Pride and Perilous

Page 35, 857

Free Form A Mission.

The night was long and the library was quiet. Had this not been a small scale magic library, Zachary would have been kicked out a long time ago. However, the ambitious young man was deep in the books, dedicated to study and learn what he could about his choice of magic. The young blue-haired boy, seemingly no older than 14 years old, was sleepily hunched over one of the desks in the local sorcery library located in Talonia. It was late at night and Zachary had been searching the libary for any information to help him.

It had been a couple of weeks since he set out on his journey, traveling from different libraries and magic academies to find information on powerful spirits. The candlelight only made him more drowsy as he looked at the text and information on powerful spirits. Zodiac spirits.

Though Zachary was still a young and inexperienced wizard, he wished to find the Golden Zodiac Keys. The legendary ones that commanded the power of the Zodiac, the crown jewels of Celestial Wizardry. On his shoulder, he felt a small stirring and something 'soft' nudging his cheek. He woke up lightly to see the watery and glittery eyes of the creature. It was purple furred, red eyed with a red gem on its forehead-- and transparant. A spirit. Despite it being transparent, he oddly felt the sensation of fur against his face at her nudge to wake him.

"S-Sorry Ruby...YAWWN!" Zachary yawned as he stretched in his chair-- till he felt the weight shift. "WHAH!"

A loud crash fell and a few books fell from his desk as he leaned too far back and caused the chair to fall. He laid on his back now, luckily not hurt and only a couple of books on his chest-- along with the see-through spirit of Ruby Carbuncle. The little spirit merely sniffed at Zachary's face, not in a rush to see his master get up.

Zachary was running on fumes at this point, but he felt he was close to something as he read the ancient book of Celestial History. It recorded ancient accounts of the Celestial Spirits and where they had appeared. One such book was talking about one siting of them, somewhere near this very city.

But the details were sketchy. He had to learn more... if it wasn't so late at night.

WC: 396

Just unable to sleep, Arcadia sat up in bed and rubbed her heavily-lidded faerie green eyes. She had gotten a couple hours slumber earlier in the evening, having gone to bed sooner than usual. Tonight she woke up  at her usual bedtime, and just had not been able to get back to dreamland. The young slayer decided against checking her iLac, figuring a little light reading might do the trick of putting her back to sleep faster.

Throwing back her covers, she swung her legs out of bed  before standing. Trouble was she did not feel like reading any of the books she currently had in her personal library up in her room in Fairy Hills. They were all either rather dry references for various things magical and mundane or stories she had already read a couple times over.

She grabbed and threw her plush pink terrycloth robe on over her nightgown to head downstairs to the Fairy Hills library. Arcadia also nabbed her iLac to keep track of the time, her dimensional scissors for that too-lazy-to-use-stairs portal straight to the library. The barefoot slayer also tucked her crystal moon rose back behind her left ear, because she had grown accustomed to having a token of Rui by her side at all times. The Silver Star of Odin she been too lazy to take off for bed earlier, and she was not feeling any less lazy now.

Patting the softly glowing crystal flower in her hair, the 14 year old slayer tucked her iLac and scissors into fluffy robe's one pocket. Arcadia tapped into her dimensional scissors hands-free to open a short-range portal straight from her room to downstairs in the Fairy Hills library.

She spent the next thirty minutes perusing the shelves for something different than her usual high fantasy favorites. Nothing was striking her fancy, so she opened another hands-free portal to the Fairy Tail guild hall library across the street. The guild hall library was bigger, so it took her 45 minutes of perusing the shelves before she decided to try one more library.

Arcadia would need to hold her dimensional scissors for this next portal, there were no more libraries in short range. Pulling her scissors from her robe pocket, the young slayer focused her mind on finding the book that would help her get some sleep. When she cut into the air, a portal opened from the Fairy Tail guild hall library in Magnolia to the library in Talonia. Arcadia groggily stepped through, the portal closing behind her once she was through.

WC: 435

Zachary drowzily rose back up to the table, all the while that Ruby was gently licking his cheek after his little tumble. The little carbuncle creature was concerned by the seemingly sleepy nature of his master. Ruby was not his oldest companion, but the friendliest and most animal-like. Unlike the other spirits, it couldn't talk but it had keen senses and awareness. THough words were hard, its affection was clear as he tried to keep Zachary awake by rubbing his cheek-- ironic since he was literally a transparent spirit.

