Chapter Nine
It felt like a thousand Vulcans were dancing in her skull. Groaning, she tried to turn onto her side. Bad idea. The insides of her skull lurched, as though they had somehow liquefied as she slept. She cracked her eyes open a fraction of an inch, testing the waters before she opened them fully. It was blissfully dark wherever she was. Lucy unpeeled her tongue from the roof of her mouth and rasped, "Where am I?"
"No idea. We were all captured last night." Erza voice came from somewhere beyond her immediate vision.
Lucy nodded reflexively and regretted it at once. The contents of her stomach flooded up her oesophagus. She choked the bile back down. "Were… were we drugged?"
She heard a snort and carefully turned her head to see Gray sitting against the far wall. They were in some kind of jail cell. "No," he smirked.
"Then why do I feel like death?" she whined. Oof, big mistake. Her own voice was too shrill for her ears.
"You have, what's the medical term? Ah yes, a hangover."
That made Lucy sit bolt upright. "What!"
"Natsu, make her stop!" Happy wailed, clutching his ears. He and Charle were slumped over on the ground beside her.
"What about Tiger? And Wendy?" Her tongue felt furry. She was sure Wendy could help.
"I'm here Lucy-san, but Tiger-san isn't."
"That reminds me, how come Wendy isn't hungover, Natsu?" Erza asked.
"What kind of irresponsible moron you take me for?" Natsu grumbled, pulling at the bars at the entrance to their cell. "I only let her drink half a beer and then made sure she had two glasses of water after that."
Wendy had been annoyed when he had forcibly tipped a jug of water down her throat the night before, but after seeing the state the others were in, she felt grateful that he had.
"Wendy, help," Charle whispered, feebly raising her head to look at her friend with watery eyes.
Wendy gave them all a rueful smile and lifted her bound hands. Finally realising that her own movements had been a little restricted, Lucy looked down and spotted Sealstone on her own wrists.
"Yo Lucy," Natsu said, "now that you're awake. Do you think Loke can come through the gate and help us out like last time?"
Lucy groaned. Why was he always so loud? She needed water. And hangover medication. And more water. And oh God, maybe a toilet because she was surely going to throw up. "He can't," she managed to say, "It's a violation of the 'external help' clause of the Quest contract. My Celestial Spirits can only be summoned using my own magic."
"Dammit," cursed Gray, "we were kinda relying on that!"
"No worries, we'll just have to bust out of this place the old fashioned way." Natsu flexed his fingers and charged head first into the cell bars.
"I doubt even you're that hard-headed, ash face."
"What was that, you walking snow cone?" Natsu swung around to kick Gray and ended up hitting the wall instead. The room began to shake and tiny stones cascaded down from the ceiling.
"Bastard! Why do you always act on instinct?!"
"Brace yourself everyone!" Erza yelled, curling up her body and shielding her head as the floor gave away. Her body bounced painfully off the walls lining the shaft that they were falling down, finally coming to a stop on hard ground. "Is everyone alright?" she asked, slowly getting to her feet.
The three hungover mages promptly threw up, unprepared for a rollercoaster ride first thing in the morning. Fortunately, the fall had shaken loose the Sealstone on Wendy's wrists. She quickly freed everyone else and cured Lucy, Happy and Charle's hangovers. "Where are we?" she wondered, squinting into the darkness.
Natsu produced a fireball and illuminated the area. They were at the confluence of a group of tunnels, dark passages branching off blackly on all sides. He sniffed. "Wendy, you smell that?"
"That way." Wendy pointed towards one of the tunnels. It was so faint that she would have missed it if Natsu had not pointed it out. "It's also where the air is coming from."
"There's nothing for it then, let's go." Erza gave Lucy a hand and pulled her to her feet. "What does it smell like anyway?"
The flame in his hand cast Natsu's face in shadow. It made the expression on his face look even grimmer. "Death," he said.
"The Questers have escaped, Master," his minion said, her tongue flickering out to taste the air.
