Chapter Two
Full Investment
Ulysses slowly regained consciousness and found himself comfortably tucked into a warm bed. He was unbound and freely removed himself from the bed. He recognized the style and furnishing of the room he was in. Several other beds and curtains were in the room, along with various medical supplies, indicating that he was in an infirmary of sorts. The draperies around the window had no light hitting them from the outside and according to Ulysses' internal clock, it was almost midnight. He shook off his grogginess and noticed his abdomen was bandaged, and his shirt, coat, and boots were missing. The lights were out but Ulysses could always rely on his glowing eyes to see perfectly in the dark. Just as he was beginning to regain his bearings, the door to the infirmary opened and light poured in.
"Oh, you're up. I'm not surprised… seeing as how your wounds were healing so quickly." A small, blue-haired girl said as she entered the room. A small white cat followed her in and shut the door for her. She cautiously approached Ulysses with a warm bucket of water and a clean cloth. Ulysses smiled, trying his best to ease her nerves.
"My, you surely are something else. Well, Wendy? Don't just stand there." The white cat said. Ulysses was bewildered by the notion that the cat talked. Wendy blushed and nodded as she set the bucket down and retrieved a chair. She sat down in front of Ulysses and gestured to his bandages.
"C-Can I change your bandages?" Wendy asked nervously. Ulysses nodded and lifted his arms so she could reach them. Wendy fumbled with the cloth for a moment before she managed to undo the wrap. Her tiny hands were chilly against his skin and Ulysses grinned at her overly embarrassed expression. But she gasped when his bandages fell and his wounds were nowhere to be found. They had healed over relatively perfectly. Ulysses was impressed every time he healed without a scar. His enhanced healing factor was less amazing to him than it was to anyone who witnessed it.
"Carla, look… He healed completely since I applied my magic and the bandages. Wow…" Wendy said in awe. Her white cat hopped up on the bed and looked over where Ulysses' wounds used to be. He chuckled and tried petting Carla, who promptly swatted his hand away.
"Ah damn… and here I thought I was dreaming of a talking cat. That's weird." Ulysses said, now understanding that Carla was entirely real. The cat huffed and crossed her arms.
"Well, you're not dreaming!" Carla growled. Ulysses chuckled and slowly got up. He stretched and summoned another shirt onto his body along with his boots. Wendy worriedly ran after him as he began searching for his coat.
"Um, Mister Hephaestus, please don't leave yet. Master Ultear wants to talk to you." Wendy said as she caught his pant leg. Ulysses looked down at her and grinned as he picked his coat off a rack and threw it on. He found his gloves and all his knives inside. He put his gloves on and checked himself once again.
"Don't worry, kid. I'm not going anywhere yet. I need to gather my thoughts and find a way north." Ulysses said, patting Wendy on the head. She blushed but pouted at him.
"I-I'm an adult, an eighteen-year-old adult! Not a kid!" Wendy whined as she bopped her fists against his leg. Ulysses crouched down and looked her over with a scrutinizing eye.
"Really? You're so tiny, though. Maybe your growth spurt was delayed for some reason." Ulysses said. Despite being so low to the ground, Ulysses still seemed to tower over Wendy. She was so small that Ulysses' hand was nearly bigger than her head. But as he examined her, Carla walked over and stabbed her claw into his knee.
"Hey, hands off! She is still a lady." Carla scolded as she tried scratching him again. Ulysses held his hands up in surrender and backing towards the door. Little moments of time where Ulysses could appreciate fine details had become rare to him. Being chased for two years undoubtedly leaves little time for fun. But Ulysses opened the infirmary door and stepped out into the hall where Wendy and Carla followed him.
"As much as I would like to chat some more, would you mind showing me the way to your guild master?" Ulysses asked as the door closed. Wendy nodded and pointed down the hall behind him.
"Her office is down here. The other direction is… well… a bit missing." Wendy said. Ulysses looked down the hall in the opposite direction and saw where he was flung through the wall earlier.
"Yeah, sorry about that. Bastard surprised me." Ulysses sighed. The scale of the destruction was looking relatively expensive. It chilled him to the bone thinking about paying for his enemy's irresponsibility and chaos. He again cursed the Golden Skull for their careless misdeeds and followed Wendy down the hallway. As he walked, Ulysses picked up on voices whispering his name, or one of his names, throughout the building. It seemed that the guildhall was also a home for many of these women. And as he neared a large wooden door near the end of the hall, he picked up on several, much louder voices.
"He attacked me! Why the hell are we helping him!?" an ear-grating voice yelled from beyond the door. It must have been Minerva complaining about him. Ulysses glanced down at Wendy with a sheepish grin and a shrug. She shared his nervous sentiment. But before Ulysses even reached the door it burst open to reveal a fuming Minerva. She spotted him instantly and stalked forward. Wendy nervously backed away.
"You! I don't know why we even bothered saving your sorry ass, but I hope you get out of here and soon. I don't want to see you ever again." Minerva growled as she got in Ulysses' face. While Minerva was beautiful, he could not stand someone so incredibly selfish and glared at her.
"Tell that to the next person who saves you from certain death." Ulysses retorted and simply walked past her. Minerva was stunned silent and left to boil in her own anger. Wendy quickly disappeared as Ulysses entered the office and spotted Ultear sitting at a large desk. Papers were scattered about the office in huge piles and Ultear was rubbing the stress from her temples.
"Ah, Hephaestus, good… I couldn't stand Minerva's whining any longer. Please, sit." Minerva said, gesturing to the seat across from her. Ulysses gladly accepted the chair and kicked back in it. His laidback demeanor was nothing short of a relief for Ultear as she smiled and laid back in her chair as well.
"Is she the only one complaining? I thought there might've been a queue when I woke up." Ulysses joked. Ultear laughed all too tiredly at him. It seemed to Ulysses that he was not quite wrong in that regard. Usually his offensiveness and disregard for most institutions and rules led to him being the center of annoyance for many.
"If she were the only one complaining, then this evening would have been much nicer. But most of the girls don't like men, and were very adamant about wanting you just cast out into the street. Luckily our resident healer and sweetheart had already started attending to your wounds… after that, most of the objections died out. Except Minerva. Seems you really embarrassed her." Ultear explained tiredly. Ulysses shrugged.
"If her ego were any bigger it'd make her boobs look small." Ulysses jested with a wry smile. Ultear cracked up laughing and slapped her desk. His endless ability to insult and demean was always alive and well. Even in dire situations. Or even when he was being tracked by three different empires and they were all starting wars.
"I feel bad for laughing, but it is true. I fear for her. She's like I was, rude, vile, and sometimes downright cruel… But that's beside the point of why I wanted to see you. How was your rest?" Ultear asked, shifting the conversation. Ulysses raised his shirt to reveal his scar-less wound had healed over. Ultear was somewhat surprised by his condition. Ulysses himself, however, took note of Ultear's trivial mention of her past self.
