Sorry for the extended exit guys. Recent chapters of Fairy Tail have kind of left me exhausted mentally. Whatever, won't bother you guys with it. But to compensate, I've decided to upload two chapters! They may be shorter than others as of late, but it's two! No complaints! Not that you guys ever leave those anyway.
Enjoy!
"So I now this dock isn't exactly located on a map or something, but this is stupid." Drake couldn't help but agree with Elise on this. They'd been searching for the past few days all up and down the east coast of Fiore, but they hadn't seen anything yet. Hermes had set it was near the border with Bosco, but it didn't hurt to be careful, especially in a scenario like this.
"We're near Bosco," Simon said, hand shielding his eyes from the sun bearing down on them. "We should find it soon. Hopefully anyway, our week time limit is almost over."
"Near Bosco?" Damien demanded, leaning heavily on his cane. "Geographically, maybe. We won't be 'near' it for another couple hours."
"Sounds like fun," Steph huffed, wiping her bangs out of her eyes. "Why is it so hot, exactly?"
"Because we've been walking since daybreak," Ultear replied, looking exhausted herself. As everyone voiced their opinions, Drake looked over to Nashi. She hadn't said much over the past few days, which concerned him greatly. She looked far away at that moment, staring off into the wide ocean beside them.
"...We should keep moving," she finally said, turning to them. "We don't have time to take so many breaks."
"Sorry for my inability, then." Damien muttered, making a face at her. "It's just hard to walk right now."
"I'm not blaming you," Nashi replied, remaining calm. "But we do need to keep going. I know it's hard, but we don't have an option."
"No disagreement there," Damien replied, shuffling around. "I hope we find it soon." Drake agreed. The entire situation had everyone on edge, himself included. The longer they trekked the more he felt his gut tightening at the possibilities he thought up. Would they make it back? What was planned exactly? Were any of them targeted specifically?
At this thought, Drake looked over at Nashi as they walked along the water. When Hermes had contacted them she'd said Blake informed her she was their target. Hermes had said that wasn't true, but was he lying? Was Blake fed false information to get him to move? It was possible. Drake didn't know much about The Olympians, but he very much doubted they treated their workers fairly. Or honestly.
So if they were after Nashi, and Hermes lied to her face, why? Was it because of her heritage? Was she more powerful than any of them could've guessed? Or did they have another reason?
"Nope, nothing. She...It's been quiet."
Drake thought back to his conversation with Nashi several days ago, when he'd asked her about the voice in her head. She claimed she hadn't heard it for a while, but was she lying? Why had she corrected herself by saying it, not she? Was this voice connected to what The Olympians wanted from her? Was the voice what they wanted?
And had it been Nashi talking when her Second Origin was being opened, or the voice?
The more Drake thought the less he understood, which made him frown deeply. He hated not knowing what was going on, and this was the worst. Overall the situation made his head hurt.
"Hey, Nashi." He said, deciding to start a conversation, maybe he'd get some answers from her. "You doing okay?"
"Just fine," she replied not casting him so much as a glance.
"Huh," Drake said. "You've been quiet the past few days, thought maybe you had something on your mind." Nashi didn't reply right away, so Drake looked over at her. Her eyes seemed glued ahead of them, and his looking did nothing to waiver this.
"...I'm fine, really." she finally replied. "Stop worrying about me, I'm just on edge like everyone else." Drake made a face.
"I guess you're right, sorry." he said. Should he listen to her and try and figure out the truth for himself? No, he had a feeling if he did and he confronted her she'd get angry with him. If it was something she was so intent on keeping to herself, Drake knew probing her mind and waiting for her to think about it wouldn't be okay to do. She'd said before she didn't like it, so he probably shouldn't.
"Is that a dock?" Drake's train of thought paused as he looked ahead to see a building next to the water in the distance. He couldn't tell what exactly it was, but a dock sounded accurate. He also saw a bar sitting against the water.
"Maybe we could ask around there," Ultear said. "Maybe someone there knows something."
"They have a dock, maybe we found it," Steph said. "We should see if someone'e home."
"If there's anyone there, that is." Elise said. "It's mid-fall. Nobody goes to the beach this time of year."
