A/N: Fwhahaha I'm back with the next chapter! *rubs hands together evilly*
Metal clashed on metal, slipping free a second later. The blade, a lightning quick blur, flashed past Wally's head.
The blocky figured man jumped back, scrutinizing the girl crouched across from him with sunglass-shielded eyes. His hand went up to touch the brim of fedora, swiftly accessing the size of the rip in it.
"What dandy fighting skill," he appraised, sincerity lacing his words. "You've really improved since the last time we met."
She didn't hesitate a second to jump up over the flock of cards that flew under her. As they lost momentum, the slips of paper fluttered to the rooftop, now as harmless as real playing cards.
"You were there with Jellal?" she asked, unflinching when Sho landed next to Wally. The two of them trapped her at a corner of the flat roof.
Nodding excitedly, Wally said, "Yes. Everyone here was there, too except for Si-" Sho clapped a hand on his acquaintance's shoulder.
"Now now, Wally," the blonde haired man spoke, a flash of white teeth glinting eerily in the tinted moonlight. "Don't go spilling all of our secrets to our enemy, especially when our objective has not been captured yet."
The Fairy Tail wizard kept her katana raised and bounced on the balls of her feet, ready for an attack, as she listened to the two men talk. At the mention of an "objective", she stared at them suspiciously, knowing that they could be lying.
"Who's your objective?" she questioned them. They advanced a step towards her and she suppressed the urge to step backwards into what she knew was open space.
Wally grinned, his fedora casting a shadow over his eyes except for the small rip, which allowed light to shine upon his eyewear. "She has such beautiful scarlet hair," he said. Lucy's eyes widened, thoroughly surprised, and then Sho struck.
"Got you!" he yelled, launching a glowing card at her. "Be absorbed into the card and stay there forever, helpless, as we get my sister back!" Startled, the girl was a second too slow to block and the card hit her in the stomach. A pulsing mark of light glowed where the slip of paper hit her and the glow expanded over her body.
"What-" Lucy exclaimed. Then, with a ground shaking, tremor inducing, vibrating roar, the net of light shattered.
Sho paled. "My dimensional magic… was canceled? How?!" he whispered.
"This is an interesting twist," Wally mused. "Well, guess I have to handle this like a dandy man." He lifted his arm, blocks forming around his hand and transforming into a gun, and pointed at Lucy.
The celestial mage took a breath of fresh air and new smells suddenly assaulted her. She doubled over – Wally fired – and the shot missed.
"My nose… it's back!" she cheered, jumping up and taking a step back. "Uh oh…" Lucy laughed nervously as she fell off the roof, the astonished faces of the blocked face man and the card wizard the last things she saw before she tumbled through open air.
Turning to face the ground head first, she stuffed her sword back into her storage dimension and timed a flip, landing and rolling a few feet before coming to a stop.
Two sudden vibrations of the earth alerted her to her pursuers' landing. They followed me down, she thought, newfound respect blooming in her chest for them.
"However, no matter how much I respect you, you are going to harm one of my nakama, and that is unacceptable!" she drew back her fists and bared her teeth to them, her unnaturally sharp canines standing out to the two wizards who started at the sight of her fangs. "It doesn't matter who it is! If they have intentions to harm my family, I will not grant them any mercy." Upon saying that, she launched towards the stunned males.
"Is that -?" Sho asked Wally.
The older male nodded. "Yes… she's a dragon slayer." He made no move to stop the furious, raging female who sprinted toward them.
As if her fist was a magnet, tiny particles of dirt collected around it, each spec glowing with a golden, otherworldly light.
"Galaxy Dragon's Iron Fi-mmph!" she collapsed on the ground, all magic vanishing from her grasp. Her limbs were bound by a strange, pink colored tube-rope. The rope pulled at her body, stretching her painfully.
Wally smiled as a girl jumped from a nearby tree and ran over to the little group. She stepped out from under the plant's shadow and the subdued blonde's eyes snapped to the tied up little blue cat in her hands before appraising the new threat.
