Chapter 53
Ready for the retrieval of Kurama?! Well whether you are or not, you'll just have to be! Lame, I know XD
Also, it seems a lot of you were confused as to whether or not Lucy won the battle against DD. She lost.
Thank you for helping out DesolationDeath!
I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made! Read and Review!
At the Team B balcony~
Acnologia's P.O.V
Lucy and I only just made it to see the ending of the battle between Lamia Scale and Fairy Tail A. It was Chelia Blendy, apparently a Sky God Slayer from there, and Wendy from our guild. The two quickly became good friends, even though they'd been fighting each other. Well it was probably based on the fact they were both Sky Slayers and about the same age, if you don't count those lost seven years. The two were very evened out in pretty much every aspect, so the battle ended out in a draw.
Right about now, Chapati was ending the day. "And that marks the end of day three!" He said loudly, sending the crowd into applause. "Come back tomorrow for even more action!" He continued. Now the crowd screamed in cheers, making my ears ring. Why'd they have to be so loud?
I squeezed Lucy's hand, secretly telling her we had to go now, while we still had time. It would be easy hiding in the crowd, if it even came to that.
She squeezed back and smiled up at me. We began turning around and walked out of the exit casually and without any 'obstacles' as we had been standing in the back right in front of the door leading to the balcony.
But unfortunately we didn't get far before someone called out to us. "Bunny-Girl!" The Iron Bastard's son called after us.
Lucy turned around, releasing my hand as she faced Gajeel, while I looked at him over my shoulder dissatisfied. Why'd he have to make Lucy release my hand?
Lucy smiled at him, although I knew she was also somewhat frustrated. We were kind of in a hurry. "Yes, what is it Gajeel?" She asked him as nice as always.
He stopped up in front of her, put his hands on her shoulders - much to my annoyance - and stared right into her eyes. He stayed silent, looking into them as if he'd find some kind of answer there. Finally, he opened his mouth and spoke. "Are you okay?" He asked her.
While I was debating whether or not to cut his arms off, both from now and when he and the Lightning Rod had left their odors all over her, I was pulled out of the bloody thoughts in surprise. These weren't the words I had expected him to say. Not that I had actually considered what he could say.
Likewise, Lucy hadn't been prepared for his concern either and just looked at him with lightly widened and stunned eyes. "W-what brought this on all of a sudden?" She stammered quizzically.
Gajeel sighed and, with a glance at me, released her shoulders and relented with just looking into her eyes firmly. "Because since you dumped that Fire Idiot as your best friend, I gotta take the role, ya know?" He said with a light smirk. Oh right, I remembered Lucy telling me something about making this idiot her best friend. I would never understand why. "Now tell me, are you okay?" He asked, clearly saying he demanded an answer.
Lucy smiled at him, this time with a soft and touched expression. She nodded at him. "Yeah, I'm fine." She reassured him. "Thank you Gajeel. You don't need to worry about me, I already have one worry-wart around, I don't need two." She told him, sending me an innocent eyes. I couldn't be mad at that face and she knew just how to utilize that weakness. She looked back at him. "Was it really that obvious?" She then asked him.
He looked at her for a second, probably wondering if he should tell her the truth or not, but in the end decided to do it.
But he wasn't fast enough as another male cut him off. "Yeah, it was Blondie." Laxus said as he approached us, his long coat waving gently as he walked. "You lay on the ground, curled into a ball, trying to hide from everyone and everything. Then you ran off under the balcony while everyone knows you can jump over the railing if you wanted to." He told her.
I nodded gently and began rubbing circles on her back to comfort her. She really had been obvious, I'd heard the crowd's mumbling. But to me it didn't look like she was weak, I knew it was a sign of strength and a sensible mind. While it sounded evil, I knew it was a good thing, the fear she'd been feeling back there. But I knew that wasn't what it seemed like from the outside.
I clearly remembered when my Dragon acted up like that. It was back at Tenrou, I recently learned. I actually enjoyed it back then, to some extent anyway. That rush of power, it was like nothing I'd ever felt. Or would ever feel again. What pulled me to the right path was Lucy, of course. The face she'd made back there, when she thought I had killed them, that was a face I knew I never wanted to see again. It had struck the Dragon inside me too, and both of us knew we had to prevent this from happening ever again.
I returned back to the real world when the Lightning Rod began speaking again. "What happened down there, Blondie?" He asked Lucy with crossed arms, clearly demanding an answer.
Lucy looked alternately at both of them, her gaze constantly going from one to another as she considered whether she should tell them or not. And how much to tell them.
I sighed and drew the attention to me. "This isn't the time or place, we'll explain later, back in the room." I told them. I could feel the impatience to see my father moving in me. I hadn't seen him in almost 22 years. How many wrinkles would he have by now? I grabbed Lucy's hand again and gently tugged at it, reminding her we had something to do. "We'll see you guys later, we're on a bit of a tight schedule." I told them.
Lucy nodded and waved to them with a smile. She quickly turned around as I began walking towards the exit, a little faster than we had before. Judging by what Lucy had told us that the Raven had told her, getting the old man out could only take too long.
When we had put enough distance between the two Dragon Slayers and ourselves, Lucy decided to speak. "Well there went out cover." She said in a lightly teasing tone.
I smiled as I kept on walking. "Yeah, I know." I admitted. "But you know, they might also just think we ordered a table at some restaurant and that we're just in a hurry to get there. You never know." I told her.
