Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail.
Well, I guess this was another longer than desired update. Sorry everyone, but inspiration for this chapter flowed very slowly. It started off way to short for my taste, so I wanted to play with it some more to turn it into a more quality chapter. I really want this arc (dubbed Dragon Rider, by the way) to be as good as the Bloody Moon arc since I was really proud of how that arc turned out, so I apologize if updates are slow. I'm hoping now that school is out I can write more.
As a little treat for anyone interested, I gave a small little blurb about Gracie at the bottom of this chapter as an apology for the update wait.
Anyway, without further ado, I give you Chapter 58. Enjoy!
Fairy Tail—The Master and the Dragon
Chapter 58
"Tell me; how is our new friend doing?" Jarvan asked. He was seated at his desk, feet up as he leaned back in his chair, an arrogant smile on his face.
Cahill chuckled. "Oh, don't worry about him, Boss. Vyril is keeping the Half-Dragon company. There's no way he'll be bored or lonely."
"Good," Jarvan said with a nod. "I was hoping that would be the case when I gave Vyril permission to experiment on the creature. Now we can find out even more information on Half-Dragons through this sole survivor since Gorn was quite stingy in what he revealed. Then again, it's possible that even he lacked sufficient knowledge on them."
"What are you going to do with the information, Boss?" Cahill asked.
"Oh, I have plans in the works. It really all depends on what kind of information Vyril can retrieve."
Cahill chuckled again. "So you've found yet another advantage to abducting the Half-Dragon. Truly ingenious, Boss. But then again, I'd expect such things."
Jarvan sat up in his chair and planted his feet on the floor. He set his elbows on the table and intertwined his fingers before resting his chin on his locked hands. "That's enough about the Half-Dragon for now. I'm far more concerned with my dear Gracie."
"Good point!" Cahill said while snapping his fingers.
"If I am to retrieve what is rightfully mine from her, I must find a way to incapacitate her," Jarvan said. "However, that's easier said than done. Her skill with weapons is unbelievably high and she's far too smart for a trap. Not only that, but I'm sure that someone will be going with her. We'll have to approach this carefully."
"Of course. So what do we do?"
Jarvan pulled open one of his desk drawers and withdrew a roll of parchment. "We can't just hope that our plans in Juniper will work out, so we'll just have to try and speed things up a little. We'll move to intercept her as she makes her way to Juniper and capture her. That way, at the very least, we can thin out any crowd she brings along even if we can't get our hands on her before Juniper." He unrolled it on the wooden desk top to reveal a map of Earth Land. He put his finger on the town of Magnolia in Fiore. "Here's where she leaves from," he began to explain. "Since we took her precious Nikolias yesterday, I can assume that she will leave at some point today, if she hasn't left already."
"What makes you say that?"
"Since they're so close, I'm sure that he mentioned where he was going. She knows that it wouldn't take him that long to return."
"Brilliant!"
Jarvan continued, dragging his finger across the map. "I would expect them to take a train since it's faster, but it only takes them as far as Clover Town." He stroked his chin. "There's no way that we could interfere with them there due to time, so I'll have to try planning further ahead. But where would they go next?" He studied the map thoroughly, trying to put himself in the mind of Gracie Amier. "Where will you go, Gracie?" His finger was circling slowly around and around on the map as he tried to determine the route his target would take. "I don't think they would go straight into Bosco. The forest in the south is an issue and so is that blasted Corrupt Tower. No, they won't go that way." He dragged his finger from Clover Town to the east before stopping just before the Fiore-Seven border. "I wonder…would they pass through here?"
Cahill, who was looking over Jarvan's shoulder the whole time, leaned forward. "That's just a small hunting village."
Jarvan nodded. "True, and knowing Gracie, she'll want to keep close to the border of Bosco and Seven. So if that's the case…," he paused to move his finger east, along the border of Seven before stopping and smiling, "…then I bet you'll head to Wayhaven, my knowledgeable traveler."
"It makes sense."
