updated 2023/11/02, replacing chapters 12 & 13
i had a feeling it would get a lot easier going, once i got to the tower of heaven. looks like i was right. some part of me does feel a little sad to be replacing these old chapters, but i just gotta remember- i still have the originals saved! so if anyone out there was super attached to the initial read of this, lemme know and i can repost the whole thing in a few big chunks. of course, the version of a story that will be getting an ending is this one...
Phoenix, glad to hear it. I think you'll find out what Natsu has to do soon enough… as soon as magically possible, eh? Well, I sure think this is ASAMP. Yeah, don't forget the safety.
Guest(1), chapter sixteen has been fired away! Hey, I'd like to update everyday but I've got a whole bunch of kiddos staying at my house, and the eldest of them is five. They're very attention demanding. You're welcome!
Erza Ashley, birbs :) well, considering you posted your review on chapter 14 I'm lead to believe that's the chapter you just read. Hey, I forget things a lot too. Yea, I got caught up with the manga inbetween updates, so no spoilers for me! (I GOT A WHOLE HALF HOUR OF SLEEP LAST NIGHT IM RARING TO GO) I imagine that things will be quite different when I get to it…
Guest(2), B-I-N-G-O, B-I-N-G-O, B-I-N-G-O and BINGO was his name-o! That's gonna be stuck in my head for a long time now, isn't it? Before seven? Challenge accepted. (Aaaaand challenge failed. I'm so sorry, but to make up for it, here's the longest chapter I've ever written for anything, ever. :)Let's not have team Natsu cry, yes? Twenty-Four is mine! There was an author who had a story, and The Five Dragons was its name-o! The-Five-Dra-agons, The-Five-Dra-agons, The-Five-Dra-agons, and Igneel was a name-o!
Phoenix, hey, a psychopathic possibly possessed man gotta do what a psychopathic possibly possessed man gotta do. (Thank you!) I was kind of wondering how to make him smarter without having him completely rub it in anyone's faces, so I'm glad to see I did well. Hmm. He miiight have. And hey, I'm sorry buddy, but I'm just gonna toss this where. While I think having Mavis and Zeref be the parents of Natsu could be interesting, and maybe something warranting another fic entirely, I'm not going to be doing it here. I've been thinking on it since you first brought it up, and that's the answer I'm going to give. Sorry :(
Yeah, I'm not the fondest of romance either, so I do typically shoot for the sibling/ closer than family bonds. Hmm, now there's a thought. (Hey, just because they aren't gonna be parents doesn't mean there's not going to be something else going on there…) Sting… Isn't something I've put much thought into yet. I have one conversation planned out, and that's about it. Layla still exists! I'll tell ya that much! I really haven't thought about that yet, though I have Empra pegged as someone who'd rather be a hermit with her books, and I imagine Whirl wouldn't deal with all that attention too well. (I hear nearby water sources start boiling when she gets embarrassed). Kyu… I think Kyu being in charge of anything would lead to disaster. And Grotee is very old, so who knows with him? Natsu might learn how to combine DragonSlayer magic, buut he also might not. (Laxus)
You know, I imagine Natsu much the same! Imagine that! (Eh? Ehhh?) yeah, who knows where Natsu got the idea to join Fairy Tail. Hmm. Hey, I'm loving the attention over here! (Honestly though, seeing all the theories you're thinking of really brightens my day.) and that just makes me blush. You are too good.
Guest(3), yeh, let's get it going! Cmon authordude! Oh, wait, that's me. Uh. Yeah, life is like a bubble floating on the breeze, before you know it, pop! It's gone. I think the story is quite going by the end of this chapter. Thank you, and I plan to!
Damn it all. While most of her had known it was only a matter of time, a part of Erza had wished desperately that she would never again set foot on this wretched islands shores.
She had known, though. She had known.
They had been careful to keep eyes on her— first Simon, then Shou. God, Shou. He was so young. They had all been so young but Shou was the littlest. Erza had the chance to acclimatize to normal people in Fairy Tail— a chance that Shou never got. She tried not to feel too terrible about knocking him out the second he turned his back— she would fix this. All of this. She was stronger than the terrified girl who had nearly died alone at sea. She was an S Class mage, a proud member of Fairy Tail, and so even if that terrified girl was still tucked away behind her breastplate that wouldn't stop her.
