Word count: 3, 049
Date started:
May 18, 2015
Date published: May 31, 2015
Date finished: May 29, 2015
Chapter 3: Problem
July 14, x791,
"This is as far as we can go, guys. We have to trek the way up now," Rufus said as he removed the SE pipe from his wrist. They all exited the vehicle and looked up to the looming mountain with a high slope and large trunks standing close together. Behind them, the trees were further apart so they were able to squeeze their rented car in. "We should cover the jeep so that thieves won't steal it."
"I doubt that anyone still goes here but you're right. Better safe than sorry," Laxus replied.
And so they did. They were able to disguise the jeep as a large boulder with a large fabric designed to do so. How? Rufus, who happens to hoard a lot of magic stuff, pulled it out of his bottomless bag. Now, they began climbing the mountain but a few minutes later, they couldn't wait to get this over with.
"Waaah! It's too humid and hot!" Strike One. "Rogue, I'm hungry." Strike Two. "A mosquito bit me." Strike Three. "Are we there yet?" Strike Four. "Sting-sama! *insert idiotic Sting-Eucliffe-praising here*!"
The white dragonslayer and his exceed ended up silently following their companions, unable to speak thanks/no thanks to the magic duct tape from Rufus' bag of magic, what-the-hell-are-these-stuff knickknacks. There were a lot of wyverns in the forest too. Everyone had a chance to fight, even Lucy and her spirits as well as Frosch who helped somehow. The tape binding Sting's (and his exceed's) hands and blocking his mouth doubles as anti-magic restraints so he had to sit in the sidelines. This made Sting very, very sad, depressed even. Poor Rogue and friends/frenemies/acquaintances/basically everyone in the vicinity probably won't hear the end of it tonight.
After an hour or so of walking, they came to a clearing and decided to take a break for a while. The seven of them sat down on the stumps, peacefully eating a light lunch beneath the canopy of tree leaves.
Sting and Lector were relieved of the magic duct tape on the condition that they will shut up and not bother/annoy the other members of their mini crew. "But seriously, it's humid and insect-filled. Aren't you guys annoyed?"
"It's hot and we're already sticky with sweat, yes. In case you haven't notice I'm wearing a 17th century-esque suit set with a vest, a bib, a hat and slacks. I'm completely covered neck to toe. Laxus-san is wearing pants and a shirt with a thick coat, which is fabulous by the way. Rogue is wearing a bloody cloak! All of our clothing look gorgeous, I know, but they aren't appropriate for the climate. You're the only wearing suitable clothing but do your hear us complaining?! No! So stop yapping! You're being a source of noise pollution."
"Are you done?"
"Yes. Rant complete. We may continue eating in peace but really even Lucy-san is wearing very modest clothing."
True, Lucy currently wore loose pants with its bottoms folded as well as a plain gray hoodie, very faraway from her usual style of miniskirts and sleeveless tops. Suddenly all the boys turned to her and noticed the change. Head cocked sidewards, she asked them, "What? Is there something in my face?"
"No. I just think that this is the first time I saw you wear pants or basically something near shapeless."
"Same here."
"I didn't know you were able to wear something that's short, provocative, revealing, or any combination of those."
Lucy's eye twitched. "I'll have you know that I am perfectly able to dress like a saint. Besides, if any of you were in my shoes, you'll instantly throw away your wardrobe too."
Being the curious and adorable (yet annoying and sort off clueless) being he is, Sting asked the only woman, "Why?"
A strained smile forced it's way to Lucy's face, "Don't worry about it. It's nothing."
Pouting, he persisted, "But why?"
Rogue saw through the celestial maiden's facade and scolded his partner, "Sting, lay off." He then bowed his head towards Lucy in apology, "He's not good at reading the atmosphere."
The shadow dragonslayer was surprised when Lucy smiled and laughed when he was expecting her to at least show a sign of sadness or anger. She said to them, "No worries. I'm bound to tell you guys some point anyway but I'm not ready right now."
After that, they continued their lunch in peace and quiet. The only noise was the soft trickle of the river in the distance, the song of the birds, and the occasional cries of the wyverns somewhere. Soon enough, they packed up and continued their journey. Within 4 hours and just as Lucy predicted, they were now standing in Heartfilia property.
It took them approximately fifteen minutes to make it to the main mansion through the grassy plain behind it and the maze-like corridors used to be shortcuts for maids. It took them another to get Laxus and Rogue out of the floor that collapsed beneath them. It took them only ten minutes to calm the latter dragonslayer down after someone, let's not mention who, told said dragonslayer to minimize chocolate intake and take a diet. Finally they stood in front of an ornate glass double-door with beautiful murals depicting stars, the night skies, and shapes vaguely resembling dragons of all kind. There's one problem though...
"It's locked." In where the knobs were supposed to be was plain white disc with a hole in the center, supposedly a keyhole.
"Have any idea how to open this or where the key is, Lucy-san?" Rufus asked the woman.
Said woman shook her head, "I don't know. There are no other locks like this in the house that I know of."
