A/N: Episode 182.
Enjoy!
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX: BURNING GROUND
Arcadios continued walking through the lava. "What are you doing?!" Lucy exclaimed.
"I'm on my way!" Arcadios shouted.
"A human entered the lava?" Uosuke questioned more to himself.
Arcadios pushes both Lucy and Yukino. "Quickly... Climb up!" He ordered.
"Arcadios-sama!" Yukino exclaimed.
"Don't worry about me! As long as you two survive..." Arcadios paused as Lucy and Yukino were on the slab of rock.
"Never mind! You too, hurry up!" Lucy interrupted.
"L-Listen to me. If you get out of here safely... meet the princess... Princess Hisui. Understand?" Arcadios told them.
"Arcadios-sama! Take my hand!" Yukino shouted.
"Reach out! Come on! Grab my hand!" Lucy yelled.
Happy and Carla were still under the gravity. "Lucy..." Happy mumbled.
"That Arcadios guy is sacrificing himself..." Carla pointed out before recalling her vision. "But I don't understand. Then what was that prophecy?"
"You can decide whether Eclipse is right or not..." Arcadios continued sinking further down into the lava.
"No..."
Lucy had a dark shadow casted over her eyes. "Arcadios-sama!" Yukino screamed out as Arcadios had completely disappeared.
"No... Why...?" Yukino mumbled. "I bring bad luck to people after all..."
"Yukino..." Lucy muttered.
"Just made it! But my body has just about had it."
They spotted Horlogium rising from the lava with Arcadios inside. "Horologium! What are you doing here?!" Lucy asked.
"Are you one of Lucy-sama's Celestial Spirits?" Yukino questioned.
"Yes, but with a big man inside of me, I'm fit to burst." Horologium replied.
"It's because I can go through the gate at will." Loke soon arrived, holding Lucy's keys. "Your star is before you."
"Loke!" Lucy exclaimed.
"Leo the Lion..." Yukino muttered.
"Is that a Celestial Spirit-tai?" Uosuke wondered as Loke returned Lucy's keys.
"Here are yours, too." Loke handed Yukino her keys as well.
"Thank you." Yukino thanked him, hugging her keys close. "I'm sorry, Pisces and Libra."
Lucy smiled at her. "Yay!" Happy cheered.
"Now they can use Celestial Spirit Magic, right?" Carla questioned.
"Celestial Spirit Magic? Then those two are..." Uosuke trailed off.
"Celestial Spirit Wizards!" Lucy finished for him.
"They have contracts with the Celestial Spirits of the Celestial Spirit World." Carla explained as Horologium was struggling to get on a slab of rock.
"They're wizards who fight with those Celestial Spirits-tai!" Happy added.
"Tai?" Carla questioned.
"I caught his verbal tic!" Happy muttered.
Loke turned to look at his wielder. "Lucy."
"Yeah!" Lucy nodded.
"The 12 Keys are gathered. Time to fight back." Loke claimed as Uosuke had a worried look on his face.
"You're as light on your feet as the weight of your sins is heavy." Kama said.
"Man, I'm startin' to get pissed off with the way he keeps mentioning that." Sebastian muttered.
"You're still harpin' on that, but you'll never hit us swingin' around like that." Natsu added.
"You can run from your crimes, but you can't shake them off. I'll show you." Kama raised his staffs and joined them together, creating two palms. "You feign ignorance, but the sins you committed are etched in your bodies as memories."
A purple glow appeared from the two palms as both Natsu and Sebastian were covered in purple handprints. "Wha...?! What is this? I don't feel a thing!" Natsu exclaimed.
"Neither do I!" Sebastian informed.
"Do you have chest pain? It's proof of your crimes. The guilty plea you can't cast off."
"Huh? Then say I'm doin' a job and a building happens to be destroyed, or I storm into the Council's chambers. Does that count as a sin?" Natsu asked.
"No. That always happens." Kama sweat dropped.
"Really?"
Sebastian sweat drops as well. "And Nox called me reckless..." He mumbled under his breath.
"Your sins are beyond redemption! I will cut off those sinful heads!" Kama claimed as his swords glowed purple. "Executioner technique! Guillotine Justice!"
The swords combined and began to spin. "What?!" Natsu questioned as him and Sebastian moved out of the way.
"You really gotta work on your aim!" Sebastian taunted. However, he looked back as the saw struck him and Natsu.
"As I said, you can run from your crimes, but you can't shake them off. They'll chase the marks on you wherever you go until the execution is carried out. Reflect upon your sins and despair!"
