It's Monday! So the votes are in, and it was close, but the final call on the next story after this is Toxic (Nalu Snow White w/ Evil Queen Juvia). Thanks to everyone who weighed in to help with that decision!
This week, let's go further into the Tower of Heaven. This week it's Lyon's turn to narrate.
guest: lol! So, I'll confess that I'm not exactly sure what you're referring to. If you're talking about the movie, I don't think I was shy about gushing about how much I love it and wanted to rewrite it. If you're talking about another fanfiction, I doubt I'm the only one doing a rewrite of Princess Bride. (I know I've seen at least two others.) It's such a classic. Now, if you're saying you've seen this particular story elsewhere, then I probably want to know more about that, because I'm not currently cross-posting anywhere else... so that would be a problem. Thanks for reading!
CoCo4CooCooPuffs: Maybe Erza was going easy on the others? XD Honestly, I think she's way OP, so I tend to pare her back most of the time, so that was probably the real reason for it. As far as Nali goes, I love me some rare pairs, so it's definitely a possibility. She's a little difficult for me to relate to, so I have to think harder to put myself in her shoes, though. The Lion King is also a story on my list, but I think that one's going to go Natza, because that's an even more difficult ship to write (IMHO), and when else will I get that opportunity? I want to check that one off on my metaphorical bingo-card, lol. Thanks for reading!
- K. Chandler
Lyon exchanged glances with Erza.
Zalty may have had a few tricks up his sleeve, but Natsu was more than capable of handling himself. Lyon rubbed at his own face in sympathy. If that first punch was anything to go by, their dragon slayer would be just fine.
"Let's go," he said.
Erza looked back over her shoulder, almost as if unsettled at leaving their teammate behind.
"It's not like there's anything we could do to help," Lyon reminded her. "Fireballs are one thing; impalement is another."
"You're right," said Erza.
"Again? I seem to be on a streak," he commented, trying not to sound too pleased with her approval. He couldn't help it, though. Erza didn't approve of anything either of them did.
"Enjoy it while you can," she remarked.
Though, Erza did let him lead all the way back to the spiraling stairs. Lyon chose not to comment on it. It wasn't much to be proud of. Her faith in him likely resulted from uncertainty caused by her own vision impairment than a vote of confidence in his skills.
Yes, he knew her secret. One need only look at the way she fought, the way she moved, to know. Her weaknesses were clear as day, even if she tried to hide them. And she knew that he knew it. But, ultimately, Lyon understood her desire for secrecy and her need to compensate for her shortcomings. She was proud, much like he was. So, he'd allow Erza her pride, keeping the topic a taboo between them. There were plenty of other things to mock her for, after all.
"To the top, then?" he asked instead.
"To the top," she agreed.
The spiraling staircase coiled around an empty core, blocked off on the right side with a barrier that came up to his waist. The other side, to his left, was walled off completely, hugging the walls of the central shaft. Periodically, this wall would open out and they'd pass a landing that led off onto another floor.
Lyon sprinted up the stairs, taking them two at a time. He could hear Erza just behind him. Every few flights, they'd stop at one of the landings to rest and catch their breaths.
Lyon looked up, trying to count the number of flights left. Even with windows dotting the tower with light at each landing, it was impossible to tell how far they had come or how much further they had to go to reach the top.
It was after their third break that Lyon noticed himself starting to slow down. Erza seemed to be tiring as well.
"Can you keep up?" he asked, massaging his sore calves.
Erza raked her hair out of her sweaty face. "Can you?" she panted.
Lyon smirked. "I was stopping for you."
"You needn't worry about that," she said disdainfully. "I'm not that weak."
"All right. No more stopping. All the way to the top, then," he bluffed.
"We'll do the rest in one go," she agreed, making no motion to continue either.
Lyon joined her at the railing, looking over the edge. He couldn't see the bottom.
"It's a long way down," he said.
"How far do you suppose?" asked Erza.
