A/N: Episode 182.
Enjoy!
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE: 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 as Samuel helped Lucy and Yukino onto the slab of rock once he pulled himself up.
"Arcadios-sama!" Yukino exclaimed.
"Don't worry about me! As long as you two survive..." Arcadios paused as Lucy, Yukino, and Samuel 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.
"Don't go out like this, old man!" Samuel added.
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 disappeared.
"No... Why...?" Yukino mumbled. "I bring bad luck to people after all..."
"Yukino..." Lucy muttered.
"It was his decision, Yukino. Don't blame yourself." Samuel tried to cheer her up.
"Just made it! But my body has just about had it."
They spotted Horologium 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.
"Loke-san!" Samuel shouted.
"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 in realization.
"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.
"You're still harpin' on that, but you'll never hit me swingin' around like that." Natsu claimed.
"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've committed are etched in your body as memories."
A purple glow appeared as Natsu was covered in purple handprints. "Wha...?! What is this? I don't feel a thing!" Natsu exclaimed.
"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?"
"Your sins are beyond redemption! I will cut off that sinful head!" Kama claimed as his swords glowed purple. "Executioner technique! Guillotine Justice!"
The swords combined and began to spin. "What?!" Natsu questioned as he moved out of the way.
"You missed!" Natsu taunted. However, he looked back as the saw soon struck him.
"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!" She thanked him.
"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 to the Celestial Spirit World.
"Okay, let's go!" Lucy announced.
"Here I come." Yukino claimed.
"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 exclaimed.
"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, Samuel, 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 thanked.
"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 told her.
"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 Lucy, Yukino, and Samuel 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." Samuel 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 is this?! It's too cold!" Lucy complained, shivering.
"Plus, topography effect! Gravity zone!" Uosuke said as Lucy, Yukino, and Samuel 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 plums. "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.
"Still, Number One's strategy is awesome, you know?" Jet said.
"Yeah, we made an easy comeback to first place." Droy agreed, eating a piece of chicken.
"It's a big difference from our current guild master." Macao stated.
"You can talk?" Wakaba shot back.
"Those are some rude comments." Alzack commented.
"I sense it." Mavis spoke up suddenly, getting Makarov's attention.
"Is something wrong, Number One?"
"I feel it coming from deep underground Crocus. It's faint, but there are tremors and magical clashing." Mavis responded.
"The brats, I suppose?" Makarov asked.
"Probably. And it seems they're fighting split up." Mavis replied.
"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 surprisingly 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 out of 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 he ended up slipping and falling. Ice toppled on him, followed by his axe.
"Running on ice is just asking for an accident to happen-tai!" Uosuke said.
"Mooo-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 Loke and Samuel were nowhere to be found. "Is someone missing-tai?"
"Over here!" Loke called out as him and Samuel both 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.
"As always, they never know when to stand down." Samuel sighed out.
"You've angered the one guy you don't want to be angry-tai!" Uosuke stated.
"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."
"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 enemy is thinking?"
"But even the captain..."
"Well, that was treason, any way you look at it."
Hisui closed her eyes as she listened to the guards conversation.
"Princess, I have the latest update. The Garou Knights began 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 it might win. Good grief."
Uosuke looks down at Plue. "Lucy-sama?" Yukino questioned.
"How is this supposed to help us, exactly?" Samuel asked, blinking 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.
Both Loke and Samuel were supporting Arcadios. "Crap..." Samuel mumbled under his breath.
"He noticed..." Loke 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.
"This isn't looking too good..." Samuel stated.
Loke and Samuel 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 shouted.
"Listen to him!" Lucy ordered.
"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 Scorpio's 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's direction as they were released from their prison.
"Aye!"
"Hey!"
"Thanks, Scorpio!" Lucy thanked him.
"We are... I mean, no big deal, baby, yeah." Scorpio replied all gloomy.
"Lucy-san, we're okay over here!" Samuel called out as him and Loke were supporting Arcadios once again.
"Great! Thanks!" Lucy shouted.
"How's this-tai? I got my 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 instructed.
"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 a 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."
Warren was trying to contact the rescue team. "Well? Can you make contact with the rescue team, Warren?" Makarov asked.
"It's strange... Natsu and the others were heading for the palace, Mercurius, which isn't that far from here, so I should be able to reach them no problem, but..." Warren trailed off.
"Number One, the clash of Magic you sensed came from underground?" Makarov questioned.
"Yes. I'm sure of it." Mavis replied.
"Maybe it's because of that Eclipse thing. It absorbs Magic if you get close, right?" Warren asked.
"No. She's sensing their Magic as they battle, so there has to be another reason." Alzack replied.
"But who are they fightin'? The Cherry Blossom Knights or whatever?" Wakaba questioned.
"There is a Magic unit, isn't there? But still..." Macao trailed off.
"...I can't imagine them putting up much of a fight against Natsu and the others." Makarov concluded. "In the first place, if they were caught sneaking in, it would've caused an uproar here."
"Assuming that Lucy and Yukino were freed, there is one possibility. It hasn't been made public, but there are rumors of an independent unit." Alzack said.
"Don't tell me you're talking about executioners, Alzack. They're just..." Warren started to say.
"I know. Like an urban legend. But..." Alzack paused.
"But after hearing about the Eclipse Project..." Jet started to say.
"...it's not impossible!" Droy finished.
"That's it! All I'm picking up is weird noises, so maybe they're jamming me somehow." Warren informed.
"It's frustrating, but right now, we can't do anything." Mavis stated.
"I know. All we can do is have faith in the brats and wait." Makarov added.
Kama placed his swords behind his back. "How was that? You didn't even tag me once." Natsu taunted.
"What will power... You don't recognize your sins or accept punishment. I've never met a sinner 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 Fairy Tail!"
"A lowly wizards guild would dare defy the kingdom?"
"When you kidnap fellow guild members and threaten us with execution, hell yeah!" Natsu replied before he charged forward. "I'll knock out every last one of ya!"
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.
"...transforming?" Samuel finished.
"Pisces' true forms. The Celestial Spirit of mother and son." Yukino explained as Pisces appeared in their human forms.
"Mama, getting summoned in this form means..."
"Annihilation 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 again.
"Mama! What is this?!"
"I'm gonna grill some fish!" Uosuke drooled.
"You mean eat them?!" Happy exclaimed.
"Arcadios-sama!" Yukino shouted.
"Loke! Sam!" Lucy called out.
"We're okay! Leave the rest to us!" Samuel reassured.
"Although if you insist, I'd love to catch you in my arms." Loke added.
"Yeah, yeah..." Lucy muttered.
"You know what to do, right, son?"
"I know, Mama!"
The Pisces symbol appeared in front of them, blasting 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 should have jumped." Carla informed.
"I know, right?" Happy agreed.
"All this Magic use is taking its toll on me..." Lucy mumbled.
"Let's overcome him all at once, Lucy-sama." Yukino suggested.
"All right! This time, finish it! Taurus!" Lucy called out as Taurus appeared.
"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 as 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.