She hadn't seen any of the others on the trip here— and she doubted they would have been left on the ship alone— so she was on her own for this.
The possible exception to this was, of course, Natsu. She still didn't know what had happened to him— if any of her friends knew teleportation magic, then he could be anywhere from here to halfway across Fiore. Wherever he was, she hopes he's safe.
She hopes he's not here.
The boy remains stubborn. Jellal leaves him for barely a moment to stash the confiscated materials— save the armband, of course— and comes back to find him tearing at the skin around the magic suppression cuff. He catches the boys wrist before he can do any serious damage— no point sending out a pawn that's already wounded itself— wrenching it away from his other hand. The boy says nothing, but narrows his eyes. A stubborn one indeed!
Jellal lets go of his wrist, and while the boy huffs, he refrains from going at himself again. He likely would the second he was out of sight, but Jellal had plans.
"I believe I've made my point," he starts. Pauses to see if that rouses a response. It doesn't. "Of course, if you insist on being stubborn…?"
"What do you want," the boy grits out. Perfect.
"As I'm sure you've guessed by now, you aren't the only Fairy Tail mage on this island. Erza is here too— what I want is for you to take her out."
That earns him a reaction, as he thought it would.
"What? No— I won't—"
"Not even if…" Jellal lifts the armband, watching the boy's eyes zip to it immediately. Predictable on that.
Looking as though the words hurt to say, the boy remains stubborn. "I won't hurt her."
"Well, isn't that noble of you. You know it doesn't matter, right? Nevermind what your guild master thinks, you won't be allowed to stay in Fairy Tail— not with the track record you have. Remind me, how many people have you left behind?"
Silence. The boy only glares.
"Or perhaps you're thinking of Erza as a friend. Do you think she'll think the same of you once she finds out about your involvement here?"
"… what are you talking about?"
"You don't even know? That's rich. Who do you think funded this? I'll give you a hint— who's responsible for your charges? Who told me exactly how to take you down? Who raised you, Dragneel?"
Realization flits across his face, chased by anger. Raw, perfect anger. It's just the chance Jellal needs.
"Do what I tell you, and you'll get out of this just fine. Don't, and I'll take everything from you."
The boy squeezes his eyes shut, heaves a deep breath. Opens them again, full of determination. "Fine."
Just as Jellal thought— they all break, in the end.
Gray must be out of his mind. The situation is, in a word, bad— bad, and queued up to get worse— but this is just… it's such a bad idea.
But it's the only one he has.
Besides, it's a little too late to back out now. Juvia is, at the very least, adept with her magic. He doesn't have to worry about air, or currents, not with her pulling him. He just has to worry about… nearly everything else.
Juvia had shared what little she knew of something called the Tower of Heaven, though she was hesitant to divulge how, exactly, she knew about it. She knew where it was due to how it affected the currents in the area. That she had been close enough to the poker table to hear Lucy being asked about Erza, but hadn't been close enough to intervene, not if she also wanted to protect Gray. That she thought these two things were more than likely connected.
The shadow of the tower was needle-like, a thin band of darkness that they followed to it's source. Damn, looking at the thing, Juvia was probably right. If Erza was taken here, then maybe Lucy and Natsu were too. Why leave him behind? Well, they probably hadn't anticipated Juvia. Still, it worried him— did they have plans for the others?
Juvia lulls to a halt, closing her eyes. He could probably speak up, with the dome protecting his head, but she might not be able to hear him. Besides, it looks like she's concentrating on something. He would just like to know what…
Her eyes snap open, and she tugs him further down, pointing out a large opening— a pipe of some kind, without a grate. Ah, a sneaky underwater entrance, he gets it. Nodding his understanding, he lets Juvia pull him forwards.
They're plunged into near total darkness for what Gray would guess was about ten minutes, if not longer. Light is a distance promise at first, but once he's noticed it it feels like barely any time has passed at all before Juvia is pulling them onto land.
Shaking off like a wet dog, he freezes the clinging moisture, resolving to let that chip off on its own timing.
There's a chill in the air.
He's used to the air being a little cold. Usually, he's the reason. But this specific chill, one that sits just on the edge of uncomfortable, that doesn't so much as sit in your lungs as it does try to strangle you, it's a chill he's never forgotten.