"Th-There are various impossible developments at work here-tai." Uosuke said.
Lucy turned back around. "Thanks, Horologium!"
"I made it in the nick of time for now." Horologium said.
"It's okay. He's breathing!" Happy reassured.
"I'm surprised he's still alive." Carla stated as Horologium went back into the Celestial Spirit World.
"Okay, let's go!" Lucy announced.
"Here I come." Yukino said.
"The early bird gets the worm! Topography effect! Gravity zone!" Uosuke shouted.
"Open! Gate of the Scales!" Yukino said as a door chimed and Libra appeared. "Libra!"
"I balance out the change in gravity!" Libra announced as her scales glowed green. "Balanced out!"
"All right!" Happy cheered.
"Suddenly, we've got the edge!" Carla said.
"Darn you-tai!"
"Are you sure you're using your verbal tic correctly?" Carla asked.
"Topography effect! Gale force wind zone!" Uosuke called out.
A gust of wind blew through Lucy, Yukino, and Loke. "I think I'll be able to see, Lucy!" Loke exclaimed, giving a thumbs up.
"Don't look!" Lucy shouted.
Carla and Happy were holding onto Arcadios. "Hey!" Carla complained.
"We're gonna get blown away!" Happy informed.
"Open! Gate of the Virgin! Virgo!" Lucy called out as Virgo appeared.
"Why a maid-tai?!" Uosuke exclaimed.
"A strong wind and burning inferno. That's maniacal punishment. Thank you, Princess." Virgo said.
"I'm not going to say anything." Lucy stated.
"And long time no see, Big Brother." Virgo addressed Loke, who grinned.
"She still calls you that?" Lucy sweat dropped.
"Are they brother and sister?" Yukino asked.
"No, but... I don't feel like explaining." Lucy responded.
"Enough talk-tai!"
"Virgo, please!"
"Then I'll dig!" Virgo announced, digging underground.
"Loke!" Lucy called out.
"Leave it to me!" Loke told her as he charged forward.
"This is a great windbreak hole!" Happy commented as him and Carla were with Arcadios in one of the holes Virgo had dug up.
"That was good thinking!" Carla added.
Loke was soon engaged in a battle with Uosuke. "The enemy is dodging all of Big Brother's attacks, Princess." Virgo announced as Yukino and Lucy took cover in another hole she dug up.
"He's a lot more nimble than he looks." Lucy stated.
"I guess you can't underestimate someone based on appearances." Yukino added.
Loke pushed up his glasses in a cocky manner. "Although looks are important." He claimed.
"It's rude to keep going on about looks! You'll make me mad!" Uosuke said.
"You don't look mad." Loke countered.
"Topography effect! Cold zone!" Uosuke shouted as he froze everything.
"What's this?! It's too cold!" Lucy complained, shivering.
"Plus, tophography effect! Gravity zone!" Uosuke said as Lucy and Yukino were raised in the air.
"I balance out the change in gravity!" Libra stated.
"Lucy!" Loke shouted.
"Hurry up and get me down!" Lucy exclaimed.
Wendy was still surrounded by plants. "Sour!" She exclaimed.
"Your painful expression is lovely, too." Cosmos claimed. "But I'll give you a sweet ending."
More plants had risen. "You'll fall asleep buried among the food that you hate. It'll be sweet, final sleep that you've never experienced before." Cosmos continued.
"W-What are you...?!" Wendy paused.
Orange mist soon sprouted from the plants. "Now, it's beddy-bye time. Pillow Forest!" Wendy began to feel drowsy. "If the spores' soporific effect makes you fall asleep, you'll never wake up again. It's Death Magic!"
Wendy's eyes closed shut. "Now, fall asleep. Have an eternal nightmare!" Cosmos said as she laughed.
"This is frustrating. Even with our strongest members out there, we can't seem to get ahead." Zane commented with his arms crossed.
"Give it time. Nox's success in taking out both Gray and Rufus helped a lot." Kross reminded.
"Something wrong, Master?" Helena asked, seeing Souta's distressed state.
"It's nothing to be concerned about." Souta replied before narrowing his eyes. "I feel it coming from deep underground Crocus. It's faint, but there's tremors and magical clashing."
Souta sighed to himself before stepping away from his guild.
"I-It's cold!" Lucy whined.
"Tai-tai! I bet you can't feel your hands or feet anymore-tai!" Uosuke said.
"Lucy, leave this to me!" Loke broke out of his ice prison and opened his top, revealing his chest. "At a time like this, you can warm up by putting flesh against flesh!"
