With today's chapter, I have no doubt we will hit 800 reviews. It's incredible to see, really, especially on an OC story.

Also, after looking at my notes, I really want to get through this arc. The one shots, followed by the End of the World arc...hhhhnnnnnggggg!

Also, since I'm a huge gamer, Fallout 4 and Dishonored 2. SO MUCH HYPE. Okay, I'm done.

Enjoy!

Nashi knew the others were right on her heels, she could hear them. The second clue had been so obvious it was crazy. Dragons, her father. Gods, that crazy guy from Grimoire Heart. It clicked in her head almost immediately. She should've known Drake would be listening, but there was no way to prevent that. Taking another wide right in an attempt to lose at least Elise and Sammy, Rocky growled behind her.

"This is getting us nowhere." he hissed, stopping.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Nashi shouted, looking over her shoulder. "Come on! The faster we get there the faster we can..."

"Rock Wall!" Rocky executed his magic, and a gigantic wall of earth sprung up from the dirt, cutting off them from the other contestants.

"...Oh." Was all Nashi could say as Rocky caught up to her, panting.

"That took... a lot...out of me...Can we...slow down...a bit?" He managed, looking at her desperately. Nashi wanted to say no purely because she wanted to get this over with, but she could tell he was on the verge of collapsing as it was.

"Alright, just come on, we still need to hurry." Nashi grabbed him by the arm and started to drag, earning a moan.

"Why?...I put up...a wall."

"Yeah, but have you forgotten?" Nashi asked, looking at him seriously, making him raise an eyebrow. "Elise is on the other side of that wall." Rocky's eyes widened at these words and he quickly tried to keep in step with her.

"You're right." He hissed. "My wall doesn't stand a chance."

Damn it!" Drake growled, slamming his fist into the solid earth in his path. He knew there was no way around this a while either direction, and he doubted he could make it through without breaking a few bones.

"Don't get mad." Asuka advised, bringing her hand up to shield her eyes and look around. There's got to be a way around this thing.

"Yeah, but..." Drake muttered, letting his back hit the wall in frustration. "Ugh, of course Rocky'd pull something like this..."

"You can't lie, it was a good strategy." Asuka added. "I mean, throwing up a wall this big to impede on our own progress so it was almost a guarantee he and Nashi could maintain a lead and win two of those three spots."

"I know." Drake said, sliding down to sit. "At least I can rest for a little bit." Asuka nodded and continued to look around while Drake rested, the hot sun boring down on him. He only realized right then how much he was sweating underneath his trench coat and black shirt, and it made him seven hundred different kind of uncomfortable. Shifting on his ass, Drake took his coat off, followed by his shirt, which got stuck over his head. "Hey Asuka, give me a hand with this."

"Uh..." Upon getting no response from the girl, Drake struggled foe a bit longer and finally got the fabric over his head. When he looked at Asuka, he found her staring right at him, face slightly red.

"What?" He demanded.

"Eep! Nothing!" She excused quickly, face growing even redder. "It's just, uh...uh..."

"What? Spit it out!"

"I wasn't expecting your body to be so developed..." Drake stared at her quizzically before looking down. Sure he was muscular and everything, but he didn't see the big deal. "Gah! This is weird, you're like like eight years younger than me!" Asuka put her back to him, and he rolled his eyes, resting his head on the wall and staring upwards.

And he noticed the top of the wall. Sure it was wide to prevent a very quick passing, but it was only, maybe, thirty feet tall. Drake grinned as he stood, shouldering on his trench coat and discarding his shirt. Backing up a bit past Asuka, Drake craned his neck to get the best view possible.

"What are you doing?" She asked. Drake ignored her, outstretching his arm and testing the angles. "Drake?"

"Poison Dragon Fang Thrust!" The curved fang shaped poison attack shot through the air and hit the top of the wall, latching on tightly. "Bingo! I'm a genius, you can thank me later."