Happy's kidnapper had hair styled like cat ears and two triangular stripes painted on each cheek that mimicked cat whiskers. Overall, the girl looked like she was a cat cosplayer.
"Good job, Millianna." Sho praised the new girl who shrugged and chose to tickle Happy's unconscious face.
"Myahh, it was nothing!" she giggled, pulling at the exceed's cheeks. "I'm just glad that I did a spiffy job!"
Lucy glared at her and wriggled against her bonds, yelping when they tightened. "Let go of Happy!" she exclaimed, biting her tongue to keep from making noise as the ropes strangled her even more.
"You mean this cute little kitty?" The cat girl asked, narrowing her eyes spitefully at the restrained blonde. "No."
"You-!" Lucy yelled, wincing when a cut appeared on her cheek. The card skittered a few inches away from her and the card slinger, Sho, patted her head condescendingly.
"If you value your pretty little face, I suggest you stay quiet." He said quietly, but menacingly. "Now, let's go. We have a Titania fairy to catch." He unclipped a deck of cards and dropped them on the floor around her before turning away and leaving, Wally following after him.
Millianna paused a few seconds to wave at her with false cheerfulness and say, "Good luck getting free because those ropes are magic nullifying. Oh, and sweetie, in five minutes you'll be all twisted up like a spring! Lookin' spiffy~" she sang and skipped away, Happy still cuddled in her arms.
"Darn it," Lucy wheezed, fighting back waves of frustration. "This is already getting tighter! She was probably lying about the five minutes…" she muttered to herself as she rolled on the ground, twisting and turning to try to free herself.
Energy spent and back aching, she rested on the ground and lay still for a few seconds.
"Ow!" she exclaimed, feeling a sudden sharp jab at her shoulder.
"I'm so sorry, miss!" A little voice said from below her. Lucy looked down and blinked. She was face to face with several of Sho's cards… that had humans inside of them.
The one who just spoke had vibrant pink hair and a headband with two cat ears with hearts on them. She was holding a small dagger in her hand, which caught Lucy's attention.
"I need a favor!" the blonde said, turning on her back so that the rope around her wrists was presented to the girl in the card. "For some reason, I think that objects inside the cards can interact with objects in the outside world. Can you try to cut my ropes?"
The girl inside the card hesitated before a male in the card next to her spoke up. He had spiky, snow-white hair and was wearing a closed blue waistcoat with gold trimming.
"Sherry, don't you see the mark on her right hand?" he asked the pink haired girl hurriedly, seeing the blonde's hands clench as the ropes tightened.
The time limit was nearing.
The girl named Sherry gasped, nodded, and began to work on cutting the rope. "I'm sorry, Lyon! I did not notice that she was in that."
Lyon scoffed and shook his head. "Hurry!" he called to Sherry.
"Yes… please hurry…" Lucy managed to say, biting back a cry of pain when her back was forced to arch upwards.
"Almost there…" Sherry muttered, gritting her teeth as she pushed and pulled the knife back and forth. A sudden explosion shook the ground and Lucy clenched her teeth, almost losing her balance.
"W-what was that?" Lyon asked. The blonde had the same question.
"And… Done!" With a snap, the rope parted in two and dispersed into sparkles of magic.
Lucy sat up, rubbing her sore wrists. "Ah! Thanks so much, Sherry, Lyon."
"You're welcome!" the pink haired girl chirped.
Lyon rubbed the back of his head and asked, "Do you think you can get us out of here? A few of our comrades are also trapped in those cards." Just as he raised the question, a gunshot rang through the air. Lucy's head snapped to the side, her keen ears picking up a hoarse shout that had been cut off and a higher pitched scream.
"Damn it…" the blonde looked between the cards and the direction where that familiar scream had been. "Alright! I'm not positive that this will work but I'll hurry and try anyways."
