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 93
Natsu's eyes flashed open, a loud gasp escaping his throat as if he were awakening from a dream. His upper body shot up as dread filled his body. "Lucy!" His eyes scanned his surroundings swiftly, looking everywhere for the blonde wizard, but he couldn't see her anywhere.
All he could see was that he was in a cell. Smooth, flat, dull gray stones made up the walls, floor, and ceiling. Two flat, red iron supports crossed the back wall with foot long spikes decorating both of them. Crudely formed and bent iron bars formed a shut door, preventing escape. Two sets of bunk beds made out of cheap wood and less than clean mattresses were nestled against the two side walls.
Natsu ran to the bars and pressed his face against the cool metal. He peered outside, searching for Lucy. All he could see were similar cells across the way. He could also tell that he wasn't at ground level. There was a path with a railing leading to all cells and on the other side of the railing was darkness leading straight down. He gritted his teeth. He was gathering plenty of information about his situation—he was in a prison cell on at least the second floor of some building—but still nothing about Lucy.
He squeezed the bars in frustration. He remembered everything that had happened. Michelle had betrayed them. She had been working with Oración Séis the whole time, playing them like fools. No one suspected her, least of all him. He was ashamed of himself for not being able to protect Lucy.
Worst of all was that he had no idea what had happened to Lucy. Once he had been knocked out by Michelle—or rather, Imitatia—the next thing he remembered was waking up in this cell. What happened after? Was Lucy taken? Was she in danger? She had to be. They said it themselves; they were after her.
Natsu released his grip and clenched his fists. "LUCY? WHERE ARE YOU?" he bellowed. He punched the bars with every ounce of strength he had in an attempt to break them. However, instead of cracking or bending or yielding in any way, the bars glowed green and sparked with magic power. Natsu was suddenly pushed back by the magic power. His back slammed into the wall, just missing the spikes of the iron supports. He fell to the ground.
"What the hell was that?" he grumbled, pushing himself onto his hands and knees. "Some kind of magic barrier?" He managed to get to his feet and cracked his knuckles. "Alright. Using force didn't work. Let's try magic then!" He breathed in deeply, flames gathering in his mouth. "FIRE DRAGON ROAR!" Flames began to leave his mouth. However, before they could even travel an inch, the iron bars glowed green and his magic disappeared.
Natsu clicked his tongue and inhaled deeply again. He wasn't ready to accept that his magic couldn't break him out. "One more time!"
For several minutes, Natsu attempted Fire Dragon Roar after Fire Dragon Roar over and over again, but the bars made quick work of neutralizing his power each time before the flames could manifest. Out of frustration, he tried to kick down the bars, but was only sent flying again.
With a huff, Natsu sat on the floor and stared at his cell door. But while his eyes were fixed on the iron bars, his mind was elsewhere. All he could think about was Lucy. All he could think about was where she was and what she was going through. And so he racked his brain. He thought harder than he had ever thought before. He thought about escape and how he could save Lucy. 'If I can't break out and magic won't work in here, how can I get out? Wait for me, Lucy. Stay safe and I promise I'll find you!'
Outside of the Fairy Tail guild hall, the now regrouped Fairy Tail members met to discuss everything that had happened. Thick clouds blanketed the sky, blocking out all sunlight.
"You're joking. Michelle was one of them?" Ash spat. Small embers sparked around her body.
Elfman nodded. "Yeah. She played us all. And now Natsu and Lucy have been captured."
Tears stung Ash's eyes as her hair began to sway. "Oración Séis…I'll make them pay for what they did to Sky and Lucy!"
Elfman squeezed his eyes shut and clenched his jaw. "Damn it! All I could do was run away!"
"Don't blame yourself, Elfman," Mira said reassuringly.
"What good would getting captured do?" Gracie asked. "Besides, without you we wouldn't have this information. Chin up, big guy."
"The blame's not on you," Cana added. "My cards didn't foretell that Brain II would show up at Kardia Cathedral. But even before that, my cards didn't give me accurate teams. I'm sure everyone was out of step with each other, right?"
All of the gathered Fairy Tail members reflected on this and could only nod in agreement. They didn't fight as well as they could have.
"So someone was using your divinations?" Erza asked.
Cana nodded. "It seems that way."
