Laxus had set the pace from the moment he started moving again. His strides were long and quick, causing the others to have to focus on not losing the Lightning Dragon Slayer. It was barely twenty minutes later that they finally reached the other end of the cave they had been traveling through since that morning.
It opened up into the inside of the mountain. A saturation of gray met their eyes as they all stared at the ruins that rested at the center of the compacted volcanic ash. The structure held qualities that were reminiscent of Kardia Cathedral, but it was many times larger. From their slightly elevated location, it was clear that about half the building still seemed to be in fairly safe condition, a few open-air courtyards scattered throughout. Looking closer at the layout, it appeared to be more of a low-level castle with a small surrounding pavilion.
Natsu growled lowly, "This stupid smell is getting in the way."
"What do you mean?" Lucy gazed over at him.
"I can smell Kia and Amber, but I can't tell exactly where they are."
"Salamander's right," Gajeel glared down below. "I can only tell that they're somewhere in that building."
"Well if that's the case," Erza stepped to the front of the group between Laxus and Natsu, "we will just have to search through it. Remember to stay on guard."
Everyone gave a singular nod, before they raced forward.
||~x~||
"I never expected them to have this many members," Titania grumbled to no one in particular as she peeked over the outer wall. There were easily a hundred mages wandering between the different doors and going about patrols around the building. From their magical energy, none of them seemed as though they would present the group with much trouble, but they would cost them time.
"Why are we just sitting here?!" Natsu hissed in a whisper. Several of them were honestly amazed that the pyro hadn't gone plowing straight into the crowd, demanding for his sister and friend to be returned. "We can take them."
"That may be the case, but-" a hand landed on Erza's shoulder, causing her to pause. She turned to see that Cana had moved up beside her, taking in the enemy's forces.
"My group can handle this." The brunette would have squeezed her shoulder if it weren't for the armor there, "We can just stick to the original plan and split up as we need to."
The redhead looked into her eyes, seeing that Cana understood that there was something that she hadn't shared with the others. The look she had shared with Laxus back in the cave hadn't gone unnoticed by the Card mage.
"Cana and I can handle them," Juvia stepped up as well. "The rest of you should get moving."
"Are you two serious?" Gray asked.
Lucy nodded, "Yeah. That's still a lot of people, no matter how weak they are."
"We can stay too."
Lily was nodding his head from his place on the Script mage's shoulder, a look of determination on her face. "Gajeel, Lily, and I will be here to support them. That should help give them some cover, while letting the other two teams start searching."
The black Exceed continued to nod, "Just leave a mark so that we know which ways you guys may have checked once we wrap up here."
"Don't waste your time." Gajeel crossed his arms, "I'll just smell them out."
Though increasing the number causing the distraction from two to five greatly improved the odds, it didn't make the others feel any better, but it wasn't like they had a better option at the moment.
"Fine," Erza nodded with a sigh, "We're counting on you."
"Don't sweat it," Cana grinned.
Levy turned, "Lily, how about we go say hi first?"
"Ready when you are." The black Exceed grabbed the back of the Script mage's dress before the two were rocketing over the troops.
"Solid Script: Stone."
The word appeared in the air, enlarging before falling to crush a handful of the dark guild members below.
"The intruders!"
"They're here!"
"Shoot them down!"
As they all turned to stare up at the two fairies that had taken them by surprise, they failed to notice the three that had jumped out behind them.
"Card Magic: Summon Lightning!"
"Water Nebula!"
"Iron Dragon Roar!"
||~x~||
"This way," Natsu said as he led the group straight through the entry, sprinting down a long corridor, "their smells are getting stronger."
The end of the hall grew brighter before the eight burst into another large room, though this one resembled a ballroom with majestic double staircases that connected to an overlooking platform in front of them.
"Oh goodie," a voice sang out, causing them to all pause. The three with the sharpest noses quickly tilted their gaze upward to find two small figures on the overlooking platform. They looked to be emerald-haired twins, one boy and one girl, around the same age as Shelia. The boy had short hair that rested calmly on his head, his bangs brushing his brows above his bright mint green eyes. He was casually dressed in jeans and a black t-shirt with a brown blazer. His sister held a look of amusement that made her mint eyes sparkle brighter than his, the top half of her emerald-hair pulled back a little off center, braids running along the other side. Her outfit consisted of a white blouse with frills across the collar and down the front, tucked neatly into her black pleated skirt. In her arms, she was hugging an odd assortment of dolls. She spoke again, "they did come this way."
"Where the hell is my sister?!"
"Sister?" the girl chirped, a playful smile on her face, "Don't worry, Master Izai is going to take real good care of her."
"You-!" Natsu growled as he lit his fist on fire.
Erza held an arm up to stop him, "Wait, don't go-"
"Symphony of Paralysis."
All those that had time to turn back to the balcony above easily saw the boy rest a flute against his lips before a stiff note bounced throughout the room, but none of them were able to say a thing. They all stared in wonder as they tried to move their bodies, but found that no matter how hard they tried, they couldn't get a single muscle or nerve to respond.
'What kind of magic is this?' Erza's mind raced as her body trembled in place.
"Good job, Zan." The girl hugged her dolls tighter. "Now who do I want first?"
"Phari, this isn't one of your games." A new voice spoke in an even and unamused tone as Nikolai stepped into the room from one of the lower corridors. He looked up the stairway to the twins, "We have our orders from Master Izai."