"Ruby... stop, I can't concentrate..." Zachary yawned as he flipped back open his book. It was then he saw something among the text. He rubbed his eyes and saw it. A passage in ancient Laputian.

"Compendium Record of Ikzander, the great. Treasure of stars most bright, Among the temple of Theros lies the legacy of the former ruler. Key to the 12 golden spirits, dwelling of the Beast of the Summer Sky.."

"I don't believe it! THis is it!I found it! " Zachary exclaimed-- but soon covered his mouth at he realized how loud he had been.

It wasn't till then did the silent portal opened and someone stepped in. Immediately sensing the energy, Ruby hopped around a 180 degree jump on his shoulder and hissed. Her fur and tail with the gem on it stood up on end. Curious, Zachary turned himself to soon see her among the bookstacks. A mysterious, blonde girl with curls and a white dress. She had haunting big eyes and almost appeared to Zachary like that creepy story of a little ghost girl or Annabelle, the demonic doll that killed you at night. His face paled a little bit in fright.

"Um, please tell me your not a demon ghost girl come to kill me, or just me having a nightmare? " he gulped half comedicly to hide his fear.

It was official, he was up far too late at night. Of course, the little girl was no such thing, but Ruby still was on guard as she acted like an alarmed cat.

WC: 349

Arcadia's faerie green eyes roved over the books around her. Last time she was here, she had not really come for the books. It was only to meet a potential client who had submitted work for publishing. At the time she had been so focused on the meeting, she missed exactly how much could be found here.

She was happy that her scissors had brought her to a row of fiction. Last thing she wanted to was to be end up awake all night looking for one book. It was quite the stroke of luck and relief to stumble on a promising title only a short stroll down the stacks.

The barefoot slayer took the leather bound volume down from the shelf. She perused a couple different pages through the book to get an idea of whether it was something she'd like or not. One passage she skimmed over made her chuckle, "Ships in space that aren't powered by magic. Ridiculous. But exactly the kind of fantasy story I'm looking for."

Rubbing her eyes, she realized how tired she was when she realized she was thinking out loud. "Maybe I won't need to read too long after all."

She suddenly realized she was not alone. Arcadia rather wished she had bothered to get dressed instead of heading out in nightgown and robe. The barefoot slayer had not planned on being out more than a few minutes. She made sure her robe was tied as she tucked her chosen book under an arm.

Arcadia stepped out toward the other mage and his spirit. She stifled a yawn, and offered a smile. The young blonde slayer couldn't help a little sigh, "I'm no ghost or a demon, and I don't plan on killing anyone. Besides it looks like ha got one with you already. A cute little ghost too. What's... what's their name? Or your name for that matter? Mine is Arcadia Fairchilde. I'm wizard with Fairy Tail. I just portaled in to find a little reading to help me sleep."

WC: 339
Arcadia WC: 774

There was a pause for a moment as Zachary urged himself to wake up more as Ruby still was on guard. He slowly turned around in his chair and straightened up. It was clear she wasn't a ghost, or a monster come to kill him in the middle of the night. His own flaw for staying up and reading scary stories. As he rubbed his eyes to see better he saw and heard she was much more cheerful.

"Oh, um sorry. Just the white dress... reminds me of scary ghosts... I guess," he said, realizing now she was in a rather small state of dress as a night gown. He focused more to her face while Ruby still stood on his shoulder with her fur on end. "Oh sorry about her... well technically she is a familiar spirit. Well celestial spirit if you want to get technical. " He soon reached up and rubbed the blue furred reature on the head, causing its eyes to squint. "Easy, Ruby. She isn't bad. "

Slowly, the Carbuncle spirit lowered its ears and appeared more at ease. It sniffed the air towards Arcadia-- then hopped off his shoulder to approach her in her bare feet state. Like a cat, it bumped its head into her heels affectionately.

"Don't mind her too badly. She just takes a while to warm up to others, . " Zachary said as he stood up. ""My name is Zachary. Zachary Sirius. "

At the mention of her in Fairy Tail, his eyes widened a bit. ""Wait a minute... you're really from Fairy Tail? "he asked. He had moments of hestation. Since he began his journey away from home to become a wizard, he had wanted to attend a strong magical guild. As a child he grew up on the exploints and adventures of Fairy Tail wizards. Even his mother oftne spoke positively of it even though she was in another guild. However, the news of a dark descent into the guild made his excitement's edge dim a bit. She hardly looked dangerous or bad of any kind. Still, he wondered what was true or false regarding Fairy Tail.

