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 84

"EXTEND!" Bork cried. Upon command, the drill in his hand began to spin rapidly. It stretched out as if it were made of elastic, rushing towards the Fairy Tail wizards.

"Look out!" Cana shouted as the four girls leapt away before the drill crashed into the ground, spraying chunks of rock in all directions. "I've never seen a drill that could do that before."

The drill, still spinning, began to shrink back to its original size. "Not bad," Bork commented. "Not many people are able to dodge my Beowulf. Those are some damn good reaction times you've got there."

Erza requipped into her Black Wing Armor and gripped her sword tightly. "Try as you might, we won't allow you to take the treasure within this library. The item is far too important to the safety of the world."

"If you take it, everyone will be in danger! The world will fall into chaos! Please don't look for it," Wendy pleaded.

"What a pathetic story," Jagger laughed. "Was that supposed to tug at our heart strings and make us quit the hunt? Sorry tiny, but if you believed that would work then you know nothing about Treasure Hunter guilds."

"Tiny," Wendy whimpered while putting her hands to her chest.

"I wasn't talking about your chest," Jagger muttered softly.

"How dare you upset Wendy," Carla snapped. "Apologize this instant!"

"Sorry," Kyro said slowly.

"Would you shut up, Kyro?" Jagger barked while slapping the man's large stomach.

Erza held her sword up at the ready. "We can't afford to be held up here. Everyone is counting on us. However, we still can't ignore these three. They would only hinder our mission."

"What should we do then?" Cana asked.

"We'll have to split up," Erza said, lowering her voice as she revealed her plan. "Wendy and I will stay here and keep these three occupied. While we distract them, see if you two can find the clock piece."

"Are you insane? There's no way I'll leave Wendy here to fight these dangerous men and they're questionable materials," Carla refused.

"Don't worry, Carla," Wendy assured with a tone of confidence. "Erza and I are more than capable of taking care of them."

"Are you sure, child?" Carla asked.

Wendy nodded and raised her small fists. "Absolutely."

"If you're sure that's the best course of action, then I'm on board," Cana said as she dug through her bag and pulled out a card with Cana's face on it. She handed it to Wendy. "Hold onto this. If we find anything I'll activate it." She turned on her heels and ran deeper into the library corridors.

"Be careful," Carla begged as she flew after Cana.

"We will," Wendy said as she kept her focus on her opponents.

"Some of them are running away," Kyro said.

"No shit," Jagger grumbled. "They must be going after the treasure. After them!"

"Right!" Bork cried as his drill extended after the two retreating figures. However, his attack was blocked by Erza, who had leapt in the drill's path and parried with her sword. The drill kept spinning and she struggled to hold her guard, but she stayed firm. Bork blinked in surprise. "No way. No blade has ever stood against Beowulf."

"You'll find me more than enough of a challenge for your peculiar drill," Erza said.

"I'll help, Erza!" Wendy said as she took a deep breath. "SKY DRAGON ROAR!" A pillar of strong winds shot towards Bork. Before the attack could land, however, Kyro walked in the attack's path and held out his pail. Every last ounce of wind was sucked into the large metal bucket before disappearing. "What? He absorbed my attack?"

"Sorry," Kyro said, "but my Muck absorbs and negates any magical attacks."

"For the love of God, Kyro, stop apologizing to the enemy!" Jagger barked, causing the large man to cower slightly.

Wendy's small fists shook. "First Dan with the Legion Platoon and now Kyro with Silent Fang. It seems like no matter how hard I try, I've been completely useless throughout all of this."

"Stay strong, Wendy!" Erza called out as she continued to hold back Bork's drill. "Don't lose heart! Believe in your power and it won't fail you!"

Wendy took a deep breath before her look of determination returned. "Right!" She leapt into the air as wind whipped around her arms. "SKY DRAGON WING ATTACK!" she cried as she thrust her arms forward, sending out powerful gusts of wind at the large man.

Kyro held up his pail and the gusts of wind were all drawn to it as they disappeared inside. "That won't work," he said. "Attacks like that are too easy for Muck to collect."

Wendy gritted her teeth. What do I do? My Sky Dragon Roar and Sky Dragon Wing Attack were completely useless! And I can't use the Sky Dragon Hurricane technique that Nikolias showed me in such a small and confined area. Oh, what do I do?'

Jagger was watching the fight and snickered. "Well, I think you two are enough for these ladies. I'm going after the other two."

"Right," Bork said with a smirk as he retracted his drill back to its original size. Doing this so suddenly surprised Erza momentarily and slightly upset her balance. He took advantage of this and dashed forward, swinging his spinning drill at her. She was able to parry it, but his drill was still visibly shaking her blade. "We've got these two chicks locked down. Go find the treasure!"

Jagger lifted his shovel off of his shoulder and tapped it against one of the large bookcases. A large hole immediately appeared and he leapt inside, disappearing into the darkness.

"How was he able to do that?" Wendy asked, bewildered that he was able to create his own space in the wall.

"Jagger's Grave Digger lets him create passages wherever he pleases," Kyro explained. "He's the ultimate Treasure Hunter."

"So that's how you were able to get in here without the door," Erza reasoned as she pushed against Bork.

"You got it!" Bork said as he landed a kick to Erza's unarmored stomach. She coughed as she was pushed back and Bork attempted to follow up by extending his drill to impale her.

Erza, however, was very quick and reacted in time to dive to the left, avoiding the spinning metal. Once she was clear she dashed towards Bork once again with incredible speed. "I've got you now!" she cried, blade drawn back.

The corners of Bork's mouth turned up in a smile. "Says you," he whispered as he quickly spun on his heels, swinging his drill around.

Erza noticed this just in time to parry the side of the drill, but the force sent her flying backwards into a row of books.

"Erza!" Wendy cried as she collected the air into her mouth. "SKY DRAGON ROAR!" she cried as she aimed for Bork, but once again Kyro leapt in the way and absorbed the attack with his pail. "Get out of my way!"

"Sorry, but I can't," Kyro said. "We have to beat you so that we can take the treasure."

Wendy glared at him. 'If only I knew more offensive attacks! I really need to ask Nikolias to teach me more…wait. That's it! How could I have forgotten?' Wendy took a deep breath and closed her eyes. 'Think back. Remember. Remember what it felt like. Remember!'


FLASHBACK

"Are you sure, Nikolias?" Wendy asked. The two were out on the large field where Nikolias had first taken her when he began training her.

Nikolias smiled at her. "I wouldn't have offered if I wasn't sure, now would I?"

"But aren't you tired? After all, you just got back from being locked up by Jarvan."

"Wendy, I'm fine. Fit as a fiddle. Stronger than ever. Don't worry about it."

Wendy nodded. "Okay, if you're sure." She bowed. "Thank you for agreeing to teach me more."

He waved his hands in front of him. "Please don't bow. I said I would train you so I will. Showing you one move isn't exactly my idea of completing training after all."

"Right!" she said excitedly. "So what are we doing today? The Howling Fang technique you mentioned before?"

He winked. "You got it. I think it's best to learn that one before any others."

"I'm ready to learn whatever you teach me, Nikolias!"

"Good attitude. Now remember, I can't demonstrate this one. I can only explain it so a lot of these moves will be more difficult to learn since there may be some guess work on your part."

"I understand and I'm confident that I can do it!"

He chuckled. "Atta girl. Alright then, let's begin!"


Wendy slowly lifted her arms above her head, keeping them rigid and crossing them to form an 'X'. Her palms faced the ceiling and her fingers were closed and pointed behind her. The wind around her gently began swirling around her, lifting her pigtails and swaying her dress. 'Remember what Nikolias said. Stay calm and feel the ferocity of the wind flowing around me and through me.'

Kyro blinked. "What are you doing?"

Bork snickered as he pointed his drill at Wendy. "What's it look like? She's surrendering. I guess we should spare her then, huh?"

"Who's surrendering?" Wendy asked sharply as her eyes snapped open. "I'm going to defeat you! Just you watch!"


"So I know we said that we would look for the clock piece," Cana said as she looked around the vast space of the library, "but where are we even supposed to look?"