The girl, Phari, stuck on her lower lip dramatically as she pouted, "But that's no fair. You always get all the fun, Nikolai."
"Oh what could it hurt?" Miriam half-sang as she entered the room from the hall near the other staircase. Her usual white dress was replaced with a nearly identical one that was a light blue, "It would be a nice way to kill our last hour of waiting."
Nikolai peeked over his shoulder as another figure stepped up beside him. Meisha gave him a smirk as she looked over the group of immobilized wizards. "Come on. It wasn't like their famed team put up much of a fight with only a handful of us." She smirked at the male, "Or is the great Nikolai worried of failing?"
"I have no doubts of my own abilities." He just turned his gaze forward again.
"Oi!" Miriam shouted, the ends of her sleeves beginning to twitch, "What's that supposed to mean?!"
Meisha sighed at the outburst, but ignored it. "Besides if Master wanted this done quickly, he would have sent you and Demi to take care of things."
Nikolai replied, "You know Demi is busy right now."
"Yeah," Phari grumbled, leaning her arms on the railing a little as she pouted again, "She gets to help with the ritual because she's Master's favorite."
"Just stop your whining," the dark-haired male grumbled. It wasn't unusual for him to question why their Master would have allowed two children into their higher ranks, but he also knew that their powers weren't completely useless. Only if Phari had a magic that prevented her from talking like her twin's.
The Fairy Tail mages were forced to flick their eyes back and forth with the conversation, their bodies still not responding to a single thing they wanted. There had to be a way to break this spell and they needed to find it soon.
'That blonde said that there was only an hour left.' Laxus pulled at his magic, willing it to encase him, but could only manage a few sparks here and there as he tested what he could do. There was a chance that he might be able to pull at enough magic to zap that damned flute from that kid's hands.
"I'm over this talking." Miriam stepped forward, walking in front of the group as she scanned them. Her eyes looked them up and down as if she were window shopping, but to her, that was exactly what she was doing. A grin crossed her face as she turned back for the hall she had arrived from. "I call the little cutie with the cat."
The others were forced to watch as the blonde lifted her arms, the sleeves of her dress coming to life and stretching across the room. The fabric looped around Wendy, who was still holding Carla, before the two were slung down the hall past Miriam. With a new pep in her step, the blonde skipped away after her sleeves, the doors slamming closed behind her.
Nikolai stuffed his hands in his pockets, "Do what you want. It's not worth the energy to argue with you." Turning, he walked back the way he came without stealing any glance backward.
"Ooo goodie!" Phari cheered as she bounced up and down. "Zan, I want to play with that blonde one." She raised one of her arms, pointing at Lucy with a childish smile. She turned back to her twin, "What about you?"
Unable to speak, he moved his eyes so that they rested on a certain Fire Dragon Slayer and his companion. Seeing this, Meisha smirked as she walked directly toward her desired prey.
"You're just my type."
An uncomfortable feeling crawled up Gray's spine, but that could have also been the Storm mage's magic as a powerful gust of wind curled around his body. In seconds, Gray's paralysized form was sent hurtling through the corridor that rested under the staircases, directly below the twins. Still within the range of Zan's spell, he could only hope that he kept flying until he could somewhat move to break the fall.
"Zan, you're keeping that one right?" Meisha asked, pointing to Natsu. The boy nodded.
"Alright." Without even fully turning, she flicked her wrist and lifted the two S-class mages. Erza was sent spirally down the hall that Nikolai and Meisha had arrived through, while Laxus went flipping a few times upward before soaring over one of many side balconies that lined the room. With a snap of her fingers, the white-haired woman's magic slammed all of the doors closed except for the center one that she had sent Gray through. Turning, she waved casually to the twins, "Enjoy yourselves."
Phari could hardly contain her excitement, "We will!"
||~x~||
Amber was worried. Nothing had been done about the poison that had been seeping through Kia's system and it was clear that it was taking its toll. Even though that Demi woman claimed that it wasn't a lethal dose, the Phoenix Slayer had been poisoned over twenty-four hours ago. Her breathing had started to shorten in the last twenty minutes, since she had finally drifted off to sleep. Kia had insisted that she take first watch while Amber slept.
"They won't do anything to me, but you need your strength." Her argument had been logical and really their best course of action, which was why Amber had just nodded and done as was suggested.
But the squeaking of the door opening snapped her attention back to reality. The two Amber thought she hated the most stepped into the room, their eyes locked onto their target: Kia. Izai moved to the side as he ended, giving Demi plenty of room to cross the small space. Her fingers wrapped around the chains that connected Kia to the wall. A sizzling filled the room as the brunette didn't even bother to unlock the anti-magic chains, melting them down with her Poison-Make magic.
"Where are you taking her?"
The Master peered out of the corner of his eyes at the dark-haired girl, "The time has come."
The chains around Kia finished dissolving, letting her arms fall only slightly, before Demi pulled them together in one of her hands. Without a second thought, she stepped back out of the room, the Phoenix Slayer groaning as the friction from the floor and pull on her arms and shoulders began to wake her.
"Time for what?" Amber pulled at her restraints. "Bring her back here!"
Izai grinned at her for only a second before shifting for the door. "The final preparations have begun."
And then he was gone behind the closed door.
||~x~||
And now all the main players of Firebird have entered the fray. I will have their basic character information and inspirations up with the chapter on Monday! (Gonna see if I can also whip up some basic character art/designs over the weekend)
Can't wait to see you guys then!