But it can't be. It can't.
It is.
The room they're in is cavernous, a dark echoing space, but Gray will never forget the appearance of Deliora encased in Iced Shell for as long as he's alive.
Why is it here?
There are still guards. So much about the tower and its inhabitants have changed, but that hasn't. Erza disposes of every one that she passes, but their presence bothers her.
Of course, there wouldn't have been any chances for them to leave the island… but there were so many people. Where did they all go?
It's nothing but a brush of finely tuned intuition that warns her. She ducks, covering her head with the flat of her blade, and the wall above her shatters into a rain of rocks.
She thinks she's ready for anything. Ready for it to be one of her old friends— ready for it to be Jellal.
It isn't.
It's Natsu.
For a heartbeat, she's terrified. Maybe the same terrible thing that happened to Jellal has happened again— another friend, gone, taken, because she was too slow at too weak. When Natsu looks at her, he's a little wild around the edges, but he doesn't have that same dark look in his eyes as Jellal did. It's not a look she'll ever be able to bring herself to forget, and it's not a look that she sees in him.
He pulls back, leaping backwards out of her range. She takes in several more details as she straightens— he's missing his scarf, and his usual jewelry. She's never seen him without any of those things before, not even while sleeping. He's still got the magic suppression cuff on, even though the skin around it is bloody and raw. He's moving in like he's about to attack her again.
Erza steps back, out of the range of his kick, and she catches the follow up punch on the flat of her blade. Something is going on here, but what? She can't get a read on the situation, not when they're fighting. He's fast, something she had never really appreciated before. She can be faster. Requip puts her in her Flight armour, the enhanced speed and agility letting her— ironically— take the fight slower.
The first thing that she notices is that he isn't really trying that hard. He's coming at her fast, but his hits are soft— this armour prioritizes speed over defence, but she barely feels his attacks. He's making not attempt to communicate. Erza will force the issue.
She finds an opening and uses it, sweeping his legs out from under him and planting the tip of her blade against his throat in the same move.
"What is the meaning of this?" She asks, stern.
Natsu narrows his eyes, but does not respond. She feels like she's trying to complete a puzzle with half the pieces missing.
Unless… maybe she isn't. Maybe she was just looking at it wrong.
There was a time where she thought of 'Jellal' and 'blackmail' as separate concepts— not so much, anymore. Natsu had never said anything about the importance of those objects— but then, he didn't really need to. It was clear as day that they mattered to him, maybe even mattered enough to drive him to attack a guildmate.
If he hasn't said anything, then he's likely under surveillance. The best course of action is to play along.
"Fine then, traitor," she says, letting some of the anger she feels towards Jellal seep into her words, "if you insist… then we might as well make this a fair fight!"
She requips another blade, drawing the one at Natsu's throat away as she brings the second down, slicing through the suppression cuff. It catches a little skin, something she's sorry for, but it gets the thing off of him— the greatest boon she can grant.
Natsu blinks wide eyes at her, but she keeps her expression stern and cold— she cannot let up even an inch, lest whoever is watching notice and do something to hurt him. The moment between them seems to stretch, and then he kicks out at her, a flood of magically imbued water following the move and pushing her back. She lets it, choosing to requip out of her Flight armour and into Heavens Wheel. Natsu barely gives her enough time for the armour to settle, following his kick with a shout of "Water Dragon Wing Attack!" that meets her ribs like a battering ram, throwing her further down the corridor.
She retaliates with a wave of swords, skimming close enough to catch his shirt but not his skin as he gets his legs under him to vanish around a corner. She gives pursuit— perhaps slightly slower than she could actually move. When she reaches the corner, he's gone.
"Damn it," she curses aloud, just in case, and then frustration at the actual situation wells up, mixing with helplessness and anger, regret and grief— but anger, mostly, anger more than anything, and she curses aloud again, with genuine feeling. She plants the sword in her hand up to the hilt in the nearest wall, and fails to feel any better at all.
So Gray has a slight mental break. He's not too proud to admit that. He is a little embarrassed to admit that it happens in front of Juvia, a practical stranger, but he can't find it in himself to blame himself for it. Deliora is his nightmares made manifest, and also the very last thing he expected to encounter here.
