Heya!

Well, it took longer than I would have liked but life kept getting in the way and...well, you know, college's important.

Bottom line is, it's finished. Here's chapter 50, I hope you like it!


Levy glanced at the request board and sighed, remembering what happened a few hours ago...

'So you basically left Levy to pick up the slack, huh?' Elfman questioned, referring to Team Shadow Gear's last job.

'It wasn't like that!' Droy protested.

He raised an eye 'Yeah, right! I just heard how you got yourselves captured because you rushed into things. Levy not only bailed you out but she wound up beating the enemies too. Weren't you the ones messing around with me because of the trouble on my job last week? At least I did what I had to!'

''Yeah, and destroyed three buildings in the process. We just made an honest mistake anyway,'' Jet huffed.

''Funny, that's what I said before.'' Elfman grunted, clearly still resentful of the treatment. The two glared at each other. Droy was about to speak when Freed intervened.

''All right, that's enough. There's no point to this. We all learn from our mistakes. Why don't you all agree to just do better next time?''

The three obliged the request and went their ways, leaving Freed to shake his head in exasperation as he heard Jet grumbling.

A few hours after that, Levy had seen her teammates preparing to leave with a job request in hand. It didn't take her long to find out that they had planned to go on their own. They denied this having to do anything with what Elfman said (though Levy wasn't convinced) and insisted that this was something they had to do. Seeing that they were dead set on this, Levy conceded and saw them off.

Frankly, she didn't think taking a job for those reasons was a good thing but it wasn't like she could stop them.

She sighed, deciding to take a glance at the request board again. It was then that a particular job caught her eye.

She picked the request out ''...This might work...''


''Heeh, so Elena-san's going to use that flower as inspiration for a new outfit? That sounds nice.'' Mira remarked as she handed drinks to Juvia and Lucy.

''Isn't it just? Juvia can't wait to see what she comes up with!'' The water mage said enthusiastically.

Lucy tilted her head a bit ''So what kind of outfit did you have in mind?''

''Well...nothing in particular.'' Juvia admitted. ''Juvia wants to keep her options open anyway. This would depend on Elena-san's idea too.''

''True, Elena-san has great taste anyway so safe to say, you're in good hands.''

''Exactly!'' Juvia finished her drink and went to the second floor.

''Lu-chan!'' Levy came to the bar.

Lucy turned back ''Oh hey, Levy-chan, what's up?''

''I was thinking...you want to go on a job together?''


''Exploring ruins?''

''Yup.'' Levy confirmed, sitting with some of the members of Team Natsu around her and Makarov nearby. ''To be more accurate, it's a guard job for an explorer who found ruins a couple of days ago. That's why I thought it would be good to get more people to go. Ruins can be unpredictable and there's no sense not to prepare when possible.''

''That's true...'' Erza agreed. ''...so what do Jet and Droy think?''

This made the solid script mage sigh ''I actually planned to get them and some more people to help but then I found out they took a job and went off on their own.''

''Is this about that fight they got into with Elfman?'' Gray clarified, having witnessed the event too. ''Because that kind of thinking will only get them in trouble.''

''You're preaching to the choir, Gray. I tried to calm them down but they just insisted that this was something they had to do.''

Carla rolled her eyes ''Men...still, it might be a good thing. Let them get it out of their system. Anyway did you have someone in mind, Levy?''

''Three to be honest, Lu-chan, Hope and Wendy.''

The three exchanged looks before turning to her. The first checked with her friends before responding ''That sounds good, we're ready.''

''Thanks! What do you think, Master?'' Levy inquired.

''You've got the right idea,'' Makarov answered. ''I've heard about that place too. It's apparently quite big and the reward is fitting so I'd suggest taking the whole team. Supposedly, the last team that tried couldn't get far and they had only five members.''

''Huh...when you put it like that...''

''Oi, oi, are you sure?'' Gray asked the man. ''Not that I mind helping but you know taking us all involves Natsu and that idiot would just wreck things.''

''I'd say it's more of the pot calling the kettle black.'' Lucy said flatly, ignoring his protest. ''Besides, we can't leave him out of this...and to be fair, we've had a pretty good run with damage control.''

''Yeah, but we all know the main reason...'' Happy stated as he, Lucy and Makarov glanced at Hope.

''I don't know about that...Still, if there's any trouble, I'll help. Don't forget this is all down to Levy's decision though.''

''Oh yeah, sorry...'' Happy turned to the girl.

''It's all right. I was looking for Master's advice anyway so that it all pans out. Let's get to work, guys!'' She smiled.

''All right!''

''Aye Sir!''


''Finally!'' Natsu exclaimed. ''Solid land!''

The group had taken a ship to bring them closer to their destination. They were asked to help a historian who had come across ruins that lay beyond the group had just arrived at. The man had been having trouble due to some traps and barriers he'd encountered in the midst of his exploration, thus he asked for a team to help him continue.

''You okay?'' Hope looked at Natsu.

Gray shook his head, speaking before he could answer ''Ignore that, Hope. He's just being dramatic.''

''Oh can it, Snow Fairy!''

''I told you to stop using that name, lizard breath!''

''Who the hell are you calling...?''

''I thought I told you two idiots to stop fighting.'' The two froze at Erza's voice, seeing her glare at them.

''W-we're not fighting!''

''Yeah, why would we?''

Levy sighed, while Happy rolled his eyes. Endymion shared their exasperation 'We can always count on those two to be consistent.'

''You got that right.'' The two agreed.


''Say, Levy-chan?''

The girl looked at Lucy, who seemed curious ''I've been wondering but don't people who go through this kind of job take some team to help their expedition? Everything you said about the guy makes it seem like he works alone.''

Happy blinked ''Now that you mention it...''

''I think he does actually. I'm not sure why.'' Levy admitted with a shrug of her shoulders.

