I was thinking about splitting this into two chapters, but it didn't feel right.
Disclaimer: Don't own FT
When they returned to the others, they were pleased to find that both Erza and Wendy had woken up. They quickly recounted what they had heard from their encounter with the old woman. Gray hunted down a map from Jude Heartfilia and the members of Fairy Tail stood over it, thoughtful. The reinforcements from Blue Pegasus and Lamia Scale had returned to their respective guilds to break the bad news and bury their dead, Ren accompanying Lamia Scale first.
"Rotted trees... rivers meeting..." Erza pondered, looking for two blue lines interlocking but also surrounded by woodland.
"Is Rune gonna be there?" Natsu asked, already fired up.
"I don't think so," Gildarts replied, "she said the answers would be in this cave. She couldn't give us any solid answers. She was on the edge of losing it, but we need anything we can get to stop these attacks."
"Hmm, that's strange," Mirajane interjected, pointing at a pool of blue covering where two rivers would have met, just north of the estate, "this is the only point where rivers meet that fits the description."
"Maybe the cave is under the lake?" Juvia suggested.
"Good thinking, Juvia," Gray said, smiling, making the blue-haired girl blush profusely.
"I will go find this cave," Erza decided, "even if it leads nowhere, at least we tried."
"Are you sure you should? You've just woken up." Pantherlily asked.
"Even though I've been unconscious, I'm still one of the healthiest here. Everyone else should go back to the guild to rest and tell them what's going on, Hibiki is understandably too upset to spread the word." She answered, standing up and equipping her armour over the bandages tightly wrapped around her stomach.
"Like hell I'm going back yet," Natsu said, standing next to her, "I'm not that beaten up either! I'm coming with you."
"Me too," Gray added, "it'll just be like old times going out on jobs."
"Then take Juvia," The water mage demanded, blushing once more, "I can get you all under the lake."
"Very well, but the rest of you return to the guild." Erza said resolutely.
"Alright Makarov," Gildarts joked, winking, "come on, we've outstayed our welcome here. Let's move."
As everyone departed to go home, shuffling in pain and groaning, a maid of the house handed them three large rucksacks full of food and tents to the four who stayed.
"Jude-sama wishes you the best on your journey," She told, bowing, "stay safe."
Jude watched from the window of his study as they made their way down the long path to their destination, allowing himself a small sad smile as he remembered his own daughter's departure.
–
After around two hours of non-stop walking, the group arrived at the lake they had spotted on the map.
"My feet hurt." Natsu whined, sitting on a rock and slinging the rucksack to one side, sweating under the midday sun.
"Mine too!" Happy added, sitting next to him.
"You've been flying, how can your feet hurt?" Gray asked, "You all complain too much."
"You want to rumble?!" Natsu growled, getting in Gray's face, the other boy fully ready to challenge the threat.
"Stop." Erza demanded, voice cold, making the two sit down and smile unconvincingly, fully apprehended.
"When are we going underwater?" Juvia asked, wanting to feel useful. Erza turned to her.
"Could you search for anything that might be of interest before we enter?" She requested, "I'd rather know that something is there before we go in."
Juvia agreed to the request and disappeared into the murky water. As her eyes adjusted, she could see that there was a staggering amount of dust from the bed of the lake swirling in the depths. Making her way to the bottom of the lake, she felt along the walls for any disturbances in the rock. Upon reaching the lake bed, she squinted, trying to make out any shapes through the dust that had gotten more ubiquitous.
A face suddenly appeared in front of her, making her heart churn painfully in her chest from morbid surprise. It did not take long for her to deduce that the man was dead, his eyes closed and mouth agape. His body still seemed relatively 'fresh'. Pushing down the urge to scream, she pushed his body aside and continued her search.
'Juvia will be strong for Gray-sama and her friends!' She thought, pushing through the water, 'if there was a man here, he must have been looking for something too.'
Soon after, she found where the man must have floated from. A large mouth in the rock showed itself to her, darker than the rest of the rock. Juvia smiled, gliding up through the water with her hand trailing on the wall. When she broke the surface of the lake, she called out to her friends who were on the other side of the lake. Leaving the rucksacks, they ran around to meet her.
"Someone has been here," She told, holding the ledge, "the water has been disturbed, Juvia can feel it. The cave is on this wall."
"So something may be waiting for us." Erza said, folding her arms. Natsu grinned.
"Let's get down there and say hello." He added, fists clenched.
Juvia used her magic to give them bubbles to breathe in (minus Happy, who was to search the area in case the lake was not the main focus) before disappearing once more. Gray jumped in after her, followed by Natsu and finally by Erza. Kicking hard, they slowly submerged further and further, arms straining against the pressure of the water.
"Is this it?" Gray asked once they were at the black hole, trying to peer inside.
"This is all I could find, Gray-sama," Juvia said, "Juvia is sorry if this is not the right one."
"Alright!" Natsu said, swimming into the hole. The other three shouted in protest, but had no choice but to follow him as his form was engulfed by darkness. After a few meters, the cave suddenly became a dead end. Gray pointed upwards, noticing the surface of the water shimmering.
