A/N- Hey guys. how YOU doin'?

Yep I'm updating my beloved story; again, thanking all of you for the delightful comments. They bring tears to my eyes. Sorry for the delay, but due to my very tight schedule, I can only update this story infrequently. That does NOT mean I have forgotten about it though, so please bear with me.

I'm currently listening to a prince of tennis song, which I think suits this story really well; if you have time, lend an ear: Prince of Tennis – Yuugure

I think the song would fit perfectly with Lucy's current situation; a time during which she cannot do anything while her beloved son is risking his life to find a way of making both their lives easier. She is also held just out of Lee's grasp, making him all the more desperate to find a way of reaching her. A painful enough concept; jeez, it's making me cry….

Anyway, ignore my sentiments and… on with the show!

Chapter 12

...

"I'm baaack!"

"Welcome back, Aqua. How did the mission go?"

"How are Lee and... ?"

"The mission went well and Lucy, Lee's fine. He was clever to call me at the beginning of his match, so the water mage didn't stand a chance. No matter how much magic they use, it cannot defeat a person in full control of the situation. I am not so sure of the rest as they all fought separate battles, so I cannot report as to how Blaze is doing."

"That is fine, Aquarius. Thank you for the hard work"

…

On reaching the end of the tunnel, Gray found himself in an empty resting area. Knowing his limits, he took a seat and partook in the food provided; he was not ready for another challenge anytime soon. After some time, he felt better; the refreshments were packed with energy and were a sure treat for tired mages in between battles. Gray packed some away for later use, before resuming his trek to find the other. He made use of a spiralling staircase which brought him to all the resting stops after a challenge, most of them showing some sign of use. Several floors down, he met up with Lee and Blaze, both of whom seemed to be in a better shape than him.

"Dad!" Blaze stood up excitedly, when the man appeared in the doorway. He quickly pulled his father to a nearby sofa and forced an unopened bottle in his hand. Lee stood up and proceeded to help with any visible injuries, sterilising cuts and bandaging any serious wounds. He gasped on seeing the state of Gray's back.

"What happened?" the concern brought a small smile to the ice mage's lips.

"Apparently, using ice against water is a double edged sword in a battle, especially if you go up against a really good magic user. Where are the rest?"

"Well, Charle and Wendy are still fighting and Natsu… he, just… why don't you look for yourself?" Blaze gestured to a screen Gray had not noticed on the opposite side of the room. On it was an image of his rival, banging on the walls and demanding his freedom.

"What happened to him?"

"His challenge was to defeat the mage and use the water released as a lever to open the door. Unfortunately, he didn't bother listening to the warnings given and evaporated the whole water source and defeated his enemy in default. It obviously leaves him trapped until we can get to the main controls at the bottom. He's useless until we finish all the challenges for this element. We have one more to defeat on the next floor and we're free to move on."

"Heh, stupid as always. Okay, then, I'll complete the final challenge." Gray did not notice the worried glances from the children as he said this. He was injured very badly from the ice and even his harsh training in icy conditions could not have prepared him for such attacks. The skin around his wound was numb therefore making it impossible for him to even comprehend how bad his back looked to Lee and Blaze; if he continued forward in this state, it could damage him severely and that was not an option.

The kids signalled to each other subtly before going into action. Blaze had received an intense healing pill from Wendy before his challenge; it was super effective but it also had a strong side effect, therefore was not recommended for those mages who still needed to battle. He had slipped the pill to Lee who silently helped dissolve it in a cup of tea over a gentle flame. After taking a few sips of the beverage, Gray was knocked out cold and was put to rest on the small bed on the corner. He would not move for the next several hours, at least. Now came the decision of who was to take up the challenge of fighting the last water mage; Lee could use Aquarius again, or his fire magic and Blaze could make use of the manipulation techniques. Either way was to the benefit of the group, hence making them equally strong. However, Blaze stepped forward in the end. Having never used his ability in a real battle, he wanted to begin now. The previous challenge had proved non too difficult, during which he used wind magic to make his opponent unable to maintain control of the water. Lee supported his decision and backed down from the challenge, choosing to support his friend from the resting area.

"I'll watch over your dad and wait for Wendy here. You just focus on winning."

Acknowledging his best friend with a nod, Blaze moved down the steps to the last challenge room. He could already sense the difference in powers from the previous mages; this person was, without a doubt, a very strong magic user.

Upon taking his first step into the room, Blaze was immediately greeted with thunderous sounds from every direction. A new room was created, changing the entire battlefield. Twice the size of the original room and seven times the height, the room now took the shape of a tower. From the walls, steps appeared and continued to appear, curling their way to the top. Above him, the manipulator could see six floors, floating equal distances apart and all semi-transparent, so as to still give him a view of the entire place without trouble.

"Welcome to the last challenge from the water tower and congratulations for getting here with minimal injuries." In front of Blaze, River appeared to present the task. "For this, you will make use of the whole area provided to defeat your opponent. He is the strongest water magic user and can make use of anything within this room; the walls, floors and stairs have all been constructed with water, which your foe may choose to remove, make use of, or even blend in with throughout the duration of your battle. Please make note that you only have 2 minutes left to complete this challenge. Good luck."

With everything said, River vanished again leaving no room for questions. This suited the boy fine, as he knew the more time he wasted, the lower the chance of escaping the place alive. Spotted the familiar lever in the middle of the room, Blaze took a deep breath and activated the gate to his final challenger.