"It's alright Hebiko, I know where they are." He dismissed her with a flick of his scaly hand. The Snake Guardian leaned back against his throne, his halo of coiled hair parting of its own accord and resettling on his shoulders. As predicted, the group of wizards had blundered their way into the warren of tunnels under his mansion. They would find their way to him soon enough. After all, there were two Dragon Slayers in the group. His jaw clenched involuntarily. A low hiss was heard as unseen nozzles sprayed more musk into the room. 'No point in them getting lost,' he reasoned. The fact that he was feeling a tiny bit threatened was one he would choose to ignore.
When the group finally found their way to the dimly lit cavern he called his throne room, they saw an ageless man reclining on an ornate chair. "You're here," he said. His voice was sibilant and soft, barely above a whisper and yet they could hear him clearly. He rose from his seat, his long coat susurrating as it slid against his lithe body. Eyes, like slits, glowed in the gloom, studying them, dissecting them. Tendrils of his hair began to coil upwards from his head. With a start Lucy realised they were snakes.
The snakes seemed to laugh at them; the tongues slipping forth from their mouths in an eerie jeer. It set Natsu on edge. "Why did you kidnap us?" he demanded.
"You were taking too long to come to me," the Snake replied coolly. A forked tongue darted out past his lips. He turned to Erza almost before she spoke.
"If you are the Snake Guardian, then what task do you have for us?"
The Snake laughed, revealing translucent fangs. "Why, for you to abandon the Quest of course."
What happened next transpired too quickly for Gray to react. Slimy tentacles appeared from the walls and grabbed them, pulling them apart. He saw Erza manage to slice a few of them before he was dragged away. The next thing he knew, he was lying on a soft mattress in a well-appointed room. Gray took a moment to admire the décor before realising there was no door. He was trapped. Something stirred under the blanket beside him. He leapt out of the bed immediately.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. So jumpy," the Guardian Snake said, emerging from under the covers. "I didn't know Devil Slayers scared so easily."
"Where the hell am I? Where are my friends?"
"They're safe, don't worry. Violence is always a last resort." The Snake perched on the edge of the bed and crossed one long, elegant leg over the other. "I'm here to offer you a deal."
"The answer is no, whatever it is. Now take me to my friends."
The Guardian chuckled. "I was expecting that from your Dragon Slayer friend. I thought you were the smart one. Shouldn't you hear me out at least?" He gave a small shrug, the expression on his face one of pure innocence.
Gray crossed his hands over his chest and looked at him expectantly.
"I don't know if you know this, but we Guardian Spirits are as old as time itself. Certainly far older than the Gods you subscribe to."
"What's your point?"
The Snake sighed and all the little snakes in his hair rolled their eyes dramatically. "The clue was in the sentence. We're as old as time. As such we have some control over that domain." He twirled a snake around his finger coyly. The poor creature's eyes ex-ed out. "You wouldn't happen to know someone trapped in time now, would you?"
"Open the Gate of the Archer! Sagittarius!" Lucy commanded her Celestial Spirit to fire a barrage of arrows into the suspicious lump in the mattress.
"Honestly! These are 800 thread count sheets you know?" The Guardian slithered out of the bed, the arrows having bounced harmless off his scaly skin. He straightened the lapels of his tailored suit and glared at Sagittarius. The Celestial Spirit found himself paralyzed.
"Sagittarius, what's wrong?" Lucy asked urgently, but her Celestial Spirit did not so much as blink. She hurriedly closed his gate and pulled out another key.
"Now, now, there's no need for all that," the Snake said, gesturing with his hand. "I've only come to make you an offer."
"And that is?"
"Tell me, Celestial Spirit Wizard. Do you know what happens when the moon is in the seventh house? And Jupiter aligns with Mars?" His lips twitched as though holding back a smile.
"Is that some kind of riddle?"
"No, not really." He shook his head patronisingly. "What I'm offering you, my dear, is the Aquarius key."
Erza pulled back the blanket and stared at the coiled up snake in her bed. It eyed her distastefully, its hood spreading open. When Erza did not react, it seemed to sigh. The snake twisted, growing into the shape of the Snake Guardian. "You're no fun," he pouted. "Your friends reacted most pleasingly."
