Chapter 193

A Frantic Search

After leaving Happy and Lisanna, I flew high above the city, keeping my eyes fixed to the ground while periodically using my Aqua Sense. There were droves of people watching the preliminaries below, but I couldn't see Wendy or Carla among them. After covering the western part of the city, I searched through the east, the south, and the north. As I did, I couldn't help but begin to grow worried.

"Come on, you two. Where are you?" I thought to myself fretfully. "They've got to be around here somewhere! You'd think that a girl with a cat would be easy to find out of all this madness, but it's like looking for a trout in a school of fish! If anything happened to those two...!"

I clenched my hands at their sides in vexation, but I shook my head to get the stress out.

"No! Calm down, Willy! You'll find them! Just stay calm and keep looking! You have to!"

As I continued, I happened to fly close to the Sky Labyrinth. I had barely started to glide beneath it when suddenly, the entire structure began to spark with magic while releasing several plumes of steam simultaneously, which made me stop from startlement. At the same time, I also heard a strange rumbling that made me stop and look upward. Much to my shock, I could see that the insides of the structure were moving slowly around, and as it did, I saw numerous wizards falling out, a few of them falling towards me.

"Oh crap!" I exclaimed. "I guess that pumpkin guy wasn't kidding about that possible loss of life part!"

At first, I felt the need to help them, but I knew I couldn't interfere with the prelims. Besides, I did not need to do that. As the participating mages fell, several magic circles appeared and caught them just in time, much to my relief. However, that relief was short-lived as a male came falling past me from behind, narrowly missing me. More continued to fall, forcing me to take evasive action, dipping and maneuvering around.

"Man! I've heard of raining cats and dogs, but this is the first time I've ever seen it rain wizards and mages!" I panted. "Whoever came up with this kind of thing must have a few screws loose!"

Soon enough, I was able to get clear of the Sky Labyrinth, and at the same time, the plumes of steam and sparking stopped along with the rumbling.

"Whew! That was close! I could've gotten knocked out from the sky if someone fell on me!" I sighed while wiping my brow. "Let's hope Natsu and the others managed to survive that!"

I then refocused my attention to the east, about to resume my search, when I heard a familiar voice via telepathy inside of my head.

"Willy! Willy! Can you hear me?"

Immediately recognizing the voice, I put two fingers to my head. "Warren! About time! I take it that Lisanna and Happy managed to find you?"

"Yeah, and they've told us everything," spoke Warren. "We've had the entire guild spread throughout the city to search for Wendy and Carla."

Then, I heard Lisanna through telepathy. "Hey, did you guys find anything?"

"No luck so far," I replied. "I just searched through the whole city, and I haven't seen them yet."

"Same with us, and not a single lead whatsoever," said Warren. "And we've just about scoured every inch of the city."

"Are there any other possible places they could have gone?" I asked. "Any possibility can help."

"Well, I suppose we could check Domus Flau, but I doubt we'll find them there," hummed Warren thoughtfully. "That just leaves only one other place, the royal palace."

I then heard Happy gasp. "That reminds me! Earlier today, Carla mentioned something about going on a sightseeing tour with Wendy!"

"Well, if that's the case, then maybe they are at the palace!" said Lisanna. "We'll head over there right now!"

I then saw the palace in question. "That would make sense. Considering that it's pretty much the landmark of Crocus, it would be the best place to look. Lisanna. Happy. I'll meet you over there to give you two some backup. Warren, you, and the other guild members keep searching the city just in case. We'll let you know if we find anything!"

"You got it!" acknowledged Warren.

I then flew in the direction of the royal palace as fast as I could. And it wasn't too long before I was close enough to it to see up close. It looked pretty similar to Faust's castle back in Edolas, but with some differences. It was pretty gigantic, heavily decorated, and looked gold from top to bottom. I couldn't help but admire its impressive stature as I flew along.

"So this is what Mercurius looks like up close," I said. "I gotta say, it sure looks pretty impressive. Although, I wish there were better circumstances to be looking at this."

I then heard a voice from below.

"Willy! Over here!"

I saw Lisanna and Happy just by the stairs waving their arms. I then flew downwards until I came to a landing beside them, dispersing my wings.

"Lisanna! Happy! Have you guys started looking in the palace yet?" I asked them.