"Interesting. Completely healed. Wendy had mentioned your wounds had healed well when she treated you. Well, I suppose that means you'll be heading out, right?" Ultear asked, a hint of disappointment in her voice. Ulysses rubbed his chin and kicked back on his chair.
"Hmm, yes and no. I need to figure out how deep my enemies have dug their heels here. I was hoping to get to Nordland as fast as possible, but since that incident at the gate stopped me, and then the invasion and getting my ass kicked… Basically I'm back to square one. I need to reconsider my options. And since no one is dumb enough to sail near Nordland, I need to get there on foot." Ulysses explained. Despite his casual demeanor, Ulysses was deeply concerned by the unknown trail that lay ahead of him.
"I heard that someone invaded Fiore from a neighboring country. Another one of your 'friends'?" Ultear asked with a crude grin.
"Yeah," Ulysses said with a sigh. "The Hittites. The smallest of the three but also the most impulsive and ruthless. They've probably already torn half the countryside apart just looking for me." He remembered seeing the Hittite forces. They had already been in a battle before clashing with the Assyrians.
"Seems you're a very important man… Hmm, Hephaestus, you're more than welcome to stay here while your enemies flounder in their search of you." Ultear offered suddenly. In an instant, Ulysses went from relaxed to suspicious. He was still a foreigner. He knew of not one person in Fiore he could trust. He certainly was not going to fall into a trap.
What's she pulling? A stranger walks into town, kicks the shit out of your subordinates and then you just want to help him? Ulysses thought. He scanned the room and found nothing of interest. The guild master's office was clear, clean, and unimpressive aside from the furniture. And clean was a relative description. Ulysses did not count stacks of paper as clutter. He eyed Ultear. Looked deeply into her eyes. He saw a hint of mischief, but no malice.
"Why?" Ulysses asked cautiously. Ultear smiled and placed a piece of parchment on her desk. Ulysses recognized the insignia planted in the wax seal. But the seal had already been broken. And something was wrapped in the paper. She slid the parchment over and Ulysses warily opened it up. A long dagger rolled out, broken at the hilt.
'Dear Miss Scarlet, your weapon, as requested, is enclosed in this package…' Wait, I remember this. I sent this out two years ago, a cruciform dagger that I wrapped for someone as a present. Ulysses thought, wide-eyed as he looked over the dagger he had crafted. It pained him to see it in such a debilitated condition. The letter was in his handwriting. And the seal, his. A hammer crossed with a key.
"How the hell did you get this? I remember sending this off to Miss Scarlet two years ago… wait, don't tell me. ERZA!?" Ulysses exclaimed as the realization hit him. He remembered the request he had received with payment for the dagger currently in his hand. He pulled the document from his pocket dimension and found the signer, 'Erza Scarlet' in beautiful handwriting.
"Erza had you make that dagger as a gift for Kagura's birthday. But since it had your insignia it was stolen mid-shipment and got broken. But when she sent for you again, you had vanished from your previous address. She's kept it ever since, hoping to have it re-forged." Ultear explained, her tone soft and her eyes teary. Ulysses rolled the blade over in his hand. The edge was still psychotically sharp. His insignia was carved into the base of the blade and the handle.
"That's easy. I could re-forge a dagger in my sleep. So does this mean you're willing to help me against the Empires?" Ulysses asked, his suspicions still not sated.
"I see no other way. Until things calm down, it seems you're a bit stuck. So, if you don't mind being surrounded by women twenty-four-seven, then you can stay here, Hephaestus. But, I'd like to think of it as an investment…" Ultear said with a mischievous smile. And there was the notion that had kept Ulysses' suspicions raised.
"An… investment?" Ulysses wondered. Ultear's smile widened as she pulled out a key and handed it to him. It had a room number attached to it, and a smaller key hung from the ring labeled 'Undercroft'. He felt a looming sense of doom and hope simultaneously.
"Yes. An investment for the future."
What the fuck did I just get myself into?
The Next Morning…
Erza arose early each morning, either to train with Kagura, her sister-like friend and comrade, or go out on a good job before someone swipes it. But today was a training day and she was dressed in her armor before the sun breached the sky. Though, despite her eagerness to train, she felt a strong, distracting curiosity in her. It regarded the fate of a famous swordsmith and infamous swordsman in one. But as she headed downstairs from her room in Mermaid Heel's guildhall and reached the door to the underground training center, a certain noise caught her ear's attention. It came from beyond the door. A loud pinging that repeated at a steady pace.
"Sis? Why're you standing out here?" Kagura asked as she approached. Erza turned and shushed her compatriot who then started listening with her. Kagura's eyes widened at the noise as she gripped her sword nervously.
"Someone's using the forge downstairs… I wonder… No, he probably ran away. Men aren't allowed here anyway… Master knows that…" Erza mumbled to herself. The noise persisted but was soon followed by a loud sizzling noise. She could not help herself. Curiosity took hold and Erza opened the Undercroft door. It was unlocked. An unusual occurrence, seeing as how the door was locked after midnight each night. The sisterly swordswomen descended the staircase into the depths of the basement of Mermaid Heel. When they reached the bottom, the lights in the arena were on, and the forge across the room was bright with orange fire. Erza stopped dead in her tracks. Standing before the forge, eyes bright green and focused, shirt nowhere to be found, and covered in sweat and determination was no one other than Hephaestus. The Forge Master himself. Ulysses Ottoman.
"Morning, Erza, Kagura. You two sleep well? Healed up?" Ulysses called across the chamber. His eyes had not moved from the orange steel in his tongs. Erza glanced at Kagura and the pair cautiously approached the forge.
"Um… Hephaestus," Erza started. Ulysses slammed down the blade he was working on and shot her an exasperated glare.
"Jeez, call me Ulysses. Hephaestus was just a cover name. I think we hit each other enough to call each other by our names, eh?" Ulysses wondered with a tired grin. He then began hammering the orange steel on the anvil. Sparks and dregs flew off of the steel with each powerful strike of the hammer in his hand.
"Okay… Ulysses, might I ask what you're still doing here?" Erza asked. The room was void of speech for a moment as Ulysses shaped the steel. He stopped for a moment and returned the blade to the forge. The cooling steel started heating again.
"Your guild master was kind enough to hide me until some of the mess I created blows over and I can move north. So, in return… I'm forging weapons and promised to help you girls on quests that require my skills." Ulysses explained. He brought the blade out of the forge and began hammering again. After a moment he was satisfied with the result and picked it up in his gloved hand. He moved it to a large tube in the floor filled with liquid and dunked the blade in, hanging it from a hook to sit in the tube. Ulysses removed his gloves and wiped the sweat from his brow with a towel. The heat from the forge carried out to the girls who were beginning to sweat as well. Erza ReQuipped a large shield to block the heat.
"Master Ultear… is letting you stay? But that's against the rules!" Kagura exclaimed. Erza agreed with her sentiment. She feared that their master had officially lost it. Ulysses chuckled and turned away to retrieve something. He walked out from the forge room with a folded red cloth.
