Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail.
WARNING: From the beginning of this chapter on THERE WILL BE SPOILERS! Read at your own risk. This story will be jumping into the Fairy Tail storyline beginning at the start of the Tenrou Island arc. There's still original stuff in here, but if you haven't gotten to this point in the anime/manga, then some things may be ruined for you. I advise catching up to the anime/manga if you haven't already (for more reasons than just reading my story)! Thank you and enjoy!
Fairy Tail—The Master and the Dragon
Chapter 31
Mira gave a heavy sigh. "I thought for sure Nikolias would be back by now. I wonder what could be keeping him?"
Mira sat with Lisanna and Juvia while Erza cooked in a black bikini and an apron. Mira had found that she was the first to arrive back at base camp and, while waiting for Nikolias to show up, saw Erza walking back with Lisanna and Juvia. After hearing all about the fight, Mira gave Juvia a smile and told her that there was always next year.
Erza looked over from her cooking. "I'm sure he'll be here shortly. Whoever he was facing may have shown up later than Elfman and Evergreen did. Give it a little bit of time."
Mira gave her a smile. "It's not like I'm worried. I just miss him. That's all."
"You saw him not long ago," Erza said matter-of-factly. "How could you miss him already?"
Mira blushed. "It's just the way it is. We love each other's company." She giggled. "I can wait for him, but I can't wait to see him. You see?"
Erza sighed. "You really do have it bad, Mira."
Mira just giggled in response.
Juvia, who had been staying out of the conversation about Nikolias for Lisanna's sake, leaned forward slightly. "Mira, Juvia is curious. You're the Demon of Fairy Tail. How did Elfman and Evergreen defeat you?"
Erza nodded. "Good question. I find that I'm a bit curious about that myself. How did they defeat you?"
Mira smiled at her. "They told me that they were getting married."
Erza nearly spilled what she was cooking. "No way! They're getting married?! I didn't even know they were dating!"
Mira giggled. "Relax. I'm sure it was just a tactic to throw me off of my game and give them an opening to attack. I doubt they're even together."
Erza couldn't stop thinking about it. "Still, I know that Evergreen admitted to liking Elfman way back at Gracie's sleepover, but I never would have thought that Elfman shared the feelings."
"I guess that is shocking news," Lisanna added, trying to get involved in the conversation. "Even if it was fake, hearing that brother is getting married would probably throw me off as well. They're actually a pretty cute couple if you really think about it."
Mira smiled at her sister. "You know, the news about Elfman getting married did throw me off, but what really turned the match in their favor was the way she phrased it."
Erza scrunched her pretty face in confusion. "What do you mean?"
Mira blushed a deep shade of red. "She said 'We love each other. That's what people do when they're in love, right?' When she said that, it made me think about Nikolias and being married to him."
Erza blushed slightly at this new information. "You're already thinking about marrying Nikolias?"
Mira cupped her face with her hands. "I know it sounds crazy, but I can't help it! I truly am in love with him. And to be honest, it wasn't until Evergreen talked about marriage that it even registered as something that I was considering. But now, it's all I can think about."
Erza chuckled. "Like I said; you really do have it bad, Mira."
"I know I do and I don't care!" Mira said proudly.
Suddenly, a slam was heard at the table. Everyone turned to see Lisanna standing, head down and palms flat on the wood of the table top.
"Lisanna?" Mira asked. "Are you okay?"
"I need some air," Lisanna said flatly, her voice quiet and void of any emotion. She then turned and calmly walked away from the small group.
Mira watched her sister leave. "What's wrong with Lisanna?"
Erza watched Lisanna walk away with a sad expression. She recalled the conversation she had had with Lisanna about Nikolias. She knew from Lisanna's reactions, actions, and speech that she really did have strong feelings for Nikolias, a man that she couldn't have. Hearing about Mira talk about Nikolias was hard enough, but when marriage was brought up, it must have been too much to handle. However, although she was fairly certain about what caused the outburst, she decided that it was Lisanna's business and not her place to mention it. So she simply shrugged. "I don't know. Perhaps I was too rough on her during the fight and she hasn't quite bounced back yet."
"I should go talk to her and make sure that she's alright," Mira said as she began to stand.
"I'd give her some space, Mira," Erza said. "Let her work out whatever it is that's eating at her. It's the only way she'll grow."
"But she's my sister. She's obviously upset. I should at least ask her what's wrong," Mira said, trying to defend her viewpoint.
"Juvia agrees with Erza," Juvia added. She, too, had a very strong idea as to what made Lisanna walk away and she realized that Mira was probably the last one that Lisanna wanted to see at the moment. "Let Lisanna cool off. We'll check on her in a little while."