He pulls himself out of it with two anchors— one, the steady pressure of Juvia's hand on his shoulder— when he pulls his eyes away from Deliora to find her, she's flushed, torn between speaking up and staying silent, but her hand is firm. The second anchor is the clash of battle echoing down into the room they're in.
It takes him a second to hear past the pounding in his ears, but that's definitely Erza. Good— then he was in the right place, though it doesn't reassure him to have a guildmate and Deliora in the same space.
It does give him something else to focus on, to pull him out of his spiral.
"Cmon," he says, his voice coming out rough, but Juvia doesn't ask. He appreciates that— she really is a functional stranger, pulled into this, but she's proving herself reliable in all the best ways. He might ask her if she's interested in joining Fairy Tail, if the opportunity comes up.
Part of him wants, very badly, to connect Deliora's presence and Lyons. The rest of him is pulling away, finding the loudest corridor and sprinting up it.
Erza is immediately noticeable, in the full regalia of her Heavens Wheel armour, letting out a shout of pure frustration as a dozen swords fly out, taking out a platoon of guards. She notices them approaching, and turns, eyes hard and angry as she lifts a blade like he might attack her. He doesn't blame her— he's on edge too.
"What are you doing here?" She demands.
Gray slows, showing his palms. He can't tell if Juvia follows his lead, as she's behind him, but Erza doesn't grow any more or less tense.
"We came here looking for you— and everyone else. Juvia told me about the tower."
Erza's focus narrows, and then she lowers her weapon. "You should leave."
"Like hell." Even if Deliora wasn't— here— he wouldn't leave her here. He might not know much of the Tower, but he doesn't have to be a genius to tell this place is nothing but bad news.
Erza huffs, and with a flash she's back into her regular armour. Gray takes it as a surrender, and lowers his hands. "Have you found anyone else here?"
Her gaze hardens with anger again, immediately. Her tone tense, she answers. "Just Natsu."
He doesn't realize that she's been avoiding eye contact until she isn't anymore, her gaze burning into his.
"He's turned against us, and needs to be brought down."
"… what?"
That couldn't— he was a little uncertain of the guy, after what the council said, but— that couldn't be true. It didn't make any sense. But then why would Erza say that?
The force of her gaze is almost physical, pressing down on him, like she's trying to convey something beyond what she's saying. Maybe just how serious this was. She nods, decisively.
"It's true. We must act accordingly."
She nodded again, equally firm, and Gray was left feeling a bit like he had missed something important. Dammit, if that was true, then why now? They were alone on that island for plenty long enough for him to have tried something— maybe he felt his cover was blown, but then he had to have known the council would be after him— they weren't exactly subtle.
And he didn't think the situation could get worse after finding Deliora. No, the world just had to go and find new things to throw at him.
All of this, and they still had no idea where Lucy was.
Lucy had no idea where she was.
It was dark. It was damp. It smelled bad. She wished, not for the first time, that she had at least been kidnapped with her pack. Worst of all, she wasn't even intentionally kidnapped! She was collateral! The indignity!
To say the least of how, exactly, she got here. No, the less that that was spoken— or even thought— of, the better.
The walls were textured, under her hand, as she felt her way forwards. There had been lights, earlier, but something must have shut them off because it was pitch black now. They weren't motion detecting lacrima, which she was both grateful for and a little worried about— on one hand, stealth! On the other, someone could be sneaking up on her right now. So they were probably switch or magic controlled. Just in case, she had her keys in her off hand, but she hadn't opened any gates. She wanted to at least get even half a grasp on the situation before blowing her cover.
Really. The odds of her being here at all— for the circumstances to have aligned like they did— were astronomically slim. It was unlikely that anyone here was looking for her, but you didn't tend to get through many jobs as a Fairy Tail mage while relying on things like likelihood.
She was thinking about it again.
Okay, so it was hard not to think about. It was just— did she anger a god? In a past life, maybe? There wasn't much else to be thinking about. Just the dark ahead of her, and the slick wall under her hand. Ugh, hopefully that was just water.
Okay. Take it from the top again. She's in a completely unknown area, likely alone, with backup unlikely and possible hostiles at every corner. The only thing she has going for her is that no one knows she's here, because she's here by accident, so no one is looking for her.