"I haven't a single clue," Carla admitted. "This place is enormous and filled to the brim with books. It could be anywhere."

Cana sighed. "I know it's true, but hearing you say it out loud makes the whole thing seem a lot more hopeless."

Carla huffed. "Well excuse me for being realistic."

Cana placed her hands on her hips. "No use just standing around. Where should we start looking?"

"You're asking me?" Carla asked. "I'm still wrapping my head around the size of this place!"

"Very helpful," Cana mumbled.


"You? A pipsqueak like you defeat us? Hah!" Bork mocked. "Not a chance! You're outclassed, little lady!"

The wind began to swirl and collect above Wendy's palms. It compressed and began taking shape, growing larger and larger with each passing second.

"Um Bork?" Kyro said nervously. "I don't think she's messing around."

"Kyro, shut up!" Bork hissed. "It's all an elaborate show; she's all bark and no bite. Now stop worrying already. It's pissing me off."

"Oh I've got plenty of bite!" Wendy cried. The wind had now grown to incredible size and looked like the top half of a dragon's head complete with razor sharp teeth. The nose was facing the ceiling so every single fang was clearly visible.

"Bork, I don't think she's messing around!" Kyro shrieked.

"I told you it's all show!" Bork said, but he still couldn't help that sinking, uneasy feeling deep in the pit of his stomach. "Just get ready to absorb it!"

"Incredible," Erza breathed from her current position among hundreds of books. "The size of that attack…there's no possible way for them to avoid it. It practically fills the room."

"Now! SKY DRAGON HOWLING FANG!" Wendy cried. She thrust her hands down and as she did, the dragon jaw swung down with her as if the jaws were closing. The attack roared and slammed into the ground with incredible force, smashing the two Treasure Hunters into the hard ground and shaking the entire building violently.

"Kyro you idiot," Bork rasped from his body-shaped indentation in the ground. "Why didn't you absorb it?"

"Sorry," Kyro wheezed. "It was so big and wide Muck couldn't absorb it fast enough."

"You really are useless," Bork said before losing consciousness.

Erza pulled herself from the books. "Wendy, that was most impressive."

Wendy smiled brightly and giggled. "Thanks Erza! Once again something Nikolias taught me came in handy."

"It certainly was quite an attack."

"Anyway, are you okay? You really hit that shelf hard."

"I'm alright, but even if I wasn't there's no time to dally. We have to catch up with Cana and Carla to see if they've had any luck."

Wendy nodded. "Right. Let's go!"


"What is that?" Carla asked incredulously as books fell from the shelves all around her.

"It must be from Erza and Wendy," Cana said as she struggled to keep her balance. However, it was all for naught as she began to fall over. In a desperate attempt to break her fall, she reached for the nearest bookshelf. She fell into it, but instead of breaking her fall the bookshelf pushed inwards as she fell to the floor.

The shaking stopped. Cana rubbed her leg and looked up from the floor to see that the bookshelf had in fact swung in to reveal a long and dark passageway. "Huh. Well that's convenient," she said as she pushed herself to her feet. "It seems we literally stumbled into a secret passageway."

"Do you think the clock piece could be in there?" Carla asked.

"Only one way to find out," Cana said as she ran inside. Carla flew right behind her.

From the shadows in the library, Jagger watched the two Fairy Tail mages disappear into the dark path. He snickered. "I just knew they would lead me right to it." He pressed his shovel's head into the path floor and closed his eyes. He listened carefully to the sounds of Cana's fading footsteps and felt the vibrations through his shovel. "And now I play the waiting game."

Inside of the secret passageway, Cana and Carla both stopped and gasped. "That's it," Carla breathed. "The clock piece. We've actually found it!"

Standing on a stone pedestal was a massive brass clock piece. The middle section was golden and four large gold and dark gray arms lifted into the air as if they were flexing. Thick chains anchored it in place.

"Yeah it's great that we found it, but would you look at the size of that thing?" Cana asked. "How the hell are we supposed to get it out of this place?"

Carla hummed. "Good point. It certainly looks heavy."

Cana huffed while taking a seat on the floor. "Nothing we can really do but wait for Erza and Wendy. Maybe with them we can figure out a strategy."

"I suppose that's all we can do for now," Carla said as she flew to the ground beside Cana and sat down.

The two sat and stared at the clock piece, trying to think up a way to get it back to Fairy Tail, when suddenly a large hole opened up below the pedestal. Without the ground beneath it, the chains snapped free and in the blink of an eye, the clock piece fell inside and was gone.

"What the fuck?" Cana gaped as she got to her hands and knees and crawled to the hole. She looked inside but saw nothing but darkness. "What happened? Where did the piece go?"

"I have no clue," Carla said as she flew over. "Where on earth did this hole come from?"

"Who knows? Let's go after it!" Cana cried as she stood up and leapt into the hole.

"Are you insane?!" Carla exclaimed as she flew into the hole after her. She was able to catch up and catch her. "You don't know how deep this is. You could kill yourself!"

"But we can't just let the clock piece get away from us. We have to find it."

Carla began carefully lowering Cana into the hole. "Still there are safer ways of doing so, such as asking for the aid of someone who can fly."

"Right, right. Sorry. I got a bit ahead of myself."

The two continued to descend into the darkness until the smallest speck of light appeared below them.

"Is that the exit?" Carla asked.

"I bet the clock piece is in there," Cana said.

The two flew closer to the light and were soon out of the darkness. Once they were, they found themselves back in the library—in the exact same place where they had found the secret passageway.

"What the…how did we get back here?" Cana asked in bewilderment.

"That's not possible," Carla breathed. "We were flying down a hole."

"Wow you chicks are ballsier than I gave you credit for." The two turned to see Jagger laughing and the clock piece resting behind him. "I never would have thought you would jump down the hole. It definitely prevented me from making my grand escape with the treasure."

"He has the clock piece! But how?" Carla asked.

"Were you the one who created that hole?" Cana barked.

"How perceptive of you. Yes, I was the one who created it," Jagger said. He lifted his shovel from his shoulder. "This beautiful tool is named Grave Digger. It lets me create passages wherever I please, but the best part about its magic is that the passages don't have to be linear. They can bend and twist to my desires."

"You call them passages, but it sounds like they're more like portals," Cana said.

"That's another way to look at it," Jagger nodded. "I have to thank you two. If not for you, I never would have found the secret passageway where the treasure was."

"But I don't understand how you took it," Carla said. "You weren't in there with us, were you?"

"No I was here. I simply listened to your footsteps and felt the vibrations. Grave Digger can sense even the slightest vibrations through the ground, so once I heard you stop it was easy for Grave Digger to find your location. Impressive, isn't it?"

"Very," Cana said sarcastically. "Now give us back what you stole!"

"What I stole? Pardon me, but I don't believe this was ever in your possession was it?"

"We found it. That's good enough," Cana argued.

Jagger twirled his shovel above his head. "Alright then, let's play a game! Winner takes the treasure." He slammed his shovel into the ground and as soon as he did, a large hole in the path appeared below Cana and Carla. Cana began to fall, but Carla quickly caught her and brought her back to solid ground. "Not bad."

"You're no match for us," Cana said with a smile. "Create as many holes as you want. Carla can just keep flying us both to safety."

He clutched his shovel tightly before charging forward. "If that's what you think, then get ready to be proven wrong. I can still use Grave Digger to create a hole in you!"

"Wait, you can what?" Cana blinked.

With a cry, Jagger began to swing his shovel at the two. However, he found his attack blocked and the sound of ringing steel met his ears. "What?"

"Honestly, what a vulgar way to use a shovel," Erza sighed, her blade pressed up against Grave Digger's handle as she held back Jagger.

"Are you two alright?" Wendy asked as she ran up to the two.

"Erza! Wendy! You're alright!" Carla said with relief.

"How…How did you get here?" Jagger stammered. "There's no way you could have gotten past Bork and Kyro!"

Erza smirked. "Wendy took care of them without much issue. I think you underestimated her."

"You mean that kid can fight?" Jagger exclaimed.

"I may be a kid, but I'm still a Dragon Slayer who's the pupil of a Half-Dragon!" Wendy said with pride.