He shook off the doubt as he picked back up the conversation. "Oh, i guess you have key access to the library-- how late is it anyway? BUt I did find what I want anyway... I'm looking for an ancient temple where a magic relic is hidden. I found WHAT the temple is, but not WHERE It is. So... "he paused, unsure if he was boring her now or even if she was still listening. It was veyr late but then again, if she wanted to read than sleep, maybe she was the 'driven' type too.

WC: 479

Arcadia smiled and squatted down to pet Ruby or pet the small spirit creature with a free hand. She gave s quiet squee, "Oh em gee. You are like a bunny and like a kitty at the same time! I just wanna hug and squish you all yup! Or even brush and tie ribbons in your fur to make that much extra cuter."

She stood back up, smiling to Zachary, "Sounds like a treasure hunt! You can count me in! If you don't mind me tagging along, meet me back in front of this library first thing in the morning. I'll be happy lend whatever help I can. I'm gonna need at least some sleep for any adventure."

After waiting for confirmation or refusal of her offer of help, Arcadia took her dimensional scissors into her free hand and waved with a smile. "Alrighty then." She went to check out her book, then cut into the empty air, opening a portal back home. The young slayer slipped through, back to her room.

The barefoot slayer wasted no time hanging up her robe, and climbing back into bed to read. It only took about fifteen minutes of reading her new library book before she finally drifted off to sleep.

In the morning, Arcadia washed up and quickly dressed. She chose her usual soft pink dress with ruffled collar and sleeves, and deeper pink and blue trim. The pale blonde slayer grabbed her iLac and scissors, pocketing both, and lastly slipping her little Vahallan charm anklet around her ankle. She also nabbed a blueberry muffin and a some of Fairy Tail's famous juice for breakfast to go. Holding them gently in one hand, she took her scissors in the other to cut open a portal back to Talonia in front of the library she visited the night before.

As the portal closed behind her, Arcadia remembered wanting to bring her brush and hair ribbons for Ruby. She shrugged the idea of going back for them now. They were still only a few steps away long as she had her dimensional scissors. Arcadia settled down on the library steps for breakfast. Her fingers broke off pieces of blueberry muffin as she traded bites of muffin and sips of juice. She kept her faerie green eyes peeled Zachary and Ruby. If they were waiting inside, it would be best to finish her breakfast first. It wasn't like she would be let in with food and drink.

WC: 412
Arcadia WC: 1186

Zachary was hesitant by her enthusiasm to help. He didn't say why he wanted to find this temple-- and there was only one goal. The goal any Celestial Wizard was after. One of the 12 Golden Zodiac keys. While only limited to Celestial Wizards, it still was a rare magical artifact and one that many would desire. "Well, I can't promise you will get anything of value out of it...but if you want to help, I would appreciate it." he said, a croocked smile on his face as he saw Arcadia snuggle or 'smother' Ruby. Luckily as a spirit, she wouldn't die... of embarassment anyway. But she seemed to like the attention that the girl gave her.

After a bit of snuggling, Ruby returned to Zachary, her crystal tip tail flicking by Arcadia as she got free. Before he even had a chance-- she seemed to beat her to the punch and told them where they could meet. Like an eager child for Christmas, she vanished through a portal and disappeared. Zachary felt awkward and alone as he stood there... He was only broken out of it by Ruby's purr as she nudged Zachary against his leg.

"Okay... now I really do need to get to bed..." He said with a yawn. He picked up the book he had found and left to return to his room in the local inn.

***

Zachary had gotten there and done almost the exact same thing as he sat at the steps of the library. The sky was clear and blue with fluffy white clouds flying by leisurely in the sky. Zachary had gotten there with time of his own, recalling what the mysterious Fairy Tail witch said about meeting that morning.

He was surprised that he never noticed the girl was sitting a few meters away on the same large steps, eating a blueberry muffin.

For the moment, Zachary was by himself. No spirits included. His spirits had a habit of appearand and disappearing around him as well. However, one thing was clear, now in more comfortable attire and in broad daylight, Arcadia could see a pair of keys attached to Zachary's side-- marking him indeed as a Celestial Wizard.