She really shouldn't open a gate. She needed to conserve as much magic as possible, but in the dark with nothing but the wind and her own breath to keep her company, she was starting to convince herself she was hearing footsteps. Footsteps coming from behind her.
Footsteps approaching rapidly, several pairs.
Hold on. Hold on— wait a second. Wait.
That was real, wasn't it.
Panic grips her, shoving her heart into her throat, and despite already holding her keys she fumbles for them, unable to tell which she's holding in the dark. Please let it be someone available, she asks the dark, and the cool metal in her fingers lights up with magic. A second later the lights slam on, confirming her magic-activated theory, but all that means in practice is that she can't see, not after so long spent with her eyes adjusting to the dark. The footsteps are practically on top of her, now, and while she hates to rely on them like this hopefully whichever spirit she summoned will be able to hold them off until she's confident enough to aim her whip—
"Lucy?"
Stinging eyes force themselves open in surprise, and while she has to squint, that's Erza. And Gray! And— she doesn't know who that third one is, actually. Wait, where's her— oh. The key she's holding is Plue's. He's looking up at her with the biggest wettest eyes she's ever seen on a celestial spirit.
"Sorry, Plue," she says, dismissing him. He's not a combat spirit in the slightest, but at least his gate takes up barely any magic at all. She'll have to make it up to him later, for the surprise. The tension she had been holding onto seeps away, and she takes a bracing breath before properly taking in her guildmates. (And the random mystery woman.)
They don't look hurt, so that's good. Happy and Natsu are still missing, though— and aside from the initial call of her name, no one has said anything.
"Hey guys," she says, which ends up sounding way too casual. "Where are we?"
"You don't know?" Erza asks, looking surprised. Should she know? The architecture isn't familiar at all. Unless it's less the specific building and more the location that Erza is referring to, and Lucy had been too busy clinging for dear life to take much of her surroundings in.
"Uh, no. I couldn't see anything when I… got… dropped off."
Erza was going to ask what happened. Lucy could feel it. "I don't wanna talk about it," she says quickly, hoping to head Erza off at the pass. Erza does pause, but not for long.
"Can you use the same method to get back?"
The sequence of events that led her here flash through her head again, despite her best efforts against recalling. The dealer. His magic, which he had been swift with. How terrible it was to be trapped in a card, hearing Gray fighting but unable to help, unable to yell loud enough to make herself heard.
The arrival of the rat.
Her card getting stuck to the rats foot.
The fact her card had begun to get unstuck while they were who-knows-how high in the sky. Her only saving grace had been the magic that kept her contained giving out, but that just meant she had to hold onto rat foot with her bare hands…
Narrowly avoiding being stepped on when the rat touched down, and then trying to avoid existence and therefor the reality of what had just happened to her while sitting silent in the dark for an extended period of time…
"Absolutely not."
Disappointment flashes over Erza's face, and she folds her arms. "Then you need to know what's happening here."
That would be nice, yes. She gets most of the way through opening her mouth to say just that when she notices Gray. She had, of course, seen him coming, seen that he was uninjured, but— but right now, he looks paler than she's ever seen him, and angry, too. He's not even pretending to be looking at her— he seems a million miles away, lost in thought. Troubling thought.
She turns her attention back to Erza just in time to catch the tail end of what she's saying.
"— turned against us."
"… what?"
"I know, it's hard to believe," that really isn't the problem here, "but you have to believe it. We can't afford to hesitate."
Lucy has, officially, no clue what Erza is talking about. Still, she nods along, resolving to ask Gray what's actually going on as soon as the opportunity presents itself.
Wait, no one has explained the random lady yet. "Uh, so—"
"Look out!" Erza lunges forwards, planting a hand on Lucy's shoulder and shoving her down. A sharp ping echoes from somewhere in the space above Lucy's head, and Lucy turns what would have been a very inelegant face plant into a sort of… roll type thing. She comes up facing the wrong way, but it's simple enough to just turn around.
Erza is moving down the hallway at a sprint, towards a guy who looks like he's made entirely of blocks. His arm looks like a gun— an observation proved true, as he brings it around to aim at Erza's head. She catches another bullet on the flat of her blade, making another loud ping— wow, Lucy is grateful that Erza is so observant, because she absolutely wouldn't have… it's not even worth thinking about.