Gray scratched his head. "This whole thing is damn frustrating."
The front door to the guild creaked open and out walked Wendy. She had been tending to Sky's injuries in the infirmary. She wore an expression of concern as she sighed.
"How's the patient?" Gracie asked softly.
"She'll be okay. She's resting now," Wendy said with a small smile.
"Where's Niky?" Gracie asked.
"Sky was holding his hand for comfort and then fell asleep. He's staying with her now."
"I'll relieve him," Ash said, walking back into the guild. "I should be with her anyway."
Wendy nodded at her before looking to the group. "So? Have we decided what to do about saving Natsu and Lucy and how to stop this situation?"
"That's a tall order, Wendy," Gracie chuckled. "While we all agree that everything you said is important, we're not exactly sure what to do or where to go. There's not enough information."
"I understand," Wendy said disappointedly.
The door sounded once more and this time it was Nikolias who walked out. He breathed out slowly and ran a hand through his hair. "So what'd I miss?" His voice was low and wavered slightly as if he were holding back a flurry of emotion.
"Not too much. Just that Michelle was a spy," Gracie replied.
Nikolias eyed her questioningly. "She's a what?"
"She's the sixth member of Oración Séis," Erza replied. "She was never a member of Lucy's family like she claimed."
Nikolias narrowed his eyes. "Well now I'm really confused."
"Why's that, Nikolias?" Mira asked.
Nikolias crossed his arms as he tried to sort his thoughts. "When…that girl came looking for Lucy, I could smell Lucy's scent mixed in with her own. I figured that it was because they were sisters, but when that girl said they weren't really sisters, I was stumped. I tried to convince myself that the reason was that they were still relatives, but it still didn't add up. The scent shouldn't have been that strong. And now hearing this…I'm completely lost."
"You're sure it was Lucy's scent?" Happy asked.
"Positive. I'd know it anywhere. It was definitely there. I just don't know why."
"Excuse me." A new voice came from behind the group. They turned and Happy was surprised by who was there. There were four men dressed like explorers. Behind them was a large, coffin like case shaped like a 't'.
"It's the 'actually' people!" Happy cried.
"Who are you?" Makarov asked.
The tall, middle aged man at the head of the group took off his hat and offered an introduction. "Actually, we belong to the Archaeological Society. Actually, we would like to meet with Lucy Heartfilia, actually."
Macao motioned to the guild. "Let's talk inside." The Fairy Tail members and the four archaeologists walked inside of the guild. Macao walked over to the bar and turned to face his guests. "So what business do you have with Lucy?"
The eldest man stepped forward. His entire body shook as if his frail legs were struggling to hold up his short frame. "It concerns an extremely important matter. We need to speak with Lucy Heartfilia directly."
"Yes, quite so! It has to do with the sky outside," one of the other members said.
"Lucy was captured by Oración Séis," Happy said sadly.
"What?" the elder man cried.
"Please tell us what you needed to speak with Lucy about," Erza said, stepping forward.
"Yeah. Anything you could tell us would go a long way. Even if it's just a little," Gracie chimed in.
The tall man hummed. "With circumstances changing continuously, I suppose hiding it any longer is pointless, actually." He scanned the room. "Have you all heard of Will Neville?"
"You could say that," Gracie said.
"Actually, my name is Jean-Luc Neville, the great-grandson of Will Neville," the tall man announced.
Everyone gasped.
"That's quite unexpected," Erza said.
"Actually, I was on good terms with Lucy Heartfilia's father, Jude Heartfilia," Jean-Luc continued.
"Now some of the pieces are coming together," Gracie said, putting a hand to her chin. "We were pretty curious how Lucy's father tied into all of this. If he had a connection with someone related to Will Neville it all starts to make some sense."
"Actually, I have devoted my life to seeing that the Infinity Clock stays sealed away," Jean-Luc said.
"Are you a Celestial Spirit Wizard?" Makarov asked.
Jean-Luc shook his head. "No. I just know of the history of the Infinity Clock because of my lineage. My purpose is to give a warning if there is a threat of chaos spreading throughout the world and to take any necessary precautions."
"Can you tell us more about Lucy's dad and how he actually ties into the Infinity Clock?" Nikolias asked.
