Chapter 11
"Are you the one who hurt Levy?" The girl asked.
"Who are you?" The man asked.
"My name is Lucy, now tell me, are you the one who hurt Levy?"
"Levy, hmm. Is that the weak little wizard who couldn't even resist a simple mind trick?"
"What did you do to her?" Lucy seethed.
"A simple illusion spell taught to me by a guildmate. The name's Brenden, by the way."
"I couldn't care less what your name is. You've hurt my guildmates, and I can't forgive that."
Brenden ran a hand through his messy brown hair, "I'd like to see what kind of revenge you can give." He stood up, pulling an unconscious Cascadia behind him.
Lucy pulled a golden key from a pouch in her belt, shouting, "Open, gate of the giant crab: Cancer!"
"Hello baby." A dark skinned man with crab-like feature appeared, "Do you need a haircut, baby?"
"Now's not the time, Cancer. I need you to try to cut those vines off of the girl over there." Lucy pointed to Cascadia before pulling out another golden key and shouting, "Open, gate of the lion: Loke!"
"Hey Lucy, it's been awhile." This spirit looked exactly like a man with red-brown hair that tufted in a way that made the look like ears. He wore sunglasses and a suit, even though it was quite warm.
"Now's not the time for flirting, Loke. I need your help now."
The spirit named Loke looked at Brenden, "Who's this loser?"
"Dunno. He did something to Levy, and has...I'm not sure her name, but she's a new member and he has her tied in some strange magical vines. Cancer's working on the vines right-"
Just as Lucy was saying this, Cancer dropped to his knees, "I'm sorry, baby." He then poofed out.
"What happened?" Lucy asked.
"Simple. Did you really think even a celestial spirit would be unaffected from my vines? They drained his magic and in turn yours. That lion spirit should be leaving any time soon."
"Eh, I don't really quite feel like leaving, so I think I'll stay." Loke ran a hand through his red-brown hair before laughing, "I'm the leader of the zodiac. That makes me the strongest. I can be out here on my own magic for quite some time."
"That just makes this all the more fun," Brenden shrugged before shouting, "Plant magic: growth."
Soon a small forest grew all around Lucy and Loke, "Lucy, don't touch the trees," Loke warned, "They'll drain all your magic in an instant."
"How am I supposed to move?" Lucy snapped.
"Working on it." Loke responded.
"As much fun as this is," Brenden interceded, "I think I'll be leaving now as I have what I need." With that, he picked Cascadia up by the vines wrapped around her and disappeared amongst his magic forest.
Loke swore before looking at Lucy, "What now?"
"There's not much we can do until this forest disappears.." Lucy scowled, "All we can do is wait."
Distant voices were talking, but Cascadia couldn't make out any of the words. Where was she? What happened? The voices sounded like they were getting closer and more distinct. Cascadia groaned in confusion. Why does she feel so weak? Why can't she move?
She suddenly jolted awake, fully conscious. Cascadia took in her surroundings. She was in a small room, dimly lit by a lacrima lamp. She was on a small bed, her hands tied behind her back. Slowly, she began to remember what had happened. She and Levy were ambushed. Levy was knocked out by some strange spell, and Cascadia's energy had been drained by that man's plants. She had seen a woman with blond hair right before she had passed out, but the woman must have lost.
Cascadia scowled in frustration, getting up and kicking the door to the room, "Let me out now, you jerks. You can't keep me locked in here."
The rope around her wrists were frustratingly tight.
"You've got quite the temper." A voice came from outside the door. "I wasn't told how amusing you were." The sound of a door unlocking was followed by a man in his mid-30's walking into the room. He quietly closed the door behind him, sitting in an old chair in the corner.
"What do you want?" Cascadia growled.
The man crossed his arms before speaking, "You have an interesting magic."
"I just use ice magic. So what?"
The man threw back his head, laughing, "No need to be so evasive. It's no secret amongst this guild that you're an ice dragon slayer. That's not 'just ice magic'. Now if you want to play the denial game, I'm all for that. But just to let you in on a little secret. I never lose, so you might as well stop pretending now."
"What makes you say I'm an ice dragon slayer?" Cascadia asked.
"We have our sources, as all dark guilds do. Now, to answer your initial question. Dragon slayers are known for different skill sets passed onto them from the different skill sets that their dragon parents had. Sky dragon: healing. Fire dragon: long range destruction. Iron dragon: close range destruction. Water dragon: torture. These are just a few known or speculated. As for an ice dragon, the specialty is the mind. Like the mind, ice is complicated and deceptive. When you think you can see through it, it turns out perception has been warped. What we want is that ability to attack the mind. To control it. To destroy it. Whatever we see fit."
"What makes you think I'd actually do anything you asked?" Cascadia asked angrily.
The man leaned forward, interlocking his fingers, "Tell me about your friends at Fairy Tail."