Chapter 31 - Bad Timing
In The Caverns
The group was not having a good time going through these old caves. It was already a struggle trying to go through the place because of all of the jagged ground and the possibility of falling on top of a stalagmite. Now they are supposed to find some old dragon fossils that Gajeel allegedly found.
"I still have my doubts. Has it not occurred to any of you that perhaps Gajeel was just seeing things?" Charle asked.
"Are you saying that Gajeel was just messing with us?" Happy asked.
"I am not accusing him playing tricks or lying. I am just stating that perhaps he couldn't see well or his vision was distorted by hunger." Charle said, explaining herself. "Let's not forget that your childhood friend literally threw him down here and nobody had heard anything from Gajeel until late at night." she said.
"I know what I saw, I wasn't hallucinating or anything. I saw them!" Gajeel exclaimed. "Also, I'm still pissed at Salamander for throwing me down here!" he yelled.
"Stop crying, metal head. You're probably trying to prank us. We didn't even need you to win." Natsu said.
"We wouldn't have had to needlessly extend the fight if you worked like a team!" Lucy exclaimed.
"No Lucy, don't feed me to the wolves again!" Natsu pleaded, thinking Lucy wanted to hurt him again.
As they continued their banter, Gajeel stopped in place as he found the dragon fossils. Of course, the cavern was still relatively dark and they needed a good light source to see the remains of the dead that Gajeel had found. So Gajeel resorted to smacking Natsu across the chest.
"Give us some light." Gajeel said.
"Why me?" Natsu asked.
"First, you threw me down here. Second, your flames can work as light. Third, I'll ask the nun to feed you to the "puppies" if you don't give us some light." Gajeel answered.
"Fine!" Natsu yelled as he channelled a large fire into his palm.
With the fire, everyone witnessed the mass graveyard of dragons. Only it was more of a catacomb as the bones were lying around like someone just thought it was too much work to bury them. Jokes aside, the group tried to ponder ways to understand the cause of this.
"I'm no paleontologist, but I think these creatures have been around before the castle was formed." Lucy said.
"It makes more sense than to just dig a hole and dump them." Gajeel commented.
"These dragons were here and some pompous king from a long time ago decided to build his house over a dragon burial ground?" Natsu asked, looking angry.
"Be quiet, it's likely that the ancient architects were unaware of the dragons." Charle said, trying to be reasonable. "That or maybe they chose to ignore it and remain ignorant. Both are possible." she said with a shrug.
"Yeah, you're super smart Charle. Too bad we can't know for sure." Happy said, subtly trying to flirt with Charle.
"Hey, I know a way we can find out." Wendy spoke up.
"You do?" Lucy asked.
Charle raised a brow, "Did you discover a way to travel in time?" she asked.
Wendy shook her head, "No, but something better and more easy. Porlyusica-san taught me this unique spell, but I never understood why I would use it." she said as she approached the nearest dragon skeleton. Wendy extended her hands as green energy escaped them, "Milky Way!" she called out.
The entire skeleton was suddenly filled with green magic and moments later, a ghost like figure appeared where the skeleton was. However, it slowly faded before maintaining a transparent appearance. The dragon was massive and towered over the Dragon Slayers, exceeds and Lucy.
"Wendy raised the dead!" Natsu exclaimed.
"Nope, I just called upon its spirit." Wendy said.
"Oh… Wendy raised a ghost!" Natsu exclaimed.
"Yes, it's still kind of spooky I guess." Wendy said.
"Who are you humans? Why do you disturb me?" The green dragon asked.
"We just found your remains along with several other dragons." Lucy answered.
"Yeah, um… what exactly happened? There's so many of you guys just lying around dead." Natsu asked.
The dragon narrowed his eyes, "I am Zirconis, The Emerald Dragon, and to explain the predicament of myself and my compatriots will go back to four hundred years ago." Zirconis said.
The group paid close attention as they can see that Zirconis was about to tell them something very important.
"As you may know, we dragons were the dominant race 400 years ago and to tell you the truth. We saw humans as insignificant lesser creatures as we were much stronger." Zirconis explained.
"Well duh, you guys have awesome magic." Natsu said, understanding the pride of a dragon.
"However, there were those of us who felt pity for the humans and this eventually led to conflicts among us." Zirconis said. "The battles were long and the anti-human faction were losing the battle. As our pro-human faction had began teaching magic to the humans, sharing our own abilities in order to harm us." He explained.
"Do you mean Dragon Slayer magic?" Wendy asked.
"It is the only known magic that mimics the power of a dragon." Happy said, understanding Wendy's question.
"That it was. Our civil war reached a stalemate until humans were able to fight alongside the pro-human faction." Zirconis answered. "However, the faction sympathetic with humans had desired peace and coexistence but the humans were selfish. They turned on their allies and began to kill them." He said.
This angered Natsu and saddened Wendy while Gajeel refused to show any emotions. Natsu loved Igneel like a father and loathed the idea of betraying a dragon while Wendy had similar thoughts as Grandeeney was her adoptive mother. To betray a friend who fought for you and gave you strength was truly the epitome of selfishness.
"However, there was one individual in particular that was the worst. One human whose name no one could remember had killed many dragons and bathed in their blood. To the point the human became a dragon and wiped out nearly every dragon in existence and becoming the king of the dragons." Zirconis explained as this part of the story made him look more serious.
"Okay, that's a weird sense of logic. So did the guy hate dragons or did he just want the title by getting rid of everyone?" Happy asked as the story made him feel confused.
"We'll worry about semantics later!" Charle exclaimed.
"So what about this Dragon King? What happened to him?" Natsu asked.
"His human name is unknown but likely lost to time, but he became known as Acnologia." Zirconis said before suddenly disappearing.
"Kid, did your magic just run out? He just told us something big here!" Gajeel exclaimed.
"I don't know! Maybe it did!" Wendy frantically replied as she tried to summon Zirconis' spirit again.
"It's no use, we know why Zirconis and everyone else is here. Acnologia killed them himself." Lucy said.
"Damn it, that stupid dragon killed all these guys and then tried killing us on the island. Is he some kind of sadist or something?" Natsu asked.
"He was a creation of Zeref!" a new voice said.
Everyone turned around and saw Yukino standing next to a royal guard.
"Who the heck is this guy?" Natsu asked.
"I am Arcadios and now you know the first of defeating Zeref for good." Arcadios said.
Charle suddenly looked terrified as she fell on her butt. Happy quickly tried to pick her up as he wondered what was going on with her. Unknown to Happy, Charle had a series of visions that prophesied cataclysmic events. One of which showed Arcadios and now the knight was standing before them.
"What are you talking about old man?" Gajeel asked.
"It's simple, like many other monsters in the book of Zeref. Acnologia was created by the dark mage himself." Arcadios said.
"Okay if that was somehow true, what does this have to do with beating Zeref?" Gajeel asked.
"Yeah old man, you're just talking crazy and why is Yukino with you?" Natsu asked.
"This is Sergeant Yukino and as part of our plan to defeat Zeref once and for all. We needed the help of a celestial spirit mage." Arcadios begant o explain. "However, we did try getting to the Holy Maiden but she was too powerful and clever for us to reach her." he said.