Jean-Luc looked up to the ceiling. "Actually, it must have been several months ago. One of the hands of the Infinity Clock was discovered at an excavation site for certain ruins. The ruins themselves served the purpose of keeping magic sealed away. The Archaeological Society received word from the expedition, but by the time we arrived, it was too late. The hand had been removed and taken away. I was anxious. If it had fallen into the wrong hands, chaos would have been imminent. Actually, the clock hand possesses an extremely high level of magic that is easy to track down, so I moved with haste.
"When I located the clock hand, I met Jude Heartfilia. Somehow the clock hand actually had fallen into Jude Heartfilia's hands. I explained everything to him and he was very understanding of the threat the hand posed. He allowed me to handle things.
"In order to seal away the magic that the clock hand was emitting, I wrapped it in a magic cloth. Once I was finished, Jude searched for another safe place to seal the clock hand away. He made me that promise, actually."
Makarov hummed, pondering everything he heard. "I can only guess that Lucy's father meant to entrust it to her."
"Just how dangerous is the Infinity Clock?" Erza asked Jean-Luc.
Jean-Luc looked at her, his expression completely serious. "It uses powerful magic that activates the endless nightmare; Real Nightmare."
"Real Nightmare?" Gracie repeated. "What's that?"
"Actually, it controls the sense of time that humans possess, thereby controlling time itself."
"Such magic exists?" Mira breathed.
"Seems a little too crazy to believe," Gajeel added.
"It's difficult to explain," one of the other architects spoke up, "but it doesn't actually manipulate time."
"It's a matter of the human sense," the elder architect added on.
"I still don't follow," Elfman grumbled.
"The control of time is what's meant by 'chaos will descend'," one of the architects continued.
"And that is what brings about the end of the world?" Gray asked. "Sorry, but I just can't picture that."
"I have to agree with Gray," Gracie said. "I don't see how our sense of time can be screwed with."
Jean-Luc removed his hat and closed his eyes. "Think about this then. Right now is when, actually? What are you actually doing right now? Who is actually standing right in front of you? The Infinity Clock strips you of the ability to comprehend every last bit of your own mind. A person's memories and consciousness are actually an accumulation of all of his or her experiences up to now. If the connections between all those times are manipulated…"
"You lose all sense of self," Erza concluded.
"That's heavy stuff," Elfman sighed.
"I don't think 'chaos' describes it well enough," Gray agreed.
"The Infinity Clock is in the sky over Zentopia Cathedral," Makarov said. "I'm told that the root of the religion's worship comes from that."
"It's said that the survivors of the clock's chaos long ago are the ones who actually founded Zentopia," Jean-Luc said with a nod. "They managed to seal away the terror and have delivered warnings ever since. For a long time, its existence was actually hidden from Zentopia's history, but once every 100 years the magic it accumulated is released, often making it the target of those who wish to use it for evil." He turned to look at Macao and Makarov. "I'm begging you. Please take this job, Fairy Tail! Please stop the Infinity Clock!"
Nikolias stepped forward. "I don't know why you think we need to be asked." A smirk appeared on his face. "Count on us."
Happy raised a paw. "Aye! Besides, we have to save Natsu and Lucy, too!"
Macao and Makarov shared a look before nodding. Macao looked back to Jean-Luc. "Alright. We'll accept this job. Fairy Tail will take care of this."
Inside of the large airship that was the Inifinity Clock, Midnight, Klodoa, and Imitatia stood inside a large room. Stone pillars curved upward to make the walls. There was a solitary stone staircase in the very center of the room that reached towards a vast open space. The staircase led up to a brass platform. This platform was right in front of a large, orange orb with a back made of clockwork. From this back were wide brass branches that jutted out in all directions to fill the room.
It was on the brass platform that Midnight, Klodoa, and Imitatia stood. And it was inside of the orange orb—the heart of the Infinity Clock—that Lucy was trapped.
"Congratulations on the restoration of the Infinity Clock, Brain II!" Klodoa laughed.
"Things must have been difficult for you, Klodoa," Midnight said emotionlessly.
"No, not at all. All I did was follow Master Zero's orders," Klodoa replied, dismissing any notion of troubles he had in this mission. "That being said, we've only progressed this far because of your skill, Brain II. I'm impressed as always!" He spun and looked at Imitatia. "I'm also impressed by how Imitatia used and tricked this brat."
