-:-
Ch. 7: The Sky Labyrinth
Ten days later, the mages of Fairy Tail arrived at the Capital City of Fiore, Crocus, also known as the 'Flower Blooming Capital'.
"Ugh, finally." Gray said as he, Wendy, Charle, Happy and Natsu collapsed on the main street of the capital city, still completely drained from the long travel and the aftereffects from the Second Origin Release. Lucy and Erza were walking ahead, talking with the two kids they met at the beach, Tsuki and Fuyu. Erza turned around to face the other members of Team Natsu and shot them a dissaproving glare.
"Geez, don't you guys feel embarrassed for yourselves?" the red-haired Requip-mage asked.
"Why are you completely fine Erza, Lucy?" Wendy asked in astonishment.
"Erza probaly had her Second Origin from the start. And Lucy got an incredible power boost during our training so I guess that saved her from the aftereffects" Gray sweat-dropped.
"That makes sense."
"This is my first time being in a city this big."
"Aye."
"Me too."
"It's a lot bigger than the capital city of Edolas."
As they took in their surroundings, a familiar voice spoke up.
"So, you guys finally made it."
"Master." Erza stated.
Makarov smiled at them and laughed.
"Let's get on with this event already! HA! We'll show 'em the power of Fairy Tail!"
People around them picked that up and started to laugh at them. Two boys running down the streets were shouting at them.
"Fairy Tail? HAHAHA!"
"The guild forever claiming the last place!"
"Come over here if you want, you damn little brats!" Natsu shouted. Erza hold him back, before he could charge after them. "Knock it off." she said.
The boys only laughed at them again and ran further down the street, until a bandaged arm blocked their path.
"Did you little brats just insulted my friends and my guild" the man covered in shadows asked with a menacing grin. The boys gulped audibly and started to walk backwards until their backs hit a wall. "I'll think I need to teach you some manners."
Five minutes and two loud crashes later, two boys were delivered to the local hospital, looking like the were run over by a train.
At the evening, the members of Fairy Tail gathered at the inn that was assigned to them. Master Makarov decided to use this and announce the teams for the tournament that would start tomorrow.
"Listen brats!" he shouted. "I studied the rules for the tournament earlier with the help of Levy. There are three important rules we must follow:
First, the guild master cannot participate. Second, anyone without the guilds insignia cannot take part either, and must simply observe. Third, each event will remain a secret up until right before they begin, at which point the rules will be explained."
"Seems all fair." Gray said.
"Ah! One more thing!" Levy said. "'All participants must return to their rooms by 12.'"
"Why 12?"
"Midnight?"
"Kinda like a Cinderella story."
"That means we got still plenty of time!" Natsu shouted.
The members of Fairy Tail sauntered out into the city to explore the wonders of Fiores capital. Wendy and Charle walked trough the royal palace, Mercurius, while Natsu and Lucy together with Happy and Stella just walked around the street aimlessly. Juvia was trying to talk Gray into a date yet again and Erza took a bath and polished her sword after inspecting their quarters.
Natsu took Lucy to the marketplace where he went to buy her a necklace, golden and with a pink heart in the front. He smiled at thought how Lucy would react and decided to keep it until later. When he returned from the shop he noticed people shouting about a fight going on. Curious, he dragged Lucy along with him and forced his way through a massive crowd that had formed on the marketplace. When he reached the middle of the crowd, he could see two men standing there, not older than them. One had blonde, spiky hair and wore a golden-blue clothes that kept his abdominal abs visible. The other one had black hair and wore something akin to an armor as well as a black coat. Accompanying them were two Exceeds, one with red fur and one with green fur, wearing a pink frog costume.
"Who the hell are you" Natsu asked. "You're from Sabertooth?"
The blonde man turned around and looked at him with a smug smile.
"You must be Natsu Drageneel." he said.
"Do I now you?"
"The Dragon Slayer who couldn't kill a dragon." he said with a laugh. "And you call yourself a Slayer? Pathetic. If we would fight him, we probably would win easily."
Lucy let out a snort. "Beat him? You never have seen him, if you had, you wouldn't be talking like this. It was terrible. No matter what we did, nothing affected him."
The blonde smiled at her. "That's the difference between us. You are a First Generation Slayer, but we a Third Generation Slayers. The dragons who thaught us our magic... we killed them. To become true Dragon Slayers."
"You killed your parents..." Natsu hissed, his face contorted with disgust and hate.
"You see, that's the difference. We're the real deal. I advice the weaklings to stay out of this." He said with a glance to Lucy. "The only one I want to challenge is Natsu-san."
Natsu immediately got furious as his girlfriend was called weak, knowing very well how she could affected by it sometimes.
"Don't you dare say that one more time, pretty-face." he seethed, ready to punch the guy square in the face. Luckily this didn't happen as a soft hand on his shoulder calmed him down.
"Don't, Natsu." Lucy said. "Let me handle him."
She walked up the Sabertooth mages and looked them dead in the eyes.
"A little advice I heard from a friend of ours: Never judge someone at their first appearance, you might regret it."
And with that, Lucy walked away from the marketplace and back to their lodge, Natsu and their two Exceeds following close behind.
"Where were you wandering this whole time?" Erza demanded to know as everyone arrived back at the lodge.
"I got dragged into a depressing dinner." Gray said uncomfortably.
"We got dragged into something weird... well, we actually walked right into it." Natsu said. He gritted his teeth before he let out a burst of anger. "ARGH! I WILL GET THEM BACK FOR THIS!"