Jarvan stood up. "Cahill, go find Walker. Tell him I said to head to Wayhaven and to wait for Gracie and her party there. Tell him to bring Gracie back alive, but he can feel free to kill the rest. He should be more than enough for whomever Gracie foolishly dragged along."
Cahill grinned. "Ah, a very good choice, Boss. Besides, Walker was just telling me how bored he was. He'll get the job done."
"Of course he will," Jarvan said while opening yet another drawer. "And give him this to swallow, too." He pulled his hand out of the drawer and showed Cahill a small crystal.
"You're Vitals Lacrima?" Cahill said, taking the small crystal. "If you're so confident, why have him swallow this? Are you that afraid that Gracie and her friends will kill him?"
Jarvan sighed. "Cahill, honestly, sometimes you're a moron."
Cahill gulped. "Sorry, Boss."
Jarvan closed his eyes. "I have the utmost confidence in Walker. However, I must prepare for all contingencies because overconfidence will prove to be the end of me and my organization. Just tell him to swallow it, got it?"
"Understood, Boss."
"Good. Then go."
Cahill nodded swiftly before dashing out of Jarvan's well lit office.
Jarvan stood from his desk and smiled. "Well, it's in Walker's hands for now. I'll have to patiently await his results. For now, I'll see what Vyril has found out about our unique visitor."
Gracie stared out the window of the fast moving train. She was spacing out, eyes looking up at the sky as the forest whizzed by. They had just left the station in Oshibana, so Clover Town was the next and final stop on the route, but to Gracie they couldn't be farther away.
This whole time, she couldn't get Nikolias out of her head. And rightfully so. He was like a brother to her and he was out there in who-knows-what kind of condition. Was Xeeval torturing him? What could be going on? No matter how she looked at it, there was no way that Xeeval could defeat Nikolias. But if that were the case—if Nikolias had in fact won—then where the hell was he? Even if he was mad at her still, he would never worry Mira like that. Ever.
She turned her head to look at Mira, who was sitting opposite her on the train. She was sleeping with her head leaning against the seat, which Gracie was glad to see. She was sure Mira was exhausted because she was also sure that Mira stayed up all night worrying. She smiled sadly at the white haired mage. The fact that she could sleep made her slightly envious, for she couldn't even think about sleep right now, but she was relieved that Mira was able to close her eyes and rest.
Suddenly, Mira's head snapped up and her eyes shot open. "Nikolias!" she exclaimed.
Gracie leaned forward and took her hands. Mira's eyes were wild, restlessly searching the car. Her breaths were heavy as she panted. Gracie squeezed her hands. "Mira, it's okay. It was just a nightmare."
Mira's eyes found Gracie's and she immediately broke into tears, falling forward into Gracie's chest. "Oh Gracie, it was awful."
"It was just a nightmare," Gracie repeated softly.
"I know," Mira sobbed.
"Do you want to talk about it? Might help."
"Okay," she breathed. "It started with the Bloody Moon fight, where Nikolias died. It was just as painful to watch it again. Then he got back up and killed Gorn. But after that, there was no happy ending. After he went back to normal, Nikolias turned around and walked away. I ran after him, calling his name, but he wouldn't turn around. I finally caught up to him and forced him to look at me and once he did, I saw tears in his eyes. I asked him what was wrong and he told me that he had to go. I hugged him to keep him there, but the next thing I knew, he was somehow gone." She paused to sniff as fresh tears began to flow. "I looked everywhere and then I saw him in the distance with his back to me once more. I called out to him as I ran to him. This time, he turned around with fear in his eyes. He begged me not to come closer and then he…he was run through by a machete. Right before my eyes." She burst into tears once again.
Gracie gently stroked her head. "Shh. It's all okay now. Niky's alive. It was nothing more than a nightmare."
Mira gripped Gracie's shorts tightly in her hands. "I want to believe it. I really do. But I'm terrified, Gracie. I'm terrified of the unknown."
"I know. I know. Try to get some sleep. We'll be arriving in Clover Town soon."