Lucy looked sadly down at Imitatia. "Michelle, please tell me why," she begged softly.
"I've already told you," Imitatia replied coldly, "my name is not Michelle. It's Imitatia. Do not make me tell you again."
"We now have a Celestial Spirit Wizard," Midnight said. "The endless nightmare will begin."
Lucy turned her glare towards Midnight. "Endless nightmare?"
"Yes. Now that the biological link of the Celestial Wizards has been severed, we can use the power of the Infinity Clock to create chaos in this world."
"What biological link?"
"To seal away the Infinity Clock, a biological link was created using Celestial Wizards. That biological link takes a lot of magic power to work, so if it's severed by the Anti-Link, the advance of time on the body and mind slows exponentially as a reaction. Then the person sleeps for 100 years. It's a sacrifice of sorts so that we can control the Infinity Clock."
Lucy's eyes widened. "You used this Anti-Link? How could you? That's just like using people like tools!"
Midnight smiled, unaffected by Lucy's words. "And?"
"You've already slept once for seven years," Imitatia added.
"That's nothing compared to 100 years!" Lucy exclaimed. "Even just seven years…it was confusing and painful coming home after all that time. Even though time had passed for everyone else, we couldn't spend any of it with them. We missed important moments in their lives. Can you understand that feeling? Going through that made me think just how cruel it is to lose time. But even with all of that pain we went through, we had friends who accepted us. Do those Celestial Wizards you attacked have the same kind of support?"
"They don't," Midnight said, still smiling. "That's what makes it considered a curse. And you will be cursed as well."
Lucy looked at Imitatia. "Michelle, I was happy when I met you."
Imitatia stepped forward. "You misunderstand. I'm doing this for you, Big Sister. It's all for your sake."
"My sake?" Lucy cried. "What was for my sake? Lying to me? Getting close to me so that you could use me?"
"It wasn't all a lie, though," Imitatia said.
"What about my father? And calling me Big Sister?"
For the first time since taking her true form, Imitatia's face showed emotion. She seemed sad and in pain. "That…that was…"
"Alright, enough idle chat," Klodoa interrupted.
Imitatia shook her head and turned away from Lucy. "Brain, let's get started."
Midnight's confident, wicked gaze never left Lucy as he spoke. "Good idea, Imitatia. Lucy Heartfilia, soon it will be time to say goodbye."
Fairy Tail and the Archaeological Society exited Fairy Tail's guild hall after the unanimous decision to accept Jean-Luc's mission request.
"I can't thank you all enough," Jean-Luc said.
"Would you mind answering a question I have, Actually Man?" Gracie asked. Jean-Luc nodded so she continued. "Do you know how the Infinity Clock was stopped and sealed away to begin with? It sounds like it was pretty powerful."
"To seal the Infinity Clock, Celestial Spirit Wizards were actually utilizing a biological link."
"That's what the new Oración Séis was cutting, right?" Gray said to clarify.
"How'd you know that?" Gracie asked Gray. "I hadn't heard that."
"We picked up that information from Angel."
"There's more to it. Actually, if the link is severed, the Celestial Spirit Wizard is cursed with 100 years of sleep and goes into a chrysalis-like state," Jean-Luc said.
"Chrysalis-like state, huh?" Nikolias grumbled while narrowing his eyes. He recalled the man that Angel had found and what he looked like after he was attacked. "That's explains a lot."
"Actually, Titania, to show my gratitude for accepting this job, I would like to present you with this." Jean-Luc looked towards Erza and motioned to the large 't' shaped box that he and the others had arrived with.
"For me?" Erza said, surprised.
Jean-Luc nodded. "Actually, it was found in the ruins along with the clock hand. It's said to keep evil at bay."
Erza walked over to the box. She immediately noticed the Zentopia symbol on the shiny lid. She reached forward to lift the lid, but as soon as she moved the lid vanished in a flash of blue magic. Inside was a massive metal hammer. She continued to reach for the hammer, unfazed by the lid's disappearance. She gripped the handle and lifted the hammer out with ease. She let the shaft rest on the ground with a crash. The gigantic hammer was almost twice her size. The hammer's head itself was as long as she was tall. "An impressive weapon."
"I'm certain that right now, you're actually the only one who can master that weapon," Jean-Luc said.