Mira sighed. She felt like something was being hidden from her, but she had no proof, so she decided to not make it an issue. Instead, she sat back down. "Alright, I'll give her some space for a few minutes."
"A good decision," Erza said.
Mira gave her a cold, sideways glare. "You wouldn't be keeping things from me, would you Erza?"
Erza, who was normally unaffected by such glares, felt the smallest of shivers run up her spine. Perhaps it was because she was actually guilty of withholding information from Mira that she felt such discomfort. However, she regrouped quickly and shook her head. "I'm not keeping anything from you, Mira," Erza promised.
Mira's expression quickly changed to one of happiness again. "Alright, I trust you. So by the way, where are Freed and Bickslow? Didn't Lucy and Cana defeat them?"
Erza nodded. "They did. Apparently, Freed, Bickslow, and Gildarts all went home."
"I see. I'm surprised that they didn't stay to watch the rest of the Trial," Mira said.
"They're not my main concern. I'm more worried about Mest and Wendy. Where are they?" Erza asked.
"They should have been here by now," Mira said as she thought it over. "Maybe they forgot that we're supposed to meet here?"
Erza closed her eyes. "I doubt someone like Wendy would so easily forget such important information."
Juvia stood. "Juvia is starting to get a little worried. Juvia volunteers to go look for them."
Erza nodded as she took off her apron. "Mira, stay here and guard the tent. I'm going to go help Juvia with her search."
Juvia froze. 'No! Juvia wanted to ditch everyone and go cheer for Gray-sama! Curses!'
Mira nodded. "Good luck you two! I hope that you find them."
Erza smiled. "We'll find them. Don't you worry." With that, Erza and a reluctant Juvia made their way away from base camp.
Mira sighed as she looked up at the bright, sunny sky. "I hope Nikolias gets here soon, but I still can't help but be worried about Lisanna."
Lisanna sat on a ledge overlooking the sea, a warm breeze pushing her short white hair behind her. Tears rolled down her cheeks and she wiped them away. "Damn it, stop crying!" But she couldn't stop. When she heard Mira talking about wanting to marry Nikolias, it was as if that last shred of hope that she could ever be with Nikolias was torn apart. She felt part of her heart break and she knew that if she didn't get out of there right away, she would break down in front of everyone and that was the last thing she wanted. She was able to get out of earshot before the inevitable tears began to fall. She hadn't been able to stop since.
"Lisanna?" came a soft voice from behind her.
Lisanna knew that voice and her eyes widened upon hearing it. She whipped her head around to see Nikolias standing a few feet behind her, a look of concern on his face. "Nikolias!" she exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"
He tilted his head. "I was on my way back to base camp when I saw you running away. I thought something may be wrong so I decided to check on you."
"Oh, I see," Lisanna said as she looked at the ground.
"Lisanna, what's wrong? Why are you crying?" he asked.
Lisanna wiped away the tears that were still flowing freely from her eyes and gave her best smile. "It's nothing. Don't worry about it."
He started walking closer. "Lisanna, you can talk to me. I know it's not nothing. You're too strong a person to cry over just anything. It has to be something big. So tell me what's on your mind."
"If you don't mind, Nikolias, I'd like to be alone," Lisanna said rather coldly.
Nikolias froze at her tone. He stared at her a while, his golden brown eyes staring into her blue eyes, before eventually closing his eyes and sighing. "You know, you remind me of an old friend of mine."
"Really? Who would that be?" she asked, her tone not changing.
"Faye, the Heart Half-Dragon."
"How so?"
Nikolias turned away. "Faye was always someone who would bottle everything up. She would constantly avoid talking to her friends about her problems. She didn't ever want to be seen as vulnerable. So she would always put on a smile and pretend that nothing was wrong. I asked numerous times for her to tell me what was wrong, but she always gave me the same fake smile and assured me that everything was fine and that there was nothing to worry about." He turned back to Lisanna with a smile. "It's funny, though. Of all of the Half-Dragons, her problems were the worst. Her past kept her from trusting others with her happiness or sadness or anger or worries, even though she knew that we would never hurt her. Even after she was found by Canas the Heart Dragon, she still couldn't allow herself to open up fully." He looked at the sky. "Around the time I officially became a Half-Dragon, I caught her crying at a river. She thought that if she cried there, her tears would just wash away with the current of the river and no one would ever know how much she was hurting. I approached her and she was, of course, extremely upset that I found her." He laughed as he looked back at Lisanna. "She started punching me over and over again. And you know what? I let her. I let her get all of her frustrations out. She beat me for almost an hour before falling to her knees and crying her eyes out. She had tried to be strong for so long and after so many years of keeping everything to herself, she finally broke down under the weight of it all. I held her and told her everything would be alright. I told her that I would always be there for her. I told her that no one would ever hurt her as long as I and all the other dragon kids were around." He looked out over the sea. "After that day, Faye finally started to let people in. It started with just me and Canas, but little by little, more and more of us were being allowed inside of her heart to see what she was really feeling. It took a year before all of the dragons and dragon kids were allowed to see and hear her innermost thoughts and feelings. But she found that she was stronger because of it, not weaker. She found strength in her newfound trust and was able to go through Dragon Spirit by age 15, becoming one of the stronger Half-Dragons of all of us."
