Hi everyone. Thanks again for waiting, and happy (late) Thanksgiving. So, we officially begin the S-Class trials with this chapter; and as I've said before, some of the trials will be the same, some will be different, as will the battles in the crisis to come on Tenrou Island; some the same, some different. So, without further delay, let us begin.
Who are the Lucky Ones?
Today was the big day for the ten Fairy Tail candidates and their partners; the day where they would each prove who was worthy of bearing the rank of S-Class in their guild. Their ship had departed the port town of Hargeon and was making its way towards Fairy Tail's most sacred ground; Tenrou Island. One would think that they would all be truly excited for this, however…
"Geeze, look at you guys." Dante teased as he only wore his pants, his jacket was off, exposing his bare chest and his piece of the Perfect Amulet still around his neck. "You we're all excited a week ago, but a little heat-wave hits and you're already winning like a bunch of pussies?"
"A little heat wave…?" Lucy moaned as she sat back in a chair, wearing only a bikini. "Feels like my skin's gonna melt off… I'd love to turn into a popsicle, but Happy would just eat me."
Happy was lying flat on a table, his fur not helping in the least in this intense heat. "I think I'll pass." He moaned as well.
Levy, Wendy, Lady, and Cana each wore a bathing suit as they sat at a table as Cana waved a fan in front of her face.
"Lu, I know it's ridiculously warm, but do you have to sit like that?" Levy questioned.
"Warm?! It's like the inside of a fire demon's mouth for crying out loud." Lady complained as she and Wendy both laid their heads against the table.
"No duh, it's boiling here year-round cause there's like never any wind." Cana said.
As Wendy moaned, Modeus was quick to walk over and provide a tray of ice-cold water for each of them. "Perhaps this should help." He offered with a smile as he too didn't bear his jacket, only save for a sleeveless black undershirt and his black pants.
"Thank you Modeus." Wendy smiled as she took her water and drank it quickly.
"Yeah, you're a real life-saver." Levy smiled as well while she and Lady drank as Cana simply poured the water over her head.
"So... hot…" Happy moaned in the blazing sun.
"My kingdom for an ice-cream cone..." Lucy moaned as well.
"No kingdom to be provided." Lisanna quickly hopped over to Lucy, she as well wore a bikini, as she handed both Lucy and Happy ice-cream cones, which they both slowly took without hesitation.
"Thanks so much." Lucy said with a smile herself, still moaning.
"How'd you even bring these here?" Happy asked as he stuck his face into the ice cream.
"I knew how hot Hargeon was going to be, so I bought some ice cream for you guys before we boarded the ship." Lisanna answered.
"Wish I thought that far ahead." Lady said from the table. "How the hell can you three stand being in this heat?" She asked referring to Dante, Modeus, and Trish, the lightning she-demon wearing her typical black leather outfit.
"Guess we can take the heat better than you wusses." Dante joked.
"A more likely explanation would be that our demonic physiology is physically stronger, better able to endure the natural elements of Earthland." Modeus explained.
"Yeah, I can take a little heat just fine." Trish commented as Dante laid back on a chair.
"Well while we sail away, I can get a tan. Get some attention from some chicks in bathing suits." The red-clad Devil Hunter smirked as he laid back.
"If they're not completely delirious from all this intense heat that is." Happy continued to moan despite the ice-cream he had, which already began to melt.
"Alright we get it. It's a scorcher. Talk about something else." Gajeel complained, still wearing his usual attire as well, but he could feel the heat as well.
Lady noticed how Freed and Bickslow still had their full clothes on as well. "How come you guys aren't complaining? Don't tell me your demons to."
"Incorrect." Freed responded. "As the members of the Thunder Legion, formerly led by the legendary Laxus, we must brave the elements. No matter how severe they are." He said bodly as he wiped the sweat from his forehead.
"Yeah we can take the heat! Can you losers?" Bickslow cracked.
"Can't take the heat! Can't take the heat!" The floating dolls laughed.
Trish rolled her eyes in amusement as she glanced towards her partner who still wore her thick jacket. "Hey Juvia, you sure you don't wanna ditch the jacket? Won't your body evaporate if it's made out of water?"
"I'm not entirely made out of water." Juvia explained. "My magic allows me to control the natural waters within my body and mold myself into water whenever I choose."
"Yeah but still, you're gonna get heat-stroke dressed like that." Lisanna said.
"Don't worry, I'm fine." Juvia assured. "However,… One thing that might do it… Is the sight of my beloved Gray's naked body!" She exclaimed with hearts in her eyes.
"I'm dying here…" Gray moaned from the heat as he laid back on a chair, completely naked, only to be electrocuted by Trish, which only seemed to irritate him. "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR?!"
"There's a kid here you know!" Trish exclaimed as she stood in front of Wendy while Modeus covered the young girl's eyes with his hand. "Could you at least put some shorts on or something?!"
"It's not my fault it's so freaking hot out here!" Gray argued.
"Better than scaring a child for life!" Trish argued back only for the argument to be brought to a halt as Dante tossed the naked ice-wizard a red bathing suit.
"There, just put that on." Dante said, rolling his eyes. "I was planning on going swimming on the beach later, but I'd rather not have Wendy traumatized."
Gray comically as he put on the bathing suit while Modeus removed his hand from Wendy's face. "Thank you, Dante." Modeus thanked him, to which Dante responded with a finger salute.
Natsu appeared to be suffering the worst out of all of them; in addition to the heat, being on a moving boat only added to the torment as his motion sickness kicked in.
"So… this is… what hell feels like…" The Fire Dragon Slayer moaned as his face turned blue and his cheeks puffed, while lumbering his way towards Loke who sat casually on a chair.
"Yo, point that puke cannon somewhere else, bro." Loke said in a joking tone.
"Puke on me, and you're dead meat fire-breath." Lady warned as Natsu held onto a railing.
"It be nice… if Wendy could cast that… miracle spell on me…" The Salamander hoped as he puked over the railing of the ship.
"Sorry Natsu, but she is technically your enemy right now, remember?" Lisanna patted his back with a sympathetic smile while the aforementioned Sky Dragon Slayer sat close to the silent Mest.
"Yeah… sorry big brother…" Wendy apologized. She did want to help him, but she was only going to be helping Mest for this trial as she asked for her assistance.
