A/N: Episode 179.
Enjoy!
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE: NOX VS. GRAY
"Oh, my! Fairy Tail's Gray and Black Sun's Nox are going to duel in the library!" Chapati announced as Gray and Nox were shown on the Lacrima-Vision.
Black Sun was watching the screen. "Gray is one of Fairy Tail's strongest members. Do you think Nox will be okay?" Daegon questioned in worry.
"He'll be fine." Kross reassured the black-haired woman with his arms crossed. "If you ask me, we should be more worried about Gray."
"Huh?"
"You saw what he did to Rufus during their battle on the third day... and what he did to him the second time." Kross said. "In other words, Gray is screwed."
Nox narrowed his eyes, thinking back to his conversation with his team.
The night before...
"You want me to be team leader?" Nox questioned as he huffed. "Yeah, no thanks."
Orion groans, running a hand down his face.
"Why can't you or Sebastian do it?" Massorao asked.
"Because it's too predictable. All of the guilds will most likely choose their strongest as their leader. Jura for Lamia Scale, Bacchus for Quatro Puppy, Minerva for Sabertooth, and so on." Orion replied. "If the team leader is me or Seb, the other guilds will already know that, and will come after us for our points."
"Fair enough." Massorao agreed.
Nox sighs in irritation. "Fine, I'll do it."
"Thank you. And Nox, you better not lose."
"Did you forget who you're talking to?" Nox said. "That flame head had chosen the five of us to be on his team for a reason. We're gonna show all those guilds why we're the elite wizards of Black Sun."
Gray puts his fist in his palm. "Here I go!" He declared, frost coming from his hands. "Ice-Make: Freeze Lancer!" He called out.
Nox leaps into the air, avoiding his attack. "You're not getting away! Ice Impact!" Gray shouted as Nox avoided his attack once more, landing on the ground.
"So persistent." Nox mumbled. "Black Dust Breath!"
Nox breathes out a cloud of Black Dust, which headed straight towards Gray.
"Ice-Make: Shield!" Gray tried to protect himself from the attack but his shield was destroyed as Gray collapsed on the ground.
Juvia looked over to see that Gray was struggling to get up. "Gray-sama!" She exclaimed.
"Oh, my! Nox has Gray on the ropes with a fierce attack!" Chapati announced.
"What's wrong? I thought this was the end of the line for me." Nox taunted.
"That attack just now... It's similar to a Dragon Slayer's roar." Gray thinks to himself, slowly getting up.
"Gray has managed to get up!" Chapati announced.
"So you can still move? I guess that's not a surprise. That was only one of my Black Dust Techniques." Nox claimed, using Black Dust Breath once more, sending Gray back on the ground again.
"Oh, my! W-Will Gray be able to get up again after that fierce attack?!" Chapati wondered.
"Gray-sama! If I could, I would rush to your side... but Juvia believes in Gray-sama! So I'll follow Number One's plan." Juvia said to herself, watching the screen.
Gray tried to attack him again but Nox swiftly moved out of the way. "Napalm." Nox mumbled as Gray was sent crashing into a bookcase, followed by an explosion which got Juvia's attention.
"Gray-sama is over there..." She muttered to herself before shaking her head and continuing on her way.
"This is a one-sided fight so far. Will Nox win?" Chapati questioned.
"Of course he will." Kross scoffed, crossing his arms against his chest.
"Something wrong, Zane?" Eric asked, glancing over at the Fire God Slayer, who had a distressed look on his face.
"Sorry, it's nothing. I'm just wondering where Sebastian is. It's not like him to just disappear on his team like that." Zane replied.
"Agreed." Romin hummed. "Sebastian... Wherever you are, I hope you're safe..."
"We keep walking and walking, but there's no exit!" Lucy complained.
"Didn't we pass by here before?" Lily questioned as Natsu and Sebastian were sniffing around.
"Well, Natsu?" Mira questioned.
"No good. Nobody's gotten out of here in a long time." Natsu responded. "Sebastian?"
"I can't smell an exit." Sebastian informed.
"That spells trouble for us." Mira said.
"Come to think of it, Dragon Slayers have a strong sense of smell, right?"
"But human odors don't hang around for long."
Lucy soon realized someone was missing from the group. "Huh? Where's Happy?"
Happy appeared with a skull over his head, making Lucy screech. "What are you doing?" She exclaimed as Natsu was holding a skull in his hand.