Now Lucy felt suspicious, "What exactly are you planning to do with celestial spirit mages?" she asked, thinking Arcadios was only welcoming trouble.
"It would be better if I showed you. Now that you are here, it would be easier to explain the situation." Arcadios said.
The group didn't trust him right away and they were very suspicious as to why Arcadios needed celestial spirit mages. Natsu and Lucy could trust Yukino as she was kind hearted unlike the members of her former guild. However, that didn't mean that Arcadios wasn't going to cause trouble for them.
Arcadios lead the group towards another part of the cavern under Castle Mercurius. From there, Arcadios already began to explain some deep secrets involving the mysterious cavern they were in.
"As you know, the Grand Magic Games is publicly known as a competition for the best guilds to show off their abilities and compete for money and glory. That is actually just a cover up." Arcadios said.
"So the money isn't real? Darn, I guess the old man is going to die of a heart attack." Natsu said.
"He probably will, but I don't think that's what Arcadios means." Lucy said.
Lucy admitted that the high amount of money that's being rewarded as a prize is enticing. While hopeful that it isn't fake, she knew that Arcadios meant that the games served a bigger purpose than flashing magic to entertain the crowd.
"The real purpose is to collect vast amounts of energy. So what a better way than to have the guilds compete?" Arcadios asked as they continued walking. "However, had the Dragon Slayers fought during the first annual games. We likely would have reached our goal from the beginning." he said.
"Well I would have done nothing because this idiot threw me down here!" Gajeel angrily yelled while glaring at Natsu.
"What do you even need that energy for? Some kind of machine?" Lucy asked.
"Lucy, why would they be powering a machine?" Happy asked, thinking Lucy was being dumb.
"Are you forgetting the fact that Gray almost fed Natsu to a robot dragon that runs on his magic? What about the time we went to Edolas and their king summoned a robot that devours all magic?" Lucy asked.
"Lucy has a point tomcat. The only thing that would be shocking is if isn't another robot dragon." Charle said.
Yukino just sweat dropped, "You all sound like you've experienced some odd adventures." She said.
Arcadios looked concerned, "I'm starting to consider finding robot dragons to be our third priority after Zeref and Acnologia." He said before stopping. "But no, it's not a machine but rather a gate." he said.
The Fairy Tail wizards looked at the end of the cavern and saw a massive metallic looking door. The appearance intimidated some of them while the others just felt curious as to what else the kingdom was hiding under it's streets.
"So is this the magic vacuum cleaner?" Natsu asked.
"It absorbs magic, yes. The reason we need it to do his is because this gate has the power to travel back to 400 years in the past. Where we will stop Zeref at his weakest point and thus defeating Acnologia in the process." Arcadios explained.
"Okay that just sounds weird." Happy said.
"How exactly would you reach that goal?" Lucy asked with some doubt.
"As I said, we needed celestial spirit mages but not just any. We require all 12 golden zodiac keys to activate the gate on the date of July th during the eclipse." Arcadios answered.
"Why does that date sound familiar?" Lucy asked.
"That's the day Igneel went missing. Didn't you say the same with your dragon, Metal-Head?" Natsu asked.
Gajeel nodded, "Yeah, July 7th which was seven… actually, 14 years ago now. That's really ironic." He said.
"I think that's the day Grandeeney went missing too!" Wendy exclaimed.
Arcadios continued to speak, "I do not know what you are talking about, but we can save that for later. For now, I ask the help of both Yukino and Lucy Heartfilia to help me accomplish this goal." he said.
"I think it's a bad idea." Lucy said, shocking Arcadios.
"What do mean?" Arcadios asked.
"Yeah Lucy, we can stop Acnologia and Zeref." Wendy said, seeing a good reason in the plan.
"Look, time travel isn't a joke. If it's real then we can cause worse things. As far as we know, Acnologia has a separate existence from Zeref." Lucy began to reason. "Or worse, we cause more problems if we try to kill him." she said.
"I don't know Luce, I don't understand any of this but this guy sounds like he knows a lot of stuff." Natsu said.
"The Nun is right, Salamander. Getting rid of Zeref is good, but anything can happen if you mess with the past. Like maybe his cults won't be born, but instead they're replaced by some kind of pagan religion that prays to a demon." Gajeel said.
Natsu looked disturbed by that explanation, "You've been reading too many of Lucy's books." he said.
"I don't read them! The shrimp (Levy), reads them out loud and makes me listen to her reviews!" Gajeel angrily yelled.
As Gajeel's relationship with Levy improved, the two started hanging out together more often. Now it's to the point that Gajeel is stuck hearing Levy reading Lucy's books which cover important figures and events of their era. Now it appears that Gajeel's head is filled with strange information regarding odd religious practices.
He won't admit it, but Gajeel has read a book about Lu Bu and has found it interesting.
Before everyone could further debate the Eclipse Plan. They were suddenly surrounded by guards who also began to apprehend Arcadios and Yukino as well. As the guards grabbed the entire group, Lucy felt her keys being taken away from her.
"Hey, don't touch that!" Lucy yelled as she tried blasting them away. Only to feel her entire body feel light, "What… is… this?" she asked.
Lucy's body felt hollow and light, as if her body was empty of magic. The same occurred for most of the group, allowing the guards to have an easier time to restrain them. Arcadios had the most difficulty as he was being held down by his own subordinates.
"What is the meaning of this? Unhand me right now!" Arcadios ordered.
That's when a short old man accompanied by the guards had stood over Arcadios.
"Darton! What is the meaning of this!?" Arcadios angrily yelled.
"Your actions have gone unchecked for too long, Arcadios. You will be punished accordingly for your treasonous actions." Darton said.
"What treasonous actions? What are you speaking of?" Arcadios asked.
"Take him away, I will not waste more words on a traitor." Darton said. He then looked at the Fairy Tail wizards, "And throw them out of the castle. All but the blonde one." he said.
"Yes sir." the knights said.
"Hey! Let go of Luce!" Natsu yelled.
"Let go of the Nun!" Gajeel yelled.
The Dragon Slayers tried to fight back but they suddenly felt some magical seals that were sapping away at their magic. Practically making them useless in this situation as well as helpless. That is until Happy jumped out and started swinging his arms and hands wildly.
"Don't worry guys, I'll save Lucy! Because I'm the hero!" Happy said.
"We're doomed." Wendy and Charle said.
"Karate!" Happy yelled as he lunged at the nearest knight.
Later
Everyone minus Lucy was kicked out of the castle. With Makarov being notified of the events, but he didn't have a reason to be angry with his guild. No, he was rightfully angry with the guards for unjustly arresting Lucy and making up excuses to keep her imprisoned.
"You are fortunate that we did not add charges for the cat's actions." A guard said.
The same guard who looked like he was used as a punching bag for a professional martial artist. The man's eyes were swollen, his nose was bent the wrong way and he appeared to be missing a tooth from the upper row of his mouth. Everyone just looked at Happy in surprise as he was tied up and trapped inside of a tiny cage.
"I'm actually shocked by this. Happy, how did you get so strong?" Charle asked with wide eyes.