"Well, isn't this touching?" Evergreen said sarcastically as she sat in her bathing suit, waving a fan in front of her face as she sat next to Elfman who wore nothing but a loincloth. "Here they are about to engage each other in brutal combat, and they're being all buddy-buddy."
"Ugh! I'm roasting!" Elfman complained. "I'm like a man-steak!"
"Would you mind roasting away from me?" Evergreen stated.
Dante continued to lounge back in a lawn chair and sunbathe as he took a moment to think about all this. He wouldn't openly say it, but he was surprised that he got picked for S-Class despite being in the guild for only a few months. He knew he pulled more than his fair-share of weight, but he wasn't one to let all that get to his head. Even before being a part of Fairy Tail he could count all the times his cockiness got in the way and messed things up. However, there was one other thing he was sure of, he was beyond honored to be giving such an opportunity. He was welcomed into Fairy Tail with open arms despite his own lineage putting a target on the whole guild's back from the Underworld; and they didn't bring him in just because he was Sparda's son, they brought him in for being himself. Though Dante did wish all his newfound family members luck in this trial, he had every intention of winning this and proving Makarov that wasn't wrong in choosing him. He'd become stronger and help to protect his dearest friends from any sort of harm.
The red-clad Devil Hunter opened his eyes before the widened slightly. "The heck is that…?" He said to himself as he stood up and gazed upon an island the ship was nearing. This island was surrounded by massive spiked rocks along the perimeter with a massive tree stretching up toward the sky. It even looked as though there was a smaller, but still a significantly large, piece of land at the top of the tree.
Everyone else noticed it as well. "We've arrived!" Loke announced as nearly everyone on board stood up and looked in wonder at the island.
"That's Tenrou Island?" Modeus observed.
"Whoa… it's weird looking." Gray said with Juvia still behind him looking at his bare back with hearts in her eyes, despite him wearing a bathing suit right now.
"Not exactly a tropical paradise." Trish noted.
"Sure, took us long enough." Lady complained.
"That's the ugliest island ever." Lucy commented.
"My first time seeing it to." Lisanna said. "But… not exactly what I expected."
"You think?" Her older brother asked. "Looks kinda manly to me."
"An island on top of an island, huh?" Evergreen guessed upon seeing the landmass at the top of the massive tree.
"It's amazing!" Wendy marveled. "So much magic power! I can feel it all the way over here!"
"Most impressive." Mest said simply.
Natsu looked at Tenrou Island only briefly before his cheeks puffed up again. "Don't worry." Happy hopped up on the railing next to him. "We'll be on land soon."
"There's a legend about this place." Everyone turned around to see Makarov standing on top of the outboard of the ship and revealing himself in a Hawaiian shirt and shorts. "That the island was once populated by fairies."
"Hence the guild's name. So, is it true?" Dante asked.
"Nobody knows." Makarov answered. "But it is of great importance to our guild: the resting place of our first master, Mavis Vermilion!"
"And you're going there, dressed like that!?" Gray questioned to Makarov's choice of clothing. One would think he'd at least wear a sacred robe or something.
"Said the one who was naked about five seconds ago." Makarov retorted as he waved a fan in front of his face.
"You're welcome for that by the way." Dante joked, considering he lent Gray his swimsuit.
"Anything else? I'd like to reveal the first round of your trial, if I may." Makarov said.
"There's more than one round?" Wendy asked.
"Perhaps a form of elimination, not unlike the structure in a tournament." Modeus assumed.
"Maybe." Mest assumed. "If any of the Master's events were deemed simple, he'd probably keel over."
"Please direct your attention to the smoke coming from the shore." Makarov pointed towards the island where everyone could see a plum of smoke rising from the east side. "Your first task will be to head to its source. Once there, you will choose one of the ten routes leading into the island. Each is meant for a single team only, so don't doddle and pick one. After you've made your choice, you will have to conquer these obstacles."
A magical image appeared by Makarov's side as everyone looked in minor surprise at what it detailed. It appeared in the form of a map with ten different routes coming from the starting point, each route numbered One through Ten. Routes Two and Three intersected with one another, along with Five and Six, and Seven and Eight; each three intersection points were labeled as 'Combat Routes'. Routes One, Four, and Ten led to images of Gildarts, Erza, and Mira respectively as they were labeled 'Intense Combat Routes'. And finally, Route Nine led to a single point that was labeled 'Serenity Route' before seven routes finally came together towards the finishing point that was simply labeled 'Next Round'.
"Teams that make it through these tests in one piece will advance to the second round." Makarov said.
"Damn." Dante said with a smirk.
"Whoa…" Natsu looked with wide-eyed surprise.
"Those last ones are fighting S-Class wizards…" Gray said. "'Intense combat', no joke."
"The Master's certainly not pulling any punches, isn't he?" Lisanna looked slightly nervous.
"Yeah… right…" Lucy said in a frightened tone.
"What's the Serenity Route?" Loke asked.
"Combat Routes are self-explanatory." Makarov continued. "Two teams clash, but only one moves on. Use every power at your disposal. Intense Combat Routes are more difficult, fighting on these and you'll be fighting one of Fairy Tail's elite. On the Serenity Route, you'll pass the first round without fighting, but you'll still be tested. Passing this trial requires quality teamwork, and a whole lot of luck!"
Gray, Trish, Levy, Loke, Bickslow, and Wendy all looked stooped at that last part. "How do you test that?!" They all questioned simultaneously.
"Let's count on good luck, right?" Lucy tried to motivate her partner.
"Even as a gambler, I think that strategy blows." Cana said. "With one-in-ten odds, be ready to brawl."
"If I've done the math right, only a maximum of seven teams will make it to the next round." Evergreen said as Elfman shook with fear and intensity right next to her.
"This sucks!" He exclaimed. "If we pick the routes with the S-Classes were gonna get a manly pounding!"
"You're no real man, you're a real wimp." Evergreen stated.
"I sure hope I don't get stuck with that Serenity Route, sounds like a real snooze fest." Dante voiced.
"Just because there's no fighting doesn't mean it'll be easy you know." Lady reminded him.
"Yeah, but I much rather punch my way out. It's a lot more fun." Dante replied.
"Glad to know you're not nervous at least." Lady said.
"It would seem that this is a test of our decision-making skills as well." Modeus noted. "We may not know which routes we're picking, but we have no choice but to trust our partners and our intuition if we hope to succeed."
