Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail.
WARNING: THERE WILL BE SPOILERS! Read at your own risk. 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 83
"Gajeel…it's not that we're ungrateful for your help," Levy mumbled as she looked down. The ground below was far away, making her heart race with fear. "But do we have to do something so dangerous!?"
Gajeel huffed. "Quit your bellyaching and keep climbin'!" he retorted as he continued to climb the rock face.
Levy, Jet, Droy, and Gajeel were climbing a mountain side per Gajeel's direction. The rock face was standing at a complete 90 degree angle, so one slip up would mean a long fall to the dry valley below. Panther Lily was flying beside the group and monitoring their progress.
Sweat dripped down Levy's forehead, but she had to ignore it. She wanted to make sure that both hands remained on the rock. The last thing she wanted was to fall. "Are you sure this is the right place?"
"The map you guys gave me said this was the spot so this is the spot," Gajeel replied as he kept climbing.
"This wouldn't be any trouble at all if this was normal ground," Jet grumbled.
"Lily, why can't you just fly us up there?" Droy wailed.
"If I did that, we would run the risk of missing any vital clues that might lie in wait along the way," Panther Lily said. "We simply can't afford to take the easy way out this time."
"Would you shut up down there?" Gajeel snapped as he looked over his shoulder.
Levy's eyebrow twitched. "He sure can irritate me," she mumbled under her breath.
"What was that, shrimp?" Gajeel called out with a threatening tone.
"Nothing! Forget about it!" she shouted back as she continued to struggle up the cliff.
"That's what I thought," he said quietly as he, too, continued to climb.
Roughly half an hour later, Gajeel reached the top of the mountain. It was flat and very large, so there were plenty of places to sit and regroup. He glanced down the mountain side and tsked at seeing the other three so far behind him. "Oi! Lily! Get up here!" he yelled down.
Panther Lily flew up the side and landed beside Gajeel. "What is it?"
"You still got that info?"
Panther Lily nodded as he pulled a sheet of paper from behind his sword. "Here you go."
Gajeel snatched it away before having a seat on the rocky surface. "According to Lucy, the clock part thingy should be here," he paused to look around, "so then why is it not here?"
Panther Lily looked around as well. "I don't see anything that would resemble a clock part either."
"Ga…jeel!" Levy panted as she pulled herself on to the top of the mountain. She collapsed as she tried to catch her breath. Jet and Droy were right behind her and they, too, collapsed from exhaustion. "You could…have helped!"
Gajeel stood up. "Stop complaining. You made it, didn't you?"
"Ass," she muttered.
"Can we rest now?" Droy asked.
"No time to be tired," Gajeel said quickly.
"Oh, c'mon. The air is thin and cold," Jet said. "It could be dangerous if we don't rest a bit."
"Again, we don't got time for that," Gajeel said. "We need to find this clock part, so let's get lookin'!"
"Just a little rest won't hurt," Levy said.
Panther Lily took the paper from Gajeel and gasped. "Oh no! We're on the wrong mountain!" He pointed to an adjacent mountain that was far taller than the one they were on. "It's actually on that mountain! On your feet! We have more climbing to do!"
"No way!" Team Shadow Gear exclaimed before collapsing from fear.
Panther Lily hummed while crossing his arms. "I was just kidding. It would seem that my attempt to cheer them up with a good joke backfired."
Gajeel scanned the area while slowly walking around. "I don't see jack shit up here." He grinned. "So that must mean it's buried somewhere up here."
Panther Lily flew over to him. "What do you plan on doing?"
Gajeel clenched his fists. "Geehee. Just watch." With a furious cry, he began punching the ground over and over again. Large chunks of rock flew in all directions. The Iron Dragon Slayer soon disappeared in a large cloud of dust, but the sounds of his yelling and his fists hitting the solid rock echoed in the area.
"What's he doing?" Jet asked through pants.
Levy pushed herself to her feet. "He's working hard to find the clock part. We should be helping, too."
"I do have shovels," Panther Lily called out as he pulled several shovels from behind his sword.
"How did he even carry all of those?" Droy asked.
"Never mind that," Panther Lily said as he took out a whistle and gave it a blow. A shrill sound echoed in the air. "Start digging!"
Levy and a groaning Jet and Droy picked up the shovels and started digging. Gajeel turned his left arm into a shovel and his right arm into a pickaxe and was steadily digging his hole bigger and bigger. Panther Lily sat on a rock and blew into his whistle over and over in short breaths.
Hours passed and no one had found anything. The sun was sinking lower and lower and soon there would be no more daylight to dig by.
Levy leaned on her shovel. "What's taking so long? Why haven't we found it yet?"
"Just dig and stop whining already," Gajeel said. "Stay focused, shrimp."
"Gajeel and Lily are serious slave drivers," Jet mumbled as he and Droy carried a large boulder out of the way.
Suddenly, Gajeel froze. Panther Lily stopped blowing his whistle once he noticed Gajeel stop.
"What's the matter?" Levy asked. "Don't tell me you're quitting after what you literally just said to me."
Gajeel straightened up and returned his fists to normal. "Someone's watching us."
"What?" Jet asked.
"Who would be watching us all the way up here?" Droy asked.
Gajeel leapt out of his hole and walked towards Levy. He looked left. He looked right. He turned completely around, but he couldn't see anyone. 'Where are you? I know you're out there.' And then it hit him. He looked up towards the sky.
And in the sky he could see a shadowed small figure with long, feathered wings. He couldn't make out anything else save for a pair of glasses on the figure's face.
"My, it would seem that I've been noticed," the figure said.
"Who are you? And why are you here?" Gajeel demanded.
"Isn't it obvious?" the figure said. "We want the same thing, do we not?"
"So then you're here for the clock piece, too eh?" Gajeel asked.
"First, I believe introductions are in order. You asked me who I am, so it's only polite to answer," the figure said while fixing the glasses upon its face. The figure lowered itself, allowing the light to properly reveal it. It was a small gray-blue cat. On his head was a small dark blue Zentopian mitre with holes in the sides for his ears. He wore a matching small dark blue coat and a small red cloak fastened together by a blue jewel. A large book was tucked under his tiny arm. "I am Samuel."
"So you're the Exceed that Natsu and the others mentioned," Levy said. "The one with the Legion Platoon!"