"Better than nothing," Drake replied. "Let's go." Now that they had a visible destination, the group moved with slightly more purpose than before. Drake didn't know what exactly they expected to find inside some back end bar this time of year, but it was better than nothing.
Just as Nashi had expected, the bar was not much to look at. It looked to be falling apart in places, and the stairs creaked as they moved for the door. The dock didn't look to be in better condition either. She doubted anyone would be inside, much less anyone who could help them.
And yet, as soon as they opened the door, she could see a young black haired man behind the bar. He seemed as bored as the place around him felt, casually flipping through a book. Once they had entered and closed the door behind them, his eyes lazily moved towards them.
"...Hey," he greeted. "If you're here on some vacation, I hate to say you're at least two months late. Not a lot going on here nowadays."
"No, we're on our way somewhere else," Simon said. "We actually came to ask about that dock. Have you, uh, seen anyone here recently?" Nashi noted that Simon was being vague about their purpose. Rightfully so, they'd been told to be quiet. The man barely seemed to react.
"Seen anyone?" He asked. "Kid, it's the oceanfront. You're going to have to be more specific." Simon made a face, and Nashi felt his pain. Looking for a dock on the oceanfront wasn't exactly a pair of coordinates. Nor was asking if he'd seen anyone.
"We were told to look for a dock," Ultear tried. "Our...Contact said it would be near the border between Fiore and Bosco though."
"You kids in a guild, then?" He asked. Nashi nodded.
"Yes, we are."
"What's your contacts name? Maybe I know em." Damien made.
"Doubtful," He replied. The man watched them lazily for a few more seconds before returning to his book.
"Welp, I can't help you." He said. "My dad gets back this afternoon though, maybe you should ask him. He knows this place better than I do."
"We're kind of on a time crunch," Steph said. "I'm not sure we should." The man shrugged.
"Don't then," he replied. "But good luck finding whatever you want." As much as waiting sounded bad, Nashi suspected the man was right. Unless they had some kind of help, they may not be able to find the dock Hermes told them about.
"Well, what do you guys think?" She asked, looking at the others.
"I don't like sitting around, especially not now," Simon said, arms crossed. "But maybe this it it."
"If it isn't?" Elise said, looking around the bar. "We should be ready to head out if he's not worth out time."
"Agreed," Drake said. "Besides, we've still got until tomorrow. We'll find it." From the sounds of it, they were staying put for the time being. Nashi looked back at the man behind the counter, who had looked up from his book and was watching them. At her turn, his eyes met Nashi's.
Nashi felt a primal urge erupt from within herself, and she'd surged forward a couple of steps before she stopped herself.
Ah...What the fuck?!
"Those eyes are not those of an innocent man," A deeper voice resounded inside Nashi's head. "His intentions are bad," What the hell was END talking about?
What do you mean?
"He's sizing us up like an animal does it's prey. He's our enemy, I can tell."
Well don't just surge forwards like that! He hasn't done anything yet! What did I say about you and taking control of me?
"If it was up to me I would have taken control just now," This made Nashi's eyebrow raise. "But I can't. You're resistance is far stronger than ever before."
Why?
"Probably because of your Second Origin. You're strong enough to hold me back now. It doesn't matter, call him out on this." Nashi gulped as she watched the man. Was END right? She had no reason to believe what END said, but the longer she watched the man, the more she agreed with her other half's assessment.
"Hey, you." Nashi called out. This made the man look back at her, and Nashi felt END's power surge through her again. She'd need to chat with her about that. "What you're name? And don't fuck with me, I know who you are." The man just watched her from behind the counter, not responding.
"Hey, Nashi!" Ultear said, grabbing her arm. "What're you doing?"
"Trust me," Nashi replied, looking over her shoulder at Ultear. "I...Have a good feeling." She then looked back at the man of the hour. "Well? Can we get an answer or not?" She was stared at for a few more seconds before he sighed and shut his book.
"And I worked so hard on this front as well..." He said before standing up. "You caught me, Nashi Dragneel."
"You haven't answered my question," Nashi replied, much more confident now. "Who're we dealing with?" The man pocketed his hands, the bored look replaced with one of confidence.
