not watching where she was going, she tripped and fell to the ground with a thud. "Oww." She wanted to cry, but she held her tears at bay. She looked down at her scuffed knee, it wasn't bleeding but it still stung. She looked further down, trying to figure out what she tripped over. In her search her eyes fell on something weird, a frozen squirrel. She reached out and touched it, confirming its solid state. "I'm scared. Where's Mama?" She asked herself as she stood up and resumed her search. As she continued making her way to through the forest her ears perked up. She heard voices in the distance.
"Are you sure it's this way?"
"I'm reading the map aren't I?"
"Dun!"
Aura began to slowly smile. She thought it was her mother, having heard her calls. They found me! She ran into the main path of the forest, eager to meet up with them, but when the people she heard came into clearer view she quickly ducked behind a tree.
"I'm not sure that this is the right way."
"Look, if you wanna have the map, then take it!"
"Dun! Dun!"
The three mysterious figures continued to bicker as they passed by Aura, unaware of her presence. She got a closer look at them. Three men. The one in the middle had black hair that spiked out in four directions upwards from his head, he also had a rather large sword attached to his back. The man on the right was about the same height as his companion. He had shoulder length light brown hair. He wore a dark colored jacket, with what looked to be a belt of bullets wrapping across his body like a sash. He was the holding the map. The final man was on the left of the man in the middle. He was big, more bulky than fat, although his head was bigger than his body would suggest. His dark hair was styled in a small pompadour, his beard somewhat cut into squared shapes that framed his face. The thing that caught Aura's eye the most about this man was the weapon attached to his back. It speared to be a giant metal fist on a pole.
Aura watched carefully as the men walked past her. She didn't know anything about them, but she felt that they were dangerous, whoever they were. She peeked around the tree once more, but quickly hid herself again when the spiky haired man turned around.
"What's wrong?" the long haired man asked.
The spike haired man squinted his eyes as he looked back the way they came. "I thought I felt someone watching us."
"You're just being paranoid." The long haired man dismissed. "Come on, we're almost there. That treasure isn't gonna hunt itself."
The spike haired man took one last look before turning around. "Fine. Let's go." The three men resumed their walk, Aura letting go of her mouth when they were further away. She pulled her knees to her chest, holding back her urge to cry. "Mama…where are you?"
…
"That guy is huge!" Happy exclaimed. He looked over, his eyes still wide in disbelief. "There's more?!"
Everywhere the group looked they saw large man after large man. Each one them wore some form of armor or cloth on their body. They also sported large beards, and even larger weapons.
"Are all these guys giants?!" Lucy loudly asked.
Erza was speechless, she looked up at the giants in stunned admiration of their size. She had only heard ancient tales of giants. She had no idea that they actually existed.
Carla sighed. "I bet this is something that wizard saint forgot to tell us." She shook her head, picturing Warrod say something along the lines of: "I think there was something important I forgot to tell them. Just joking."
Gray looked up at one of the giants. The mammoth man's mouth was wide open in what appeared to be some sort of war cry or yell of pain that was muted by the ice encasing him. As Gray focused on the giant's angry expression, his mind couldn't help but wander back to Deliora encased in the Iced Shell on Galuna Island. He gritted his teeth as his memories traced back further, this time to Ur and her sacrifice to seal the demon. He clenched his fist in his anger and regret, but he was soon brought back by Lucy placing her hand on his shoulder.
"Hey." She called. "Are you alright?"
Gray slowly relaxed. "Yea…it's nothing." Realizing that his answer was an unsatisfactory one, Gray decided to come clean. He looked down at his shoes. "It's just…seeing these frozen giants brought back some stuff I'd rather forget…"
He didn't have to finish his explanation before Lucy found out the source of his apprehension. "Deliora?" Gray's silence was her answer. "Sorry." She apologized.
Gray looked ahead. "Don't worry about it. It's my problem, not yours." He walked past her, reconvening up with Erza and the others. Lucy watched his back with a concerned expression before following after him.
"I never expected the 'people' to be giants." Erza walked closer to one of them, placing her armored hand on his massive ankle. "I thought they only existed in fantasy."
"Look, even the dogs are huge." Wendy pointed out as she stood in front of the humungous animal in question.
"I wonder if that's even a dog." Happy commented.
"I hope it's housebroken." Alana added.
"The questions still remains." Carla said. "Just how do we save them?"
"Allow me." Erza proposed. She stepped forward, her body glowing as she requipped into her Flame Empress armor.
"Oh yeah!" Lucy realized. "Even if we don't have Natsu; Erza can still use fire magic!"
"Go, Erza!" Happy cheered.