"I don't want to sleep. I don't want to risk seeing that again."
"Y'know, nightmares can never occur more than once."
"Really? But what about Nikolias' nightmares from before?"
"Those were memories. Remember?"
"True."
"So don't worry about it. Sleep."
Mira took a deep breath. "I'll try." She got up and sat next to Gracie, leaning her head on her shoulder and closing her eyes.
Gracie looked at Mira's face. Her face was red from crying and tears stained her cheeks. She rested her head gently on top of Mira's. 'Niky, where are you?'
The train came to a stop as steam erupted from the screeching wheels. The doors swung open as the train conductor announced over the loudspeaker, "We have arrived at our final stop; Clover Town. Please remember all belongings when leaving the train. Thank you."
Natsu groaned as he crawled out of the train car. "Never…again."
Happy patted the top of Natsu's head. "There, there, Natsu. We made it! It's all over now."
Wendy looked sadly at the ground. "I'm sorry that my Troia spell didn't help with your motion sickness, Natsu."
"It's not your fault, Wendy," Lucy assured as she squatted by Natsu's head. "Poor guy will never be able to handle transportation."
"Couldn't we have just walked here?" Natsu complained.
"Would you quit your whinin'?" Gajeel grumbled. "It's killing my head."
"Shut up," Natsu retorted weakly.
"Just get up already," Gray said. "You look pathetic down there."
"You look pathetic!" Natsu weakly shot back.
"Be nice, Gray," Lucy demanded. "It's not his fault."
Erza sighed at her bickering teammates before turning around to see Mira and Gracie staring off to the east. "Everything alright?"
Without turning around, Gracie lifted her hand and pointed straight ahead. "That's the direction we need to go. That will lead us to Seven."
"Understood," Erza said with a nod. She turned back around. "On your feet, Natsu. There's no time to waste."
Natsu pushed himself up to his feet. "Yeah, I know. Let's get moving. Can't keep Nikolias waiting."
The band of nine began walking east in the direction of Seven.
Mira looked around. "Clover Town sure hasn't changed much since last we were here."
"I never visited it before," Gracie commented.
"I'm glad to see that the past seven years didn't bring adversity to this town," Erza said.
"And I'm glad to see that your parfum is as magnificent as ever, my lovely Erza. Men!" came a deep male voice from behind the group.
Erza froze. Her spine immediately began to crawl as she slowly turned around, eyes wide with fear. And sure enough, her fears were justified.
Standing behind the group was Ichiya and his group, Hibiki, Ren, and Eve.
"Oh, Ichiya," Erza said, her voice trembling. "What brings you here?"
Ichiya struck a pose. "My team and I were just on our way back to the Blue Pegasus guild after another successful mission. Men!" He changed his pose. "Tell me; why do I detect the parfum of sorrow?"
"One of our own is in trouble and we're off to get him," Gray answered.
"How tragic," Ichiya said, once again changing his pose. His attention then fell on Gracie and Mira. "I detect it the strongest from Miss Mirajane and this fine young woman that I've yet to meet." He winked and pointed at Gracie. "My name is Sir Ichiya of Blue Pegasus. And what is yours, young lady?"
"Gracie," she responded quickly. "Look, not to be rude, but we're in a hurry."
Her words fell on deaf ears, though, when she suddenly found herself surrounded by the male trio.
"Your beauty is unrivaled," Hibiki complimented.
Gracie's brow furrowed. "The hell is your deal? Did you not hear what I just said?"
"Why does that tank top have to go so well with your green eyes?" Ren asked.
Gracie's eyebrow twitched. "I don't have time for this nonsense."
"I would love if you called me brother," Eve said with a smile.
Gracie glared daggers at Eve before grabbing him by the collar of his shirt and drawing him in close. "I already got a brother, you got it?" she hissed. "Now stop holding us up so that we can go save him!"
Eve held up his hands. "My apologies," he stammered.
"Gracie, calm down," Erza said. "They're harmless."