Happy grinned, "I'm a man of many talents. Schuwen sensei took me as his pupil." he answered. "Just look, I'll break out of these ropes and the cage in less than ten minutes by only using meditation." he said.
"Right." Charle said, not believing that part.
Happy suddenly went quiet and started muttering some kind of mantra. For some reason, Wendy sat down with her legs crossed and tried to meditate as well. Feeling as if she mimics Happy, she may end up growing stronger as well. Of course, Charle was not a fan of this as Wendy was too easy to leave an impression on.
Meanwhile, the guard left after having given Makarov an instruction which felt like an ultimatum. Of course, Natsu just wanted to run back to the castle and going charging in there to rescue Lucy. Which Makarov did not approve of as he saw the massive risk of challenging their own kingdom.
"Natsu, stop where you are. I am angry as well, but we have to look at our present condition. We can't go to a one sided war with the kingdom." Makarov said. "The guards have promised to release Lucy if we manage to win the games." he said.
"But we can't guarantee that the guards will just let Lucy leave." Mira said as she was comforting young Shirou who looked sad.
"I know that, but that is why we must think this through. Just running in there will only spell more trouble for Lucy and the guild itself." Makarov explained.
"I hate this." Gray said.
"Surely winning is enough. After all, the knights are about honor and chivalry." Juvia said.
"That is true, but they seemed content with making an excuse to lock away Lucy without proper justification." Erza said.
"But what do we do!? Lucy could be in real trouble right now!" Natsu angrily yelled.
"KIYAH!" Happy yelled as the cage suddenly shattered around him. "We try being more discreet." He said as the ropes around him had fallen off.
"That could work, one team can try to save Lucy but without sounding an alarm like Natsu wants to do." Gray said.
"Happy, what sort of powers have you gained?" Charle asked, looking shocked again.
"The power of meditation. If I am patient enough, then you will see all the good qualities I have and go on a date with me where we will enjoy fish." Happy said.
Charle immediately looked annoyed, "I would not do that, even if it meant reaching the highest levels of enlightenment." she said.
Happy immediately deflated and looked depressed.
Then as the guild started planning what to do to help Lucy while also competing in the games. Sherlock Holmes entered the building looking quite confused as if his head was filled with an overload of information. However, that didn't stop his great ability to read the room and try to understand what was going on.
"From what I can see, we are in dire conflict aren't we? I suppose it involves one, if not all members of the guild?" Sherlock asked.
"It's Lucy, she's been arrested after we learned about some magic time machine." Natsu said.
Sherlock looked exhausted, "Please start from the beginning." she said.
The great detective's work is never finished. Especially as the mystery grows wider and more questions than clues keep appearing.
With Lucy
Lucy woke up feeling like every joint in her body was cramping up. For some reason, her magic circuits felt like they were on fire. As Lucy tried to understand her position, she found herself in a prison cell with Yukino.
"Yukino? Where are we?" Lucy asked.
"In the dungeon." Yukino answered.
"What for?" Lucy asked.
She wanted to guess that her guild was technically trespassing when going into the tavern. Not like it was private property, but kind of an unsafe space just like how citizens are prohibited from entering a construction site or the sewers. Although they were with Arcadios who appeared to be a high ranking knight as he was the one who escorted them.
So it didn't make any sense to her.
"Sir Arcadios was accused of treason because of the Eclipse Plan." Yukino said.
"Eclipse Plan? That's the plan to time travel right?" Lucy asked.
Yukino nodded, "But it looks impossible now. July 7th is tomorrow and the guards have taken away our zodiac keys." she said, sounding depressed.
"While I'm not a fan of being thrown into prison. I don't exactly have positive vibes about time travel." Lucy said.
"But why do you say that? We could stop Zeref." Yukino said.
Lucy sighed, "Look Yukino, if time travel was possible, then we can stop all sorts of problems in the world. But there would be a whole other level of consequences." she said.
While Lucy didn't want to think of something insane like Gajeel in regards to some pagan cult replacing the cult of Zeref. A series of good events transpired by tragedy could be prevented. If anything, some things may still continue regardless of removing one individual.
Would the world have been different many millennia ago if a certain fascist was accepted into art school?
"But I want to take the chance." Yukino said as she looked down at the floor. "My sister, she was taken away by Zeref's worshippers. She and many other people were taken away and hurt by his followers and it felt like a risk worth taking." she said.
Lucy sighed, "Yukino, I can understand your thinking. I don't know you feel having felt that sense of loss, but there's no proof that time travel is possible." she said.
At the end of the day, this wild idea is just a theory. There's no telling what that gate can actually do.
The next day
The rescue team had been formed and prepared to rescue Lucy. Although their resources seemed limited and they had to be very discreet as to where they were going.
"From what I can see, we have two Dragon Slayers, Lady Mirajane, the three exceeds a demi servant and two servants. Myself included of course." Sherlock said.
"I forgot you're sort of like a servant. I'm glad to have a strong teammate like you, Shirou." Wendy said, making Shirou blush.
"You're strong too, Wendy." Shirou said.
"Someone's in love." Happy teased.
"Now is not the time for your jokes!" Panther Lily yelled, startling Happy.
"Detective sir, I think you miscounted. You are the only servant here." Mirajane said before Holmes gestured for them to look back.
The guild was surprised to see a familiar blonde Aztec goddess, "I thought I learned my mistake from having too many drinks." Quetzalcoatl said.
"What the heck? Did Lucy summon her?" Natsu asked, not knowing that Lucy has lost access to her powers.
Quetzalcoatl patted Natsu's head, "No, I was enjoying a few drinks but then I had too many." she said with a sad face as her head ached.
"Relax my dear goddess, at least you didn't sleep with anyone." Sherlock said.
"Oh, don't remind me." Quetzalcoatl said.
For context, the Aztec goddess got really drunk and lost her divinity after having had sex with her sister. Which is a good reason for her to avoid drinking too much alcohol, if not try and avoid it.
"So any ideas for a plan?" Panther Lily asked.
A few minutes later
The group found a pair of guards and tried to see if they can get past them or at least gain some information from this. However, the plan looked like it was about to fail from how ridiculous it looked. It got worse as the group split into two teams while Sherlock and Shirou stayed out of it and watched.
"I am no strategist, but I can only see the many ways this will fail. I can also see one way this can succeed, but…" Sherlock trailed off with a sigh.
"I got a bad feeling." Shirou said.
The first group was lead by Natsu who had Happy and Panther Lily with him. The guards looked confused by Natsu's appearance as they saw that he and the exceeds were dressed like a mariachi band.
"May we help you?" the first guard asked.
"Si, amigo we are the mariachi band. We are here to entertain the prisoners as per requested." Natsu said in a fake accent.
"Si senor, we just wanted to confirm the appointment." Happy said in an equally bad accent.
"Qui." Panther Lily said with little enthusiasm.
"Don't say Qui! Say, Si!" Happy said.
The guards just sweat dropped, "Why would there be a request for a mariachi band? Prisoners aren't given special treatment to live music." One said.
"Exactly! We just said that so no one can overhear us! In fact, we will torture the prisoners with our music!" Natsu said, trying to look less suspicious.
"Yeah listen to this!" Happy said before strumming the guitar.