While Rogue, Rufus, Laxus and Lucy talked about solutions for their little dilemma, Sting stared at the white disc. He muted out all the the noise and just downright stared at the lock. He felt oddly drawn to it. He knew that there was something behind that door and that it was something he needed, something that might complete the tiny hole in his heart. Like in a trance, he slowly brought a finger towards the lock and touched it. From the tiny black dot in the center of the disk, a light glow spread from it to the circumference of the disk and to the crack of the door. Sting barely registered the older mages gasps of surprise as the light engulfed the door and shone brightly. It blinded them for a few seconds.
Eventually, it began to disperse into minuscule sparks and faded into nothing. Once all of the light disappeared, the door was gone. In its place was a dark portal of sorts. It had murky water that didn't seem to pour over despite having no barriers. Without even thinking and still dazed, Sting walked through the portal like no one's business. Rogue was quick to call him and stupidly follow his partner, exceeds sharp on his heel.
Rufus just sighed and face-palmed. All three mages shared a look. They had no choice now. They had to follow the younger mages (and exceeds). So, hands poised in the air, ready to cast magic if needed, the three walked through the portal too and—
"-your name and your business!" Dragons. That was the first thing they've registered. Red skies and black mountains were next. Sting and Rogue and exceeds being held down by a massive claw of a blue dragon was the last.
"Sting! Rogue! Exceeds!" One of the three called, all of them too chocked to tell who. In a heartbeat, they too were held down by another dragon, a bright orange one.
In a high pitched voice that was smooth and melodious unlike the throaty and low one of the dragon holding down the younger mages, the Orange dragon asked, "In the name of Queen, state your name and your business!"
Lucy was the first one to snap out of stupor. She bravely glared back to the pupil-less white eyes of the dragon and answered back. "Lucem Heartfilia. I'm here because those four idiots being held down by your friend."
The two dragons were shocked and immediately released their victims. "Our lady, we have been expecting you." They said this in growls and roars but somehow, all of them understood. All that's left is to ask the big question in their minds.
"What?"
One minute they were firmly pressed down by a giant claw to the black, stony ground. Next thing they knew they were hoisted up and riding the backs of the dragons, in between their wings. The dragons introduced themselves to the humans. The blue one was called Ganghaan Bughaw of the Flusso clan, or simply just Gang. The orange one had a much common, easier name. She called herself Vittoria. Both of them had quickly amended afterwards that, "our lady may call us whatever she pleases." Again the five mages asked themselves the W question: What? (Or in Laxus's case: What the hell?)
The two dragons continued shouting praises and telling ridiculous, unrelated stories. Not once did the humans had an opportunity to actually speak so they just busied themselves observing the surroundings. They made sure to hold tightly though to avoid any mishaps and plummets to death.
From behind them was a huge wall stretching out in all directions until it faded into nothingness. The portal earlier was merely a speck of violet against a sea of black stone. Another thing was the wall was not flat. It had spikes like mountains, or maybe they were really mountains. The sky was candy red and clear the light source was a glowing ball like the sun ahead of them but it had no heat. The slight heat they were feeling, Lucy was sure, was from the black stones also below them that had an occasional crack revealing lava inside. There were other dragons too but it was scarce. From what Lucy heard from Gang in one his stories, they were in the Bruciare kingdom, the fire kingdom. Igneel, she thought immediately but shook of the parting memory of Natsu that came with it. It was an underground community, Vittoria said. Everything and everyone was inside the mountains, only needing to leave to visit the other kingdoms or the castle.
Eventually, the mountains of black from above, below, behind, and either side, thinned into nothingness. The red sky faded to plain, soft golden yellow. At this point, there was nothing but the golden ball and the mountains behind them. It was all clear sky, no clouds and them. One of the dragons said that they left Bruciare and were now flying in common space. They also told them that they were going to take an hour flying to the castle and could rest if they want to.
Of course, they didn't take the chance and just resigned to silently playing a game of chess and UNO, courtesy of Rufus' bag that we now learn has a name and it's Russia. Forty-five minutes later, they all grew bored and just watched the golden ball come into detail. The exterior was entirely made of gold. It definitely had a round shape and had all sorts of holes as entrance, whether it's on the spires protruding or just on the wall. It was surely a magnificent and unique castle, nothing in Earthland could replicate nor even fit it. It was suspended in the air without any support but it didn't bobbed or moved. It remained stationary in the field of nothingness. Gravity works differently here, Gang and Vittoria told them.
Soon, the castle grew in size as they neared it until it was all they can see in all sides except behind them. Gang and Vittoria entered one of the holes. It was big enough for only one dragon to properly fly so Vittoria went in first, followed by her companion. The hole was entrance to a tunnel and the gold faded into beautiful, reflective white stones that made up the wall mirroring their image.
The tunnel was long and wounding in circles but soon it opened up to a massive room. Once both of the dragons were suspended air, they suddenly tucked their wings and let themselves fall. The humans and exceeds held on for dear life and screamed at the top of their lungs. After what seemed forever, they landed. Surprisingly, despite the speed of their plummet, they landed soundlessly and soundly. They were safe.
"What is the meaning of this!?" A fiery red dragon bellowed. The other dragons with him nodded in agreement.