"Whoa!" Gracie breathed. She eyed the hammer hungrily with a sparkle in her eyes. "I've never seen such an awesome hammer! Erza, you're so lucky!"
"I'm surprised you can wield something of that size so easily," Nikolias said. "You sure you're human?"
Erza smiled at the two before looking back to Jean-Luc. "I understand. I'll try to use it."
Jean-Luc turned to the rest of the group. "It should go without saying that we will spare no effort in doing whatever we can to help. We will continue researching ways to handle Real Nightmare."
"That's very reassuring, thank you," Makarov said.
"So how do we storm the enemy camp?" Elfman asked.
"True. It is in the sky. It's hard to reach it," Lisanna said.
"Ummm duh. We have a dragon," Gracie said as if it were the simplest thing to understand in the whole world. "Whaddya say, Niky? Think you can give us all a lift?"
Nikolias shook his head. "I could, but I won't."
"Whaaaaa? Why not?" Gracie asked. She couldn't understand why Nikolias was refusing.
"This Real Nightmare has me concerned," Nikolias explained. "If the Infinity Clock's magic activates while I'm in the air with all of you, I don't know how it would affect me. If I lose all sense of self, what would happen? I'm not sure exactly, but I have a bad feeling that it would put everyone in danger if I were in my dragon form."
"Okay, that's a pretty good reason," Gracie admitted. "We can't predict how Real Nightmare will affect any of us. But how are we supposed to get up there without you? Do we run to one of those chains and climb all the way up?"
"Gracie, relax," Cana said with a wink. She held up one of her cards. "I've got help on the way to handle transportation." She then pointed to the sky and everyone looked up.
Wendy gasped. "It's the Christina! Blue Pegasus is here!"
At the headquarters for the Magic Council, Lahar stood over a small table in one of the meeting rooms. Sitting upon the table top over two squares of white silk was a surveillance lacrima. The blue orb had been broken, large chunks of crystal inexplicably missing and long cracks running around it. However, Lahar was hopeful that it could provide some insight into his investigation of the new Oración Séis and Zentopia. And time was of the essence. Who knew when the Infinity Clock above all of their heads would activate?
Lahar thanked the man who brought him the surveillance lacrima before sending him on his way. He leaned over it with a frown. As broken as it was, could this lacrima actually function? The man who brought it to him assured him that it had been repaired and that the recorded footage had been restored—at least, as much as was possible considering its condition.
Lahar held his hands out around the lacrima and activated his magic. The lacrima began to glow blue and a green magic circle appeared above the crystal. The center of the circle became fuzzy before a picture came into focus. Lahar breathed an internal sigh of relief. 'So some of the footage was restored. Good. Now I just have to hope it still has the information I need.'
He watched the film intently. He could see the inside of the detainment space where the captured Oración Séis members had been kept. Each one of them was being kept in a solitary, crystal-like cell that floated in the air. He could see a floating platform carrying the visitor up to one of their cells; most likely the very same visitor that orchestrated their escape from imprisonment. He narrowed his eyes. The visitor's back was to the lacrima. He still couldn't tell the identity of the culprit. However, he could see enough to tell that it was a male priest. He remembered the reports that there was a priest who periodically visited the members of Oración Séis, but even the identity of the priest was shrouded in mystery.
Lahar kept watching intently. The platform carrying the priest had risen and stopped in front of the cell for Cobra.
And then his luck turned. The priest turned his head slightly to the left.
Lahar's eyes shot open as he quickly froze the picture. There was enough of the priest's face visible to get a positive identification. He slowly enhanced the playback, zooming in and clearing up the picture before him.
And there it was. The identity of the priest. The identity of the one most likely responsible for freeing Oración Séis. And he knew the face of that man.
"Cardinal…Lapointe? All this time…it was you?"
The Christina touched down in front of the Fairy Tail guild hall. Standing in front of the vessel and striking a pose was Ichiya. "Men! So good to see you all again."
"Likewise, Ichiya," Gracie said. "Say, where are the guys? You know, the ones who follow you around?"
"Hibiki, Ren, and Eve are all on another assignment," Ichiya explained. "I have come with the Christina to lend a hand to old friends and to stop whatever is going on. Men!"
