A/N: Happy Independence Day everyone else here in the U.S.! Day 4 of the 7 Day Challenge begins now! Chapter 18 is up for your reading pleasure!
Ugh... my arms feel like lead from moving yesterday... and I still have to unpack and arrange the furniture in my room without scratching the walls or anything since it's a brand new house. I actually just threw my mattress on the floor and slept on it without any sheets on it last night. I also smashed my fingers between a washing machine and a door frame, so that was fun.
I'd like to thank WaterDragonMaverick, WrittenWhim, ManhattanTheory, GhostOfOnyx, LightandDarkHeart, SaiyaStyles, and Hikari903278 for their reviews last chapter!
WaterDragonMaverick- Yeah, we pretty much got all of the junk in the house... now we just have to unpack it... But yeah, the moment that I was told that we wouldn't have internet until Saturday I just completely panicked until I remembered the hotspot thingy in my phone that I found and then challenge saved. There's a whole lot more to Projection Magic than the Inner World of crystal, but that'll be further explained in Kobold Mine, after all, how could Gunther project swords and arrows from crystal? As for what happened with Kieron, his master the Bandaged Man happened. Yeah, the three of them are a pretty good team, but yeah, I'll just say that Varic's Ice Magic is really advanced, I'll let the chapter say the rest. But yeah, it seemed that Varic had died since his entire upper body was shattered into several little ice shards, so Light had been pretty upset, and they'll just have to hope that Jayne doesn't catch wind of that. Time was my enemy with Horace and Caleb's scenes, I had a literal 30 minutes to figure out what I wanted to write so those scenes unfortunately came out as really short, there was originally going to be mention of a killer rabbit, but alas he had to be cut, like Gin (that was a terrible pun), but the fact that Caleb could cancel out his magic just completely screwed him over. Well the Bandaged Man did say what Agni was, but just remember that this is actually the original Agni that I made.
WrittenWhim- I did say that it was going to be dark (Kieron's original death had him biting off his own tongue, but I decided that it was a bit too much), but yeah, I've accomplished my task of establishing some of the major villains of the story so far, but there's still just one more thing that needs to be done. And ironically MyDearWatson and I introduced the exact same character on the same day in a very similar manner without even planning for it, being the Bandaged Man.
ManhattanTheory- Unfortunately, we have a bit of a drop off in the action for a day or two. Gotta setup and start the final round of the missions this arc after all, but we do have a short little fight in this chapter. Anyways, I hope you all enjoy the chapter!
GhostOfOnyx- Yeah, I honestly wish I had more time to write out that fight to do them more justice (same with the Horace vs. Kyria fight), but when I have a time restriction of 24 hours to write a chapter, time gets kinda tight when you have a lot going on. But anyways, I hope you enjoy the chapter!
LightandDarkHeart- You'll learn more about exactly what the Agni of this story is at a later date, but the Bandaged Man has already said what he is. I do have to admit that it's rather exciting for me to have a character who's a good guy in one story, but a villain in the other one.
SaiyaStyles- Yeah, I wish I had more time to let Styles play around with Gin too, but alas, when you're moving and you need most of the day to write a chapter some scenes have to be shortened and Caleb's and Horace's scenes were the last ones I wrote so they were the ones that got shortened since all the other scenes were already finished. And yeah, for the past two nights it seems like Fanfiction just stops sending notifications to me from midnight to about 7 in the morning. I didn't get the notification that my chapter had been posted until 7 and I posted it just before midnight. But I hope you feel better soon! Stomach flues are the worst.
Hikari903278- It's fine, but I do understand your situation from my own past experiences, I'm just a bit high-strung when it comes to it. Ayways, I find it strange that you can't log into Fanfiction from your iTouch, I've always been able to log in from my old one and my phone, but Fanfiction has been weird lately (see above response). But anyways, I'm happy to hear that you enjoyed the chapter and I don't think anyone really expected for that to happen to Kieron. And I've actually been waiting for a little while to bring up that bit about Varic, but you'll learn some about that this chapter. And yeah, I made that Secret Art all on my own for Light while keeping her spells separate from the White Dragon Slayer's, so I'm glad that you liked it. I guess it was my way of apologizing. But yeah, Horace is an S-Class mage for a reason, so despite how short I had to make it, I at least made it an interesting fight where he could show off.