Lyon produced a small chunk of ice, dropping it down the center shaft of the stairwell. For a while, nothing. Then finally, the clatter of breaking ice reached his ears.
"A long way," he concluded. "I'm not sure if we've even made it half-way or not," he added, looking at the darkness above them, penetrated by pinpricks of light.
"Think one of your ice creations could take us to the top?" asked Erza.
"Afraid not," he said. "There's barely enough room for one person to fit there, never mind a bird large enough to carry one of us."
A blur darted past, rushing up the stairs.
"Did you see that?" he asked.
"No," she said, rubbing at her good eye. "But that doesn't mean it's not there. What is it?"
"I don't know. It was going too fast," he said.
Lyon felt something shoot by again, this time going down the stairs.
"There it is again," said Lyon.
"I felt something this time," said Erza. "Who's there?" she shouted.
When it—whatever it was—passed them for the third time, Lyon whirled around, trying to track the motion.
"What on earth?" muttered Lyon.
"Boo."
Lyon gave a startled yell, nearly tumbling backward over the railing. He had come face-to-face with the most hideous looking man. He had a large, gnarled nose, hair like horns, and a crooked grin.
Erza yanked him back to safety with one hand, while drawing her sword with the other.
"Too slow," sneered the man, bowling past them again, throwing them against the floor.
Lyon felt the sharp edges of the stone steps crash into his side. Erza landed, thankfully, next to him. She pushed up, looking around wildly. Erza craned her neck to try to compensate for her blind right eye.
"I don't like opponents I can't see," she huffed.
"It's not just you," he told her quietly. "He's almost too fast to see."
"Name's Racer," said the man smugly. "Can you guess why?"
"Mother had no imagination?" drawled Lyon, helping Erza to her feet. He moved stand back to back with her. They rarely fought like this. Actually, Lyon couldn't remember them doing this, ever. He and Erza were both more inclined to fight on their own. Still, instinctively, they both knew that this was the most defensible position, especially in close quarters.
Before he knew what happened, Racer had rushed them again, driving a knee into Lyon's jaw. His face exploded in pain.
Erza cried out as a right hook smashed her against the wall with a fleshy thud. Lyon winced at the sound. Before they could pick themselves up again, Racer came in for a second round, knocking the wind out of Lyon as he, too, was thrown like a rag doll.
Lyon swore. This was not working.
"Split up," he whispered, nodding up the stairs. "He can't get us both at once."
"He's so fast," said Erza. "You think we can outrun him?"
"We're going to have to. It's impossible to fight what you can't see," said Lyon.
"You go first," said Erza. "I'll stay back and hold him off."
"I think not. I've got twice the chance you've got," he reminded her, with a subtle nod at her eye. He usually tried to be a little sensitive to her insecurities, but now wasn't the time.
Erza frowned at that, but she nodded.
"I'm right behind you," he said.
"Hey, where are you getting off to?" crowed Racer, starting to sprint after Erza.
Lyon shifted into a defensive crouch, his hands ready with ice. Racer thought he was fast? Well, Lyon was faster.
Taking a page from the mage in black, Lyon molded a hedgehog, his fingers like lightning. Lethal spikes glistened, even with what little light reached them. He strapped the contraption on his back before scrambling after Erza. Racer skidded to a stop, probably eying the wicked barbs.
"What's the matter, Racer?" shouted Lyon. "That precious speed of yours about to get you skewered?"
Racer growled, driving a careful foot through the ball of ice before continuing to make chase. Lyon had to be even faster if he wanted to win.
Lyon looked over his shoulder, formed a sleek panther to spring after the speedster, hoping to slow him down. Racer slipped out of the way easily.
"Impossible…" muttered Lyon.
The panther turned, bounding up the stairs to make a second pass. The speedster dodged again, vaulting onto the beast's back, whooping wildly as he rode the creature up the stairs. It looked almost like the panther had sped up as soon as Racer touched it.
Lyon let the panther dissipate. He was almost positive that his panther had been faster when Racer had been on it. Had Racer been able to control his ice? That didn't make any sense…
What was going on? Lyon readied his next attack, preparing to test his theory.