"A Half-what?" Jagger babbled.

"And now to say goodbye, Treasure Hunter," Erza said as she quickly changed the grip she had on her sword. With a fierce battle cry, she pushed upwards and using this momentum sent Jagger rocketing towards the ceiling. With a crash he broke through the stones and went sailing through the sky.

"Your timing is as amazing as always," Cana chuckled. "Nice one, Erza."

Erza shook her head as she requipped back to her Heart Kreuz armor. "It's only because of Wendy that we made it in time. Her skill has improved incredibly."

"Oh stop, Erza. You're embarrassing me," Wendy blushed.

"Well now that you're here, maybe you can help us brainstorm," Cana said as she pointed to the massive clock piece. "How do we haul this thing out of here?"

Erza chuckled. "That's simple. I'll just carry it with the rest of my things."

"Really?" Cana asked. "This thing is a lot bigger than anything else you've got in that cart."

"It will be no trouble," Erza said as she began to lift the large piece off of the ground without issue. "Come. We should leave now that we've gotten what we came for."


"This is quite an interesting spot," Nikolias said as he looked around. He and the Strauss siblings were near a large river. Cliffs surrounded it on either side and on one of the higher cliffs farther inland were two strange lakes. One was higher than the other and water was slowly trickling down the side of the higher pond into the lower one. Curved stone pillars formed a skeletal dome above the water.

"This is where Lucy said that the clock piece was hiding, didn't she?" Elfman asked.

"Yes it is," Mira said. "However, I don't see any sign of it."

"Do you smell anything, Nikolias?" Lisanna asked.

"All I can smell is salty water," Nikolias said while shaking his head.

"Maybe it's in the water?" Elfman offered.

"It's certainly a thought and worth a shot," Nikolias said.

"I can take care of investigating the water," Lisanna said. "I can use my Animal Soul."

"Alright. You wanna take the higher lake and I'll take the lower one?" Nikolias asked.

"Sure!"

"Alright then. Hey Mira and Elfman, keep an eye out for anything that may pop up, okay?"

"Sure thing," Mira nodded.

Elfman threw off his shirt and shouted, "Hell yeah! This is going to be so manly!"

"You're not going to be going in the water, so why are you stripping down?" Nikolias sweatdropped.

"I think it would be fun to get in the spirit of things, though," Mira said with a smile. "Lisanna and I did pack swimsuits."

"Why on earth would you pack something so random?" Nikolias asked.

"Oh? Are you complaining?" Mira cooed.

"When did I complain? I'm totally and 100% fine with you wearing a swimsuit."

"Okay you two," Lisanna said, already in her light blue, frilly bikini. "I'm going to get started looking."

"Alright good luck," Nikolias said as he took off his shirt as well. He ran over to the edge of the higher level lake and dove into the lower level lake.

"You as well," Lisanna said as she leapt into the air. In a flash of light she took her Animal Soul: Mermaid form and splashed into the water.

"I guess I should change in case they need me," Mira said as she went behind a rock.

"I'll keep my eye out for anything suspicious," Elfman said as he used his hand as a visor and scanned the area. A few moments later, Mira walked out from behind the rock wearing her white with dark blue trim bikini and joined her brother in scanning the area.

Inside the water of the higher lake, Lisanna was swimming around looking for anything that could lead to the clock piece. However, she also wasn't entirely sure of what she was looking for so it was difficult to know if she had unknowingly already stumbled upon it. As she continued to search, she came across a strange object in the lake floor. It appeared to be a large rubber plug with a gray chain. 'That's odd. I wonder if that could lead to something,' she thought as she swam over to it. She lifted the chain and pulled with all of her strength. Slowly but surely the plug began to lift up. The water began to be sucked inside as if it were going down the drain.

Inside of the lower lake, Nikolias was coming up empty. He had yet to go up for air because he didn't want to waste too much time resurfacing over and over. However, he was getting frustrated with the fact that he wasn't finding any clues. Suddenly, a powerful surge of water pushed up from the lake floor. The sudden force surprised him and pushed him towards the surface. 'What the hell is this?'

Mira and Elfman gasped at seeing the water level drop in the lake beside them and rise in the lower lake. "Big sis, look! The lakes!" Elfman cried.

"Lisanna must have found something," Mira said. Once the water had completely disappeared in the higher lake, Mira and Elfman could see Lisanna standing proudly by a large rubber plug. They slid down the rocky, slippery side of the lake and walked over to her. "Nicely done, Lisanna!"

"Thanks! But I still don't know if it did anything," Lisanna said.

"I think it did. Look!" Elfman said while pointing behind her. They all looked where he was pointing to see a large orange orb with a silver ring surrounding it. It was sitting inside a stone tablet, pushed so deeply inside of it that cracks were embedded in the face.

"That has to be the clock piece! Way to go, Lisanna!" Mira complimented.

"Oh stop, big sister!" Lisanna blushed.

The sound of splashing water caught the attention of the Strauss'. They turned around to see Nikolias leaping from the water, covered in water. He shook on all fours like a dog before walking over to the three. "So this must be why I was pushed around in the water," he said while running a hand through his hair. "Did you find it?"

"It's over there," Mira said while pointing behind them.

Nikolias grinned. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's grab it and get back to the guild!"

"I've got it," Elfman said while stretching his arms. He gripped the orb tightly and pulled with all of his strength. After a few minutes of strenuous pulling, the orb came loose. The moment he had it in his hands, he turned on the balls of his feet and threw it. "Manly throw!"

"Why the fuck are you throwing it?" Nikolias spat.

"I…I don't know," Elfman muttered. "I just did."

"Aw, you guys are the greatest!" The four Fairy Tail members turned to see Mary Hughes walking over to the orb that lay unattended on the ground. "Thanks to you I have the clock piece and I didn't even have to work up a sweat!"

"It's you," Nikolias growled threateningly as his eyes went dragon-like.

"Mary Hughes of the Legion Platoon!" Elfman cried.

"You followed us?" Mira demanded.

"You know it! I, like, totally thought it would be easier to let you do all the work in finding the clock piece and then steal it from you! I'm such a freaking genius! Well, it was Samuel's idea, but I still followed through so that means something, right?"

"You again?" Elfman snapped as he charged forward, activating his Beast Arm: Black Bull. "Give back that part!"

"Elfman, hang on!" Nikolias called out, but it was too late.

Hughes snickered and waved her wand across her body. As soon as she did, Elfman turned around and charged his sisters and Nikolias, firing a punch straight for them. They were able to dodge just in time as the punch crashed into the ground.

"Shit!" Elfman hissed. "Sorry!"

"There's nothing you idiots can do," Hughes said calmly. "As long as I have this baton, you're totally all my puppets!"

"Give it back!" Elfman roared. "As a man, I won't let you have it!"

Hughes lifted her wand. "Then how about this? You guys are brother and sister, right? Well, except for hot stuff that is. How about a little brother-sister rivalry?"

Shadows whipped around Nikolias. "I won't let you control them! Now lower your wand and hand over the clock piece before I break those tiny fingers of yours."

"Oh, scary!" Hughes giggled. "Sorry, but no dice. I'll be taking the clock piece now."

"Why are you doing this?" Mira asked.

"Why? How should I know?" Hughes said while shrugging her shoulders. She waved her wand around. "All I know is that everything will totally work out if we do what the Archbishop says."

"So then you're only doing what someone else is telling you to do?" Lisanna asked while crossing her arms.

"That makes you the puppet!" Mira barked.

Hughes's expression darkened. "You don't say," she muttered. She then pointed her wand right at Mira. "If that's the case, then I'll totally make you a puppet, too!" Her wand began to glow with yellow magic as one of the bent fingers began to crack and straighten. She whipped her wand around violently. As soon as she did, the same yellow magic consumed Mira.

Mira cried in pain as she felt her body burn like fire. She then froze for but a moment. And then her body glowed a dark purple. Her eyes became a hollow black as a dark purple light emanated from her mouth. She screamed, her cries echoing darkly in the air.

"MIRA!" Nikolias roared as he ran to her side. He reached for her, but found himself repelled as he was sent skidding backwards.