"Appreciated," Graice said with a smile. "So, who's gettin' on the ship?"
Cana took out her cards. "I've already taken care of that. Based on my divinations, which I know can be trusted this time, the team who should take to the skies and lead the attack are Nikolias, Gracie, Mira, Elfman, Erza, Gray, Wendy, Gajeel, Warren, and the three Exceeds. The rest of us will stay and see what we can do from here."
"So I'm stuck holding down the fort again, huh?" Macao sighed. "That's a little disappointing."
"Sorry, but this is how we'll succeed," Cana said with an apologetic smile. She then looked to the group who would be heading up on the Christina. "Best of luck you guys! We'll do our best to support you from the ground."
Gracie saluted. "Thanks, Cana! We will succeed! Count on it!"
"We better get moving. There's not a moment to spare," Nikolias said as he leapt onto the ship.
Ichiya changed his pose. "I like his enthusiasm! Men!" He changed his pose again. "Everyone! Let's get just as fired up and begin making our attack!"
The remainder of the group made their way onto the ship. Once they had all arrived in the control room, Ichiya took the wheel. He played with some of the controls before the Christina shook and became airborne, lifting them all up and towards the Infinity Clock.
Nikolias stayed outside on the deck. His eyes were narrowed as he looked at the Infinity Clock. 'If that thing activates, our sense of time will be distorted but not time itself. Honestly, I'm glad.' He clenched his fists. 'If it were the other way around, who knows what kind of devastation would be wrought?'
After several minutes of fairly smooth sailing, there was a sudden crash in the side of the Christina. The whole ship shook, forcing everyone to stumble to keep their balance.
"What the hell happened?" Gracie cried.
Gray looked out the window. A trail of smoke poured from the rear of the ship. "I think we hit something."
"Or something hit us," Erza said. "Ichiya, what's the status?"
"The stern has taken damage!" Ichiya exclaimed as he desperately tried to keep the ship steady and in the air.
"I'll go take a look outside," Mira offered as she ran out the door and toward the deck of the ship. Elfman followed behind her. When they arrived outside, they saw Nikolias leaning over the railing. He was staring at the side of the ship that had been attacked. "Nikolias, what happened?"
"I don't know!" Nikolias called out over the roaring wind. "I couldn't see, but something barged into the ship!"
Mira and Elfman ran over to the side beside him and looked over. "It's completely busted," Elfman muttered.
Mira turned back toward the deck. There was a hole there that hadn't been there earlier. "And what about this hole over here?"
Nikolias turned around. "It happened almost simultaneously when the side got hit. No idea what did it, but it was no accident. There's someone on the ship."
"Can you smell the intruder?" Elfman asked.
Nikolias shook his head. "I've picked up a scent every now and then, but it keeps changing intensity and location. I can't accurately track it."
"An intruder on the ship, huh?" Mira said softly to herself. Who could have snuck on board and caused this damage without being caught by Nikolias?
Suddenly, Mira could feel a presence behind her. She spun around.
At the exact same time that she had sensed the presence, Nikolias's eyes became dragon-like. He turned towards Mira. "Mira, look out!"
However, Nikolias's warning and Mira's reaction were both too slow. A sharp blow struck Mira in the side of her face, sending her flying into a solid wall.
"Big Sis!" Elfman cried.
Nikolias ground his teeth together before turning away from Mira. "You bastard!"
On the deck of the Christina was Racer. He was crouched low on his hands and feet, ready to take off whenever was necessary.
Mira pulled herself from the wall. Her whole back felt like it was on fire, but she managed to stand. "Racer."
"I don't know how you snuck on board, but you won't get away with what you've done!" Elfman bellowed.
Racer raised his body slightly. "I will…throw you overboard." He suddenly disappeared in a flash. As soon as he did, large holes began appearing in the deck. Shattered wooden planks flew up into the air.
"Stop!" Elfman demanded as he charged toward the destruction.
Racer paused and smirked. He disappeared once more and landed a series of vicious, swift attacks to Elfman's body. The large man fell to the deck, his body covered in bruises. Racer reappeared on the deck and chuckled dryly. "Too slow."
Shadows danced around Nikolias's body. "You think you're pretty quick, eh? Well let's just see about that."
Mira walked up to him and put a hand on his shoulder. "Nikolias, please let me handle this."
