The entirety of Hell was seemingly empty. They had been traveling for what seemed like hours, possibly days, entering different corridors into different caverns, all seemingly haunted by dead, writhing bodies, but no real confrontation and no sign of Andromeda.
Hell was eery. It was silent, other than the moans of pain from the suffering, forgotten prisoners. Now and then earth tremors shot through the caverns, shaking the walls. Debris and rock fell from wherever the ceiling was, disappearing into the bottomless abyss below.
"We're not getting anywhere," Levy sighed, "It's almost like we're going in circles."
"At least we haven't had to fight anything for awhile," Juvia commented.
They were edging across a narrow ledge. Steps had to be small since it was so narrow and they definitely did not want to fall. The embankment had no bottom that anyone could see. The path would lead to the other side of the crevice though. If they were to find solid ground, they had to keep going.
Jellal cringed, a shot of pain shooting through his body.
"We need to get off this crevice," Erza said to Gray, "Jellal is getting weaker. He can't take much more."
"I'll be fine!" Jellal insisted, "I've made it this far."
"There's a path here," Juvia said, pointing to another narrow crevice, "We could squeeze through there if we had to."
Gray surveyed the crevice. The crevice was indeed narrow. He couldn't be sure if there was another side to it.
"It would be really tight," he said, "We'd be better off getting to the other side."
Arcadios and Cana came last. He held her hand lightly as they made their way across the tiny path. The touch calmed her.
Gray was silent as he neared the edge of the trail. Flat ground – dead ahead. He paused.
"There's a break in the path!" he realized, "We have to jump. It's about 10 feet."
"And how do we do that?" Gajeel asked, "We have one person with infection that can barely walk and Levy's leg is still bummed. And it's a looong way down."
There was an earth tremor. They held furiously to the sides of the walls and waited for it to pass.
"Move back," Gray said.
The others inched back, giving Gray a bit of room. He took a deep breath and made a break for it, barely clearing the other side. He stumbled. For a moment, he fell back a bit and the others held their breaths as he teetered on the edge. He formed an ice pick, scrabbling up to safe ground.
He used his ice magic to make a bridge. The heat of Hell started melting it immediately.
"C'mon, Juvia!" Gray said, "Go now while the ice is holding. I'll reinforce it for the others."
Juvia regarded the bridge nervously, "Can you put up rails?"
Knowing that wasn't a possibility, she placed a shaky foot on it. She crossed slowly, balancing with her arms.
"Almost there," Gray encouraged. He reached out his hand, "Watch me, Juvia. Don't look down."
She watched him, carefully edging across the bridge. When she was at the last foot, he yanked her across and into his arms.
"Levy!" Gray called, reinforcing the bridge with fresh magic. He put bumpers on the edge. The ice was already melting.
Gajeel nudged her gently, "You'll be okay. Walk straight for Gray."
Levy held her breath as she limped across the bridge slowly. Again, Gray reached out his hand as she got closer. She slipped slightly, yelping as pain shot through her leg. Gray grabbed her, pulling her to safety. She sat in his arms for a moment, breathing heavily.
Gajeel crossed with no drama, taking Levy from Gray's arms and holding her himself.
"We'll need to cross together," Erza told Gray, "Jellal really isn't doing well."
"I said I'm fine!" He snapped. He wavered on his feet a bit.
Gray made the bridge slightly thicker.
"We'll go quickly," Erza told him, "Hold on to me."
Jellal allowed her to swing his arm over her shoulders, "I'm ready," he told her. A minute later, they were across safely.
Arcadios could see how nervous Cana was now that it was her turn. She was visibly shaking. Gray was reinforcing the melting bridge.
"No," she moaned, "I can't do it."
"Yes you can," Arcadios said, leaning into her ear, "I'll come with you. Watch Gray. He'll reach for you when you're close enough."
Cana nodded, taking her first step off the solid ground. She inched across, Arcadios holding her shoulders steady.
"We're halfway now," Arcadios said, "Keep going. Gray can almost reach you."
Gray was reaching her for, having come out the first foot onto the bridge.
Suddenly, the cavern shook. Cana screamed as the bridge split down the middle.
