Chapter Sixteen
We were huffing for breath when we finally crested the ridge and spotted the cave. I could see Sting sitting on the ledge, feet swinging over the side. Anyone who saw him may think he looked bored, maybe zoning out. But I knew better. I knew his eyes were scanning for any hidden dangers. I could almost feel when those eyes landed on me, he leapt to his feet and lifted his hand in greeting. Then he waved us on, indicating we should hurry.
Luckily we had the exceeds with us, otherwise it would've taken us forever to climb the sheer rockwall to the entrance.
"I think some of us should stay here," Rogue suggested. The others nodded in agreement
"Gray, Wendy," Erza was taking charge. "You two go with Lucy, your powers might be the most useful in there. The rest of us will stay here to guard your back."
We all nodded and the exceeds grabbed each of us, ready for flight.
"Wait," said Rogue. "Yukino should go as well." Erza nodded in thought for a moment.
"Why?" Yukino asked. Rogue hesitated for a brief moment before responding.
"They've been targeting Lucy so far, but you're a Celestial Mage as well. You can keep Aquarius key from being used for Oblivion. If they figure that out they may target you…." He rubbed the back of his neck, looking uncomfortable. A faint pink tinged his cheeks as he went on.
"If they come over that ridge…I…I'd be worried about protecting you…I don't want to make a mistake." Rogue's words had a visible effect on the white haired mage. As in, her face turned bright pink and she started sputtering in response.
"He's right," Erza cut off Yukino's floundering. "They'll aim all they have at you if they know what you are. Besides if the cave is large you may have to split up. If you find the key before Lucy you could form a temporary contract making the key useless for them."
Rogue seemed grateful that she had a logical reason for Yukino to come with us, and extremely embarrassed that he may have given her a hint at his feelings.
"How will we all get there?" I asked, getting attention off Rogue and Yukino. Probably more consideration than they deserved after all the knowing looks they gave me and conspiring to get me alone with Sting. I'll pay them back when this is over.
"Allow me." Carla transformed into her battle form. "I can carry Wendy and Yukino in this form."
With that settled Lector took a firm hold of my coat and we were off, on our way to Sting…and hopefully Aquarius.
I waited for them just inside the cave mouth. I was surprised that so few of them came.
"Where is everyone?" I asked.
"Guarding the path," said Gray. "They'll make sure no one surprises us. Let's go."
I led them over to the mural I had found, starting with the stars.
"I think this is showing the formation of Oblivion," I gestured to the stars. "Aquarius' constellation is right here in the first one." I saw Lucy's face when I pointed it out and I could feel pride swelling in my chest as she looked at me impressed. "This one must be the root of the tree of heaven," I pointed to the second picture. "This one though…" I gestured to the last only to find Gray staring directly at it, a pained look on his face.
"Gray?" Lucy placed her hand on his shoulder shaking him a little. "What is it?"
"It's…it's Iced Shell."
"What's Iced Shell?" I asked.
"It's the most powerful form of Ice Make Magic, you turn your own body into a sort of…ice prison…." I was obviously missing something here, sure it was creepy magic but I didn't understand why Gray seemed so affected.
"Wait…an unbreakable ice prison?" I asked
"Yeah…it's how my master Ur died. She used it to trap Deliora, a demon of Zeref. This must be the ice used in the spell. No idea how they'd have gotten it though."
I just nodded, clearly he didn't want to talk about it and honestly we didn't have the time. I showed them the last painting, the one that scared me the most. They just stood there for a moment, taking it in. I could tell it made them as uncomfortable as it did me.
"We should get moving," Yukino said quietly. So we did.
I led them towards the back of the chamber. "The path splits up a little further back. Should we split up?"
"Yeah," Lucy decided. "We'll cover more ground. Yukino, if you find her key, please make a temporary contract. We can work everything out later. The most important thing is to make sure the key has a bond so it's useless for Oblivion."
"Right," Yukino nodded, determined. We split up at the back of the chamber, Gray, Wendy, Carla and Yukino went right, while Lucy, Lector, Frosch and I took the left. I could tell she was scared but excited now that we've gotten this far.
"How far back do you think this goes?" Lucy asked.
"I'm not sure, but pretty far, I can feel the ground sloping so it must go pretty deep into the mountain." I held a hand up in front of me, lighting up my fist to help us see.
"I hope we find her soon," her voice was shaky and I could smell the salt of her newly forming tears.
"We will," I assured her. "Or Yukino will. We'll make it. I know we will." I was grateful when that earned me a soft smile.
"What do you want to do when we're done?" I asked, hoping to lighten the mood.
"What do you mean?"