Gracie released Eve, but her anger didn't subside. "Harmless or not, we don't have time to stand around listening to their lame ass pick-up lines." She turned on her heels to face east once more. "Niky's in trouble, so we need to keep moving."
Erza turned to Ichiya. "Please forgive Gracie, Ichiya. She's not normally like this. She's just very upset about Nikolias' situation."
Ichiya struck a pose. "There's nothing to apologize for. The parfum of her passion is exquisite. It's like nothing I've ever experienced before. Men! Tell me; is this Nikolias close to you all?"
"He's precious to all of us," Mira answered. "Without him, our lives wouldn't be the same."
Ichiya struck a dramatic pose. "Men! Such words of love! Please, allow us to assist you in your quest."
"No can do," Gracie quickly said.
"Come on, Gracie. They may be able to help," Wendy said.
Gracie turned her head to look at Wendy. "We can't just wait around while they get their affairs in order. Am I the only one who seems to realize that every second we waste could mean that Niky ends up in more danger?"
"You're not the only one," Mira said sadly, her voice weak, "but we may end up needing their aid."
Gracie's hard gaze softened upon hearing Mira's words. She sighed. "Sorry, Mira. I guess I'm just on edge." She turned to face the group. "My apologies. That was rude of me. How did you want to help?"
Ichiya struck a pose. "If you spare us just a small bit of your time, we can offer you something that may help exponentially."
"What is it?" Lucy asked.
"Maybe they'll lend us the Christina!" Levy said.
"No!" Natsu wailed in despair.
Ichiya changed his pose. "Unfortunately, the Christina is unavailable. Otherwise, we would aid you with it in a heartbeat."
"Thank God," Natsu said with joy.
"Then what the hell is it?" Gajeel asked.
Ichiya posed so that he was pointing north. "Follow us and you'll see!"
"Fine," Gracie said. "But let's make it fast, okay?"
"Of course!" Ichiya exclaimed. "Now, onward to Blue Pegasus! Men!"
The nine mages and three Exceeds walked into the main hall of the Blue Pegasus guild.
Gracie whistled upon seeing the large room. "Not a bad place you've got here."
"It's our pride and joy," Hibiki said with a smile.
"Makes sense," Gracie said as she looked around.
"It's been a while since we were last here," Lucy said. "The place looks great."
"Thanks," Eve said. "We renovated since you last visited us."
"Well hello there!" came a strange voice. Everyone turned to see a large bald headed man prancing over to them. He wore a light purple spaghetti-strap shirt and pink and purple striped shorts. A gold hoop necklace hung around his neck. Small white attachable wings were stuck to the straps of his shirt. He had on purple high heeled shoes and his face was accentuated with red lipstick and light pink blush.
"Ah, Master Bob," Erza said with a smile. "It's been a while."
Bob stopped in front of the group. "My, it certainly has. I'm glad to see that you're all okay and looking just as young as ever." He looked at Gracie. "I've never met this beauty before. What's your name, sweetheart?"
"Gracie," she replied.
"A pleasure to meet you. So what can I do for you all today?" Bob asked.
"Master Bob, our friends are on a journey to find one of their own who's in trouble," Hibiki answered. "We would like to help them."
"Well that's awfully kind of you, Hibiki," Bob said. "How can we help?"
Ichiya struck a pose. "We're going to give them something that we received as a reward on a mission a few years ago."
Bob thought. "A reward, huh?" He snapped his thick fingers. "Oh, you mean that, don't you?"
"Yes, it should be perfect for them," Ichiya said.
"Well then by all means, take them to the back," Bob said with a wave of his hand. "But be quick like little rabbits. I'm sure that they're all itching to get on the road again."
Gracie smiled at the strange man. "Thank you so much, Master Bob."
"Think nothing of it, my dear. If I may ask, which sweet fairy is in trouble?"
"His name is Nikolias," Gracie replied.
"Oh, I don't know that name. Is he cute?" Bob asked with a mischievous smile.