Lisanna listened to the story while looking at the ground. "That's a nice story, but I don't get what it has to do with me."
Nikolias chuckled. "It's simple really. You have to be willing to let people in, Lisanna. No one in Fairy Tail, including me, would ever hurt you. You can trust all of us."
"How can you say that?" she shouted as she stood up. "How can you say that you'd never hurt me when you already have?"
Nikolias was taken aback. "I hurt you?"
"Yes!"
"How? When?"
The tears were falling uncontrollably. "When you fell in love with my sister! When you turned me away because you had fallen in love with Mira!"
Nikolias stared at her. "That's what has you so upset?"
Lisanna sat back down with her back to Nikolias. "It's not fair. You weren't supposed to fall in love so quickly. You never dated anyone else. You just went straight for Mira and didn't so much as look at anyone else."
Nikolias remained silent for a while before speaking. "I see. Well I'm sorry to hear that you feel hurt. Talking with me may only make things worse, so I'll leave you to yourself for now." He turned around to leave. "But know this, Lisanna. I've lived 808 years and lost two people who, at the time, were the loves of my life. Dating was never something I even thought about and love was the furthest thing from my mind. That's why when I saw Mira and felt that warmth in my heart for the first time in 460 years, I began to fall for her and only her. I never meant to hurt you or anyone else, but it's just the way it is. I love Mira and I can't apologize for it. I can, however, say that I will never intentionally hurt you and if you ever need someone to talk to, you will always have everyone in Fairy Tail, including me." With that, he began walking away.
"Nikolias?" Lisanna called out.
He stopped. "Yeah?"
"What is it about her?" she asked without looking at him. "What is it about Mira that made you fall in love with her?"
Nikolias turned slightly. "She's beautiful. She's kind. She's warm. She's understanding. She's always there for me and everyone else in her Fairy Tail family."
"So am I," Lisanna threw at him. "So what is it that made her special?"
"Yes, you are all of those things, Lisanna. But people can share the same traits and qualities as others and still be completely different. It's just who she is. I love her for who she is. Everything about her is wonderful. Her scent, her personality, her presence, all of it. I love all of her."
Lisanna gave a small laugh. "I don't really get it, but I guess it doesn't matter. The only thing that matters is that you love Mira."
"You really should talk to Mira about all of this. It might make you feel better. She is your sister, after all," Nikolias offered.
"I don't think I could admit it to her," Lisanna whispered. "I don't think I could tell her that I'm in love with the same man she is."
"I understand. It's your decision to make." He turned back around. "Take all the time you need, Lisanna. Come back to base camp when you feel better." Wings shot out of his back as he took to the skies.
Lisanna watched him fly away. "You love her for who she is." She gave a small laugh. "I guess when you're in love, things don't have to make sense to anyone else but you."
"Mest, wake up," Wendy whispered gently while gingerly poking his arm.
Mest, who was still sitting unconsciously against a rock from the fight with Gray and Loke, snapped awake.
"You okay?" Wendy asked timidly, hands clasped together as she waited for Mest to speak.
Mest's hand went to rubbing the back of his sore head. "Geez, they really did have great power. They may be the best fighters in the entire guild."
"They don't mess around, that's for sure," Wendy agreed.
Mest sprang to his feet. "Well I'll show them! I'm determined to follow in my Master, Mystogan's footsteps!" He began running forward. "I won't let them defeat me here! I will move on!"
"Wait!" Wendy exclaimed.
Mest thrust his fist in the air. "Come out and face me, you cowards! We aren't finished here!" However, he was met with silence. After a while, without facing Wendy he asked, "They're not here, are they?"
Wendy looked at the ground as tears started to fill her eyes. "That's what I was trying to tell you. I hate to have to tell you this, but we lost to them."
Mest's face fell. "WHAT? YOU'VE GOTTA BE KIDDING ME!"