"Indeed," Samuel said with a smile. "I'm known as the brains of the Legion Platoon."
"If you wanna fight then bring it on, Sammy!" Gajeel roared.
"Please refrain from abbreviating my name," Samuel replied. "I am Samuel, not Sammy."
"I'll handle this," Panther Lily said as he reached for the handle of his sword. "You four go and find the clock piece quickly."
"You're Panther Lily, correct?" Samuel asked. "A senior Exceed if I'm not mistaken. That makes you like an older brother to me."
Panther Lily drew his sword and summoned his wings. "You are unfit to be my brother," he replied while flying up to Samuel's level.
"Oh, don't be so coldhearted, brother. As fellow Exceeds we should be friends."
"You're just trying to piss me off, eh Sammy?" Panther Lily hissed.
"Uncalled for," Samuel said slowly. "I've already asked you to refrain from calling me Sammy."
"Gajeel," Levy said while tugging on the back of his shirt. "We need to hurry up and dig up that clock part."
Gajeel tsked. "Fine. Hey Lily!" he called out. "Don't come cryin' to me if you lose!" He then went back to his hole and started to dig. Levy, Jet, and Droy did the same.
Panther Lily nodded.
"I know all about you," Samuel said with a smile as he and Panther Lily continued to stare off. "Despite being an Exceed, you sided with humans and ended up in all sorts of trouble for it."
"My actions were based on personal convictions," Panther Lily said. "I don't consider it a mistake."
"What an injurious temperament you have, brother," Samuel said. "You'd gain much from being craftier, like me."
Panther Lily shook his head. "Sorry, but I've never been one to think in terms of gains and losses."
Samuel crossed his tiny arms. "I see. So then it would appear…"
"That we could never be friends, Sammy!" Panther Lily interrupted as he grew in size to his Edolas form. His sword grew in size along with him.
"That's more like it," Samuel said as he adjusted his glasses. He then began to glow purple as he, too, increased in size. Like Panther Lily, he was much taller and far more muscular than his small form. His face was far more angular, his ears were longer, his paws became large hands with sharp claws on the end of each finger, and his wings expanded. He pushed his glasses onto his forehead and glared at Panther Lily.
Panther Lily dashed forward with his sword drawn back. "Have at you!"
"I'm more than just smart, you know!" Samuel called out as he flew forward as well. "Allow me to demonstrate!"
The two clashed over and over again, Samuel managing to parry Panther Lily's large blade with his talons.
While the two fought, Gajeel was digging like a maniac. Rocks were flying everywhere with no sign of the clock part. Suddenly, loud cracking sounds could be hard, causing him to freeze.
"What was that?" Levy asked as she, Jet, and Droy stood around Gajeel's hole. Before anyone could answer, the floor beneath them gave way and they plummeted below. They landed in a large room where twelve large, blue stone statues of odd squid-like creatures stood proudly all around them. In the center of all the statues were three multicolored stone lines meeting at one point in the very center.
"What the hell is this?" Jet asked.
"These are weird faced ruins," Droy commented.
Meanwhile, above the strange room, Panther Lily was struggling to land a single blow on Samuel. Even after increasing the size of his sword, the nimble Exceed kept dodging with a smile. "Stop running away! Face me like a man!" he roared. He swung his sword downward at Samuel, but the Exceed dodged yet again, causing the massive red sword to collide with a large rock.
"Please," Samuel chuckled. "Only an absolute imbecile would attack head on! A more intelligent fighter considers strategy, methodology, and outcomes first!" He drew back his right hand as his talons glowed purple. He then thrust his hand forward, sending out a blast of purple magic at Panther Lily.
Panther Lily dodged the attack as it crashed into the mountain. Large boulders flew into the air from the blast, so he had to make sure to avoid getting hit by any. What he wasn't expecting, however, was for Samuel to use the flying rocks like springboards to navigate through them. After a couple of leaps off of rocks, Samuel had positioned himself to land a powerful roundhouse kick to Panther Lily's face. The blow sent him flying backwards and caused blood to trickle down his furry chin. He wiped the blood away and headed for the mountain top to regroup.
"The Legion Platoon has endured training far more intense than you can imagine to be able to cope with any possible situation," Samuel said. He waited for Panther Lily to land on the mountain below before sending out another blast of purple magic from his talons.
Panther Lily barely had time to land before the blast hit. "What?" he cried in shock as he found the ground below him crumble, causing him to fall to another flat surface of the mountain.
"Precisely as I calculated!" Samuel shouted with glee. He flew down to where Panther Lily was lying in a cloud of dust. "I truly do impress myself! Now, according to my calculations, he should've landed around here." He looked around, but couldn't see any sign of the large black Exceed.
Suddenly, the sound of breaking rock sounded behind him. Samuel turned to see Panther Lily behind him, his massive sword drawn back. "Right here, Sammy!" he cried as he swung his sword.
Samuel barely had time to dodge the surprise attack as he flew up and back. "You certainly are stubborn, brother!"
"I won't fall for the same tricks twice!" Panther Lily roared as he flew up towards Samuel. "The others will reach the clock part any moment now. You will not achieve victory!"
"I wouldn't be so sure," Samuel said as he kept flying backwards to keep a safe distance. "After all, those ruins do house a variety of traps."
"Traps?" Panther Lily repeated. "What traps?"
Samuel only chuckled in response.
With a fierce downward swing, Panther Lily attempted to strike Samuel. However, Samuel flew up to dodge and quickly put himself behind Panther Lily. He wrapped his strong arms around Panther Lily's neck and his legs around his waist. His grip was strong and Panther Lily couldn't break free.
"See? I told you that I'm more than just smart!" Samuel cried. "I'm fully versed in these sorts of martial arts and combat techniques as well."
Panther Lily continued to struggle in the headlock he was in. 'Carerful, Gajeel. Try not to be yourself too much. Be observant and patient. Hopefully Levy can keep you sane.'
Down below the mountain top, the four Fairy Tail wizards were searching the room for any clues as to the location of the clock piece.
"What's the deal?" Jet said in annoyance as he stood on top of one of the statues.
"I don't see any clock parts at all," Droy added.
"I don't know where to look," Levy murmured.
"Oi, shrimp," Gajeel called out. He was standing by one of the strange statues. "There's something written here."