I don't own Fairy Tail!
I hope you enjoy the chapter!
Chapter 18
"Are you sure that he'll be alright?" Kiyeda asked about Gunther after the two mages got their reward for dealing with Kieron.
"Yeah... but he'll be disappointed to hear what happened," Rowena admitted, "This was the closest we've ever gotten and if what Kieron said is true... Then Agni is still alive..." she muttered as she felt herself begin to tear up.
"Well I hope that you find him soon," Kaiyo said as he gave the woman a bright smile and a thumbs-up.
"Mm-hmm. If you ever need any help, just come ask us over at Undine's Cove. Salina would be more than happy to help you both," Kiyeda promised.
"Yes... Of course," Rowena sniffed as she wiped away her tears, "I promise that if we need help that we'll come find you all."
"We're off then!" Kaiyo explained as he turned around to leave.
"We'll see you both again!" Kiyeda promised as she followed Kaiyo, "Take care!" she said as they began walking away, Rowena waving to them as they left.
"So... What's your take on all of those monsters?" Kaiyo asked in a serious tone as they walked towards the train station in Clover.
"They were strong... I don't think we would've won by ourselves," Kiyeda admitted in a serious tone, 'We'll have to tell Salina about this... but she's already stressed over this Euclid person' she thought as her expression looked even more serious.
"You think so too?" Kaiyo asked, "Yeah, we really lucked out by meeting Gunther and Rowena beforehand."
"Hm? Oh, yeah," Kiyeda muttered as she came out of her thoughts.
"C'mon, get your head out of the clouds! Not like you've ever been able to get past them before," the Raven Mage teased as he ran ahead.
"Kaiyo! Get back here!" Kiyeda shouted as she ran after her friend.
. : + : .
"That's better," Light sighed as she finished her meal of light outside of the mine, "Now come on you!" she shouted as she grabbed the back of Varic's shirt and began dragging him behind her.
"L-Light!" he shrieked, "Haru! Help!"
"I think you brought this on yourself Varic," Haru shrugged as she followed behind them, Rakki riding on her shoulder, "Now don't you think that you should be explaining yourself to her?"
"Urk..." the Ice Mage gulped as he looked over his shoulder, only to see Light glaring at him, "Alright! Alright! Fine! Just put me down first!" he demanded as Light let go of the back of his sleeveless black shirt, letting him fall against the cobblestone street, "Owowowow... You're still angry aren't you?" he asked as he looked up at Light from his position on the street, only to see a look on her face that said 'Stop wasting time and start talking!' Varic let out a sigh as he stood up, "I'll tell you the whole story some other time, but the long and short of it is that I'm made out of ice."
"Made... out of ice?" Light repeated in shock, "What do you mean by that!?"
"Exactly that. About five years ago my body was transformed into ice and I gained Living Ice Magic," he explained.
"But how did that happen?" Haru asked, a look of shock on her face as well.
"Like I said, I'll tell you the whole story some other time," Varic shrugged, "Besides, don't we have a reward to pick up?"
"How are we going to split the reward?" Haru asked suddenly, "Three ways even?"
"No, I'm going to need more than you two since I also have to take care of Rakki," Light shrugged.
"Hold on a moment! I'm one that got smashed saving your ass!" Varic interjected, "So my part should be the largest."
"Yeah right! I took out the most golems! Mine and Rakki's part should be the biggest!" Light countered as she got in the ice man's face.
"And here I thought things were going too smoothly with our teamwork," Haru sighed as her two friends continued their argument.
"I had a feeling that something like this would happen," Rakki added as her ears drooped forward, "We're all used to getting the full sum of the reward."