"The first round could be the end of us." Levy said as Gajeel rested his arm on her head. "I don't wanna have to fight a bunch of my friends."
"Sounds great to me." Gajeel smirked. "I've been looking for an excuse to punch one of these fools." He cracked his knuckles.
"Yeah, I know." Levy's eyelids lowered.
"Alright! You ready?! Your trial starts right now!" Makarov announced.
"As in right this second?" Trish questioned.
"But we're still on the boat!" Lisanna pointed out, resulting in the guildmaster smirking mischievously.
Natsu already had a backpack full of supplies at the ready as he stood up. "You know what that means, bud?" He smirked towards his partner and friend. "Time to jet!" Happy nodded as he grabbed Natsu by the back and took off with his wings. "Looks like the first pick is ours, losers!"
"Catch ya later!" Happy said with a smirk.
"Hey! Get back here!" Gray shouted in shock.
"Losers?! You wanna die?!" Elfman exclaimed.
However, Natsu and Happy didn't get very far as they slammed into an invisible wall of magic ruins.
"An enchantment?!" Cana exclaimed as it was revealed that runes were placed all over the perimeter of the ship.
"Wait… Freed?! Was that you?!" Lisanna turned around only to see that Freed and Bickslow were no longer on the ship.
"It isn't permanent!" Freed called back as he used his Dark Ecriture wings to fly towards the island as Bickslow rode on his dolls. "Five more minutes on that boat won't kill you!"
"Speak for yourselves!" Natsu complained.
"That's cheating!" Gray exclaimed.
"Cheating? I don't believe the Master said this was a race." Modeus said calmly as he turned to face Makarov. "It's not, is it?"
"Nope, it's not a race." Makarov confirmed.
Suddenly, everyone' attention was caught by a bright red flash from the edge of the ship, only to look in absolute shock as Dante had now transformed into his Devil Trigger.
"So, we're playing it like that, are we?" He smirked darkly, baring his demonic teeth.
"Wait Dante… what are you doing…?" Loke asked nervously.
"You do know we're all on the same ship, right?" Lucy asked in the same nervous tone.
"I know." Dante flew up as he slammed his black Rebellion onto the wall of runes, channeling his demonic power into his blade as cracks already began to form before the whole wall around the ship suddenly exploded; blasting and vaporizing all the runes that had once trapped everyone.
"Did he just blow up Freed's enchantment?!" Evergreen questioned in surprise.
"Now that was so freaking manly!" Elfman exclaimed with a wide grin.
"So long suckers!" Dante called to his friends as he was already carrying Lady bridal style, who carried her rocket launcher and a set of her pistols, and flew towards the island at high speeds thanks to his Devil Trigger.
"Alright! Let's catch em Happy!" Natsu shouted.
"Aye sir!" Happy took flight once more towards the island with his friend.
Lisanna had already transformed into her Harpy-Take over and was ready to take flight as well. "Trish, are you ready?"
"Whenever you are kid." She nodded.
"Hey; Lisanna, Trish!" They both turned around to see Cana looking at them with a serious expression. "If we run into you, don't you dare pull your punches. Remember?"
Both the youngest Strauss Sibling and lightning She-Demon shared serious expressions as they both nodded to Cana, aware of her secret and what they promised her before. Lisanna then grabbed onto Trish's shoulders with her harpy-feet and took flight towards the island just as Cana and Lucy dove off the ship.
With the barrier now gone; everyone else was trying to get to the island as quickly as they could. Gajeel and Levy dove off one end and began to swim their way there.
"Manly dive!" Elfman exclaimed as he dove with Evergreen as well, only for them to both land hard on a sheet of ice. "What the heck?!"
"Sorry! Every man for himself!" Gray smirked as he already used his ice-make magic to freeze himself and Loke a path toward the island. They both scatted their way there as Elfman and Evergreen both glared but dove back into the water and swam as fast as they could.
Juvia was already in the water as well, her body having merged with the sea and created a large wave that shot its way towards the island, with Modeus riding on the wave as though he was surfing, using his own blades like a surfboard.
"Are you sure about this?" Juvia asked, her face appearing to be made out of water as it came out of the moving wave. "I can be very fast in the water."
"Don't worry about me." Modeus assured. "I'm quite skilled at keeping my balance."
"Whoa, everyone's kicking it into overdrive." Cana commented as she and Lucy looked to see virtually all their opponents having already made it to the island or were half-way there.
"What are we gawking for?!" Lucy questioned. "If we don't get a move on, we're gonna be the last ones there!"
"Don't be silly. Wendy and Mest haven't even left the ship yet…" Cana looked up only to see that Wendy and Mest were both gone as well.
"What the?!" Lucy exclaimed in comic shock.
"When did they leave?!" Cana questioned.
"How am I supposed to know!?" Lucy questioned back as the two swam towards the island, already dead-last.
"If we don't get there ASAP, we're gonna end up fighting Dante, or Erza, or worse!" Cana complained.
"We're dead!" Lucy moaned comically.
Two minutes earlier
Dante slid to a halt in his Devil Trigger form as he stopped near the smoke-signal at the shore. He quickly transformed back into his human form to conserve energy, while still holding Lady in his arms.
"Looks like we're the first ones here." Dante noted. "Not even green-hair and the puppet-guy are here despite their head-start."
"Your Devil Trigger is faster than it looks. By the way, you can put me down now." Lady told him as she was still in his arms.
Dante smirked at her. "Come on, don't pretend you don't love it." Only to receive a punch in his right cheek as she had a bored and impatient expression on her face. "Alright, alright, don't get fussy with me." He sat her down on the ground.
"Alright, you're the guy chosen for S-Class." Lady hoisted her trusty rocket launcher to her back and strapped her pistols to her legs. "Which route should we take?"
Dante looked around and saw how each of the routes we're labeled A through J. No way of knowing which was a Combat, Intense Combat or a Serenity Route. "Let's pick A." He picked Route A along the furthest to the right.
"Why that one?"
"I got a good feeling about it." Dante smirked.
"You're hoping it's Erza or another S-Class guy, right?" Lady asked with a raised eyebrow and a slight smirk.
"You know me, always looking for a challenge." Dante replied.
"Just don't go biting off more than you can chew, hotshot. You might just choke." Lady teased as they walked into the tunnel that was Route A.
"Come on, when have I ever done that?" Dante asked.
