The Enchanter of Fairy Tail

by NumeralFuture11

In this world, there are many rare and powerful magics. One in particular is in a class all on its own. A young boy sets out to learn this magic and unlock its secrets after a tragic event beholds him. How will he fare? (Begins in X752, but there will be action and main characters from the anime before then. Reviews are appreciated)

77. Zodiac Spirits VS Elemental Golems!

Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or its characters.

---

-The Enchanter of Fairy Tail-

Chapter 77: Zodiac Spirits VS Elemental Golems!

Year: X760. 24 years till Canon begins.

No POV, Vicini:

Vicini was practically pulling what little hair he had left due to what had been happening to him in the last hour.

First the criminals that he had hired - of which he later enslaved to his magic - had all been defeated, meaning that they had lost many of the guests that had been down there. After that, Vicini had sent Maximilian down to try and stop the irritating pests. At the same time, he had been trying to get inside that book that the Heartfilia's had. The important one that was locked in the safe.

But now Maximilian wasn't getting back into contact with him! Vincini had been anxious when he saw that huge glass dome break apart from where he was standing – that being close to the top of the mountain.

Vicini tried to contact him, but there was no reply! Had he lost? How!?

To make matters even worse, when Vicini tried to open up that book, he found that it was protected by some special family seal by the Heartfilia's years ago. Only a Heartfilia by official name or blood could open it.

This… This was simply inconceivable! Inconceivable to the highest degree!

This plan had been going so well. In fact, one might say that it had been going just as planned! But now things were going wrong! Everything was going wrong! It's was all because of these wizards that had showed up! They were ruining everything! Vicini was quickly pacing up and down across the small clearing that he, Lynne and the guests were located on. Lynne was to his left leaning against a rock. She was casually doing her nails as he was panicking.

Wait… Yes Lynne! She was still here! 'Ah ha! I'm not out of options yet!'

"Lynne!" Vicini practically screamed at her. "Why are you still here!? Maximilian lost and you are up here doing your nails!?"

Lynne barely moved her head upwards to acknowledge Vicini. "Did he now? I didn't know." She muttered as she finished painting one of her nails.

Vicini was nearly erupting with rage. "Didn't know?! Didn't know!? Of course you didn't know! You've been up here busy with your nails! We could be caught any second now! We don't have time to move all the guests again!"

Lynne rolled her eyes as she finished painting her nails. She then moved forwards to stand up straight. "Well!? Are you going to do something, or do I have to-!"

"Alright then. Let's see who we are dealing with then." She cut Vicini off with a sigh as she pulled out a lacrima and activated it. She sat the lacrima on a large rock, not wanting to hold it. "They can't be THAT bad surely."

The lacrima buzzed to life to reveal a live recording of three individuals running across and up through the mountains.

The three figures were a young man with a suit and ginger hair, a small blond-haired girl and a teenage boy who had some dark red armour on with a cape.

Vicini gasped with fear when he saw just how close the three figures were to reaching them. They only had around 30 more minutes or so before they got here! "Gah! They're so close!"

But Vicini cut himself off from any future yells as he recognised the blonde-haired girl. He and Lynne gasped as they looked closer into the lacrima. "Wait! That's Layla Heartfilia! I thought we lost her back at the party!"

Vicini then cackled as he rubbed his hands together. "Yes, yes! I can use Layla as a hostage to get Lyra to sign my contracts!" He giggled with glee. "It's not over yet! I'm still in this!"

Lynne was still staring at the lacrima.

"Alright Lynne! Head down there and try to separate the three of them!" Vicini ordered as he looked away from the lacrima and towards Lynne. "Get moving!"

Lynne was still looking at the three figures.

Vicini gave a grunt of anger. "Hey! Hey! Lynne! What are you doing?! Still looking at that lacrima? Why?! Oh, it doesn't matter, get a move on!" He ordered as he snapped his fingers near Lynne's face.

Lynne blinked with surprise as she looked to Vicini. "Ah, but Vicini! The man with the ginger hair!" Lynne began, as she pointed to him.

Vicini shifted his head a little in curiosity. "What? You know him?"

"No…" Lynne began, as she bowed her head a little.

"But I think he's the man I've been looking for~!" She said as she clasped her hands together and beamed with joy. "He's totally my type!"

"SAY WHAT!?" Vicini screamed with outrage. "You're getting the hots for him!?"

"Oh yes!" Lynne cried ecstatically with a huge smile on her face. "Ahhhh… He's the perfect man for me… When I become rich I'm sure he'll flock to me!" She whispered as she fell into a trance as she looked back into the lacrima. "He's handsome and strong!"

Vicini picked up the lacrima and smashed it to the ground, snapping Lynne out of her trance. "What are you doing!? Get your mind out of whatever it was that you were thinking about! We have a job to do!"

Lynne was a bit shocked as she was caught out of her daydream so quickly. "Aw… But Vicini… I really think he's the right man for me. He was just so handsome~!" Lynne sung as she spun around.

"Grr… I don't care! Do whatever it is that you want to do after this job! Just go down and deal with the three of them!" He snapped at Lynne as he pointed at the mountain path that led down to where the three people were running. "That is an order!"

Lynne moaned as she was forced to move down the path. "Fineeeee." She huffed as she then turned to Vicini with a slightly interested look. "What do you plan on doing?"

Vicini had turned away from Lynne and was looking at the cave nearby. "I'll stay up here and see if I can figure out a way to get these guests to sign my contracts." Vicini muttered with annoyance at remembering how well he did the last time he tried with the guests.

Lynne gave a small shrug as she turned away from Vicini. "I'll try to break them off at the caves they have to pass through. If I don't take care of them all, you better have a backup plan for up here."

Vicini's jaw dropped as he turned back to face Lynne… who was now gone.

"Lynne! What do you – ARGH!" Vicini yelled as he saw nothing but empty space where Lynne previously was.

"What nerve she has… Saying that I better have a backup plan in case she fails… Oooh, I'll make sure to decrease her pay for that." Vicini fidgeted with his fingers as he looked back to the cave. "Give her a bunch of nasty orders on top of that…"

"Now then. Maybe I'll try seeing if I can mess with the Philipe lady."

---

Cade POV:

"Man… how much further do we have to go?" I moaned as we kept running up the mountain.