"Rules, laws, kingdoms… I've broken them all. Don't worry. I'll be gone before you know it. But don't come begging for me to come back when you miss me." Ulysses jested as he handed Kagura the red-clothed object. She was bewildered at first but started unraveling the cloth as Ulysses went back to work. Erza watched as a familiar dagger came from the cloth and she gasped.
"That dagger… Did… did you fix it, Ulysses?" Erza wondered, staring in awe between the weapon and its maker. Ulysses grinned as he attended to the weapon he quenched.
"Yep, it was easy," Ulysses said as he pulled the sword out of the oil and wiped it down. "And, I couldn't rightly leave with my blacksmithing reputation ruined. That was supposed to be a birthday present, right?" Kagura turned to Erza with teary eyes.
"Sis… d-did you have this made for me?" Kagura wondered. Erza nodded as she too was overwhelmed with emotion. Kagura cried happily as the two hugged tightly. Erza glanced at Ulysses and saw him smiling as he wiped down the quenched sword.
His lips curled into a warm smile as he heard the two girls embrace behind him. Kagura's cries of joy warmed his heart and he felt Ezra's eyes on him. Sure, he was a deadly, annoying, and rude man who should have died long ago. But Ulysses still felt warmth in his heart. Especially since his work only reinforced a bond he sensed when he first met the pair who ended up taking him down. He most certainly heard how Kagura addressed Erza. They were sisters by trial, rather than blood. Ulysses set down the sword he was working on when Kagura approached him. She held the sheathed dagger close to her heart with her sword.
"Mr. Ottoman…" Kagura started. Ulysses took his glove off and gently bonked her on the head with it.
"My name is Ulysses. But if you like my family name, you can call me Otter." Ulysses said with a grin as Kagura pouted at him. But it wasn't long before a nervous smile graced her lips.
"Um… Ulysses, thank you." Kagura said simply. She fidgeted nervously. Ulysses waved her off.
"Ah, don't worry about it. My weapons don't normally break so easily, so I couldn't let such a disgrace exist. I reinforced the hilt and engraved the guard with your name. I didn't know what your last name was, so I put 'Kagura Scarlet'. I'd honestly think you two were sisters if… um, Kagura?" Ulysses trailed off as Kagura hung her head and sniffled. She suddenly jumped into him and threw her arms around his shoulders, which left her dangling from him. Ulysses froze up slightly and blushed. His years of solitude and lack of human contact left him somewhat unsure of what to do. But as Kagura's tears of pure happiness dripped onto his chest, he softened and patted her on the back.
"Thank you… I can't explain how much this means to me." Kagura mumbled as she let him go. Ulysses awkwardly rubbed his head and grinned. Kagura's scent lingered on him. He felt something start ablaze inside himself.
"Sure… no problem. Now go give it a test. Edge is still as sharp as the day I made it." Ulysses said, ushering her out of the forge. Kagura wiped her tears and rejoined Erza. The pair then ventured off into the underground training facility. Ulysses heard their murmurings, even from afar.
"I can't believe you just hugged him. I thought men disgusted you?"
"He's… not so bad."
Ulysses sighed as he took a seat on a stool by the workbench. His projects for the day were far from over but he needed a moment. Something was on fire. And it was not the forge.
Wow… alright, she was really affectionate. Oh that isn't good. My body reacted to her. I must've suppressed it too long. But the legends say overuse is bad as well… Well fuck. This might've been a REALLY fuckin bad idea. A lone man amidst a guild of women… Ulysses thought as he walked out of the forge and cooled off in the training field. He wiped his face with his towel and watched as a few other girls came downstairs. The scents in the building were really starting to get to him. It had gone from suffocating perfume to being able to pick out individual scents. He remembered Kagura's unique scent of steel and lavender. His blood boiled.
"What the-!? This guy is still here!?" Mira yelled from across the field. Ulysses sighed and turned back to the forge.
Just ignore it and keep working… Ultear promised to settle any disputes. Ulysses went back to cleaning up the sword he was working on. But as he worked the women of the guild started catching the whispers of him. They began gathering around the forge, watching him work with interest, confusion, and anger. Mira walked up to the forge and blocked his path to the grindstone.
"Hey, Hefa- Wait a minute, what's your name?" Mira wondered. Ulysses sighed.
"Ulysses Ottoman, Hephaestus… Guy that beat you up. Etcetera." Ulysses joked. Mira glared at him and crossed her arms. An action that accentuated her large bust. Ulysses felt himself fighting the urge to look the portion of her chest that her dress exposed. An urge he never seemed to have trouble controlling before.
"Wise-ass… What are you doing here?" Mira demanded. Ulysses grinned and gestured to the sword in his hand.
"Forging." He answered simply. But when he tried to step past Mira to reach the grindstone she reacted violently. A small burst of magic made Ulysses step back and set the sword down. Mira glared heatedly at him.
"I see that! But why the hell are you still in our guildhall? And after you humiliated me in the town square?" Mira demanded, stepping up to Ulysses. He felt his magic flare as she grew increasingly threatening.
"Now, now, everyone calm down. Mirajane," Ultear said as she pushed her way to the front of the crowd. Mira backed down. "Hephaestus is here under my care. We've come to an agreement and part of that agreement is that he's using the forge to make us some weapons. I'm sorry for her, Hephaestus, some of my girls are sticklers for the rules."
"Yeah… Um, could this crowd disperse? I like working in relative solitude if you don't mind." Ulysses said. Ultear nodded and shooed away the rest of the girls, leaving herself, a pink-haired girl Ulysses barely recognized, and Mirajane.
"Again, my apologies. Most of the girls haven't been around very many men. I'm sure you can understand." Ultear said with a small bow. Ulysses chuckled sadly. Her kind words had hit far too close to home. He picked up the work-in-progress sword and made it over to the grindstone.
And I haven't been around women this much for over six years. Fuckin ditto. Ulysses thought angrily as he began grinding off some of the excess slag leftover on the sword. He used a fine stone to put a shine on the blade.
"Master, what kind of wild idea did you come up with this time? He's not only dangerous, but isn't he like wanted in three countries?" Mira protested.
"Empires don't send armies and assassins after outlaws." Ulysses said as he finished grinding the blade. He wiped away any excess dust and went about polishing it with a fine cloth and some oil. Ultear pulled Mira out of the forge as she glared at him.
"Mira, dear, he won't be here long. Just until some of the mess following him blows over and he has a clear path up north. Plus, he'll be a good influence. I'm sure of it." Ultear explained to Mira. Ulysses silently laughed.
Ha, "Good influence", that's fuckin rich. Ulysses thought as he finished polishing the blade. He then set to work on attaching the upswept guard and put the sword in a vice.
"Hmm, fine. You are the guild master… but if he does anything… lewd or violent, I'm going to rip him in half." Mira said threateningly. She shot a glare at Ulysses who ignored it in favor of finishing the sword. She then huffed and walked away. Ultear sighed.