"Big sister! Are you alright?" Lisanna asked.

"What's wrong?" Elfman asked worriedly.

"What did you do to her, you bitch?" Nikolias demanded.

"CONDUCTING ART, SECOND MOVEMENT!" Hughes said while lifting her arms into the air. "It's a prohibited technique, but I'm totally making an exception for you!"

Mira continued to cry in pain as slowly a form began to separate from her.

"Something's coming out of her!" Lisanna cried.

Elfman gasped. "No way…that's her Satan Soul!"

The dark light faded and Mira collapsed to the ground, unconscious. Standing in her place was her Satan Soul form. It leapt several feet away and stood hunched over.

"Mira!" Nikolias cried as he ran back to her. He scooped her up into his arms. "Hey, open your eyes! Mira, look at me!" However, she didn't move or make a sound.

Hughes sneered. "Now take care of these adorable siblings and their pal!" she commanded. Mira's Satan Soul straightened up and turned to face the Fairy Tail members. Its eyes were glowing red as it snarled at them.

"This can't be," Lisanna breathed.

Her Satan Soul charged them. With quick reactions, Elfman took his Beast Soul form and charged it as well. He tried to land a punch, but it quickly rolled underneath his attack. He attempted to follow up with another punch at its crouching figure, but it quickly leapt away to dodge. As soon as it was clear from the attack, it spun and charged a sphere of Darkness Magic in its hand before firing the blast at Elfman, sending him flying into the air and into one of the curved stone pillars.

"Totally awesome!" Hughes shrieked.

Mira's Satan Soul flew after him, slamming another blast of Darkness Magic right into his body. The explosion rocked the ground.

"What do we do now?" Lisanna asked as she trembled.

"This is so amazing!" Hughes said. "Anyone who defies the Archbishop is bad. And bad people have gotta be punished!"

Nikolias slowly lowered Mira's body to the ground. "Lisanna, keep an eye on her for me."

Lisanna looked at him. "What are you going to do?"

"What else?" he asked as his shadows whipped around him and he took his partial dragon form. "I'm going to stop this insane woman!" With that he lunged forward, charging Hughes at a breakneck speed.

Hughes wagged her finger at him. "Uh uh uh. You should, like, totally know better than to leave the youngest sister unattended."

"What are you talking about?" he growled. Suddenly, a scream hit his ears. He looked behind him to see Lisanna hanging in the air as Mira's Satan Soul held her up by her face. "LISANNA!" He dug his talons into the dirt to stop himself, spinning as he did so to turn around. Once he was facing Lisanna, he burst forward.

Lisanna winced as she felt her head being crushed by Satan Soul's strong talons. "Big sister," she whimpered before blacking out. Once she had lost consciousness, Satan Soul threw her limp body away.

Nikolias leapt just in time to catch Lisanna before she hit the hard ground. He lay her down and surveyed the area. Mira, Elfman, and Lisanna were all lying on the ground, unmoving. Hughes stood off to the side cackling like an evil child. And Mira's Satan Soul was staring him down, eyes glowing furiously. He turned his head to crack his neck, but kept his eyes on Satan Soul. 'I guess I don't have a choice. If I'm going to stop this psycho I'll have to get passed this imposter.' Shadows whipped around him as he lowered himself to the ground and crouched on all fours. He pushed off the ground hard, breaking apart the earth beneath his feet as he raced for Hughes.

He was almost upon her when Satan Soul leapt in his way. He grinded his fangs together. "You're not leaving me much of an option here." He shrouded his fist in shadows and leapt into the air. "Move out of the way!" he shouted as he threw a fast punch at Satan Soul.

But right when the attack was about to land, he felt his body freeze as his punch stopped just shy of Satan Soul's face. 'What the…' he wondered before Satan Soul's tail slammed into his stomach, sending him flying into a stone pillar.

Hughes laughed wildly. "What the hell was that? You, like, totally let my puppet hit you!"

Nikolias pushed himself from the rubble and shook off the dirt. 'Did Hughes start controlling me? But I thought that she could only control one person at a time. Does this new technique give her more flexibility?' He flew into the air. "What did you do to me?"

"Don't go blaming me for that, hot stuff," Hughes said. "You stopped yourself there. I had nothing to do with that."

He blinked. 'What does she mean I stopped myself? I definitely felt my body freeze, like I wasn't in control anymore.'

Hughes pointed her wand at him. "Now go get him!" Mira's Satan Soul obeyed, rocketing into the air after the hovering Nikolias.

Nikolias flew towards Satan Soul, shadows circling him like bands of black. "SHADOW DRAGON REAPER SLASH!" he roared while slamming his hands together. Multiple scythe-like shadow blades shot out, but as soon as they were about to hit their mark they banked to the sides. "Not again," he growled, putting up a quick defense for Satan Soul's incoming punch. He blocked it, but the sheer force of its punch snapped his arms like twigs. He cried out in pain as blood flew from his mouth.

Satan Soul quickly redirected itself above Nikolias and slammed an orb of Darkness magic into his back. The attack sent him plummeting to the ground with a mighty crash. Chunks of rock spewed out in all directions as a cloak of dirt rose into the air. It flew down into the cloud to try and finish him off with another orb of Darkness magic.

Before the attack could land, Nikolias leapt out of the dirt cloud and slid to a stop. Blood ran from multiple gashes all over his body and from the corners of his mouth. He panted heavily as his arms hung limply from his sides. 'I don't get it. How did my Reaper Slash miss? I've never seen that happen before. And then there's also my Fist attack from earlier…none of this makes sense. Why can't I…' He froze as his golden dragon eyes widened. 'I can't…I can't hurt her. It may not actually be Mira, but my dragon side must still recognize her Satan Soul as part of her. I can't bring myself to hurt my mate.' He shook his head violently. 'I need to stop thinking of it as Mira. It's not her! It's not her and if I don't stop it I'll never reach Hughes.' With a snap, his arms healed back into place and he clenched his fists. He bared his bloody fangs and snarled loudly. "I won't lose here! Do you hear me?"

Satan Soul erupted from the dirt cloud towards Nikolias in response, an orb of Darkness magic clutched in its hand.

Shadows consumed him as he roared in rage. "I WILL STOP YOU!" The shadows began to thicken. "SHADOW DRAGON DANCE!" he cried as he vanished within the shadows. Satan Soul went straight through the shadow cloud, finding nothing solid to hit. As soon as it was out of the shadows completely, Nikolias's clawed hand shot out and grabbed hold of its scaly tail. He used the grip he had to pull himself out of the shadows and pull Satan Soul towards him. He was quickly upon it, moving his arms under its arms and behind its neck to hold it in place and render its wings useless. "Be a good girl and stand down," he growled darkly.

"Hoh, not bad hot stuff," Hughes called out while waving her wand. "But it's not gonna be enough!"

Satan Soul thrashed in his grip, trying desperately to break free. Nikolias held on with all of his strength, but he was beginning to lose his grip. 'Damn, she's incredibly strong. I'm starting to slip.'

Over to the side, Mira was beginning to stir. Her eyes fluttered open as the sounds of groaning and grunting met her ears. She slowly lifted her head and her eyes widened with shock.

Elfman was lying beaten and bleeding on the ground.

Lisanna was lying unconscious on the ground as well.

And Nikolias was holding on to her thrashing Satan Soul form. Blood stained his bare torso and face. His jaw was clenched as he was clearly using all of his strength to keep his opponent in place. "Elfman. Lisanna. Nikolias," she whimpered.

With one final push, Satan Soul put just enough distance between it and Nikolias to land a sharp kick to Nikolias's right leg. Once again the sound of snapping bone echoed in the air as Nikolias's leg was broken. He cried in agony as his leg crumpled beneath him. The change in his weight upset his grip even further, allowing Satan Soul to easily break free, spin around and land a powerful roundhouse kick to his head. With a spray of blood, Nikolias was sent flying backwards and into the base of a stone pillar. With a loud crash, the pillar collapsed on top of him.

Hughes laughed. "I'm so totally bored of taking it easy on you four." She lifted her wand across her body. "Time to finish you all off."