"Well I guess I'll just go ahead and take what I want from the reward," Haru sighed as she walked past the two arguing mages with Rakki towards Dragomir Keep, Varic and Light not noticing her walking past.
. : + : .
"So that's what we have to do for them," Caleb said as he finished explaining the situation to Horace on the train, Styles and Kimi sitting across from them as Nina sat on the luggage rack above them, watching the two Undine's Cove mages carefully.
"We have to find Mr. Voodoo then?" Horace repeated, receiving a positive nod from Caleb, "Hmm... I think I might have an idea."
"What? You think you know where he is!" Styles asked in a harsh tone, Kimi putting her hand on his shoulder in an effort to calm him.
"Yes... and unfortunately it isn't a place that we can just barge into since it would make us enemies of the whole country," Horace explained as Styles looked away with a "Tsk".
"So you think the Magic Council has Mr. Voodoo then?" Caleb asked.
"It is the only lead that I have so far. I didn't know what that woman meant at first, but she told me that I would find something at a magic research facility outside of Era."
"If you know where he is then we should go right now!" Styles shouted.
"No. The information is unreliable at best since we can't trust the source. It could very well be a trap," the S-Class Mage responded calmly as he looked out the window.
"But who knows what they're doing to Mr. Voodoo," Kimi said in a worried tone.
"Don't worry. I'm certain that Salina will know just what to do," Caleb stated reassuringly as he pushed up his glasses.
. : + : .
"And there you go!" Salina said happily as she pulled back the magic stamp, leaving a red and black guild mark on the center of Jewul's spine, "You've already gotten a tour of the dorm right?"
"Yeah, Malon and Willow showed me the girl's dorm," Jewul responded, "Jace, Rave, and Fareth had to stay outside or face the penalty of death."
"Good to hear!" Salina said cheerfully, "Oh, how are your injuries? I didn't mean to use as much power as I did, but I get carried away at times," the Weather Mage admitted bashfully.
"Oh? I'm fine, just a little twitchy," Jewul answered cautiously as she backed away from Salina.
"You're lucky you didn't die!" Malon said cheerfully as she jumped on top of Jewul from behind, making her fall to the ground while Will floated around them making cooing noises, "Not many get the privilege of surviving an encounter with the Dark Skies," the Phantom Mage whispered darkly into Jewul's ear, "Most people end up as ash wraiths."
"Malon... Stop spreading rumors about me," Salina whined as the young girl hopped off of Jewul with a large smile on her face as Jezabelle, Jayne, and Roseala walked down the stairs, mission form in hand, "Oh, are you going on a mission?"
"Yep, Jayne just wouldn't leave me alone until I took them on one," the S-Class Mage laughed as she handed Salina the request form.
"You promised that you would! And you were away from the guild for like, forever," Jayne mumbled as Roseala hid next to Jayne, seeing the unfamiliar Jewul get up from the ground.
"Treasure hunting in the desert?" Salina asked as she pulled out the request book and flipped to the page before writing down the necessary info.
"Yeah, I figured that I needed to choose something fun and some-what relaxing for them," Jezabelle answered, "What? Did you expect me to take them on a monster hunt or something?"
"Well-" Salina started to say as she was interrupted by yelling from the beach.
"RAYNER!"
"AJAX!" they heard, guessing the source of the shouting to be Rayner and Ajax starting another fight.
"I knew it'd only be a matter of time till this happened," Salina sighed as she left the bar area to supervise the fight.
"Glass Dragon's Punch!" Ajax roared as he sent a glass covered fist towards Rayner, only to have it be intercepted by Rayner's Mjolnir, "Tsk... That's a new one," Ajax muttered as he leapt backwards.
"Swords and spears don't exactly work well against you," Rayner explained with a smirk on his face, "So what's better to smash your scales than a hammer?"
"Don't get cocky you!" Ajax yelled as he ran back in, "Glass Dragon's Shattering Storm!" he shouted as he leapt into the air, sending several shards of glass flying down at Rayner as the shards shattered into hundreds of even tinier shards.