It had been around ten minutes since Leo was able to defeat Maximilian. I was terrified at the idea of Leo facing him alone, yet I knew it would be best if I were to stay and protect Layla seeing that she couldn't summon her Spirits. It was ironically, luck and a sudden recollection that made it where I was able to see the dome that Maximilian had created and cast over the mountain.

It was when me and Layla took a few steps back to avoid the rocks falling, that I saw a small reflection off a small puddle of water down on my right. Looking up, I felt that I saw something strange about the sky. A quick closer inspection was able to reveal that a well camouflaged dome was making the moon look full. Feeling like this was an inconvenience to us in some way, I destroyed it, and not too long later. Leo arrived with an unconscious Maximilian.

We had quickly tied him up to a tree with some anti-magic cuffs to make sure that he couldn't run off. Next we had sent another blast of magic up into the air that exploded so that the Rune Knight's could find him. Hopefully they would see the carriage tracks and figure the rest out. It would be incredibly annoying to keep firing up blasts of magic to alert them.

Thankfully there hadn't been any disruptions while running up the mountain path. The carriage tracks led up, deep into the mountains. It hopefully wouldn't take us that long until we reached where Vicini had been keeping the guests.

My mind my quick footsteps faltered a little as I remembered everyone that was trapped. If Vicini had hurt them in some way…

'Well… I'm not sure what I'd do.' I thought as I trailed that grim possibility off.

I had to turn my thoughts away from the subject of the kidnapped. It wasn't bad to be thinking about them, but I couldn't get distracted!

I turned to Leo as we kept running. "Hey, you doing ok Leo?" I asked with concern at the condition of the Celestial Spirit. "You sure you can keep going for a while longer?"

Leo turned to me and smirked. "I'm just fine! I got a little beat up with Maximilian earlier, but it's nothing that serious. We Zodiacs are some of the strongest Spirits out there."

I gave a nod. 'Man, the Zodiacs are no joke. Leo was able to take a beating like that and still be able to run that far. It's good that Layla has four other golden keys on her!'

I looked to Layla's hip and saw that she had four golden Zodiac Keys on a keychain. 'I'm guessing that Leo was one of them, so she had three others ready to go if things went badly. I wonder who they are…?'

'Well her having to summon them will only be an issue for us if we get separated somehow. We've had no issues so far!' I thought with a firm nod after thinking that.

A good few minutes since we had been running, the three of us came to a cave that stretched quite far ahead. I saw that the carriage tracks seemed to go through the cave. Squinting my eyes, I was able to see the exit of the cave up ahead. It looked to be about a minutes walk.

"Seems like this is the way forwards." I said as I turned to Leo and Layla. "We should try and stay alert. Vicini may have more allies ready to attack us."

Leo nodded as he held out his hand and summoned some Regulus energy that he used to light up the interior of the cave. "Then we'll have to tread carefully. Let's go."

We pressed forwards, making sure to stay alert. Sure enough, the carriage tracks did indeed cross through the cave, but we had to squint a little to try and find our way forwards. The three of us made our way forwards and through the cave. We were no longer running in case we ended up tripping over a stray rock, but we were still walking decently fast.

Suddenly, with no warning, the roof of the cave shook a little as we were walking. We had already come a good distance in, so we had to keep pressing forwards. Layla gave a small sound of fear as she looked up to Leo. "The cave won't collapse will it?"

"We should be fine. This cave has probably stayed up for years. I doubt it'll collapse all of a sudden." Leo said as we kept moving.

Just then, the caves roof began to shake violently, with small rocks falling and crashing to the ground. The sounds rocks cracking and crashing on the ground could be heard and echoing throughout the cave. Leo grimaced, feeling he may have spoken too soon.

I turned to Leo with a scoff. Leo just gave an awkward chuckle as a response, as a large rock fell onto us and nearly crushed us all into paste.

"RUN!" Me and Leo cried in unison as we each grabbed Layla's hands and sprinted through the cave to the exit.

Layla was literally dragged through the air as we dashed through the cave as fast as we could. The rumbling was getting louder and louder, with more rocks falling as we ran. I made the mistake of looking back and saw that the cave was collapsing behind us! The entrance that we came in had been fully blocked off now. "Dammit! We need to hurry!"

Nervous that we might not actually make it out, I ran even faster, with Leo moving to match my speed. A few rocks fell just off from where I was running, making me all the more anxious about our speed here. Squinting my eyes allowed me to see the small glimmer of light at the exit getting closer and brighter as we kept running. We were getting closer!

We were so close to the exit of the cave! 'Almost there! Just have to keep running!'

Just as I thought that we would make it out ok, I heard Layla give a shout behind us. "My keys! A rock hit them! They fell off!"

"What!?" I turned and saw a faint golden glow of four keys laying on the ground.

I felt Layla's hand wiggle free as she ran back to get her keys. She dashed back to pick them up. "What?! No! Layla!" Leo screamed with fear. Me and Leo had just made it out of the cave and back under the night sky, as we turned in horror to see Layla not too far behind us.

"Layla! What the hell are you doing!" I screamed in fear as me and Leo saw her pick them up with a relieved look on her face. "Run! You'll be crushed if you don't hurry!"

Leo immediately sprinted back into the cave as more rocks fell around us. "Leo!" I yelled as a rock nearby hit me. I would have ran back in as well, but a few rocks fell and nearly crushed me, pushing me backwards. "Ngh… dammit!"

Leo made it to Layla in less than a few seconds. He immediately scooped her up in his hands as she grabbed onto him. Leo zoomed through the cave as he was desperately avoiding more and rocks as they fell. "We're so close…"

"You're so close come on!" I yelled with encouragement as I saw that the caves roof was falling apart and collapsing around them. "Just keep running! Don't look back!"

Leo was darting away from the rocks as they fell, and he was just able to miss one that would have flattened him and Layla if he hadn't been alert.

Right as Leo was about to make it to the exit, he had to immediately stop as a huge boulder fell and blocked the way forwards, sealing off the cave entrance. As this happened, huge clouds of dust poured out from the cracks and the rumbling sound stopped.

I was struck still by what happened. Leo and Layla… were they…?

"Layla! Leo!" I shouted with horror.

There was no response.

"LEO! LAYLA!" I screamed into the cave.

Right as I thought the worst had happened. I heard a coughing noise.

'! T-That was a cough!' I thought with hope.