"You really want me to answer that? Lady replied just as a barrier appeared behind them to close the route and a large X appeared above the path, indicating that Route A was already closed.
Natsu and Happy arrived about two minutes later as Happy set his friend down in the same spot that Dante and Lady, as well as several other teams, have all arrived. The moment they landed, Happy began to tense up.
"You feel that Natsu?" Happy asked. "There's so much magic energy here, it's kinda freaking me out."
"Yeah." Natsu looked around at the environment that laid around him. He didn't need Dragon Slayer senses to know that this island practically radiated magic power. But now was not the time to think about that. "Okay, let's go!" He quickly noticed many of the routes were all closed. "Oh man, we're way behind!"
"Half of the routes have already been taken!" Happy observed. "Well, which one should we pick? You choose."
Natsu looked for a second before making a choice. "That one!" He pointed to Route E. "If we take Route E, I bet we'd have to fight Erza! I'd pick Route D to fight Dante, but that's already taken!"
"I wouldn't wanna pick either of those paths!" Happy looked in comic fear.
"I finally get to fight her mano-y-man!" Natsu already ran into this chosen route with Happy close behind. "I'm coming for ya, Erza!"
"Have you fought about what you're gonna do if she's not on this path?" Happy asked just as Route E was closed off like all the others that have been previously chosen.
It took much longer than expected, but Lucy and Cana had finally made it towards the shore and looked in disappointment as virtually all routes, with the exception of Route C, were closed off.
"Looks like we're dead last." Cana sighed. "I can't believe even Wendy and Mest got here before we did."
"Hey, don't sweat it." Lucy tried to cheer her partner up. "Like they say, the best is always saved for last. That's us." She winked to Cana. "We've got good looks, and good luck. What do you say we get you that S-Class rank?"
This appeared to motivate Cana enough to continue as she smiled and nodded. "Nice to know one of us can stay chipper."
With that, the two young women entered Route C which closed off behind them. All the routes have now been taken, and the first round of the S-Class trials were now underway.
Dante and Lady walked out of the cave and onto a shore with large rocks surrounding the area that wasn't occupied by sea water.
"Hmm, nice spot." Dante observed. "Once this whole thing is done, we could probably chill here with a drink."
"Sounds like a good idea." Lady said. "So how will we know what type of route this is?"
"It's an Intense Combat Route."
The two looked towards the other side of the shore to see Mira in a pink short sundress outfit waving toward them with a cheery smile.
"Hey Dante, hey Lady, glad to see you made it." She waved casually.
"Yo Mira, nice to see you to." Dante greeted casually as Lady looked in surprise.
"Uh… you do realize that she's our enemy right?" She reminded him.
"Yeah I know." Dante nodded. "Looks like we're the lucky ones."
"And how exactly are we lucky here?" Lady questioned in irritation.
"Two Devil Hunters against the She-Devil? I think we got this covered." Dante smirked as he drew Rebellion while Lady pulled out her trusty Rocket Launcher with a serious expression on her face. "You sure you don't wanna back out Mira? Cause I don't know if I can really hold back against you."
Mira's smile didn't fade as her eyes carried a determined fire in them. "Yeah, I'm not particularly worried." A dark magic circle formed underneath her body as her body began to glow a dark magenta color. "But just remember that it is completely up to me to decide whether or not your worthy of the S-Class rank Dante. That being said…" Her body was engulfed in a bright flash of light before she transformed into her Satan Soul take over with a dark gleam in her eyes. "I am going to do everything in my power to crush you."
This only seemed to make Dante more excited. "Good to know you're not going easy on us. Ready Lady?"
"Even have to ask?" His partner responded with a smirk herself as Mira leapt towards them with a demonic roar.
Route C
Lucy and Cana walked further along their route, deeper into the cave. The two young women had no problem navigating as it was a single, straight, path with plenty of light to illuminate their way.
"I didn't expect a cave to be so well-lit." Lucy observed.
"Probably all the spirit flies." Cana said. "Since the island stays warm all year, they multiply like rabbits."
"Augh, I was just starting to relax." A familiar voice called out, startling the two young women.
"Who's there?!" Cana exclaimed.
"If someone else is here, that means…" Lucy looked up in dread towards a sign that read 'Combat Route'. "…OUR LUCK SUCKS!" Lucy screamed.
The two young women had found themselves stuck facing against the opposing team of Freed and Bickslow. This turned out to be a really bad pick for them as both Cana and Lucy had each squared off against them during the Battle of Fairy Tail fiasco at the Fantasia Festival, and didn't exactly have the best of luck beating them. Cana lost her battle against Freed, and Lucy only won against Bickslow because Loke intervened, but he wasn't here at the moment.
"Look babies, it's Cana and the loud-mouth Blonde." Bickslow smirked.
"The name's Lucy, Jerk!"
"Sorry, but it appears you won't be making it past this round." Freed stated with a confident grin.
"Okay Lucy… scale of one to ten… how screwed are we?" Cana asked with wide eyes.
"Eleven… giver take a hundred…" Lucy said in the same tone.
Bickslow pointed to a barred gate on the other side of the cave. "The gate opens when one team wins, I'm sure it ain't gonna be you two bimbos."
"Bimbos! Bimbos!" One of his dolls sang.
"Forgive me Cana." Freed said. "I can't allow you to pass this round, not now. If I am to follow Laxus' path, I must win here."
Cana gulped a bit but steeled herself. "Bring it on! I swear that I am not gonna let the S-Class slip through my fingers a fifth time! It's all our nothing for me!"
Lucy readied herself for a fight alongside her friend as Freed and Bickslow appeared to as well. However, Freed's cheeks turned red.
"Before we begin, would you ladies mind covering up a little?" He seemed more than a little embarrassed about being around two half-naked women.
"Come on man, it's better this way. What's the problem?" Bickslow asked.
"Bouncy, bouncy!" The dolls sang, causing Lucy to comically scream as she covered her chest.
"It's distracting. Now please cover up." Freed looked away in embarrassment.
However, this gave Cana an idea. "Oh? A little shy, are we?" She threw a series of magic cards at him with a smirk on her face. Freed held his sword, ready for whatever trick Cana had planned, or so he fought as the cards all transformed into half a dozen girls in bikinis that all hugged and embraced him. "That outta make this super easy!"