Gang and Vittoria bowed down respectfully, "Our Queen, Lords and Ladies, we have brought visitors." They gently shook off their passenger and nudged them towards where seven dragons sat in a semi-circle.
The one in the center, a purplish-black dragon with swirls of gold in her scales, was the first to react. She gasped and stood up. Light engulfed her and the light few smaller and near towards Lucy, until it faded and arms were wrapped around the young woman. "Lucy! My lucky Lucem..."
She knew that voice! It was the voice she missed for over a decade. Lucy slowly came to realization, her voice croaky and cracky, she asked, "Mom?" And then she fainted.
Same day, Fairy Tail Guildhouse
"Yo, Mira-chan! Another glass please!" One of the mages called to her.
Smiling, she responded, "In a moment." She began pouring beer into the glass and served to her costumer. Then, she returned to cleaning the counter with Kinana helping her out by wiping the utensils and plates. "Wow! Business is booming today. Lots of people are returning and getting new missions. I might even get one myself if I got the time!"
Kinana gave a soft laugh, "With mages clawing up the board, you aren't getting any missions by the looks of it. Well, since there fewer customers now, why don't you take a break Mirajane-san? I'll handle things from here."
"If you insist, then I'll just have a drink or two as well as my lunch," the take-over demon replied and took of her apron. She headed towards one of the empty tables in the guildhall, carrying a her lunchbox and a canister of juice.
For the first five minutes, it was relatively peaceful but then Elfman arrived. Followed by Bickslow. Next was Gajeel. Then Juvia and Gray came to the guild together (insert violent internal fangirling here). Erza was last to arrive, carrying another box of cake and as luck would have it, one of the mages stepped on. And so, the peace was gone and good ol' Fairy Tail is back. Mirajane sighed. She should've known it was too good to be true.
She hastily finished eating and gulped down in one go her juice. She even had a shot of beer for good measure. Finally, she packed up and went back behind the bar, also putting on her apron. She fondly rubbed the ring on her finger and sighed out of sadness but sucked it up and became the Mira we knew and love.
"Mirajane-san, can I get another slice of the pie?"
She replied cheerfully, "Coming!"
By four in the afternoon the midday buzz died down and very few people were left on the guildhall. Mira sat idly in the corner and unconsciously stocked the ring once again.
"Mira," someone called her. Her mind registered the voice to belong to Erza.
"Yeah?" she absentmindedly asked.
"Have you seen Lucy or Natsu? Are they on a mission together?" The red-haired knight inquired.
Gray neared them, with Juvia wrapped around his arm. "I was kind of thinking about that too."
"Is Love-rival okay? Juvia-chan heard she was sick."
Levy approached them too, "From what I've heard she got burnt..."
Mira's head spun. There are too many questions and it makes her remember Laxus too. With a soft voice, "Natsu's in a solo mission sent by master." She felt bile rise up to her throat when she remembered the damage he inflicted before leaving. "I don't know where Lucy," she lied. Her head was throbbing and she needs release. "If you excuse me, I need to puke." And puke she did, on the spot. Black dots appeared in her eyes and she emptied out her stomach. And when it all ended, she fell.
"Mira!" "Mirajane!" "Mira-san!"
She shakily stood up, Gray immediately went beside her and helped her sit down. "Are you okay? Do you want something to drink?" Mirajane nodded and Juvia handed her a glass of water.
"What happened Mira? Are you sick?" Erza asked her.
"Just a little dizzy. I'm fine Erza, guys..."
"Let's take you home. Gray, help me out here. Juvia, Levy watch over the bar in the meantime." The Requip mage took her friends belongings while the ice mage carried Mirajane, bridal style. Soon, they were at her home and laid the young woman on the bed. "Do you need anything, Mira?" The white-hairs beauty shook her head. "If you need anything, call us. We'll be glad to help you."
Mira settled into a comfortable position but then she remembered something. She called back Erza who was just about to leave through the window (This is Fairy Tail. Windows are the new doors). "There is one thing I need help on." She beckoned the red-haired knight to come near and she whispered something to her.
After that, "Alright! Who's the bastard I need to kill and where can I find him?"
"Oh shush! Just help me with this, will you? Then I'll let you into the story."
"Fine, I'll help but this better be good."
"Oh gods..." Two. Two pink lines appeared in the stick. Positive. Mira's mind was split into to two. One, registering that she was indeed pregnant as she suspected and two, registering how fast this thing works. Two days just after conception. But then again it was tweaked by magic.
Mira sighed and flushed the toilet. She went out and there paced Erza. The requip mage asked her as soon as she left the washroom, "So? What are the results?" Instead of answering, Mira just showed her the test. Erza gasped. "I'm gonna fucking kill that douchbag." Mira just laughed.
AN: Yay! I updated in time! No one reviewed in the last chapter which is sad but I would like the following for favorite-ing and Following Dracorde: CrystalNix, Dragon Queene Layla St Gabriel, FairyNyamo, My Writing Muse, XxsalaeiaxX, YomuHime, haphazard203 , ravenclaw-diadem. Thank you! Hugs and kisses and free virtual cookies!
God bless and see ya next chapter, guys! :D