…

Lee noticed Wendy come through the door, followed closely by Charle. He immediately brought her to a chair and gave both the woman and the cat a glass of water. It had been approximately seven minutes since Blaze had gone to the last room and he knew there wasn't much time or air supply left to last. However, Lee trusted his friend's power and knew that, even by a scrape, the quieter of two would succeed. During that time, Gray had not moved an inch, displaying the potency of the pill. Natsu had given up trying to get free, instead using this time to rest.

"How was the challenge?" Wendy took a deep drink before answering.

"It went quite well. Other than a few scratches, there weren't any major damages. I believe that Blaze was the same." To this, Lee nodded his agreement. At this time, she saw the state Gray was in. "I can't say the same for Gray, I'm afraid. What happened to him?"

"Seems like his ice magic wasn't the best solution. Made the water sharper and it hit him hard in the back. Blaze used the pill on him and took his place in the last challenge. Natsu's trapped until he finishes."

"Okay. How long does he…"

Wendy's sentence was cut off by the noise. All the gates started to move, revealing a small route that had, until then, been unknown. From behind them, Natsu appeared, looking confused and slightly sleepy. Happy was still resting in his arms. Water appeared and started to lift the ice mage, taking him deep into the tunnel. The rest of the group followed him automatically, also slightly confused but given no chance for explanation. They were silent upon reaching a small door which opened to reveal Blaze who stood in front of River and several others in the large tower-like room. He turned to greet them, revealing a face of joy as well as the same bafflement that was affecting the rest.

Natsu decided to break the silence. "Hey there, Blaze. Does this mean you finished the challenge, or something?"

The young man shook his head slowly. "No. I had barely even started. I was about to attack when the man disappeared and these people came."

River stepped forward, evidently the spokesperson of the group. "We are very sorry for the confusion. Before I can continue to explain, allow me to introduce to my counterparts who are responsible for the other element stages." Gesturing from his left, he continued "Please meet Aria of the air, Steel of the metal, Tsubasa of the wind, and Teine of the Fire stage."

To their introduction, each person bowed and came forward. Not understanding what was happening, the group just waited until River finished.

"The reason for the sudden stop is due to the fact that this young man has already taken this challenge before. It is a rule of ours to only permit one chance per mage, during which you might fail or succeed. To be exact, Blaze Natsume challenged us eleven years and two days ago."

Blaze looked shocked at the revelation, a feeling that passed through the group. Lee frowned slightly at this; from what he could see, Blaze could not have participated in this challenge, especially since he was barely born at the time.

"Wait a minute, that doesn't make any sense! He was a baby at that time! Barely even born! Are you mistaking him for another mage?"

"Our records are perfectly in order and will not confuse a mage's abilities. We detect through the magic powers emitted in a mage's attacks and can, on most occasions, immediately sense an old challenger's aura. The reason for the late notice, however, is due to the fact that this man is in possession of several auras and abilities, and can easily change between them. The ability he challenged with before only appeared in the last battle, leading to our discovery. Unfortunately, due to this, we cannot allow you to fight and thus, will make this whole challenge void. I'm afraid the rules dictate that you also cannot retry."

The decision sparked outrage from Natsu, who stepped forward threateningly.

"What about our mission, then? We came all this way to get the energy crystal and complete a mission! What kind of fucking nonsense are you talking about? Are you saying that we came all this way for such bullshit talk from a water clone? HUH!"

With every word, Blaze seemed to shrink and retreat into himself. Though he may not have meant it, the fire mage had hurt the boy deeply, causing him to shed a few silent tears. His feelings of guilt and perplexity was visible to all and Lee, upon seeing the state he was in, took him aside and comforted him quietly. At Wendy's order, Happy and Charle restrained Natsu from attacking the spokesman. She looked straight at him, speaking firmly and quietly. Having calmed the man down, she then faced River.

"From the way this place has been constructed, I can understand that you cannot change the rules made by your master years ago. However, it is vital for us to obtain the energy crystal; a woman's life depends on it. Is there no other way for us to do this?"

For the first time, the water spokesman looked almost human. He rubbed his head, almost sheepishly, before looking to the other element mages.

"The thing is, you did not allow me to complete what I was about to say."

"There is more?"

"Do you have another way to obtain such an energy source?" the man raised his hand to silence the people.

"You do have access to the energy crystal. Even if it had not been collected on the day, the crystal is actually owned by Master Blaze anyway and can be collected anytime." Seeing no comprehension in what was being said, River continued "You were all implying that Master Blaze had failed the first time he challenged this cave, hence all the commotion. However, that isn't true. The truth of the matter is that Master Blaze is the only mage ever to have succeeded all challenges, having done this several hours after his birth."

…

To Be Continued

A/N- WHAT! I can already imagine what you're thinking, why such a twist? Don't worry, it's all planned out. There are many reasons as to why I did this, mostly because it is the only way I can connect with future chapters.

Again I apologise for late entry, but I did this chapter when I could. My life is REALLY that busy right now. Hopefully the next will be out sooner, so as to make for the delay.

That being said, in the meantime how about recommending me (and other readers) some good fanfics in your review? This way, we can all benefit: you get time to read the works of other writers, I get a chance to find inspiration and do some corrections while using another story as a guide (NOTE: That's just my way of proofreading. No judging)

Thanks again, darlings!