"What sort of vulgar sorcery is this?!" Freed exclaimed with a red face. "Summoning bikini-babes?!"
"You have any idea how many men would kill for that power?!" Bickslow exclaimed.
"Whoa! That worked!?" Lucy questioned in honest surprise.
"Heck yeah!" Cana cheered. "I wish I'd known about this weakness the last time we fought!"
"Dream on, it ain't gonna work on me!" Bickslow was more than ready for a fight.
"You're up Lu!" Cana called.
"Right." Lucy drew one of her Celestial Keys. "Open! Gate of The Maiden! Virgo!"
Virgo appeared, however unlike her usual maid outfit, she appeared in a black bikini with white frills. "Fan service version, for your viewing pleasure."
"What?!" Freed exclaimed, even more embarrassed as he was still covered with bikini babes. "Do you just have women tucked away somewhere?!"
"I should show you my appreciation for the eye-candy." Bickslow said. "Say thanks, babies!" He sicked his dolls on the group.
"Sweet!" The dolls exclaimed as they flew forward.
"Allow me to teach you my tenants." Virgo began. "V: Very clean bathrooms are a staple in any good home. I.R.: Irreplaceable objects should be handled with care. G.O.: Going to the store is the duty of every maid…" She was suddenly pelted by the blunt attacks of Bickslow's dolls. "Ow! Ow! That hurt!"
"COME ON!" Lucy comically complained with white circular eyes.
"WHY WOULD YOU SUMMON YOU'RE MAID RIGHT NOW?!" Cana exclaimed in the same tone.
"Hey, she usually kicks ass, alright!?" Lucy retorted. "But sometimes I don't know what's going on inside her head!"
The dolls all flew back towards the pair and shot past Lucy and Cana, forcing them to dodge in multiple directions as the dolls continued to circle them. Bickslow seemed to be enjoying this quite a bit.
"I like it when you dance for me. Ah yeah! I can watch this all day long." He said with a grin as his dolls continued to make the girls 'dance' for him.
"Go away!" Lucy dove to the ground for cover.
"You pig!" Cana shot her cards at the dolls, which missed as they dodged the attack.
"That's strike two! Get em babies!" He sent his dolls at them again.
Lucy screamed as she continued to dodge. "Open! Gate of the Ram! Aries!" She summoned Aries who appeared to be as shy as ever, though she didn't wear a bikini unlike Virgo.
"Um… what would you like me to do…" Aries asked shyly as Lucy continued to comically dodge the dolls.
"ANYTHING! I DON'T CARE!" Lucy screamed.
"Anything? Okay… Wool Wall!" Aries created a large mound of pink cotton that stopped the dolls right in their tracks and even engulfed Bickslow himself.
"First bikini babes, now a weird ram-chick that shoots cotton candy?!" Bickslow questioned.
"I'm terribly sorry." Aries apologized in a shy tone.
"So much indecency." Freed was still helpless in embarrassment.
"Wool Wall!" Aries launched the same attack again at Freed who was still in the grip of the bikini-babes around him.
"What is this strange sensation?" The green-haired swordsman questioned. "My body fells woolly and warm as if I'm being hugged by a fluffy cloud!"
"Look man, we all gotta go through puberty sometime but could you hold off until we beat these bimbos?!" Bickslow questioned as he continued to struggle in his own cotton confinement.
Lucy used this opportunity to run straight at Bickslow before he could escape. "Lucy Kick!" She kicked him right in his face, which appeared to knock him out as he fell to the ground in defeat.
"Oh yeah!" She cheered for herself. "My strategy worked! I remembered he's really weak without his babies; these bimbos really kicked your butt pal!"
"If it's alright with you Ms. Lucy, I'd really like to go home now. I'll see you next time." Aries vanished in a puff of smoke before Lucy could even reply.
"'Lucy Kick'?" Cana teased. "How long did it take to come up with that one?"
"Stop this!" Freed begged. "I'm seriously about to reach my limit!" However, the bikini-babes around him all vanished as the spell had worn off, much to his relief.
"You're kidding me?! The spell already wore off?!" Cana complained.
Freed took a sigh of relief, glad that was over, before getting serious. "How utterly degrading! But now that I'm free, you won't trap me again!"
"Uh oh. I think we made him mad." Lucy gulped.
Route A
Mira flew into the air as she launched multiple dark magic spheres at Dante as he ran along the sand. He held Ebony in his right hand and shot all the attacks that came his way; any that came to close he was easily able to slice away using Rebellion. This appeared to leave Mira open as she seemed too focused on Dante to even notice Lady aiming her rocket launcher before blasting a shot at Mira on her back.
However, Mira was quick to turn around and smack the rocket away with a backhand, causing it to explode past her.
"Oh, you've gotta be kidding me." Lady uttered in frustration.
Mira smirked as she shot right at Lady before she could even react and was knocked back by the force of a punch that hit the ground.
"Right behind ya, sweetheart!" Dante challenged as he appeared behind Mira, swinging Rebellion at her, but Mira was quick to turn around and coat both her fists in dark magic to block and beat back his sword. From there it was a rapid exchange of attacks as Dante attacked and parried Rebellion against Mira's dark magic coated fists.
Dante brought his blade down toward her, but she caught it in between her hands and gave a roundhouse to Dante's open front to slide him back a bit.
"Demon Blast!" She launched a stream of her dark magic at him, which Dante tried to block with the flat of Rebellion. The force was enough to slide him back slightly as he tried to push back.
However, Mira felt some stings in her back, curtesy of Lady as she pulled out both her pistols and opened fire. Each of the bullets hit with pinpoint accuracy, Lady had a feeling that Mira's Take Over wouldn't suffer any serious damage against usual bullets, but she still avoided any vital spots just to be safe.
Mira couldn't keep this attack up and strike back at Lady at the same time. So she shot more power into her attack at Dante, which exploded and seemed to neutralize him for the time being as she turned back to Lady who tried to jump back and gain some distance, but Mira already appeared behind her and delivered a powerful kick to her back; causing her to yell as she fell to the ground.
"Sorry Lady, but I already said I wouldn't be holding back."
"Good… to know…" Lady reached for something strapped to her leg and threw an object at Mira, which she caught in her hand.
"Don't you think you're getting a bit desperate…" Mira however couldn't finish her statement as the object exploded in a flash of light, causing her to shield her eyes as Lady rolled away.