"My name is Triton," He replied. "I'm an Olympian. Well, I work for them anyway. And I've been tasked with delivering you lot to Zeus the and the other Twelve."
"Of fucking course you are," Drake muttered behind Nashi.
"I've been told that when you arrive, I'm to wait until night to take you to them. So, you've got some time to kill, Fairy Tail. Don't worry though, I'm sure tonight will be fun."
"Why not take us now?" Simon demanded. Triton rolled his eyes.
"Because I was told to take you tonight," He replied. "I'm not keen on disobeying an order directly from Poseidon. So be good and wait until we're good to go." With that, he simply sat back down and reopened his book.
Silence fell upon the bar as Triton began reading again. Nashi wasn't sure what to do now, seeing as they had to wait until Triton could take them.
"What the hell do we do now?" Elise asked, arms crossed. "We found where we were supposed to go."
"Wait," Damien replied. "Triton doesn't seem keen on taking us until he's allowed to."
"How did you guess he was working for the Olympians?"
Nashi also wanted a better explanation.
"Uh, I didn't like the way he was eyeing us." She replied. "Looked way too sinister for me to believe all he was doing was working here."
"Good eye," Drake said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "I didn't even bother trying to listen to him and figure it out." Nashi liked the praise she got for what she'd done, but at the same time it wasn't even her who'd figured that out, it had been END.
"Don't get caught up on it," END said as she thought about this. "My only goal is to protect you. And I did just that."
Thank you. Just, you know, speak up before you try and assault someone.
"I'll try." With this END grew silent, and Nashi walked over to take a seat and rest. If they had to wait a few hours, she may as well get comfortable. She didn't want to sit around with an enemy ten feet from here, but Triton didn't seem keen on taking them yet. So, they'd have to wait him out.
"So we've got a few hours," Simon said as he and the others followed Nashi. "Should we try and come up with a plan?"
"For what?" Damien asked. "We don't know what they intend to do to us."
"Basic stuff," Nashi said, joining the conversation. "Don't let them split us up, if possible. Last thing we need is to be on our own that deep in enemy territory."
"Look for possible escapes?" Steph asked. "In case things go south?"
"In case," Elise muttered. "As if it's only a possibility." Nashi looked over to Triton, who had his nose buried in his book. After a few seconds, he looked up and met Nashi's gaze. He smirked at her before returning to his book, which made Nashi uneasy.
"Yeah," she muttered. "Just in case..."
"You kids ready to go?" Nashi looked up from her hands as Triton stood from behind the bar.
"Are we leaving now?" Drake asked. Triton rolled his eyes.
"No, we're going to catch fish for dinner," he replied sarcastically. "Yes, we're leaving. Come on, out to the water." With this he moved swiftly for the door, Nashi and the others moving after him as fast as they could.
"How's he plan on getting us there?" Ultear asked. "I didn't see a boat on our way in."
"I'm sure he's got a way," Steph said.
"If he makes us swim we jump him," Elise said. Nashi wanted to laugh a little when she felt herself agreeing with her. They didn't come all this way to swim to the meeting.
Once they'd reached the dock, Triton raised his hands. Nashi watched as the ground began to rumble, and the water swirled violently. After a few seconds of this, a large boat erupted from the water next to the dock. The thought of water travel made Nashi queasy, but she doubted Triton gave a damn.
"Everyone on," Triton said as he walked onto the dock. "It's going to take a while to get there."
"How long?" Simon asked. Triton shrugged.
"I don't know, a whole day I think." He replied. Nashi made a face. Right on schedule it seemed. A week from when Hermes had contacted them.
"How far are we going?" Damien asked. " A day seems pretty long."
"You lot aren't seeing any of the journey there," Triton said, arms resting on the railing. "Below deck until I say so. Those are my orders."
"Misdirection," Drake muttered. "They don't want us knowing where exactly we are."
"Bingo," Triton said, pointing at Drake. "All aboard. We've got a meeting to get too." As Nashi and the others boarded the boat, Nashi spared a glance out towards the ocean before she descended below deck.
Whatever would happen out there, it would change everything.
Don't stop here, two chapters today! I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get ten! Two chapters and all, gotta double the goal!
Chapter 274: Mount Olympus