''His name was Casey Alviss, right?'' Lucy received a nod. ''The name sounds a little familliar but I'm not sure why...''

'You might have seen it on a book.' Endymion guessed. 'I just remembered...that book Freed gave Hope to help with the pendant, its writer was Bruno Alviss.'

Hope's eyes widened a bit as he recalled that ''You're right...''

''I wouldn't be surprised. The Alviss family is actually distantly related to the Sherwinds.'' Levy stated.

Wendy looked curious ''Then our client might be Hope-san's relative...''

''This might be a chance, Hope. Maybe he knows something that can help you.'' Carla remarked. The boy looked thoughtful at the implied suggestion.

''It's worth a shot.'' Natsu agreed.

Hope considered it, wondering if Kyle really knew anything that could help him learn about his past.

Well, no time like the present, he'd just have to find out.


Their path lead into a small clearing just before a cliff. It was a little hard to see the ruins at first because they were colored a brown that made them look similar to the rocks. There was a more distinct bronze to them if one knew where to look.

The building was quite big, almost reaching the top of the cliff. There was a set of stairs that lead a gateway held firm by four pillars. There was a camp site not too far away from the cliff, a table and a chair were near a tree. As the group came closer, they could hear some noise from the tent.

Moments later, a man with dark hair and green eyes in an off-white, red black and green tunic with black boots came out. He seemed rather annoyed for some reason but his expression turned into one of surprise when he saw the new arrivals.

''?'' He blinked. ''Oh, you must be the help I requested.''

''Right, we're from Fairy tail.'' Erza took care of the introductions.

The man nodded ''I'm Casey Alviss. I'll be counting on your help now.''

''Of course.'' Erza returned just as courteously.

Natsu glanced at the ruins before looking back at Casey, remembering what Lucy mentioned before. ''So you were really going to explore the place on your own? It looks huge!''

''The help I should have had dropped out. That's nothing for someone like me. Just wait, with a little time, I'll uncover all the secrets hidden here in no time!''

Gray raised an eye at the boast before leaning over to whisper to Lucy ''If it was that easy, why'd he send the request?''

The blonde shrugged back, her expression showing that she was thinking the same way.

Levy seemed curious ''All right then, just point us in the right direction and we'll get to work.''

Casey had an excited gleam in his eye ''Music to my ears! Let's go then.''


He led them past the gate through a long hall way and into a big room. Before anyone could register their surroundings, an arrow came out of no where, almost nailing Natsu, who was quick to get out of the way.

''What was that?''

''Ah, right...'' Casey started. ''...some of the traps here reset once you leave the area.''

''Then say that from the beginning!'' Lucy chided.

''Really, that's not the sort of detail to leave out.'' Carla added, looking unimpressed with their client.

''Sorry, I forgot...''

The archaelogist proceeded to clear his throat before going on ''...anyway, there's nothing to worry about! I know my way around here and I'm sure I can work through any trouble.''

''Well, he's not short on confidence for sure...'' Gray said wryly.

Casey stopped moments later, suddenly blanching for a moment. The ice mage raised an eye ''What's wrong?''

''I...ah, may have damaged the route I planned to use before a little...'' He admitted, glancing at the hallway to his right. Half of it was blocked by some rocks.

''...How is that a little?''

Casey stiffened for a moment ''It's just fine! Come on!''

Huffing, the man went to a tunnel on the opposite side, making them hurry to catch up. In his haste, Casey forgot to be careful and nearly paid for that when he went over a certain tile. It lit up and a pair of what appeared to be two pairs of orbs on platforms. Before anyone could question this, a set of runes on the platforms lit up. Almost as if in response, the orbs let out a number of magic spheres that zoomed towards the group.

Levy whipped out her pen ''Solid Script: Shield!''

That served to end the trouble, but then a second round of spheres appeared. Hope reduced them to nothing with Zero Ray. Wendy decided to see if knocking the orbs off the platforms would help, so she whipped out a gust of air that sent them tumbling. Lucy smiled as she noted that the orbs stopped glowing then.

''Nice, Wendy!''

The girl let out a breath, seeming relieved ''I thought those runes had something to do with this. Is that the end of the trap?''

''Let's find out!'' Natsu bounded over and picked one up. ''Yeah, I think that's it.''

''That's good,'' Happy said as he and the rest joined him.

''Yeah, good job.'' Casey thought that he found a good team here. ''Let's keep going.''


They had little trouble after that, thanks in part to Casey knowing enough about the area to guide them through a number of the rooms safely. Just when things appeared to be sailing smoothly, Casey's troubled look showed that something was off.

''Is something wrong?'' Erza inquired.

''Well...'' He faltered. ''...I'm...not really sure where to go. That path from before was the best one for sure. I saw more but they mostly lead to dead ends.''

''But that means we're lost!'' Happy pointed out.

''We're not lost! We just...have to change things a little. I'd take a couple of minutes to think things over and sort it all out but we're not lost!'' Casey insisted. ''This just means we need a change of plans.''

Natsu raised an eye and looked at the others, clearly lost. Gray might mocked his intelligence if this was a different situation, but he could see why his rival was confused. He was half-convinced that Casey was just rambling at this point because that really did sound weird.

''That's just a long winded way of saying we're lost.'' He clarified.

''Oh...'' Then why not say that from the beginning?


''See? It all worked out!'' Casey said smugly.

Lucy's eye twitched ''You were singing a different tune when that boulder almost crushed us!'' She gestured at one of the corridors, which was now blocked by pieces from a boulder which Natsu and Erza had struck. While it was true that Casey's experience helped, she thought the man was taking this attitude too far.

''Well, it didn't and things are looking up.'' He went on. ''Don't underestimate the expertise of aetherians. We know our archaeology, and I'm from one of Aetheria's nobles families. I can work this out.''