She reaches for a key, confident now— Taurus would be the best choice— but Erza reaches the guy and takes him out in one swift move, introducing the flat of her blade like a baseball bat to his ribs. He hits the ground with the tip of a blade to his throat before any of them have time to react, really.
Lucy takes the hall at a jog, Gray and… mystery lady just a step behind.
"Wally," Erza says, addressing weird block guy by (presumably) his name, "please. Listen to me."
Blocky remains stubbornly silent. Lucy pities the guy— not often do people get away with not listening to what Erza has to say.
Erza's sword vanishes, and she offers him a gauntleted hand.
Okay, maybe this guy gets away with not listening to her.
"Please," Erza repeats, a note of urgency in her voice.
That cracks him. He presses further back, like the empty hand is scarier than the blade. "Why?"
"I never— never— wanted to leave you here. Any of you."
Oh, this is intense personal history. Lucy sneaks a glance at Gray, who had been in the guild long before Lucy joined— before Erza joined— and she doesn't like the look on his face. It's— kind of uncomfortable. Was this something Erza was comfortable sharing with them? Or were they only hearing this out of necessity?
(And really, who is that lady?)
Blocky doesn't respond, but a new voice does.
"Then why did you, Erzy? What did we do?"
Lucy jumps about a foot in the air, whipping around to find a… a cat-girl? A cat-girl who, seemingly, was trying to sneak up on them before overhearing what Erza was saying and getting upset.
"Milliana," Erza breathes, face and voice soft before she hardens. "Nothing you did led to this— nothing at all. Jellal," she paused, pained, "Jellal changed. What they did to him there… his mind couldn't take it. He told me if I ever came back… he would kill all of you."
"But—" the cat-girl— Milliana—'s voice crack on a sob.
"I couldn't risk it. I couldn't risk any of you. But now… now, I'm going to destroy this tower, and I'm going to stop Jellal."
Blocky— Wally— leverages himself to his feet, with Erza's attention on Milliana. He tips his hat low, to cover his eyes, and then his gun-hand is just a hand again.
"Then… you'll need our help," he says, and Milliana nods in tearful agreement.
Something tender cracks through Erza's expression, and she reaches out, drawing them both into a hug that clangs. "Thank you," she says, "both of you," voice thick. Her eyes are dry, when she looks up at Lucy and Gray, but there's no disguising the raw emotion there. "Lucy, Gray. Meet Milliana and Wally… we grew up together."
That finally snaps Gray out of whatever weird funk he was in, because he speaks up for the first time.
"Grew up…? But you…"
"Yes," Erza nods, loosening her grip on Wally and Milliana so they're a little less crushed. They don't seem particularly bothered, so Lucy doesn't speak up. "And… I think I should tell you everything about this tower. If you're determined to stay."
"Of course we are!" Lucy and Gray say in tandem, but Lucy is the one to continue, "but Erza, don't tell us because you think you have to. Whatever happens here… we're with you on this."
"No," Erza says, "I'm telling you… because I want to. I've never had the opportunity before."
So she does.
"Erza…" Lucy trails off, uncertain of what to say. What can you say? What could anyone possibly say?
Both of Erza's childhood friends have teared up again, hearing her side of the tale for the first time, but Erza's face is dry.
"So he's the one who…" Gray muses, "and now he's brought Deliora here. I'm gonna kill him."
"No," Erza corrects, "you need to find Simon and Shou and talk to them. Make sure they get out of here safely. I'llhandle Jellal."
"But Erzy," Milliana starts, but Erza cuts her off with a smile.
"It's okay. I'm an S Class mage now, a member of Fairy Tail. That was Grandpa Rob's guild, remember? I can handle him."
"There is someone coming," mystery blue hair lady announced. Lucy had, admittedly, forgotten entirely about her. She's pressed up against the closer end of the hall, peeking out into the space beyond. "Pink hair."
"Rat lady," Gray surmises, which immediately reignites the fire of indignation in Lucy. Rat lady. Nevermind that she hadn't known the rat had a lady until two second ago, they were mortal enemies now.
"I'll handle it," Lucy volunteers immediately.
"Juvia will help," blue haired lady says. Is Juvia her name, then?