I felt relief as I then heard some more coughing that was coming from two different people. "We're ok!" Came the somewhat muffled voice of Leo. "Me and Layla… made it in one piece! We found a pocket of sorts to hide in…"

I nearly cried tears of joy at that news. "That's great! Alright, get ready! I'm going to blow open this cave!" I said as I took a few steps back. "Don't worry, you'll be-"

"No don't!" Leo frantically cried as I lowered my hand. "The cave hasn't fully collapsed! If you use your magic to destroy the rocks, we may get crushed!"

"What?! But what will you two do!?" I replied with confusion. "I can't just leave you here!"

"Don't worry!" Cried Layla. "We can see some sort of light not to far away from us. We can probably get out of this cave and get back to you! Just wait for us!"

Leo interrupted Layla. "No. What you need to do Cade, is keep going and find Vicini. Don't worry about us!"

I looked back and saw that the tracks kept going up and through the mountain. I doubt I had that much further to go until I reached Vicini… "What will you do after you get out of the cave?" I questioned, looking to the blocked cave again.

"We'll try and find you! You keep going and make sure that Vicini gets what he deserves!" Leo said. "He may try and make a run for it

I grunted as I turned back to the tracks. "…Damn, you may be right… Alright then! I'll keep going. Promise me you guys will be safe!"

"We will!" Leo and Layla said in unison.

I took a deep breath and clenched my fists. "Ok, good luck!" I shouted, as I resumed running through the mountains to find Vicini. I was sure I didn't have long left to run!

---

No POV, Layla Heartfilia:

Layla felt quite sore from all the squeezing she had to do through this narrow passage.

She did feel that this situation that her and Leo were in, was her fault to some degree. As the caves was collapsing, a rock had hit her keys and caused them to fall off. Layla had darted back to get them as they were most important to her, and as she picked them up, Leo ran back to carry her out.

Sadly they were only seconds late, as a huge boulder had caused them to be trapped in here. Thankfully they weren't crushed. Even better, Layla could just make out a light in the distance that they could try to get to! Leo had sent Cade forwards to try and reach Vicini to beat him and save everyone. Layla only hoped that he would be ok…

"Ow…" Layla winced as a rock jagged into her hand.

"You ok Layla?" Leo questioned as he looked back to her.

"I'm ok…" Layla said as she emerged from the narrow passage she had squeezed through. "I'm sorry about this Leo… It's because of me that we're stuck in here…"

Leo frowned. "What's there to be sorry about? You showed concern about your keys as they fell. Yeah, you could have been crushed, and I felt some serious fear when I felt you wiggle out of my hand. But if you kept running then we may have lost your keys forever." Leo then stressed a smug smile. "I mean, could you imagine a life without me?"

Layla rolled her eyes as she kept moving through the cave – or what was left of it. After a few minutes of squirming and squeezing, she and Leo were able to reach the bright light. It looked like an exit out of here! Layla had to cover her eyes as she walked out from behind Leo. When she was able to lower her hand, she found that they had both came out onto another section of the mountain.

It seemed to be quite wide and vast in a way. Mostly flat, with a strange drop here and there. A few trees could be seen scattered across the general area. Far to the right, you could see that this section of the mountain dropped off, with many fields and forests stretching on for mile and miles. The night sky was rather clear, allowing them to see the landscape despite the darkness.

"Wow…" Layla awed. "Where are we?"

"I think we came out on another side of the mountains." Leo replied. He looked around and saw that he wouldn't be able to leap up and through the tall peaks, as they were too many jagged cliffs around them. "Looks like we'll have to press forwards." Leo said as he saw that Layla was rubbing her leg. "I think I can see a path of sorts that way. You good to keep going?"

"Yeah, I'll be ok!" Layla assured Leo. "Just scratched my leg, that's all."

Layla and Leo began to walk forwards through the open area that was around them. As they were walking they heard a female voice to their left. "Well if it isn't little Layla Heartfilia. And the man of my dreams beside her!"

Both turned to see a woman of decent height that had black eyes. She also had long dark brown hair. She had blue eyes and was wearing a red scarf that covered her neck and came down over her back. She wore a black tank top. Under that she wore some red tights and some black boots.

Leo and Layla had a serious look as they started back at the women. She wasn't that far away from them.

'When did she get there!? I never saw her there earlier!' Layla thought with shock. 'Has she been following us?!'

The women gave Layla a deep stare, before she turned to Leo and beamed with joy. "Oh, you're even more handsome in person!" The women giggled with excitement.

Leo was stunned to hear that. He then adjusted his clothing as he gave a smirk. "Well I was waiting for someone tonight to appreciate what they saw." He commented as gave a wink at the lady. "Though I'd say that you're too pretty of a girl to be single."

Layla was dumbfounded by what she was seeing. Couldn't Leo get his priorities straight? "Leo! Focus! This woman may be an enemy!"

The women gasped with joy as she clasped her hands together. "Oh and he loves me back too! I thought that this job was going pretty badly, but seeing you made it all the better!"

Leo's eyes widened a little as he heard that. "Job… So you're with Vicini then." He muttered, as his smile lessened. "I have some luck to be faced with a beautiful girl that is standing against me. Tonight really has been unlucky for me."

The women also seemed to remember the real reason as to why she was here. "Ah! Focus Lynne!" She said to herself, shaking her head. "Layla Heartfillia right? I was thinking that I missed you at the party. I bet Vicini will pay me extra for bringing you to him." Lynne remarked.

Layla gave a grimace. "Are you here to try and stop us? Because you won't! Me and my friends will beat you!"

"Ooh the girl has some energy to her. I thought that you'd be exhausted after that cave-in that I caused." Lynne said as she gave a sly smile. "Guess not."

Both Leo and Layla were shocked to hear that. Leo spoke up. "You caused that cave in?" He asked with danger in his voice. "I thought it was just an effect of the weather, but it was from you?"

"Oh yes! I had to separate you and the other boy so I could take care of you. But know this my future love, I did it while trying to make sure that you wouldn't be injured!" Lynne said in a rather romantic fashion.

Leo's face got serious as he clenched his fists. "So that was you." He gave a glare as he rolled up his sleeves a little. "Anyone who hurts my contracted owner or tries to kill them is an enemy no matter who they are."

Lynne looked heartbroken to hear that. She cried out with sadness as she dipped her head. "No… you can't possibly mean that!"

"I do. You best be prepared for what comes next." Leo warned as he coaxed his hands with his magic.