"She's a fiery one." Ulysses commented as he gently hammered the guard on. Ultear walked onto the forge floor, followed by the pink-haired girl. They watched Ulysses work for a few moments. Their watchful eyes became a distraction for Ulysses as he knocked the guard down too hard and it went on crooked. He cursed silently and set his tools down with an exasperated sigh.
"Have you been working since last night?" Ultear asked as Ulysses sat down to take a drink. He nodded as he drank and wiped the sweat from his head. He glanced back at the sword and glared at the crooked guard. But as he did so, Ultear's hand lit up with magic and the guard slowly fixed itself to a position before he had screwed it up.
"That's nifty." Ulysses commented. Ultear smiled and sat down across from him.
"Um, you do know I gave you a room. You can go sleep if you're tired…" Ultear said as she watched him. Her eyes flickered from his hands to his body and back to his eyes. Ulysses grew slightly uncomfortable under her gaze.
"Yeah… I don't need that much rest. Maybe a few hours a week at the most. It's a… condition." Ulysses explained. He needed to keep some secrets, for the safety of the masses. And he hoped that nobody started picking up on that particular one.
"Oh, I see. In that case, if you're feeling up to it, I have a job for you. Well, technically it's one of the member's jobs, but she would like a companion and I think you'd be perfect." Ultear said with a happy clap. Ulysses sighed. It had been part of their agreement that he would help when she felt his presence was necessary.
"Ah… Alright, so who am I accompanying?" Ulysses asked. Ultear turned to the pink-haired girl.
"Meredy, would you mind going and getting Lucy? I don't think she's officially met Hephaestus yet." Ultear said. Meredy nodded and headed off back upstairs. Ulysses had to stop himself from watching her walk away. His eyes seemed to have a mind of their own. Ultear started smiling at him wickedly.
"Oh, Hephaestus… don't tell me… Are you ogling my girls?" Ultear asked, pushing her arms against her chest. Ulysses forced his eyes to focus on Ultear's eyes. She giggled and stopped pushing her chest up.
"N-No… I'm not an animal… It's natural… though… right?" Ulysses grumbled, cursing himself for being so careless. Ultear giggled, turning slightly and tugging on the edge of her skintight suit. The side of her breast nearly caught his eyes. She was screwing with him.
"It's hot by the forge… how do you stand it? I see you took your shirt off. You know, you're not bad looking. I'm betting the girls were eyeballing you just as bad…" Ultear said teasingly. Ulysses' eyes widened as he realized her words held some truth. He blushed at the thought and turned away. Ultear giggled.
"Oooh, big bad blacksmith has a soft spot, hmm? Don't be embarrassed…" Ultear trailed off. Ulysses heard her get up and she leaned over him. Her breath connected with his ear and he could feel the playful grin on her face.
"I'm not… I just didn't realize that was a possibility." Ulysses mumbled as he tried to calm down. Ultear's warm breath on his skin did not help. But when her sizeable chest pressed into his back he stiffened up.
"Um… Master…" Meredy said from across the room. Ultear got off of Ulysses and he breathed a sigh of relief. Whatever Ultear had been planning was thoroughly thwarted. Ulysses wiped himself off with his towel and summoned his shirt on. Meredy looked on in slight confusion, a sentiment shared by the busty blonde next to her.
"Ah, wonderful! Lucy, this is Hephaestus. You said you needed someone to help on your quest and I think he'll be perfect." Ultear said, introducing the two. Ulysses walked out of the forge floor past Lucy and picked his coat off of a stool. He threw it on and pulled his fingerless gloves on.
"Um, Master, are you sure I should take a man with me? And can I trust him?" Lucy wondered with concern. Ultear patted her head and pushed her over to Ulysses' side.
"It'll be alright! Just do your mission and he'll keep you safe! We have an agreement with him. And Hephaestus is really a nice fellow. Now, off you go! Bye-bye for now!" Ultear said as she started ushering them upstairs. Next thing Ulysses knew, he was stuck outside with Lucy and the guild doors slammed shut behind them. He looked out across Helios and Lucy turned to regard him.
"Aha… sorry about this. I didn't think Master would force you to tag along with me. Oh, I should introduce myself, properly! I'm Lucy Heartfilia, pleasure to make your acquaintance." Lucy said, holding out a hand to shake. Ulysses shook her hand gently.
"Ulysses Ottoman. Hephaestus is just an alias." Ulysses said.
"Ulysses… Ottoman? Like as in the Ottoman Empire?" Lucy wondered innocently. Ulysses could tell the girl before him was sharp. A bit sharper than he might have expected at first.
I really do need to be careful. "In a way, yeah. But that's not important. What's this job?" Ulysses asked. His abrupt change of subject made Lucy curious but she dropped the thought and unfolded a flyer from her satchel.
"It's a retrieval quest… For some sort of tracking device. The client posted a handsome reward, so I figured I could do it pretty easily. Shouldn't be much trouble. I can already see the stacks of Jewel…" Lucy trailed off. Her heart was set on the large reward on the poster. But Ulysses was curious about the stolen device described.
An instrument that can lock onto powerful magical signals after absorbing some of the target's magic. It is a highly useful and invaluable invention, but the only prototype was stolen. Ulysses grew more concerned as he looked into the finer details of the flyer. It was a relatively fresh piece of fine parchment and the handwriting was shaky, illegible even.
"Lucy," Ulysses started. Lucy stopped daydreaming about money and turned her attention to him. "When did this flyer go up? And from who?" Ulysses asked.
"Hmm… I think it just came in yesterday. And I think a scientist from a nearby town is the client." Lucy explained, tapping her forehead in thought. She smiled but soon grew nervous as Ulysses loomed over the flyer with a distraught and wrathful glare to his eyes. He turned his eyes to hers and stared deeply into them. There was nothing but honest curiosity and concern in her eyes.
"Tell me, Lucy… You're a mage, a good one, I assume. What do you sense when you look at me?" Ulysses asked. One sorceress had already deciphered the magic in him. He could not hide it, only suppress and contain. It was useless to hide from mages. Lucy calmed down. She sensed his somber demeanor. Could feel the dread in his mind.
"Power. Loads and loads of magic power, but I assumed it was because you were a good ReQuip Mage like Erza. Minerva mentioned it… after, you know. And Master noticed it, but was less vocal about it. I didn't want to say anything because well, if you were dangerous, and since you seem to be hiding a lot of secrets…" Lucy trailed off as Ulysses held up a finger for silence. He sighed and summoned a sword onto his hip.
"Alright. Alright… I can use ReQuip very effectively, this is true. And I'm sure you're all dying to figure out what kind of stuff I'm hiding. But even if you don't trust me all that much, you should trust when I tell you not to dig too deeply. All you need to know is that I might be more trouble than your Master bargained for. Please… be on your guard." Ulysses said pleadingly. He hid his emotions. Lucy calmly nodded and they silently agreed to set out. As Ulysses followed Lucy down and out into the streets of Helios, the impeding and heavy sense of dread that clutched to his mind seemed to grow deeper with each step.