"Well," I pressed. "Do you want to explore Guiltana for a while or head straight back to Fiore?"
"Oh, uh…I don't know. I guess I haven't really let myself think beyond finding the key." She admitted. But I wasn't gonna let her off that easy. The cave was too quiet for my liking and the atmosphere too serious.
"Well, think about it now," I said. "We can do anything you want."
"We?" She asked, looking at me with a shy smile.
"Uhh, yea…I mean…if you want to?" I didn't even realize what I said but I guess I had just assumed that we'd spend some time together when we got done. I could go back to Crocus with her for a bit. The guild would be fine without me for a little longer. Especially when Rogue and Minerva returned. Or…maybe she'd want to come to Sabertooth? With me? She missed going on jobs, I knew she did. She didn't have a guild anymore. It was kind of perfect…
"Sting," she began and I felt my heart sink a little.
"No pressure!" I said quickly, hoping to prevent whatever bad news she was going to give me.
"I know," she told me. "You're not pressuring. I think we should go back to Fiore, don't you miss your guild?"
"Yeah of course!" I was relieved she wasn't pushing me away again. "You'll love it there, you'll see. It's so much better than it was before."
"Yeah Lucy!" Lector exclaimed. "We've got a pool now! You'll love it!"
"Fro thinks so too!" The little pink exceed shouted his agreement.
I expected her to ask about what changes I had made, question me on some of the members, pretty much anything other than what actually happened.
"I can't go to Sabertooth, Sting." Ok. Don't panic. She has a life now, she needs to settle up in Crocus. Or maybe I was moving too fast again. She didn't need to join, we hadn't been together long, I was probably moving too fast for her again.
"Hey, just a visit," I said. "But we can go to Crocus first, we don't have to decide that now." She looked a little relieved at that, but still unsure. Maybe this was a bad idea.
"Lucy–"
"Look!" She pointed down the hallway, at a blank expanse of wall. I increased the brightness of my light so I could see better. "Fuck," I said. We'd hit a dead end. Then the path started shaking, robbing us of our balance.
"Lucy!" I grabbed her arms to steady her. "We have to get out of here!" She nodded frantically at me and we took off towards the entrance. I could only hope Gray and Yukino had better luck than we did.
***Third person POV***
The trek through the cave was dark and gloomy. The Celestial clothes kept them warm but there was no light to see by.
"Open Gate of the Bear Cub! Polaris" Yukino shouted, brandishing a small silver key. A giant pink bear materialized on the path in front of them.
"Holy shit," said Gray.
"Language!" Carla scolded him.
"Sorry!" He said, rubbing the back of his head. "But man, look at that thing."
"Polaris, do you think you could give us some light to guide us?" The giant bear nodded and closed his eyes. After a moment a bright glowing light surrounded his body. He snuffled his nose in the opposite direction from where they entered and led them further down the path.
"Yukino," Wendy's small voice echoed in the chamber. "Is Polaris friendly?"
"Yes, of course," she smiled at the small girl.
"That's great!" And she scampered off ahead to walk with the spirit, patting his shoulder and talking to him. Carla flew off to keep an eye on her. Leaving Gray and Yukino trailing behind.
"So," he said after a moment. "You and Rogue huh?"
"Wh-what?" Her cheeks turned pink from embarrassment. Gray just laughed.
"It's kind of obvious he's into you. He seems like a decent guy."
"Yes, Rogue is quite sweet. He looks after his guildmates."
"Guildmates, huh?" Gray smirked at her. "Kinda like Sting's been looking out for Lucy?"
"No, no!" She threw her hands up, trying to wave him off the comparison. "That's completely different, they've really grown quite fond of each other."
"Yeah," Gray scoffed.
"What do you mean by that?" Yukino was a little shocked at the sarcasm in Gray's voice. She knew Sabertooth and Fairy Tail were rivals, that they didn't get off on the right foot. But she thought they were past that now. Why would Gray seem so upset about Sting and Lucy? If she hadn't seen how he was with the rain woman she might have thought he was jealous.
"Look," he told her, his tone serious. "I know he's your guild master, and you're friend. But Lucy is my friend too. I don't want her getting wrapped up with some guy like him. No offense." He added. But she was definitely offended. She knew what he was referring to, knew the kind of reputation her master had, but that wasn't who Sting really was. She always thought that he was just lonely. It wasn't for her to judge how he soothed that loneliness. She told Gray as much.
"I get it, I'm not judging him. But that doesn't mean I have to like that he's turning his attention to Lucy. She isn't like those Mermaid Heel mages. They don't want actual relationships. Lucy does. Lucy wants to be in love. You really think it's not gonna hurt her when Sting drops her the second we get back to Fiore."