"Look at the skulls lying over here." He commented.
"Don't pick that up!" Lucy scolded.
"Seriously, cousin. Have some respect for the dead." Sebastian sighed.
"Well, this is the capital of death... I guess I could say." Lily stated.
"Princess Hisui said this is the final freedom, where all criminals end up." Carla recalled.
"And looking at these remains, it seems like no one had much success in getting out of here." Raden added.
"This is freedom? Not despair?" Lily questioned.
"She said we wouldn't get outta here, but gimme a friggin' break." Natsu pounded his fists together. "Just for that, we're definitely gonna get out. I'm fired up!"
"That's right! If she thinks we'll give up, she's sorely mistaken!" Lucy agreed.
"If we split up, I'm sure we'll find a clue to an exit." Wendy added.
"You're all so strong." Yukino commented.
"I think 'stubborn' is the word you're looking for." Sebastian told her.
"Let's hang in there! Every pinch has some kind of way out." Lucy said.
Later...
Everyone soon regrouped. "Um... Everyone..." Yukino started to say.
"No matter how many rocks I destroy, there are more rocks!" Natsu complained.
"I guess there are pinches that have no way out..." Lucy muttered.
"Even though we split up, we didn't find anything." Wendy added.
"'Hell' is the right word for this place." Lily commented.
"I bet that princess is watching us struggle and laughing." Carla said.
Happy turned around. "She's watching?" He questioned.
"Nice hobby she has..." Mira said.
"Hobby?!"
"Happy?" Natsu questioned.
"I thought of a good idea!" Happy exclaimed.
"What's your idea?" Lily asked.
"I'm scared to ask..." Raden mumbled.
"I have a bad feeling about this..." Carla added.
"Yeah..." Lily agreed.
"You said somebody's watching us and that it's a nice hobby, right?" Happy asked.
"Yeah, yeah." Natsu and Lucy nodded their heads in sync.
"I bet the kingdom's soldiers are having us under surveillance." Happy said.
"You mean they're guarding us?" Natsu questioned.
"I see..." Lucy mumbled.
"True, it seems like they'd do that." Mira added.
"Right? So let's get the guards' attention and lure them here." Happy said.
"Then we hit 'em!" Natsu exclaimed.
"No! As soon as the guards come down here, we brilliantly escape!" Everyone looked to see what Happy had drawn on the ground. "Well?"
"I understand what you're saying, but this drawing is..." Sebastian started to say.
"Scary, isn't it?" Wendy concluded.
Happy had a gloomy expression. "Lure them here, you say?" Carla repeated.
"We don't know where they are or if they're watching us, so how do we get their attention?" Lily asked.
"L-Lily... Don't ask questions I don't want to know the answer to." Raden stuttered.
"Huh?"
"I've got it!" Natsu exclaimed.
"That's my Natsu!" Happy cheered.
"Strip!" Natsu and Happy ordered Lucy, pointing at her.
"Excuse me?!" Lucy exclaimed.
"After all, the soldiers are all men!" Happy informed as pictures of Lucy and Mira in bikinis were in Natsu's hands.
"Like this!"
"D-Daring!" Yukino stuttered as her face got bright red, backing away a bit.
"It was only for work!" Lucy defended. "And we don't get that much attention..."
"Isn't this really old?"
"A Weekly Sorcerer from about seven years ago, right?"
"Seven years ago?"
"You probably don't know about it, Yukino-san." Wendy informed.
"This makes me feel nostalgic." Mira commented.
"Why do you have that in the first place?" Lucy asked.
"It was lying over there." Natsu answered, pointing to some remains.
"There's a journal. 'It's been three years since I was shut up in here. As I wait for the end, these cheesecake photos soothe my mind. Mira-tan is cute. Losing consciouness as Mira-tan gazes at me from the page... Together with Mira-tan...'" Lily reads as he pales. Everyone else did as well.
"I'm suddenly starting to get scared." Carla commented.
"The guy never mentioned Lucy." Natsu realized.
"What do I care?! I shouldn't even make a comment!" Lucy scolded.
"Then let's do this thing! I call it 'Appeal to Men's Instincts! Operation: Cheesecake Escape'!" Happy declared.
"I'm fired up! Let's go, Lucy!" Natsu said.
"I'm gonna do it?!"