"Flash grenades." Lady smirked. "Can't use magic, so I gotta compensate somehow."
As the flash subsided, it left Mira open for Dante to rush in and slice Rebellion at Mira, knocking her up into the air.
"Time to try out something I've been thinking for a while." He voiced aloud. "Doppelganger!" Dante split into four copies which circled the ground around where Mira hovered having just recovered from the surprise attack. "Agni! Rudra!" Dante and all three of his copies quipped the fire and wind blades as they spun them around and slammed them together to create a large vortex of fire and wind which shot up and appeared to completely encompass Mira.
"Did he get her?" Lady voiced aloud.
"Evil Explosion!" Mira created a large explosion of dark magic to blow away the flaming-vortex surrounding her before aiming another attack at below. "Darkness Stream!" She launched multiple dark magic tendrils at Dante and his doubles. Though Dante himself was able to slice and knock the tendril back with a fire-slice from Agni and using Rudra's wind to give him some distance, all three of his copies were torn in half by the other tendrils, causing them to vanish in black smoke.
Dante landed next to Lady as they faced Mira as descended, just stopping to hover a few inches off the ground.
"I knew she was tough, but damn." Lady voiced aloud. "Seeing it is a whole another story."
"Yeah, easy to see why she's an S-Class." Dante voiced.
"That last attack of yours Dante; I'll give you points of creativity." Mira began. "However, that was probably your first time using it. From what I gather, you use your Doppelganger Style like an illusion to trick your enemies instead of using it for an attack, so you had to give each of your copies a portion of your own power, which of course, diminishes your own abilities until the copies vanish, am I right?"
Dante smiled, quite impressed with Mira's deduction. "Wow, got it in one."
"You and Erza spar rather frequently; and in every exercise, you are victor." Mira continued. "I'm not trying to brag or anything, but I believe my power is comparable to hers. So why am I still standing? Are you holding back?"
"Nah." Dante explained. "When Erza and I spar, I kind of like to think of it as just a workout. But this is a test, so I gotta put a little more effort into it. I think Erza views it as the same thing, otherwise she'd bring out her stronger armors when we duke it out. But you're not like Erza, you're fighting style is different, so I can't use the same approach."
"Why not use your Devil Trigger and simply overpower me?" Mira voiced. "I thought you were taking this seriously."
"That's right, why hasn't he used it?" Lady asked to herself. "He could flatten her in record time if he used his Devil Trigger."
"I am taking this seriously, which is why I'm not using it." Dante began; causing Lady to look confused, even Mira raised an eyebrow. "I still don't have a complete grip on it yet. It drains my power way too fast; plus, I rather not use it any longer than I have to, otherwise I'll become too dependent on it and it'll become a crutch for me in no time. I won't get stronger if I rely solely on my Devil Trigger. I like to think of it as a last resort sort of thing when I got no other choice."
Lady seemed to nod as that did make sense to her.
"I see, you don't want to become too reliant on it." Mira responded. "I respect that sort of thinking; I can see why the Master choose you. Despite your confident attitude, you have a sound and strategic mind when it comes to battle. However, do not underestimate me. I may not have a trump card like your Devil Trigger, but I have plenty of experience under my belt; and in a battle, experience is one of the key factors in deciding the victor." She readied herself as both her hands surged with vortexes of dark magic.
Dante readied himself as well as he drew Rebellion once more and Lady loaded her rocket launcher before they resumed their battle.
Route C
"Dark Ecriture: Wings!" Freed donned his dark purple wings and took to the air for a speed advantage as he drew his sword, but Cana was not planning on backing down as she threw several of her magic cards, only for Freed to slice through all of them before their spells could activate. He flew towards Cana and sliced his sword at her, causing her to fall back to avoid it.
"Cana!" Lucy exclaimed in worry, but she was already back on her feet.
"It's gonna take more than a little scrape to bring me down! Here goes nothing!" She threw a card to the ground. "Prayer's Fountain!" The card shot multiple chaotic streams of water that shot all over the place and sliced through multiple rocks around the cave like a knife through butter.
However, Freed was more than prepared. "It's no use!" His sword was able to block and deflect the attack as he quickly flew and maneuvered around all the attacks.
"Not again!" Cana realized just how slim their chances at victory were like this, but Lucy got an idea.
"Water huh?" She smirked as she drew a certain key. Cana however knew what Lucy was planning and tried to stop her.
"No! That won't work with this!" She tried to contain her spell. "It's volatile magic meant for attacking! If you touch it, it could kill you!"
"You got a better idea!?" Lucy stuck her key into the water, despite the residual water cutting her hand slightly. "Open! Gate of the Water-Bearer! Aquarius!"
Lucy had summoned one of her most powerful and most vicious spirits in her arsenal; the blue mermaid known as Aquarius who appeared to be ready for battle.
"Another bikini babe?!" Freed exclaimed in shock, which Lucy saw as an opening.
"He's distracted! Take him out quick!"
However, rather than attack Freed, Aquarius used her urn to bonk Lucy and Cana on the head. This caused Freed to stop as he simply watched.
"That hurt! You got sponge for brains?!" Lucy exclaimed. "Look! He's the enemy!" He pointed to Freed, but Aquarius didn't seem the least bit interested.
"Every time I see you, you're wearing less and less." Aquarius criticized. "Little Lucy think she can seduce a man, huh? Good luck with that scrawny bod."
Cana marched over to Aquarius and glared right at her face with an anger mark on her head. "You looking to get battered and deep fried!?" She challenged, which only seemed to irritate Aquarius even further.
"I'm staying out of this…" Lucy baked away slowly, rather not wanting to get caught in the crossfire between these two.
"Can you not tell the difference between friends and enemies?!" Cana exclaimed.
"Every woman alive is my enemy, idiot!" Aquarius argued. "You think you're hot-stuff just because you let your jugglies out to jiggle!?"
Lucy could only look in comic fright at the possible blood bath that could ensue from this.
"Wow. I didn't know girls were so desperate these days." Aquarius shot. "Poor thing, you'll never land a man that way."
"I bet you settled on the first ugly merman that should you his trident." Cana fired back. "It must be rough when you're twenty thousand leagues of pure skank."
"Rummy wench!"
"Fishy sea beast!"
"Maybe I should try to separate them… nah I'll just stay here." Lucy said to herself.