Levy walked over to where he was standing. On the statue, Levy could see several characters written. "Let's see…'I'm hungry'. That's what it says."
"That's it? The hell does that mean?" Gajeel asked.
"Who knows?"
"Hey!" Jet called out from his position atop the statue. "Maybe it's just me, but looking at this room from up here kind of makes it look like a clock face. The statues could be each hour and the stone lines could be the clock hands."
"So then that would mean the clock hands should point to snack time, right?" Droy offered.
"That's gotta be it!" Levy exclaimed.
"Geehee. So then we just gotta move the hands, huh?" Gajeel chuckled. He walked over to the longer line of rocks, activated his Iron Dragon Club and thrust it forward with all of his might. His arm collided with the stone line and pushed it a few feet to the right.
"It's working!" Levy said excitedly. "Keep it up, Gajeel!"
Gajeel chuckled as he walked after the rock line. Over and over, he smacked it with his Iron Dragon Club, forcing it to move several feet with each thrust. Before long, the rock line locked into place while pointing at a particular statue. The ground then began to shake as the rock lines disappeared below and a blue stone dome took its place.
And on top of the dome, within a brown stone pedestal, was a shiny clock face. It was about the size of ship's wheel and it was completely flat and smooth.
"We finally found it!" Levy exclaimed as the four walked up the dome.
"It's an actual clock face," Droy said.
Gajeel walked up to the clock piece and closely inspected it. He sniffed it a couple of times before licking it. "Seems to be made of iron."
"There had to be another way to figure that out," Jet said as his spine shivered.
Levy walked up beside Gajeel and inspected the pedestal. "There's writing on here, too. I'll try deciphering it."
"Screw that noise!" Gajeel spat as he began pulling on the clock face, trying to free it from the stone.
"Waitwaitwaitwaitwaitwaitwait!" Levy begged rapidly over and over again, but Gajeel wasn't listening.
After a few more tugs, the clock face was freed. And once it was, the dome began to shake and rise into the air. Long, brown tentacles sprouted from the ground below and waved around in the air.
"You idiot, Gajeel!" Levy cried. "If you gave me just two seconds to decipher it, you would have known that it said 'Warning! He who takes this shall face the wrath of the rock guardian!' Stupid Gajeel!"
"Well how was I supposed to know that this would happen?" Gajeel shot back.
The shaking intensified, forcing the Fairy Tail wizards to leap off to the ground. They watched as the dome continued to rise into the air until it had completely separated from the ground. And it was then that they could see that the dome was in fact a monstrous statue that was easily three times the size of the other statues. It had several long brown tentacles that danced below it. It had two long, thin rock arms and the pedestal on top of its head was glowing red like a beacon. It lashed out with one of its tentacles, causing the wizards to run. It began to slowly crawl after them.
"I told you to wait, but you wouldn't listen! Careless, Gajeel!" Levy screamed.
"I got it already, so shut it!" Gajeel shouted.
"This isn't the time to be arguing!" Jet and Droy simultaneously yelled at the two.
Above the room, Samuel chuckled as he maintained his hold on Panther Lily. "Well, well, well. It would appear that the traps have been sprung. Precisely as I calculated."
"Damn you!" Panther Lily growled. "So that's why you've drawn me away from them!"
Samuel tightened his grip. "You're powerful and you can fly. It's important that I take all threats out of the picture."
Meanwhile, the rock guardian continued to lash out with its long arms and tentacles, forcing the Fairy Tail wizards to dive for safety repeatedly.
"I think that red part on its head is controlling it!" Levy noted.
"Which means that's its weak spot," Jet said.
"Alright! Let's show that thing what Team Shadow Gear can do!" Droy exclaimed.
"First we have to immobilize it," Levy instructed as she raised her arms to chest level. "SOLID SCRIPT! OIL!" she cried as she wrote the word OIL in the air with her magic. Once she finished, the magic turned into oil and sprayed outwards. The ground became covered in slick oil. The statue was struggling to maintain its balance.
"Now it's my turn!" Droy exclaimed as he took some of his seeds out of his pocket and threw them at the statue. "CHAIN PLANT!" The seeds landed on a spot of dry ground and magic circles appeared. Long vines sprouted from the seeds and wrapped tightly around the statue. It struggled to move, but couldn't budge.
"Now to finish it!" Jet exclaimed as he ran forward with incredible speed. "HIGH SPEED!" He ran up one of the taut vines towards the head of the statue.
"See that, Gajeel?" Levy said with a smile. "That's Shadow Gear's teamwork at its finest."
Gajeel chuckled. "Not bad at all."
The statue continued to struggle and pushed against its restraints. It finally managed to snap some of the vines binding its legs. The vine Jet was running up was one of those vines. Without something to run on, he started to fall.
"Jet!" Levy cried as her teammate fell into the oil bath below. "Are you okay?"
Jet sat up and rubbed his back. "Yeah, but I'm all covered in oil." He hopped to his feet and ran forward. "We'll try that again!" He ran up another vine, but with all of the oil on his feet, he slipped right off and fell back into the oil. "Damn it! My High Speed is completely useless!"
"Then I'll take care of it!" Droy exclaimed as he started to run up one of the vines. However, he wasn't even half way up before he stopped, completely out of breath and hunched over. He was wide open to an attack from the statue. With one flick of its arm, Droy was sent into the oil as well. "I knew I should've gone on a diet."
"I guess there's no other choice," Levy said. "I'll have to do it!"
Gajeel's eyes widened. 'She can't. It's way too dangerous for her.' He put a hand on her shoulder. "Forget about it. I'm taking care of this one."
"Gajeel, I can do…," she began, but couldn't finish before Gajeel started running towards the statue, the clock piece still gripped firmly in his hand. "Gajeel!"
"Gajeel," Panther Lily rasped as he watched the scene from above. He gritted his teeth together as he pushed back against Samuel. With his larger size, it was a simple task and was able to push Samuel into a rock face. Samuel was caught off guard and Panther Lily was able to free himself from his grasp.
"Impressive, brother!" Samuel complimented.
"Likewise," Panther Lily said as he pointed his sword at Samuel. "Are you sure you were an Exceed sent to Earth Land?"
"I was," Samuel replied.
"Then why side with the Legion Platoon?"
"Zentopia took me in and raised me shortly after I was born. Lord Byro looked after me as well. Repaying that favor to him and the Legion Platoon is far more important to me than anything else!"