Lynne was able to quickly get over her sudden heartbreak as she took a few steps back and powered her magic. "Aw… a shame that we must fight now. Know that I'm doing this so that we can be together in the future! Besides, you don't look in too good of a condition to fight. I can end this quickly!"

"Leave her to me Layla. I want to be the one to take her down." Leo requested as he moved Layla back with his hand. "Don't worry about me…"

Seeing how serious Leo was, Layla complied and took a few steps back. She didn't want to be in the way of this. "Oh… ok then… just be careful."

Layla took a deep breath as she saw Leo prepare to fight against Lynne. He was already hurt during the earlier fight with Maximilian. 'Leo… how much more damage can you take…?'

'…Good luck Leo.!' Layla wished as she saw Leo leap towards Lynne.

---

Lynne powered up her magic as Leo leapt towards her. "You know I hate getting my hands dirty. I think I'll use my magic to create some helpers for me." Lynne waved her hands as she casted her spell. "Stone Golem!" Lynne cried as she began to shape and manipulate much of the stone around the nearby area. It came together and began to create that of a large golem about four or five metres high.

Leo was caught off guard as he stopped in his tracks to look up at the golem in shock. "Whoa! That's huge!"

"My magic lets me create golems of any nearby element!" Lynne explained as she examined her fingernails. "I hate to do this to you my love, but it is for our future! Go my Golem… pummel that little man!"

The large Stone Golem shook the ground as he pulled back a fist and aimed it at Leo. As he thrusted the fist forwards, Leo was able to leap up into the air and use his Regulus Magic to power up his fists before attacking the golem.

"Regulus Kick!" Leo yelled as he aimed a kick at the Golems head. Leo's kick was able to knock the golem back somewhat, with Lynne darting back a few feet to be safe. Unfortunately, the Golem was able to remain standing as he sent another punch up at Leo. Leo was barely able to avoid it as he moved to punch the Golem.

"Regulus Punch!" He yelled with determination as he landed a powerful punch to the Golem's stomach. The Golem was sent back a bit due to the impact, but still remained standing. Layla watched as Leo and bulky Golem continued to exchange attacks. Leo was able to avoid taking any damage, but the Golem was taking punches and kicks to the face repeatedly.

Lynne frowned as she saw this. "Ooh, this rather dicey for me. I think I'll help out by creating another Golem."

"What!?" Leo and Layla exclaimed at the same time. "You can make more than one Golden at a time!"

"Of course I can! Watch this: Stone Goldem!" Lynne gave a laugh as she created another golem that was a bit bigger than the first one that she made. "Don't worry my love! I'll make sure that they won't hurt your face that badly!" Lynne assured Leo as the second Golem moved forwards. "Take care of him my Golem!"

Leo gave a gasp as he was only just able to dodge a punch from the second Golem, yet as a result of that he had moved into the range of the other Golem. "Dammit!" Leo quickly blocked a fist from the first Golem, causing a crater to be formed where he stood. He gave a cry as he pushed the Golem off him. "Regulus Fury!" Leo yelled as he moved to rapidly punch the Golem.

Leo's fists were about to make contact with the Golem, but he was punched in the side by the other Golem. "GAHHH!" Layla cried with fear as Leo was sent flying and hit the ground. Leo staggered to his feet as he remained determined to keep fighting. "I'm not done yet…"

"You should really give up you know." Lynne commented as she rose a hand to instruct her Golems. "I can't guarantee you'll make out of this with no broken bones." Both Golems ran forwards as fast as they could – which was not that fast seeing as they were made out of stone, and each threw a punch at Leo. Leo grimaced as he ran forwards and dodged both punches as he attacked both Golems with a variety of Regulus attacks.

"Regulus Kick!" Leo cried as he kicked the first Golem under the head. The Golem let out a thud as he stepped backwards from the impact of the uppercut.

"Regulus Impact!" Leo shouted as he punched the second Golem across the left of their face. That Golem was knocked to the side a little, but remained standing.

Both Golems were definitely weakened by those attacks from Leo. Small rocks of stone fell from their bodies as they were knocked back. However, right as Leo thought that he was beginning to get an advantage here, he was quickly struck in the gut by a third Golem that Lynne had made. "NGHAAA! You made another!?"

"I've never had to make three Golems for a single opponent before. I can't believe you're that strong!" Lynne gushed, before she focused back on the fight. "Ngh, I have to focus here!"

Layla watched with fear as she saw Leo panting heavily as he got back on his feet. "Damn, now I have to deal with three of them?" He said with annoyance. "Talk about a heavy ordeal."

To Layla and Leo's surprise, the third Golem was fast and ended up making it to Leo quite quickly. Leo shouted with vigour as he landed a Regulus Punch on the third golem, yet he was forced to dodge upwards as the first Golem came to attack him.

"Regulus Kick!" Leo was just able to land a kick on one of the Golders as the stones construct was forced to block with his fists. This led the final Golem to swing his fist at Leo like a gorilla.

Leo was trying to attack, while also barely holding on to whatever strength he had left. Lynne spoke up as she saw his struggle. "How noble of you to keep fighting. I would have thought that you would have given up by now."

Leo groaned in pain as he took the brunt of a punch. "I'd never give up a situation like this when Layla is threatened! I'll keep fighting until I reach my limit!" He cried as he landed a powerful punch on one of the Golems. "Regulus Impact!"

Lynne sighed. "Ah it makes me overjoyed to hear such words from your mouth… a shame you can't see me as the pretty girl that I am."

Leo gave a dull look. "The only thing pretty about you is your face. Everything else is rotten to the core." He commented as he kicked a Golem. "Regulus Kick!"

Right when he was about to uppercut the last Golem, his leg was grabbed by one of the battered Golems as he was in the air. Leo was immediately slammed to the ground quite brutally, before he picked up and was then thrown close to where Layla was standing. Leo crashed into the nearby mountain wall as he winced in pain. "AHHHHHH!"

"Ah! Dammit!" He scowled as he saw his wounds. "This can't be it for me!" He proclaimed with anger as he tried to get up and keep fighting.

Layla rushed over to Leo. "Leo!" She yelled in fear. Layla of course knew that Leo wasn't going to die here. But this was the first time that one of her Spirits had been forced back to the Spirit World. It was still difficult to watch.

Leo turned his head a little to see Layla. "Layla… you have to fight. Use your Spirits… you can win this…" He muttered as he began to glow. "They'll… know what to do…"

"But… I've never had my Spirits fight before…" Layla said with a frown.