"Get to the point. What is this about?" she asked. The embroidered quilt around her waist was exquisite. Vines of roses spread across the cloth, the leaves and thorns almost too detailed.
"I've come to make you an offer."
"I see. Then let us speak frankly." Erza requipped a sword into her hand and calmly sliced the air around her waist. The room around her vanished. A slimy tentacle, no, on close examination it was a snake's tail, fell to the floor of the throne room.
The illusion had been exceptional, but even without her artificial eye, she had seen through it. It had felt too real. She could see Gray, Lucy, Happy and Charle hanging limply in the air, suspended by more snake tails. Natsu and Wendy were missing.
"It seems I underestimated you."
Erza stared at the Guardian impassively. "Well?"
"I've heard you've been having some problems. Now, I'm not one to meddle with affairs of the heart, but-" His voice was smooth and practised.
Erza stiffened, wariness settling over her features. "But?"
"But I can make an exception for a pitiful case. I can't change the past, but I can change the way it is remembered. Not just by you or him, but by everyone in the world."
Erza took a sharp intake of breath as his words registered. "Y-you would-"
"Heroes can become villains, villains can become heroes. Recollections can be fickle. Thoughts are easy to rearrange. Who is to say, what is the truth? What is the past after all, but human memory?"
"And in return…"
"You drink the Potion of Abdication." He waved a hand and the vial around Erza's neck floated out of her armour. "Quit the Quest."
It was tempting. So tempting. A vision of her and Jellal laughing and holding hands frolicked across her mind. She grit her teeth and pulled herself together. "Rewriting the narrative will not change the truth. The reality of events. I am who I am because of the things I have been through. I would not change it for anything." Light shone from her feet, flashing upwards and wrapping her body. Wings unfurled from her back as Erza waved a hand, sending swords to cut her friends free. "But regardless of that, I reject your offer. We will never give up."
"We will never surrender," Gray said, shaking the scaly appendage from his shoulders.
Lucy pushed herself off the ground, a determined scowl on her face. "Because we are Fairy Tail Wizards!"
"Where is Wendy?" Charle demanded. The slimy bastard had offered to enhance her clairvoyance and allow her to see into the past as well as the future. She had dismissed him instantly, of course. There was no way Wendy would agree to abandon their mission and she was going nowhere without her best friend. Besides, what would the point of all her powers be if she could not use it to help Wendy?
"The little Dragon Slayer? Oh, I have her stashed somewhere. The boy too."
Erza's swords lifted off the ground, forming a circle above her head, their sharp points directed at the Guardian. Next to her, Gray had let his Devil Slayer powers out. The stave of his Ice Devil's Zeroth Destruction Bow was nearly bent in half, he had stretched the bowstring as far back as it would go. Lucy summoned Scorpio, changing into the appropriate Star Dress. Even Happy had put up his dukes, ready to fight.
"If you don't return Natsu and Wendy, you leave us with no choice," Erza said.
The Guardian Snake laughed. "You think you can take me on with those puny powers?"
"We sure as hell can try," Gray growled and released his arrow.
"Dance, my swords!"
"Scorpio, hit him with a Sand Buster!"
"We are!"
The three attacks hit simultaneously, a cloud of smoke enveloping the Snake. The shadow of his form raised a hand and the smoke disappeared instantly. He brushed a bit of lint from his jacket nonchalantly.
"Is that all you've got?"
"Where are our friends?" Erza asked. She was a little taken aback that their attacks had had so little impact.
"I'm not done with them as yet."
Gray signalled to Happy. "Aye Sir!" Happy replied and lifted Gray high into the air. "Ice Devil's Rage!" Gray yelled. A beam of ice and snow spewed forth from his mouth, hitting the Guardian Snake in the knee. A shell of ice formed around his leg. Gray used the moment and let loose another arrow from his Zeroth Destruction bow.
The Snake caught the arrow mid-flight and tossed it away. "Really," he said, giving his leg a little shake. The ice burst into tiny fragments. "Do you think it is wise to keep using your Devil Slayer magic like that?"