"Umm…," Gracie started, but she wasn't sure how to reply.
"You would love him, Master Bob," Mira said with a smile.
Bob looked at Mira. "Would I? Well, I hope to see him one day." He then leapt over to Natsu and Gray, holding them close to his chest. "Of course, you two will always be my favorite little cuties!"
"Hey, l…let go!" Gray stammered.
"Lucy, help me!" Natsu begged as he flailed in Bob's grip.
"Master Bob, I'm sorry but we're in a rush," Lucy said. "Do you mind letting them go?"
Bob giggled before releasing the two boys. Both instantly ran and hid behind the rest of the group. "They're both such teases. Anyway, follow Ichiya and the boys. They'll give you their gift and then you can be on your way."
Gracie bowed. "Thank you again, Master Bob."
"Not at all, dear. I wish you the best of luck in finding your friend."
With a wave to Bob, the Fairy Tail group followed Ichiya, Hibiki, Ren, and Eve through the guild hall. They went down multiple hallways before arriving at a large wooden door. Ichiya opened it, revealing a large storage closet.
"Wow, are all of these things from missions?" Levy asked in astonishment.
Hibiki nodded. "These are all bonuses that we received from grateful young women customers."
Lucy sweatdropped. "Why am I not surprised to hear that?"
"So what in here can help us?" Gracie asked as she looked around.
Ichiya stopped at a particular shelf. "Ren, if you would be so kind."
"Right," Ren said as he reached up. He grabbed a small crystal vile of red liquid and held it out to Gracie. "Here you are."
Gracie took it and looked at it while everyone else looked over her shoulder. "What is it?"
"That is a vile of a potent and rare medicine called Tears of the Phoenix," Hibiki explained.
"What's it do?" Gajeel asked.
"If you ingest a single drop of that liquid, your magic will be completely refueled," Eve said.
"Wow, that's really handy," Wendy said.
"It sure is," Carla agreed. "Is there a catch?"
"Only that it takes a few minutes to kick in," Hibiki said. "Otherwise, it's completely safe and string free."
"Why would you give us something so valuable?" Mira asked.
"You want to find your friend and this is the best way we can help you. Men!" Ichiya said while striking a pose. "You won't end up using the whole vile, so just return what you have left."
"That sounds fair," Gracie said while handing the vile to Erza. "Thank you, Sir Ichiya. This gift was really thoughtful. We'll be sure to put it to good use."
"But of course!" Ichiya exclaimed while striking another pose. "Now, go forth and find your friend! And know that we will be rooting for your success the whole way."
"Right," Gracie said with a smile before turning to the group. "Alright, everyone. Let's get moving. It's still about a day or two walk to the border and there's no time to waste!"
"Let's go save Nikolias," Mira said with a smile.
"Right!" everyone cheered as they left the Blue Pegasus storage closet.
Hibiki looked at Ichiya. "Sir Ichiya, do you think that they'll be alright?"
Ichiya kept his gaze straight ahead as he replied, "Of course they will. Could you not sense that parfum?"
"What parfum?" Ren asked.
Ichiya narrowed his eyes. "The parfum of fire. That Gracie girl has a drive like no other. Not to mention…" He stopped as he scratched his chin.
"What, Sir Ichiya?" Eve asked.
Ichiya shook his head, but didn't reply. 'What was that parfum I sensed? It seemed to be an incredible power that lay deep inside of her. And what's more, whatever it is, it seemed to be rising to the surface.'
Cahill sighed as he walked through the dark halls of the underground headquarters. He examined the Vitals Lacrima that Jarvan had given him to give to Walker. "Walker's gonna hate me for giving him this. But what can I do? The Boss ordered it." He maneuvered through the halls before coming upon a wooden door and knocking.
"Come on in," came the deep voice on the other side.
Cahill opened the door and a cloud of smoke immediately hit his face. He coughed as he attempted to wave the smoke away, but the entire room was filled with it. "Honestly Walker, how can you stand this much smoke?"