"Stop this," Mira begged as she pushed herself into a sitting position. Her body ached, but she couldn't sit back and do nothing. "How can you be finding any enjoyment in this? It's cruel."

Hughes's gaze darkened. "I'm not some helpless lamb anymore."

"What are you talking about?"

Hughes pointed at Mira with her wand. As soon as she did, Satan Soul began charging a ball of Darkness magic above its head. "Now that I have power, it is my duty to erase all enemies of the Archbishop." She flicked her wrist. "Now you'll experience firsthand how grave a sin it is to defy Zentopia!" The ball of darkness widened and grew as Satan Soul prepared to fire.

Mira struggled to her feet, wincing with each movement. "Not if I can help it!"

"Don't bother!" Hughes laughed. "Your precious power is under the control of this Sacred Baton! Dance pitifully, Fairy Tail wizard!"

The ball above Satan Soul's head shrank to a tiny ball as the demon lowered its arm at Mira. It then fired a beam of Darkness magic right at her. The entire area exploded in a blast of Darkness magic, shaking the earth violently.

Hughes giggled. "So strong! Hell, this may have been overkill." Suddenly her eyes shot wide open. "What the…?"

Elfman and Lisanna's eyes fluttered open as they sat up. The first thing they noticed was a bloodied Nikolias standing in front of them with his Shadow Aura active around all three of them. "What happened?" Lisanna asked.

Nikolias looked at them out of the corner of his eye. "Good. You're both okay. Guess I got to you just in time."

"Just in time for what?" Elfman asked.

"You guys were almost toast. Mira's Satan Soul unleashed one hell of an attack." A wide, toothy grin split his face. "And now it's Mira's turn to return the favor."

Elfman lifted a confused eyebrow, but once he saw what was in front of them, he swallowed hard. "Shit. Mira, anything but that! Stop!"

"What is it, big brother?" Lisanna asked as she looked around Nikolias's wings. Once she saw what Elfman had seen, she gasped. "What in the world is that?"

Hovering in the air before them was Mira in a completely new form. Sky blue scales covered her forearms and most of her legs like armor. On each forearm was a fin-like protrusion facing outward and her fingers were sharpened like talons. A thick, sky blue, scaly tail whipped back and forth behind her shapely rear. Long, pointed, sky blue scales covered her now elf-like ears and stretched onto her face. A pair of majestic, angel-like, sky blue wings stretched out her back and curved upwards. Covering her body was a light and dark blue striped, one-piece suit that left the arms and legs uncovered as well as her stomach, a large portion of her upper chest, and her upper back. Pointed shoulder pads rested atop her shoulders. Her lips were a deeper shade of red. Her eyes were closed and her right hand was up with smoke billowing from her palm.

"Impossible!" Hughes cried. "She has another Satan Soul? Nobody said anything about that!"

Nikolias lowered his Shadow Aura and chuckled. "Bitchin'. This will be fun to see."

Lisanna and Elfman stood up. "What is that?" Lisanna asked.

"We need to get out of here," Elfman said as his eyes remained locked on his sister's impressive form. "That's different from her Satan Soul. You've never seen it before because Master banned her from using it! It's known as the Archfiend Halphas!"

Mira lowered her hand and her eyes slowly opened, revealing that they were now a darker shade of blue. "Thank you for protecting them, Nikolias."

"You can count on me to keep them safe," Nikolias said as he wrapped a scaly arm around both Lisanna and Elfman's waists and easily lifted them off of the ground. "Now kick her ass, baby!" He jumped into the air and glided back to give Mira plenty of room.

The corners of Mira's mouth curved up into a smirk. "Oh I plan to." She lifted her arms until they were parallel with the ground. As soon as she did, multiple beams of magic rained down upon the ground around Satan Soul. The earth erupted as stone slabs flew about. Satan Soul was able to dodge most of them, but still took some damage as it leapt back towards Hughes.

Hughes looked on in fear. "N…No way! This is totally cheating! You're, like, an actual demon! Like, for reals! That's so sinful and wicked!"

"If we're being completely honest, I rather like Zentopia's teachings," Mira said calmly, her cold gaze fixed on Satan Soul and Hughes. "Acknowledging and baring your inner wickedness and devoting every ounce of your love to others is such a wonderful sentiment." She lifted her hand above her head and a bright pink orb of magic quickly manifested in her palm. It almost immediately exploded and beams of magic power shot towards Hughes and Satan Soul. Satan Soul put up a magic barrier just in time to block most of the damage, but the sheer force of the blast pushed rocks and dirt towards them. "That being said, however, the fact that people who think like you do are a part of Zentopia is just too sad."

Hughes gritted her teeth and glared angrily at Mira. "Oh that does it! I've had enough of you!" She lifted her arms and her wand as her entire body became shrouded in yellow magic. The fingers on her wand cracked and straightened until all five fingers were completely unbent. The wind began to swirl around her as she cried to the sky, "Archbishop! Please forgive my sin, for I am about to violate the greatest taboo!" Satan Soul leapt into the air above Hughes before erupting in a dark red mass of magic. The magic power then shot down like lightning and struck Hughes directly, consuming her beneath a dome of bright red.

"What the hell did she do?" Nikolias asked.

"No clue," Elfman said as he shielded his eyes from the bright red light.

"Wait…what is that?" Lisanna gasped as the red light began to fade away.

Once the red light had completely vanished, all that could be seen was Mira's Satan Soul standing there with a smirk on its face. Its eyes were completely white. "Merging with someone under your control…CONDUCTING ART, THIRD MOVEMENT!" it cried.

"Is that…Hughes?" Nikolias asked.

"Yes! I now control myself in this form!" Hughes shouted as she took to the skies on her wings towards Mira. "A forbidden technique!" She threw a punch at her, but Mira easily blocked it with the palm of her hand in spite of the power behind it. She tsked at seeing her first attack blocked and proceeded to unleash a flurry of powerful, high-speed punches and kicks. However, each one was easily blocked.

Mira shook her head as she counter attacked and landed a palm strike to Hughes's chin. "You call this a sin?" she asked as she sent a powerful kick to a disoriented Hughes's stomach, pushing her back.

Hughes quickly redirected herself and flew back at Mira with an angry cry. Mira flew at her as well. The two collided over and over in various places at speeds that couldn't even be seen.

"Their attacks are so fast," Elfman marveled. "I can't follow them with my eyes."

"Big sister is kind of scary," Lisanna breathed.

Nikolias could follow every exchange of blows with his dragon-like sight. He couldn't tear his eyes away from the sheer power and beauty of Mira in this new form. He recalled what it was like seeing Chloe fight as a Half-Dragon for the first time. He recalled what it was like seeing Mira's Satan Soul for the first time, fighting that monster outside of Shirotsume. And now he was getting to see yet another breathtaking form from her. Normally, he would be itching to get into the fight and battle alongside his Mira, but he couldn't bring himself to stop watching. "You truly are amazing, Mira."

Hughes flew back and charged a ball of Darkness magic in her hands. "BEGONE!" she screeched while firing the blast at Mira.

Mira simply lifted her left pointer finger as pink magic swarmed the tip. A thin beam shot out and met the incoming blast of Darkness magic, easily countering it and breaking it apart. Several beams of Darkness magic rained down all over the area and destroyed it completely. The stone pillars collapsed. The water evaporated. The earth cracked and shattered.

"Shit!" Nikolias cried as a stray beam of Darkness magic was quickly coming their way. Without a second thought, he threw up a Shadow Wall to block the attack. Even his wall shook mightily from the force. "That was close."

"No way," Hughes muttered as sweat ran down her head. "I can't even scratch her!"

Mira suddenly appeared behind Hughes. "You've committed an even greater sin than this magic of yours," she said as she landed a powerful kick to her back. Hughes crashed into the ground with a thud as she coughed up blood. Mira then began to collect a sphere of blue and pink magic in her palm. "Namely, you dared to take my magic power and openly use it to hurt my little brother, my little sister, and my Nikolias!" The sphere turned into a large magic circle and a massive beam of pink magic shot towards Hughes.