Gray's eyes widened. He let the black marks fade back into his skin. "What does he mean, Gray?" Erza asked. Meanwhile, Lucy had summoned Loke. The Lion Spirit sped towards the Guardian, throwing punches like lightning.
The Guardian dodged his blows with ease. "I see he hasn't told you," he said as he danced across the floor, skilfully avoiding Loke's flying fists. "Devil Slayer magic slowly saps away the user's sanity."
Erza cursed under her breath. The expression on that fool's face told her the Snake spoke the truth. She requipped into her Black Wing Armour. "Moon Flash!" she cried, slashing at the Snake as she flew past. She would deal with Gray later.
"Get him, Erza!" Happy cheered.
The Guardian's suit ripped open, revealing a scaly and well-muscled torso. "This suit cost a lot of money you know!"
Loke used the distraction to his advantage. "Regulus Gatling Impact!" He delivered a series of punches, temporarily blinding the Guardian and driving him back.
"I told you, your pathetic attacks have no effect-"
"Now Virgo!" Lucy cried. Unbeknownst to her comrades, she had summoned a third Celestial Spirit.
Virgo popped out of her hiding place in the ground. "Yes Princess!" She clapped her hands once and a layer of earth lifted, revealing the pitfall she had spent the last several minutes digging. The Guardian gave a little yelp of surprise as he fell in.
"Not bad, Lucy!" Charle said, flying to the edge of the pit. "Huh? Where did he go?" The pit was empty.
The Guardian Snake materialised on his throne. "Tenacious brats, aren't you?" he said. His forehead wrinkled in irritation as he spotted Erza requipping into her Lightning Empress Armour. "It seems you don't understand plain language. I'll just have to show you instead." He got to his feel and began to slowly raise his arms.
The wizards found themselves brought to their knees. "What. Is. This. Magic. Power?" Gray grunted.
"Sorry Lucy," Loke choked out. He, Scorpio and Virgo disappeared.
Charle's vision was blurring. She could barely lift her head to see what was happening around her. She was being pushed into the ground.
The Snake's arms were at shoulder level when Erza's armour was stripped away. She forced herself to keep her head high, struggling against his incredible magical energy for as long as she could. Gray and Lucy were already face down on the floor. Erza's chin dug into the ground, the pressure in her neck made her feel as though it would snap. All her bones felt that way. She was being crushed. She fought to keep her eyes open. She would resist. She would fight to the very end. The last thing she saw before she lost consciousness was the Guardian, his arms spread wide, his head tilted back as though basking in his own glory.
It was pitch dark where Wendy was. The air was stale and limited. She could feel cold stone walls around her when she stretched her hands. She walked around the room once. Smaller than she had expected. She could feel no doors or windows and there was no air coming into the room. There was enough air for six hours maybe. Five if she decided to scream for help, which she might have to do. There was no way any of her attacks were going to budge solid stone. She sat down to think. She needed a plan.
The air in front of her shimmered. She heard a click as the Guardian Snake snapped his fingers. A tiny river of fire ran across the edges of the ceiling. "You. Dragon Slayer." His nose wrinkled in disgust.
Wendy hastily got to her feet, her arms braced in a defensive posture. The Guardian snorted. He raised a finger and Wendy found herself flung backwards. She was being pressed into the wall by an enormous, invisible force.
"I've come to make you an offer. Just like I made the others," he said. Wendy opened her mouth to reply, but an unseen hand tightened around her throat. "I don't have time to waste on scum like you," he continued. "Abandon the Quest and I will give you something precious. You have someone you love, don't you?"
Wendy's fist clenched and she rotated her wrist. "Sky Dragon's Wave Wind," she bit out. A violent tornado formed from her fingers and went rushing towards the Guardian.