Levy sighed, she was beginning to wonder if this was why Casey didn't have a team for long. It was easy for her to imagine them leaving due to the man's pride. Said pride was already grating on some of her friends' nerves. Couldn't he see that this would only get in the job's way?

''Anyway, I'm guessing this is the place you mentioned before. The one with the barrier you couldn't break?'' She prompted, taking a look around the large hall.

''Yeah...'' Casey started, he made to tap the area beside him. While it appeared to be just air, there was no denying that his fist had hit something solid. ''...see? I figure it needs some sort of trick but plenty of my attempts set up a trap. Don't worry, I deactivated most of them. I just can't do anything about the ones that reset themselves.''

''In other words, watch our step.'' Erza concluded. ''Still, there maybe something around this place that could help. Why don't we try looking around?''

''Why not? Let's go for it.''

With that said, they broke off to search. Casey already knew most of this area, but he figured that he might have easily missed something since he had been working on his own before. As they say, two heads were better than one and now he had a whole team helping. He made sure to point out the spots he knew to avoid from previous experience to the others so as to avoid traps.

''I've been wondering, how come he didn't just destroy those with Zero Ray? That would work, right?'' Happy inquired as he walked beside Natsu and Carla.

''I doubt it,'' Erza replied as she passed them. ''I remember Hope saying that the best way to deal with that spell is with Memoria magic. There must be some way to set this place up for that. These ruins are vibrant with magic. It wasn't so obvious before, but the deeper we go, the more magic I sense.''

''You don't say...'' Carla tilted her head. ''...I wonder what this place was supposed to be.''

Natsu groaned after a few minutes ''Aw, man, there's nothing here!''

Gray rolled his eyes ''Ease up, we've only just gotten started.''

'Remember, if this was so easy, we wouldn't be here.' Endymion pointed out.

''I know, I know...''


Levy took in the sights of the old inscriptions on the walls, some of which she recognized as the ancient aetherian language. She stopped just before going down the stairs, noticing a strange mark. It depicted what seemed to be a sun and a moon intersecting with each other with a diamond around them. For some reason, she had the sinking suspicion that she had seen it before.

''So there really was nothing here then?'' Casey wondered with a frown.

Lucy found the same mark that grabbed Levy's attention ''Hey Casey, you know what that is?'' She pointed at the tile that had the mark in front of her. ''It's just that I keep seeing a lot of that mark around, even in some of the others rooms.''

''No surprise there. That's the Corona Crest.'' He answered. ''No one's sure about its origin but its said to be a mark of protection. It's been called a blessing, the over all impression is that it's supposed to be a symbol of Aetheria's guardian deity. I hear they've been sighted in some other ruins too, maybe our ancestors wanted to show respect to the guardian.''

''I swear I've seen that before...'' Levy muttered, barely realizing she was thinking out loud.

'I was thinking the same thing.' Endymion admitted, his tone showing that he was just as confused. 'But where?'

''Well, it stands to reason that you'd both recognize a historical mark like this,'' Carla remarked, thinking that they were both knowleadgable in their own way.

''Hmm...''

Hope noticed a tablet in the space between the stairs and the floor and went to pick it up. He turned around to ask Casey about it, only to be distracted by the sight of the Corona Crest in the item's upper part. That mark left him feeling strange, he wasn't sure why.

As he examined the tablet, he found that crest seemed rather familiar. But he didn't see this before...right?

Just then, a glowing mark appeared on his left hand and the tablet lit up as if in response. It floated out of the teen's hands and let out a magical pulse that radiated around the room before landing on the ground. A magic wall appeared around the parts Casey had indicated earlier before fading away.

The rest were left bewildered. ''Wait, what just happened?'' Natsu blinked twice.

''I don't know. Hope, what was that?'' Erza questioned.

''I-I'm not sure...I just held that tablet and...'' He stopped, noticing the glowing mark on his hand.

There was no denying it, that was the Corona Crest!

Happy picked up on that ''Hey, isn't that the crest?''

Casey eyed it closely ''Yeah, there's no doubt. Maybe that tablet affect Hope somehow...''

''I don't think it's that simple.'' Levy interjected. ''Hope had that thing before.'' The boy looked at her, clearly surprised. ''It disappeared before we really got a look at it so we probably forgot until now but that's where I saw it. It was just glowing just like this too.''

'Right,' Endymion recalled that day too. It was the time they met Ronan and found the fourth shard. There was so much going back then that he hadn't given it much thought. 'I can tell it's connected to your magic. It's safe to say you might have had this before.'

'Before? Maybe, but...' Hope couldn't find any reason to argue, because he found it familiar almost at once. Still... '...wouldn't we have known though?'

'Hmm...' The phoenix thought that over. '...maybe it's been...' He paused, noticing Hope's expression. '...what is it?'

'I...it's just strange...it seems so familiar but this is the first I've seen it...'

'Well, its magic seems very similar to yours. I can tell it's connected to your power. It's as if your magic is starting to react to it.' Endymion remarked. 'From the looks of the situation, I think it's been made dormant years ago.'

That made sense, he had to admit. 'I wonder why...'

He was snapped out of his thoughts when Wendy called out to him. Knowing that he was talking to Endymion, Wendy brought him up to speed on the group's talk ''Casey-san was wondering if you'd ever happened to see this before.''

''No...is what I might have said before this, but I'm not sure...'' Hope glanced at the crest. ''...it feels like I should know it somehow. Like...like I found something I've been missing for a long time.''

''But that makes no sense, I've never heard of anything like this.'' Casey stated. ''You really can't remember how you came to get this?''

Hope shook his head and explained about his amnesia, making the man frown in confusion. ''Anyway...shouldn't we be going now? The path's open.''