"I'm going after Lyon," Gray announces.
"We'll look for Simon and Shou," Milliana and Wally agree, separating from Erza somewhat reluctantly. Erza nods— where she'll be heading doesn't need to be said.
Everyone else makes a hasty about-face, and Lucy joins Juvia in peeking into the hallway beyond. Yeah, there's the pink-haired lady— she seems distracted, so getting the jump on her should be easy. Quietly, Lucy reaches for her keys, and sorts Taurus out from the rest.
The soft sound of metal against metal draws Juvia's attention, and she turns a discerning eye to Lucy. Lucy points at the key, kind of shrugging as she does so. Sure, she could just go after this lady with her whip, but she didn't know what kind of magic she'd be bringing to the table. Better safe than sorry and all that.
Juvia nods, and then apparently decides that right now is the best possible time to clarify some things. Speaking in a low tone— just barely above a whisper, really— "Juvia did not want to listen, because Juvia is not a member of Fairy Tail." And then, as if sensing the question Lucy is about to ask, "Juvia is here to help Gray."
She also possibly mutters something else— something to do with a rival?— but Lucy doesn't quite catch that.
Pink haired lady steps into their hallway, and Juvia surges forward with a shout of "Water lock!"
A surge of water magic bubbles up around pink-hair, encasing her. She tries to exclaim in shock, bubbles flowing out of her mouth, but no noise escapes.
Oh. That was easy. Lucy lets go of her keys.
As if determined to prove her wrong, pink-hair's expression goes from shock to determination, and she bubbles something else. A second later, the water is moving, sprouting arms and legs, a chest, a head. Juvia's shout of surprise let's her know that something has gone wrong well before the water creature plunges a hand into its own chest to pull pink-hair out.
She hacks up a lungful of water, before smirking at them— "So Lyon was right, there are intruders. Too bad your magic is useless against me! Kill them!"
"How," Juvia starts— Lucy gets the feeling no one has ever done that before— but she doesn't get the change to continue because Lucy has to drag her out of the way as the water doll lashes out at them. To her credit, she recovers swiftly.
"It's not Juvia's magic anymore!" She calls, before sending a slash of magic at pink-hair.
"I gathered!" Lucy shouts back, rerunning over her options. Taurus… wouldn't be very helpful against an enemy made of water— same with Cancer and Virgo. Which left, Aquarius, but… oh, she would be so mad.
Resolving to leave that to be a last resort, Lucy instead grabbed for her whip, aiming for pinky. The water doll tried to block, but the whip just passed through— while it lost some momentum, it still struck.
"How dare you!" Pinky shrieked, water doll thundering towards them.
"Juvia can't attack without making it stronger!" Juvia shouted, ducking out of the way of another swing. Lucy tried to angle around for another attack, but Pinky was wise to her tactics now, firmly keeping the water doll and some distance between them.
Aw, Lucy's gonna have to do it, isn't she? If only she could warn Juvia without also revealing her plan to pinky. Whatever— she'll be fine, probably.
Of all her keys, Aquarius' is the most familiar— Lucy selects it blind, dropping her whip as she lunges forwards to plant the golden metal into the body of the doll.
"Open, gate of the water bearer!"
"A celestial spirit wizard?" Pinky asks, tone condescending. "Well, too bad. My magic lets me control them too."
"Tch," Aquarius said, which wasn't helpful in figuring out if Pinky was bluffing or not. And even if she wasn't…
Aquarius raised the pot in her hands high, water gushing forwards in a torrent as she forced a whirlpool into being in the narrow corridor they were all standing in. Lucy lost track of everything almost immediately. She had assumed that hitting her head against a wall would be a given, but a strong hand caught the back of her shirt and something cushioned her. Blinking water out of her eyes, she found the whirlpool still raging inches away from her face, but… it was like there was a bubble around her. Around them— Juvia was the one who caught her, face scrunched up in an expression of intense concentration.
"Thank you!" Lucy gasped, because she really hadn't been looking forwards to slamming into the walls— and probably the floor and ceiling also— but Juvia didn't respond until the whirlpool drained away.
"You're welcome," Juvia said, "but Juvia would like some warning next time."