Leo gave a weak smile as he nodded at Layla. "Let them do the fighting… They can handle it. Just promise me that you'll stay back…"

Layla quickly nodded. "I-I will!"

Leo seemed satisfied with that answer. "Don't worry about me… When I'm recovered, I'll head straight back! I promise!" Leo then closed his eyes as he disappeared into golden particles.

While Leo had performed remarkably in Layla's eyes, his luck seemed to have come to an end… "Leo… I'll win this for you!" Layla bowed her head a little, before she stood up straight and turned to face Lynne and the three Golems. "Let's do this!"

Oddly enough, they had just stood there and not moved an inch since Leo had been thrown. Lynne was still far behind but had an interested look on her face.

"Interesting." She began with curiosity. "Was he a Celestial Spirit? I thought that he was just a strong man just helping you. Well… if he's contacted to you, all I need to do is beat you and have Vicini use his magic to take the ownership of your keys and give them to me! Then I can be with him forever!" Lynne cheered as she laughed. "This is great!"

Layla got serious as she pulled out her keys. "That's not happening!"

It was up to her now… Leo had done the best that he could, now it was her against Lynne. If she failed here then nothing would stop Lynne from confronting Cade. Layla held a hand to her chest for a moment, as she felt a warm, sort of determined feeling rush through her.

'Cade… is this burning sensation what you feel on your jobs?' Layla thought as she prepared herself, as she moved her hand to pick out one of her keys.

Layla pulled one of the golden keys she had out of the key chain and held it up in the air. "Here we go! Open Gate of The Maiden, Virgo!" Layla cried.

*DING DONG!*

A golden light was cast, and from it was stood a maid with short, pink hair, and blue eyes. She wore a typical maid outfit, consisting of a black under coat and a white, frilled-trim apron and white knee-length socks with black shoes. She also had some shackles around her wrists.

"Ah! Virgo!" Layla cried with happiness at seeing one of her friends here to help her. "P-Please help me!"

Virgo gave a small bow of her head. "What do you need of me Princess? Have I been summoned to be punished?"

Despite knowing Virgo for a while now, Layla had never quite gotten over that trait Virgo had about being punished. "O-Oh erm… no! I need you to fight! Take down those Golems!" Layla cried as she pointed to the three Golems.

"As you wish Princess." Virgo confirmed as she looked to the three Golems before burrowing into the ground by spinning around like she was a drill of sorts.

Layla was shocked to see Virgo suddenly emerge from the ground below one of the golems. She was quickly able power right through the Golem and utterly destroyed it!

Layla cheered as this happened. "Yes! Way to go Virgo!"

Lynne was angry by this move. "Argh, don't just stand there you two idiots! Attack her!" Lynne cried as she waved her hands at the Golems.

The remaining two Golems charged forwards as they both pulled back their fists to punch Virgo. Virgo was able to easily avoid the attack, by leaping up into the air as if she weighted nothing. As Virgo avoided the two Golems, she extended the chains on her shackles and used magic to wrap them around the one of the Golem's arm.

Virgo used her incredible strength to lift up the Golem she wrapped her shackles around and threw it forwards crashing into the other Golem. Both Golems crashed to the ground on top of one another. Lynne was seething with anger as she stamped her feet. "Get up you two! Get up!" She yelled with a wave of her hand.

Both Golems did get back up slowly, but it seemed that they were close to being turned into dust. One of them picked up a boulder and threw it towards Virgo at a fast speed. Seeing this happen, Virgo quickly leapt up and kicked the boulder with her leg, breaking it into two pieces. The other Golem threw a boulder as well, but this time, Virgo used her chains, having them wrap around the boulder before throwing it back at the Golem.

The Golem took the boulder to the stomach and was shattered into dozens of stone fragments. Virgo kept up her momentum by leaping forwards and using her incredible strength to drill a hole right through the remaining Golem using her legs. Virgo emerged from the Golem's stomach as she landed on her feet as if this had been a simple task for her.

Layla cheered as Virgo finished defeating the Golems. "You did it! Way to go Virgo!"

Virgo turned to face Layla with an emotionless look. "Have I done as you've asked Princess? Or do I need to be punished?" She questioned with a tilt of her head.

Lynne interjected. "You want to be punished? Well here! Have some different Golems for you to mess around with! Mud Golems!"

Lynne used her magic to create three more Golems that were made out of mud; the mud coming from the ground beneath Lynne. They were a bit larger than the Stone Golems, and they were dripping mud from their bodies. 'Mud? Does she really think that a Golem made out of mud will be stronger than a Golem of stone?' Layla wondered.

"Virgo take the fight to those Golems, but just be careful!" Layla insisted to Virgo.

"Yes Princess." Virgo nodded a little, before she drilled back into the ground. Moments later, Virgo erupted from the ground underneath one of the Golems and made moves to drill though it with her legs.

Layla smirked as this was happening… but so did Lynne.

Layla and Virgo were shocked to see that the Golem that was being attacked was putting up a good resistance to Virgo's drilling.

As Virgo tried to drill deeper, the mud was moving up on her legs and holding her in place. Virgo was surprised to see this as was Layla. "What? The mud is able to stop my drilling?"

"Mud Golems can use their mud to hold and trap anyone in place. It can deal with your drilling quite easily!" Lynne stated as she folded her arms. "Go Mud Golem's take the right to that pink haired bimbo!"

"V-Virgo! Quick! Get out of there!" Layla shouted with fear at her safety.

Virgo was quick to use her chains to extend them out and wrap them around one of the other Golem's that was near her. As she wrapped the chains around them, she used her strength to pull herself out of the mud and use her momentum to swing herself around in the air and strike another Golem at the side of their head!

This dealt some good damage, and the Golem was knocked down – but not defeated yet. The other two golems raised their hands as they fired off big shots of mud that were sent to Virgo as she was still in the air. Virgo was hit by the mud and crashed to the ground. As she tried to get up to keep fighting, she found that the mud had solidified around her body at an incredible speed. "Hm. I appear to be trapped."

Both Golems, as well as the third Golem that had regained his footing, charged towards Virgo to attack her while she was stuck. "Q-Quick Virgo, get out of there!" Layla was panicking at seeing Virgo in such a position, fearing that she would be defeated here, but Virgo was already planning a countermove.