"I wish I was, but they beat us and moved on while you were unconscious."
Mest sighed. "Is that so?"
"Mhm."
"Ah! How could I fail this year, too?" Mest complained.
"I'm sorry," Wendy said as she started to cry. "It's all my fault. You never should have teamed up with someone as weak as me. The worst part is I tried my best, but it wasn't good enough."
Mest looked over to her. "Don't cry, Wendy. It's not your fault at all. Try not to be so hard on yourself."
"Maybe if I had asked Nikolias to teach me some fighting moves, I could have been more useful to you."
"You were a big help, Wendy. So please, don't feel bad because there's no reason for it. Okay?" Mest said with a gentle smile.
Wendy nodded through her tears.
Mest sighed. "You really should stop crying. You'll run out of tears before too long."
"I'm sorry. I can't stop," Wendy said.
Mest looked at the rock ceiling. "Hey Wendy, let me ask you something. Master Makarov said that this island is considered Fairy Tail's sacred ground. Do you know why that is?"
Wendy stopped crying and wiped away the tears to answer him. "Yeah. It's because this is where the guild's first Master is buried."
"Yeah, but that can't be the only reason," Mest said. "Tenrou Island is actually protected by a powerful force field that hides it from outsiders. Apparently, it's impossible to find no matter what kind of magic you use." He smiled down at Wendy. "Mavis was special, but I don't think they would go to such lengths just to hide her grave. Rumor has it that there's an incredible secret revolving around the Fairy Tail guild that's hidden somewhere on Tenrou Island."
"Do you know what it is?" Wendy asked, her curiosity peaked.
He shook his head. "I have no idea." He looked back at Wendy. "So what do you say we do some sightseeing?"
Wendy's face lit up. "Yeah! Let's explore!" Wendy grabbed her bag and started running off. "Come on, Mest!"
"Alright, I'm coming. Be careful, Wendy," he called out. But there was no mistaking the evil grin that crept across his face.
"Hey Loke, let me ask you something," Gray said.
The two were continuing down their path to reach the second round, but both were finding it hard to believe that it was such an easy victory.
"What's up, Gray?" Loke asked.
"Was Mest always that weak?" Gray asked. "I mean, I know having Wendy there may have put him at a disadvantage, but I feel like he used to be stronger than that."
Loke chuckled. "Ever think that it's just because you've gotten stronger?"
Gray thought. "But the thing is I can't even remember if I've fought the guy before."
"Maybe he kicked your ass and now you don't want to remember. You know, selective memory," Loke offered.
Gray was still thinking, so he didn't react to the comment. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but Mest got pretty far in last year's Trials, right?"
"He did."
"Do you remember his partner last year?"
"No. I keep drawing a blank."
"I do too and my memory is pretty damn good. Despite that, I can only picture a few things about Mest, but even those are hazy."
Loke nodded. "It's like whenever I try to think back, I hit some kind of wall."
"Same here. I wonder what the reason is."
Loke smiled at him. "Well, try not to think about it now. Look, the end of the tunnel."
"Finally," Gray sighed.
The two exited the tunnel only to find themselves slammed to the ground by a flying blonde.
"Hi Gray! Hi Loke! You guys made it!" Gracie exclaimed.
"Geez Gracie, would ya get off?" Gray complained.
Gracie pouted as she sat up while sitting on Gray and Loke's stomachs. "Man, you sound just like Niky. No fun."
"Just get off!" Gray shouted.
Gracie stood. "Mean boys."
"So you guys made it, too huh?" Lucy called over.
"Congrats," Cana said.
Gray and Loke walked over. "So you two made it, huh? I see you made it too, Levy," Loke said.
Levy pumped her fist. "Yup! We made it!"
"So only us six made it to the next round?" Gray asked.
"Where's Natsu?" Loke asked. "I thought for sure that he'd make it."
Happy flew over. "Natsu's over there."
Gray and Loke turned to see Natsu sitting quietly on a rock with his face resting on his hands so that his eyes were covered.
"He looks kinda down," Gray noted.
"What the hell happened to him?" Loke asked.
"It's a long story," Happy said.
"Well I'm happy for all of you! You guys did great!" Gracie exclaimed.
"Thanks Gracie," Lucy said with a smile.
"Hey, where's the old man?" Gray asked. "I thought you were with him."
"I'm over here. Don't rush me," Makarov called over as he made his way into the clearing. "So these are all of the winners we have, huh?"
"Looks that way, Master!" Gracie said.
Makarov nodded. "In that case, let's take a look at the results thus far. Cana and Lucy defeated Freed and Bickslow in combat. Nicely done."
