A/N: Chapter 38 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 and the people who favorite and alert this story, I truly appreciate it.
Chapter 38: 8 paths
Out on the ocean...
The 8 competitors and their partners boarded the ship at Hargeon Port at dawn and set sail to Tenrou Island. Before they left the rest of the guild members who didn't get picked cheered them all, gave them warm wishes and the best of luck. Everyone was excited and pumped for the challenge except for one thing...the weather.
"It's hot... I think I'm gonna melt!" Lucy groaned as she leaned back on her chair clad in a bikini, sweat glistening on her body. "I'm gonna turn into ice cream and Happy's gonna eat me."
"That sounds disgusting." The blue Exceed replied as he lay sprawled next to her, sweat dripping from his fur.
"You look really slovenly like that, Lu-chan." Levy commented as Cana busily fanned herself.
"Convection keeps the weather like this all year round." The brunette stated though she was getting irritated that the fan wasn't do its job properly. Wendy looked deflated at their table as she soaked up the sun.
"Aren't you hot in that, Juvia?" Lisanna asked when she saw that her partner didn't really change her attire. Gajeel was busy catching some sleep at a table while Fried and Bixlow chatted amongst themselves.
"No. But... if I had to say," A blush slightly crept up to her face as her eyes turned into heart-shaped. "Gray-sama's naked body looks hot!"
"Hawwwt..." The ice-mage groaned as he stripped completely and luckily had a cup set on the table to cover up his junk before he scarred some young eyes.
"I feel baaaad..." Natsu stumbled to the edge of the railing. "Wendy won't cast Troia..." He grimaced, leaned over and hurled. Lexi felt bad for him but since Wendy was her partner she got the Troia treatment and proceeded to drink a nice cup of juice.
"You know, I just can't get used to knowing that we're all going to become enemies after this." Evergreen said, not wearing a top but used her fan to cover her assets.
"Hooot!" Elfman wheezed as he sat next to her.
"Ah. I can see it!" Lucy exclaimed, all thoughts about the extreme weather leaving her mind as she scrambled to get a good view. The rest of the competitors leaned over the railing to see the island coming into view. It looked a normal island with jutting rock formations and a giant tree with gnarled roots twisting upward into the sky.
"That tree you see there is called the Tenrou Tree. It's said that Fairies used to live on this island." Makarov appeared in a nice looking Fairy Tail shirt and shorts. "And Fairy Tail's first master Mavis Vermilion sleeps here."
"What's with that outfit!?" Gray exclaimed with annoyance.
"But it's hot." The master grabbed a fan to prove his point.
"Is that what a naked person should say?" Lucy sweat-dropped.
"I will now announce the details of the first exam. You see smoke rising up from that beach, right?" He pointed and everyone saw a small plume of smoke rising up into the sky. "First head there. There are 8 paths, only one group can enter each path...and here's what waits for you behind each path. Only the teams that get through this will clear the first exam!" A map materialized behind him detailing the routes. There were three hard battles, two tiny battles and one quiet path.
"In the 'Battle ' routes, two teams will meet up, and only the winning team will be able to proceed. In the 'Hard' battles are very difficult routes where you will have to defeat an S-rank mage in order to proceed. 'Quiet' is the route where you can proceed through the exam without having to fight anyone. Your goals in this first exam are 'Power' and 'Luck!'"
Luck?! Everyone gasped as they knew that their changes of picking the right route was definitely luck. And if any one of them were to meet in battle they would hope that they wouldn't face Erza, Mira or Gildarts.
"Now let's begiiin!" Makarov shouted with excitement. "Exam start!" Nobody moved a single muscle or bat an eyelash. It was like hearing crickets chirping at night.
"Huh?" Gray replied smartly.
"Aren't we...still in the ocean?" Loki questioned but Makarov only smiled knowingly.
"Wendy! Let's go, we'll pick our path first!" Lexi figured it out and squatted down so that her partner could climb on, jumping swiftly over board before anyone could make a move. As the water rushed to meet them Lexi willed the ocean floor to rise like stone pillars and used them as stepping stones. However once they've been stepped one they disappeared down into the water leaving no path behind for anyone to follow.
"Lexi! Dammit! Come back here! Happy us too!" Natsu ordered and they took to the air before running into a barrier.