She giggled. "Yeah, I doubt they'd think that." She told me. "One's an S-Class the other had once been in a dark guild. They know that we're 'up to something'." She said.
Oh right, they were used to this kind of thing, I forgot. Ah well, that would be a problem for another time. If they suspected us of anything that was. It was entirely possible that they didn't think much of it too.
It didn't take long to reach the exit at the pace we were going. Of course the Heads weren't waiting right outside the door, nothing could be more obvious than that. No, I knew they had gathered at that place, where I met with them the day before, when we learned of Kurohebi's Mimic magic and the fact he knew of Dragon magic. It was at a small park, which no one seemed to use.
Lucy, not knowing that spot, just followed me blindly, keeping my pace as we walked quickly to the park. Luckily, the park wasn't that far away, so we quickly reached it. I could already smell all of their scents in the air and quickly followed it.
Lucy began running a little, having also caught their scents. I smiled and ran lightly next to her into the park and under the many trees. Soon all the Dragons, including the Heads, Deamunas, Alodiculis, Basuril and 464, all standing in the middle of the place, waiting for us.
The closest one, and the most ugly of them all, grinned at Lucy. "Awesome battle down there, Squirt." The Iron Bastard complimented her, adding his usual laugh at the end. As usual.
Lucy looked at him, let the words seep in, the averted her gaze to the ground. "Really..? You think so?" She asked him, kind of nervously. Where did that come from?
Metallicana smirked even wider and nodded. "'Course! You let me see that bloodthirsty side of you!" He said and began laughing.
Suddenly, without warning, two flashes shot at Lucy quicker than anyone could react. One was blue, the other black. When they had both reached her, two women were standing with their arms around her, squeezing the air out of her lungs and forcing our hands to separate.
"LUCY!" Amelane yelled at her, tears already falling out of her eyes and pulled my mate's face into her bosom. "You're okay!" She stated.
Skyadrum proceeded to hold both women in her arms and pushing them together under her most likely tight hold. "Ae (Yes)! I'm so glad you didn't go to the dark side!" She told the silver haired, dying girl. I sweat dropped at the Shadow Dragon. 'The dark side'? Seriously? In the first place, Lucy would've been the last to go there anyway.
Grandine was behind Metallicana in an instant, just as he finished speaking. She grabbed his long hair roughly and pulled down, forcing him to face the sky and panting in pain. "What this idiot meant to say is that he is proud you didn't let the Dragon take over." Grandine told Lucy and looked at the Iron Bastard with a murderous, yet smiling expression. "Right, Metallicana Haeana?" She asked him, using his full name.
The Iron Dragon whimpered out a 'yeah' pathetically, not daring to do anything else in front of the fearsome Sky Dragon. That was a very amusing scene, indeed.
Alodiculis approached the two ladies who were suffocating Lucy and tapped their shoulders. "I don't think she can breathe." He told them. They both looked at him with glares that could make any man cower in fear. This one included as he stepped back, already trembling in fear. I thank you for your effort, Alodiculis.
Then someone else decided he had to intervene the dangerous embrace going on right next to me. A block of Ice appeared behind Lucy, somehow made its way to her and as it continued to grow, it pushed her out of the hug. Literally. Glanasile did all this without saying a word.
Lucy looked at Glanasile, trying to catch her breath, but managed to smile at him in thanks. The Ice Dragon just nodded as reply, keeping a blank face all way through. Well, until he too got the death glared from the Shadow and the Water Dragons.
The older Fire Idiot jumped forward with his hands in the air, pumped for battle, it seemed. "You have to battle me some day Lucy!" He yelled loudly at her excitedly. Now, where did I recognize this scene from?
Someone groaned loudly a little away. I looked at the Lightning Dragon, who was sitting on the ground with his back against the trunk of a tree and his hand behind his head and closed eyes. "You're too loud, Igneel." He told the Fire Dragon exasperatedly. I was surprised he even showed up.
Igneel blew up of course, asking the Lightning Dragon if he was asking for a battle, getting louder and louder with every word. Simakan cracked an eye open and looked at Igneel. He simply pointed a finger at the Fire Dragon, sent a ray of Lightning at him. The Lightning flew forward quickly, electrocuted the Fire Dragon, momentarily knocking him out. Then he closed his eye again and resumed his position of relaxation.
I face palmed internally. This group of Dragons was just as noisy and lively as Fairy Tail was. And judging by the Games so far and the people we'd seen from the other guilds, it wasn't just Fairy Tail and these Dragons. Everyone were crazy! Maybe it's some kind of unwritten law or something…
"So you noticed too, eh?" I heard someone ask me. I looked to my right, where Deamunas stood. I raised an eyebrow in question. He looked at the rambunctious group in front of him and grinned. "We aren't the only crazy ones." He said and laughed.
I smiled and nodded with a snicker. Great to know I wasn't the only one who thought that, then I had at least one person to confide in. Or was I a part of this rambunctious group in front of us? Probably.
"AC-NII-CHAN!" I heard my little cousin yell and saw him run towards me. He ran just as fast as he always did in my direction. Then past me and right into the person who stood right behind me.
I looked back at the person, to see a now freed Lucy standing with Basuril hugging her around the waist, giggling but confused. I looked at the teen confused. How did that make any sense to him? "Eh… Basuril-kun?" I asked him questioningly, wondering why he'd yelled at me, but was hugging Lucy.
He looked back at me with big innocent eyes as Lucy began playing with his hair, pulling out any knots he had. "Lucy-nee's much softer to hug than you are, Ac-nii-chan." He told me, his eyes begging for forgiveness.