As they emerged, the bubbles disappeared, and they could breathe the musky air of the cavern they were in. Natsu opened a flame in his hand to illuminate the area as he tread water.
"So the cave continues out of water," Erza said, looking down the long corridor of rock, darkness at the end, "maybe this will lead somewhere after all."
Natsu was the first to pull himself out of the liquid, his clothes dripping onto the dusty floor, followed by the others. Juvia absorbed the water from their clothing to make walking more comfortable.
"You... you!" A voice called out, startling the group. Natsu made his flame bigger, and saw a man sat against the corner of the corridor, where it suddenly jutted right.
"Huh? Who are you?" He asked curiously, examining the man. He was wearing normal clothing and was very much human, indicating that he was not a Void minion.
"That's... not important. I'm a Shadow Bandit, that's all you need to know." He told, Erza noticing that he was clutching an arrow embedded in his stomach.
'This seems familiar...' She thought, remembering the demon she had seen with the same stomach wound.
"What do you want?" Gray asked, "Why are you here? I thought the Shadow Bandit guild only pillaged treasures, not rocks from old caves."
"Don't go any further! All my guild mates are dead now! I-it killed them all so easily!" The man uttered, fearful.
"What killed them? Was it a man with wings?" Gray said, thinking of Rune.
"No... no..." He continued, before dying. Erza picked up a piece of wood that laid next to him, the tip covered in oil.
"We have to continue, no matter what he says." She said, lighting the end in Natsu's flames, allowing the dragon slayer to conserve his energy.
They made their way further into the bowels of the caves, dead men and women (each bearing the Shadow Bandit insignia) littering the path, killed through different means. Some had arrows piercing vital organs; others were encased against the wall in sand. The sight chilled the Fairy Tail group, wondering who exactly they would be up against.
"What is that?" Juvia asked after they had descended lower and lower, eventually arriving at a sizeable cavern. The temperature had risen drastically, and the faces of the group were slick with moisture. There were no more bodies by this point. Erza too was dumbfounded as she looked at the huge metal door that stood in front of them, blocking the way forward, engraved with drawings depicting an event. Ancient letters were printed near the bottom.
"If only we had Levy." Gray lamented, tracing his fingers over the letters.
"If only we had Gajeel," Natsu countered, "he could eat the door for us."
"Why would this be down here?" Erza wondered aloud, checking for any signs of traps but unable to see any.
"I wanna see who this guy is!" Natsu announced, slamming his hands on the door, his friends wincing as the bang echoed, "It's... so... heavy!"
Erza, Gray and Juvia joined him in pushing, realising that there was no turning back at this point. Slowly, the door creaked open, the noise it made in doing so deafening. Once it was fully open, the four mages encountered something they never expected.
Behind the door was a huge chamber: the walls and floor were a dirty white, soiled by time's hand. The ceiling was incredibly high, the air silent. A large, glass chandelier burnt on the ceiling, lighting the room. Long, dark shadows filled the corners, dancing as the thousands of small candles in the chandelier flickered away.
Natsu stepped forward through the doorway, only for the ground to shift under his feet. He looked to his left, seeing four holes. He heard Gray shout 'a trap!' before he could comprehend what was happening. His thighs seemed frozen solid as his mind told him to move. Closing his eyes in anticipation, his heart raced, waiting for the critical moment. He felt a foot in his back, painfully propelling him forwards and out of danger. He landed with a loud thud on his stomach.
"Hnn!" Erza breathed, arms shaking from the strain they were under. She stood where Natsu had been, her Adamantine armour equipped, its twin shields at either side, warring against the eight sharp iron bars that attempted to pierce their prey. The bars began to crack in their rusty weak spots, trembling under pressure and shattering to pieces. The Requip mage fell to one knee, changing back into her usual armour, inhaling heavily.
"Always look out for traps," She managed between breaths, "places like this are full of them."
"It's a good job that one was old." Gray added, helping Erza to her feet and pressing forwards. As they entered the chamber itself, they saw that at the other end stood a pedestal, a large tapestry behind it. In the distance between them and the pedestal was an oval shaped stretch of marble, surrounded by stairs beneath the large chandelier.
"Who could have built this?" Juvia asked, voice echoing in the large space, "And why would they build it this far in the ground?"
"Look at the pedestal. Something is on it, but it's in a cage." Gray noted, beginning to walk down the stairs to get to the other side, the others following. Once they reached the flat stone at the bottom of the stairs, each of them felt a sense of dread.
"We're not alone." Juvia announced, shifting into a battle stance. Sand suddenly whipped up around them, forming a barrier and effectively trapping them.
"What the-" Gray started, before being caught off balance by a large bull, barely dodging a swing from its axe.
"Gray!" Natsu called, trying and failing to punch the bull in the stomach and receiving a blast of sand in his face.
Erza, arms still aching, barely managed to parry the axe attacks as the attention was turned on to her. The sand impaired her vision, and each attack was unpredictable.