The two charged each other once again, dodging blows and clashing talons with steel. Their battle soon brought them into the same room as the four Fairy Tail wizards.
Gajeel was almost to the top of the statue when one of its arms lashed out at him. He had no choice but to leap off and land on the ground by Levy. "Damn it! I've got to get up to its head somehow."
The statue continued to lash out with its arms, attempting to strike Gajeel and Levy. The two had to remain in motion to avoid being hit.
Panther Lily quickly looked over his shoulder. "Gajeel!"
"Entirely as calculated," Samuel said. "I will defeat you, brother, and that statue will take care of your friends. And once it's finished, I will leisurely take the clock piece."
Gajeel gritted his teeth. "Shit! I'm hungry and out of strength. Talk about a crap situation." He looked at the clock piece. "If I eat this…"
"Are you crazy?" Levy squealed. "That's not even an option!"
"Calm down! It was just a joke!" Gajeel shouted at her.
"Coming from you, nothing sounds like a joke!"
They were so caught up in arguing with each other that they didn't notice the statue's arm lashing out and striking the ground just in front of them. The two were sent flying and landed harshly on the ground apart from each other.
"Gajeel, run! It just wants the clock face back!" Levy called out as she pushed herself into a sitting position.
Gajeel grinned. "Oh, it wants it back eh? Alright then." He lifted the clock face and threw it at Levy. She squealed as it stuck into the ground just in front of her feet. "Hold onto that for me!"
"What the hell are you doing?" she shrieked.
The stone statue turned towards Levy, completely ignoring Gajeel's presence.
"Good statue!" Gajeel said as he ran up one of the stone tentacles towards the head.
"Go, Gajeel!" Panther Lily cheered.
"What?" Samuel exclaimed.
Gajeel leapt at the head and lifted his arms high into the air. They glowed with a grayish light. "DRAGON SLAYER SECRET ART! KARMIC DEMON IRON GOD SWORD!" His two hands fused together and grew into a massive iron sword. He swung it down at the statue and effectively slashed it in half. It crumbled into rubble as Gajeel landed on the ground. He returned his hands to normal and smirked. "That wasn't so tough." He then looked up at Panther Lily. "We've taken care of business here. Now finish up, Lily!"
Samuel was twitching. "Impossible! Inconceivable! There can't possibly be someone who eludes my calculations!" He grasped his head. "Without a clear plan, I don't know what to do! Incalculable! Incalculable!"
Panther Lily sheathed his sword. "Battle is dynamic. You must have the ability to react to anything that happens and then adapt to it." He smirked. "It looks like you still have a lot of learning to do, Sammy."
"Don't call me that!" Samuel demanded as he charged forward with his talons. He swung his right hand outward, but it was an easily avoided attack.
Panther Lily flew up and put himself behind Samuel. He grabbed onto his left arm tightly. "You've left yourself wide open." He swung him around before throwing him towards the ground.
Samuel landed on the ground with a small cry and, in a puff of smoke, returned to his small form.
Panther Lily returned to his small form and landed on the ground beside Samuel. "You seem to have some skills. Challenge me again sometime. I'll take you on anytime you like." He then began to walk away.
"I admit my defeat," Samuel said as he got himself to his paws and knees. He slowly stood up and adjusted his glasses. "I now realize there are people out there who defy any calculation."
"So you've finally realized your own inexperience?" Panther Lily asked.
"Not at all!" Samuel cried. "All I'm saying is that I didn't calculate enough before our fight! I lost today, but next time I'll calculate in even greater detail and show muscle-brains like you who's boss, brother!" He whipped out his book and a quill pen and began to frantically write. "Yes, I must log every detail of this latest fight!"
A tick mark appeared on Panther Lily's forehead as he ran forward and kicked Samuel high into the sky. "Who are you calling a muscle-brain?!" he shouted as he watched the Exceed fly out of the hole in the ceiling and into the sky.
Levy watched Samuel fly away. "I guess Exceeds come in all types."
"Brother, huh?" Gajeel joked.
"I am not his brother," Panther Lily refuted as he summoned his wings. "Come. We need to get moving with the clock piece."
"Alright," Gajeel said as he cracked his knuckles and lifted the clock piece from the ground. "But seriously, that was barely a fight. Remind me when we get back that I wanna challenge Nikolias to a fight!"
"I'm pretty sure he's busy," Levy said with a sweatdrop. "He's looking for a clock piece, too, you know."
Gajeel huffed. "Whatever. Let's just go."
"So this must be the place Lucy mentioned," Gracie said.
She, Gray, Juvia, and Lyon had reached the large stone ruins and had found what certainly looked like a door. It was gold in color and triangular in shape with a crack running diagonally across it.
"That's got to be the way in, right?" Gray asked.
"It seems incredibly suspicious," Lyon said warily.
"I agree with Lyon," Gracie said with a nod. "There's no way this is just a simple way in. There's a catch."
"But we have to enter," Juvia said.
"I forbid it!" The four mages jumped at the sudden voice and looked towards it. It came from a rock golem within the stone walls just above the door. It had a large head with one glowing blue eye and two large arms. "I forbid you to enter!"
"It appears that the door has a guardian," Juvia said.
"There's always a catch," Gracie sighed.
Gray and Lyon both took their Maker stances as ice particles danced in their palms. "Sorry, but we don't have time to play!" Lyon called out. Just as the two Maker wizards unleashed their attacks, the rock guardian fired out its two massive fists. Their attacks hit the incoming fists, but simply disappeared. The fists continued forward, forcing the two to leap away.
"What the hell?" Gray cried.
"No effect at all?" Lyon said in surprise.
"Under my watchful eye, you shall not pass!" the rock guardian cried while retracting its fists.
"Their magic was nullified?" Juvia wondered out loud.
"This is getting annoying," Gray grumbled.
Gracie sighed. "Yeah, you're right. I mean, they could at least try to make it challenging to get inside."
Gray and Lyon leapt away from the next attack from the guardian. "Care to explain how a magic-nullifying guardian blocking our only point of entry is not a challenge?" Lyon asked.
"The freaking thing gave us the hint," Gracie explained. "How is that a challenge? At least let me work for it. Geez."
"You're not making sense, Gracie!" Gray exclaimed.
"Really? No one else gets it?" Gracie asked.