"La Cucaracha! La Cucaracha! Ya no puede caminar! Porque no tiene, porque le falta las dos patitas de atras!" they sang.
"Okay, I admit that was very terrible. You might as well be executioners." a guard said, making the group smile.
"But we're not letting you through to the dungeon." the other guard said.
"Then you should let us through!" Quetzalcoatl said as she arrived with the girls following behind her. "We are the Peruvian Flute band, compadre." she said.
If anything, it helped that Quetzalcoatl is from Latin America and actually can speak some form of Spanish and other local dialects.
"And what are you here for?" One of the guards asked.
"We are here to educate the prisoners. Help them be reeducated into society with the power of our flutes." Quetzalcoatl said as she raised up her instrument. "Right chicas?" she asked.
"Si hermana!" Wendy and Mirajane said.
'How did I get caught up in this?' Charle wondered.
"Wait, so now there's an order for a flute band and a mariachi?" one of the guards asked.
"Clearly, these people are frauds. The king asked for us because our music helps people. Not torture them." Quetzalcoatl said. "Ready?" she asked her band mates.
The girls then played on their flutes, but only proceeded to copy Natsu's mariachi band by playing La Cucaracha.
"Hey! You jerks copied our song!" Natsu yelled.
"We copied nothing. Music is for the people, but your music is very bad." the Aztec Goddess said.
"Those are fighting words!" Natsu yelled.
"You want to wrestle me for this gig?" Quetzalcoatl asked, showing her sharp pointed teeth.
"I'm going to pin you down and make you beg!" Natsu said.
Happy gagged, "That sounds so gross. I'm gonna tell Lucy!" he said.
Suddenly the guards watched as Natsu and Quetzalcoatl got into a fight on the street. The guards were unsure if they should call for back up or hope that things get resolved on their own. Luckily, this gave Shirou and Sherlock a plan.
Sherlock suddenly appeared with a frantic look on his face, "There they are! These are the troublemakers who have been harassing everyone with their music!" he said.
"Eh?" both bands asked.
Then Shirou suddenly arrived in his teenage form wearing a knight costume, "Thank you citizen! I'll take it from here!" he said.
"What is going!?" both guards asked.
"You two don't know? How fortunate because there have been dozens of reports of flute bands and mariachi bands all over the city. It's like a disease is spreading and everyone is being annoyed to death." Shirou said, making up a story.
"Oh, I thought they were just performing without a license." one guard said.
"That too!" Shirou said. "Now then, please let me through to the dungeon." he said as he grabbed Natsu and Quetzalcoatl's arms.
"Uh, the prison is that way. It's tricky to spot, but the entrance is actually a few sharp turns that way." the second guard said.
Shirou played off his ignorance, "Right! Right! My mistake! There's been too many bands for us to book so now the King just wants them locked up! Thank you for your cooperation." he said before dragging everyone away.
"What the heck was that?" the guards asked.
In the prison
Natsu and the goddess were still glaring at each other about their recent fight. The group chose to ignore those before they were forced into a battle of the latin bands. Everyone else began looking for Lucy before finding her in a cell with Yukino.
"Lucy, we found you!" Wendy said.
"Lucy, are you feeling well? You look quite sickly." Charle pointed out.
Charle noticed that Lucy was looking quite weak and even Lucy herself didn't understand it. Even after a day, Lucy wasn't feeling too well and had issues with controlling her magic. She did everything she could but couldn't find a way to restore her power.
"I think some kind of magic seal is in place." Lucy said as she walked up to the bars. "Are you two here alone?" she asked.
"No, we brought a whole team." Wendy said before everyone else arrived.
"Hello Lucy, quite the predicament you are in. I can see you are also quite weakened from what I can see." Sherlock said.
"Yeah, I think something is draining me. I feel like it's a seal but Yukino feels better than me." Lucy said with a sigh.
Sherlock nodded, "I see, how odd a predicament. We will worry about that after you are released." he said. "Young Shirou, if you would please release your mother." he said.
Shirou came running up and saw Lucy trapped in the prison cell. Without thinking, he conjured up a blade and cut through the bars with ease. Lucy stepped out and bent down to hug Shirou and stroked his hair.
"Good boy, did you miss me?" Lucy asked.
"Yes." Shirou admitted as he hugged her.
"We best leave right away. The silence and lack of guards is quite, how do I put this?" Sherlock asked as he started thinking.
It was another word for mystery and suspicious. However, before Sherlock could come up with a word. The floor suddenly opened up and dropped the group down a small hill leading to some sort of tunnel.
"Bad, maybe I should have gone the simple way and said it's bad." Sherlock said before the exceeds landed on his chest.
"Charle, my love! Are you okay?" Happy asked.
"I am fine, but do not call me that." Charle said.
"I'm fine too, thanks for asking." Panther Lily said sarcastically.
The exceeds then crawled off of the detective before Quetzalcoatl fell on top of him next.
"Thanks for breaking the fall, Senor Shakespeare." The Rider Class servant said.
"I am, Sherlock Holmes." Sherlock said through a painful grunt.
Quetzalcoatl shrugged, "You are both British, yes?" she asked.
Ignoring that, everyone made sure they were okay and did a quick head count. Once they were sure that everyone was still together, a holographic screen appeared and revealed a young woman with green hair and green eyes.
"That's Princess Hisui." Lucy pointed out.
"So what? Did we break into her secret hideout or something?" Natsu asked.
"I know you criminals can see and hear me. You thieves are now in Abyss Palace where no criminal has survived. Do not expect any salvation or forgiveness as you will rot down there for the remainder of your life." the projection of Hisui said before disappearing.
"For a princess, she sure was mean." Happy said.
"Well, we did break into a prison. So she does have a right to get mad." Mirajane pointed out.
"No prison can hold us! We're leaving this place and nothing is stopping us!" Natsu said.
All the while, one of the many faces of Hassan was spying on them. Watching as they are trapped in the Abyss Palace under orders of their master.
Meanwhile, At The Grand Magic Games
The games continued with no one seemingly aware of the situation with Fairy Tail. However, they did take notice that Juvia had taken Natsu's place in the team as the final day would be an all out battle between teams.
"Welcome to the final day of the Grand Magic Games! Today, we will be finally announcing the winners of this year's games!" Lola announced.
"I'm quite excited to hear that. Although, I am sad that games have ended so quickly." Yajima said.
"I don't blame you, former councilmen. This year has been filled with many thrills and surprises. Do you think Sabertooth will reclaim their top spot or will first place belong to someone else?" Lola asked.
"I may be old, but I accept change." Yajima said.
"You heard it heard it here folks! Now let's explain the rules of the final challenge!" Lola exclaimed with excitement.
Everyone watched as a projection of Mato appeared, "Hello everyone, the rules are quite simple. All five members of each team will battle togethers to knock each rival team out of the games. You gain points for every wizard you eliminate, but gain an extra five points if you take out the leader of that team, Cabo." he explained.
Fairy Tail stood there in silence with serious express on their faces as Mato explained the rules. Everyone looked more serious than ever today and it would have freaked out the other guilds had anyone seen them.
"Most importantly, if all team members are eliminated. Then obviously the whole team is eliminated and then out of the game. The points you gain will be added to the total amount of points your team has. Now, let us begin the final round, Cabo!" Mato said as the crowd cheered.