Hughes screamed in fear at the incoming missile and then in pain as the magic power struck her full force. The very ground shook from the enormous blast. Nikolias had to use his Shadow Aura again to protect Elfman, Lisanna, and himself from the radiating magic power as well as from the debris.

The magic and the dirt cleared away to reveal Hughes lying in a massive crater. She had been forced from her union from Satan Soul—which had disappeared upon separation—and was barely conscious.

Mira flew down to the ground and stood above Hughes. "That, more than anything else, is unforgiveable!" she shouted as she pointed her right hand at Hughes and drew back her clenched left fist.

"Stay back," the girl rasped in fear.

"This is it," Elfman trembled. "Just remembering it makes me feel faint!"

Lisanna gulped. "What's she going to do?"

Nikolias was shaking with eager anticipation. "I can't wait to see this supposedly epic finisher!"

Mira sat on top of Hughes's hips. She then threw a punch that crashed into the earth just beside Hughes's head. The purple haired girl squealed in terror as chunks of rock were sent flying into the air from just a simple punch. Mira then raised her right hand into the air, her index finger and thumb making an 'L' shape.

"S…Stop," Hughes pleaded. "I'm begging you!"

Mira's hand sped towards her, stopping just above her face. Hughes was shaking in fear, her eyes wide as she awaited her inevitable end. Mira glared at her with a dark expression. And then…

"Bad!" Mira scolded.

Hughes went white.

"Bad!" Mira scolded again.

Hughes passed out, the fear and shock too much for her.

Elfman was on his hands and knees, trembling with fear. "It's so horrific. She once wiped out an entire town just to do that…"

"Then it's no wonder she was banned from using it," Lisanna chuckled.

Nikolias sighed as his dragon features were called back into his body. "Well that was a little dissatisfying. Where was the big kaboom to end it all?"

"I don't think big sister could be nearly as violent as you, Nikolias," Lisanna said.

"True." Nikolias walked over to where Mira was returning to her human form while standing above Hughes's passed out figure. "Nicely done, Mira."

Mira turned and smiled sweetly at him. "Thank you, Nikolias. And also thank you for protecting Elfman and Lisanna while that fight was happening."

"No problem," he replied before looking at Hughes. "What do we do with her now? Want me to end her?"

"No, leave her be," Mira said. "We need to take the clock piece and get back as soon as possible."

"But she's annoying and I despise her," Nikolias complained. "Can't I at least take a finger or something?"

"No," Mira said sternly. "Now please pick up the clock piece."

He sighed. "Yes, ma'am."


"So hot," Sky panted.

"No kidding," Lucy agreed. "This desert air is killing me."

Natsu's party had docked their ship and had begun their search for the clock piece on land. Lucy led the way and the group soon found themselves traveling through a desert. It was expansive with sand dunes as far as the eye could see. Hot, strong winds kicked up sand randomly and whipped it around roughly. It was no easy journey.

"I don't know what you guys are complaining about," Natsu said. "I'm totally fine."

"Yeah, it's actually kinda relaxing here," Ash added, her hands folded behind her head.

"This coming from the fire duo," Happy sighed. "Try to consider how everyone else feels."

"It is rather uncomfortable," Michelle said with a smile.

"Where's the clock piece again?" Sky asked.

"It could be anywhere in this desert," Lucy said.

"Boo," Sky pouted.

"Oh buck up, sister," Ash said. "It's not gonna kill you to be out here."

"Easy for you to say. Your body is made for heat. Meanwhile I'm sucking up all this dry, humid air and it's making me feel sick."

"Stop being a baby."

"Make me!"

Ash was about to make a retort, but something suddenly caught her eye. She peered into the distance to try and make out what it was. "Did anyone else see that?"

"See what?" Natsu asked.

"I could've sworn that I saw something shine over there."

"Could just be the sand," Happy offered.

"It's worth checking out," Lucy said. "You never know if it's a clue or not. Show us the way, Ash."

Ash nodded and ran towards the spot where she saw the shiny object. As they ran they could see a strange object in the distance. They moved towards it and stopped right in front of it.

The object was hard to understand. It appeared to be a large, old, brass floating circle that slightly resembled a clock face. However, there were several large gaps in the structure as if pieces had chipped away with the passing of time. The group examined it, straining to make heads or tails of it.

"What the hell is this thing?" Natsu wondered out loud.

"Beats me," Ash said.

Sky was poking her index finger in the gaps over and over. "Is it safe?"

"Who knows?" Happy said with a shrug.

"Perhaps it's an entrance," Michelle offered.

"An entrance?" Ash repeated as she circled the floating object. "Who died and called this a door?"

"If it's an entrance then how do we use it?" Lucy asked.

Natsu lit his fist on fire. "I've got an idea!"

"Just hold on a minute!" Lucy begged.

Ash smiled. "I like it! Go for it!"

"Don't encourage him!" Lucy snapped.

"I heard go!" Natsu cheered as he leapt at the object and punched it. It rang from the contact and suddenly, Natsu's flames disappeared. He leapt back with a cry of pain while grasping his hand. "Son of a bitch! That hurt!"

"It looks like it nullified your magic, Natsu," Happy said while patting Natsu's leg.

"Natsu, please start using your head," Lucy scolded while analyzing Natsu's throbbing hand. "Wrecking the thing will do more harm than good."

Michelle, Ash, and Sky were still checking out the entrance. "Is there some kind of trick to it?" Michelle asked.

"There's gotta be," Ash said. "All doors open somehow, right?"

Sky started poking the very center of the object. "What about this?"

Ash and Michelle leaned in. "Is that a keyhole?" Michelle asked.

"Great find, but too bad we have no key, Sky," Ash said.

"Well I can't think of everything!" Sky snapped.

"Easy, Sky," Lucy said. "It's so unlike you to snap like that."

"Sorry," Sky grumbled. "The air is making me cranky."

"Well we don't have to worry about a key," Lucy winked at Sky while whipping out Cancer's Gate Key. "Leave everything to me! Let's go, Cancer!"

In a flash of light Cancer appeared before the group. "Baby," he said slowly.

"Hey Cancer, do you mind unlocking this for us?" Lucy asked while motioning to the door.

Cancer snipped his scissors. "What, with my scissors? The very essence of a hair stylist, baby?"

Michelle squatted and began to cry. "Oh, this is all my fault!" she sobbed.

"How do you figure?" Ash asked.

"There, there," Sky said while patting the crying blonde's shoulder.

Cancer's brow twitched. "A maiden's tears…" He twirled his scissors and delicately inserted them into the keyhole. "I'll do it, baby!"

"That didn't take too much convincing," Lucy sweatdropped.

As Cancer futzed with the keyhole, the door began to glow with a bright light.

"Hey, I think it's working!" Natsu exclaimed.

"Way to go, Cancer!" Lucy cheered.

"Wonderful!" Michelle praised.

Cancer took out his scissors and struck a pose. "It was a piece of cake, baby!" he said while vanishing in a puff of smoke.

The door began to spin in place as the light grew brighter. And then suddenly, the light vanished and the ground began to shake as the door kept spinning.

Lucy gulped. "I've got a really bad feeling about this."

And just as those words left her lips, the ground beneath the group collapsed, sending them tumbling down through a tunnel of swirling sand. They all screamed in panic as they plummeted down deep underground.

"Sky!" Ash shrieked. "Do something!"

"Right," Sky breathed as she became one with the air. As soon as she vanished, strong winds coupled with sand pushed upwards from the dark below. The strong winds slowed their fall until the group landed somewhat softly in a pile of sand.

Natsu rubbed his head. "Damn, that was a close one. We could've been done for."

"Nice save, Sky," Lucy complimented.

Sky, who had returned to her physical form, blushed and nodded as she brushed sand out of her grayish-blue hair with her fingers. "No problem." She sighed calmly. "It's so much nicer down here."

Michelle looked around. The group was in an incredibly tiny room. The walls were built of stone and stretched so high that only a tiny speck of light could be seen pouring in from above. On one side of the wall there was a circular door with a brass outer ring and a brown stone center. "I can't believe the entrance was under the desert."