When he did see her, he waved and smiled. "Um, hey there. Were you waiting long," he asked. He had an apple and a croissant.

He quickly put it away and stood up, afraid to be rude before the young lady. Now that he was more aware, he wondered if she was indeed a 'little girl' by her appearance alone. SHe seemed more mature. Perhaps near his own age if only a bit shorter. "So listen... I appreciate your help, but I gotta ask, why? I can't guarantee you will be able to get anything out of it. I can pay you something but... the thing I'm looking for, is a rare item. If there is anything else of value there your welcome to have it but, that item is special for me to get." He said-- though probably if Arcadia was a sharp cookie, she might be able to guess what he was after.

WC: 543

The barefoot slayer smiled, "As Executive Manager at Fairy Tail, it's part of my job to keep an eye out for new business opportunities. That includes possible new allies or additions to our little mercenary family. I have no interest in your key, but I do have interest in you. And possibly any extra little souvenirs we come across."

Arcadia dusted the muffin crumbs from her fingers, and finished the last sips of juice. She tapped into her dimensional scissors to open a small portal that she reached through to drop the empty box into a waste bin across the street. The exit portal was just big enough for her hand. Both portals closed after she drew her hand back.

Drawing her scissors out by hand she gave them a testing snip-snip. "I'm gonna go out on a limb here, and guess that I haven't been to wherever your research points to. That means my scissors can't get us directly there. Is it far from here?”

She glanced around, realizing she didn't see Ruby. Zachary did say Ruby was a spirit. Arcadia did not know much about celestial spirit magic, but she did remember that the spirits could stay in the mortal realm permanently, so it was easy enough for her to guess that Ruby was probably resting back home.

This brought her back to wondering about what sort of key she was going to be helping to find. She smiled back to Zachary, ”Oh yeah which of key are going after?” Arcadia was smart enough and had easily deduced from simple observation he was looking for a spirit key. That was easy enough to guess from the keys her carried and Ruby to most everything he said the night before and the books he had out to study. She supposed it did not matter one way or another which key they were going after, she did not know anything about any of them that would make her change her mind about lending her aid, so it was merely for curiosity that she asked.

WC: 344
Arcadia WC: 1530

It was a relief to Zachary, that she wasn't a rival wizard who wanted the key too. But he was surprised that she could figure out what he wanted. A laugh escaped him as he rubbed the back of his neck. "You got me there... Yes, I'm a Celestial Wizard trying to find the Zodiac Keys. I'm sorry... with them being so rare I was afraid to say what I was after. " he said, "But if you want to come along for anything else, I guess it's good. "

It was then that Ruby soon appeared-- appearing behind Zachary's shoulder as the little Carbuncle critter crawled up Zachary's shoulder and peeked her head out to see Arcadia. Though a little apprehensive to be coddled by the overly eager young woman, Ruby gave a soft squeak in greeting to the woman.

Zachary scratched Ruby behind the ears briefly as she explained her scissors and how they worked briefly-- saying that she didn't know where to go. Zachary, however, was stumped there as he realized that was the problem. "Yeah, that's part of the problem. The good things I identified where the key is. The ruins of Theros, a temple constructed by 'Ikzander the Great'.  We know where the key is... but not the ruins. I fell asleep before I could figure that one out. "

As they talked, a man dressed in white seemed to overhear-- stopping at the mention of the ruin's name. He listened carefully, hidden by his odd hat.

At the mention of what key he was after, Zachary took out his Ilac from his jacket. On it he had taken notes he got from the text book and some pictures. "Well, that too is a bit hazy. The text mentioned the Zodiac keys. It said, "Key to the 12 golden spirits, the dwelling of the Beast of the Summer Sky." Hand it to ancient wizards to put things in riddles. I can guess which one it could be but its not clear. Anyway, it is either Leo, Cancer, or Ares maybe...either way any of the 12 would be a great partnership to make, if they are willing. But we gotta find the ruins first. "

As Ruby would scurry to say hi to Arcadia and no doubt she would crush on decorating her with ribbons ... someone approached.

"Excuse me, may I interrupt." Someone said in a kind tone, "I couldn't help but overhear you are seeking the ruins of Theros, yes?"