Once again, Fairy Tail looked silent and serious which left the spectators feeling confused. Many wondered if they just gave up and lost their motivation. But they just stood there, ignoring the events around them as no other wizard team had found them yet. All the while Quatro Cerberus is having a horrible time again.
Even with someone as strong as Bacchus, Goldmine was ready to have a stroke.
"And Quatro Puppy is the first team to be eliminated from this year's Grand Magic Games! Thank you for playing anyways!" Lola announced.
"I'm sorry Goldmine, better luck next time." Yajima said, apologizing for his old friend.
Meanwhile, Goldmine looked like he just had a stroke after hearing that news. Every member of his guild was trying to do their best to resucitate him but nothing could ever heal the disappointment and embarrassment.
"MEDIC!" A Quatro Cerberus wizard yelled out.
Quatro Cerberus Final Score: 20 Points
"But what's this? One team is eliminated and Fairy Tail is still not moving!" Lola said. "Have they given up all hope when they are so close to potentially winning?" He asked.
"Be Patient now, perhaps this is their own form of strategizing. Fairy Tail has surprised many people before with their methods despite their dangerous and reckless traits." Yajima said, having faith in Makarov's guild.
Yajima didn't know how right he was. If he was aware of Mavis, he would have known that his old guild's very first master is an amazing strategist.
Before the spectators and commentators realized it, Rufus from Sabertooth had spotted them and fired a lightning based attack at them. However, he missed despite the great speed he fired. This prompted Fairy Tail to go in their own separate directions.
"It seems that Rufus from Sabertooth found them. I guess they have no reason to stand around anymore." Lola said.
All part of Mavis' plan.
At the center of the battlefield
The battlefield was filled with chaos, many of the guilds did not prepare much of a strategy or some form of contingency plan for difficult situations. Instead, it looked like the teams were just randomly fighting with whomever they ran into. This worked terribly against those such as Quatro Cerberus as well as Blue Pegasus.
Jenny would be the unfortunate victim to run into Erza of all people. While Erza is a closet pervert, Jenny knew there was no hope in trying to challenge her to a bikini contest.
"Erza? Why are you here of all places!?" Jenny asked before running the opposite direction.
With little effort, Erza ran after Jenny and delivered a quick but harmless blow across her back. Jenny collapsed onto the ground and was taken away by a teleportation magic. With her eliminated, the Trimens (Ren, Eve and Hibiki) came down to avenge their fallen female teammate.
"Don't take any offense Erza, but when you heart a fellow Pegasus. Don't expect to be hurt in return." Hibiki said, sounding serious.
While the Trimens all have some level of skill and great cooperation. Erza did not take them seriously as she saw that they are woefully unprepared.
"How about instead of giving speeches and wearing cheap perfume, you three learn to throw a punch?" Gajeel asked from behind them.
"Oh crap, I didn't plan for this!" Hibiki said as he saw Gajeel behind them.
Hibiki quickly jumped out of the way as Gajeel summoned an iron pillar from his arm. Which he used to knock out Eve and Ren with ease. Hibiki managed to get space and attempted to get some kind of battle plan ready for dealing with those two. That is until Gray found him.
"Ice Make: Spear!" Gray yelled as he threw a spear of ice at Hibiki.
Hibiki was hit in the chest by the spear and hit the ground pretty hard. The last member of the Trimens extended his hand towards the sky and led out a cry.
"This is the end of me! I can't leave this beautiful world just yet!" Hibiki exclaimed before looking at his "wound".
The spear didn't pierce his torso, rather it looked like the ice had just stuck to him and spread all over his chest. Like a paintball, the ice looked like it just left a massive stain on his chest.
"Oh, I guess I'm perfectly fine." Hibiki said before the ice completely encased his body.
"Nope, not fine." Gray said as he took away the ice spear.
With that, the three men were transported away.
Elsewhere
A burning aura of fire surrounded Ichiya, "My men! They have been defeated!" he cried out. "Worry not! I will avenge you and win this final duel with my parfume!" he exclaimed.
Ichiya then pulled out a vile of his "parfume" and began to inhaled the scent. In a matter of moments, veins stated to surrounded his body as he grew and looked more muscular. Then Jura arrived.
*CRACK*
"Your dedication is respectable, Ichiya, but this is not the time and place for dramatics." Jura said as he knocked Ichiya unconscious during the transformation.
"And Blue Pegasus has been eliminated!" Lola exclaimed.
Blue Pegasus Final Score: 35 Points
With Rufus
Rufus sat alone in the library, confident that no one he could not handle would approach him. Like a gentleman born from aristocracy, Rufus sat down on a fine chair while reading a nice book with a cup of tea by his side. However, he would by a liar if he said that he welcomed Gray into the library with him.
"A Fairy Tail mage, I should have expected this. So eager to fall?" Rufus asked.
Gray extended his arms and conjured up a spear and shield to his side. Leaving Rufus weary of the silence and serious look on Gray's face. Although he couldn't help but think less of the ice mage.
"If you can conjure up barbaric weapons, then surely you would have had the decency to put on a shirt. We are wizards, not barbarians." Rufus said.
Gray groaned, "Fine, if it's gonna be like that." He said before pulling out Juvia's sweater. "Okay, now can we get fight or do you need crumpets with your tea?" he asked, mocking him.
"If I was aware that you would put on attire of poor quality. I would have allowed you to show your bare flesh." Rufus said before avoiding a spear that nearly ripped off his ear.
"Don't mock the sweater that my fiancee made." Gray said.
Rufus blinked in surprise, "If someone like you found love. Your betrothed must also be quite barbaric." he said before avoiding a spear aimed for the neck.
With Juvia
Juvia looked thirsty for blood, "To mock me or Gray-sama is one thing but to mock my incoming marriage is unforgivable!" she roared.
Juvia's passion had suddenly become powerful to the point that a visible aura could be seen by everyone. It even terrified Sherria Blendy who was nearby and was shocked by the deadly aura she was witnessing. It wasn't too long ago that she had just defeated Risley from Mermaid Heel who was a bit tricky, but now she can see that Juvia had a lot more power to flare.
"Wait, aren't you Juvia from Fairy Tail? The one Lyon is infatuated with?" Sherria asked.
Anyone else that was nearby could hear the sound of bones cracking when Juvia turned her head to face Sherria. The pink haired girl yipped in surprise as she raised her guard.
"I have no interest in Lyon-san, I'm happily engaged." Juvia responded somewhat calmly.
"Oh? I see." Sherria said with a surprised look.
To be fair, Sherria wasn't able to comprehend what Juvia had just said. All she heard was a loud scream and felt a lot of magic. Sherria was aware of Lyon being interested in Juvia when he officially met her when Lyon left to greet the Tenrou Island Team after being gone for seven years. Which did greatly annoy her.
Now Sherria is surprised by the fact that Juvia was engaged. She wasn't sure if Lyon knew or if Juvia was engaged after Lyon met her.
"Well, congratulations." Sherria said as she tried to look for a different opponent.