"No, not yet," replied Lisanna. "We may have a bit of a problem."

She then pointed towards the stairs, and sure enough, I saw guards stationed by each flight, wielding spears and shields while paired by twos.

"Well, that figures. I should have guessed there would be guards," I sighed. "Now what?"

"Maybe you can use your ninja skills to sneak in and look for us," suggested Happy.

I shook my head. "No. That won't work, Happy," I said. "Those walls are way too tall, and while I could fly over them, I'd get spotted. Besides, the last thing we want is to get those guards into a frenzy and tick off whoever owns that palace. Fairy Tail's already got enough of a bad rep as it is."

"Then, how will we get inside?" wondered Happy.

"Well... we could try asking the guards to let us in," suggested Lisanna. "At least that way, we won't be breaking and entering."

"Lisanna, be serious," chided Happy. "There's no way those guards will let us in just like that."

"You never know. It could work," said Lisanna. "Besides, we don't have any other options."

I took a minute to think, considering all the possibilities until I agreed. "I'm afraid Lisanna's right. It may be the only option we have," I said. "Sure, it's a bit crazy with little chance of it working, but it might be crazy enough to work. So we can at least give it a shot. And if all else fails, we'll think of something else."

The blue exceed still wasn't sure, but he conceded. "Well, all right then. But I still think this is a bad idea."

The three of us then came up to two of the guards. Immediately, the two of them crossed their spears, barring our way.

"Hold it right there!" barked the first. "Where do you think you're going?"

"The grounds are closed!" the second also barked. "You shouldn't be here at this hour!"

"We're sorry, sirs, but we're looking for our guild members who went missing," explained Lisanna.

"Yeah. One of our members was supposed to participate in the Grand Magic Games, but they haven't come back yet," I added.

"We've searched all over Crocus, but this was the only place we haven't checked yet," Happy also spoke. "Please let us look for them!"

The guards looked at each other, appearing to be contemplating. I felt worried that they didn't believe us and would send us away. But then the guards turned to us.

"Well, I guess there's no harm to let you in," said the first guard. "His Majesty's been looking forward to the games, so we wouldn't want anything to interfere with that."

The moment he said that I couldn't help but double-take while my jaw slacked open. "Wait, seriously?!" I gasped. "You mean it?"

"Yes, but make sure not to go any farther than the castle courtyard," the second guard warned sternly. "Understand?"

"Yes, we won't," said Lisanna. "Thank you so much!"

And while slightly bowing in gratitude, we raced up the stairs and into the courtyard. The place was a bit similar to a labyrinth, with numerous stone paths and walls composed of hedges and flowers.

"I can't believe that worked," I said, still bewildered.

"Yeah, I know!" agreed Happy. "I wonder why those guys let us do this?"

"I have heard that the gardens have been open to tourists in the past," said Lisanna. "But probably not this late at night."

Then, suddenly, from above us in the sky, the projection of the pumpkin figure appeared again.

"Attention, everyone! Eight teams have crossed the finish line! The Grand Magic Games preliminary round, Sky Labriynth, is over! Now, I'm sure that you're all dying to know which teams have made it to the main event! Unfortunately, you'll have to wait until the opening ceremony to find out! Until then, see you later!"

Then, the hologram disappeared.

"Well, that didn't take too long," said Lisanna. "I wonder if Natsu and the others made it through."

"We'll have to worry about that later," I said. "Right now, we have to find Wendy and Carla."

I got on my knees and placed both hands on the ground, and closed my hands, concentrating as my body began to shine in blue.

"AQUA SENSE."

As I saw a blue circular ripple in my mind, a visualization of Happy, Lisanna's, and my positions appeared. It spread wider as it grew while I concentrated hard on trying to sense any water or magic.

"Come on! Come on! Wendy! Carla! Please be in here! Please be in here somewhere!"

Then, just as the ripple had expanded to quite a large size, I saw it — a speck of magic power just a couple of yards away.

I quickly opened my eyes, shooting to my feet. "I got something!" I cried while pointing to the right. "It's faint, but I'm sensing a magic power! That way!"

I then took off running at top speed.

"Willy! Wait up!" I heard Lisanna cry.