"SHIT!" Arcadios yelled, yanking her backwards. He pulled her into his arms and jumped for the ledge behind them, just as the bridge collapsed.
"What the hell just happened?" Gajeel yelled.
Cana was crying, back on the narrow ledge.
"Earth tremor!" Arcadios yelled back.
"I'll make another bridge!" Gray said, "Just hang on!"
The cave shook again, dissolving the path by 2 or 3 feet. Cana and Arcadios scooted backward, barely managing to stay on the ledge.
"It's too unstable!" Arcadios shouted to Gray, "We'll go to the crevice Juvia saw earlier. Hopefully we'll end up in the same place."
Gray didn't like it. They'd already realized just how huge it was down here. Separating could mean they'd never see each other again.
"I can't, Gray!" Cana shouted, "I can't cross the bridge. We're going to the crevice."
Helplessness like he'd never felt before washed over Gray, but there was no more discussion. He ushered the remaining group toward the next area, glancing over his shoulder as Arcadios and Cana made their way back to the other crevice.
Cana squeezed through the opening, rocks jabbing her legs and arms, "It's tight, but we'll make it."
Arcadios looked the crevice up and down, "Easy for you to say," he murmured, "You're not wearing armour."
The corners of her mouth turned up as she wished she could think of something really smartass to say. Instead, she shimmied along the opening. They'd gone about 60 feet when Cana realized the tunnel definitely lead somewhere.
"There's an opening ahead," she told Arcadios.
Arcadios was having problems maneuvering in his armour. He was trailing behind by several feet, "Don't go too far without me!"
Cana edged on, claustrophobia quickly becoming an issue. She got to the opening, letting out a deep sigh of relief, then froze. Arcadios watched her freeze, a chill shooting through him.
"What is it?" he asked, catching up to her. He crouched and glanced out the hole. Down below, demons stood in straight lines, saluting a figure seated upon an enormous throne as he was yelling out orders. His skin was red, other than the black goatee he sported. He had gnarled horns protruding out of his head going in asymmetric directions. He wore a golden cape. And he was massive. Hell hounds lay on either side of his throne, collared with chains. Their teeth were bared as they growled deeply.
"Andromeda," Cana whispered, "That can only be Andromeda."
Gray and the others were able to move much freer now that they weren't on a narrow ledge. Desperate to catch up to Cana and Arcadios, he tried to hurry the group, wanting to take the first left they came across.
"Gray, you have to trust them," Juvia said, put a hand on his forearm, "What's this?"
She pulled on a loose piece of skin on his face, chucking it away from her in disgust.
"The disguises," Erza said, "We must have been down here for a month or close to it. They're dissolving."
Juvia's disguise was also peeling.
"As much as I can't wait to look like me again," Gray said, "These disguises might still come in handy. Don't pick off the skin."
Juvia nodded.
Jellal groaned, his migraine getting worse again, his side causing immense pain. Levy got to work right away, mixing more Quaine for him. She didn't even have to ask. Gray shot his ice into it without thinking twice.
"Your fever is really high," she said, wiping the sweat of Jellal's brow.
"I'm fine," Jellal insisted.
Levy shot a look at Gray, who acknowledged it with a nod. Jellal was not fine.
"We're not separating any more than we have to," Gajeel said, "It's bad enough that Cana and Arcadios are on their own. You'll have to suck it up and keep going."
"I said I'm fine, didn't I?" Jellal snapped.
The others exchanged glances, but said nothing as they continued into the next room.
"Shh!" Gajeel said, stilling Levy, "I hear something."
"What is it?" Erza asked, still walking with Jellal's arm over her shoulders.
Everyone went completely silent, listening. Gajeel's Dragon Slayer ears were the only ones that could pick up the voices.
"Demons," he whispered.
Gajeel took the lead now, following the noise silently.
After about 10 minutes, Gajeel held his arm up, indicating something was up ahead.
"It's a meeting room," he whispered, "There's a lot of demons in there. I can sense them from here."
"This is it!" Juvia said, fear crossing her eyes.
"So what's the plan?" Gray asked Erza.
She scanned their faces, knowing they all felt the same dread coursing through them.
"Cana said to get caught," Jellal piped up, "I say we walk right in and say hello."
Gajeel broke out into a grin, "Hell ya."