But Lyon being the more proud student of Ur, decided to step in. Because the man apparently has no respect for boundaries, he decided that he would be a better love interest for Juvia. After all, Juvia's supposed betrothed is Gray who Lyon sees as a rival. Especially now that a girl is involved, even though Juvia has less interest in Lyon than Gray had interest in Juvia in the beginning.
"I would make a better husband!" Lyon proclaimed.
"Eh!?" Sherria asked.
"No thank you, I'm happily engaged." Juvia said as coldly as possible.
"But wait, I have so much to offer! I am more mature, stronger, experienced and more capable of making you happy!" Lyon exclaimed.
"Go away, you make me uncomfortable." Juvia said making Lyon feel like his heart being stepped on.
Lyon's lack of understanding of boundaries was only making it worse. He suddenly appeared in front of Juvia and grabbed her left hand. Almost like he was trying to serenade her or something.
"Please Juvia, be mine or else you won't know happiness or feel fulfillment. Just look at this ring, it's…" Lyon trailed off as he looked at the ring.
He was no jeweler or someone with skills in appraising the value of accessories, but he can only see his empty wallet. He wanted to claim that the ring was fake, but the ring on Juvia's hand looked more expensive than a small mansion. He's seen the cheap accessories that Sherry and other girls have worn, even the ones with a slightly higher price tag but this ring looked way too expensive.
Meanwhile Gray looked like he barely understood how to handle money. How did Gray get her an expensive ring?
"…it's a lovely hand me down. It must belong to your mother who asked you to wear it on your wedding day." Lyon said, thinking that Juvia inherited the ring.
"What the heck kind of pick up line is that!?" Sherria asked with a shocked face.
"I am an orphan and inherited nothing." Juvia said.
"And you made it worse for yourself." Sherria said to Lyon.
Juvia decided to conjure up a whip made of water and proceeded to slap Lyon across the face. The resulting sound could be heard all the way to the stadium itself. Although it wasn't an attack at the magnitude that would make the stadium shake as if a Wizard Saint had dealt the attack. The audience winced as they could only imagine some poor sap was found a good reason to get beaten.
As for Lyon, he just went flying a couple of meters onto the bridge where Sherria stood. He didn't stop completely as tumbled a few times before stopping by landing with the top of his head hitting the bridge floor.
"Lyon! Are you okay?" Sherria asked.
Lyon was silent but his entire body fell backwards, leaving him silent for a whole minute. During that minute, Lyon managed to stand up and give a reassuring smile to Sherria along with a thumbs up. Sherria wasn't convinced as she saw a big red mark on Lyon's cheek.
"You are definitely not okay!" Sherria yelled.
"Even the most beautiful of roses have thorns. Juvia is just testing me." Lyon said before being sent flying with a wave of water.
"I am most certainly not a rose. I am a Blue Delphinium, which means I carry dignity and grace." Juvia said.
Sherria just sighed, "Lyon, maybe you should flirt using knowledge you do know. Better yet, flirt with someone who isn't engaged." She said.
"I will not shouted to Gray!" Lyon yelled.
Back with Lucy's Rescue Team
Lucy twitched as she felt a slight headache going on, 'Is everyone having a party in my head or something?' she wondered.
"I can sense someone's fiery passion! Their love is being tested! It must be that water girl, Juvia!" Aphrodite exclaimed.
"Somehow I don't doubt that. I can sense genuine love growing with some power following suit." Parvati said.
"You two can stop pretending to be omniscient. We're love goddesses, but not radars." Ishtar said.
"You cannot deny that you can sense this feeling, Ishtar." Parvati said.
"That could be anything!" Ishtar argued.
Lucy sighed, 'Can you girls be quiet? The last thing I need to worry about is Juvia freaking out about Gray.' she mentally said.
"Lucy, are you okay?" Wendy asked.
"I'm somewhat okay Wendy, it's just that I can't summon anyone just yet but I can still hear the servants talking about." Lucy explained.
"Does this mean everyone in your head is trying to help heal you or at least form a strategy?" Wendy asked with a smile.
Lucy sighed again, "More like quarreling." she said, making Wendy look confused. "About less important things." she said, now making Wendy pout.
"Guys, I think I have the swordsman's curse. I have no idea where we're going." Natsu said.
Mira giggled, "I think Erza had this issue whenever she tried leading a team." she said.
The swordsman's curse, there's a good chance that someone who uses a sword and becomes proficient in the art is likely to lose all sense of direction. In rare cases, it goes away after a couple of years. In other cases, the victim can't tell the difference between solid land and water.
"I'm sure we're fine, besides we're not petty criminals like the princess thinks." Mira added, giving hope to the group.
"Mirajane is correct on both accounts, I believe I may have found a potential exit." Charle said as she found a large crack in the wall.
"It looks narrow." Panther Lily commented.
"Well we gotta try something. Since I'm small, I won't have a hard time squeezing in and out." Happy said with confidence.
And some desire to impress Charle by trying out her idea while also coming back alive. Luckily, Charle was right and Happy found a new area to explore.
"Hey guys, we're good to… Wendy you might want to get some healing magic ready. Unless Lucy manages to summon the human med kit (Nightingale)." Happy said.
"Did you hurt yourself?" Charle asked.
"No, but that's the other good news." Happy answered.
A couple of minutes later, the group squeezed through the spot that Charle found. They also found a fellow prisoner in the form of Arcadios was dressed in damaged rags and looked like he was mugged by a whole group. Wendy quickly went to work and started healing him.
"Who did this to you?" Wendy asked.
Arcadios grunted and coughed before trying to lift his head, "Them." he said.
The group watched as an odd group of five people came out from the shadows. Their leader seemed to be a man with a mask covering his lower face and carried a pair of axes on hand.
"So you must be the intruders we've been tasked to eliminate." said the leader.
"Who are these clowns?" Natsu asked.
"I wanna say a bad rock band that doesn't handle criticism from the old guy." Happy said while pointing to Arcadios.
"Wrong, they're the Garou Knights. They're an elite group of executioners." Arcadios answered.
"Wait, does this mean they want to kill us?" Yukino asked with fear in her voice.
"The answer is obvious, girly." said a large man with a cigar in his mouth.
Natsu didn't want to waste anymore words or backdown to anyone no matter how intense they may be. As he rushed at the executioners, the two females of the group stepped up first. The girl wearing a kimono with braids threw a red paper card which burst into a wave of red cards.
"Paper Blizzard: Red Dance." said the girl in the kimono.
Natsu quickly tried to burn through the papers, "Fire Dragon's Roar!" he roared as he tried burning the wave of papers.
"Bad idea, these papers are like the god of flames and can't be damaged by fire." the girl in the kimono said. Then she was shot by two arrows made of flames, "OW!" She cried out as she fell onto her back.
"Kamika!" the pink haired girl called out as she ran to her ally.
"Now that wasn't mighty kind. Shooting a lady in the knee like that." said a man with a big head and smile plastered on his face.
Natsu scoffed as he raised his bow, "Listen you weirdo, if I had 100 Jewel for everytime someone told me that they had the power of a god and it involved fire in some way. I would have 200 Jewel." he said.
The odd looking man scratched his head in confusion, "Well shucks, that ain't a whole lot of money." he said.