Juvia gasped. "Juvia thinks she understands!" She leapt into the air. "WATER SLICER!" she cried while firing a scythe-shaped water projectile at the guardian's eye. The attack hit its mark and with a cry of pain, the rock guardian's hands went up to protect its eye. Once it did, the door began to slide open.
"The door!" Lyon exclaimed.
"The eye was the weakness! Nice!" Gray complimented.
"Told you," Gracie said while walking towards the door. "It said 'under my watchful eye'. Talk about a freebie. That's no fun at all."
Lyon leapt to Juvia. "Great work, Juvy!"
"Please don't use that name," Juvia begged. "Also, it wasn't Juvia. Gracie had the idea first."
"But you carried it out like a mastermind! You're amazing!"
"Can we just go inside?" Gray asked as he followed Gracie.
The four entered the ruins and stopped in front of yet another door. This one was far larger and appeared worn. Atop the door was the symbol for Zentopia within a square border with hollow corners. Floating stone blocks with arrows carved onto them filled the room.
"These appear to be the ruins of a church," Lyon noted. "And that's the emblem of Zentopia up there."
"What are these strange floating rocks?" Juvia wondered.
"There are markings on every side," Lyon observed.
"Let's not worry about that for now," Gray said. "We need to split up and look for the clock piece."
Gracie put a hand to her chin. "You three go ahead and search. I'm gonna try to figure out these blocks."
"Suit yourself," Gray said as the remaining three split up to look for the clock piece. Lyon and Juvia went left and right respectively while Gray inspected the ruins of the church altar straight ahead.
Gracie hummed as she thought out loud. "This place is like one massive puzzle, so these rocks are a key. And those markings that look like arrows mean something." She reached down and picked up a small rock. She threw it at one of the floating rocks, but it refused to move. "Physical force seems to be ineffective, which must mean…hey! Hey guys, come back!"
The three hadn't ventured far so they easily heard her and returned to their starting point.
"What is it, Gracie?" Juvia asked. "Did you figure out the rocks that quickly?"
Gracie nodded. "I certainly think so. Hey Lyon. Do me a favor and apply magic power to that rock there." She pointed to one of the rocks. "Aim for the side with the arrow pointing to the left."
Lyon nodded. "Alright." His right hand glowed with magic power as he aimed it at the rock. The arrow marking glowed orange and the rock shifted to the left. "It moved."
"So applying magic power to these rocks moves them in the direction of the arrows," Gray said. "What does that matter, though?"
"I haven't gotten that far," Gracie admitted.
"Do you know, Juvy?" Lyon asked.
Juvia shook her head. "Juvy isn't sure…wait, didn't Juvia already tell you not to call her that?"
"Then what about a different name?" Lyon asked. "How about…"
"Would they just knock it off?" Gray growled as he shook with irritation.
Gracie giggled while patting him on the shoulder. "Aw, don't be jealous."
Juvia whipped around and stared at Gray with stars in her eyes. "Gray-sama is jealous? Oh, how I've been waiting for this!"
"We're not here to joke around!" Gray snapped. "We need to figure out what to do with these rocks!"
"Okay," Juvia said gloomily.
"Don't yell at Juvia!" Lyon barked.
"Alright, calm down boys," Gracie said. "This isn't productive in any way."
Juvia examined the door. "Juvia's been wondering this, but doesn't the Zentopia emblem appear strange?"
"Wouldn't know," Gracie said. "I've never seen the Zentopia emblem before."
"Wait, Juvia's on to something," Gray said. "It does look off."
"How so?" Gracie inquired.
Gray pointed at it. "The emblem is right, but I think the border around it is off. Isn't it usually in a diamond border instead of a square border?"
"Interesting," Lyon said with a smile.
"Could it be that the rocks fit in with the incorrect emblem?" Juvia thought.
"I think you're right, Juvia!" Gracie exclaimed. "I can see indents in the four corners of the border. I bet it's for the rocks! Give it a try!"
Juvia nodded as her hand glowed blue with magic power. She pointed her hand at one of the rocks, focusing on the side with an arrow pointing to the left. The arrow glowed and shifted to the left. Once it was in position in front of the bottom right corner of the border, she shifted her focus to the bottom of the rock where an arrow pointing back was located. That arrow glowed and the rock shifted back until it nestled into the indent.
"Perfect!" Gracie cheered. "Alright boys, look for blocks that have the following; an outward facing up, down, and right arrow."
"On it!" Lyon exclaimed as he began pushing rocks with his magic.
"What are we doing that for?" Gray asked.
Gracie winked at him. "If we have those rocks and if they're in the right spots, you guys can apply magic power to the rocks and force the border to turn."
"Oh, that's brilliant!" Gray remarked.
Gracie blushed slightly. "Hearing you compliment my smarts doesn't make me that happy, you know."
Gray chuckled as he began moving rocks. "Whatever. Let's get this done!"
Soon, all four rocks were in place so that the arrows all pointed in a clockwise direction. Lyon, Gray, and Juvia then pointed their hands at the rocks in the corners, causing the four corners to glow brightly. However, nothing happened. The three mages lowered their hands.
"Damn it, was I wrong?" Gracie wondered.
"No, wait! Give it a moment," Lyon said.
And sure enough, the border began to turn until it formed a diamond.
"Alright! Way to go, Gracie!" Gray cried.
"Oh stop," Gracie said. "Juvia had the right idea, too, ya know."
"Yeah, you're right. Great work, Juvia!" Gray complimented.
"Juvia is so happy!" Juvia cried.
Gracie smiled softly at the girl.
The Zentopia emblem began to glow brightly, blinding the four and forcing them to shield their eyes.
"Didn't see this coming," Gracie groaned. "I'm getting a little sick of bright light."
"Light mixed with magic power?" Lyon said in disbelief.
"It's so bright," Juvia complained.
"Are we seriously still not done?" Gray moaned.
The blinding light enveloped them for several moments before vanishing. Once it had, they were no longer in the ruins. Instead they were standing on larger versions of the floating rocks in what appeared to be an endless space. Also floating in the space were large square golden frames lined up one behind another.
"This is trippy," Gracie breathed as she looked around. "It's honestly a little uncomfortable. I can't see a bottom or a top or a side to side."
"It really is crazy," Gray agreed.