Zachary turned to find a rather out of place character a well dressed man in white, with long pants, jacket, pointy shoes and a stylish hat. He had black hair and tied into a tail behind him. He approached them with an easy smile, as he tipped his hat. "Good morning. Name is Leonard." he introduced.

"Um, hi there," Zachary said, a bit uneased by the stranger. "Can I help you?"

"Actually, I am a historian. I happen to know where the ruins are. They are just half-a day's walk from here, south from Tylonia. They are surrounded by the grasslands there. " he said with a smile.

Though Arcadia and Zachary listened, Ruby hid slightly behind Arcadia, a soft hiss escaping the Carbuncle spirit.

Zachary glanced at Arcada, then back to the stranger Leonard. "Wow... Thank you. I appreciate it," he said, still a little taken back by his eagerness to help.

He tipped his hat with a smile as he turned. "Well, It's my job to enlighten minds with the past. I am happy to be of help. Good luck on your journey." he said as he turned to leave.

A wind blew past them as the man left, his coat flapping in the breeze. As Ruby calmed down, they now had their place to go. He turned back to Zachary while Ruby sought comfort in Arcadia's arms. "So I guess we know where we are going. Of course I don't know what is there but best to be prepared. " Zachary said as he straightened out his jacket, ready to go.

WC: 738

Arcadia smiled to see Ruby, giving a little wave of her fingers to the spirit on Zachary's shoulder. She smiled back to Zachary, thoughtfully tilting her head, ”Actually, I didn't guess it was one of the Zodiac keys, but it makes sense you'd have to do quite some research to even know where to look. And while I'm sure one could make quite a bit of jewel selling one of those, something that rare and powerful probably belongs more to someone willing to put in the time and work to find one , than it does to someone with the most Jewel to throw at it. So... still no worries. That would reflect low on Fairy Tail if I were to try and steal it out from under your nose. Just not that kind of mage.”

She listened closely, paying close attention to any details. With her scissors, being familiar with even one or to details of somewhere you wanted to go made all the difference in the accuracy of where you would arrive on the other side of the portal.

From the sound of things though, it sounded like they were going to have to find these ruins of Theros the old fashioned way. She was about to say as much, when a stranger approached and offered up exactly the hint they needed exactly when they needed it. Arcadia smelled trap all over it, the man almost distracted her from noticing Ruby. Almost. Arcadia knelt down to greet the Carbuncle spirit, smiling and ruffling Ruby's ears.

She glanced up to listen and watch Leonard, moving protectively in front of Ruby once she noticed the spirit hiding behind her. The barefoot slayer sniffed the air to familiarize herself with the man's scent. Arcadia had a sneaking suspicion she would be smelling him again somewhere around the ruins. Standing up, she glanced after Leonard, ”Since that's our only lead, I suppose we don't really have a choice, but I smell a trap. Does anyone else know you're looking for this key? Besides me I mean? And uh let's just keep on our toes. Also, if you have a summons that will let you fly, we can probably get there faster than half a day. If not, I'd be happy to give you and Ruby a ride there. First lets get to the outskirts of town, so people don't freak out.” Arcadia took out her dimensional scissors and snipped open a portal to the edge of town.

WC: 415
Arcadia WC: 1945

Zachary had wished he had the time to appreciate her kind words regarding Fairy Tail. Despite the bad rep that Fairy Tail had in recent days, Zachary felt more hopeful to know this was one of the good ones. He remembered hearing amazing stories, especially of the Dragon Slayer of ice he heard about-- but didn't know their identity. Still, there were amazing stories when he grew up about how amazing Fairy Tail was.

Once the man left, it was an odd tension in the air that Zachary couldn't identify. Arcadia did suggest she smelled a trap, but he wasn't one to really think so negatively-- on first impressions. "Um... no, no one knows what I'm after, let alone a Zodiac Key. He may of just been helpful." he said, but still felt that small bit of agony to think he might be a liar.

As someone who was bullied as a kid, he didn't like to think about people acting like that as adults.

Returning back as a means of travel, Zachary paused as he smiled a bit. "I may have someone who can help," he said as he took out one of his keys-- with the symbol of a horse with wings behind the head of the emblem. "Though lets bring him out at the outside of the city-- and try to contain yourself when you see him?" he said in a semi-joke as she already was gushing over Ruby.