Before he could continue his rant, the door suddenly opened, revealing Elfman and Wendy, both of them carrying snacks and drinks.
"Hello minna, we brought refreshments!" Wendy said happily.
"You pumped up for tomorrow?" Elfman demanded.
"I guess..." Gray said. "You know, you really bulked up after training in the mountains."
Elfman put the crate down and gritted his teeth. "I got stronger, but I still didn't get picked... GAH! I wanna show my sisters how strong I am!"
Before anyone could reply the sound of bells interrupted them, informing them that it was now midnight.
"It's midnight now." Gray said, glancing at the clock.
"What's going to happen?" Erza asked. Before she could receive an answer, a giant 3D-projection of a man wearing a pumpkin head appeared over the city and started to speak.
"Good morning! To all the guilds here for the Dai Matou Enbu, in order to narrow down the competing teams from 113 to eight, we will now start the preliminary event!"
"113 teams... that's way to many for Fiore." Erza said uneasily. "We didn't they tell us about the preliminary event beforehand?"
The huge pumpkin man danced while he continued with his speech.
"Each year. the number of competing guilds keeps growing and the events got too predictable, so we made some changes. This year, only eight teams can compete for the official events. The preliminary rules are simple!" he said, as the building beneath them began to shake and suddenly rose up into the sky.
"The event starts now. The official event grounds, the Domus Flau, will be your destination. The first eight teams to get there will enter the finals!"
As the member of team Natsu looked around they saw the other lodges rising up into the sky as well.
"So our dorms are the starting points for the event?" Lucy mused. A path suddenly appeared before them, reaching up into the sky to a massive orb of magic, forming what seemed to be a labyrinth.
"You are free to use all magics. No restrictions. The preliminaries end once the first eight teams made it to the grounds. But you will be disqualified if not all five members are present. Ah! One! More! Thing!... We take not responsibility for lives lost in the Labyrinth."
The members of Team Natsu looked at each other before the started to run up the path to the labyrinth. They tried to find their way through it but the ever-changing environment didn't give them the chance. It was then when Lucy remembered a spell she learned from her foster-father. She closed her eyes and pictured the words before her inner eye before she casted the spell.
"Athelas, the path before me is darkened. Guide me through the darkness that obscures my way. Shine! Athelas! Hoshi no hikari (Light of the stars)!"
The others watched in amazement as a golden light appeared on the floor beneath them, showing the right path through the labyrinth.
"Awesome, Luce!" Natsu grinned at his secret girlfriend.
Said woman blushed a light shade of pink at the flattery of her boyfriend. "It was nothing. I just remembered a spell I learned back then with Ithildin. Now let's go!"
"YEAH!"
Guided by Lucy's spell they quickly found a way trough the labyrinth and what felt for them like seconds they arrived at the Domus Flau, the arena the Grand Magic Games are held. The man with the pumpkin-mask was waiting on the outside of the Arena.
"Congratulations-kabo!" You are the first ones that made it through the labyrinth! A new best time!"
"Yeah! Real nice, Luce!" Natsu grinned as he wrapped one of his arms around Lucy's shoulders.
"You can now return to your lodge-kabo. The tournament starts not until this afternoon."
The team returned to their lodge, exhausted but happy. While everyone was quickly changed and off to sleep, Lucy couldn't quite find the rest needed to sleep. She sat on the rooftop and looked up to the stars, the returning memories keeping her mind busy. She let out a sigh and sad look crossed over her eyes for a second. Just as she decided to lay down on the rooftop, a unnaturally warm body was in her way. She smiled and laid her head down on Natsu''s lap, without opening her eyes.
"Can't sleep either?" she asked.
"I was worried about you." he murmured.
"I'm fine." she lied. "I just... the memories about my life with Ithildin... its so confusing. They keep returning at unexpected points and sometimes I can't sleep because of them."
"Don't worry, Luce. We'll figure everything out. For now, lets concentrate on the Games. I want to pay those two bastards from Sabertooth back."
"Yeah, you're right. I shouldn't think so much about it. Thank you, Natsu." the blonde smiled before she pressed her lips lightly against his.
"Let's focus on the Games for now."
Somewhere unknown:
"Why aren't they dead? Tell me you worthless scum!" a dark voice roared from the shadows of the burning mountains dominating the landscape.
"They used a strange magic to protect themselves. It was very old and very powerful, my attack was not able to destroy their shield." a second voice answered. It was nearly as dark and deep as the first one, but it held a faked subservient edge as well as fear.
A loud rumble sounded from the deep and the mountains and the earth quivered under the pressure. The first voice was now laced with hatred and wrath as it spoke again.
"Fairy Tail... These insects have been in thorn in my eye for too long. Nii los tiid faal oblaan. Go! Herald the others who are still loyal to their true king. Faal Tiid lost meyz."
"As you wish, my lord." the second voice answered. A few seconds later, the dark shadow of a dragon raised into the sky, casting a dark shadow on all life beneath him. The scales and wings of the dragon were of an unusual color for one of his kind. His entire body was as black as a starless night.
Black with blue marks.
-:-
Finished with this chapter!
Sorry that you had to wait so long for it, but I had a very busy time in RL. I'll try to get the next one faster, I swear!
!ATTENTION! I still need an artist who could make me a cover for this story. If someone its interested, please contact me via PM.
See ya