"Stand back." Erza ordered as she held her sword overhead. Once the others were a safe distance away she slashed downward, a torrent of fire erupting from her blade and enveloping the leg of one of the frozen giants.
"Wow." Alana gasped.
"That's Erza for ya!" Happy shouted.
Once the fire died down, the group was surprised to see that not only was the giant was still frozen, but the ice showed no signs of melting.
"Aw, it didn't work." Happy sulked. Unfazed, Erza readied her sword once more, only this time she pointed it in front of herself.
"You all may want to stand back further. I still have trouble controlling this spell."
Instead of questioning her words the others complied, stepping back even further from their already distant positions. Erza clutched her sword hilt tightly. Fire began to exude outward from her armor, flowing slowly into her sword as she mumbled an incantation to herself. The flames engulfed the blade. The others stared in awe. They could feel the heat from their distance.
"It looks like the flames are forming into something." Wendy noticed.
"What is it?" Lucy asked.
"I'm starting to sweat." Alana commented.
"Erza's been working on this move for the past couple of days." Happy explained.
"She said she can't control it. Looks like she's controlling it just fine to me." Gray said.
"You're only saying that now, but she almost burned the entire forest down the last time she used it."
Everyone else's eyes widened in shock as they looked at the now nervous tomcat.
"It's that powerful?" Carla inquired.
Happy nodded. "She almost burned Natsu too."
"It's that hot?!" the others exclaimed in unison.
The fire fully engulfed Erza, blade and all. As she dashed forward, she and her blade took the form of a bird.
PIERCING PHOENIX: ENA
The instant the point of her blade touched the giant's ankle, the entire creature was engulfed in a giant pillar of flame. The others covered their eyes from the brightness of the flame's light. The heat waves hit them, instantly causing them all to sweat. This heat was only rivaled by Natsu's and they all knew had they stepped an inch closer they would have been ashes. Once the heat died down, they all looked on in shock to see the giant still encased in ice!
"Not even that melted it?!" Lucy shouted.
"I felt like I was going to melt just from the heat." Alana commented as she waved herself with her hand.
"Warrod was right." Carla said. "This is no ordinary ice."
"Then how are supposed to melt it?" Wendy asked.
"You alright, Erza?!" Gray called out.
"I'm fine." The redhead was stood in front of the giant she had just struck. Her breathing was slightly labored, but she was otherwise fine. She requipped back into her Heart Kreuz armor, her flame empress blade also disappearing. The others ran to her side. She gave them a brief glance before looking back at the giant again. "This will be much more difficult than I thought."
Gray walked to the giant and pressed his hand against the ice. His gaze narrowed as he felt the magic flow into his body.
"What is it, Gray? Did you find a way to thaw them out?"
Gray shook his head. "No, but this ice feels weird. I've never felt a magic like this before."
"I assume that means you can't melt it either."
"This is going to be a long job isn't it?" Lucy sighed.
Gray continued to rub his hand on the ice. "This ice does remind me of someone though…"
"Really?" Alana asked, stepping forward. "Who?"
"I can't really say but…"
"Looks like someone beat us here." A voice said from above, alerting the Fairy Tail wizards.
"They must be the one's behind that huge fire we saw earlier." Another voice said.
"Dun!" a third voice shouted.
Erza looked up to the cliff where their surprise guests stood. She saw three men, each with varied hairstyles. "Who is there?"
The long haired man on the right spoke first with a smirk. "We're the treasure hunting guild…"
"Sylph Labyrinth!" the spike haired man in the middle finished.
"Duun!" the large man on the left added.
There was a moment of silence. The men spoke again, in the same order as the first time.
"We're the treasure hunting guild…"
"Sylph Labyrinth!"
"Duun!"
"We heard you the first time." Erza replied.
"A treasure hunter guild?" Wendy questioned.
"My guess is they hunt for jewels and things like that." Lucy assumed.
"Sorry, but the treasure stashed here is ours." The long haired man said. "So you guys better not get in our way."
"Treasure?" Alana asked with a raised eyebrow.
"We don't care about stuff like that." Gray retorted. The three treasure hunters were taken aback by the ice wizard's answer.
"Wait!" the long haired man shouted. "Ain't you guys after that eternal flame thing?!"
The spike haired man shouted his response as well. It seemed that quiet was not these men's fortes. "If not then what's with your heavy wizard presence here?!"
Happy raised his paw, an innocent smile on his face. "We're here to melt the ice and free the villagers."
The three treasure looked at one another after hearing Happy's answer. They looked to be discussing something, but no words were exchanged. Suddenly their faces turned and they looked back at the Fairy Tail wizards with anger.