She drilled down into the ground avoiding the Golems and seemed to disappear for a while. Layla and Lynne began to look around to see where she had gone. Had she returned to the Spirit World?

Right when Lynne had given up on the Spirit, Virgo emerged from the ground and stood before Layla.

"No need to worry Princess. I have dug holes around the mountain that lead down to the ground beneath us." Virgo informed Layla.

Layla was confused and was about to question what Virgo meant. Before she could though, she saw that the ground beneath the Golems had collapsed in on itself and the Golems had fallen into a huge pit that had appeared! The three Golems disappeared from sight completely, and Virgo moved to drill back into the ground and refill the hole. She did this, and later emerged, with her near blank expression remaining.

"I believe that the Golems that were a problem to you have been trapped and contained." Virgo said as she turned to Layla.

"Yes! Well done Virgo!" Layla cried with joy. "Now just defeat Lynne over there!"

"Oh no you don't!" Lynne rebutted. "I won't give up when a future with the best possible man for me is on the line! Pykrete Golem!"

Lynne waved her hands as she casted magic that shaped the wood from trees and some water that was in the grass to form a Golem made out of what looked like regular wood. What was strange about this Golem however, was that it had a strange texture over it. Lynne held a hand on her hip as she watched with amusement. "Let's see how you handle this. A material stronger than stone!"

Layla was unwavering in her decision to fight. "Go Virgo! Don't let up! Take that Golem down!"

Virgo followed through on the command as she leapt up into the air and threw her chains to wrap then around the Golem. She then thrusted herself forwards to the Golem as she kicked her feet to try and drill into the Golem.

As Virgo's feet tried to drill through the Golem, she was met with hard resistance. As much as she tried, Virgo was unable to break through the surface of the Golem. The Golem then swiped Virgo with his fist and sent her flying off him. Virgo skidded across the ground, using her hand to slow herself down. "It appears I cannot drill through this Golem."

"Virgo, try drilling holes in the ground again!" Layla suggested to her Spirit.

"Very well Princess." Virgo followed through on her Master's idea as she drilled into the ground, aiming to trap this Golem as well.

Lynne quickly reacted upon seeing this move again. "That won't work! Golem, punch the ground!" Lynne demanded quickly.

The Pykrete Golem raised his fists, bringing them together as he hammered the ground. This caused Virgo to come flying out as she was able to land next to Layla.

Virgo seemed to think for a moment before she turned herself round to face Layla.

"Princess, it appears that I will be unable to help you in this fight anymore." She said plainly.

"W-What!?" Layla cried with shock.

"This Golem exceeds my capabilities. I cannot drill through him and he knows that I can drill through the ground." Virgo elaborated. "I shall return to the Spirit World to try and save you some magic power."

"Wait! You can't go!" Layla shouted with concern and utter disbelief at what was happening.

"Good luck Princess!" Virgo said as she disappeared into golden particles. "You have two other Spirits to call!"

So… that was that then. Virgo just left.

Lynne gave a giggle as that happened. "Good luck? More like you're fresh out of luck! Your own Spirit chose to leave you! What are you going to do now?"

Layla took a nervous breath as she pulled out another key and held it into the air. "No! I'm not out of friends yet! Open, Gate of The Giant Crab, Cancer!" Layla cried.

*DING DONG!*

A golden light was summoned, and when it faded, a being that was like almost like a man stood before Layla. He was average height and had black hair that resembled crab pincers. He wore a blue striped shirt with and boots to cover his feet. Over his eyes, he wore sunglasses with green lens. What differentiated him from other men, was that there were six crab legs that appear from his back. Also he had two pairs of scissors that he held.

"Need your hair done baby?" Cancer spoke with a cool voice.

"Cancer!" Layla said with happiness. "I need you to help me! Can your scissors break through this Golems weird wood?"

Cancer turned to face the Golem. "Just leave it to me baby."

Lynne seemed interested by this. "Another Spirit? Well it doesn't matter! The other two that you've summoned have failed, and so will this one!"

Cancer hardened his eyebrows a little as he quickly lunged forwards and sliced hard at the left leg of the Pykrete Golem. Surprisingly, the Golem seemed to be damaged by this, with Cancer's scissors making a good dent in the Golem's leg.

The Golem made quick moves to punch Cancer who was behind him. Cancer was just able to dart to the side and avoid the punch with his quick speed. Cancer quickly resumed his attack, by running and leaping up the Golem, and used his scissors to inflict several critical slashes against the Golem's head.

The Golem now staggered back and seemed to lean back a little as if he was going to fall. He did regain his balance however, and made a desperate swipe at Cancer. The Spirit was hit by the swipe, and was sent back to the ground, taking a bit of damage. "This is one tough piece of wood baby…" Cancer remarked.

"You're doing great! If you can take one of the legs down then the Golem will be easy for you!" Layla encouraged.

"Sure thing. I'll bring this guy down to size baby." Cancer said as he opened and closed his scissors, before beginning his attack forwards. Cancer began to run forwards to the Golem's left leg to try and slice it into pieces. Seeing that he was coming his way, the Golem picked up some rocks that were near him and threw them at Cancer.

Cancer tightened his expression as he sliced right through the rocks that the Golem threw. "Alright! Keep it up Cancer!" Layla cheered. However, right as she finished saying that, Cancer missed one shard of stone that ended up scratching his leg. "Ah! Cancer! I spoke too soon…"

Cancer grimaced through the pain as he continued to the Golem and was successful in slicing the left leg of the Golem into small splinters. "No need to worry baby. A trim like that won't slow me down!"

The Golem let out a groan of sorts as he fell to the ground, being unable to support himself. Despite his loss of footing, he still found the strength to throw a punch at Cancer. He in question, was able to block it with his hands. After blocking, Cancer sped round to the Golem's backside and attacked continuously with his scissors. Cancer made slash after slash at the Golem's back, where he also reached the right leg and the arms.

Upon finishing, Cancer ran forwards and broke right through the Golem's chest, causing the Golem to break apart into tiny pieces of wood and splinters. Cancer came to a stop near Layla. Cancer brandished his scissors before he lowered them and looked to Layla. "How'd I do baby?"

"You did great!" Layla cheered as she leapt with joy.

Lynne on the other hand was enraged by the efforts of Layla's Spirits. "Urgh, what's with you? It's so frustrating to see a girl like you come and beat me. You're denying me of my happiness!" Lynne cried. "But I won't lose here! I was able to spot one more material here that I can use to create a Golem!"