Nikolias looked at her out of the corner of his eye. "You sure?"
She nodded, her sapphire blue eyes fixed on Racer. "I'll make him pay for hurting Elfman. Trust me."
The shadows around him faded away. "I'll always trust you."
Without looking at him, Mira smiled at Nikolias. "Thank you." Dark magic surrounded her briefly before fading. She had taken her Satan Soul form.
Racer smirked. "Are you…fast?"
"Why don't you tell me?" Mira retorted. She pushed off the deck with incredible force and sped through the air. She caught Racer by surprise, slamming into his body and tackling him over the side of the Christina. The two fell through the sky together.
Nikolias ran to the side of the ship. "Be safe, Mira. And kick his ass."
Meanwhile, in the control room, Wendy noticed Mira and Racer falling through the sky. She ran to the window and pressed her face against the glass. "Mira! And Racer, too!"
Gray turned towards Ichiya. "We have to go after Mira!"
"Don't be ridiculous! Men!" Ichiya yelped. He was still frantically battling the controls.
Gracie put a hand on Gray's shoulder. "It's alright, Gray."
Gray looked at her as if she had gone insane. "What are you talking about? We have to help her!"
"Don't forget; Mira was outside on the deck when she ran into Racer. Niky is out there on the deck, too," Gracie explained calmly with a smile. "If Niky isn't flying after Mira frantically to help her out, then that means he isn't worried about her and believes she's strong enough to take care of things. And if Niky believes in her then we should too."
"Well said, Miss Gracie! Men!" Ichiya said. "Our priority should be repairs. Everyone pitch in!"
Gray shook his head. "Alright, sure. We'll get it done."
Erza went to the window. Mira and Racer were no longer visible. "We're counting on you, Mira."
Far below the Christina, Mira pushed off of Racer's body and spread out her wings. She floated in the air and watched as Racer's body continued to fall until he collided with the hard, rocky ground. She glided down and landed on a tall, stone pillar. She scanned the rocky, barren terrain for any signs of Racer. There was a large cloud of dirt that hung in the air from Racer's fall, so finding him was difficult.
However, it wasn't too long after she had landed on the pillar that Racer suddenly appeared on top of a nearby pillar. His eyes, however, were not on Mira, but instead on the Christina. He leapt up, trying to use his incredible speed to get back up to the high flying ship.
But Mira was faster. She flew into his path and swatted him away. "I won't let you go back up there!"
Racer disappeared and reappeared behind Mira, attempting to land a kick to her back. Mira was swift, though, and managed to block the attack. He tried the same tactic immediately after, but was met with the same results. He paused on another stone pillar. "Don't interfere." He disappeared again, but this time used the many pillars to his advantage. Not only did they hide his true direction, but he was able to use them as springboards to make himself go even faster. This allowed him to land a sharp kick to Mira's stomach. The She-Devil cried out in pain as she crashed into a pile of rocks. Racer stopped momentarily to make sure his obstacle was down.
Pink light emanated from within the pile of rocks before blowing them away. Rising from the rubble was Mira in her Satan Soul: Halphas form. Racer couldn't hide his shock.
Mira rose higher into the air and glared at Racer. "I told you that you aren't getting back on that ship!" She shot toward Racer with even more speed. The swift man dodged just before Mira's foot struck the pillar, breaking it apart as if it were nothing more than fragile ceramic.
Racer took off running, trying to shake Mira and get back to his mission, but no matter how hard he tried he just couldn't. Mira was somehow hot on his tail. And she wasn't about to let him out of her sight.
"Hey! Everyone!" Jet called out as he exited the guild hall.
Everyone was still outside, staring at the Infinity Clock as they tried to formulate a plan. When they heard Jet call out, they turned towards him.
"What is it?" Wakaba asked.
"I just went to check on Kinana, but…she's gone!" Jet cried.
"What did you say?" Cana asked worriedly.
"This is bad," Macao said. "Since the other day, her spells have only been getting worse. And now this…"
Makarov looked towards Macao. He hadn't been aware that Kinana was getting worse. He sighed heavily. "Where could that girl have gone? And why did she leave?"
Kinana walked in silence closer and closer to the Infinity Clock. 'I can hear you. I can hear you calling for me.'