"So that fancy mechanism is used for teleporting things to this space," Lyon said as he looked around.
"There are so many arrow rocks here," Juvia said. "Do you think we're supposed to pass through those gate-looking things?"
"I'll bet anything that the clock piece or whatever it is must be at the end of these gates," Lyon said as his right hand glowed with magic power.
"So make a path with these rocks then," Gray said while activating his magic power.
"Most likely," Juvia said while activating her magic power as well.
With all three of them working together, the rocks quickly moved to form a path through the gates as far as they could see.
"Nicely done, guys!" Gracie said as she began running ahead. "C'mon, let's go!"
The three walked after her.
"Gracie, please slow down!" Juvia begged, but the blonde swordswoman just kept running.
"Who thought up this elaborate nonsense?" Gray asked while putting his hands behind his head.
"Who knows, but it's irrelevant," Lyon said.
The group reached the end of the path they had created, but before they could add to the path…
"Spicy!" came a man's voice from above. The group froze and looked up to see a tall, thin man with golden hair that stuck out like an arm in front of his forehead. He wore dark sunglasses and he was dressed in a white leather long sleeved suit with golden tassels on the arms. The suit was open partly, revealing a rather large sternum bush that matched his hair. In his hand he was clutching a long wooden staff with a square head.
"Sugar Boy!" Gray exclaimed. "Oh hell no."
"That's me," Sugar Boy said.
"What are you doing here?" Gray demanded.
"I knew how to reach the church's entrance thanks to Samuel," Sugar Boy explained. "But no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't figure out how to get into this area. You four are some smart cookies. You've saved me a whole lot of trouble!"
Gracie, Gray, Juvia, and Lyon each leapt onto one of the floating blocks that surrounded Sugar Boy. "Is he the enemy?" Lyon asked.
"So you followed us, you bastard!" Gray shouted.
"I have no more use for you guys now that I'm inside. This is Zentopia territory, after all," Sugar Boy said. "And it's because of that little detail that I have an idea of where the clock piece is."
"You're not going anywhere!" Juvia exclaimed.
Sugar Boy struck a pose with his wooden stick. "Spicy! Just sit back and watch!" He moved the square head of his stick to his mouth. "Hey! Sit, boys and girls!" he cried as his voice echoed. Green slime began to ooze out of his clothing and shot towards the wizards.
"Shit!" Gray cursed as he leapt away right before the block he was standing on was enveloped by the slime.
"Whoops!" Gracie said as she back flipped out of harm's way right before the same thing happened to her block.
Lyon and Juvia, however, were not as quick to react. The slime wrapped around them, covering them from the shoulders down and holding them in place.
"What is this?" Lyon cried.
"This is so disgusting!" Juvia squealed.
"No! Juvia! Lyon!" Gracie cried.
"Crap, it got them! That's his magic," Gray said.
Sugar Boy snapped his fingers. "Yep! With my Dog Whistle magic, I can control these pretty hound dogs however I wish."
"Those are dogs?" Gracie asked in bewilderment.
"Now that you're all tied up," Sugar Boy said as his stick glowed green. He pointed it at the rocks and forced them to add to the path. "Bye bye." He then began to use his slime to rapidly slide along the path as it was created. He chuckled. "I wonder; can you keep up with me, ice boy?"
"Shit, he's getting away!" Gracie shouted.
"Hang on!" Gray said as he used his Ice Make magic to try and freeze the slime that had trapped Lyon and Juvia. "I'll free you two by freezing and shattering this slime!"
"Never mind us, Gray," Lyon said.
"Please go after him, darling!" Juvia begged.
Gray stopped his magic and looked away. "Fine. But just so you know, that slime absorbs magic power and physical strength. Be careful."
Lyon huffed. "Who do you think you're talking to? We studied under Ur, remember? This situation shouldn't be too problematic."
Gray nodded. "Good point." He took off running after Sugar Boy. "I'm gonna make you regret the day you decided to mess with Fairy Tail!"
"Gray, wait!" Gracie called out while grabbing onto his sleeve as he ran by.
"What?" Gray asked as he stopped. "He's getting away!"
"Would you calm down and listen to me? I noticed something," Gracie said.
"What? What did you notice?"
She began pulling him in the opposite direction that Sugar Boy had gone. "Follow me!"
"But Gracie, he's going the other way!"
"Do you trust me?" she asked without turning around.
He paused for a moment. "You know I do. More than anything."
She looked over her shoulder and gave him a soft smile. "Good. Then trust me here, okay?"
He nodded. "Alright."
Sugar Boy looked over his shoulder, but saw no sign of Gray or any of the others. He hummed. "I guess he couldn't keep up with me after all." His slime stopped moving and he stopped trying to continue the path. He fully turned around. "That's pretty disappointing, but I guess he was all talk." He turned back around, but was surprised by what he saw.
The path was now complete save for a small gap. And standing on the other side of the small gap was Gray and Gracie.
Gray smirked. "That was tough, but it looks like we caught up to you!"
"I see," Sugar Boy said. "So you noticed that these gates form a loop, eh? Pretty impressive."
"Why thank you," Gracie said while summoning her katanas. "But it was pretty easy to spot as long as you pay attention."
Sugar Boy lifted his stick and used his magic power to control one of the blocks. "I guess I will have to finish you off after all!" he cried while commanding the block to fly forward.
Gray used his magic power to control a different block. "I'll beat you senseless just like I did in Edolas!" he shouted as he commanded his block to fly forward as well.
The two blocks crashed into each other before falling straight down and filling in the small gap. As soon as the blocks had fit into place, the entire path began to glow a bright yellow.
"Freaking…another light?" Gracie exclaimed. "What now?"
As soon as the entire path was illuminated, the center of the loop began to glow brightly as well. And in the very center floated a clock piece.
"Is that the clock piece?" Gray asked.
"Looks like it!" Gracie said happily. Her head then tilted to the side. "Although I have no idea how we're gonna get it when it's all the way over there in the middle of empty space."
"Wonderful," Sugar Boy breathed.
"Gracie, we can't let him have it!" Gray said while throwing off his shirt.
"So you plan to blind him with your pecs?" she asked sarcastically.
"Why are you stripping?" Sugar Boy cried.
"It should be obvious, especially to you Gracie," Gray said. "It means I'm ready to do this!"