If fate is not evil, it will not put these girls in even more danger because of me… But, I've never known fate to be moral, or even good.
Hours. They passed as Ulysses followed Lucy through the hills and forest roads of Fiore. He had little notion of where they were headed. He was not acquainted with Fiore's layout, or territory. One had very little time to study maps, charts, and diagrams when pursued incessantly by rabid assassins. They passed small huntsman's huts, fisher's docks on ponds and alongside rivers, but the nearest town was still a measure away as Lucy had put it.
"Hey, Ulysses," Lucy called from ahead. Ulysses glanced up. He was a good fifty feet behind her. He caught up and stopped behind her. Lucy pointed down the road at what appeared to be a checkpoint. "Recognize any of those men down there? They stopped that merchant."
"Assyrians," Ulysses confirmed. He had instantly recognized their silvery armor and red feather crests. "One of the three Empires on my trail. Going around at this point isn't gonna work, they probably spotted you. Lucy, listen here…" Ulysses trailed as he summoned a cloak. Lucy paid the utmost attention to him. Ulysses felt a small measure of relief. She was taking him seriously.
"Should I do the talking?" Lucy asked. Ulysses smiled, she was already formulating a plan of bypassing the Assyrians. Ulysses should have expected such an instance. The Assyrians had proven their diplomacy time and time again. So a diplomatic mission to Fiore to search for their 'fugitive enemy of state' gave them unlimited access to Fiore's roadways and towns.
"Yes. Tell them you're a guild wizard escorting a client. Make up whatever lie you want. If the plan caves and they suspect us, I want you to run for cover and close your eyes and ears. The Assyrians made a deal with Fiore, they're here legally and have diplomatic immunity, which means diddly-squat to me." Ulysses explained as he donned the cloak and hid his key necklace. Lucy nodded with determination and put on a wondrous fake smile. Ulysses grinned and they began making their way towards the checkpoint. A small squadron of fifteen men patrolled the road.
"You there! Halt!" an Assyrian spearman called as Lucy approached with her cloaked client. Ulysses kept his head down, hiding his glowing eyes.
"Hi fellas! What's going on?" Lucy said as they stopped. The merchant was allowed to go on. The Assyrian captain approached and held up a sketch of Ulysses.
"We're hunting for a fugitive of Assyria whom we believe has fled here to Fiore. Do you recognize this man?" the captain asked. Lucy shook her head and accentuated her bust purposefully. Ulysses could tell she was distracting them a bit.
"No, I think I would remember someone like him. I always remember handsome men, I know I'll remember you boys." Lucy said flirtatiously. The Assyrian soldiers all reacted to her compliment with a mixture of embarrassment and arrogance about their looks. The captain did not seem impressed by Lucy's charm, however.
"Miss, might I inquire about you? To where do you travel, and who is your companion?" the captain asked, his face stoic. Lucy nodded and gestured to Ulysses.
"I'm a guild wizard and I'm escorting my client here to the next town over. And, as you can see, my client is a very private person." Lucy said, the fun and light lilt in her voice was very convincing. The captain narrowed his eyes at her and Ulysses. He turned to his men. Ulysses felt a change in the air. Their lie was working against them.
"Men, take the hooded one. He's hiding something." The captain said bluntly. Lucy cried out in annoyance.
"What!? You can't do that!" Lucy exclaimed in protest. Ulysses stepped in front of her. The Assyrians stopped their approached as Ulysses reached across under his cloak.
"Lucy. Run." Upon his command, Lucy raced off into the trees as Ulysses drew his sword and ripped his cloak off.
"It's him! Get him!" the captain yelled. But he had spoken his last as Ulysses' sword took his head off. The two spearmen tried to surround him, but Ulysses summoned forth a spear of his own and rammed it into one of them. The other charged from behind, only to be run through by his comrade's weapon cast at him by Ulysses. The small squadron regrouped and drew short swords accompanied by large round shields. They charged Ulysses in a futile attempt to overwhelm him. It ended with them subsequently being cut down one by one as Ulysses danced between them and cut away, slicing off sword arms, legs, and even gutting one of the men right through his armor. The last one alive dropped his sword and shield to beg on his knees. Ulysses remembered the last time he left an Assyrian alive.
Ha, bastard stabbed me right between the ribs. If not for my healing factor, I'd have died. Ulysses flipped his sword around and rammed it between the man's neck and shoulder. He groaned silently and fell as the sword left his body. Ulysses wiped the blood from his sword and retrieved his cloak.
"Lucy!" Ulysses called. He followed the scent of lilacs and lemon to a nearby tree where Lucy was crouched with her eyes closed and ears covered. Ulysses shook her shoulder and she yelped. After noticing it was Ulysses she calmed down.
"Oh, Ulysses… is it over? What did you do to them?" Lucy asked as she tried to glance around the tree. Ulysses caught her wrist and forced to look at him. She flinched at the cold, barren light in his eyes.
"What I normally do to my enemies. Don't look at them." Ulysses said with a suffocated sigh. Lucy's face fell and she looked on with disappointment at Ulysses.
"Did you really have to… kill them?" Lucy asked, disgust permeating her voice. Ulysses sighed and leaned on the tree heavily.
"What do you want me to do? Slap them on the ass and tell them to knock it off? The assassins at least make it known they want me dead. The Assyrians and Hittites, they'd capture me, take my key, torture me, and then hang me for almost no reason." Ulysses explained. His grim exasperation led to a long silence. Lucy glanced at him every so often. He felt her aversion to him growing with each passing second. She seemed to be searching for some reason or inclination to do away with her repulsed feelings towards Ulysses.
"We should go…" Lucy mumbled. Ulysses nodded and roused himself from his state of self-loathing and weariness. He guided Lucy away from the scene of the slaughter and pushed her ahead.
"Go, walk ahead for a while. I'll catch up in a few minutes. I have to dispose of those Assyrians before someone finds them. Then the whole of Ishgar will know I'm here if I don't." Ulysses explained as he turned back. Lucy caught his hand in hers. Ulysses felt a spike drive itself into his heart and mind. He looked down at her hand.
"Ulysses… don't let it consume you." Lucy said. He could tell she was not entirely certain of what she meant by her words. And neither was Ulysses. He nodded and pulled away. Lucy hesitated before walking on towards their destination.
Ulysses approached the carnage his blade and hand had wrought and soon had an understanding of Lucy's words. He looked at the blood-soaked dirt and stone, hearing phantom screams emanating from the dark soil. The screams of the men he killed. There was not a day that went by where he did not see the face or hear the cry of each and every man he'd ever slain. But Ulysses did as he had to. There was no other choice when it came to staying alive and protecting the secrets his ancestors held so dear. He gathered the bodies of the Assyrians together in a pile along the gully of the road. Weapons and all were stacked up on the dead.