Aquarius turned around, ready to leave. "I'd love to chat more, but I have to meet my boyfriend." She mocked Lucy. "Oh, by the way, I got my man all to myself, unlike you who has to share with another bimbo."
She vanished in a puff of smoke while Lucy had a red face of embarrassment. "How the hell did you find out about that?!"
"Wait… share? What's she talking about?" Cana asked Lucy out of curiosity.
"It's nothing!" Lucy quickly exclaimed with her cheeks still pink. "Let's just stay focused on the fight right now, okay!?"
"Not that this hasn't been amusing, but if you're done." Freed got their attention.
"Forgot about him." Cana remarked as she readied herself along with Lucy.
"I'm all out of ideas." Lucy said.
"Fine, I'll just use this again!" Cana pulled out another bikini-babe card.
"This is Freed we're talking about! He won't fall for the same trick twice!"
However, it appears that he did as Cana cast the spell and Freed was once again embraced by multiple bikini-babes and his face became red again.
"Not this again!" He almost screamed.
"Are you freaking kidding me?!" Lucy comically exclaimed with wide eyes and dots for pupils.
"Please! I can't fight like this!" Freed begged. "Don't you want to win fair-and-square…?!"
"I got your fair right here!" Cana threw even more cards, creating multiple bikini-babe illusions, bringing it up to about thirty, maybe even forty in total as they all flew towards the further embarrassed Freed.
"Please come snuggle with us Freed!" They all begged.
"You're despicable! I won't let you beat me!" He tried to throw them all off, but they were persistent.
"Aww! You don't have to be so mean darling!" The all said at the same time. "We'll do anything to make you happy!"
Lucy's eyelids lowered as her forehead turned blue. "It may be our only strategy, but its creepy."
"I'm going all out! This should finish you off!" Cana threw even more cards, creating to a total of a hundred bikini-babes that continued to surround and try to seduce and embarrass Freed even further.
"Why won't you come and play with us?" They all said. "There's no need to be shy! We're just looking to have some fun! We're ready to serve your every desire, Master Freed!" He was completely surrounded as they all stacked on top of each other as they all sent hearts floating his way. "You're such a cutie-pie! Can't you see we're all madly in love with you!"
"What's… happening…?" Freed couldn't take it.
Lucy's eyes widened as she realized the position all the illusional-girls were in as they surrounded Freed almost like a prison cell. "You made a cage out of bikini-babes?"
Cana laughed. "That was too easy!"
"Please be gentle with us!" They all voiced as Freed's face lost all its color.
Lucy had a triumphant smile. "Guess that's one way to do it!"
Cana flipped her hair back with confidence. "Honestly, I don't know why we were worried about him." She noticed Lucy's face became one of comic shock. "What is it now?"
"It's great that we have him trapped and all, but we gotta beat him to get out of here!" Lucy stated, causing Cana's eyes to comically widen in shock. "Uh… can you make the girls tackle him, so he gets crushed… or something?"
"There must be a way to break free… think!" Freed said to himself as he tried to find a way out of this 'cage of women'. He quickly noticed a rock behind him that the bikini-babes weren't covering. "A cage has a weak spot!" He used his sword to slice through and escape. However, right as he did, he happened to step right into a circle of Cana's magic cards.
"He fell for it!" Cana exclaimed triumphantly.
"Fooled ya!" Lucy sang.
"Oh dear." Freed braced himself as the cards around him began to glow.
"Summon Lightning!" All of Cana's cards shot electricity all around Freed, zapping him and rendering him seemingly unconscious as he fell to the ground in defeat.
Cana almost couldn't believe it. "Whoa… we beat him…"
"Hey look!" Lucy pointed to the end of the cave. "The gate leading to the next round is wide open!" It was true, the gate had opened and showed the pair the way out.
"You know what this means?!" Cana exclaimed with a wide grin as she and Lucy shared a high-five.
"That we rock!" Lucy cheered.
"S-Class rank, here I come!" Cana also cheered as they ran into the tunnel leading them out of the arena. "Let's go!"
"Right behind you!"
Route A
"Cerberus!" Dante spun his three-pronged nunchuck upward and launched a volley of ice-shards like a gatling gun straight at Mira while she was airborne. She crossed her arms to block the attack, but this left her open once again for Lady to blast her in the back with a rocket launcher. Though it wouldn't beat her, it would distract Mira for a moment.
"Dante, heads up!" Lady shot a rocket launcher towards Dante, but upwards at an angle. He caught her message and actually jumped up onto the rocket, riding it like a surfboard as he tilted his heel to turn it around and ride it towards Mira as the smoke cleared and she looked in surprise just as Dante jumped off the missile. Though Mira was able to bat the missile away with her hand, Dante had her right where he wanted her.
"Beowulf! Quicksilver!" He quipped his newly acquired gauntlets and grieves and simultaneously activated his style that allowed him to stop time briefly. With this combo he was able to move at a pace that seemed almost like light-speed for the naked eye and dealt multiple powerful blows with his fists and feet all over Mira's body at a pace that not even she could counter. Dante delivered the finishing move as his Quicksilver wore off and he lifted both his Beowulf gauntlets into the air before slamming them down on Mira and sending her plummeting to the ground.
Mira struggled briefly to get up, only to look in surprise as Lady pointed her rocket launcher towards her head, the blade on the end was just inches away from her face. At the same time, Dante had already landed, and he pinned his right Beowulf grieve on her chest to keep her pinned.
"You wanna keep going?" Lady challenged.
"Cause we can do this all day." Dante challenged as well with his usual smile.
Mira had a blank expression on her face before it turned into a smile. He body flashed briefly, causing Dante and Lady to back up slightly as Mira turned back to normal.
"No, I think that's enough." She said as her cheery demeanor returned. "Congratulations you two, you pass."
"That's it?" Lady asked. "You're just gonna let us walk through?"
"Like I said, it was up to me to decide whether or not you were worthy of passing, and I think you are, Dante." She smiled as Dante offered her a hand up, which she accepted as he helped her to her feet. "You're certainly a creative fighter, combining different techniques togethers in ways I've never even thought of, even using your friends' strengths to your advantage. I never expected that you'd actually ride on one of Lady's rockets."
"Hey, I like to mix it up." Dante shrugged humbly.
Mira nodded. "And Lady, while this test was for Dante, I can see that you are a quite the fighter yourself, even if you can't use any magic."