"Foolish girl. Let's see how you like it." He swept his hand in the air and the attack dispersed. He moved his index finger in a circular motion and Wendy found herself being spun around the room. She banged into the hard, unyielding walls as she went. The breath was knocked from her body and she could feel one of her teeth coming loose. The Guardian kept speaking as he twirled her around the room. "This person you love. She sacrificed something for you." Wendy's ears perked up. "Oh, so we're listening now are we? Good. Drink the Potion of Abdication. If you do so, she won't have to make do with parlour tricks anymore. I'll return all her magic to her."
He brought his hand down with a flourish, like a conductor nearing the end of a symphony. "Quit the Quest, or-"
Wendy landed on her back with a thump. "Or what?" she gasped.
The Guardian placed his boot on her chest, driving out what scant air she had managed to inhale. He leaned in. "Or," he said, spitting in her face, "you die."
The male Dragon Slayer was trickier. The Snake's lip curled in distaste as he watched him pacing agitatedly around his cell. Every now and then he would stop and try to rip the bars apart with his hands. "Happy! Lucy!" he yelled.
'What does one offer someone who wants nothing?' the Guardian thought to himself. No. That was not true. He wanted power, the same as everyone else. Why else would he have taken up the Quest? Humans were sickening creatures.
The wizard set his fist aflame and punched one of the bars of the cell. It buckled the slightest bit. Another three punches and it had broken in half. He set to work on another bar.
'He's stronger than I thought.' The Snake hissed and scratched his neck, his skin flaking off under his fingernails, 'Bathing in dragon's blood will do that to you.' He pursed his lips and considered the boy. He had barely managed to keep his contempt under control against the little girl. He would have to try harder. This boy aroused much stronger loathing in his breast than she had. The girl was unambitious, easily taken care of. He on the other hand… he was everything the Snake abhorred. His hatred spurring him to a course of action, the Snake materialised inside Natsu's cell.
"Fire Dragon Roar!" Natsu did not waste any time talking. He could hear Lucy and Happy calling his name. The sound was faint, but he the distress in their voices was evident. He had to find them right away.
The Guardian coolly dodged the attack. "I've come to make you an offer," he snarled. Keeping his temper under control was harder than he had thought.
"I don't give a crap about your offer. Take me to my friends! Fire Dragon Iron Fist!"
The Guardian caught the fist that was flying towards his face. "Don't test me," he said, his hold tightening. The bones in Natsu's hand cracked. Undaunted, Natsu gripped his right hand with his left. "Fire Dragon's Grip Strike!" An explosion of flame poured forth, setting the Guardian's body aflame.
The Guardian swung Natsu by the fist in his hand and sent him crashing against the far wall. "Now you've pissed me off," he said. His skin was blackened and charred, the snakes in his hair lying limp. He raised his hands to the parting of his hair, grabbed and pulled. The outer layers of his skin peeled off, revealing viridian scales beneath. Speckled white eggs dotted his bald pate. He shimmied and the rest of the dead skin sloughed off.
"You really are a snake," Natsu commented, before running at the Snake again. The Snake side-stepped his attacks, blocking where evasion failed. Natsu grew fed up of being unable to land a hit. Time for a new plan. "Oh my God, what's that!" he yelled and pointed behind the Guardian.
The Guardian obligingly turned to look. Natsu quickly drew a circle with his hands, "Dragon Slayer's Secret Art! Crimson Lotus: Exploding Flame Blade!" He unleashed a vortex of fire towards his opponent. It hit the Snake in the square in the back, making him stagger forward a few feet.
"You filthy bastard," he roared, turning around to face Natsu. His magic began to flow out of him, making the small stones that lined the floor of the cell float in the air. He kicked out at Natsu, before spinning on one leg and kicking him again. "Disgusting. Dishonest. Human. TRASH!" He peppered each word with a roundhouse kick. Natsu found himself backed into a corner, every blow making him spit blood. The Guardian caught him around the throat and hoisted him high against the wall. Natsu was too dazed to retaliate.
The Snake raised a hand to deliver the finishing strike before he remembered the Rules of the Quest. He could not kill the Quester at the first encounter. He hissed angrily. A stupid Rule if there ever was one. It had caused him too much grief.