Before I could get to respond to that, Dravola had effectively put a stop to the noise all around, simply by stepping forward. It was as if her presence filled this whole park and demanded our attention. Which it also got.
Dravola looked around at all of us calmly, making sure she really had all of our attention, before speaking. "Based on recent information, provided by Lucy from DD of Raven Tail, we have reason to believe Kurama Tehepo might be in danger." She stated clear and loud. She looked at Lucy for confirmation, who nodded with a serious expression. Dravola also nodded in return. "We know that Raven Tail is plotting something and they need a Chaos and a Peace Dragon to complete this plan. Which means they are probably aiming for Acnologia and Lucy." She told us.
I glanced at Grandine and wondered if she had only told Dravola of what happened down there against DD. If she had, this made sense. But if she hadn't, this would basically only inform Basuril and 464 of what was happening, which kind of made it pointless to do it like this.
I looked around at all the Dragons present. They were all focused on Dravola, listening to what she was saying. Some of them had faint signs of what could be surprise or confusion, but what really confirmed my suspicion was the fact that Simakan actually had both eyes open and was looking at Dravola attentively. Probably for the first time in his life.
So Grandine really only had told Dravola about what had happened in that battle. The real purpose for it so to say. I furrowed my eyebrows and crossed my arms. Raven Tail had wanted us to know, they wanted us to be aware that something was going on.
And they wanted us to get Kurama out.
They had this all planned out, knew exactly what we would think and do. They knew what their actions would do. Letting us know they knew of us, with Kurohebi's Mimic magic and then again in DD's and Lucy's battle. They made it obvious on purpose.
But even if they did, what else could we do? We couldn't be sure that it was empty threats. They might just 'get rid of him' if we don't rescue him. We'd be playing right into their hands, but there was nothing else we could do. And they knew that too.
I sighed and looked up at Dravola again. It seemed like she had explained the situation to anyone who weren't aware before, while I was caught in my thoughts. She looked around at everyone, watching their reactions as they took in the information. I'm guessing anyway.
"I will send five of you off to get him." She said, breaking the heavy silence around us once again. She turned to Skyadrum, who was standing right next to Lucy. "Skyadrum your Shadow magic is necessary to sneak past the guards." She said and turned to 464. Maybe she had really just memorized where everyone stood. "So is yours, 464." She told the Shadow Dragon, who nodded silently. Dravola then looked at Lucy again. "Lucy, you said something about there being a Rune barrier, right?" She asked my mate.
Lucy nodded, dropping her hand to the top of Basuril's head. "Yes, there's two actually. One keeping sounds and magical levels within a certain radius, so the people of Crocus, the prisoners down with him or anyone else won't feel it. Then there's also one keeping Kurama locked up." She explained. I looked at her. It was amazing she'd felt them down there, when neither Skyadrum nor 464 had. But I guess she'd been around that fan-boy, Freed, long enough to recognize Runes when she passed them.
Dravola looked at her for a second longer. "Then you'll go too." She said. The Earth Dragon then turned to Metallicana, who was already grinning in anticipation. "It has been brought to my attention that the bars are of Iron magic. You'll break those and nothing more." She ordered him, effectively making his wide grin fade to a scowl. He'd expected battle, that old man. At last, the old woman looked at me. "Acnologia, you'll go with them in case they run into guards and will be taking Kurama with you in your Shadow form." She told me. The Iron Dragon seemed to want to make a protest, but reined it in.
I nodded. Right. Lucy and the Iron Bastard couldn't go into Shadow form or anything of the like, so they needed Skyadrum and 464 to take them. And father probably wouldn't be able to go into his Shadow form either, so that was why I had to go with them. You could take more than one person with you in Shadow form, but the more people you brought, the more presence you had and the easier it was to pin point you for others. Dravola wanted that to be down on a minimum, so there was more chance for us to escape successfully.
Dravola, knowing we were all aware of the situation, knew the 'plan' and what we should do, turned around, with her back to all of us. "If that is understood, then you should get going." She told us, looking at us at the corner of her eyes, over her shoulder.
We all exchanged gazes, then began running. 464 and Skyadrum were in front, as they had been there before and knew the way. Lucy was right behind them and the Iron Bastard and I were behind her, following those three.
We ran as fast as our human legs could carry us, not giving a care in the world to who saw us. Since it was very few who would recognize us anyway, especially at the pace we were going.
The Iron Dragon turned to me as we ran. "If any guards show up, leave 'em to me, Brat." He ordered me firmly, his desire for battle clearly shining through his voice.
I smirked at him. "Let's see who's fastest, you old bastard." I told him, trying to rile him up, but also getting myself riled up in the process.
He stuck his face closer to mine and with what was supposed to be a menacing glare. "You can't handle my speed, boy." He reassured me.
I glared at him as well and let my face closer to him as well. "You're on, Metal Face." I told him. We both began growling lowly at each other in challenge.
But that was abruptly stopped when I felt something hit my thigh and knew it had with the Iron Bastard too, as I heard him grunt. Then the cracking sound of a whip also gave it away. Lucy glared back at us. "Stop it you two. If you have enough energy to argue, you should focus on running faster or keep that energy till when we encounter some kind of obstacle." She reprimanded us.
We both nodded like two boys who'd just been scolded by their mother and stayed silent and apart from each other as we followed Lucy and the Shadow Dragons.