On the far end of the room sat a tall man with dirty blonde, shoulder length hair and a goatee. He wore a dirty white button-down shirt with a brown vest over it. The jacket he wore was leather and had tassels all over it. His feet were placed on top of a table as he leaned back in his chair, showing that he had brown leather pants and black boots. Atop his head was a brown cowboy hat with a slightly bent brim. The hat was positioned to rest partially over his face so that his eyes couldn't be seen. A cigar sat in the corner of his mouth as smoke leaked from his slightly agape mouth. His arms rested behind his head. "What do you want?" Walker asked with his deep voice and thick Australian accent.
"I got a job for you. It comes straight from the Boss," Cahill replied.
Walker slowly lifted his head and peered at Cahill from the darkness of his hat's shadow. "A job, eh? Finally. I've been bored. The Boss hasn't used me much lately. What kind of job?"
"It's about Gracie Amier."
A massive grin split his face as he sat up. "That Sheila's back? Well that certainly is interesting. What's it got to do with me, though?"
"We kidnapped one of her friends to lure her out," Cahill explained. "The Boss believes that she's one her way to Juniper to find him now."
"The Boss wants me to go to bloody Bosco?"
"No, he doesn't want you to go to Juniper," Cahill assured. "He wants you to head to Wayhaven and wait for Gracie and whoever else she brings."
"What am I supposed to do there?" Walker asked.
"Kill them all, except for Gracie. Bring her back alive."
Walker took out his cigar and tapped it a few times, letting the ash float down to the wooden floor before placing the cigar back in his mouth. "No can do, mate."
"What do you mean? This is an order from the Boss!"
He stood from his seat, his hat still covering his eyes. "I mean I can't exactly do what I need to if they're in Wayhaven. Too much foot traffic in that town." He blew out a large cloud of smoke. "Tell the Boss that I'll be intercepting 'em before they even make it to Wayhaven. I'll jump 'em while they're crossing the plain."
"Alright, I'll let him know." Cahill then held out the Vitals Lacrima. "Also, the Boss said to take this."
Walker gave a snort of derision. "That fucking ass thinks I'm gonna die, doesn't he?"
"He said it was a precaution, but he has complete faith in your ability to succeed."
Walker gave another snort before taking the lacrima and swallowing it. "There."
"Good. Head out as soon as you can."
"I'm always ready to go."
"Alright. Best of luck."
Walker looked at Cahill from the shadow of his hat and smiled. "I don't need luck, mate." He then walked past Cahill and made for the exit. His smile never faded as he walked, his hands buried in his pockets. "Gracie Amier. Can't wait to see how much you've grown up over these past 17 years."
Author Thoughts on Gracie
When this story first was being thought up, Gracie's character was originally planned to be fairly strict and uptight. She was supposed to be more like Erza in terms of character traits. However, it just didn't seem to flow with Nikolias the way I wanted it to. That's why during her first appearance in Chapter 1, Gracie may have seemed sadistic and perhaps a little dark.
Still, I started to like the idea of this bubbly character, so when she and Nikolias were checking out Magnolia, I wrote her to be the way she is now; enthusiastic, excitable, fun, humorous, etc. It made the chemistry with Nikolias better and it made Nikolias' character progression make more sense. Also, it made it a lot more fun to write about her. When she's with Nikolias or Gray, she has these really amusing dialogues that I just love writing. Then, when she's battling, I get to give her that more serious nature where she kicks ass and throws out strategies.
The way things turned out, Gracie's character development ended up being a lot deeper than first anticipated. I was able to take previous thoughts on her and give her more depth during the Tenrou Arc, which inevitably led to the start of this arc; the Dragon Rider arc. Gracie got such good reception throughout the story that I pretty much had to give her her own arc and give readers a better look into where she came from.
These are just a few insights into the making of Gracie. If you want to know anything else, feel free to PM me or shoot a review. If you like this little Author Thoughts and would like to see it again for another character, let me know through PM or review. I can do it on occasion for you.
Thank you everyone for reading! Until next time!