ONce they had left the majority of the city behind them, Zachary looked around and felt it was safe to let out his summon. He took a deep breath and held out the silver key. "Open, Gate of the Winged Horse! PEGASUS!!" Zachary called and slashed the key through the air. From it, a sapphire colored circle with a key-hole appeared, followed by a flash of smoke and light.


From the magic gate of the Celestial Realm, emerged a 'neigh' and a flap of wings that cast a gust of cool air over them. A white stallion appeared, quite large as most horses were with a brilliant, almost silvery white coat of fur and mane. A light-gold colored mixed with small flaps on his hooves, ears, and his wings-- most noticed among him and his sapphire blue eyes-- was his wings, and head adorned with a brilliantly blue sapphire crystal. The gems were embedded into his wings, and he had a horn like a unicorn, made of the same gem-- showing he was more technically an Alicorn than a Pegasus, but just as wonderful as either kind.

Fully appeared, the white Pegasus turned around and faced Zachary as he lowered the key. "Zachary, what work do we have today? I hope it isn't simply just flying you around and--" Before Pegasus could say more, his gaze would come to Arcadia, seeing the sweet girl and wondered who she was.

WC: 515

The barefoot slayer tilted her head in thought, "Let's hope that's all he is.” Arcadia smirked before heading on through the portal, ”Oh, uh, well if it's something as cute as Ruby, I can't make any promises.”

After the portal closed behind them, she glanced up and down the road and  around the general area. The young blonde slayer sniffed for any sign of Leonard, her faerie green gaze wary for most any sign of trouble. It still all seemed a little too convenient to be true to her, but maybe, just maybe, their luck really was that good this time.

Once Arcadia was assured the edge of town was safe, she turned back to Zachary. She watched as he held one of his keys aloft and summoned a new spirit. Her faerie green eyes locked on the spirit froze on the equine spirit emerging from the smoke and flash that followed the magical keyhole-shaped light.  She squeezed, clasping her hands in fangirling glee when she realized what she was seeing.

Arcadia Squee!:

She coughed and took a breath to calm herself, the slayer approaching Pegasus, she bowed in greeting, ”Arcadia Mavis Elaine Fairchilde of Fairy Tail at your service. It's nice to meet you.  And it's just a little bit of flying to reach the ruins your friend Zach has been looking for. We hope. It's supposed to be a half days walk from here, but we figure we can get tehre way before lunch if we fly.  So... race you there!”

There was one urge she had stronger than her reaction to cute kitties and horses, and that was her competitive drive. Some might say over-competitive drive. Arcadia turned and started running toward the south of town. Just when it looked like she meant to race Pegasus on foot the whole way, the slayer grew and transformed into a 49 foot long (15m) dragon of  made of pure ice.

Arcadia as Young Adult Ice Dragon:

The great dragon shook the ground in her run before her wings hefted her up into the air. A light snow began to fall  around her, clouds or no clouds, though the dragon  consciously suppressed the snowfall for now. She climbed higher to clear the treetops and flew on south, keeping an eye out for any ruins below.

WC: 377
Arcadia WC: 2322

Sapphire Pegasus looked down at the cute little girl with a perplexed look, then slowly reared his head at Zachary. "Please tell me you didn't get another petting zoo job for me to do. This is even sadder than just flying you here," the Pegasus joked dryly.

Zachary gave a nervous chuckle as he tried to ease his friend's concern. "No, no, Pegasus. But I do need you to fly me to the ruins as she says. If you don't mind, please? " Zachary asked.

The horse gave a soft grunt sound, but soon lowered his head to the little girl. "Alright... I guess I can carry you both. Not that I ever minded flying you around," he said-- still hiding the fact he still loved to be among Zachary's company.

However, it seemed to be a moot point as Arcadiea challenged them to a race-- and ran off only to transform into a large icy dragon. This left both Zachary and Pegasus in awe to see that sweet little girl become a majestic icy beast. It was soon clear to Zachary SHE was that dragon slayer he heard about. He should of guessed, should of known-- but didn't. After clearly she had a shockingly large head start, Zachary mounted Pegasus and the winged alicorn flew off towards their destination.

******

The planes were wide and far as they waved in the distance with the wind and shined in the sun with their golden brown and green hues. A wide grassland, with a few boulders and old ruins which marked them close to their destination. As Arcadia would soon see this , and so did Zachary, they would reach the outskirts of the ruins.