"Then you do want to get in our way!" the spiked haired and long haired men shouted in unison.
"Duun!" the large man added. Fairy Tail looked up at them with gazes of both confusion, and apathy.
"That flame has been burning in this village for hundreds of years! It's super rare!" the long haired hunter informed Fairy Tail.
"So for treasure hunters like us, it's like a really heavy, S-Class heavy, treasure! But because of those damn giants, we ain't been able get near it." The spike haired man continued.
"Then for who knows what reason, the giants went and duun froze up, right?" surprisingly it was the large man who finished the explanation, having said something other than "duun"…kind of.
"So this is like, the perfect time to get the flame." The long haired man resumed.
"But that flame is the guardian god of the village!" Wendy argued. "It's really important to them!"
"Yeah!" Lucy chimed in.' "You coming here and stealing it makes you know better than common thieves!"
The treasure hunters looked at another once again in one of their silent meetings. Once again they turned to the Fairy Tail wizards in a burst of anger.
"It's a treasure hunter's job to get their hands on treasure!"
"That means if somebody lets their stuff get taken, then it's like, so heavily their own fault!"
"Duun! Duun!"
"Screw this! Let's just hurry and take the treasure before they can get in our way!" the long haired man suggested.
"You're right!" the spike haired man agreed. "Let's go!"
"Duun! Duun!" The Sylph Labyrinth members turned on their heels and began to run back the way they came, but they were stopped by Gray's questioning.
"'Take'? I hate to break it to you guys, but that flame is frozen in a kind of ice that…" he was cut off by the spike haired hunter who turned around with a wry grin on his face. He held up to them a vial containing a small amount of a glowing purple liquid.
"Treasure hunters are heavy with treasure hunting skills." He said. "We got this heavy potion, 'Moon Drip', and it's heavy into melting all sorts of ice!"
"Whaaa!" Gray exclaimed in surprise.
"Moon Drip?!" Lucy exclaimed. "That's the magic that Lyon used on Galuna Island, right?!"
"How did they obtain it in liquid form?" Erza questioned.
"Wait. If we use that we can thaw out the villagers right?" Happy suspected.
"You're right!" Lucy exclaimed.
"Let's get those guys before they can use it!" Gray shouted. He led the charge, the rest of the group following his lead as they chased Sylph Labyrinth through the frozen forest.
…
Natsu had been standing in the same spot for what seemed like days. In reality it was only a few hours. But that didn't rid him of his ever increasing boredom. He stood over a hole, fire flowing out from his hands and into the opening. Gajeel was behind him, lying on his side as he read a comic he had purchased from a shop in town. Jura sat across from Natsu, his eyes closed and his palms pressed together as if he was engaged in prayer. Starting to sweat due to exhaustion, Natsu took off his vest and threw it to the ground, momentarily stopping the constant influx of fire.
"Don't stop." Jura said, not looking up.
"Right, sorry." Natsu apologized. He quickly resumed flowing fire into the hole.
After a lengthy explanation on the formation of diamonds - one that neither dragon slayer found all that interesting - Jura told Natsu how they would go about creating his diamond for the ring. He created a hole in front of Natsu, one so deep that none of the three wizards could see the bottom. He then instructed Gajeel to drop the piece of coal into the hole. When he did, Jura clapped his hands together, saying he had caught the coal between two rock pillars underground. Lastly he instructed Natsu to funnel all of his fire down into the hole. He explained to the pair that he would continue to pound the coal between rock pillars underground, while Natsu heated the reaction with his dragon slayer magic. The resulting heat and pressure would result in their diamond, the only down side is that the process would take a total of two days. One day to create the diamond, and one day for it to cool.
"Remember to keep your fire as hot as it will go." Jura instructed. "Otherwise this process will take much longer than necessary."
"I know. I know." Natsu groaned. The dragon slayer was giving it all he had. He honestly found himself surprised at how tired he had gotten in just a few hours. He speculated that it was due to him using his full power from the onset, wanting to get the deed done as quickly as possible.
Gajeel laughed as he turned a page in his magazine, chomping on a metal pipe he found inside the store he purchased the comic from. Suffice to say the shopkeeper was more than confused by the customer with a pipe sticking out of his mouth during purchase. Natsu looked back at Gajeel in irritation. "You could help you know."
Gajeel looked up from his comic, his annoyed gaze matching Natsu's. "Last time I checked I wasn't a fire dragon slayer. You wanted my help and you got it on the band. Don't whine when things get hard. It's annoying."
"Why you…"
"Focus." Jura's tone startled Natsu. "Your fire is cooling down."