Mira posed in a red bikini. "I'll support you!" She encouraged.
"You're too into it!" Lucy commented. "And where am I gonna get a swimsuit?!"
"Is Fairy Tail always like this?" Sebastian asked.
"There's one on the ground over there."
"No, not always." Wendy replied.
"I hate this in more ways than one!"
Lucy was finally in a bikini. "Jeez! If I'm gonna do this, I'm going all out!" She claimed.
"But of course!" Natsu said.
"They may be able to hear you too, so let's include a commentary!" Happy suggested.
"Entry number one! Lucy Heartfilia!"
"Meow! If you don't let us out of here, I'm gonna punish you!" Lucy said.
Lily held up a 4. "I don't know what she means!"
Happy was holding up an 8. "Erotic!"
Carla held up a 9. "Well, not bad..."
"What is this?" Lucy questioned.
"Entry number two! Mirajane Strauss!"
"You want to see me go all out? Then come and get me, but be prepared to die." Mira threatened.
"That's not what we're supposed to be doing here!" Lucy complained.
"Um... After going this far, it's hard for me to say this..." Wendy trailed off.
"...but if no one is actually watching, then isn't this meaningless?" Yukino concluded.
"I do feel like we're wasting time." Sebastian agreed.
"It's better than doing nothing!" Happy claimed.
"Better?" Carla quoted.
"Yeah! I'm sure they'll be right out! Don't sell Fairy Tail short!" Natsu said before addressing Lucy. "So I'm countin' on you!"
"You're putting it all on me?!" Lucy exclaimed as Yukino smiled a bit.
"You know, you should smile a bit more, Yukino." Sebastian commented.
"Huh? I was smiling?" Yukino questioned, not realizing she was as Natsu and Lucy continued to bicker.
Another explosion went off as Gray rolled on the ground. "Oh, dear! An awesome follow-up attack! Is Gray helpless to do anything but lick the floor?!" Chapati announced as the audience cheered.
Nox chuckled as he was sitting on the railing before finally hopping down on the ground. "I will admit, I underestimated you just a tiny bit. I didn't think you'd hold on for this long. Then again, you are a Fairy Tail wizard. You have that annoying spark." He stated.
"Hey, Gray!" Natsu's voice was soon heard. "Quit dilly-dallying and take this Frankenstein wannabe out!"
"Shut up! That's just what I'm about to do!" Gray exclaimed, getting into a fighting stance.
Ice soon appeared on the ground as Nox dodged it in time. "Oh, my! Has Gray Fullbuster started to counterattack at last?!" Chapati wondered, making Juvia smile.
Nox landed on the ground, still having a bored look on his face. Gray ended up removing his shirt. "He took it off! He took it off! He took it off!" Chapati exclaimed as the women in the audience had heart eyes.
Juvia was covering her eyes. "Gray-sama!" She squealed.
"He took off his shirt." Mavis said.
"He did." Makarov stated.
"Yeah! That means he's in serious mode!" Warren claimed.
"Everything you've taken up to now, dish it out to him, Gray!" Max cheered.
Gray places his fists together. "Ice-Make..." He started to say. "Unlimited!"
Ice swords began spinning around as they aimed at Nox. "You still don't understand, do you?" Nox mumbled to himself.
"Black Dust Plague Bomb!" Nox shouted, unleashing a large amount of black dust and causing an explosion.
When the smoke settled, Gray was on the ground in defeat, clenching his side as if he was in pain. This shocks Fairy Tail as the audience cheered.
"He won!" Helena exclaimed.
"I knew he would." Kross smirked.
"Nox did it! Black Sun won! Gray lost!" Chapati announced as the audience cheered once more.
"I quit!" Lucy whined as her and Happy paled.
"Just showing them was a waste of time." Mira stated, transforming back into her normal outfit.
"Nobody's come..." Natsu muttered.
"That operation failed." Carla commented.
"They showed off for nothing." Lily stated.
"I somehow saw this coming." Raden added.
"And I was so sure it would work..." Happy said.
"I guess that means they're not monitoring us."
"Maybe we should look for another means..." Sebastian suggested.
"That's all we can do."
The group began to walk away. "I'm tired from thrusting my chest out." Lucy complained.
Everyone was unaware of the single-eyed flower that sprouted, watching them.
A/N: Another chapter is done!
Thanks for reading!
~ Kaleb.