"Fuck… here goes…" Ulysses sighed as he breathed deep and felt his magic flare up. But no weapon was summoned. His eyes glowed brighter and his outstretched palm held a bright white glowing ball with a dim green hue to it. He turned his hand over and aimed it at the pile of men and in an instant it fired off a large blast of superheated energy. Wind kicked up, the sky grew dim, and the ground beneath Ulysses became black with the burning energy he released. He cut off the energy and everything returned to normal, everything except Ulysses himself. Before him now was a black, sooty mark on the ground where the bodies used to be. And Ulysses let off small, green particles from his exposed skin and hair.
"Ironic, I swore off using that power… but here I am using it to cover my tracks." Ulysses sighed as he began walking back up the road. He left naught behind except the bloody road, though he knew that any who came through would find nothing but charred dirt and blood-soaked stone.
Later…
Lucy sighed as she sat down in the parlor of her new client. The short, bespectacled man twirled his long mustache as he sipped on a cup of tea. His butler poured Lucy a cup and she smiled.
"Thank you… Um, Dr. Fimblefinder?" Lucy said, gaining the doctor's attention. His toothy grin was missing a few teeth but otherwise let off a strong eagerness and joyful mood.
"Yes ma'am! You are here to find my Magico-Fimblefinder-Inator, correct?" Dr. Fimblefinder asked. Lucy nodded but gestured to the door she had just entered from.
"Yes, but I have a companion with me. They should be arriving soon…" Lucy trailed off. The doctor gasped in bewilderment.
"Oh my! Were you separated?" Dr. Fimblefinder asked. Lucy shook her head.
"Not necessarily. He had to… tend to something on the way here." Lucy said. The doctor shared a curious glance with his butler.
"Miss Lucy, if I'm not mistaken, your guild is entirely comprised of females. Correct?" Dr. Fimblefinder wondered. Lucy grew nervous for a moment as she tried to compile a believable lie.
"Um, yes! But! But… I'm working with someone who is an experienced tracker! Kind of a joint effort between guilds. We're just experimenting, you see. He's not actually a member of Mermaid Heel. All it means is that we'll find your device twice as fast!" Lucy explained reassuringly. Her answer seemed to satisfy the doctor's curiosity and calmed the man down. Well, all were calm until the front doors were nearly kicked open. Lucy yelped and nearly spilled all her tea as the doors crashed against their stoppers and Ulysses walked in. His face torn with fear and suspicion, but when he spotted Lucy he relaxed.
"My, oh my! Young man! What do you think you're doing!?" Dr. Fimblefinder exclaimed, waving his arms wildly. Ulysses brushed past the fretful butler and sat down next to Lucy with a relaxed sigh. Lucy was surprised at how warm he felt next to her.
"Worry not, good sir. I am here at the behest of my companion, Lucy, to help retrieve your instrument. As she may have already informed you, I'm not a member of her guild, but I am here with the consent of the Guild Master, Ultear Milkovich. There is naught to be concerned with other than enlightening us with the details of how your invention was stolen from your laboratory." Ulysses explained with the mannerism of a ruler. He sat back on the loveseat, his arm on the rest and supporting his chin. Dr. Fimblefinder's mood shifted to excitement and satisfaction in an instant.
"Ah, finally! A man with class! Do tell me, how do you find the ladies of Mermaid Heel?" Dr. Fimblefinder asked. Ulysses smirked and leaned forward slightly.
"A man who knows a good lady is a man who makes good choices. While they are rather headstrong and powerful, they are all beautiful beyond compare and their grace of femininity is not to be missed. A man who ignores the charm of a Mermaid Heel mistress will find himself being chastised and made a fool for a lifetime to come." Ulysses answered. The doctor smiled and nodded. He stroked his moustache and looked Lucy over.
"I must say, you are correct. But I find myself wondering if their emancipated nature would make them difficult to woo." Dr. Fimblefinder said. Ulysses shrugged and leaned back again.
"That I cannot say for sure. But enough of that. Onto the matter at hand, doctor." Ulysses said, gaining a particularly authoritative bearing. The doctor nodded in agreement and clapped his hands. The butler appeared from another room bearing diagrams and drawings.
"These are the blueprints of my invention. It looks similar to a sextant yet the meter, compass, and directional dial attached to it, as well as the lacrima powering it, are the main differences. This means it can track a source both over land as well as sea." Dr. Fimblefinder explained. Lucy and Ulysses looked over the blueprints for a moment. Ulysses put the paper down and gave the doctor a stern glare.
"This is all well and good, doctor, but we must examine the site of the theft." Ulysses stated. Dr. Fimblefinder nodded and rose from his seat. The butler bowed and gestured for them to follow.
"Miss Lucy did mention you are an exceptional tracker, Master…?" Dr. Fimblefinder trailed off in search of Ulysses' name.
"Ulysses, if you will," Ulysses answered. The doctor nodded and smiled as he led them through his expansive and illustrious mansion. Ulysses gave Lucy a sidelong glance. "And, yes, Lucy is correct. I am a tracker of a sort."
"That's just phenomenal! Right, here we are. My laboratory," Dr. Fimblefinder said as the butler opened a pair of double doors into a large, backyard building with various scientific and alchemical instruments inside, as well as a variety of tools and assemblages of other inventions. "Near the back corner is where the thieves broke in. I've not had anything cleaned or touched since the incident. So, everything should be as it was when the fiends swiped my precious invention."
"Good. We'll have a look around. If you don't mind leaving us alone, it would be extremely helpful." Ulysses said to the doctor. Fimblefinder nodded and left the room with his butler in tow. Ulysses approached the back of the room and Lucy followed him closely.
"So, how'd you know I was good at tracking?" Ulysses asked as he stopped at the edge of the broken glass littering the floor. Lucy nearly bumped into him. Her head had been spinning since he entered the building. How did he suddenly become in charge of her mission?
"Um, well, I didn't. I just was lying to cover for you." Lucy answered sheepishly. Ulysses glanced at her with his stern glowing eyes. She shivered under his gaze.
"Huh. Well, I'll let you in on one of my secrets. It's a rather obvious one. I have enhanced senses. It's how I managed to find you. Lilacs and lemon go together rather nicely." Ulysses said as he crouched down to examine the scene. Lucy felt herself blush and she glared at the back of his head.
"Why were you sniffing me!?" Lucy hissed, instinctively covering her sensitive areas. Ulysses shook his head and chuckled.
"Like I said. I can't really help it, but I was able to use it to track you down. I was glad to see you weren't walking into a trap." Ulysses said as he picked up some glass and sniffed it. His words confused her even more than his sudden control over the situation.
Walking into a trap? To find a magic sensing device? Wait… his magic signature is rather powerful… No! Lucy thought and suddenly grabbed Ulysses by the shoulder. He looked back at her with a curious gaze.
"Do you think this was stolen so they could track you down easily? You're enemies, I mean?" Lucy asked in a hushed whisper. Ulysses nodded solemnly and sighed. He looked out across the broken glass and shattered window. The iron bars that protected the laboratory from a window break-in had done little to stop the thieves.