"A rune?!" Cana exclaimed as magic appeared around the ship.
"Relax! It's set to dissipate in five minutes." Fried shouted as he and Bixlow rushed off towards the island after the two Dragon Slayers.
"Fried you bastard!" The others shouted after him. Natsu angrily punched the Rune wall with flame fist but it didn't break.
"Oh we have Levy!" Lucy smiled as the blue-haired girl stepped forward to inspect the magic.
"Yeah I can rewrite it!" Levy whipped out her trusted quill and moved some of the characters around and the barrier lifted for a little bit. "But only for me and Gajeel!" She jumped into the water with the Iron Dragon slayer in tow. "Sorry Lu-chan!"
"Fufu...I've known Fried for a long time, you see." Evergreen used her own weapon to rework the ruin. "I can rewrite a Rune of this caliber. Let's go Elfman!" She hollered over her shoulder as she fell overboard.
"MAAAAAAAAN!" Elfman shouted as he jumped after her and the two of them disappeared into the water as well leaving Gray, Loki, Cana, Lucy, Juvia, Lisanna, Natsu and Happy back on the ship. After 5 minutes the Rune disappeared just as Fried said and the rest of them hurried off to claim a path. When Natsu and Happy arrived, routes D, A, B, and F were sealed off. As they stood on the beach mesmerized by their surrounding, they felt incredible power running through the entire island as if the entire place was alive.
"Which should we pick, Natsu?" Happy asked after a few minutes of silence.
"Umm..." He looked at his options before pointing at his choice. "'E!' That must be E for Erza!"
"Why would you pick Erza!?" Happy howled in panic gripping his fur in terror.
"Cuz I wanna beat her, of course! Wait for me, Erzaaaa!" He dashed off with Happy reluctantly right behind him. Immediately the route closed up and an X appeared over head. After they left the others came up and soon 7 routes were closed.
"Seven closed off. So we really were last." Cana mumbled as she walked around, water still dripping from her hair
"It's alright!" Lucy smiled as she knocked some water out of her ears. "They say luck comes to those left over!" Feeling a bit better, the two of them entered the C route. Walking around a bit the cavern lights turned on and a huge banner stating 'Battle' dropped down from the top. Their opponents, Fried and Bixlow, calmly stepped out from behind some stalagmites to greet them.
"I knew it!" Bixlow crowed with his tongue out as usual. "Cana and the Cosplayer!"
"It's Lucy!" Lucy corrected even though getting her 'opponent' to get her name right was irrelevant at the moment.
"So I guess this means we gotta fight you." Fried.
"What did you say about those left over, Lucy?" Cana whispered as they stared in panic at the two men.
D route...
Since they arrived way before everyone else, Lexi and Wendy decided to pick D route just on a whim. Of course the moment the path closed up they felt the air shift and the hairs on the back of their necks stood at attention. Each nerve in their bodies were screaming with warning the closer they got to the end of the tunnel.
"This is?" Lexi breathed as they looked around in amazement. The tunnel led them to a hidden room and the spacious surrounding was large enough for a battle. There was a draft flowing through the space so that the combatants don't feel suffocated. "This is amazing, I've seen anything like this."
"Neither have I...huh?" Wendy lifted a hand to her ear and listened for a minute."There's footsteps coming this way. Someone's here." The two of them looked at the other side of the room as the person stepped forward from the shadows. Their mouths formed an 'o' shape as Erza stopped in front of them, her arms folded across her chest.
"Well isn't this a lucky day for me." She stopped walking and looked at them both with a smirk on her face."No hard feelings but I 'm afraid that I don't know the meaning of 'holding back'." A strange light surrounded her body and she appeared in her strongest armor; a dangerous glint in her eyes made her look formidable. "Come. Show me the true power of a Dragon Slayer."
"...This is perfect." Lexi clenched her hand into a fist, her body was shaking with anticipation. "I've always wanted to test my strength against you Erza, this is indeed our lucky day." The ground around her rumbled as power started to build within her body, her sapphire eyes focus intensely on Titania as her mind kicked into over-drive. Wendy also prepared herself, utilizing the air to swirl around her like a cyclone, her dragon senses sharpened to the highest level. Erza stood there with her eyes narrowed as she felt the air pressure shift dramatically. She gripped her weapon tight in response and spoke with a confident voice.
"Bring it on."