"What?" Drake pulled his arm a few times to show her the durability of the attack, and she grinned. "Oh! I get it, an impromptu grappling hook."

"Exactly." he replied, outstretching an arm. "Come here."

"...W-What?" Rolling his eyes and making a grab while she was flustered, Drake grabbed her around the waist and pulled her close, causing a panic. "Gah! W-Weird! Weird!" Drake backed up a bit for launching them both in the air, shooting up on the hook of poison and straight to the other side of the wall. Landing on top, he observed the area around them.

"Around, now we go down." He said, aiming up another shot before Asuka butted in, face red. "What?" Fumbling with her belt, Drake saw her pull out a pistol and shoot it at the ground, revealing it to be her own grappling hook, which made him falter. "Why didn't you say anything about this at first!?"

"I-I forgot..." he glared at her as she smiled weakly. He sighed in defeat, and tested the strength of the line.

"After you, Miss Forgetful." Asuka nodded, pulling out a hook from her belt, she slid down the rope with little effort. Drake coated his hand on poison and did the same.

"Easy!" Asuka said.

"Any more awkward situations you want to make before we proceed?" Drake asked. Earning a blush and a fearful shake, Drake nodded. Alright then, let's go. We've wasted enough time as it is."

When Elise saw the huge wall no doubt created by Nashi's partner, her mood darkened considerably.

"Great." Sammy said as Elise dropped him off her shoulders. "The last thing we needed was a wall Rocky created"

"what the hell is that supposed to mean?" Elise demanded, staring at him as he sat down.

"We aren't getting through that thing any day soon." Sammy replied. Something inside Elise cracked, and her arm turned into a club. "We may as well just sit down and give up, because he aren't..."

"Hiyaaahhh!" Elise shouted, slamming her club into the wall, and it resounded with a dull thud.

"Damn it Redfox, I told you we aren't going to get through here anytime soon!" Ignoring his complaints, Elise slammed her club into it again, as hard as she could. "Redfox, for the love of...!"

"Break you piece of shit!" Elise roared, giving another slam. The wall crumbled in the vicinity where she'd been hitting, enough for them to walk through. "Come on you, we have to catch up!"

"How the hell did you...?"

"No time!" She roared, grabbing him again and dragging him through. "If I lose to Drake of all people he'll never let me forget it!"

When Nashi got close enough, the scent of God Slaying magic entered her nose. It was faint and clearly very old, but it was undeniably there. Entering a clearing, both she and Rocky looked around for their clues and the next riddle. Finding the second piece, Nashi also saw three slips of paper resting in the center of a scorch mark. Walking over to it, Nashi noticed they were now labelled according to the teams. Nashi assumed this would maybe split them up, making it less of a close race.

"Hurry up, before the others get here and get ahead of us." Rocky told her, and she nodded, picking up their slip of paper. "What does it say?"

"Your next hint is at where the rain stood still."

"Rain doesn't stand still, Dragneel."

"I know that, thank you." Nashi replied glaring at him. "Obviously it's a riddle,. we need to solve it."

"Where the hell would rain stand still?" Rocky demanded. "Doesn't gravity stop that kind of thing?" Nashi shrugged thinking as hard as she could.

"I honestly don't know." She replied, sighing. "Great, this is exactly what we needed." Nashi heard shouting in the distance. "Shit, someone else is coming! Come on!"

Wait...!" Nashi ignored his plea for halting and dragged him into the bushes away from the scorch mark, trying to put as much distance between them and the area as fast as they could.

"Don't argue!" She hissed, trying to be quiet even with one of the competitors having amazing hearing. "Let's just pretend we knew where to go!"

"What will that accomplish?!"

"Pissing you off, for starters!"

"Ugh, you're impossible..."

"For you. Now shut up and move!"

"I'm tired!"

"No one cares!"

"I do!"

"No one important cares!"

"..."