He shuddered as he reigned in his temper. "I leave you with one choice," he said. He bared his teeth and sank his fangs into Natsu's neck. Natsu's body burned as poison flooded into his veins. "If you're not already dead the next time I see you. You will be."
"Natsu! Wendy!" Happy called. The five of them had been wandering the tunnels for hours, but they had found no clue to their missing comrades. They were hopelessly lost. Gray was not even sure if they were still in Tekka. Something told him they were not. He saw Erza up ahead. She had produced a lacrima-torch from her pocket dimension and was leading the way. She was also ignoring him. Her cold shoulder was chilly enough to send shivers up even an ice mage's spine. Stupid Guardian bastard. He was careful enough with his Devil Slayer magic. There was no need to tell anyone about it.
"Say, Happy, what did the Snake offer you?" he asked.
Happy looked away sheepishly. "He offered me a lifetime's supply of fish. But I turned him down!" It was unnecessary to reveal that his undexterous paws had been unable to pull the stopper from the vial of Abdication Potion before Erza had freed them all.
They took another random turn, no closer to knowing where they were. "Sorry everyone, I don't even have enough magic to summon Pyxis," Lucy said. Summoning three Spirits had sapped all the strength from her body.
"You did the best you could," Charle replied, her usual hauteur lost in the face of her concern for Wendy. Upon waking, she had tried to use her foresight to catch a glimpse of her friends but all she had seen was Wendy lying battered on the floor of an unidentifiable cell. She did not want to share with the others what she had seen of Natsu. She just hoped that they could find their friends fast.
Suddenly Erza stopped. "Everyone get back!" She spread her arms to try and shield her nakama. The Guardian stepped forth from the darkness. He was carrying two lifeless bodies in each hand. He unceremoniously flung Natsu and Wendy at Erza's feet.
"Natsu!" Lucy and Happy cried simultaneously, rushing forth to help their friend. Two deep holes were visible on Natsu's neck, the skin around them a dark blue that faded to grey the further it got from the wound. Charle fluttered over to Wendy, cradling her head.
"What did you do to our friends?" Erza asked, her voice more of a command than a question.
"The offers still stand. Any time you choose to accept, drink the Potion of Abdication. I'll keep my end of the bargain. As for the boy." He nudged Natsu with his foot. Happy flew up to strike back and he was sent flying away. "He'll be cured as soon as he quits. If not, eh." He gave an insouciant shrug.
"Bastard!" Gray started forward.
"Ugh, not again. I don't have time for this." The Snake snapped his fingers. Hundreds of tiny nozzles surfaced from the walls of the tunnel, hissing as they sprayed a chemical into the air. Before he lost consciousness, he heard the Snake say, "Hebiko, take them back to wherever you brought them from."
When he woke they were back in their hotel room in Tekka. Slivers of light peeped in through the gaps in the curtains as morning broke over the city. Had they been gone only one night? The whole thing had felt like a dream. That notion was soon disproved. Natsu lay, ash-faced, on the next bed, an unconscious Wendy on the bed beside him. Lucy and Erza were stirring in their respective beds on the other side of the room. Only Charle was already awake; standing at the door to the balcony, her delicate shoulders shaking. "I saw it," she said, "I saw the future. He won't give up the Quest. Natsu-" Her voice broke and she looked despairingly at the rest of them.
The unshed tears in her eyes said more than words ever could.
A/N: There I was, trying to follow the neat little outline I drew up before starting the fic but these characters, smh, they keep getting into sticky situations! I'm hoping to update a lot in the next two weeks. I start work on August 1st, so I won't have a lot of time after that (will try to update once a week though. What are weekends for? Psh, I have no life!). Your reviews keep me motivated!
Thanks to everyone who faved/followed, and to the guest who left me a nice review. I PM non-anonymous reviewers, but don't have a way to get in touch with the Guests, so please bear with me when I write thank-you notes here.
Thanks also to the guest who told me how much they hated Gray. I wonder, do you have any notes on the story though?
I wonder if anyone caught the Hair reference? Or the Inuyasha reference in chapter 2?
See you next time!