But, of course we would soon be stopped. Karma strikes again. "OI! LUCY-SAN!" Some way too familiar idiot yelled behind us. Why? Why of all times did he have to come running now?
Lucy's P.O.V
"OI! LUCY-SAN!" I heard a familiar voice call behind us. I stopped up, just as everyone else did too, facing the two people, who had apparently been following us. I was guessing it was by scent, if it was anything.
"Sting, Rogue. What are you doing here?" I asked them confused and a little bit impatient. We were kind of in a rush, which should have been obvious by the way we were running.
The two finally caught up to us, panting as if they'd been sprinting a marathon. "Damn you can run fast Lucy-san." Sting said in between breaths.
Skyadrum tapped my shoulder. "Lucy, we don't have time for this." She told me. I looked at her and nodded. I knew we didn't, but what the heck could I do?
I turned back to the two Dragon Slayers, who just about now had calmed their breathing. "I'm a bit busy, so can't it wait?" I asked them, trying desperately to find a way to go on.
Sting looked at the weird group behind me, then back at me with a wide grin. "Just wanted to say you're awesome!" He told me.
I sweat dropped and had a confused expression. "What are you talking about Sting?" I asked him, glancing at Rogue for answers. But he was looking directly at Skyadrum, who was doing her best not to look at him.
Sting straightened his back and smiled even wider. "The MPF and the battle today of course! You were awesome!" He complimented me.
I raised an eyebrow and looked at him as if he was an idiot. Which he was. "I didn't win either of those two times, you know. That wasn't very 'awesome'." I told him.
He shook his head. "Of course it was! Especially in the battle. I strained to stand when you released all that magic, and I was on my way to the bathroom!" He said excitedly.
I looked at him with an incredulous expression. I knew I'd released all my Celestial magic, but did it really reach that far? At that length, it still managed to make someone as strong as Sting stagger? Good thing I was keeping it down then.
He was still smiling at me, widely too. "You were just unlucky, that's all. You could've easily beaten that Raven Tail-guy if he hadn't distracted you with whatever he said back there. And if you had been the first to go into the Pandemonium-thing, you would have beaten those monsters easily!" He reassured me. He really looked like the little boy he had once been right now. It was adorable.
I smiled at him. "Thank you Sting, It makes me happy that you think I'm strong enough to do that." I told him. I halfway turned around, getting ready to run again. "But I really have got to go now, I'll see you two later." I said, nodded to the four other Dragons and then began running with them again.
"LATER, LUCY-SAN!" Sting yelled after us, as the last thing I heard from him. That took too long. It was time spent uselessly at talking, while we could have probably been at that castle by now.
I heard Skyadrum breathe out deeply. "That was way too close.." She muttered breathlessly, staring straight forward.
I smiled and ran up next to her, looked at her from the side. "So how was it seeing your boy up close like that after so many years?" I asked her, referring to Rogue.
She glanced at me from the corner of her eye, then looked forward again. She stayed silent for a second, then a grin spread on her face. "He's become quite the handsome devil." She said with a laugh.
I nodded and laughed with her. "He's definitely grown up since I met him on the train, he wasn't taller than this." I said and held a hand up around stomach-height.
She looked at my hand and laughed. "That was big compared to when I left him, he was still only a little kid back then." She said with a nostalgic and melancholic smile.
I smiled at her and dropped the subject. It was obvious that it was quite the sore subject for her. It was for any of the Dragons who had once had human children that they took care of and raised.
We all stayed silent until we finally reached the castle. It was just as big as it had been before and it was similarly simple to sneak into it with Shadow form.
We all stopped up and without a word, Skyadrum grabbed Metallicana and Acnologia took my hand. The three went to their Shadow forms in an instant and went under the door. I guessed Acnologia went in the back, following the two Dragons, letting them guide the way down there.
I recognized the road we took, it was the same as before. Without much difficulty, we found the staircase going down to the prisons once again. And just like last time, two guards stood in front of the entrance to it. We carefully went past them, but - again just like last time - they didn't notice a thing. You would've thought they had learned from the first time.
We quickly skipped past them and down the stairs once again. Once down there, the three let their Shadow forms go so Metallicana and I could stand on our own two feet. Acnologia didn't release my hand though.
He looked down at me. "So where is he?" He asked me. I could clearly hear the impatience in his voice, but it was understandable. He hadn't seen his father in who-knows-how-long and only just fund out where he was, only for him to be in danger. Not exactly the most relaxed reunion you could imagine.
I pointed to the end of the long hallway down to the ending wall, where Kurama was held. "He's down there." I told him. "But don't be too surprised with how he looks, okay?" I asked him. If Acnologia remembered him as the man I remembered from when I was a kid, he would be really shocked to see him now. He looked nothing like the man he once had.
Acnologia nodded with an expressionless expression and walked forward, gently pulling me after him. I had momentarily forgotten I had an… Acquaintance in this place, besides Kurama. "Lucy…?" I heard someone ask incredulously.
I stopped up and looked over my shoulder at the jail in which I knew Cobra was sitting, while the other three continued on. Since I stopped, Acnologia also stopped. He was looking at me confused. Hadn't he heard Cobra? He was probably too focused on rescuing his dad to notice anything else.
I smiled up at my mate. "Go on, I know you can't wait." I told him, allowing myself to be just a little amused by my mate's impatience. Acnologia looked at the jail I had been looking at, Cobra's, with a quizzical expression on his face. I stood on my toes and gave his cheek a kiss. "Don't worry, it's just Cobra. I'll try to get some information out of him." I reassured him. I was pretty sure Cobra would know just about anything about these Runes, probably having done his best to attempt to break out.