But I kept running, determined to find Wendy and Carla, and praying that I wasn't too late as I turned left, right, went straight ahead, and turned right again until I saw something that made me skid to a stop.

Lying on the ground was a girl's tan handbag with a red and pink plaid design with a small heart in the middle. As I went over and picked it up, an unsettling feeling crept into my gut, knowing who the owner was.

Then, I heard Lisanna's voice. "Willy! Did you find something?"

I looked back just as she and Happy caught up to me.

"Take a look at this," I said while showing them the bag. "Look familiar?"

Lisanna and Happy then gasped.

"That purse! I've seen it before!" said Lisanna.

"Yeah, me too! That's Wendy's!" Happy spoke with concern. "Now, I'm starting to worry! Where could they be?!"

"Stay calm!" said Lisanna. "They're probably not too far, so let's search the area!"

We spread out, searching the area, checking every corner and flowerbed. Then, as I looked around a corner, I saw an open patch of grass, and there lay Wendy and Carla, lying on the ground and unconscious.

"Lisanna! Happy! Come quick!" I shouted as I immediately rushed towards them. "I found them!"

I went over to Wendy, propped her up against my leg, and felt her pulse as Lisanna and Happy arrived. It felt weak, but I could still feel it. Not only that, but even though I wasn't using my Aqua Sense, I could feel that the girl had next to no magic power at all.

Happy immediately went over to Carla and gently shook her to wake her up. "Carla! Wake up! It's me, Happy!" he urged. "You know, the one you call "tomcat"? Please wake up!"

Lisanna put two fingers to her head and spoke to Warren through telepathy. "Warren! We found them! I repeat, we found Wendy and Carla!"

Warren immediately responded. "So they were at the palace after all!" he spoke with relief. "Are they OK?"

"We think so, but it's hard to tell because they're both unconscious," replied Lisanna. "Please send help as fast as possible!" She then spoke to me. "Is she OK?" she asked worriedly. "She's not injured, is she?"

"The good news is, she doesn't appear to be," I told her. "But I can hardly sense any magic power from her."

"Same with Carla," Happy spoke, appearing ready to cry. "Isn't there anything we can do to help them?"

Then, Wendy began to stir in her sleep, and it wasn't long before her eyes fluttered open.

"Hey, you guys! She's coming around!" I told them. "Maybe she'll be able to tell us what happened!" I then spoke to the bluenette. "Wendy, can you hear me? Are you all right?"

Wendy quickly and defensively put up her hands while shutting her eyes in fear. "No! Please! Don't hurt me!" she begged weakly. "Leave me alone!"

"Wendy, calm down. It's OK," I told her calmly. "It's us. Willy, Lisanna, and Happy. You're safe now."

Then, the little girl opened her eyes, blinking a few times before lowering her hands. "Happy? Lisanna? Willy?" she spoke weakly, confusion now evident in her voice. "What happened?"

"We're the ones that should be asking you that," said Happy. "Do you remember anything?"

Wendy shook her head.

"Hold on a minute, guys. Let's have her save her strength for now," I told them. "We need to get them to an infirmary as soon as possible."

I was about to stand up when an uneasy feeling came over me. It was a feeling that someone or something was watching us, and the origin was coming from above.

"Willy? What's wrong?" asked Lisanna.

Without answering her, I gently set Wendy down on the ground. Then, I quickly conjured a water star in my hand, whipped around, and threw it towards a lampost. A small and mysterious black figure jumped off the top as it shot past, making a started squeak as it landed into a flower bed. Following the thing in hot pursuit, I quickly jumped up, clearing the hedge, landed in the flower bed, and looked around. I could see nothing but flowers and the bushes, but no sign of the figure.

"Damn it. It got away," I cursed as I straightened up.

Happy then flew over. "Willy! Is everything OK?" he asked. "Did you see something?"

"I don't know," I told the blue exceed. "I felt as if something was watching us, but I don't know if it was an animal or an enemy. But whatever it was, it's long gone by now. In any case, let's hurry and get Wendy and Carla to the infirmary."

"OK. Whatever you say," Happy said doubtfully.

The two of us then started back to the others, but I couldn't help but look back, still uneasy.

"Was it really an animal or an enemy watching us?" I wondered. "Either way, I better stay on guard. Something feels off."