"But," she was angry now. How dare he make such assumptions! Master Sting was a better man than Gray was giving him credit for. And Yukino thought his feelings for Lucy were deeper than even he would admit. "It's not like that, Gray. He cares for her. I know he does."
But Gray didn't look convinced, didn't look like he cared if Sting's feelings were genuine or not.
"That's not all though," he said, staring down at his feet. Gray was uncomfortable with this whole conversation and regretted bringing it up. But Yukino always seemed like a kind person, and he knew how much she respected Lucy. If anyone would intervene before things got messy it would most likely be her.
"What are they gonna do when Natsu comes back?" he asked, uncomfortable even bringing up that dumbass pyro. But he knew Natsu would lose it. He was always weird when it came to Lucy and the kind of attention she would sometimes get with guys. He never made a move on her but at the same time treated her like she belonged to him, keeping all her potential suitors at a distance.
"I thought Lucy and Natsu were just friends?" Gray just looked at her in disbelief. No way she was that clueless.
"Alright, maybe not just friends," she laughed nervously. "But nothing ever came from it? Right?"
"Not really, that fiery mouth breather probably doesn't have a clue she's in love with him. If it's not a fight or something he can eat he's fucking dense as hell." There was no way Natsu knew, hell even if she came right out and told him he'd probably be too thick to understand.
"So then why would Natsu care if she's moved on?" Yukino didn't understand the dynamics of Natsu and Lucy's relationship, and honestly, she felt a little guilty about gossiping behind Lucy's back. But she really just wanted the best for her dearest friends, and she counted Lucy among them. Maybe she could help if she understood things better.
"That fire dragon freak will use any excuse to start a fight. If he saw Sting with Lucy, I know he'd lose it. Whether or not he was treating her right," and Yukino was convincing him Sting would treat Lucy right. "Natsu won't care. Lucy is his partner, and Sting would get in the way of that."
Yukino was quiet for a moment, turning his words over in her head. Gray knew both Lucy and Natsu better than she did. Maybe he had a point. But Yukino knew Sting better than Gray did. He doesn't back down from what he wants and she knew he wanted Lucy. There was no way he would let Natsu come between them, unless it was what Lucy wanted.
"Well then," she said finally. "Maybe he shouldn't have left his partner all alone."
Gray was surprised by the firmness in her voice. It was so unlike the gentle spoken spirit mage, she must really believe Sting and Lucy could have something real. He could respect the loyalty she showed her master, even if that master was that womanizing flashlight.
"You're right," he sighed. "And maybe Natsu can't get between them if Sting and Lucy don't let him." Yukino nodded in agreement, glad that Gray might be a little more supportive.
"But what if Lucy lets him?" His question shocked her. Did he think Lucy would drop Master Sting if Natsu wanted her to? Yukino could not believe Lucy would be capable of that. She was about to tell him so when they turned a corner on the path and came face to face with a glowing altar.
Their previous discussion was forgotten at the sight that greeted them. A silver pillar stood in the center of a round room with a single golden key balanced on top of it.
"We found it!" Wendy exclaimed, reaching towards it.
"Careful, child!" Carla snapped, causing Wendy to stop just before her fingers touched the gold key. "It could be booby trapped."
"But," Wendy said haltingly. "I'm not sensing any magic power other than the key."
"Here, Wendy," Yukino said kindly. "Better safe than sorry." She gestured to Polaris and he immediately snatched up the key and handed it to Yukino. All four of them paused anxiously, waiting to see if anything happened. When nothing did, Yukino and Gray let out a huge sigh of relief.
"Better hurry up," Gray said.
"Right!" She nodded, dismissing Polaris. She held the key out in front of her, concentrating all her magic power on the magical object.
"Open! Gate of the Water Bearer! Aquarius!" And nothing happened. "Oh no!" She said, eyes wide with fear.
"What is it?" Gray asked.
"We can't open Aquarius' gate without water! I completely forgot! Oh how could I be so stupid?" She had tears of frustration in her eyes, face screwed up in anguish.
"Hey, don't beat yourself up," Gray reassured her. "We'll just take the key to Juvia. It wouldn't be the first time Lucy summoned the mermaid using her body." Yukino was a little stunned with that information. Juvia must be more powerful than she thought.
"Let's go!" Wendy urged them, her and Carla heading back down the path. They'd just rounded the corner when the floor beneath them began to shake furiously.
"Wh–an earthquake?" Yukino asked, wobbling on her feet.
"Doubtful!" Gray shouted back, grabbing her arm to steady her. "We gotta get out of here! Come on." They raced down the path, hoping to find Sting and the others, praying that their friends outside were safe.