Acnologia alternately looked at the jail-bars and me, pondering on whether it was safe to let me go see Cobra or not. Of course, that guy was completely harmless in his current state. He finally nodded, released my hand after giving me a gentle squeeze, then followed the other three to his father.
I looked at Cobra's cell, from where I could now hear the jingling sound of him getting to his feet. I began walking towards it, just like how he also made his way to the front of the cell.
He looked at me with a raised eyebrow and what I would call a smile. "So what are you doing down here with all these people?" He asked me. Then he leaned down to my height and looked right into my eyes. "If they are people at all." He added.
I smiled at him. "Well, they aren't what you would consider people. And they will tear your hands off if you try anything." I warned him. Especially a certain one of them.
Cobra's face lit up with realization. "Riiight… So that last guy was your mate?" He asked me curiously. I nodded, finding words unnecessary. He smiled and rested his forehead against the bars. "So he'd be pissed if you wandered around with my scent, right?" He asked me, his smile changing to a smirk.
"Isn't that beside the point?" I asked him. Of course Acnologia would be pissed. He'd make this whole cell explode. "I need your help, Cobra." I admitted to him.
He looked at me with genuine curiosity in his eyes and a wide, amused grin on his face. "You need my help?" He mocked me. "What makes you think I will provide that so easily?" He asked me.
This time I was the one to raise an eyebrow. "Because I promised you'd meet Sacheba, right?" I asked him. Blackmailing, I know. But it was probably the only thing that worked on this guy. "Besides, aren't I the first person besides those guards you've talked with since you got down here?" I asked him.
He looked at the ceiling thoughtfully for a second before answering. "Nah, some people from the Council has been here too." He told me. He looked back at me again. "So what do you need my help with?" He asked me, suddenly willing to help. I knew Sacheba would work.
I tilted my head and looked into his one eye. "I was wondering whether it was the Rune barrier or those shackles, which keeps your magic in check." I told him, looking down at the shackles around his wrists and back up at him again.
He sighed and pulled the shackles up in the air, looking down at them. "These aren't for anything but their pathetic feeling of security, I could break them any day." He said and looked back up at me as he let his hands drop again. "No, it's the Rune barrier." He told me. "I can use magic in here, but it won't come out on the other side." He told me.
I furrowed my eyebrows. Alright, that sounded simple enough. Freed's were a hell to figure out, even if Levy and I both put our heads together. These were awfully simple.
I looked up at Cobra. "Mind if I try something out?" I asked him. What he said was rather one-sided. He wouldn't be able to know if it worked the other way around. It wouldn't make sense either, for the guards not to be able to let their magic go through. Well I guess it was more about ethics, really. I'm guessing some of the guards harbored ill feelings towards some of these prisoners and would probably try to do something. If their magic could come through, it could hurt, maybe kill, the prisoner, depending on the guard.
But I got the feeling that this wasn't the kind of prison that ensured the prisoner's safety.
Cobra nodded. "Knock yourself out." He said. I nodded and quickly gathered some Celestial magic in my hand. I pointed at Cobra and let it shoot out of my finger and hit him in the chest. So, just as I expected, it could easily penetrate from outside to inside, but not the other way around. Simple, oh so simple. Cobra looked at me with an irritated expression. "What the heck did you do that for, woman?!" He asked me.
I sighed at him and turned around, having gotten the information I needed from this little experiment. "Oh, don't worry, Cobra." I reassured him. "Celestial magic is only supposed to summon Spirits, protect-" I looked at him over my shoulder and grinned. "And strengthen." I told him, turning around again.
I heard Cobra laugh loudly behind me. "You're a brilliant woman, Lucy!" He laughed. I looked at him over my shoulder once again. My Celestial magic had done as I had ordered it. It was lying as a protective coat around Cobra and would strengthen him, if he decided to use any kind of magic.
I smiled. "You should wait till after the Games have ended. It's in two days. Or you can use it. It's all up to you." I told him, watching him go back to where he had been sitting again, shaking his head with a wide smile as he looked at the golden glow around him. "Now, if you'll excuse me I have something to rescue." I said and followed after my friends.
The last I heard was Cobra laughing once again, before I passed the Rune barrier which stopped sound. Now I thought about it, there was actually no reason to remove that. If anything, it could probably help us keep the guards in a delusion for just that much longer.
I looked at Kurama's cell, wanting to figure out what the four of them had figured out this far. But of course they hadn't done a damn thing as of yet. Why'd I always have to take the initiative?
I slowed down my speed to a casual walk. "What are you guys doing, sitting around doing nothing?" I asked them, a little irritated they hadn't done anything to get Kurama out. I quickly realized I sounded more like Gajeel and Metallicana than I had wanted to.
They all turned and looked at me, Metallicana with the grin I had expected. "Oh so you finally decided to show up, huh Squirt?" He teased me lightly. "Old friend of yours?" He asked me. "You're among the wrong people, you know." He mocked me.
I looked at him with a raised eyebrow. Then I winked at him. "If I stayed with the 'right' people, you'd be bored." I retorted, which made him scowl until he couldn't hold the mask any longer and he laughed his trademark laugh. "But no, I wouldn't call that guy a friend." I told him.
"Lucy." I heard my mate call. I looked at him questioningly, urging him to continue. "What did you find out?" He asked me.