With a grunt, Natsu pulled off the two back legs of one of the beds inside of his prison cell. They snapped off fairly easily and the bed crashed to the floor, spreading dust and dirt throughout the cell. Natsu coughed and blew the cloud out of his face before falling to a seat on the floor. He began to rub the bed posts together furiously.
His plan was a simple one. If neither physical nor magical abilities could open the cell door due to the barrier protecting it, then there was nothing he could do about that. He racked his brain for who knows how long, trying to concoct a plan to free himself from his confinement. And then it hit him. If he couldn't open the door on his own, then he would get somebody who could. He would start a fire in his cell. The fire couldn't be created through magic because of the barrier, so he would have to make a fire the old fashioned way. Once he had a fire going, the guards would come to put out the fire. And that's when he would escape. While it may have been a simple plan, he still felt pride in his idea and confidence that it would work.
He rubbed the wood together faster and faster, determination to save Lucy fueling his motions. "I'm coming, Lucy!"
Soon, sparks began to appear and not long after a small fire was born. He quickly ran to the mattress and threw his flame upon it. The fire began to spread, growing bigger and bigger. Satisfied with his work, Natsu ran to the bars, pressed his face against the iron, and shouted as loudly as he could, "FIIIIIIIIIRRRRRRRRREEEEEE! SOMEONE PLEASE HELP! THERE'S A FIRE IN HERE! HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELLLLLP!"
It wasn't long after that two guards came running over. They looked inside. "Damn. We can't allow this fire to continue," one guard spoke. "Quick, get out the fire extinguisher lacrima!"
The other guard nodded. "Right. First, we'll let him out temporarily so we can take care of the fire." He raised his hand and the bars began to slowly bend away.
As soon as the hole was big enough, Natsu sprang forward. He lashed out with both of his fists at the same time. Each fist struck one unsuspecting guard in the face, knocking them over the railing.
Natsu didn't waste a second. He took off running down the hall, the guards' screams filling his ears. "Hang on, Lucy!"
Several other guards came running once they heard their comrades' cries and tried to intercept. But Natsu was no longer limited because of a barrier. He could unleash his full fury upon the guards. And he had a lot of pent up fury. He lashed out with his flames, knocking away any guards that attempted to approach him. "I won't let you stop me from getting to Lucy!"
"Wait!"
A small voice stopped Natsu in his tracks. He turned to see a familiar face looking back at him through the bars of a prison cell with hopeful eyes. "Coco! What are you doing here?"
Coco pressed herself against the bars of her cell. "Please take me with you!" she begged.
Natsu blinked but then smiled. "Sure! I could use the help if I'm gonna save Lucy!"
Coco nodded and stepped back. "Thank you."
Natsu quickly broke the bars of her cell with his flames. Apparently the barrier only worked from the inside, which he was grateful for. He didn't have time to come up with another plan to save Coco.
Once the girl was safely out, they both took off running.
"So can you tell me where we are exactly?" Natsu asked.
"We're inside Zentopia Cathedral," Coco replied.
"And do you have any idea why they would want Lucy?"
Coco shook her head. "I honestly have no idea. There's so much that I don't understand. Something isn't right, that's for sure."
Natsu nodded. "Okay. Well for now, their reasons don't matter. All that I care about is getting Lucy back and making Oración Séis pay!"
Lapointe stared at the Archbishop, who was sitting on his bed as if in a trance. He wanted to keep a close eye on the small man to make sure that no one interfered with him and thus impacted his plans.
Footsteps behind him echoed in the room. One of the cathedral's guards approached him and whispered in his ear. The news was certainly surprising, but his expression didn't change. "Oh? That wizard broke out?"
"What should we do, sir?" the guard asked.
An evil smirk spread across Lapointe's face. "He's already too late. Real Nightmare is going to be activated." A deep laugh sounded from his throat, echoing in the spacious bed chamber.
Lucy's brown eyes began to dull as if her very soul had been pulled from her body. She felt like she was being split in two from the inside. 'Wh…What's happen…ing to…me? Na…tsu…'
Midnight spread his arms with a small smile. "The endless nightmare is beginning. Chaos will come. It will cover the whole world."
A loud ringing echoed out from the Infinity Clock, rattling the thick golden chains and blanketing all of Earth Land in its ominous sound.