"Thanks." Lady nodded.
"Dante; through your strength, experience, creativity, and trust in your friends and teammates, you have proven yourself truly worthy of becoming S-Class." Mira congratulated. "You pass."
Dante had an honest smile on his face. "Thank you. I promise I'm not gonna let you guys down."
"I know you won't." Mira smiled. "Good luck; with both the S-Class, as well as you and Lady."
"Wait… what?!" Lady exclaimed with white circular eyes.
"Why else would you two be such a great team if you weren't already a couple?" Mira asked innocently.
"Couple huh?" Dante teased.
"Hell no!" Lady shouted. "We're not a couple! And I wouldn't date this strawberry sundae freak even if he was the last man on earth!"
"Ouch, you know I'm standing right here you know." Dante said as he smirked towards Lady as she simply sunk her head to hide her blush.
Mira kept her smile up. "Well I think the two of you would make a great couple. You'd be so cute together." She said with hearts floating around her.
Lady grumbled slightly, but also looked a bit confounded. "I feel like your personality changes when you became that She-Devil thing."
Dante shrugged it off. "Hey, you coming? We still got the next round; we're not done yet." He began to walk past Mira as he offered Lady his hand to join him. "Let's keep going, all the way."
Despite the embarrassment earlier, Lady was able to gain her barings. She wouldn't say it to his face, but she truly believed that he deserved to become S-Class. He had the strength, will, and heart necessary; not to mention he saved her life and soul multiple times, the least she could do was help him get that S-Class rank, and she would see it through no matter what.
"Yeah, let's do it." Lady took his hand and they both continued forward down the path that Mira pointed to them.
"Good luck, you two!" She waved them off. "With everything." She thought to herself with an honest and knowing smile.
Route C
Lucy and Cana had left all but five minutes ago, leaving the seemingly defeated Freed and Bickslow behind. Once they knew the girls were out of hearing range, they ended their act and got back up.
"You sure this was for the best?" Bickslow asked as he sat up. "You lost S-Class."
"I'm sure." Freed stood up, with a tone indicating he had no regrets whatsoever, indicating that he and Bickslow let Cana and Lucy beat them. "If it had been anyone else, I would have given the fight my all." He turned to his friend with a slight smile. "But I feel I owe those two a debt of sorts and giving them this victory seemed like a fair way to pay it off."
"Whatever, we put on a killer show, but to be honest, I think you got the better end of the deal." Bickslow said, indicating he was slightly jealous of Freed being surrounded by all those bikini-babes.
"Perhaps." Freed joked slightly.
"I am surprised, I mean, weren't you dead-set on following in Laxus' footsteps?" Bickslow asked with a sincere smile.
"I'd like to, but that's not what's most important to me." Freed answered. "Being in Fairy Tail is all that matters. Besides, I have no doubt that Laxus will return one day."
Bickslow chuckled slightly. "Hey, just thought about this. If Dante and Laxus squared off with each other, which one would you think would come out on top?"
"Hmm, that is a good question." Freed mused. "We both know just what Laxus is capable of, however Dante is certainly no slouch either. Honestly, it's too hard to call."
"Well if Laxus does end up coming back, we should totally have him and Dante duke it out! That certainly be a rumble for the ages!" Bickslow smiled.
"We'll see." Freed nodded.
"I can't believe it, those girls really hit the jackpot." Bickslow said. "I mean, what are the odds that they'd run into us. I guess they're pretty lucky after all."
Route E
"Hey Erza!" Natsu called out, his voice echoing throughout the large cavern he and Happy trekked through. "Quit hiding and fight me! I'd like to kick your butt today!"
"Natsu, we don't even know that this is her route or not." Happy advised from behind. "You need to remember that."
"No! I choose E for Erza so it's gotta be her path!" Natsu stubbornly exclaimed, causing Happy to sweatdrop. "I'm gonna claim the title of S-Class wizard! And I'll have a ball kicking Erza's teeth in while I do it!"
Happy noticed an opening leading out of the tunnel straight ahead of them. "Check it out! The path ahead opened up!" He flew alongside the running Natsu as they ran into the opening and noticed that someone was waiting for them.
"I think I see somebody." Natsu said, but it was hard to tell who it was; they could only catch small glimpses of light from the nearby spirit flies.
"Is it Erza?" Happy asked.
That however proved to be wrong as more spirit flies gathered and began to light up the cavern, showing that it wasn't Erza standing in front of them; but rather a man that they both admired and feared at the same time. Someone who made them look in honest surprise, as they did not expect to see him on this route.
Gildarts smiled at the two of them as his brown cape blew slightly in the wind for dramatic effect.
"NO FREAKING WAY!" Natsu exclaimed, completely caught off guard as Happy simply screamed.
"Sorry, dead end." Gildarts smirked. "Luck just ain't on your side."
"We're dead." Happy cried comic tears of fear.
The most powerful wizard in Fairy Tail walked towards the pair. "I should warn ya, I've never been good about holding back in a fight, so this will be quick."
Natsu however stood his ground as his fist lit on fire before his whole body was engulfed in flames. He looked towards Gildarts with a serious expression on his face; even if he was the strongest person in the guild, Natsu was determined to fight and take the S-Class title, even if it means getting through Gildarts.
"Natsu?" Happy voiced in surprise as the Son of Igneel smirked.
"Ah yeah, I'm fired up now!"
Gildarts could only smile proudly. This was going to be interesting to say the least.
Done.
Thanks again for your patience. So it looks like both Cana and Dante have passed the first round with their respective partners. I had a lot of fun writing Dante and Lady's battle against Mira, and I hope you enjoy reading that as well.
Just like in the cannon; Cana and Lucy went against Freed and Bickslow and won, but of course, the pair from the Thunder Legion allowed them to win. I had to keep that the same in my story; any other team or S-Class wizard would have gone all out and probably beaten the pair. This was a much needed victory for Lucy and Cana as it helped the later gain some confidence as she was already struggling at the beginning of this arc. I hope you can understand that.
And also just like the cannon; Natsu and Happy have run into Gildarts. This battle will be similar to the cannon, but there will be some differences as well. Gildarts is going to teach Natsu a lesson that he has to learn, which is even more prominent in this story and you'll see why in the next chapter.
Anyway, thanks again. I hope to have the next chapter out around Christmas time, but I make no promises.
See you soon and happy holidays!