I smiled at him and made my way next to him. "I learned that the Runes lets the prisoners inside use magic, but only within the barrier, it can't come out." I explained. "But magic from the outside can come inside." I added and looked down at the Chaos Dragon who was sitting on the ground in front of Acnologia in his Human form, holding his son's hand.
I furrowed my eyebrows lightly when I looked at him. He seemed even worse than he had those two days ago. His wrinkles, which already back then were deep, were even deeper now. His eyes seemed much bigger, as the skin around them seemed to have been sucked just a little into his skull and was a dark bluish color.
It looked like something was sucking the life force out of him. But how did they do that? Who would even think of something like that? And most importantly, why?
I crouched down, reached inside the cell and took the Dragon's free hand into both mine. It was thin and frail. Even more bony than before. I looked into his blue eyes. "We're getting you out today Kurama, just as I promised." I told him and squeezed his hand as gently as I could, afraid I'd break it if I put too much into it.
He nodded and smiled at me. "If you're anything like your mother, there's no stopping you." He commented. I had to speak with this man about Mama if it wasn't a too sore subject. He knew my mother in ways the others probably didn't, and before she was forced to remain human at Jude's side.
I winked at him and smiled in return. "You know it." I confirmed. I gently releases his hand and turned to Metallicana. "Try to see what you can do about these bars, I'll do what I can about the Earth magic put around the cell." I told him. He nodded and put a hand on the bar, feeling the magic in it.
"What about the two of us?" Skyadrum asked, gesturing to herself and 464, who had just been standing idly by, watching me talking to people.
I scratched the back of my head and laughed nervously. "You two can..." I trailed off, trying to figure something out. But of course, nothing really popped up. Wait! I looked at both of them. "How far can you feel Shadows?" I asked them.
Skyadrum and 464 exchanged gazes, then looked at me. "Every shadow in this whole building, at least." 464 told me with an expressionless expression.
I smiled widely and nodded. "Great! That's more than enough!" I reassured them. "How about you two keep us updated about whether or not guards are close by?" I suggested. They both have me a nod, crouched with their hands to the ground and with closed eye as, as they focused on the Shadows.
I nodded to myself and crouched down just as they did. I put a hand on the ground, the other resting over my knee as I felt the Earth magic in the cell. I could easily feel it. It was quite strong, obviously designed to keep something away. In the ancient times, it had probably been used to keep intruders from coming in, but now it kept people from getting out.
I knew what to do, if I just mixed my own magic with the magic in the ground, I could make it mine and control it however I wanted. I was sure Metallicana had also figured that out. I cracked an eye open and glanced at him, only to find him trying to eat the bars instead. I smiled as I closed my eye again. Well, he would figure it out at some point. I hoped...
I furrowed my eyebrows again, focusing on the ground. I called on my own Earth magic so it could mix with the one that was already here. But nothing happened when I tried. My magic wouldn't respond to me. It was like someone had put a barrier-
"Shit.." I muttered and opened my eyes, staring at the ground. I really had no luck today. None whatsoever. It had completely run out. I should've done as she said.
I saw Acnologia look in my direction from the edge of my peripheral. "What is it, Lucy?" He asked with worry lacing his voice. I looked at him. I really didn't want to let him or Kurama down now. Not after all this. There had to be something...
I sighed and decided to tell the truth. Even though it hurt. "When Grandine healed me after the battle earlier, she told me there was some kind of unfamiliar magic in me." I explained. "It's the same as the one Lisanna got the first day, which kept her magic at bay. It prevented me from transforming to a Dragon right there in the middle of everything, but it seems it also blocked my Dragon magic." I told him and looked at the ground in shame. "All of it." I added. Now I tried, I couldn't feel a shred of my Dragon magic. And it scared me.
I was just about to give up, when Metallicana yelled beside me. "OW! Goddamnit!" He said with an annoyed voice. Somehow, it just brought back a sense of déjà-vu. "Squirt! You need to control these crazy keys of yours!" He told me.
I began giggling when I remembered why I'd gotten that déjà-vu. Back when I got Aelu-chi's key, she had also flown directly into the back of Metallicana's head in the middle of sparring. She'd been pissed at him because he was beating me.
He got the key out of his long mane of a hair and gave it to me. I leaned forward, so I could reach it. "You know, Metallicana, you don't need to eat all this. Just mix your magic with he bars' magic and make it your own." I told the old Dragon. Maybe he was getting so old, he was starting to become senile.
He looked at me with a grin and nodded in thanks, before continuing to do what I had told him. I looked down at the key and smiled. It seemed everything would work out fine after all.
This was the key of the Golem, Terra. User of Earth magic. Exactly what I needed right now. It seemed like it was the head and shoulders of a golem in the top and a mountain at the end. Simple and nice.
I held the key in front of me, as if it was the symbol of hope. Well, it was right now anyway. "Open Gate of the Golem! Terra!" I called and sent my magic to the key in my hand. It began glowing in a golden color, just as all the others.
A golden light appeared in front of me with the sound of sand falling to the ground. In front of me stood a big guy. And when I say big, I mean big. as in more-than-two-meters-tall big. A giant. And not only that, he also had loads of muscles. Kind of like Elfman, actually, if not a bit more.
He had dark, tanned skin. And somewhat long, brown hair, with strands hanging over his eyes. He wore a kind of munk-like skirt. A little like the one Jura had worn when we fought Oraciōn Seis, but in all white with a brown belt around. He wore nothing else, just stood there bare-chest and bare-foot.