''True,'' Casey shrugged his thoughts off. ''Let's keep moving!''


''So you said someone having that crest is unheard of?'' Gray clarified.

''Kind of, I mean, I've done plenty of studying Aetheria's history but I never found anything about anybody having the Corona crest.'' Casey admitted. ''First time for everything as they say...now I'm thinking maybe it did happen before''

Lucy glanced at the subject of their conversation, which was still glowing on Hope's hand ''I'm more amazed that this somehow opened the path, it makes me wonder if this place was made by aetherians.''

''They weren't very clear but the people who discovered those ruins were almost sure of it.'' Casey remarked. ''One of them told me he sensed a lot of magic after some effort and that brought him to the entrance.''

''Hope-san, are you okay?'' Wendy inquired upon noticing the boy's pensive look. ''Does that feel weird or anything?''

''A little...but it's just fine.'' He stated. ''It's...nice, actually.''

''I knew I should have looked more around the archives...'' Casey sighed. ''...I bet that would've helped.''

''You don't know that for sure.'' Happy pointed out.

''I told you, don't underestimate the expertise of aetherians.'' The man said stubbornly. ''My very own Alviss family is known to have documents from many years ago and with their power, it could be easy to find out. I imagine quite a few of our ancestors worked on this place, my family must have made quite the contribution. Many aetherian nobles are known for their achievements and my family ranks highly there.''

The blue exceed wasn't sure about the last part but he had to admit that the rest of his words were plausible. Remembering something Victor said before, he spoke ''I wonder if that means a Sherwind was here...''

''Hm? That's possible, but why'd you specify them?''

''That just came to my mind, probably because Hope's a Sherwind and...''

''Wait, what?'' Casey cut him off, turning to the boy in question. ''You said your last name was Dreyar!''

''It is, I was adopted a few years ago.'' He explained. ''I didn't...really think about that name for some time.''

''That's not something you dismiss so easily! Don't you know anything about them? The Sherwinds are a powerful family and...''

''Hope has his reasons.'' Erza interrupted, looking unimpressed with the man's rant. ''Those reasons though have nothing to do with this job and by extension, you.''

''Ah...'' Casey relented, cowed as he knew she had a point.

''So there's no chance you ever met Hope before?'' Gray tried.

He thought about it ''No...and since he doesn't know his parents' identity...hold on, how'd you wind up in Fiore in the first place?''

''I was abandoned,'' he replied. ''There's not much I can tell you about that though.''

''Right...'' Casey trailed off, well that explained why the mood became awkward before. ''...no wonder you weren't using the name then...''

''Maybe...there wasn't any specific reason to do so actually.''

''Well, what about now?'' Casey noted Gray giving him an irritated look. ''Hear me out, I just thought maybe he'd like to at least consider it. Leaving his parents aside, he can be proud of his heritage. I mean what they did wasn't his ancestors' fault, right? There's only few Sherwinds left but the name's still important.''

Lucy didn't quite like it but she knew Casey meant well ''Yeah, besides you're the Altair's descendant, Hope. Wouldn't that just go to show he might be on to something?''

Casey's eyes widened and he settled for giving the boy a questioning look ''Erm, that's what we've heard.'' Hope offered.

''You're turning out to be a real mystery. Well, just keep that in mind, all right?'' Seeing the younger aetherian nod with a thoughtful expression, Casey decided to leave the matter at that.


Trouble started after they found the next large room on this floor. A second after they were all in, arcs of electricity surged at them. Gray and Levy were quick to erect shields that negated any possible damage, but the attack still went on and on. The rest started looking for the source but it was hard to see much of anything with the seemingly endless assault.

Well, hard for most that is.

Gray noticed Hope loading a green bullet ''You got something?''

He nodded, relieved that he and Endymion were able to pinpoint the exact location for what he was about to do. Once Levy and Gray canceled their spells, he froze the electric blasts before aiming his pistol at the corridor right before them and firing in its direction. The bullet glowed once it hit the wall, creating a shimmering green sphere on the spot.

''That's supposed to negate magic but I doubt it'll last with the ruins' power, we should get going.'' Hope told the rest.

Carla glanced back once they were a couple of steps away from the source of the trap, finding that the sphere had vanished. ''Good thing it held well enough. We're finding quite the set ups here.''

''You said it...whoever made this place sure went all out to keep people away.'' Happy remarked.

The next path they happened upon appeared to lead to split into two corridors. Lucy glanced from one to the other pensively, trying to see if there was any difference but there didn't seem to be any ''So...which way do we go? I think it's safe to say we're going to find trouble in both.''

''Going by what we've seen so far, I'd say you're right.'' Erza agreed.

''Then that doesn't matter, right? We can handle it.'' Natsu remarked.

''Well then, let's go this way!'' Casey said, looking at the right corridor. At the curious looks, this elicited, he added. ''It's an archaelogist's intuition, things will work out, come on.''

''...If that's what he's been going by for the first floor, brace yourselves.'' Gray told the others. His tone made it clear that he thought they were going to find trouble very soon.

Erza looked like she was about to scold him but then changed her mind in favor of following Casey.

Later, she would come to think that this was definitely the right call.

Why? Well, it turns out that Gray was right to doubt their client's intutition. Casey stood a few feet away, faced by what looked like a snake made of rocks. He tried to freeze it but recoiled as the snake seemed completely unfazed by the magic. Erza struck before it could move again, successfully diverting its attention. The snake reared up and flew at her, forcing the knight mage to try and dodge, managing to divert the worst of the damage. Seeing that her sword was not very effective, Erza re-equipped a hammer and swung it. The snake backed off to dodge before charging again. Erza waited until it was close enough before swinging the hammer again, this time sending it flying into a wall. Another strike took care of the snake's head, making the construct fall apart.