NO POV

As Willy turned to leave to rejoin the others, the same creature he sensed watched over him from another lampost. It appeared demon-like with brown skin and wore a black cape with purple lining and a headband made of leaves. Its white pupilless eyes gleamed from darkly while it giggled fiendishly.

At that moment, a shadowy figure appeared next to it while standing on the lampost. That shadow turned out to be Fuzen.

"Now, Now, Obra. You've had enough fun for one night," he mockingly chided. "I must admit, the boy's got remarkable senses. It'll be quite a tricky task to keep an eye on him. However, that makes him all the more intriguing."

Obra then climbed onto Fuzen's shoulder as he chuckled to himself.

"I'm looking forward to seeing what else he's got for me," Fuzen continued. "I think my skin might break into goosebumps."

WILLY'S POV

It wasn't too long before we met up with the others and managed to get Wendy and Carla to the infirmary. Not only that, but we also received word that Natsu and his group managed to make it through the preliminaries, albeit just barely.

The little girl and her white cat were now resting in bed, sleeping peacefully while Lisanna, Happy, and I kept vigil over them.

Then, suddenly, the door slammed open, and Natsu and his team rushed in. They were all relieved to see Wendy but were shocked to see the two in such a state.

"Where did you find them?!" Natsu asked us.

"Willy, Lisanna, and I found them in the palace's gardens," replied Happy sadly.

Then, Wendy began to regain consciousness, her eyes slowly opening. "Natsu...? Everyone?" she managed to mumble weakly.

Natsu quickly came to Wendy's bedside. "Wendy? What happened out there?" he asked worriedly. "Can you remember anything?

"I don't know. It's just a big blur," Wendy replied, wincing in pain. "I'm sorry that I can't tell you anything more."

Lucy then looked at me. "Willy, have you used your healing magic on her?" she asked.

"I did, but she doesn't have any physical injuries, and neither does Carla," I explained. "But for some reason, their magic levels are severely low, and I don't think my magic can help with that. I've got no idea what's wrong with them. I wish I knew."

A voice then came from behind us.

"She appears to have magic deficiency syndrome."

Everyone looked to find a surprise visitor in the room, which turned out to be Porlyusica.

"Porlyusica!" gasped Lisanna. "What are you doing here?"

"And how do you have such perfect timing?" I also asked.

"Something wrong with me being here to cheer you on?" Porlyusica asked.

Both Lisanna and I stood at attention like a pair of soldiers, believing her to be angry. "N-No, ma'am!" we both said simultaneously.

But Porlyusica smiled. "Calm down. I wasn't scolding you kids," she said. "Try not to be so nervous. It's not like I'm going to eat you," She looked at me. "Or whack you on the head with a broom."

"R-Right. If you say so," I spoke while relaxing a bit.

"I'm here because I was concerned," Porlyusica then explained. "I also heard what had happened, so I thought I might be of help."

She then approached Wendy and Carla's beside and placed a hand on Wendy's forehead, checking her temperature.

"You mentioned magic deficiency syndrome a moment ago," said Erza. "What is that exactly?"

"It's a condition of weakened physical strength brought on by an acute case of magic depletion," said Porlyusica. "Both of them nearly had all of their magic power sucked out."

"Hold on. That reminds me," said Gray. "Isn't that what happened to Gramps when we fought with Phantom? You know, when he got hit with that Drain spell?"

"That's one way to look at it," said Porylusica. "But there's no reason to worry. They'll be able to recover with enough bed rest."

"Wendy. Who did this to you?" Natsu asked.

"It's still a big blur," Wendy spoke. "But, I do remember seeing a strange, black animal."

Wendy's then filled with fright upon remembering, but I quickly held her hand to calm her down.

"It's OK," I told her calmly. "You're fine. Whatever attacked you isn't going to hurt you anymore. So, just breathe."

Wendy took a few deep breaths and calmed down, but regret and sadness now filled her eyes, and she turned to her side, trembling as she began to cry.

"I'm so sorry, you guys. I let you down," the little girl sobbed. "I trained so hard to help you, but... now I'm useless."

Seeing the poor girl so saddened made my heart ache with empathy. I couldn't imagine how frustrated Wendy was and wanted nothing more than to help her feel better, but I didn't know how to, so I remained silent.