I smiled up at the big Spitit. "Hi! I'm Lucy Mau'Te Rongo! I hope we can be friends." I told the guy. He slowly turned his head and looked down at me.
I kept smiling as I waited for an answer, but he did nothing but look down at me. I presumed anyway. His bangs still covered his eyes from view.
I sweat dropped at the lack of response and looked up at him, wondering why he didn't say anything. He was just looking at me, waiting for me to say something. "The silent type, huh?" I asked him to which he nodded. So the way to go was through yes/no questions? All right, then. "Terra, right?" I asked him. He nodded silently again. "Would you mind helping us out here, we need you help with the magic in the ground?" I asked him again.
This time he didn't nod or shake his head, he simply crouched down, just as I had before, and touched the ground with the tips of his fingers. I had no way of knowing what he was doing, since he didn't say anything.
But he definitely did something, which was confirmed, when the wall behind Kurama suddenly exploded - making all of us jump in surprise - showing us that the magic keeping it together had been conquered and neutralized.
I looked up at my tall Spirit and smiled. "Thank you Terra, you really helped us out, I'm afraid the completion of the contract has to wait for later." I told him apologetically. Finally, he smiled at me, waved and then disappeared without a word. That smile, he had been genuinely happy there. He was a funny guy.
I turned to Metallicana to remind him it would be awesome if he could hurry up just a bit, when he suddenly blasted a big hole in the bars. "Haeana Tarakona's Haruru!" (Iron Dragon's Roar) He said and let the Iron magic pour out of his mouth and towards those magic-less bars. Seemingly with the magic that he had just gotten out of them. "Gihi!" He added proudly as he stared at the man-sized hole he'd made into the cell.
Acnologia quickly made it through that hole as the first and I quickly followed along. I helped him get Kurama on his back, giving the man a piggy-back. Kurama had completely been drained of any form of energy. He wasn't able to walk by himself, probably also due to being locked up in a cage where he could barely even fit as a Dragon. It had got to have done something to his body.
But either way, Acnologia quickly slipped into the Shadows with his father on his back. I hurried to 464 as Skyadrum grabbed Metallicana's hair, pulling him with her as she followed Acnologia in her Shadow form. 464 also took a hold of my wrist when I had stepped out of the cell and she sped out of the castle, much faster than any of the other two had when I went with them.
Unfortunately there was still too much sun outside for the Dragons to keep their Shadow forms, so we had to reemerge from the Shadows as soon as we got outside. The five of us decided it would be best to go through the slums, as the people there had seen many weird things anyway.
You probably wouldn't believe it, but the slums were surprisingly close to the castle. Why they were so close to each other, I would never be able to explain.
On our way there, we were lucky enough to not meet any people on the streets, who would think of this as suspicious. On the other hand, the slums were filled to the brim with drunkards and people from that lane. They looked at us, but none of them seemed to care much about what was going on.
We slowed down to a walk, instead of the running we'd been doing so far. Now, all we needed to do was to get Kurama out of the city border, where all the Dragons stayed, wanting to freely be able to transform to their Dragon forms. Lucky bastards.
As we walked, I put my arms around myself in discomfort. I guess I would never forget what had once been about to happen here. I got shivers every time I entered this place. Not that I did that often.
"L-Lucy.." I heard a low mutter from the man on Acnologia's back. I quickly walked up next to my mate, both of us looking at Kurama, wondering what he was going to say. "You have to get out of here.." He told me. "Sa-" He was cut off as he abruptly fell into unconsciousness.
I looked at the man confused and worried. What had made him pass out so abruptly? "I'm guessing he's just tired, since he suddenly got pulled out of that cell and now gets all kinds of scent and sounds thrown right at him." Acnologia said, once again facing forward as he walked on.
"That's not exactly right." Someone unfamiliar called out to us. I whipped around and stared at the man who had spoken. He was hiding a little in between two buildings, covering him halfway in shadows. But from what I could see he seemed to be a middle-aged man with silvery-gray hair and warm, brown eyes. He actually looked like a really nice man. But somehow, I got the feeling that he wasn't. "He won't wake up until after these… Games." The man told us.
I glared at him, while Skyadrum took a threatening step forward. "Who are you?" She asked him menacingly. Right now, with the aura she was giving off, it was obvious to me why she was a Head Dragon. She just had that feeling. "And what did you do to Kurama?" She asked him, as if she knew he knew of the unconscious Chaos Dragon.
The man chuckled. It sounded really evil. "Oh don't worry. He'll wake up at some point when the Grand Magic Games have ended." He looked straight into my eyes, for some reason. "Just couldn't have him revealing all my secrets just yet, now could I?" He asked.
My eyes widened. Those were almost the exact words DD had told me when he helped me off the ground earlier. "Y-you are…" I trailed off.
He nodded. "That's correct. I'm the one pulling the strings behind the scenes." He told us with yet another chuckle and a wide smile. Slowly, he began walking back into the shadows, disappearing from sight. "I'll see you soon Lucy, Acnologia." He told the two of us as he disappeared completely, letting the shadows swallow him.
I began running forward, after him. "WAIT!" I yelled after him. I needed to stop him. I needed to know what he was planning and what he had done to Kurama. But as I reached the spot he had just been standing at, his scent suddenly disappeared right there. It was as if the shadows really had swallowed him.