Ash put her hands on her hips. "We should have figured it was super hidden."

Natsu knocked on the circular door. He sighed as he removed his hand from the cool, smooth stone. "Damn it. It's just like the other crazy door. It's sealed with magic."

"I don't see a keyhole this time," Happy said.

"It's a puzzle!" Lucy said excitedly. "This is right up my alley! Don't worry, I'll solve this no sweat."

"Amazing, Lucy," Sky breathed with fascination.

"So how do we get it open?" Ash asked.

"It's probably designed to open after chanting the right phrase," Lucy answered.

"What phrase?" Ash asked.

"It could be any phrase, but I'll start with a standard one." Lucy faced the door. "Open, sesame!"

The door did not budge.

"Unlock, sesame!" Lucy tried again.

The door did not budge.

"No luck," Lucy said while scratching her chin. "We'll just have to try everything we can think of. Let's go!"

"Right!" they all cried. They then began to simultaneously shout their possible magic phrases.

"Sesame seed! Sesame roll! Sesame cake!" Lucy cried.

"Curry! Steak! Hamburger patty!" Natsu shouted.

"Grilled fish! Stewed fish! Raw fish!" Happy cheered.

"Caviar! Truffle! Foie gras!" Michelle said happily.

The door was still not budging.

Ash sweatdropped. "Why are they all shouting food?"

"Because food is tasty," Sky replied.

"But why would it be the passphrase to open a magic-sealed door?"

"Turkey legs!" Sky cried in her breathy voice.

Ash slapped her own forehead. "Not you, too."

"Then what should we try?"

Ash threw her hands in the air. "How the hell should I know? It's not like you can just say 'Please, Mr. Door. Open for us' and it will open just like that!"

The sound of scraping stone echoed in the small room as the door rolled open, revealing a long, round passageway.

"No way!" Lucy exclaimed.

"Sincerity was the key, I guess," Happy said.

"Way to go, Ash!" Natsu said while patting the orange-haired girl on the back.

Ash blushed while scratching the back of her head and laughing. "Oh, it was nothing. Not a problem at all!"

The group walked down the passageway, their footsteps echoing on the stone. Soon they came upon yet another small room, only this one was well-lit. The ceiling and the walls were covered in strange black stone cylinders. Each wall also had a large stone door with the symbol for Zentopia upon it. In the very center of the room stood a gray stone pedestal with a rather small, yellowish, flat, diamond stone sculpture of the Zentopian emblem.

"What's the Zentopian emblem doing here?" Happy asked.

"Well, these ruins that we're in are known as the Holy Tomb," Lucy explained. "It's mentioned in Zentopian historical documents and other such literature, but its existence was never proven."

"So that means we're the first ones here!" Natsu exclaimed.

"That must be why those annoying 'Actually Architects' made such a big fuss about us coming here," Ash said.

"Yeah, there is a good chance we'll end up wrecking the place," Happy said with a shake of his head. "Especially Natsu."

"Oh, get off my case," Natsu huffed.

Suddenly, the ground began to shake slightly and the sound of scraping stone could be heard echoing once more. The group whipped around to see the door they came through sliding shut.

"The door!" Happy cried.

"We're locked in?" Sky asked with fear in her voice.

"Not good," Ash grumbled.

"Don't worry, guys!" Lucy assured as she walked over to the stone Zentopia sculpture. "In adventure stories, situations like this call for…this!" She turned the sculpture counter clockwise 180 degrees.

"What's that going to do?" Natsu asked.

"It opens secret doors," Lucy said.

Natsu whistled. "Damn, you're smart."

Lucy blushed. "Oh stop."

All of the doors began to lift open, exciting the group. However, their excitement quickly faded.

"What the hell?" Natsu exclaimed.

"What are these?" Happy cried as he looked around.

In each doorway was an enormous stone face, some even with spikes.

"Creepy," Sky breathed.

"I think they're beautiful," Michelle said.

"In what way?" Happy snapped.

The stone faces and the black cylinders lining the walls began to move outward towards the group.

"It was a huge trap!" Natsu shouted.

"There's nowhere to run!" Ash cried.

"They're gonna crush us!" Happy whined.

Natsu shot flames from his mouth at one of the stone faces. "Take this!"

"Don't, Natsu!" Lucy begged. The entire floor began to heat up intensely.

"Hot!" Happy cried as his bare paws were being burned.

"What are you doing?" Lucy asked.

Natsu stopped. "Sorry! I thought it was a good idea."

"Flames don't solve everything!" she cried.

"What do we do?" Sky asked.

"I know!" Lucy said as she leapt for the Zentopia sculpture. "I'll just turn this back!" However, before she could even touch it, the sculpture and the pedestal disappeared into the stone ground. "What the hell?! Come back!"

"We're so fucked!" Ash shouted.

The stone faces and the cylinders crashed into each other, meeting at the very center of the room. They held closed for a few moments before retreating back to where they came from. The pedestal and the sculpture came back up from the ground.

And the Fairy Tail members poured out of the hollow nostrils from two of the stone faces.

"That was way too close," Ash said as she pushed herself onto her hands and knees. "We were almost flattened."

"How are we ever going to get out of here?" Michelle asked worriedly.

Lucy grabbed the Zentopia emblem and turned it clockwise 360 degrees. "We just have to turn it the other way…hopefully."

"Lucy, are you sure?" Natsu asked slowly. "You don't sound it."

Suddenly, the ground began to shake as the black cylinders from the ceiling began to descend upon them and the stone faces once more moved towards them.

"Now from above?" Lucy cried.

"Goddamn it, Lucy! Stop touching that thing!" Ash shouted.

"We've got no choice," Natsu said. "Get ready to get in the noses again."

"One problem," Sky said with a trembling voice. "The noses are blocked off this time."

Everyone looked at the stone faces and sure enough, all of the nostrils were sealed.

"Lucy! What do we do now?" Natsu asked. He turned to her and saw her hiding inside of Horologium. "Coward!"

"Is it time for punishment?"

Everyone turned to see Virgo wearing a swimsuit and posing on one of the stone faces.

"It's Virgo!" Happy cheered.

"Lucy, when did you learn to summon two Spirits at once?" Natsu asked.

"'I didn't summon her,' she says with shock," Horologium said, repeating what Lucy said inside of him.

Virgo changed her pose. "Princess is almost out of magic power. That's why I came using my own power."

"'Just make a hole!' she exclaimed with panic," Horologium said.

"Understood," Virgo said while crossing her arms. A hole suddenly appeared below the group as they once again began to plummet deep down into the earth.

"'Why does this keep happening?' she shrieked," Horologium said while falling.

"SKY!" everyone shouted.

"Right," Sky breathed. Once again she became one with the air and summoned strong gusts of wind to slow their fall. They landed roughly but unharmed on the hard stone floor. It was far darker and there were hundreds of human-like coffins standing in rows along the walls.

Sky took her human form once more and sighed. "I'm starting to feel tired."

"Sorry to ask you to keep doing that," Lucy apologized. She was now outside after Horologium disappeared.

"I'm happy to help, though," Sky said with a fatigued smile.

Happy looked around. "We're in another really weird place."

"Nothing to do but keep moving," Natsu said as he brushed himself off.

"Princess," Virgo said as she held out Lucy's Fleuve d'étoiles in the palm of her hands. "I was able to repair this for you."

"You're the best, Virgo! It was so inconvenient when it didn't work when I needed it," Lucy said as she took the whip. She looked it over and blinked a couple of times. "Uhm…Virgo? This looks like an ordinary whip."

"I improved it as necessary so that it would be more functional," Virgo explained.

"No kidding? Wow!" Lucy marveled as she reexamined the whip. "Thanks a lot!"

"Please take care," Virgo said with a bow before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

"I'm not seeing any doors," Natsu called out.

"Check out all of these statues," Happy said as he flew around.

"I'm pretty sure they're coffins," Michelle corrected.

Happy's face fell as he looked around at the hundreds of coffins. "A…All of these?"

The group walked over to look at them.

"Maybe there's a trick to them as well," Sky offered.

"Lucy can't touch them," Ash said quickly.