"They beat Freed? How?" Gray asked incredulously.
"Don't interrupt me," Makarov said. "Anyway, Natsu and Happy defeated the mighty Gildarts. Very good."
"No way! Those two beat Gildarts!" Gray exclaimed.
"What did I say, Gray? Now shut it," Makarov growled. "Next, Levy and Gajeel were able to make their way past the powerful Nikolias. Impressive, you two."
"Oh come on! How'd they do that?" Gray shouted.
"I'm pretty surprised, too," Gracie said. "I never once thought that Niky would lose. You two will have to tell me your secret. I've never beaten Niky before."
Makarov just sighed and continued. "Finally, Gray and Loke defeated Mest and Wendy in combat. Good work."
"What? They beat Wendy? How?" Gracie asked as she did an impression of Gray.
"Watch it, Gracie," Gray hissed. Gracie only giggled. "So Juvia didn't even make it through the first round?"
Makarov's face twisted in pain. "Juvia and Lisanna were unfortunate enough to get the path that led to the woman who knows no mercy."
"So Erza huh?" Gray deduced. "Too bad. That's a tough break."
"Erza's strong. I expected her to win," Gracie commented.
"What about Elfman and Evergreen?" Lucy asked. "What about them?"
Cana thought about it. "Well let's see. You and I and Gray and Loke had combat routes. Gildarts, Nikolias, and Erza all faced their teams, which leaves…"
"Mirajane," Lucy said. "They had to face the Demon of Fairy Tail, huh?"
"No way did Mira lose, too," Gracie said.
"I feel bad for them," Levy said.
Gajeel smirked. "I can take her, but those two weaklings had no chance."
"Don't count us out yet!" Elfman's voice boomed in the distance. Everyone turned to see him and Evergreen, badly beaten, walking over to them. Elfman pumped his fist. "Didn't think that we could beat my big sister, did ya?"
"How the heck did you two beat Mira?" Happy asked.
Both Elfman and Evergreen blushed.
"A real man doesn't brag about his win," Elfman mumbled.
"Let's just leave it at we managed to take full advantage of catching her off guard," Evergreen said.
Gracie crept over, a mischievous grin on her face. "You two look guilty. Spill! Tell me everything!"
"No way!" Evergreen shouted.
Makarov cleared his throat. "Alright, back to the task at hand. There are five teams moving on to Round Two; Natsu and Happy, Gray and Loke, Levy and Gajeel, Cana and Lucy, and Elfman and Evergreen. Congratulations to all of you! Now for the second Trial."
Lucy looked over to Natsu. She hated seeing him like that, so she walked over to him. "Natsu? Everything okay?"
"Yeah," he replied simply. "Just thinking."
"Oh no! Natsu's thinking! Run!" Happy exclaimed.
"Shut it, Happy," Lucy said before sitting next to him and putting a hand on his shoulder. "Are you sure you're okay? I hate seeing you look so down. It's not like you."
He lifted his head and smiled at her. "Yeah, I'm alright." He put his hand on hers. "I was just thinking about what Gildarts told me. So I'm gonna do my best!" He stood up and pointed at everyone. "Gray! Cana! Levy! Elfman! Only one of us will be S-Class and it's gonna be me!"
"Yeah right. I'd never lose to you," Gray said with a confident grin.
"We'll just see," Cana said.
"Not gonna happen," Levy said.
"Real men accept such challenges!" Elfman roared.
Fire danced around Natsu's hands. "Alright! I'm all fired up now!"
Lucy looked up at Natsu. 'That's my Natsu. He never stays down for long. He'll always jump right back up.'
"That's the attitude, Natsu!" Gracie said while pumping her fist. "Never quit!"
"Alright everyone, I'm about to give you your instructions for the second part of the Trial," Makarov said. "In order to pass this round, you must search the island for the grave of Fairy Tail's first guild master and founder, Mavis Vermillion."
"Come on, gramps. That's no test!" Natsu exclaimed.
"How about this then? You only have six hours to find it or you fail. No excuses," Makarov said before turning to leave. "Gracie and I will be waiting for you by Mavis' grave."
Gracie walked backwards and waved. "Good luck everyone! Come find us soon! You can do it!"
Natsu took off in the other direction. "Well what are we waiting for? Let's do this! S-Class here we come!"
"Aye!" Happy exclaimed as he flew after Natsu.
Everyone else followed suit and began their search for Mavis Vermillion's grave.
Round Two of the Tenrou Island S-Class Wizard Promotion Trials had begun. But no one could have guessed what the Trial would eventually become or the danger it held.