''H-hey, you shouldn't damage the place!'' Casey chided.

''Apologies but I didn't have time to think.'' Erza returned. ''That aside for the moment, didn't you hear what we said before? The ruins' power is just another reason for us to be careful. We are to help but that doesn't mean you can be so reckless!''

''Sorry, I just got really excited...I'll be more careful.''

They kept going, taking the path nearby to the hall after this area. Levy eyed the place curiously ''Hmm...''

''What's up, Levy?'' Gray cocked his head.

''I've been thinking...this place seems kind of plain.''

''You're seriously saying that after all that's happened?'' He looked incredulous.

''Not like that! It's just...'' She paused to gather her thoughts. ''...I've seen some ruins before, even one that had to do with Aetheria. I mean sure, they were all different in their own ways but still...Now that I look back, even the ruins' color from the outside seems to blend with the cliff. Almost like...the people who made this place wanted to be sure it was out of sight.''

''I never looked at it that way...'' Casey seemed thoughtful. ''...you might be on to something, Levy. It really does seem different from the places I've learned about.''

Natsu raised an eye as a strange sound reached his ears and he looked around for the source. He blinked, it appeared to be coming from the ceiling...

A minute later, he moved fast and grabbed Lucy and Carla, who were the closest before pulling them back. Neither got to question this as they soon understood after noticing him looking up, just in time for a number of weapons to fall from the ceiling. The weapons would have landed right where the two were a second ago.

A number of different tiles, with a few also in the corners of the room's walls also shifted. All the spots had concealed weapons which were then unleashed towards the group.

Natsu jumped ''Fire Dragon's Wing Attack!''

''Gate of the Golden Bull, I open thee! Taurus!'' The bull spirit in a flash of light before swiping his axe to stop the weapons, keeping a powerful offence. Erza took out two swords to do the same on her end while the rest were similarly able to helpd with the defense.

''Way to go, guys!'' Happy beamed.

''Um, we have a problem.'' Everyone looked at Wendy, who was staring ahead. It didn't take long to see what she meant though, the paths were sealed off.

''What the...what gives?'' Gray frowned.

Casey began examining the area ''Ahh, that's why...'' He gestured to the area on the room's lower level, a part of which was lined they could see had tiles which had letters on them. Some were on the floor, others were on the two sides of the staircase leading to the area. ''...I think we're supposed to pick letters to make a word.''

''Yeah, but what? There's a whole lot of those things.'' Natsu frowned. ''I bet we can force our way through. Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!''

But that apparently did nothing, making him grunt as he tried again. ''Well, how about...''

''That's enough, Natsu!'' Erza interrupted. ''What did I say about being reckless? You're lucky we didn't find more trouble because of that stunt, now stop.''

''Okay, okay...''

''Newsflash, Pyro. You can't just force your way through everything.'' Gray couldn't resist interjecting here.

''Can it, Ice Princess! At least I'm actually doing something here!''

''Hah?! Like hitting some wall is doing any good. Anyone can do that!''

''Oh yeah? Well...''

Erza's eye twitched, she was about to interfere but then found that someone else beat her to the punch.

''Time out, you two.'' Hope stepped in between the rivals. ''Seeing as you bring up effective actions, fighting between each other definitely isn't one.'' The two looked away. ''If you both want to make sure that we keep going then mind trying to help the rest of us out? Rising up to every little thing and excessive criticism aren't going to help anybody.''

''Fine...''

''Thanks, Hope. Moving on then...'' Levy started, throwing a pointed look at Natsu and Gray before continuing. ''...does anyone have something to help us get started?''

Carla spoke after almost a minute ''Well...perhaps we should consider any information about this place. There should be a clue somewhere.''

''Well, it looks like it really was made by aetherians. If what happened with Hope is anything to go by, the noble families must have been a part of this...'' Lucy crossed her arms.

''In that case!'' Casey went to press a few tiles, it was clear that he had put in his own family name.

''Really?'' Happy gave him a flat look.

''Hey, my family's noble too! It could have worked!''

''I think the point is that this isn't so simple.'' Erza remarked.

Lucy decided to keep the ball rolling ''Maybe the word could be Aetheria or Soleanna?''

''For all we know this place might have existed even before Aetheria.'' Casey pointed out.

''It can't hurt to try though.'' Carla flew to the tiles and began pressing them but nothing happened.

''Let's see...'' Levy figured they might as well consider the other possiblity. ''...if it was made before Aetheria...then it might have to do with their old country. Casey, did you happen to find any information on aetherians from those times?''

''Not much, then again, I never really thought of looking for any.'' The archaeologist seemed pensive. ''There's not much information about those times though, but it's mostly because things were chaotic. A lot of our ancestors were scattered. so it would stand to reason that some of them made this place. Hmm...maybe...'' He went to press some tiles but again, nothing changed. ''...I thought maybe the old country's name would work but no dice.''

''Well, if this place was so important to the creators, they might have wanted to choose something vague on purpose.'' Lucy suggested.

''So something people would hardly expected?'' Wendy clarified, seeing her nod then. ''Um, Casey-san, I'm confused. What happened to the country before Aetheria anyway?''

''Well, the records I found weren't all that clear. I decided to look into that too once I finish here, but supposedly our ancestors angered their guardian back then. Not really sure about the details but their guardian was Ramuh, the god of time. He had something to do with giving our ancestors their magic, I'm not sure what happened but it sounded like he started to hate them. It's said that he destroyed the old country.'' The man explained. ''That was around the time of the disaster Lord Altair stopped. In doing so, he calmed Ramuh down too and he let our ancestors go...I think there was more to it but the story's in a book back in my tent. I haven't looked at it in a while.''

''Hold on, I heard Victor bring up a guardian before...is it really that same guy?'' Happy looked curious.

''Actually, no...''