She knelt beside the two cards and put one hand over each of them. Lyon and Sherry's muffled yells bounced against her palms.
Lucy took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Like with Master Makarov, she imagined a thread of gold connecting to the two trapped people. She tugged at the line a bit and the two fell silent.
She felt a gentle pull from both lines in return and then she let her magic flow into the dimension, breaking the boundary between the world she was standing in and the card's. Suddenly the two people, Sherry and Lyon, appeared in front of her, larger than life. The cards beneath her fingertips vanished and she heaved a sigh of relief.
When she looked up, the two she saved were giving her looks of awe.
"Thank you," Sherry said, reaching out and giving her a hug. Lyon gave her an awkward shoulder pat, but the smile on his face told her how grateful he was.
"I'm sorry I can't help your other comrades right now, but bring them with you and I promise to rescue them later!" Lucy said, taking off at a sprint into the village. "I've got to go now!"
She ran faster than she thought she could, skidding around a corner, and then there they were.
Gray was leaned against a pile of rubble, Juvia – of all people – facedown beside him. Both Fairy Tail wizards had scrapes on their bodies and Juvia's clothes seemed to be smoking. Lucy prayed that the two were still alive.
The hut behind them was thoroughly destroyed; it looked like a bomb had exploded in front of it. Burning straw and smashed mud bricks were scattered all around, like the attacker couldn't waste the time to clean up the crime scene.
She knelt down beside Gray and placed a hand on his forehead. It was ice cold – although he had been near an explosion.
Something was off, Lucy thought.
She barely registered Lyon and Sherry's footsteps halting beside her and the male's shocked gasp. All at once, Gray turned to ice. The blonde pulled her hand away, frozen in shock.
Ice Gray crumbled to pieces and Lyon laughed. Sherry looked worried and amused at the same time.
Lucy sighed and turned to the facedown Juvia. "Juvia… why're you laying on Gray?"
The blue haired woman suddenly looked up at her, azure eyes meeting brown eyes. A smile broke across her face and she said, "Juvia was keeping Gray safe inside Juvia's water lock!" The rain woman sat up, her body turning to water, to reveal a safe Gray who turned to Lucy, looked behind her, and stared in shock.
"Is that you, Lyon?!" the raven haired male gaped at the pale haired male.
"Love at first sight!" Lyon crooned, completely ignoring Gray and taking Juvia's hand in his.
Ticked off, Gray swiped Juvia's hand away from Lyon's and into his. "Don't touch her, bro!" Meanwhile, Juvia was fanning herself with her free hand, the rest of her body slowly transforming into water.
"I-is this a love triangle?" the girl swooned.
Lucy facepalmed and Sherry looked on curiously.
"You three," Juvia, Gray, and Lyon froze and looked at the furious blonde. "Get a hold of yourselves before I beat it into you."
"A-aye!" Gray gulped and Juvia nodded obediently.
Lyon watched the two Fairy Tail mages succumb to Lucy's death grasp and decided that he wanted to live for a few more years. He, too, bowed his head and muttered apologies.
A muffled cry caught the blonde's sharp ears and she jumped up, racing towards the pile of rubble in the center of the village that used to be the chief's hut. Several steps before reaching her destination, the pile shifted and exploded outwards. Flames curling around his body and eyes alight with annoyance, Natsu stepped out from the dust.
Lucy dared not to inhale any of this island's strange earth particles.
"Natsu! You're okay!" she exclaimed happily, not slowing down and glomping him in a large hug. "I heard a gunshot." His corded arms came to encircle her waist instinctively so that she wouldn't fall.
"Of course I'm fine!" he bellowed, rolling his eyes as he spotted Gray and Lyon snickering at him and heard Juvia and Sherry gossiping about Lucy and him. "Although I'm going to kill that blocky dude! Who shoots people in the mouth, anyways? It freaking hurts!"