Sugar Boy blushed. "I…I don't know how to respond to that!" he exclaimed while biting his fingers.
Gray raised an eyebrow. "Huh?"
"Unbelievable!" Sugar Boy shouted while leaning backwards slightly. "What…What is this excitement that stirs in my heart?"
Gray's face fell. "I'm beyond confused."
"Apparently you have a body that can launch a thousand ships," Gracie snickered.
"That doesn't make things any clearer!" Gray retorted.
Sugar Boy shook his head violently and held his stick up to his lips. "Fetch, doggies!" he shouted. His slime responded by carrying him across the void below and towards the clock piece.
"Shit, he's going for it!" Gracie cried while tightly gripping the hilts of her blades. "And I can't even chase after him on that slime."
Gray leapt after him. "Not so fast!" he yelled while using his Ice Make magic to freeze the slime and Sugar Boy's feet.
Sugar Boy inspected the ice. "Oh, spicy! Or rather, cold."
"Nice, Gray!" Gracie complimented as she ran up the frozen slime. "Now I'm in this!"
Gray chuckled as he leapt back onto the path. He then put his hands against the stone. "ICE MAKE FLOOR!" Ice shot out from the stones and began to form a bridge leading to the clock piece. He darted up the bridge. "I've got it, Gracie! You watch him."
"If you say so," Gracie huffed. "But where's he gonna go when he's all frozen like this?"
Sugar Boy laughed. "I've got tricks, too." He began to thrust his hips back and forth rapidly. "Hot! Hot, hot, hot, hot, yes!" As he moved, his slime began to turn red and the ice began to emit steam. "Hot! Hot boy, yes! Hot boy, yes!"
Gracie could feel the ice beneath her melting. "Shit," she hissed as she leapt for Gray's ice bridge, just barely managing to keep her footing on the slippery surface. "He can do that?"
Soon, the ice had completely melted and the slime began carrying Sugar Boy back up to the clock piece.
"No way!" Gray said as he looked over his shoulder.
"I got it!" Sugar Boy said as he leapt for the clock piece.
"No way in hell am I letting you take it!" Gray said as he, too, leapt for it.
"Gray!" Gracie cried in fear. There was nowhere to go once he got the piece. Was he planning on falling with it? She ran with all of her strength up the ice bridge. 'I have to try and save him! I won't let him fall!' She leapt for Gray, just managing to grab hold of his leg.
Both Gray and Sugar Boy grabbed the clock piece simultaneously. As soon as their hands made contact, a bright light filled the area. And once it had faded, Sugar Boy, Gray, Gracie, and the clock piece had all vanished. All that remained was a small, slowly sinking star of light.
"What?" Lyon asked in confusion. He could see the light and the bridges from his imprisonment and was shocked to see Gray and the others disappear like that.
"They vanished," Juvia said.
"I doubt they vanished," Lyon said. "They likely returned to where we were before. And that means…"
"That we need to jump into that light as well!" Juvia finished.
Lyon looked up with stars in his eyes. "Spending the rest of my life here with Juvy…that doesn't sound bad at all."
"That is bad!" Juvia exclaimed.
Lyon closed his eyes and turned his head. "Don't be angry. I was only kidding."
Juvia sighed. "Juvia is exhausted."
"It must be from this magic slime."
"Juvia doubts that is the cause."
Lyon moved within the slime to take his Maker stance. "Well I guess now is the time to get serious!" Ice particles began dancing around him intensely.
Juvia gasped. "Juvia knows that stance. That's the Iced Shell! You can't be thinking…"
"Don't worry," Lyon interrupted. "I'm only releasing magic power. Concentrate on not getting caught up in it."
"R…Right."
The ice continued to swirl around and the slime began to freeze. Before long, it was frozen solid, making it a simple task for Lyon to shatter it from the inside and freeing the two.
"It shattered!" Juvia said in amazement. She looked at Lyon, his face serious as small flakes of ice fell slowly around him. She found that she couldn't tear her eyes off of him.
"Let's go," Lyon said, breaking Juvia from her trance.
Juvia felt her face get very hot.
"What's the matter?" Lyon asked while leaning forward.
Juvia screamed at the extreme discomfort she was feeling inside at having his face so close to hers. She leapt to her feet and turned around while pointing. "It's nothing! Now let's hurry back to my lovely Gray!"
Lyon pointed behind him. "That's fine, but the exit is that way."
Back in the former room of ruins, Sugar Boy was pulling on one end of the clock piece while a shirtless Gray pulled on the other end. Gracie stood to the side, sighing at the stupidity of the two men.
"Give me the clock piece, dammit!" Gray grunted.
"Like I'd really give it to you," Sugar Boy said.
"Just back off already or else!"
Sugar Boy gasped. 'Or else…he might fall for me!' He threw his head back. "Yes! I like you, too!"
Gray's eyes widened. "What the hell? I'm not like that, just so you know!"
Sugar Boy swayed slightly. "Your heart is as cold as your body I guess, ice boy."
"Alright, I've seen enough," Gracie sighed. "This started off a little funny, but it's not anymore." She dashed forward with incredible speed and rammed the hilt of one of her katanas into the base of Sugar Boy's skull. His face froze and his body went limp as he crumpled to the floor. "Honestly, you're such an odd ball."
"Why couldn't you have done that earlier?" Gray asked as he held the clock piece under his arm.
"Like I said, it was funny at first," Gracie said while sticking her tongue out at him.
"Man, you're annoying sometimes," he grumbled.
"Maybe, but that's why you love me!"
"Get real," he said quietly, but he couldn't stop his face from turning bright red.
"Gray-sama! Gracie!" Juvia called out. Gray and Gracie looked up to see her and Lyon standing atop the ruins of the church altar.
"Hey, you two made it out okay!" Gracie cheered. "I'd call this a complete win then."
"I would agree," Lyon said as he and Juvia leapt down to join the other two. "We have the clock piece." He looked down at Sugar Boy. "Is he…?"
"Unconscious," Gracie answered before he could finish. "I was careful not to kill him."
"What should we do about him?" Juvia asked.
Gray placed the clock piece on top of his shoulder to carry it. "Just leave him. We've gotta meet up with the others with this."
"Right," Gracie said while standing rigid and saluting. "Mission complete!"
"We made it. Finally!" Wendy sighed. "I thought we were lost for a while there."