"Go home!" Lucy ordered.
"Please let me handle this, Princess." Virgo began doing some dance moves. "At a time like this, doing a nice dance will warm you up."
Loke soon joined Virgo in dancing. "That isn't solving anything!" Lucy shouted.
"Those are lively Celestial Spirits. I can feel the deep bond you have with them." Yukino commented.
"You're surpisingly happy-go-lucky." Lucy told her.
"I'm tired from dancing, so I'm going home." Virgo informed.
"Th-Thank you, Virgo." Lucy thanked as Virgo disappeared back into the Celestial Spirit World.
"Oh, no. My senses are numbed, and I feel sleepy..." Yukino muttered.
"No matter what, we have to attack him somehow and dispel this magic." Lucy informed as she took out a key. "Open! Gate of the Bull! Taurus!"
Taurus soon appeared from the gate. "Huh? What's wrong, Taurus? You're not pumped up." Lucy said, noticing his different mood.
"With that lava zone from before, your nice body was glistening. It was Mootiful..." Taurus replied.
"Is that right?" Lucy questioned.
"That being said, it's hard for me to abandon you even when you're trembling from cold." Taurus declared.
"Yeah, yeah..."
"Be that as it moo, I won't let either of your nice bodies be frozen!" Taurus claimed, getting ready to fight.
"First a maid, then a cow-tai?" Uosuke questioned. "Random Celestial Spirit Wizard!"
"Don't say 'random'!" Lucy exclaimed. "Taurus, he's all yours!"
"You're moo-n! For Lucy-san's sake, full charge!" Taurus charged forward but ended up slipping and falling. Ice toppled over him, followed by his axe.
"Running on ice is just asking for an accident to happen-tai!" Uosuke said.
"Moo-out of commission!" Taurus exclaimed, disappearing back into the Celestial Spirit World.
"You're done already?!" Lucy scolded.
"Tai-tai! Why not be still and accept the inevitable... Huh?" Uosuke soon realized that Loke was nowhere to be found. "Is someone missing-tai?"
"Over here!" Loke called out as he struck Uosuke.
"Yukino!"
"Right!"
"Libra! Do something with these scattered blocks of ice." Yukino instructed.
"Roger! I'll make the enemy the center of gravity." Libra responded.
Ice blocks started to attack Uosuke. "Owowow-tai!" He complained before being encased in ice blocks. "That's cold-tai..."
"She did it!" Carla cheered.
"Nice combination!" Happy complimented.
The ice around them soon dissolved as they were back in the tunnel. "It's back to normal." Yukino noticed.
"It was a hard battle, but at least we won." Lucy informed.
"The key to victory was our deep love." Loke commented.
"Well, thanks, anyway." Lucy said.
"Criminals... I'm done playing with you-tai!" Uosuke claimed as he stood up. "You've angered the one guy you don't want to be angry-tai!"
"I thought you were angry before?" Lucy questioned in confusion.
"Fairy Tail's in first place?"
"Yeah. But Saber's Twin Dragons remain, so who knows what'll happen?"
"Jura, one of the Ten Wizard Saints, is still in it, too."
"Black Sun has all five of their members, as well."
"Don't forget Kagura-chan!"
"But you never know. I heard from the Minister of Defense that if Fairy Tail wins, we'll free their friends."
"What? Well, who knows what the enemies are thinking?"
"But even the captain..."
"Well, that was treason, any way you look at it."
"Princess, I have the latest update. The Garou Knights begin their 1500th mission in Hell Palace. The criminals resisted, and all of them are currently engaged in battle. They moved to the lower level and are separated in five different areas."
"Is the enemy communicating telepathically?"
"We left nothing to chance. All telepathic communication from the outside is blocked."
"I know His Majesty is fond of the enemy, but the thought of being surrounded by them... And their guild looks like they might win. Good grief."
Uosuke looks down at Plue. "Lucy-sama?" Yukino questioned in confusion.
"He said he was angry, so I went with this..." Lucy explained.
Plue began dancing as Uosuke soon followed him. "He's going with it!" Happy exclaimed. "Goes to show that the Silver Keys are worth using, too."
"My plan worked! Maybe..." Lucy said.
"Maybe?" Carla quoted.
Uosuke stopped dancing. "Gravity-tai!" He shouted.
"Okay, next! Open! Gate of the Crab! Cancer!" Lucy called out as Cancer appeared. Uosuke drooled.
"Ebi!"
"Even though you're a crab, what's with saying 'ebi'-tai?" Uosuke asked.