"Sorry. Sorry." Natsu apologized. He turned his attention back to the hole. This was going to be a long two days. Natsu looked up at the clear blue sky. I wonder what Erza is doing.
…
Erza chose not to follow her comrades, instead using her energy to find an alternate way to unfreeze the ice. She strolled through the village, her hand on her chin as ideas and theories began to run a marathon through her head. "Something's odd about this." She looked at the giants, observing them closer then she had previously. "All of them are facing the same way. Their weapons drawn for battle. What could have happened right before the village was frozen to cause this? And can such a small amount of Moon Drip unfreeze all of this?" As she thought harder on the subject, realization hit her like a slash from sharpened blade. She quickly looked up at another one of the giants, her eyes widening. "Giants…Weapons…Ice…Were thy fighting something? Or to be more precise, protecting something? Were they protecting the village? No, it had to be something precious something to them. Something worth dying over." A wave of realization crashed into Erza again. It all made sense. "The eternal flame!" She looked in the opposite direction the giants were facing. "If they worshipped the flame like a god, then they must have been frozen while protecting it from some outside enemy." She began walking opposite the giants and out of the village. "That means…" she broke into a run, the pieces continuing to fall into place. "The flame must be in the opposite direction of where they are facing." She ran as fast as she could. Each step was crucial. The longer she took, the harder it would be to save the village.
Exiting another frozen forest, Erza saw something in the distance. "A mountain!" It was guarded by two giants with large spears, but just like their fellows, they were frozen solid. Erza ran past the frozen guards and began to ascend the mountain, using her flight armor to shorten the trip. "The flame must be at its peak!" she deduced. When she reached the peak she found nothing, just more ice. She looked over the mountain top, sighing in defeat as she returned to her Heart Kreuz armor. "I thought returning the eternal flame would help the village return to normal but…" she sighed. "Although even if I did find the flame, I would have no way to return it to its normal state. I didn't think this course of action through clearly enough. Was my armor always this heavy? I must be tired from using that spell earlier. I knew should have trained more. But never mind that for now. I should have known that the village's treasure wouldn't be found so easily. In any case I should…"
"Hi! Are you lost too?"
Erza's ears perked up at the sound. She recognized that soft, innocent voice. No it can't be…there's just no way. I must be hearing things.
"Hey!"
Erza looked ahead, seeing a small figure walk closer to her. Her eyes widened in surprise when the person - or child - was in full view. It was Aura. The girl walked up to her mother, a wide smile on her face. Erza was less than pleased.
"Hi, I'm…"
"Aura?!" Erza shouted, startling the child.
Aura shirked back. "How do you know my name?"
"What are you doing here?! I told you to stay with Master Warrod! This is no place for a child!"
Aura recoiled more, confusing Erza. She's scared. Was I too harsh? No, I wasn't. I told her to do something and she disobeyed, endangering herself and possibly everyone else. As her mother I have every right to be angry. What if something happened to her? Natsu would never forgive me. I would never forgive myself. Erza's frantic thoughts were soon pushed back when she noticed something else odd about her daughter. Aura was not only looking at her with fear, but also confusion. Why is she looking at me that way? It's like she doesn't recognize me. Wait, did she get taller? Confirming her suspicions, Aura spoke.
"You're weird and you can't tell me what to do. You're a kid too!"
Erza's eyes widened. "What are you talking about? I'm not…" Erza walked forward, but Aura stepped back. "Aura where are you going? Come back here right now!"
"Go away!" Aura shouted. "You're scaring me! Help me, Mama!"
"What? Aura it's me! I'm…" Erza stopped cold when she walked in front of a standing piece of ice. She place her hands on it, her eyes widening as she took a closer look at her reflection. Pieces of her gauntlets fell from her arms as she pressed her hands harder against the reflective ice. Her skirt was now at her feet, her shirt was now a dress, and her feet slid in her boots; which felt two times bigger. The rest of her armor was in pieces on the ground around her. She was much shorter, about the size of Aura. Maybe an inch or so taller. She touched her face, still unable to believe what she was seeing before she spoke. "What…what is this?" Her voice was higher in pitch. "I've turned into a child…?"
…
New chapter up. I've been on a bit of a roll lately, in edition to this chapter I have the 3 done in the span of about 3 days (and I'm currently working on the fourth one). I don't know what happened, I guess I've just been feeling it lately. Anyways, please leave a review if you feel so inclined.
Author's Note: I know that there is most likely much more to diamond making than I wrote in the story, but I just wanted to make the process as broad as possible and with magic there is plenty of time for improvisation. Also as for Erza's new technique (one of many i might add): "Ena" is Greek for One (according to Google) so there's some tidbit of info for later.
As always, thanks for reading! :)