"Yeah, I'll— I'll try. I didn't want her catch on…" speaking of, Pinky was nowhere to be seen. Neither was Aquarius, but Lucy had already felt the snap of the gate closing in the abrupt way that Aquarius tended to leave. Oh, Lucy was going to catch such an earful next time.
Cautious on wet ground, Lucy crept forwards to find that Pinky had been flushed clean out of their corridor and back into the one she originally came from. She looked… not great. About as good as you could expect from someone who had been forcefully acquainted with multiple hard surfaces at high speeds. Somehow, though, she wasn't out for the count, eyes staring dimly at the ceiling.
"Looks like I'm beat," she acknowledged as Lucy and Juvia approached. "A shame. I thought the power of love could carry me…"
"You give up?" Lucy asked, because she didn't really want to have to kick a downed woman.
"Yes," she sighed, "the love between you two was too strong… ah…"
"Uh." Lucy said, sneaking a glance at Juvia, who had flushed a fantastic shade of red and was muttering something about rivals again. "Sure. Are there more of you?"
"No. I won't betray Lyon's confidence and tell you."
"There's definitely more, then…" Lucy sighed, "Guess we'll have to keep an eye out for those guys. I want to find Happy, though."
"Juvia would like to find Gray again."
"Really? Uh, sure. He's pretty tough, if that what you're worried about. Not that I can't manage myself, either…"
"Juvia will be going now." She dipped her head at Lucy, before her lower half dissolved into water and she propelled away. Weird lady. Nice though. Maybe she'd be interested in joining Fairy Tail?
That was a thought for later, though. Lucy made a quick trip back for her whip, which would have been sad to leave behind, and was just considering if there was any way to tie Pinky up when she spoke up again.
"You're a celestial spirit mage, right?"
"Uh, yeah," Lucy said, a little uncertain of where she was going with this.
Pinky shifted a little, and produced a tiny ring of keys. "Here. I wanted to learn, but the love you showed… I am convinced. These are yours."
It feels like kind of a running theme for Lucy to have no clue what people are talking about. Besides, she really shouldn't just take someone else's— hold on, one of those keys was golden.
"Ooh! Thank you, I will!" Lucy snatched them, and then consideringly helped Pinky shuffle over to the edge of the corridor. She wasn't really in much shape to do any fighting at all, anymore, so Lucy didn't feel bad about just leaving her behind.
She unclipped the old ring the keys were on, checking out her new summons— one golden key, and two silver. She recognized the golden key instantly, of course— Sagittarius, the archer, but neither of the silver keys were instantly recognizable. Oh well! She would have time for contracts later.
Of course, because nothing in life ever wanted to go her way, she made it about five steps further down the corridor when a voice echoed out of everywhere and nowhere at once.
"Hello, everyone. Welcome to the Tower of Heaven— I'm sure some of you are familiar." There was no projection, but Lucy could hear the smile in the next words. "The magic council has decided to fire Etherion upon us. We have twenty minutes— use them wisely!"
"… what?" Pinky said, weakly. So, apparently Etherion wasn't in the plans. Given what little Lucy knew of the spell, justifiably so. It was terrifying, a raw mass of destructive power. If Etherion was fired on the tower while they were all still inside… they'd be wiped out for sure.
Lucy picks out Taurus' key, opening his gate without hesitation. "Taurus! Please, help her get out of here. I need to find the others."
"Right away, miss Lucy!"
(Should she also give him her keys, just in case? No— no, they were Fairy Tail wizards. They'd pull through.)
"You…" Pinky said, surprised. She continued with a note of determination, "There are boats down at the docks, and Angelica should be able to carry a few people. Please, make sure Lyon escapes."
"I'll do my best," Lucy promises, before taking the corridor at a run. There was no way she was going to choose to ride that rat again— she'd fight everyone else in this tower for a spot on one of those boats if she had to.
The thought was nice, though.
we'll be catching up with natsu next chapter.
Erza, internally: don't worry, i understand perfectly what is happening here and i bear you no ill will :) i'll let everyone else know what's going on, we'll pull through this together! ( •̀ ω •́ )✧
Erza, externally: (‡▼益▼)
Natsu, externally: :l
Natsu, internally: nooo i fucked up she hates me now NOOO (┬┬﹏┬┬)
~ShadeShadow