''Oh!'' Startled, the two looked at Levy, who seemed to get an idea then. ''Let's see...'' She went to press the tiles then. Fortunately, this time, the tiles lit up and the path opened. Levy perked up. ''...it worked!''

Erza looked curious ''The word we needed was actually the god's name?''

''Levy, that was great! How did you know?'' asked Hope.

''Lu-chan gave me the idea,'' the solid script mage stated. ''Something vague that people might not consider, right? Well, with that kind of history, I figured many would think that it would be the last choice.''

''Good call!'' Happy praised.

''Yeah, we're making some great progress!'' Casey grinned.


Unfortunately, said progress happened to come with its own problems.

The group's next stop was a huge hall that seemed to split into two parts at the stairs. Since the path here appeared sealed off as well, they began to separate to thoroughly search the hall.

''This place is so boring!'' Natsu said after a few minutes.

''I'd say what went down already should be enough excitement...if it wasn't you we were talking about.'' Lucy added. ''Those traps are terrible...at least we had some idea about the ones on the first floor. It's like they only start up once we come along here.''

''That's true...I figured this place would have traps but not nearly this much.'' Gray grunted.

''Well, it figures that something like that would be too much for you to handle, Ice princess.'' Natsu stated.

Of course, there was no way Gray would stand for that. ''What was that?! Just because I don't go around wanting to force my way through everything doesn't mean you're stronger than me, Lizard breath.''

''Ugh, here we go again...I swear those two are impossible.'' Lucy groaned, walking away from the duo. She knew what was coming and had no intention of dealing with it. They'd already fought before earlier, with Erza and Hope having to make sure to stop them thankfully. Still, why don't they ever get tired of this?

''Whatever makes you sleep at night.''

''Why you!''

''Can't stand to hear the truth?''

''That does it!''

The others were a bit far away, still trying to find a way through this area. Erza tilted her head a bit ''This place must have been important for its creators to go so far in defenses...''

''Aye, it's kind of...'' Happy stopped as Erza suddenly picked him up and stepped back, he saw why when a fireball flew right over where he stood. ''...whoa, thanks! Where'd that come from?''

Erza's eye twitched as she looked back ''I have a very good guess...''

The next thing they knew, an ice blast spread into a wide area. It missed the group for the most part but it froze parts of the hall. This included a couple of statues lined across the hall on some pedestals.

Then, the statues' eyes lit up and they began to move, to everyone's surprise. One thrust the spear it held at Erza and Happy, with the first re-equpping a sword to block the attack in time.

''What's going on?'' Lucy yelped as she jumped back to dodge an attack from the statue near her, holding the statue off with her whip then.

''But we didn't even do anything, why are they attacking?'' asked Wendy.

''That might be because some people...'' Lucy glared at Natsu and Gray. ''...can't seem to grasp the concept of self-control.''

Gray froze the statue once she pulled her whip back while Natsu kicked another one away ''That wasn't my fault!''

''Well, everything was just fine before you two started messing around!''

Carla frowned as she watched Casey fail to freeze the statue coming near them ''If they're like the traps then memoria magic won't be effective. Don't you have anything else?''

''No, I've never actually...''

The statue's next attack was stopped when Hope sent its spear flying into a wall with bullet. He then hit it with a bullet of solid light that knocked it to the ground, trapping the other two statues attempting to charge them with a Radiant Blizzard.

Just then, the statues seemed to falter. Levy raised an eye, keeping her pen at the ready ''Something seems off here...''

It turned out she was right though, as all the statues seemed to come to stop then. The two standing near their party stood, running their eyes over Hope and Casey. Aforementioned aetherians seemed to glow for a few seconds before one of the statues seemed ready to attack. However, the other one held an arm out to stop it before proceeding to kneel.

Curiously enough, soon the rest of the statues all went on to kneel as well.

''What the heck?''

Natsu blinked ''Is it just me or are they looking at Hope?''

The others followed his line of sight to find out that was true. Wendy looked curious ''What does this mean though?''

''I'm not sure...it felt like something was poking around in my head just now though.'' Casey cocked his head, giving the statues a side glance. ''I read somewhere that our ancestors used some sort of telepathy spell to help them learn about people. It was a security measure that let them learn about one's intentions, if they found something bad, they'd refuse to deal with them. It did feel like someone was poking around my head a second ago so maybe that's what they did.''

''It would fit seeing as they're apparently supposed to guard this place. But that one almost attacked, just what on earth were you two thinking anyway?'' Carla wanted to know, looking at Hope first.

''I wanted to make sure we can get through this safely.''

''Well...I was just looking forward to seeing what else we could find about these ruins.'' Casey remarked.

''And?''

He began to look nervous at the scrutinizing looks some of the others were giving him. ''I...I don't know what you're talking about, there's nothing.''

''You know no one's buying that, right?'' Gray inquired.

Casey's expression proved that he did know ''...I really wanted to know if I could make use of our findings here...so that I'd be able to prove to the people who should've helped me how wrong they were. I wanted to prove my power.''

Lucy rolled her eyes, he was just looking for a chance to show off some more. ''There we have it.''

''So they looked over Hope and Casey because they're aetherians?'' Happy wondered.

''Maybe...then again, they were standing close to them,'' Erza stated. ''I can't help notice how the statues seem to stop right after Hope used his magic though.''

''Hm, I'd say Lu-chan's guess was right. One of Hope's ancestors must have helped make this place.'' Levy remarked. ''If the statues can do this much, I wouldn't be surprised to see that they can recognize a magic similar to one of their creators.''

Wendy had a thought ''Well then, this means they might want to help, right? Hope-san, could you ask them to show us how to pass?''

He nodded and turned back to the statues ''We're trying to learn as much as we can about this place. I'm sorry for the trouble, you must be the guards. We'll try not to cause any harm. Would you help us?''