"That hairstyle is making my scissors cower-ebi!" Cancer claimed.
Cancer soon gave Uosuke a haircut. "A wild image change-ebi!" He said before changing Uosuke's hairstyle again.
"A handsome guy arrangement-ebi!"
Cancer changed Uosuke's hair to make it look like Wendy's as he blushed. "Cute, wanna try picking her up-ebi!" He said.
"Execution-kai!" Uosuke shouted, attacking Cancer.
"Ebi sen!"
"Cancer!" Lucy shouted.
"Weak sauce! I saw through you-tai! You're just trying to buy time so your wounded can get away, right-tai?" Uosuke questioned.
Loke was supporting Arcadios. "He noticed..." He muttered.
"The cat's out of the bag..." Happy stated.
"You're sharper than you look." Lucy claimed.
"I won't let any of you criminals escape-tai!" Uosuke said as a purple glow surrounded him. "Execution technique! Fainting in agony zone!"
Everyone dodged the oncoming weapons. "What is this?!" Lucy questioned.
"An execution device!" Yukino answered.
Happy was locked in a cage. "He caught us!"
Carla was wrapped in chains. "Let us go!"
Chains also trapped Arcadios. "Crap!" Loke exclaimed.
Loke rushed towards Arcadios, but sharp spears pointed towards his neck. "Don't move-tai!" Uosuke ordered. "You look like a pain-tai. So if you move, I'll start by executing the beardie-tai."
"Lucy!" Loke said.
"Listen to him!" Lucy told him.
"Huh, what's wrong? Go ahead, show me your other Celestial Spirits!" Uosuke taunted.
"He's totally making light of us." Lucy stated.
"Doesn't feel good, does it?" Yukino asked.
"All right, then! Open! Gate of the Scorpion!" Lucy pointed her key forward.
"Open! Gate of the Fish!" Yukino called out as two door chimes were heard.
"Scorpio!"
"Pisces!"
Both Scorpio and Pisces appeared from their gates. "Fish!" Happy exclaimed.
"Fish!" Uosuke also exclaimed.
Pisces charged forward and attacked Uosuke. "I'm thrilled with the fish-tai! But they're too big!" Uosuke complained.
"Now, Scorpio!" Lucy ordered.
"Sand Buster!" Scorpio shouted, blasting sand in Happy and Carla direction as they were released from their prison.
"Thanks, Scorpio!" Lucy thanked him.
"We are... I mean, no big deal, baby, yeah." Scorpio replied all gloomy.
"Lucy, we're okay over here!" Loke called out as he was supporting Arcadios once again.
"Great! Thanks!" Lucy shouted.
"How's this-tai? I got me a sense of balance from training in rough seas. This feels great-tai!" Uosuke said.
"Yukino!" Lucy said.
"Right!" Yukino agreed.
"Pisces!"
"Scorpio!"
Pisces threw Uosuke off while Scorpio blasted him with sand. "I'm dizzy-tai!" Uosuke commented.
"Lucy-sama, what's our next move?" Yukino asked.
"Loke! Aim for him, avoiding Pisces!" Lucy ordered.
"That won't be easy, but I'll do anything for you!" Loke responded. "Here I go! Regulus Impact!"
Loke fired his Magic towards Uosuke. "He did it! That's my Loke!" Lucy praised.
"What a brilliant light!" Yukino complimented.
"That's not me. What is that glow?" Loke wondered as blue light appeared.
"I counterbalanced your light-tai! Topography effect plus white night zone!" Uosuke replied as Pisces was knocked out.
"You can do that?!" Lucy questioned.
"Since it's come to this, I'll play my trump card." Yukino claimed.
Cosmos was sitting next to a sleeping Wendy. "Are you already having sour dreams? Out of all my execution techniques, this is my favorite. Although it depends on my opponent... I haven't executed a cute criminal like you in quite some time."
"Well Kallia? Any luck?" Souta asked the teal-haired girl wrapped in bandages, who was trying to contact Sebastian using her Telepathy.
She shook her head. "I can't get into contact with Sebastian-san." Kallia signed to Souta.
"That's strange. Mercurius is not far from the stadium. You should have no problem reaching him." He said.
"There's a possible chance that since they're underground, something could be blocking my communication with Sebastian-san." Kallia signed.
Souta hummed. "You make a good point."
"I'll keep trying, Master."
"Thank you, Kallia."
Kama placed his swords behind his back. "How was that? You didn't even tag us once." Natsu taunted.