"Don't let her do it Cancer!" Layla shouted with fear. Lynne could make another Golem?!

Cancer quickly ran forwards to try and stop Lynne. Lynne however, had already began to cast the spell. "It's too late little Layla! This is the strongest Golem that I can create! Go, Steel Golem!"

Lynne casted her magic on the rocks to create a shiny silvery Golem that came crashing out of the nearby mountain wall. It stood tall and strong, bigger than any of the other Golems.

Right when Cancer was about to reach Lynne, he was blocked by the Steel Golem who had landed in front of him to protect Lynne.

Cancer spun his scissors as he made moves to slash the Golem's leg – attempting to use the same tactic as before. Cancer and Layla were shock to see that Cancer's scissors only made little scratches against the steel that he stuck.

Cancer was so shocked that he barely noticed the Steel Golem swing a huge fist that he was barely able to block. Cancer was sent flying backwards, barely landing on his feet. "This is one tough customer baby…"

"K-Keep trying Cancer! I'm sure you can cut though the steel!" Layla insisted to Cancer.

Cancer gave a nod as he ran back to face the Golem. He was just able to dodge a punch as he then indicted several slashes against the steel of the fist. This time Cancer's scissors were shattered into pieces upon attempting this.

While Cancer was absolutely horrified by what he saw, he was unable to protect himself as he was grabbed the Golem and thrown backwards into the mountain wall.

"Cancer!" Layla cried with fear.

"Sorry… Wish I could've… done more… baby…" Cancer spoke as he disappeared into golden particles.

Layla was now scared at the fact that she had lost three of her Spirits to these Golems.

But she still had one left.

Aquarius. She might be strong enough to wash away this huge, hulking Golem. Layla knew from her mother just how strong Aquarius really was. Apparently she had once swept away an entire army years and years ago!

But there was one problem.

There was no water! Aquarius could only be summoned in water! Layla had been looking around for water ever since Lynne had started to fight Leo, but she had never been unable to find some! Was there really not a single puddle here!? 'No, no, no! I need water! Even dirty water will do!'

Layla panicked as she took a few steps back away from the Golem that was approaching her, Lynne walking beside it. Lynne gave a smug look as she saw Layla's position.

"Aw, what's wrong?" Lynne jeered in a sweet voice. "Does little Layla Heartfilia not have any Spirits left for her to summon?"

Layla began to fear the next few seconds of her life, as she then fell backwards over a rock and landed in something… squelchy?

Layla looked down and saw that she had landed in some thick mud. 'Really?! Mud now? Of all times I had to fall into it!? It was worse that the mud was wet and-'

Wait…

Mud… mud is made out of water and dirt…

'That's it! I could try and summon Aquarius in the mud! There might be enough water for her to be summoned!' Layla thought with hope.

Layla pulled out the final golden key she had and stuck it into the mud with a squelch being heard.

"Open! Gate of The Water Bearer, Aquarius!" Layla shouted.

…

…

Lynne raised her eyebrows as she gave a retort. "Wow, even your own Spirits don't want to help you!"

Layla was stricken with defeat after that. Aquarius… didn't appear? 'N-No… S-She didn't come…'

'Th-This can't be…' Layla… had failed. The young girl closed her eyes and cried a few tears as she prayed for what would happen to her and her Spirits. She heard the hulking noise of the Steel Golem walking closer and closer, it was only a few meters away, where it could then-

*DING DONG!*

And all of Layla's hopes were restored by hearing that familiar sound.

In front of Layla appeared a mermaid with a blue fish tail, long light blue hair. She held a run in her arms and wore a rather revealing blue bikini. On each of her arms she wore a golden armlet and a bracelet. On her collarbone there was a tattoo that represented the Aquarius Zodiac symbol. Her eyes were closed as she was summoned, but she opened them up to examine her surroundings.

Layla gasped with joy and happiness as she stared up at the Spirit. "A-Aquarius…! You came!" Layla wiped away a tear from her eyes.

Aquarius looked down at Layla. She had a dangerous and stern look. "Just so you know, that's THE most disgusting thing I've ever been summoned in. EVER. It barely counts as water. Don't summon me in mud again." She warned Layla.

Layla panicked as she held up her hands. "R-Right! I'm sorry! B-But please! Help me beat this lady! She says that she wants to beat me and steal my Spirits!"

Aquarius turned to look at Lynne with a serious look. "Really?" She spoke as she now glared at Lynne.

Both ladies stared the other down. Aquarius was serious and was about to attack, but Lynne interrupted her.

"Ew… What's a little girl like Layla doing with a such a skimpy Mermaid?" Lynne said as she looked repulsed by Aquarius. "Who are you trying to impress with that outfit fish-face?"

Layla's eyes went wide after hearing that from Lynne. Aquarius twitched.

"You're calling me fish-face? You have a face that only a mother could love."

"Look who's talking you ugly barnacle. I bet that no man, no matter how big his trident is would fall for you."

"You know, I happen to have a boyfriend. I think you-"

Lynne cut Aquarius off by laughing wildly. "A boyfriend!? You!? Oh that's hilarious! I bet your boyfriend has only ever stuck around with a skimpy whore like you because he's never been sober his whole life!"

Layla's jaw dropped, as the colour left her face. She scrambled backwards to avoid what was about to come.

Aquarius face darkened as her pupils shrunk. "OH THAT'S IT!" She screamed with fury as she immediately fired water out of her urn. "I'LL WASH YOU AWAY!"

Aquarius blasted what was practically a tsunami of water out of her urn and sent it crashing towards the Steel Golem and Lynne. The golem bent down and blocked the water, with Lynne retreating behind it to hide. "Ha! You think some waves will get in the way of my future? As if! Push forwards my Golem!"

Layla was watching from behind Aquarius, knowing that the worst was yet to come. Aquarius yelled as she sent more water out of her urn that now began to push the Golem back a little. "LET'S SEE YOU TALK ALL BIG WHILE I CREATE A NEW OCEAN OVER HERE!"

Lynne was now looking a bit panicked, at the huge streams of water that crashed against her Steel Golem, pushing him back inch by inch. "H-Hey! What are you doing? Keep moving forwards!" She commanded with a wave of her hand. "Don't let up!"

The golem tried to move forwards, but there was far too much water being pushed against him to make any progress. "Ngh, come on! Don't lose to this little fish!" Lynne ordered with a loud yell.