Lucy sobbed. "Normally I'd get angry at that, but after what happened before I can't really blame you." She squirmed slightly. "Still, the more you shouldn't touch something, the more you can't help but touch it." Lucy then noticed that Natsu wasn't with the rest of them. She turned around to see him glaring at one of the coffins. "Natsu, what are you…?" she began, but stopped short when Natsu lit his fist on fire and punched the facing off of the coffin. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!"

Natsu turned around and sheepishly scratched the back of his head. "Sorry. It looked so much like Gray that I just couldn't help it."

Suddenly, the ground began to shake.

"The ground is shaking?" Michelle asked.

"It's been doing that a little too much lately," Ash said nervously. "Now what's gonna happen?"

"It kind of feels like something is coming this way," Happy noted as he looked around.

"Look at that!" Natsu laughed. "I guess it was pretty smart of me to bust it."

And then from the back wall, a large boulder rolled down and barreled towards them. With a shriek the group ran as fast as they could down the hall.

"Smart my ass!" Lucy cried.

"I've got this!" Natsu cried as he turned around while running. His hands became engulfed in flames as he put them together. "FIRE DRAGON BRILLIANT FLAME!" he roared while throwing a massive ball of fire at the boulder. It collided with a crash and a cloud of dirt, but the boulder remained unaffected as it continued to roll towards them faster and faster. Natsu gulped and turned back around. "Nope, didn't work!"

"How many times do I have to say that fire isn't the answer to everything?" Lucy shouted.

The group continued to run until they came across three narrow stone bridges that were suspended over a deep, dark ditch. The darkness prevented them from even seeing where the three bridges led. The group stopped when they reached them.

"Which one do we take?" Michelle asked. "I doubt all three of them are real."

"We don't have time to hesitate," Natsu said. "I say we take the right!"

"I say left!" Lucy argued.

"I say the middle!" Michelle said cutely.

"We can't take all three!" Ash screamed. "Say something helpful!"

Sky squatted in front of the bridges. "I think it's the middle one."

"Good enough for me!" Ash said as she took off running down the middle bridge. The others quickly followed. As soon as they were all upon the bridge, the other two crumbled away and the pieces fell into the pitch black darkness.

"Sky was right!" Happy cheered as he flew along.

Ash suddenly shrieked. "GAH! What the hell is this nonsense now?"

The group looked ahead to see a second boulder rolling towards them from the front along the narrow bridge. They immediately stopped in their tracks.

"Oh come on! You can't be serious!" Lucy shouted.

"What do we do? There's a boulder behind and in front of us," Michelle said. "We're trapped while on this bridge."

"They clearly don't want us to pass," Happy said.

"It's a pincer attack," Natsu grumbled. "Alright! We're gonna have to jump at exactly the right time!"

"There's no way we can do that!" Lucy complained.

"It's our only choice, Lucy," Natsu said. "Happy, lift Michelle. Sky, you carry Ash." He then wrapped an arm around Lucy's waist. "I'll take care of Lucy. Ready?"

Happy grabbed onto Michelle. Sky's legs became one with the wind and she grabbed hold of her sister. "Yes!" they cried.

"Good, 'cuz here they come!" Natsu waited on the balls of his feet until just the right time. "NOW!" he roared while jumping high into the air with Lucy in his grip. Happy and Sky rose into the air as well, lifting Michelle and Ash, respectively. Just as they leapt, the two boulders crashed into each other and broke apart from the force of their momentum.

"We did it!" Sky cheered.

And then the bridge beneath them broke apart as well and crumbled away.

"Not good!" Lucy cried while holding tightly to Natsu. Without being able to fly or hover, she and Natsu were now falling into the darkness. "The bridge is gone!"

"Sky! Do you think you can carry us again?" Natsu asked.

"I can try," Sky nodded. Just as she spoke, though, a piece of the boulder hit her in the back of her head before she could become one with the wind. Her body went limp and she and Ash began to fall as well.

"SKY!" Ash shrieked while grabbing onto her sister. "Sky, wake up! Hey!"

"Oh no. Sky," Lucy gasped.

"What do we do?" Happy asked as he continued to carry Michelle.

Natsu's hand became engulfed in flames. "I'll grab onto something with my fire!" He threw his flames at the side of the ditch like a lasso. The flames took the form of a hand and stuck. He swung himself and Lucy towards the rock face and dug his one free hand into the rock.

Happy flew over with Michelle. "What about Sky and Ash?"

"I've got them," Lucy said as she detached her Fleuve d'étoiles from her belt. "Come on, Fleuve d'étoiles!" She lashed out with her whip and the leather lit up with magic. It danced in the air and reached out towards the falling sisters. It managed to wrap around the girls' waists. As soon as it was in place, Lucy pulled with all of her might to keep them from falling. She was able to, but the sudden tug nearly peeled her and Natsu off of the rock face.

"You're a life saver, Lucy!" Ash called out.

"Shit," Natsu hissed as he dug his fingers deeper into the rock, trying desperately to not let anyone fall. "This is really heavy now."

"Just hang in there, Natsu," Lucy said as she strained to not release her grip on her whip. "Ash and Sky are counting on you."

"Yeah, I got it," he said as his muscles strained to keep his hold.

"What do we do now?" Happy asked.

"We've really only got one choice," Natsu said. "We'll have to go down."

"But we can't even see the bottom," Lucy noted as she looked down into the dark abyss below. "Also we don't have Sky to carry us down safely."

"We'll just have to try," Natsu replied. "Lucy, shift so that you're on my back and hold on." Lucy did as she was told, shifting her body until she was pressed firmly against Natsu's back. She wrapped one of her arms around Natsu's neck and her legs around his waist. It was uncomfortable to have her arm against his throat, but he didn't have to hold onto her anymore. With his other arm now free he began slowly climbing down the rock face. "Don't let them go, Lucy."

"Right," Lucy replied as all of her focus went to keeping a one handed hold on her whip.

Slowly Natsu climbed down. Happy hovered alongside him with Michelle in his grip. Ash continued to try and wake her sister with no luck.

After about an hour of climbing, Natsu's feet touched the bottom. He released the rock and let out a long groan. "That was tough."

Lucy released her whip. "I thought my arm was going to snap out of its socket."

Ash had pulled the whip off of her and was trying to shake her sister awake. "Sky, answer me! Sky! Sky!"

Sky's blue eyes fluttered open and met her sister's gaze. "Oh, good morning sister. Where are we?"

"We're in the ruins, remember?" Ash asked with a relieved laugh. "Don't scare me like that again."

Sky sat up while rubbing the sore back of her head. "Okay."

"I guess now that Sky's awake we should keep moving," Michelle said as her feet touched down and Happy released her.

The group continued to walk through the dark ruins until they could see small lights in the distance.

"What could those be?" Sky asked.

"Beats me," Ash said.

They walked towards it and the lights grew brighter. Soon they found themselves in a large, ancient room filled with broken buildings and cracked stone stairs. Candles were lit all over the place and sunlight poured in from high above.

"This must be the lowest level of the tombs," Michelle said as she looked around. "It's magnificent, isn't it?"

"This place is like a city," Happy breathed.

"The monks who guarded this place lived their entire lives here, never once having stepped outside. At least, that's what the legends say," Lucy explained.

"You really are so smart, Lucy," Sky complimented.

"So you're saying we have to find the clock part in this huge place?" Natsu asked.

"Say Natsu, can you smell it?" Ash asked.

"No, it's just like with Lucy's clock hand. For some reason I can't really smell it," he replied.

"You're sure?" Sky asked. She turned her head and saw several skulls piled up. She immediately hid behind Ash. "Creepy."

"Yeah, they are," Lucy said as her spine shivered. "I just felt a chill run up my spine. I've got a bad feeling about all of this."

A scent caught Natsu's nose. He stopped and sniffed. "Speaking of smells, this scent…I know this." He looked up and his eyes widened. "Look!"

Everyone looked up and Lucy immediately ran to Natsu, hiding behind his back. "My bad feeling was right!" she wailed.

Standing on a higher level within the tomb and looking down upon them were Dan Straight and Coco of the Legion Platoon.