"Water Slicer!" Juvia cried after pinpointing her enemy, a scythe of water cutting through the stream of sand aiming for her, hitting a target outside of the barrier. A grunt of pain was heard and the sandstorm subsided, revealing a tanned man with red and white hair panting heavily.
"Good work, Scorpio." A female voice praised, the form of the attacker disappearing.
"Who are you?" Erza asked, attempting to block another blow from the bull but this time partially failing, the sharp edge of the axe catching her cheek and tearing the flesh. She felt the warm trickle of blood drip down her face.
"How dare you hurt Erza, you bastard!" Natsu yelled, finally landing a blow on the bull's stomach with his Fire Dragon's Iron Fist attack.
"Ice Make Lance!" Gray roared, the spears landing the fatal blow, defeating the opponent for good as it too disappeared from the battlefield, utterly defeated.
A blonde girl quickly ran in front of the pedestal, blocking it with her body, arms outstretched. She was visibly exhausted, sweat dripping from her face.
"No matter what you do to me, I can't let you touch this!" She said, chest heaving, "It's more important than you know!"
"Huh? We didn't come to touch anything. We don't even know what this place is." Natsu replied, folding his arms. It seemed the girl was almost out of magical energy.
"You're not Shadow Bandits?" The girl asked, allowing herself to relax slightly, "They said they were sending reinforcements, so I thought..."
"We're from Fairy Tail," Natsu announced, rolling up his sleeve to show her the insignia and grinning, "we don't steal stuff like they do. I'm Natsu. These three are Gray, Juvia and Erza."
The girl descended the steps until she was stood in front of them. She looked at them cautiously.
"Fairy Tail... If you're not here to steal the fabled treasure, then why are you here?" She asked.
"We could ask the same of you." Erza replied, face stinging from the cut. The girl sighed tiredly.
"I'm here to conduct my research," She said, "it could help explain the recent attacks. Now what are you doing here? How did you find this cave?"
"An old woman sent us," Gray answered, stuffing his hands into his pockets, "she told us to find our answers about the attacks here."
"It seems she was right. Maybe you have the answers we're looking for." Erza stated.
"Then Mary sent you," Lucy deducted, smiling, "no one else knew what I was doing. Only she would know where I was. That means I can trust you."
"Your father doesn't know what you're doing either," Juvia commented, "he healed us after the attack at Meadowdell."
"I had to leave a long time ago... I couldn't tell him. It's a long story," Lucy said, "and I don't have time to get into it right now. I still haven't found how to get to the relic."
"The relic?" Natsu asked. Lucy nodded, motioning for the four to follow her up the stairs to the pedestal. They wrapped their fingers around the metal bars, looking at the treasure that laid within the cage.
"What are those?" Gray asked, observing the ivory-coloured circular shapes, composed of three plates, each engraved in ancient text like much of the room.
"Pauldrons," Erza replied, "to protect the shoulders. How do these relate to your research and the attacks?"
"That's another long story..." Lucy trailed, looking apologetic, "I'm afraid nothing is very simple."
"We have time," Natsu said, "besides, you can't get to the relic yet anyway. If you tell us what you know maybe we can help you get it."
"Maybe..." Lucy agreed hesitantly, "well this relic is one of Judoc Lysander's pieces of armour."
"Judoc Lysander?" Natsu asked, visibly confused, "Who is that?"
"A smith and philosopher of the ancient times. Legend has it that he had a year-long nightmare about the end of the world and recorded the details in a book, believing it to be a prophecy. He forged a suit of armour to repel what he allegedly called the 'ultimate' evil, imbued with magical properties. I've already recovered the boots and gauntlets and I think it's a type of lost magic, but I couldn't find any books on the subject." She explained.
"What happened to the book?" Gray asked. Lucy shrugged.
"No one knows. There is little information on this legend to start with. Maybe it just got lost," She suggested, "but it definitely exists. I have a small fragment of a page. I was lucky to find it so well preserved."
"Why have you been researching this legend? Why track down the pieces of the armour?" Erza urged with an insatiable need for answers, "How do they relate to the attacks?"
"I believe the attacks are foreshadowing Lysander's prophecy." Lucy confided.
"But if the prophecy predicts the end times then are we going to see the end of the world?" Juvia asked, worry and fear making her voice tremble.
"The fragment of his book that I have states that when the pillars crumble, the world shall fall. I didn't know what that meant until I did some more digging. Lysander's nephew stated in his own works that his uncle passed the armour down through his direct bloodline, so that they could look after it until the prophecy began. However, at some point they must have given up this duty, since the pieces have been sealed by extreme means for protection," Lucy said, waving a hand at the pauldrons, "but the main protection against the prophecy being fulfilled are the pillars. I believe that they are descendants of Judoc: if they wear the armour, they can fight inhibited against the face of evil itself."
"Then all we need to do is find the armour and a descendant." Erza calculated.
"That's where there is a problem," Lucy told, grimacing, "the last recorded descendant was killed almost twenty years ago."