"Uosuke, he is trying to say that this is an odd occurrence that's happened before." said the masked leader.
Uosuke tilted his head, "If you put it like that, it really is odd. It's still not too much money, Kama." he said.
As Natsu distracted the knights with the help of Shirou, Wendy and Panther Lily. Lucy and Yukino were helping to carry Arcadios away while they were being covered by Mirajane and the exceeds.
"You girls slip out while you still can. We'll handle the rest from here." Mira whispered.
"Thanks Mira." Lucy said as she and Yukino took Arcadios to safety.
"So what did Natsu mean by this happening twice?" Yukino asked curiously.
"Yukino, this isn't a good time. The Garou Knights have never failed a mission." Arcadios said.
"We're trying to get you out as quickly as possible." Lucy said. "Also, for Yukino's question, it was a different thing. There was a powerful dark mage who used fire magic, but he claimed to be a God Slayer like Sherria from Lamia Scale." she explained.
That's when they were stopped by the man with the cigar, "Sorry ladies, but I'm not letting either of you checking out of this dungeon." he said.
The smoker suddenly found himself being hit with a club across the face, sending him crashing into the wall. Quetzalcoatl grinned as she waved her club around while looking for an exit.
"You two ladies may want find the exit. You're not ready to enter the ring as luchadoras just yet." Quetzalcoatl said as she intended to defeat the smoker.
But it was too late, while the vanguard of the team had already begun fighting members of the Garou Knights. There was little room to travel with, let alone find an escape. There was fighting all over the place and with Arcadios being injured, Lucy and Yukino had little space to work with without being injured in the crossfire.
"Charle, now would be a good time to find another crack in the wall." Lucy said.
"Hold on now, surely there is an efficient path we can take or somewhere where the battles are not taking place." Charle said as she looked around.
"Look out!" Yukino shouted as she saw the pink haired executioner summon several plants.
Only to watch them explode as Natsu unleashed a powerful attack on his part. The explosion ended up destroying the room they were in and separated everyone as a result.
With Lucy and Yukino
Lucy groaned in pain as she pushed off some rubble that landed on her. She looked around and saw Yukino struggled to get up as well as finidng Arcadios who looked like he was about to pass out. Before Lucy could think of a quick plan, she heard an unsettling voice.
"This is an odd looking fish." Uosuke said as he sat on some debris.
Lucy watched as Uosuke was using a fishing reel and was pulling Happy towards him."I'm not a fish!" Happy yelled.
"A talking fish? Now ain't that something special?" Uosuke asked, sounding surprised.
Uosuke suddenly turned his head and dodged a quick punch towards his head. Sherlock appeared beside Uosuke and tried throwing a few more punches which Uosuke managed to doge. Only for the fisherman to find himself being blasted by several beams of light coming from a bunch of magnifying glasses from Sherlock's pockets.
"Ouch! That's too shiny!" Ousuke said as he lost his hold on Happy.
"Happy, unless you are armed or capable of showing off your martial arts. I recommend you to take cover or help the young women." Sherlock said as lowered his sleeves.
"It's a good thing we have Sherlock here to help us." Lucy said. "He's not just a genius, but a capable fighter." she added.
Arcadios grunted, "It's not enough, Uosuke is one of the more dangers executioners. Only bones are left behind of the victims who's lives he takes." he said.
Of course, the goofy individual is likely the most dangerous person in the room. Uosuke proved this belief to be quite true as he quickly recovered. Sherlock raised his magnifying glasses again and tried to shoot Uosuke with another laser attack but the floor under him collapsed and caused the Ruler to fall far underground.
"Oh no! He got the detective! We can't lose the goofy guy!" Happy said.
"Happy's right, we can't lose to someone like him." Lucy said as she helped Yukino with carrying Arcadios.
Uosuke felt like Lucy was also referring to him as being goofy. Despite his facial appearance staying the same, he started to look annoyed. Justas Sherlock quickly climbed out from the hole, he had the sneaking suspicion that the knight was less than stellar.
'Is he attempting to hide his stress? No, he must have an odd way of presenting his feelings.' Sherlock thought before being crushed by the ground. 'And his magic, it has something to do with the environment.' he thought.
"Firstly, I do not like that tone you are giving me, little lady. Secondly, you with the fancy clothes, don't you know it's rude to stare?" Uosuke asked.
Sherlock's eyes widened, 'Whatever his reasons for keeping that smile are, he's getting angry.' he thought as he tried to fire another laser at Uosuke. Only for the executioner to manipulate the ceiling to hit him, "Augh! …Lucy, I've deduced his magic! He may have an ability to control the environment!" he pointed out.
"And now you're giving away secrets? That ain't nice!" Uosuke said before manipulating the ground under Lucy and Yukino.
Suddenly, the girls fell as a part of the ground had shattered and revealed a pit of lava. Lucy and Yukino quickly shoved Arcadios out of the way and did their best to hang on but it didn't help that they could feel the heat of the lava beginning to rise. Lucy began to grit her teeth as she tried accessing her magic again.
'Please, just a little mana. I can fly myself and Yukino to safety or maybe summon Anastasia so she can freeze the lava.' Lucy thought as she started slipping. 'Just a little, only a little!' she mentally pleaded.
"Lucy!" Yukino cried out as she lost her grip.
Lucy tried reaching out for Yukino but found Arcadios having already grabbed her. The injured knight then grabbed Lucy and tried to pull them up despite lacking the strength. However, the sense of danger had increased his desire to find strength as the lava started to rise. But that's when Uosuke used his terrain magic to break more of the ground and drop all three of them into the lava pit.
In a last minute attempt to help the girls, Arcadios tried to throw them onto a non-broken portion of the floor. Arcadios' attempt at sacrificing himself had failed and still come with a cost but just as Lucy's anxiety reached high levels. Her eyes flashed yellow and she ended up encasing herself and Yukino in a glass barrier while Arcadios was suddenly locked inside of a grandfather clock.
"Hm?" Lucy mumbled in confusion.
Lucy realized that she had witnessed Horologium who appeared and rescued Arcadios. He used his body to protect the knight from the lava before using all his strength to lift Lucy's barrier onto the floor.
"I apologize for my tardiness, Miss Lucy. However, it seems that your distance from our keys has made it difficult to realize the level of danger you are in." Horologium said before gently dropping Aracadios along with all 13 golden keys. "I do hope you and your friend have managed to avoid further injury." he said.
Lucy's eyes flickered between brown and gold but the girl just shook her head. Grinning as her eyes flashed gold the whole time, scaring the sentient clock as he recognized Lucy's darker half.
"Thank you Horologium, you are so kind." Dark Lucy said.
"Yes um… I will be on my way now." the celestial spirit said before disappearing.
"Lucy, are you okay?" Yukino asked before witnessing the black Dress of Heaven appear on Lucy's body.
"Never better, in fact. I think I Uosuke deserves the same level of respect that he has given us." Lucy said.
Sherlock distracting Uosuke when he noticed Lucy's dark half. Making him remember that there was someone else who can smile but still hold ill feelings towards another. However, Ousuke could not see how angry Dark Lucy was feeling.
"What's up with the skimpy getup?" Uosuke asked.