Then, between her sobs, Wendy spoke again. "Hey, Elfman? Please take my place. Win for me."

I looked back at Elfman, who appeared surprised at the request but spoke with determination.

"Sure! I won't let you down!"

Porlyusica then straightened up. "All right. Everyone needs to leave now," she said. "They can't heal if they don't get proper rest."

"She's right. There's nothing more we can do here," said Erza. "The best we can do is focus on the Grand Magic Games."

"Yeah. We also need to become number one in Fiore," added Happy. "So, let's win this for them."

Everyone then walked out of the room to leave Porlyusica to her work. Then, Makarov arrived wearing a look of concern on his elderly features.

"Master," Erza greeted.

"So, how are they?" Makarov asked.

"They're all right. Porlyusica's taking care of them right now," replied Lucy.

Makarov nodded. "Very good. Now then, why don't you kids go get some rest?" he said. "You'll need your strength for the games tomorrow. In the meantime, Willy, do you have a moment? I need to speak with you alone."

"Of course," I said. "I'll catch up with you guys later."

I then walked toward Makarov and followed him out of the infirmary. The town was now quiet as everyone had settled down and went to bed. As I followed him, I couldn't help but wonder what he wanted to discuss with me. My first guess was that he wanted to talk about what happened, but I couldn't think of any other reason.

Soon, we stopped under a small bridge, and Makarov turned to face me, his face filled with gratitude.

"Willy, I can't thank you enough," he said quietly. "If it wasn't for you, I don't know what would have happened."

"I-It's no big deal, Master," I spoke, slightly shy from his praise. "I mean, I just did what anyone would have done, that's all."

Makarov shook his head. "On the contrary. I heard that you were quick to take action of the situation by formulating a plan and even found Wendy and Carla with your Aqua Sense," he said. "You even encouraged Elfman to take Wendy's place, even though you could have taken that position yourself."

"Well, I won't argue with that one," I said. "But to be honest, I wasn't thinking about the games. Sure, it was a great opportunity, but Wendy and Carla were more important. Besides, Elfman wanted to shine in the games more than anyone, so I guess I didn't want to take that from him."

Makarov then chuckled. "Well, in any case, I'm very proud of you. It's thanks to you that Wendy and Carla are safe and sound," he continued as he bowed. "As Fairy Tail's master, I thank you."

I immediately began to feel awkward. "H-Hey! Master! There's no reason for you to bow to me!" I spoke flusteredly. "I was just doing what anyone else would have done! That's all!"

Makarov then straightened. "Nevertheless, because of your selflessness and what you've done, I'm presenting you with two special gifts," he said. "For the first, I'll need you to hold out your left hand for me."

I blinked, feeling confused, but I did as he asked. Then, the master dug into his clothes and took out a magic stamp tool, and placed it right on top of my left forearm. When he lifted the stamp, a blue Fairy Tail symbol appeared on it.

My eyes slightly widened as I stared at it.

"I forgot that you didn't have your guild mark," said Makarov. "I apologize you didn't get it sooner with everything going on."

"B-But, are you sure about this?" I asked. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm grateful, but is it honestly OK to have me a part of the guild again?"

Makarov smiled. "Of course it is," he said kindly. "Besides, even though I had no idea what would become of you given everything that's happened, I've always had faith you would come back."

I looked across to the old man as he smiled warmly.

"As the master of this guild, I've always considered every member a part of my family," he continued. "And you are a part of it, my dear boy, and one of my children."

I went silent as I stared at him. I knew this man was too amazing for words, but now I held Makarov in higher respect than before. I couldn't help but softly smile as my heart swelled with emotion inside.

"Th-Thank you so much, Master," I said quietly. Then I realized something. "Wait, hold on. You mentioned two gifts, right? If this is the first, then what's the second?"

Makarov then began to chuckle smugly. "Well, let's just say that Elfman won't be the only one who'll have the opportunity to shine along with the rest of the team tomorrow," he said.

I rose a brow in confusion. "But I thought you already assembled a team for the Grand Magic Games," I said. "Natsu and the others even made it to the next round."

Makarov then looked at me as a twinkle flashed in his right eye. "True, but I've got something else in mind," he said with a mischievous cackle.

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And as always, thank you very much for reading, and I'll see you in the next chapter!

Dragomaster, signing off!