"Aegis!" Rayner shouted, his magic shield materializing above him just in time to block the glass.
"Too slow!" the Dragon Slayer shouted as he landed behind the Forge Mage, "Glass Dragon's Punch!" he yelled as he planted a glass covered fist into Rayner's back, sending him flying across the beach.
"Alright that's enough!" Salina shouted, stopping the two mage's fight as they turned to look at her.
"But I would've gotten him with my next move!" Rayner objected as he stood up, covered in sand.
"Says the guy that was face down in the dirt until now!" Ajax countered.
"Say that again!"
"I said that's enough!" Salina said in a sickingly sweet tone as they heard thunder crack in the distance, "Now make up you two, you're both good friends after all."
"Yep! Best of friends!" they both shouted simultaneously, their arms on each other's shoulders as they were suddenly standing next to each other with forced smiles on their faces.
"A-Aye!" Rayner added in, obviously scared out of his mind at the thought of an angry Salina.
"Good!" Salina said happily as she turned around to walk back to the main building.
'S-scary,' Jewul thought to herself as she watched Salina return.
. : + : .
Arashi walked into the train station, about to depart on his task. He had already gotten Salina's permission to go, but he had to promise that he wouldn't get in over his head since what he was about to do was dangerous and reckless. But he had to see if they knew anything about this Euclid person that Salina asked him and the other S-Class Mages to investigate. It didn't make him happy that he had to find and ask those people for help, but who would know the Magic Underworld better than a Dark Mage?
"I just hope that they're in a cooperative mood," Arashi muttered as he stepped onto the train, "I suppose that I could just bribe one of them with ice cream if they're not up for talking," he chuckled as the door of the train shut behind him as the locomotive began it's departure.
. : + : .
"So how'd it go?" Euclid asked as he stood next to his chess board, placing three white pieces on the board to replace the one white knight he had placed on the black team.
"Undine's Cove acted just as you thought they would," Kyria answered, now covered in bandages while her burns healed.
"Heh... Miss Velvet seems to be pretty easy to read then," the Info Broker chuckled as he placed a third team on the board comprising of a handful of dark wood chess pieces, "Now I wonder what that man's next move will be? And when it'll be?"
"You do realize that you're only making him stronger by going along with his demands, right?" Kyria asked as she looked over at Aurora, who was wearing the necklace provided by the bandaged man.
"Sometimes you have to go along with someone's scheme when you want to learn their plans," Euclid responded as he set two new dark wood pieces with the third team, "I'll learn what he's scheming sooner or later."
"If you're certain," the Ash Mage shrugged as she examined the chess board, 'Just what kind of game of chess is that anyways?' she asked herself before leaving the room.
. : + : .
"So you are Styles Kaizu then?" Salina asked as she looked the man up and down.
"What of it?" he replied harshly.
"My name is Salina Velvet, First Guild Master of Undine's Cove," she said in introduction, "It is a pleasure to meet you."
"Whatever, I just came because those two said that you would help get Mr. Voodoo back for Kimi," Styles stated as he gestured towards Kimi.
"I believe that Mr. Voodoo can be found in a research facility outside of Era," Horace explained.
"That's a problem..." Salina mumbled, "But I think that I know the perfect man for the job," the woman said confidently, confusing Caleb and Horace.
A/N: Well there it is! Albeit a much shorter chapter than the last one, but Day 4 of the 7 Day Challenge, Chapter 18, is complete! Next time we'll be seeing Team Jez and Arashi begin their missions, as well as one other person. Hmm... who could it be? Props to anyone who can guess who is taking the mission to find Mr. Voodoo! Also, despite the chapter's shortness, I feel like quite a bit happened this chapter.
Anywho, the last round of missions for this arc start tomorrow! So if all goes well, we'll have finished this Story Arc by the 7th!
Well, I'm off to arrange the furniture in my room.
Please remember to review!
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dreadburner94.