"Exactly. Which is why I was concerned about this quest. Your guild might get new quests based solely on the fact that I'm here and my enemies are scouring the country in search of me. Which is why I'm only going to stay with you until there's a clear path up north. I'm already guessing that the Assyrians are checking every ship that leaves the port, and the Hittites are sinking those ships." Ulysses explained with a sigh.
"And those assassins?" Lucy wondered.
"The Order of the Golden Skull. They serve under the Head Priestess of the Cult of Ishtar. A malicious woman who'll do anything to gain control over the Far East and the rest of the world, all in the name of Ishtar. She sent two of her Stone Masters to kill me, one of them you already saw. Redstone. He was the one who must've put that bounty on my head. Then when he grew impatient, bombed your guild and attempted to kill me. Since they failed I'm assuming they're comrades are going to try and use this device to track me down. Just a guess, though." Ulysses said. He stood up and examined the table that held the device. Lucy connected the dots in her mind.
"So it's only a matter of time before someone hunts you down." Lucy concluded. Ulysses grunted in agreement.
"Now I'm more concerned about what kind of danger, or deceit you and your guildmates are going to be exposed to because of me. Lot of mouths, lots of words and whispers to go around. Hopefully Ultear is doing damage control for that. She seems like she wants to help, even if it means exposing herself to danger." Ulysses said. Lucy felt slightly overwhelmed by the situation. But she had weathered plenty of storms before. She hoped this one would be no different. She reached forward and caught Ulysses by the shoulder.
"Ulysses," Lucy started. He turned to face her, a shard of red glass in his hand. Lucy had a determined look in her eyes. It somewhat reassured him and also made him anxious. "Master Ultear is right to help you. You're a good person and you need help. So… even if you don't want to tell us everything, we're here to help you."
"Huh…" Ulysses was without words. Never before had he met someone so seemingly selfless that she was willing to help someone she barely knew. An odd sensation riled itself inside him when he looked into Lucy's big brown eyes. Ulysses felt himself growing slightly emotional. He turned away to compose himself.
"I just hope your guildmates feel the same way…" He whispered.
"What?"
"Nothing, let's uh…" Ulysses trailed off. He held up the red-stained glass and looked at it under the light. "This glass has blood on it. The scent is faint, but I can probably track it. Whoever broke that window must've given themselves a nasty cut."
"I wonder if there is a blood trail." Lucy said as she leaned over to the broken window. She nodded and pointed at the dried blood on the sill. Ulysses gave her a thumb up and hopped up on the window to exit.
"Great. That ought to help. Let's go." Ulysses said as he jumped out the window.
"Um, Ulysses, there's a door right over there." Lucy said, pointing across the room. Ulysses glanced back inside and shrugged.
"Alright, I'll meet you out here."
"I see why we don't work with boys."
Ulysses stopped Lucy as they approached the edge of the tree line. They had followed a rather obvious path of trampled plants and broken twigs through the woods behind the doctor's mansion. It led them to a barren road far beyond the town the doctor lived in where a small shack sat across the road. They crouched in the bushes and watched the building for several moments.
"I'm betting anything there's a cave or something under that hut. I can hear echoes coming from it. Faint, but they're there. Let's go in with a plan, alright?" Ulysses said, sitting back and summoning a sword onto his hip. It was a regular arming sword, shorter than his regular carry but just as effective.
"That sounds better than recklessly barging in. Especially if it turns out you're right." Lucy said, kneeling down before him. Ulysses nodded and handed her a sheathed dagger. Lucy eyed it warily before taking it from him. She hooked it to her hip just next to her whip.
"Use that if you have to. Remember, those Golden Skull bastards will kill you. There is no mercy among cultists. Now, what kind of magic do you use?" Ulysses asked. He stood up and watched the hut from around the tree.
"Celestial Spirit Magic." Lucy answered swiftly. Ulysses glanced down at the slew of keys hanging from her hip and noticed they were not normal keys. They each had a different shape and emblem on them. He nodded and tried his best to remember what that meant.
"Alright. I'm not exactly sure what that means, but use it if you have to. For now, let me take the lead. If it turns out I'm right, do not engage them. I know you need the device to make money, but I can't let those bastards track me down." Ulysses explained. Lucy nodded and gripped the dagger handle tightly. She was nervous.
"Okay… so what if we can't take them?" Lucy asked. Ulysses looked her dead in the eye. She flinched at his gaze.
"If you can't, then I want you to run. Run as far and as fast as you can. I'll be fine. If I hand you my coat, then you need to run. Got it? That's only if it goes south in there. Please tell me you'll run if I give you my coat." Ulysses said pleadingly, grabbing Lucy by the shoulders. She was unnerved by him but nodded. Ulysses released her and drew his sword. He nodded and took a deep breath. He did not like the situation at all. He wanted Lucy to stay, to leave and let him die or fend for himself. But he could sense she was not about to give up.
"Okay… I promise to run if I have to. I know you don't want me getting hurt… but I'm tougher than I look." Lucy said confidently. Ulysses prayed silently as he walked out onto the road with Lucy right behind him. As they approached the hut, his adrenaline kicked in and he quietly opened the door. Inside they found nothing but cobwebs, dust, and a trap door. His senses continued to tell him there were voices and movements coming from below, so he cracked the door open and jumped in.
"Stay up there for now." Ulysses ordered and pointed at Lucy. She pouted and nodded. She could guard the entrance. He did not want her in direct danger. Ulysses felt a small relief as she agreed to stay and he continued down the tunnel attached to the trap door. His heartbeat picked up and he summoned another sword to his other hand. The voices grew louder and he heard the ticking of a device.
"Here goes…"
"Greenstone, I can't… look. It isn't working. Stealing the prototype was a bad idea. You couldn't wait five days for this idiot to make a better one?" Orangestone asked as he fiddled with the device on the table before them. Greenstone slammed his hands on the table.
"NO! We need to find Platinum before he flees north. Redstone and Bluestone must have failed. There's no reason for them not to be back by now. You know this! Now make the damn thing work! Bottling his magic residue from his attack back in Caelum wasn't just a fucking afterthought!" Greenstone yelled. A mountainous man stood behind him, his face covered by a grey skull mask. One of the Whites went to check the entrance. Greenstone sighed as Orangestone continued to use the device to the best of his abilities. Greenstone turned to regard the noise behind them and saw his White getting decapitated by the man in question. Almost as if Ishtar herself decided to walk him into their hideout.
"My, oh fucking MY! Orangestone, Greystone, look who it is. Put that stupid contraption down." Greenstone said as the green-eyed swordsman walked into their cave. Torchlight revealed the fury in his visage and the coldness of his glare. Greystone and Orangestone joined him in watching their quarry slice down their subordinates with relative ease.
"Well, well, he is skilled like Mistress said he would be. Just look at him gutting that poor boy." Orangestone commented as the man finished killing their men. He glared at them and shrugged his coat off. It hit the ground with a strong thud. He approached with swords at the ready.