I felt a soft hand land on my shoulder. "Lucy, we need to get Kurama to safety first." I heard Skyadrum say. I nodded, still with my back to her. Then I turned around and followed the others as we continued on to the edge of the city.
Outside Crocus~
Lucy's P.O.V
We had just gotten Kurama to Grandine, under the cover of a forest. She quickly healed him and he was already looking better than he was before. But she also said that there was only so much she could heal. Apparently the old guy had lost a lot of magic, which was why he seemed so frail and old. He should really only be looking like a 25 year old, since he wasn't even 250 yet.
Then Amelane took a look at him, but she couldn't find whatever was keeping him unconscious, which was pretty amazing. There was nothing Amelane couldn't purify with her magic, this was the first time I experienced something like this. Or herself for that matter. Instead, she took out the magic barring my Dragon magic.
But for Amelane not to be able to purify that magic… That just went to show how much that guy knew about us. But how did he? How did he know how to keep something from a Water Dragon? Who really excelled in the purifying department too. And even more so, how did the other members of Raven Tail know so much about us too? Sure, he could have told them a thing or two, but for Kurohebi to actually copy our magic, with the Dragon language and everything too. That guy was just… Really suspicious.
I was so deeply engrossed in my thoughts, I didn't hear the guy who was standing right next to me. "Lucy…?" The guy asked slowly, trying to get my attention.
I wasn't exactly in the mood to talk with people right now, and that was the umpteenth time someone had called out to me today and interrupted something. So to say I was annoyed was quite the understatement. Which was the reason I exploded at the innocent guy. "WHAT?!" I yelled at him. Why the heck did these idiot all have to interrupt everything?
The guy jumped back in surprise and fright at my sudden explosion, probably wondering if he had done something wrong. Which he hadn't. "I-I'm sorry!" He quickly said with his hands in the air as a sign of giving up.
I shook my head and sighed. "No, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have yelled." I looked up at the guy again, this time to figure out who I was talking to. He was in a long, blue cloak, which basically covered everything of him, except some other clothes he wore inside. But he was easy enough to recognize, even if he had the hood over his head. The blue hair and the red tattoo over his brown eyes gave him away. I looked at him with raised eyebrow. "…Jellal?" I asked confusedly. "What are you doing here?" I asked him. Wasn't he supposed to be in jail?
He stared down at me, trying to figure out if it was safe to relax again. Of course, he soon dropped his hands to his sides and nodded. "Yeah, the Council let me go. They said something about not having enough space in the prison." He explained. "Erza sent me to tell you what I told her." He told me.
I nodded and patted the ground. "Sit down, I'm getting the feeling that this could be a long conversation." I told him, feeling the seriousness hanging in the air around him. He nodded and planted himself on the ground, even dared to push back the hood.
He looked right into my eyes. "You see, I've been feeling some strange magic from the Grand Magic Games ever since it began those seven years ago…" He told me.
Line464d comes walking in again, waving at you guys. The scene with Jellal and Lucy freezing and going becoming black/white instead. "Hi you guys, it's me again. There's something I feel that needs to be clarified, so please read at least the first part of the A/N here, it'll hold an explanation to the battle between DD and Lucy last week. Thank you, that's all." She said and disappeared in a cloud of magic.
Some of you have been talking about how it didn't make sense Lucy lost after all this training. She's badass, you saw that against Gajeel and at the MPF, she's badass alright. But she's not godlike. If you want to see that kind of Lucy, you'll have to go somewhere else. Also keep in mind she could only use Celestial magic, which is a 'kind' magic in the way it isn't really meant for fighting like the Dragon Slayer magic is, for example. Which I have also stated a few times. But then why didn't she just use hand-to-hand combat? Well, she did, didn't she? Once again, remember she's still a girl. Dragon or not. By nature, girls are physically weaker than guys, so it's really realistic she lost here. And you saw what he did with the Spirits, she was running out of options. And she lost 'cause her magic was sucked out, if I didn't make that obvious enough. She'd have won had it not been for that, believe me. Since her Dragon would have taken over and all.
And to those of you wondering, no, my Beta didn't force me to put him in the story, he asked and I agreed. Simple as that.
So there we go. Surprisingly long chapter actually. I hadn't expected it to get so long, to be all honest. Only expected to be about half as long, but I'm not complaining.
I won't be putting Jellal and Lucy's conversation into the story, basically he's just telling her the same things he did in the manga/anime, that there's a weird magic around the GMG and that he intended to investigate it. Just thought I should throw him in there.
Oh yeah, of course it isn't the Eclipse Gate or future Rogue who gives off the strange magic :3
Did you guys see the newest episode of Fairy Tail? Jeez, I didn't know whether to cry or laugh, so it became a mix XD
Thank you BecauseIamSoBored, Nilnna, wheafel, StrongGuy159, Nicole (Guest), Xx21KatieKat12xX, Maiannaise, Raventus Dracoria, SillyKitty88, Person (Guest), OtakuLover43, mjb379, Mayawong, Acnologia Prime, Strawberry Cake is Life, babysweets101, Yuniverse, EmmaWatson123, Darkverger1, PuddyKatz, xiiangxin, Aira0906, GoldAge, wild childkk, FT LOVER (Guest), Guest, Tyufvfv, Moonlight Starlove, Alaina Kuski, OnyxTheSaiyan, aristofthemind, .Xx, Guest, Dragongirl4fairytail, CryogenicPlatinum, soul reaper miko, Yuuki Zwin, P. 88, Guest, ThePersonOfNothing and all you other people out there!
~Line464d