"What will power... You don't recognize your sins or accept punishment. I've never met sinners like you." Kama admitted.
"Well, it's about time I sock you in the jaw, then go off to find Lucy and the rest." Natsu claimed.
"Your friends have already been executed. Go to the other side without a fuss. They're waiting for you." Kama said.
"You're full of it! My friends wouldn't get taken out so easy! Don't underestimate them!"
"Two lowly wizard guilds would dare defy the kingdom?"
"When you kidnap guild members and threaten us with execution, hell yeah!" Sebastian answered.
"We'll knock out every last one of ya!" Natsu finished.
Both Sebastian and Natsu charged forward.
Lucy ended up getting slammed with a weapon. "Pisces!" Yukino shouted as Pisces' Gate Key glowed.
"Tai?! The fish..." Uosuke trailed off.
"Fish? I mean, are they...?" Lucy started to say.
"Pisces' true forms. The Celestial Spirit of mother and son." Yukino explained as Pisces appeared to be human.
"Mama, getting summoned in this form means..."
"Anniliation of the enemy, son."
"As always, she's so beautiful, you wouldn't think she had a kid." Loke blushed.
"Please." Yukino said.
"Okay, Mama!"
"I'm not your mama!"
The two of them soon attacked Uosuke with water. "Wow!" Lucy exclaimed.
"I liked them better as fish." Happy commented.
"Oh, you..." Carla said.
"Ow-tai!" Uosuke complained.
"Let's finish the job, son."
"Okay, Mama!"
"Topography effect! Lava zone!" Uosuke said as the ground became lava once more.
"Mama! What is this?!"
"I'm gonna grill some fish!" Uosuke drooled.
"You mean eat them?!" Happy exclaimed.
"Arcadios-sama!" Yukino shouted.
"Loke!" Lucy called out.
"We're okay! Leave the rest to me!" Loke replied. "Although if you insist, I'd love to catch you in my arms."
"Yeah, yeah..." Lucy muttered.
"You know what to do, right, son?"
"I know, Mama!"
The Pisces symbol soon appeared in front of the mother-son duo, blasting out water as the lava disappeared. "The lava zone solidfied?! Because of that spray of water? I don't believe it!" Uosuke said.
"That's the gap between his magic and ours, son."
"That's right, Mama!"
"They saved us..." Happy muttered.
"You probably shouldn't have jumped." Carla informed.
"I know, right?" Happy agreed.
"All this magic use is taking its toll on me..." Lucy muttered.
"Let's overcome him all at once, Lucy-sama." Yukino suggested.
"All right! This time, finish it! Taurus!" Lucy called out Taurus once again.
"One moooore punch!" Taurus exclaimed, striking down at Uosuke while Pisces attacked with water soon after.
"I mooost definitely beat him, Lucy-san!" Taurus said.
"Yay!" Happy cheered.
"Uh, what are you doing?" Carla asked.
"I realized that if you do this, it makes your butt nice and toasty warm." Happy replied, making Carla sweat drop.
"Now I'm tired of seeing Celestial Spirits-tai! Topography effect! Whirling tide!" Uosuke called out.
"I have a bad feeling..." Carla muttered a wave of water engulfed her and Happy.
"Fish and cow both, return to the sea-tai!" Uosuke said.
"Mama! What is this?!"
"Son! Hang in there!"
"I don't think a cow has anything to do with the sea!" Taurus said.
Pisces returned back to their fish forms. "Fish!" Happy exclaimed.
"He realized that Pisces' weakness is water!" Yukino realized.
"Even though they're fish?" Lucy questioned.
"Lucy! Are you okay?!" Loke asked.
"I think so!" Lucy replied. "I don't get it, but there's no direct damage and the water is shallow. What are you trying to do?!"
"Look at the center of the whirlpool-tai! If you get dragged over there, you'll be flung someplace-tai!" Uosuke answered.
"F-Flung where?!" Lucy questioned.
"Who knows?" Uosuke responded.
"That vagueness makes it even scarier!" Lucy shouted, making Uosuke laugh.
"Criminals, vanish with infinite water-tai!" He said.
Lucy's keys began glowing underwater. "Water... That's it, water! If there's water..." She mumbled.
"Lucy?! Don't tell me you're going to summon her?!" Happy exclaimed.
"Her?" Carla quoted.
"Open! Gate of the Water Bearer!" Water shot up in front of Uosuke as Aquarius appeared. "Aquarius!"
Aquarius had a furious look plastered on her face.
A/N: Another chapter is finished!
Thanks for reading!
~ Kaleb.