"Pay attention, bird brain!" he barked. Lyon sent a flurry of ice sparrows to slow Racer down. They nipped at his hair and his clothes as he sped past.
"What's that supposed to do?" asked Racer, swatting them away easily and dropping them harmlessly to the ground.
Lyon was sure of it now. The birds definitely moved faster when Racer touched them.
Lyon couldn't tell if Racer was faster or if he just seemed that way, but regardless, anything he touched seemed to inherit that speed. In the meantime, he and Erza, and any attack they launched, would be as slow as ever.
That meant there was no way to stop him… not from here, at least.
"Erza, wait," he called.
Erza slowed half a step, allowing him to catch up. "What is it?"
"It doesn't matter what we do to him," said Lyon. "He'll follow us regardless. It's a matter of time before he catches us."
"What are you proposing?"
There wasn't much he could do about it. The only way to win was to remove Racer from the equation.
"Will you be able to reach the top?" asked Lyon seriously.
"What does that mean?" asked Erza, frowning.
"Will you be able to reach the top?" he repeated. "Or don't you have the skills?" He dangled the challenge in front of her, as was their custom.
"Of course, I can do it," said Erza. "Why wouldn't I?" she asked hotly.
"Make sure you do," said Lyon.
Lyon had spent the last few years looking for Ultear. Trying to find the answers to what happened to his master that day. But it didn't matter what he found. Master Ur was dead. Nothing would change that.
For all he knew, Ultear could have been dead too. His entire quest could have been a futile one.
Despite that, he still searched. He had to, because he still loved her and he couldn't just accept that she was gone for good. Even though he tried to convince himself that it was temporary, the pain of losing her was the worst he'd ever experienced. No man deserved that. Not even the mage in black. It might have been too late for him and Ultear, but it wasn't too late for the mage in black and the princess.
They could still find happiness. Them... and Erza.
Erza especially. She had finally found the man with the seal over his eye. She was so close to achieving her goal, far closer than Lyon was.
Lyon never knew that the man that she had been searching for had killed her fiancé. He never even knew she ever had a fiancé. But now that he did, her quest felt more personal to him than ever. If their roles had been reversed, and he knew that Ultear had been killed, and he knew who had done it? Then he, too, would have stopped at nothing to bring her murderer to justice.
Even though Lyon couldn't stand how high-strung Erza was, and how difficult she was to work with, over time, he had grown to respect her as a comrade and a friend. She deserved the opportunity to finish what she started. She deserved a chance at peace. At happiness.
Erza had that chance now. The man with the seal over his eye was within her reach. As long as she made it to the top, that was.
Lyon sighed, shaking his head. "This is more than I bargained for on a pro bono job…" he muttered, his jaw tightening in resolution.
"Lyon? What—"
Lyon ignored her, pushing her aside, throwing himself at Racer. "This ends now!" he snarled.
Racer, expecting ice, was too shocked to react. Lyon managed to latch onto one of Racer's legs, pulling them both to the ground.
Suddenly, Racer didn't feel so fast.
"Hey, let go!" barked Racer.
"Not on your life," said Lyon.
The men grappled, rolling down the stairs as Lyon fought to keep hold of the troublesome speedster.
Racer hauled them both to their feet, trying to get free. But Lyon wouldn't let go. If he let go, it was over.
But he needed to end this somehow. He needed to take Racer somewhere where he couldn't keep chasing after them.
As Racer struggled, Lyon leaned in. Deliberately, he threw them off balance, tipping them over the edge. Down the hollow center of the stairwell.
He held on for dear life.
Somewhere above him, Erza shrieked his name.
It was a long way down.
Next time, in As You Wish: She had been too weak to save Simon. She was a scared little girl, who stood by and did nothing. She couldn't save Lyon. Again, she just stood by and did absolutely nothing. What good was she?
Stop back next Monday for the next installment, or just follow me, Karine of R011ingThunder.