One of the statues stood and went to the blocked door, it lay a hand on it and the block disappeared a moment later.

Natsu grinned ''All right!''

''Now then...'' Erza frowned as she looked at him and Gray. ''...seeing as civlized talk seems to be wasted on you two, I'm going to make sure you're disciplined. Any more trouble and we're going to have a very long lesson, is that understood?''

''Y-yes, Ma'am!''


The statue showed them the way to a staircase that apparently lead to a lower level before pressing a tile to the right, that seemed to light quite a few other tiles down below. It went back to the hall, leaving the group to assume that it couldn't come along.

Happy glanced at the glowing tiles ''Hey, guys, you think that statue gave us some kind of shortcut?''

''I think so. Hope asked it for help, right? Following those should get us a pretty decent shortcut.'' Lucy remarked.

''It's a really good thing you guys were the ones who took the job. You're a big help.'' Casey stated.

''We're doing our job.'' Erza returned.

The path brought them into another big room, but the glowing tiles clearly went past here. As they made to exit, Natsu suddenly stopped them, appearing to sense something. A figure standing on a thick horizontal column then jumped down. It looked like a tiger, made similarly to the statues, with glowing eyes that observed the group.

''Just when I thought we were good to go...'' Erza raised her sword, just as the tiger construct pounced at Gray and Wendy, only to be stopped as it rammed into an ice wall.

''Look at that!'' Wendy pointed at its head, which was damaged. ''Maybe it's like the statues but...''

''Yeah, I guess someone found this place and made a real mess,'' Gray remarked.

''Then, there was someone else who has the Corona Crest?'' Happy wondered.

''We don't know for sure, that wouldn't have been the only way to open the path.'' Carla pointed out.

''Fire Dragon's Dazzling Blaze!'' Natsu cast.

The tiger jumped back to dodge Gray's ice spell and Hope's bullet, Levy raised her pen ''In that case, Solid Script: Storm!''

It tried to resist but the storm eventually threw it in the air. Seconds later, it was able to swerve and land on another of the pillars surrounding the room. Seeing that it pounce again, Wendy moved ''Sky Dragon's Roar!''

Seeing it carried off by the gales, Hope took the opportunity to trap it in a sphere of light. Lucy decided to help made sure it stayed put, summoning Lupe and asking the spirit to trap it with her ice powers.

''Can we leave it at that?'' Hope asked. He had promised that they would try not to do harm. This wouldn't have happened if it hadn't attacked them but still...it was damaged so it was likely malfunctioning. It wouldn't feel right to continue.

''Yeah, I don't think there's any reason to keep the fight up. Let's just keep going.'' Lucy suggested and the others agreed.


The tiles lead to a great hall that seemed to separate into a number of rooms. There was a section that held a number of chests. Some were empty but three held quite the amount of treasure.

''Well, what do you know...'' Casey trailed off, looking amazed by the treasure chests.

''Cool, it really was a shortcut after all!'' Natsu exclaimed.

''The treasure chests I can certainly understand but what about those empty ones?'' Carla wondered.

''Well, they probably had treasure too, right?'' Gray suggested.

''But then why would whoever took that leave those here?''

''You actually have a point there...'' He had to admit.

''This looks like the last place.'' Happy remarked.

Levy nodded in agreement as she, Gray, Hope and Lucy surveyed the area ''These ruins full of surprises for sure...''

''There might actually be a clue about it this time, look at those.'' Gray pointed at the wall behind the treasure chests, which held plenty of inscriptions. Casey looked at them with interest before going up close to see if he could read them. A minute later, he took out a pencil and notebook and began writing some down.

''Hey, guys I've been wondering but...maybe this place is actually meant to be a shelter.'' Hope guessed, surprising the listeners. He proceeded to explain his reasoning ''I read a bit about what happened with our ancestors as they battled for their lives and home. A lot of them were scattered, they lived in fear and were looking for a way out. For all I know, those ruins were around before. We agreed that those ruins seemed plain before, right? I think that could be why. The first floor had traps with certain triggers and we lucked out in finding the one to the second floor. That floor's traps work when anyone gets too close. This floor doesn't seem to have any. I don't think it's just because we took that path. There were two other halls like this one, the only trouble we had was that tiger statue and something was clearly wrong with it.'' He paused. ''One of the books I found said that some were preparing for the worst case scenario and they moved what they needed. Those chests might have been used for supplies. From the looks of some of those rooms, I think they can hold plenty of people.''

''That's brilliant, Hope!'' Erza remarked.

''No kidding, I can definitely see where you're coming from.'' Levy agreed.

''Yes, the defences would make a lot of sense if they were expecting to be attacked.'' Carla stated.

''Those empty chests must have had other supplies, it all makes perfect sense.'' Wendy added.

''Well, how about we hear what the archaeology expert has to say?'' Gray looked at Casey, who to his surprise, appeared impressed.

''Look at this..'' He gestured to the wall. ''...I'll read one of the parts that I think prove Hope's right. 'Time and life flow as one. Greed and hate must not arise in one. Time's three pieces must flow in harmony with spirit, lest discord await man. Time is immemorial, as is peace.' I heard this in a story from my father. It's something of a warning, mostly because the story's actually real. It was about a person who tried to use his memoria magic to change the past, since he hated his life. But all he found was chaos, in the end, he was thrown into the voids of time. 'Greed and hate must not arise in one', it means he lost himself to those vices and paid the price. This must have served as a warning and a reminder for out ancestors. A reminder to find that silver lining in the end.''

Lucy nodded ''I get it...the more we hear about your ancestors' history, the more amazing it sounds, Casey.''