Lucy sighed against his chest, her breath sending shivers down his spine. "You know, that shot would've killed any normal person, but you're a weirdo, of course." She looked up, meeting his eyes, and poked his cheek teasingly.
"I'm not the weirdo! You are!" he retorted, loving the way she pouted at him. They could've argued for hours about that, but then she just had to remember–
"Hey, wait!" Lucy's brow scrunched. "Where are Jellal and the other four? They're after Erza!" she pulled away from him as the others gathered around them.
Gray sighed, trying to pull Juvia's clingy hands off his arm. "Thanks to Juvia here, they got away."
"Juvia's so sorry, Gray-sama!" the lovesick woman cried, letting go of Gray and wringing her hands. "Juvia was only protecting Juvia's love…"
Lucy placed a comforting hand on her friend's shoulder. "Never mind that. Let's not blame people; we have to find Erza and warn her–"
"It's too late. They've already got her." Natsu butt in, suddenly serious. "They used you as a distraction, Lucy. Now, we have to go save her." The blonde looked crestfallen. She removed her hand from Juvia's shoulder and fidgeted with her fingers, ashamed that her friend had been captured because she had been disarmed and held hostage by the enemy.
Natsu spun her around and looked her in the eye. "Luce, it's not your fault. We all make mistakes, but that doesn't mean we can't correct them or learn from them." He then looked each person in the eye, testing his or her determination.
"Are you guys in?" he asked. Everyone nodded.
"Alright! Operation: Rescue Erza has began!" he cheered, racing off into the forest.
Lucy followed close after him, her nose easily able to sniff out the trail Erza's kidnappers took.
With saving Erza at the front of her mind, the matter of Selena was pushed to the back. However, once they rescued her scarlet haired friend, she was definitely going to get to the bottom of her exceed partner's disappearance.
Wait for me, partner!
Onboard the ship, Fairy Tail, Master Makarov sat in his office on the second floor, a frown on his face as he stared at the glowing communication lacrima in his hand. With a nod of his head as he came to a decision, he tapped it with his magic, thus answering the call.
A surprised smile broke out on his face as a familiar face appeared on the lacrima. But, the other's face was not smiling.
"Ooba, to what do I owe the pleasure?"
"Maky, this is no time for formalities. Four of my mages are missing."
"Oh?"
"Last reported, they were on Galuna Island investigating rumors of the revival of one of Zeref's demons, Deliora."
"That's quite astonishing!"
"But… the last call I received from them before their signal vanished was from Lyon and he said…"
"What did he say, Ooba?"
"The Tower of Heaven is back in business."
A/N:
Whoa! Wha - it's the twentieth chapter! I'm so glad that all of you decided to join in on this adventure!
I can't believe it's already been twenty chapters in (even though the first chapter shouldn't be consided a chapter... haha, it was so short).
I'm planning to end this story on the day I started it. So... December 7th. It's actually a decent amount of time away (about three months), but I wanted to inform you lovely people.
Also wanted to take the time now to randomly thank you all for being here for this story, for me as a fanfic writer and idea spouter. (although I will save the ginormous thank you's for the last chapter) ;)
tausend Danke'!
Last update I got six reviews (although not all on the same chapter), but I'm so happy!
Six reviews, guys. *wipes away happy tears*
To SakuraPetal91: Glad you liked the last chappy! Hope you enjoyed this one, too... heheheh... X)
To Princessatj: Yep! There were a lot of questions unaswered last chapter - and none were answered this chapter... xD (am I sorry? Yes... kinda... I don't know~) I promise they'll be answered! ...later... ;) My mom also had a great birthday, and thanks for the well wishes! She was really happy \\./
To ddrockdoesfanfic: I'm glad you enjoy the story! Hopefully this chapter meets up to your "awesomeness" standards! ;)
Thanks all ya nice reviewers, followers, favoriters, and readers! You made my day! *;\\(0 = 0)/*; - confetti throwing
Until next time! Snugglyfluffies!
~Nora