"Charming hideout. Really seals the message that you're barbaric psychopaths hell-bent on world domination." Ulysses deadpanned as he approached the three Stone Masters. Greenstone shook his head and patted Greystone on the back.
"Greystone, kill him. But don't crush him. We're still short his key." Greenstone ordered. The massive man grunted in response and approached Ulysses. He raised his fists up and beat them on his chest like an ape. Greenstone and Orangestone stepped back to watch. Ulysses grew suspicious of the cultist's words. He spun his swords.
"You're going to be short your heads." Ulysses growled as he rushed Greystone. But the massive man was deceptively fast and he had to dodge as two massive fists shattered the stone he had been standing on. Ulysses was suddenly on the defensive as the brutish man swung wildly at him, missing for the most part as Ulysses dodged and rolled under his attacks. Walls of stone shattered and the ground rumbled with each of Greystone's missed attacks. Ulysses found himself jumping and diving over rubble to avoid the monstrous man and soon found his foot catching a fallen stone. He tripped and rolled to a stop. Greystone easily took advantage of his state and smashed him into the ground with his fists. Ulysses screamed as he was planted into the ground.
"Uh… did I smash him?" Greystone asked numbly as he lifted his fists. Blood dripped from the giant's fists as he leveled them with his eyes. Stuck deep in the flesh of his hands were two spiked shields. A groan sounded from the hole in the ground.
"Son of a bitch…" Ulysses mumbled as he pulled himself out of the hole. He had a few bruises and a cut on his forehead, but was ultimately fine. He conjured up his swords again and rushed Greystone while the beastly man was pulling the shields from his hands. Ulysses skidded under the man and sliced out the tendons on the backs of his knees. Greystone moaned as he collapsed on all fours, shaking the ground and crumbling under his own weight. Ulysses turned and mounted him like a hilltop and rammed his swords into the man's neck. Greystone gargled blood for a moment before collapsing dead on the floor. Sarcastic clapping ensued as Ulysses pulled his swords free and turned to face down Greenstone and Orangestone.
"Bravo, bravo, Platinum! You killed one of the Greys. What a fucking achievement. Greys are like the Whites, fodder for us Stone Masters. Orangestone, take the contraption and get out of here. I'll tend to Platinum." Greenstone said as he finished clapping and drew a pair of sabers. Orangestone took hold of the device on the table and Greenstone barred Ulysses from charging him. Orangestone escaped as Ulysses clashed with Greenstone.
"You're all dead men. I'll kill as many of you as I have to in order to keep you from getting this key." Ulysses said as he held back the cultist. Greenstone smiled under his mask and they disengaged.
"You're all we have left. Once you either die or are captured, we can open the Platinum Vault." Greenstone said as they clashed again. Both came away from the sword lock and tango with cuts. Ulysses hesitated for a moment. Greenstone tried to overwhelm him in that moment, but Ulysses was faster, slicing off a hunk of Greenstone's leg as he disengaged and sidestepped the cultist. Greenstone growled in anger and hobbled to face Ulysses.
"What do you mean? I'm all you have left? Impossible. The other key was lost in the blast that leveled Constantinople. That's what I don't get about you all chasing me down. How do you hope to open the Vault when I'm the only other key holder?" Ulysses asked. They clashed again. Steel against steel, but Greenstone's injuries thwarted his abilities and he lost his arms to Ulysses' superior skills. The wicked cultist dropped to his knees and Ulysses leveled his swords with his throat.
"Hah… ha… You really think she died? Mistress has been kind to her, you know…" Greenstone said with a crooked grin. Ulysses kicked him in the face and rammed his sword into his gut. Greenstone screamed as his mask cracked open. His face was just as mutilated as Redstone's.
"Talk! What do you mean! TALK!" Ulysses bellowed. He twisted his sword and Greenstone cried out with a smile.
"I've said… too much. Ishtar take me…" Greenstone mumbled as he slowly died. Ulysses cursed himself for causing the man too much blood loss. He removed his sword and stared down at the disgusting face of Greenstone. He spat on the man's corpse.
"Ishtar is a whore."
Lucy cried out as she kicked a white-masked man and knocked him out. She glanced about the fight, wondering where all these men came from. They had almost randomly appeared. Taurus, her Celestial Spirit, was easily chopping the men down left and right, while Virgo, her maiden Spirit beat the ever-loving hell out of some of the others. Lucy managed to take down a few more with her whip, but there were still quite a few of them trying to enter the hut. She was about to whip another one when her attack was blocked.
"What the-?" Lucy exclaimed. Before her was a man in an orange mask, similar to the white-masked men, brandishing a saber and a very odd contraption.
"Ah, good day, madam. I see my associates have kept you busy. I am Orangestone. Would you happen to be working with that foolish sword-boy down there? So sorry, but I'm afraid my friend Greenstone is killing him." Orangestone said with a half-bow. Lucy glanced at the shack as she was surrounded by masked men.
"No. Ulysses can't be dead. If it took six Mermaids to take him down, one of you isn't going to be enough." Lucy said sternly. Orangestone grunted in anger but seemed to focus in on her appearance.
"A wizard? From Mermaid Heel!? I knew it! Green was such a dummy! Bluestone and Redstone had tracked him down correctly! Never needed this stupid thing. Ah, well, unfortunately I have orders. And one of them is to kill any witnesses." Orangestone said and leveled his sword at Lucy. She readied herself as the white-masked men began attacking again. She fended them off and whipped Orangestone, but her attack was blocked and he started rushing her. She levied more attacks on him, but the swordsman did not budge and continued his charge. He countered another whipping and got his sword wrapped up in Lucy's bullwhip. They struggled for a moment before Orangestone overpowered her and pulled her to her knees. He leveled his sword at her neck and smiled under his mask.
"Goodbye, miss. Ishtar favor you!" Lucy screamed as he plunged his sword at her. But not a second passed when the sound of steel against steel grated her ears, and the sickening sound of flesh being ripped asunder reached her ears. A shadow was cast over her. The tip of Orangestone's saber dripped with blood right in front of her nose. Heat radiated from the figure before her. For a moment, everything was silent. Taurus and Virgo had finished with the other masked men and joined Lucy's side, hoisting her to her feet where she had a clear view of her savior. Orangestone's head rolled to a stop at the edge of the road, and Ulysses dropped to his knees, a saber planted firmly in his torso.
"Sorry… I'm… late… Lucy…" Ulysses grunted as he dropped his swords and doubled over. "You alright?" Those were the last two words that escaped him before he toppled over on the dirt road. Lucy stared down at him for a moment. Panic, fear, relief, and anger all set in at once. Ulysses slowly bled out on the ground. Lucy grew wide-eyed and her breath stagnated. Her eyes watered and blurred.
"ULYSSES!"
Hang on folks. We're in for a hell of a ride. Will Ulysses survive his mortal wound? What were the Cultists on about in the cave? And what is the Platinum Vault?
Find out next chapter! Thanks Guys.
See you next time with Bonds.