"Hurry up!" Nashi ignored the incoherent mumbling from under his breath and made him keep pace with her, although she still had no idea where to go. Rain didn't stand still, Rocky had made that more than clear with his point about gravity. Did Tenrou have some place with enough magic that did that? She knew gravity magic existed, but certainly not in abundance outside of a mage using it. Thinking as hard as she could, Nashi could not remember anything from any stories about rain standing still. Once they were a ways away, Nashi slowed a bit. "Any ideas?" She asked.

"No," Rocky replied, "Then again, you've made it extremely clear my opinion means nothing."

"It's not an opinion, it's an idea."

"Whatever." Rocky said this, but the look on his face clearly said he was thinking. "It obviously has to do with gravity, otherwise rain cannot stand still."

"Hmm..." Nashi said, rubbing her chin. She ran through the barrage of stories she'd been told about Tenrou, trying to place anything from it that would link to their problem. "Ugh, I have nothing."

"Like almost all things with you, sadly."

Once Drake got to the area where he'd tracked Nashi's scent, he saw the remaining two slips of paper resting in the center of a scorch mark.

"Damn, they already left?" He demanded angrily. "They knew that fast? It's almost unfair."

"Maybe they were mistaken?" Asuka asked, grasping at straws. Drake shrugged and walked to the center of the scorch, reaching to pick up his hint. He stopped as he realized they were labelled with name, his and Asuka's the opposite of what he had been about to pick up. Reaching for the one intended for him, he unfolded it and read it, raising an eyebrow.

"Uh, what?" He asked, staring at it.

"What?" Asuka asked, bending down to look over his shoulder. He could hear her brow furrow. "Your next hint rests where the devil fought the giant. Giants and devils?"

"Must have to do with Grimoire." Drake reasoned, rubbing his chin. "The devil must mean Hades, but..." Drake made a face and thought as hard as he could, but nothing arose until Asuka snapped her fingers.

"Grampa!" She shouted, face elated. Drake stared at her.

"What?" he asked.

"Gramps...er, Makarov, Laxus' Grampa, used giant magic!" She shouted, the pieces forming in Drake's head. "He tried to hold of Grimore's airship on the coast of the island!"

"Let's hope you're right." Drake said, standing. "I have absolutely no ideas."

"Alright. Which way is the coast?"

"Which one? We're on an island, Asuka." Drake frowned as Asuka did. "You don't know which coast, do you?"

"...No." Drake moaned in frustration. "Well how the hell is that a fact someone would remember?!"

"I know, but we're just wasting time by guessing."

"Can't do much else, can we?" Drake sighed and listened intently, finding the fastest way to the coast.

"Come on, it's this way."

Elise was livid to find no one else and two pieces to the puzzle and clues gone.

"Look, we're last!" She shouted at Sammy, who cowered at her anger.

"How is that my fault?" he asked timidly.

"You couldn't figure out the last clue!"

"You couldn't either..."

"What was that?"

"N-Nothing! Just go get our slip!" Elise narrowed her gaze at him before she huffed and did as he advised. Picking it up and staring at it, she read it.

"Your next hint is where iron was trumped by the power of the soul." She recited, rolling her eyes. "Wow, could they have made this any easier?"

"What do you mean?" Elise threw the piece of paper down on the ground and looked over at him.

"It's where my Dad beat those two Grimoire members, obviously." She answered. "And I already caught his scent earlier. Give me enough time, and I'll find it." She flipped her hair out of her eyes and strode past. "Come on, we have an exam to ace."

"Right behind you..."

Yeah, Elise's riddle was a huge cop out. What do you want from me, there's only so much I can do with these riddles and this island. Anyway, today's question is, even though I already know half the answers, is:

Which ship do you support within my universe? Sadly, some of the end game ships have yet to interact much, but as of now, which ones? let's get creative, and not just a tidal wave of Drashi, even though that's like, all of yours OTP.

I hope you enjoyed as always, leave a review! Let's try and get ten!