''Heh, it sure does, right?'' He chuckled, a note of that familiar pride back in his voice. ''It's like that for many, I figure history's full of lessons people should apply. I think I'm going to look more into this. Talk about hitting the jackpot, I bet there's a lot more I can uncover here.''

''You sure look more excited. Is this about proving your point? Because I really don't think the people you mentioned are worth your time.'' Happy said.

''I'd be lying if I said that wasn't an incentive but nah, I'm definitely more in this for the discoveries themselves. Guess I just love the job after all,'' He smiled. ''Thanks a bunch. This hall has what I've been looking for. I'll learn all I can about it and see where that takes me. For now though...'' He took out two dark green stone, setting one on the ground.

Erza recognized the item ''Teleport crystals?''

''Yeah, I've got another set in my tent. Beats having to walk the whole way back, right?''

''Aye Sir!'' Happy agreed.


Seeing as it was going to be dark soon, everyone settled around the campsite for the night. Casey was in his tent, preparing the things he needed to start working on their discovery in the morning. He'd promised to give the team one of the treasure chests with the reward, refusing to hear a word against that, stating that it was the least he could do.

''That was interesting,'' Levy smiled, noticing Natsu sit down. ''Though I guess it wouldn't be your cup of tea, right?''

''Ah, it wasn't so bad.'' He shrugged.

''Did you actually say that?'' Gray raised an eye.

''So what?''

''I imagine today gave you a lot to think about.''

Hope looked up at Erza's voice, seeing her sit next to him and Wendy. He smiled and nodded, glancing at the pendant he currently held before continuing ''Thinking back, I feel kind of stupid. I never looked at it that way but Casey-san's right. Discarding my last name partly because of what my parents did seems petty now, their actions were their own. It wasn't like I held anyone else responsible.''

''That's true, but it doesn't mean you should feel stupid.'' Erza remarked. ''You're actually taking this a lot better than many in your situation would. Don't be so hard on yourself.''

'She's right, we all know you that you didn't do that out of hate on your family. It was just about doing what you believed to be best at the time. There's nothing wrong with that.' Endymion assured.

Wendy nodded ''I think it's more that meeting Casey-san might have given you a new perspective. It kind of did for me too. It's great that you came along, Hope-san. You really helped us out today.''

''Ah, thanks. That kind of just happened though...''

''Are you going to use the name after all?'' Carla asked curiously.

''Maybe...''

Casey came back then, stopping as he noticed the pendant gleam in the light ''Hey, wait...you have that?''

The four looked at the approaching archaeologist, who seemed to be inspecting the pendant. ''Yeah, no doubt...that's the real thing. Hope, how'd you get this?''

''It was given to me. I can't say by who though.'' He admitted. ''I've been meaning to ask you about this, actually. You know about it?''

''About one of Lord Altair's treasures? Sure, even if my grandfather didn't have it before.'' Casey paused, hearing Hope mention the book then. ''Oh, that's why...yeah, well, I'm not sure what happened. Odds are my parents know more about his work after all. I think a big part of it is recorded in that book though.''

''And I suppose it would be too much to ask that he told you who gave him the pendant in the first place?'' Carla prompted.

''Afraid so. I never got around to asking him...I think my father once mentioned that it was given to him in Soleanna though. The keeper who also defends the temple and country is also there.'' Casey stated. ''We pretty much assumed that my father was going to get it next so no one really thought about having to ask. We're related to the Sherwinds through my grandfather, so he'd know more but he says it's not just about relation, the keeper decides too. He once said that the pendant has to accept you too, not sure what that was about. Anyway, this means the keeper saw something she liked in Hope.''

Eyes traveled to the boy, who seemed curious at this. Casey sat down ''This just hit me, but if Hope lost his memory, how did you know about his heritage? Is he starting to remember?''

''That partly true, but the real reason is...'' Carla explained about Cameron and Scorpion Blade.

''I see...'' He nodded in understanding. ''...yeah, I can see why that would attract their attention. I'd say that the guild master intended to get Hope to join them.''

''Well, it wouldn't have happened anyway.'' Wendy stated.

''Aye sir, not a chance.'' Happy agreed.

Hope smiled at them ''Yeah, I can't see that happening.''


And that's a wrap!

Well, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I've actually been looking forward to working on this one so I really wanted it to be good. A little more of my original ideas for this story, more of which will be revealed in the sequel as things go along. I might have mentioned this before, but the Tenrou arc will be the last one for this fic before I start the sequel.

Notes:

-Teleport crystals are enchanted lacrima which are usually used in pairs. They take a person to where the second pair is set. Those didn't actually exist when the shelter was first made so there was no problem with working them.

-Hope had the Corona Crest for years, and it was actually rendered inactive. The reason happens to actually be Endymion. Since Hope underwent a lot of changes after the experiment, with it also affecting his magic, the crest's power grew weaker until it turned out dormant. Hope getting the hang of his powers, along with the pendant's magic were the reasons behind it activating once more.

-After Ramuh was calmed by the Altair, he disappeared and his whereabouts are unknown. The new guardian was someone who helped protect the aetherians and chose to continue doing so.

-The new guardian of Aetheria is actually one of my most important OCs, it's just that her role comes in later. In the sequel to be specific. What is generally unknown in the story is that she's the same person who kept the Altair's pendant and journal. She was also the one who chose to give the pendant to Hope.

-It's as mentioned before, she gives the pendant to people she deems worthy, those who the pendant's magic accepts. Those it wouldn't take simply couldn't use its power.

Hm, I think that's everything. But in case I left anything unclear or if there's something you'd like to ask, please do. I'd be glad to answer.

I didn't think I'd make it so far as fifty chapters (which actually feels awesome) but I really did. That's because at a time I was convinced I should just delete the story but nah, no way, I don't want to give up on any of my stories, in fact. Thanks to everyone who read and liked my work and I hope you keep this up to the end.

Please read and review!