"It certainly took a while to get out of that forest," Cana laughed. "Those signs were awful!"
"The Sorcery Library," Carla said as she looked the tall, narrow, spiral-like building over. "They say that there are countless texts on every type of magic stored here."
"It's humongous," Cana noted. "I never imagined that it would be this big."
"It certainly doesn't look like it's a very popular spot," Wendy said.
"Such a shame, too. All of that knowledge from the past to the present," Carla said sadly.
Erza quietly lifted her hand, using magic power to force the circular door to slowly slide open. The four walked inside and immediately gasped as the door slid closed behind them. There were books everywhere, lining every wall and disappearing into the darkness above. There were several walkways running between bookshelves with ladders and paths along the sides to reach every possible corner of the library.
"These are all magic books?" Cana said with shock. "There are so many!"
Carla smiled with excitement. "It's far more impressive than I ever could have imagined!"
"Levy would love this place," Wendy said.
Erza walked up to a row of books. "They're all quite old," she said softly while carefully pulling out a large green text. She opened it up and skimmed the contents. "Fascinating. This book is mentioning a very ancient magic, but I can't recognize the language."
Cana pulled out a book as well. "It's hard to believe that every single book in here relates to some kind of magic that may not even be used anymore."
Wendy went to a different shelf and pulled out a book. She skimmed through the contents until she arrived at something rather surprising. "Everyone, look! This book mentions Half-Dragons!"
"Are you sure?" Cana asked as she and Erza made their way over to examine the book.
"Half-Dragons don't use magic, child. Why would they be mentioned in here?" Carla asked.
"I'm not sure, but here it is!" Wendy said. She found herself feeling rather excited to possibly learn even more about Half-Dragons.
"Well what does it say?" Erza asked.
"Let's see…'Very little is known about Half-Dragons,'" Wendy began to read. "'This now extinct breed was the result of a dragon and a human performing a special ritual. Performing this ritual gave the human the ability to take a dragon's form and use its abilities. Their strength, speed, and cunning made them dangerous predators that threatened the very existence of the human race. They blended in to human society and worked to destroy humanity from the inside, thinking that no one would be the wiser. The most dangerous Half-Dragon was one called the Dark Dragon of Death. Believed to be the leader of the pack, he soared on black wings and breathed black fire. He relished in the torture of humans and their screams of pain. On countless occasions he attempted to earn the trust of the people, but they were far too wise for his tricks. Failing infuriated him and he vowed vengeance.
'The Half-Dragons had no magic abilities, so finding a weakness bordered the impossible. If not for the incredible heroics of one Dr. Gorn, this town of Shile—no, this world as we know it would have burned to ashes.'" Wendy closed the book. "That's all there is."
"Not exactly a believable or historical piece," Carla said with her small arms crossed.
"Everything in there—except for how Half-Dragons came to be and the fact they don't use magic—was complete bullshit," Cana said. "And Dark Dragon of Death? Was that supposed to be talking about Nikolias?"
"It's unfortunate that this may be the only document printed about Half-Dragons and it's short and very inaccurate," Erza said while shaking her head. "Perhaps we should convince Nikolias to write a history of Half-Dragons to correct this crime against history."
"It may not be true, but according to Nikolias this was how people did view him and all of his friends," Wendy said sadly as she slid the book back into place. "They saw the Half-Dragons as threats. It also sounded like a citizen of Shile wrote this."
"True," Erza said before turning around. "Alright, enough sightseeing. We must remember why we came here."
"Looking for the treasure, right?" came a disembodied voice that echoed in the tall building.
The four immediately stood at alert. "Who's there?" Erza demanded. "Show yourself!"
From the darkness of a corner emerged three muscular men. One of them had shoulder length blonde hair, blonde sideburns, and a gray wool cap. He wore a matching gray wool sleeveless sweater, dark gray slacks, and brown boots. A large shovel rested on his left shoulder.
The second man had short, spiked brown hair that stood straight up. A silver cross earring dangled from his left ear and he had dark sunglasses on in spite of the darkness of the room. He wore a red tank top, black slacks, and brown boots. He was snickering as he leaned against a large, dirt-covered drill.
The third man was large, bald, and obese, but still very strong-looking. He wore a blue sleeveless jean jacket over a black T-shirt, dark blue jeans, and brown boots. He had a rather dim look on his face as he stared blankly at the Fairy Tail wizards. He carried a massive pail in his right hand.
"Hey there, ladies," the blonde man said with a wave.
"Who are you?" Erza demanded.
The brown haired man snickered. "We're with Silent Fang," he replied, pointing to an emblem on his right shoulder. It was silver and resembled a Wolf's Head. "My name's Bork."
"I'm Kyro," the large man replied slowly.
"And at center stage, you've got Jagger. The pleasure is mine," the blonde haired man said with a slight bow.
"Silent Fang?" Wendy repeated. "I've never heard of them before."
"We're a Treasure Hunter guild," Jagger replied. "We pride ourselves on finding treasures quietly from the shadows, so I'm not surprised that you never heard of us."
"Quietly from the shadows, huh?" Cana said while putting her hands on her hips. "Then why did you reveal yourselves?"
The three men were silent for a while. "We couldn't find it," Kyro admitted.
"Kyro, shut up!" Jagger hissed quietly.
"They must be after the clock piece, too," Carla said quietly.
Wendy nodded. "That would be a safe bet."
"Why are you looking for this treasure?" Erza asked. "It has nothing to do with you."
"On the contrary, it has everything to do with us!" Jagger exclaimed. "As proud members of a Treasure Hunter guild, any and all rare and hidden items are our business! We will find this magnificent treasure and raise our ranking in the Treasure Hunter guild community!"
Erza narrowed her gaze. "One more question; how did you get in here? I didn't sense anyone's presence upon entering and I never heard the door reopen."
Jagger adjusted the shovel on his shoulder and chuckled. "We have our ways."
"I see. If you're not going to reveal the information, then so be it," Erza said. "As for the treasure, I'm afraid we cannot allow you to take it."
Bork straightened up and raised his drill so that the tip was pointed at the Fairy Tail members. "You've got that ass backwards, red. We can't allow you to take the treasure."
Hello everyone! Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Next time will wrap up the battle at the Sorcery Library and we'll see the last two Fairy Tail groups. There should be a lot of original content so stay tuned!