"Excuse me?" Dark Lucy asked as she tilted her head.
"That ain't no outfit for a lady. You some kind of hoochie?" Uosuke asked.
Dark Lucy extended her arm, summoning Artoria Alter, Jeanne Alter and Atalante Alter at the same time. Uosuke had no idea what was going on but before he could make another stupid remark. Lucy burned through whatever restraints were stopping her flow of magic and activated the equivalent of three Command Spells.
"Excalibur Morgan!"
"La Grondement Du Haine!"
"Tauropolos: Bow of Heaven!"
Ousuke tilted his head, "Ah shucks." He said before the entire room practically exploded.
With Natsu
Natsu was covered in several magic seals that were placed on him by Kama. However, the Dragon Slayer looked more confused than harmed. This troubled the executioner who was trying to kill him.
"What is happening? Do you not realize the severity of your heinous actions?" Kama asked.
"You mean when I destroyed a lot of stuff? I mean, it's not like I hurt anyone or tried. It's cool." Natsu said much to Kama's shock.
"You truly are beyond forgiving." Kama said.
"Shut up!" Natsu yelled.
The two suddenly lost their balance as they felt the equivalent of a high magnitude earthquake. Natsu had to generate a sword with his fire and stab it into the wall just to hang on while Kama fell on his face.
"An earthquake? Here?" Kama asked.
"Nope, that was definitely Lucy. I bet one of your knights tried looking up her skirt and she got mad." Natsu said.
"We would never do something so perverted." Kama argued.
"But you're okay with murdering people? You sir, are a hypocrite." Natsu said as he dug his sword out. "A hypocrite who I'm gonna beat up." he said before dashing towards Kama.
With Wendy and Shirou
The children were stuck fighting the pink haired executioner named Cosmos. Her magic is control over a variety of plants and she instantly knew Wendy's weakness. Once again, Wendy felt pathetic as she was being defeated by a non-lethal attack.
"Don't look Wendy!" Shirou shouted.
"Oh, these dried plums are so sour. They make my lips less beautiful, but they are so delicious." Cosmos said, taunting Wendy with the face she makes from eating sour snacks.
This was the same way Wendy lost to Gray and Loke when she was in the S-Class trials with Mest. Now Shirou was trying to shield Wendy from the face that Cosmos was making.
"Stop scaring Wendy!" Shirou yelled as he fired arrows at Cosmos. "Also, what is with your face? You look constipated!" he said.
Cosmos went wide eyed at the comment, "Flytrap Shot" she called out.
The flytrap blocked the arrows and countered Shirou's attack by firing seeds at him. Shirou used his projection magic to create a shield to block the incoming seeds. Cosmos then summoned a wave of vines to grab Wendy and more to attack Shirou. Shirou then threw his shield and created a pair of swords to cut through the vines.
Shirou then hopped onto the vines that were holding Wendy before dashing towards the girl. With precision, Shirou cut through the vines and grabbed Wendy before the vines could capture her again.
"Sour…" Wendy mumbled with her eyes clos
"Wendy, she's not making that face anymore. You have to get it together." Shirou told her.
"Sorry." Wendy said as she opened her eyes.
Cosmos looked somewhat annoyed, "Your destruction of my plants is not beautiful." she said.
"Well neither is murdering people you psychopath!" Shirou said before feeling a massive earthquake that knocked everyone's balance.
Cosmos went flying in one direction but used her plants to catch her. On the other hand, Shirou grabbed onto Wendy again and used his projection to generate a whip. As if he were an action star in an old film classic, Shirou used the whip to grab onto a nearby piece of debris to have something to hang onto.
"Hold on Wendy, I think someone flipped my mom's skirt!" Shirou said, recognizing the source of power.
"What!?" Wendy asked as her cheeks flushed.
Shirou smiled sheepishly, "Well, I think mom got her powers back and now her evil half is active. Now, I just hope we can escape without being killed by her." he said as he saw Cosmos coming out from a shield made of her plants.
"Your deaths will be quite beautiful." Cosmos said, thinking Shirou was referring to her.
"I was talking about my mom." Shirou said before feeling some more shaking in the dungeon.
"Lucy must be really mad." Wendy commented.
Elsewhere
Ashiya Douman sat on top of a one of the buildings of the capital. He watched as the final teams of the Grand Magic Games were continuing their battle. At the same time, he felt annoyed and wasn't sure if he was going to get into any trouble with the emperor. The Alter Ego assumed that he was going to get an earful or a lecture of some kind from Emperor Mateus as he sensed one of the man faces of Hassan approach him.
"Your curse has failed." one of the faces said.
"It did work, Obsidian Butterly had briefly stolen the Holy Maiden's power but it could not be done for too long. Her skills were sealed for a whole day and that's a feat on it's own for anyone carrying the Throne of Heroes." Douman explained.
"Then you admit that your mission was a failure?" the face asked.
"Do you really expect me to strip that girl of her power permanently? All we did was slow her down and break her group apart while we looked into the strange magical presence." Douman explained in frustration. "Now it appears that the Dark Maiden has awakened and is causing havoc in the dungeons where she is locked away." he added.
The face narrowed its eyes before feeling an odd sensation but shook its head.
"Very well, this will be reported to our superiors." the face said before disappearing.
Douman just sighed and continued watching the games from his vantage point. He was actually surprised by how high the scores are favoring Fairy Tail greatly. The luck of the guild is unbelievably high as they would have been in more dire straights had they been given the score of their second team which had been disbanded.
Fairy Tail 73 (+3 Gajeel, Gray and Erza)
Lamia Scale 33 Points (+6 Sherria and Jura)
Sabertooth 16 Points
Mermaid Heel 22 Points
Blue Pegasus 22 (Team Eliminated)
Quattro Cerberus 20 Points (Team Eliminated)
"I suppose it will depend on whether or not that little guild will survive their final challenge." Douman said with a thrilled smile.
Back in the dungeon
With all of the excitement going on around him, Sherlock had not told Lucy about his exchange with the girl's doppelgänger. He had confronted ehr with Jellal and managed to gain some information which he meant to disclose at an appropriate moment when things were much calmer. However, it seemed like it might have been too late as the other Lucy was found by the opposition.
"Stay back!" the second Lucy cried out.
The doppelgänger intended to seek out her counterpart by reaching her in the dungeon. Only to find herself caught by another face of Hassan. Unlike her other self, this Lucy had no fighting capability and was quickly caught by the Assassin despite the struggle she put up.
"No!" the second Lucy cried out as her wrists were twisted behind her back.
Lucy tried to scream but found a hand being placed over her mouth. Lucy's cries for help were muffled as she was dragged into the darkness within the dungeon.
"I believe Lord Seymour will have a special interest in you." the face of Hassan said.
The second Lucy continued to struggle and resist but was dragged into the shadows against her will where no one will see or hear from her.
TO BE CONTINUED…
A/N: I know the scores look crazy and unfair, but I tried to adjust them to the best of my ability. I had to review the last couple of chapters and try to combine them with the last scores I post. I know, I suck for not writing them earlier but another portion of the weird scores is that Fairy Tail had a higher win streak in this story compared to Sabertooth who had it worse in this AU. So hopefully that make some sense to some extent.