If Aquarius had any sense of mercy left, it was all gone now. "LITTLE FISH!? I'LL DROWN YOU LADY!" Aquarius screamed as she seemed to channel up all her magic for a final attack. "HAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

Aquarius commanded all the water that she had summoned to swirl around Lynne and the Steel Golem, before moving her arms to send them and the water off the mountain edge. "YOU'LL BE DROWNING IN YOUR DREAMS FOR A BETTER LOOK YOU SLIMY WENCH!"

Lynne and her Golem were swept away and began to soar off and over the mountain edge. Lynne screamed with terror as this happened to her. "G-Gah! N-No! P-Please don't!"

"I'm getting swept away! I-I can't-?! I'm so close… EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!" Her voice could barely be heard as she and her Golem shot off the mountain and fell to the ground below. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Layla breathed a sigh of relief as Lynne was washed away. It was over! Aquarius had did it! 'But… what about Lynne? Is she still…?'

With her and her Golem gone, Aquarius huffed as she relaxed herself. "Don't worry, I didn't kill them. There was a deep lake where they were falling." She assured Layla dryly, turning to look at her. "You look terrible. Get some rest."

Layla began to thank Aquarius, but she fell to her knees. "Agh… I'm so tired…" She muttered as she breathed quickly.

"You used up all your magic during that fight. I suggest you take it easy for a few hours." Aquarius suggested, as Layla leaned against a rock. "I saw that Leo was recovering before I came here. It'll be a few hours before he'll be able to arrive back here. Promise me you'll stay safe."

Layla gave a weak nod. "I will."

Aquarius gave a small smile. "Good. I have to go now." She said as she began to disappear into golden partials. "You done well Layla." She said before she vanished. "Your mother would be proud."

Layla smiled as she looked up into the sky. "Thanks guys…. I couldn't ask for better friends."

Layla began to feel a bit tired due to her magic drain. 'I guess I need to rest now. Ahh… so this is how it feels to lose your magic so quickly…?' She thought. 'Guess this is how all wizards feel while on jobs…'

'I just hope you're ok Cade.'

---

No POV, Vicini:

"Open it." Vicini demanded as he stared down Lyra Heartfilia. After Lynne had left, Vicini had entered the cave and tried to get Lyra to open that special book she had in the mansion.

Lyra grunted as she moved her head away. "I'd never open that book for a man like you." She spat as she glowered up at Vicini. "Never in a million years."

Vicini yelled with anger as he threw the book he was holding at Lyra. She winced as it hit her lap. "You think this is a game to you!? I could steal all your fortunes and leave you all homeless!"

"But you can't." Came the voice of the dark haired lady that was next to Lyra. "Well, not until we sign that contract of yours."

Vicini scowled as he heard her voice. June Philipe, a surprisingly strong woman considering that she hadn't bent to any of Vicini's threats so far. She was somewhat wealthy, owning a mansion outside Magnolia. It could act as a nice holiday home.

"Ah, ah, ah. You forget June my dear; I'm still holding all the cards." Vicini reminded her, as he stood up straight. "You're all still locked up in here, and I sent one of my allies to deal with any potential problems."

Vicini chuckled as he began to move out of the cave, pulling out a lacrima as he exited. When he was sure no one could hear him, he hissed into it.

"Lynne! Come in Lynne!" He hissed. "Where are you!? Have you dealt with those intruders yet!?"

Upon not getting a reply, Vicini grunted as he changed the lacrima to show the camera he had set up to track any intruders. He was enraged to see that the black haired boy was only around ten minutes away from here!

"This can't be happening!" Vicini yelled as he smashed the lacrima on the ground. The bandits he had hired had failed. Maximilian had failed. Now Lynne had failed! "Everyone has failed me! This is just... inconceivable!"

Only he was left. There was no way that he could fight this youngster! Perhaps in the right circumstances his Contract Magic could save him here… But how would he go about achieving that!? He needed leverage! 'IS there anything I can do here…?'

Right as Vicini was about to give up and maybe run away, he just made out the sound of a footstep behind him.

He quickly turned and grabbed who he heard. A girl! One who was trying to escape! She had short brown hair and blue eyes. She was squirming as she tried to break free.

"Ah, trying to escape, are you?" Vicini muttered with annoyance and anger. The girl struggled as she nearly broke free from Vicini's grip. However, Vicini swept the girl off her feet with his leg! She landed to the ground, as Vicini quickly pulled out a knife and held it to the girl's neck.

The girl now looked very frightened at her life possibly ending. "A-Ah!"

Vicini was about to just knock the girl out and take her back into the cave; but he spied something out of the corner of his eye. It must have dropped out from the girl's pocket.

It was a photo. A photo of that girl and a boy. But… Vicini recognised that boy. It was the boy that was coming up this way!

Vicini picked up the photo and held close to the girl. "W-Who are you?! Who is this boy!?" Vicini snapped, holding the dagger closer to her neck.

The girl scowled as she turned her head away slightly. "My name is Lilly. And that boy is my boyfriend. He's probably on his way up here to beat you senseless for kidnapping me and his mother!" She beamed with pride at the mention of her boyfriend.

Vicini blinked. Boyfriend? The boy… had a lover…?

"He… loves you?" Vicini questioned with high interest, his mind beginning to find the leverage he needed.

---

Oh no… You can only imagine how things will go for Cade next chapter. Anyway, I hope that you liked this chapter! Feel free to leave a review of your thoughts if you wish.

We finally got to see some more Zodiac action this chapter! I really liked writing the Spirits and how they fight. Layla was unfortunately somewhat backbenched during this fight, but there's no way she's using Star Dress at her age! With Lynne defeated, all that's left is Vicini and his Contract Magic! How will Cade fare against him? Find out next time!

Also I seriously hope that Mashima cooks with this current 100YQ arc. PLEASE don't disappoint!

—

nelapatihanai66 - I'm glad your enjoying the concept, albeit at the somewhat slower pace. And yes, this story will cross over into canon! Look forward to seeing how Cade handles things then!

FairyQuill - You are welcome!

Smokingoxygen Ch 50 - Aw, thank you for the congratulations! I would honestly hate it if this story had to get discontinued too.

Smokingoxygen Ch 61 - Oh, the fight was draining to be sure. I felt so proud for going over 10K words, of course. It's not the last fight that'll be close to that number, but more important fights may have multiple chapters to help pace them better.