Giving Pegasus a break, Zachary sent Pegasus back with sincere thanks for giving him a ride again. THough it was known that silver keys were lacking in power, that was not true for his friend-- and knew he could do more than just be a flying taxi for him.

Zachary was still in awe as he saw the dragon return to be the little girl with blonde hair he met. It took him a while to build the words as they slowly walked towards the ruins. They went against the breeze towards it, approaching the larger, worn marble Roman-style ruins ahead of them.

"So You... You're the... that legend about the ice Dragon Slayer... that was you?" He said slowly, trying to work it out in his head. She was a big time leader of Fairy Tail and the dragon slayer he heard rumors about. It was hard to imagine her being it, let alone being so nice too. "I will admit being guilty for judging from first impressions..." he said.

He also wanted to ask, since he heard mixed things-- and since they were clearing the air now, iit was probably a good a time as any. "So... may I ask you a question. Is it true about Fairy Tail? That something happened when members turned it into a dark guild. That it... its a bad place now, because, I can't imagine you being ... anything like that. I heard rumors and stuff how Fairy Tail has become a bad place, which is heart breaking cause I looked up to it as a kid. So.... do you mind telling me?"

In his hearts of hearts, he longed to join Fairy Tail. He wanted to join that magical guild where legends were born where he could realize his dream as a full-fledged wizard. Still, he had lingering doubts he just had to find the truth about.

But it would all come in due time, especially after they had completed their mission. For now, Zachary wished to learn more about this seemingly sweet little girl who could go full on Godzilla in the blink of an eye.

WC: 657

The young adult ice dragon raced through that sky, though she did indulge in the occasional roll or dive into a barrel roll or other simple acrobatic maneuvers. Arcadia did take the race she challenged Pegasus to seriously, but she also did not want to get separated either. The only time she focused poorly on her speed was if she happen to start falling behind.

Once her faerie green gaze found sign of ruins below, the ice dragon didn't give up on the race, but she wanted to allay her fear of a trap. She circled once overhead, and roared to announce her arrival. If there was a trap, she didn't want to wait until they were right smack in the middle of it to have it sprung on them. That's why she was daring anyone down in the the ruins to come out and face them. Suddenly, the great dragon vanished from sight, only to be replaced by three images of that dragon circling.

The living glaciers dropped out of the sky, landing with a singular ground shaking crash. She roared one more time at the ruins in font of her. If her display happened to give those in the potential trap second thoughts about even trying to spring it, then Arcadia could live with that. Arcadia scented the ruins, and listened closely to her surroundings.

Only once she was certain they were actually alone in the ruins, did she drop the image and reveal which had been the real one. She reverted to her human self, and turned toward Zachary. She was smiling as she joined him in heading toward the ruins, "I guess that's a tie. Pegasus is pretty fast."

She sniffed again at the breeze blowing friend the ruins, double checking that no one was waiting immediately ahead. His first question caught the barefoot slayer completely off guard. She couldn't help looking at him like he was a little bit crazy. "Are you sure you have the right slayer on mind? It's flattering to think there are legends about me, I think it's just as likely to be another slayer. I've only been out of mail
magical hibernation since last summer. That doesn't seem like enough time to build legends. I don't personally know much about Earthland before then. What little I do know from before last summer, is what I've had from other or read about."

"I do know I'm not the only ice dragon slayer to arise. I've read of a couple others that were around before I woke up from hibernation. And I've even met at least one other ego knows a form of ice dragon slayer magic, but Haraka is... Or was born half dragon or something. Not quite the same."

"If it is me in those legends you've heard, I hope they're good ones. Though I guess a few stories might about me might go around Magnolia. True, I've been trying to spread my name around the lacrima-net, maybe you've heard of a couple songs rumored to be by the Prunes of Fiore? Or read a story called 'Fairy Tail's Greatest Sin'? I didn't create them, but I either prejudiced and/or published both on the lacrima-net. That behind the scenes stuff isn't usually well known though. Anyway, sorry for rambling."

She smiled again, "No worries. I hope I'm not blowing my second impression."

Arcadia but her lower lip, not wanting to ruin Zachary's seemingly improving impressions off Fairy Tail, but there were some things she wasn't allowed to tell harder own teammate, Aven. And Aven had been in Fairy Tail longer than she had, so there was no way she could answer that right now. She didn't want to lie either. The young slayer smiled warmly, "There are some questions I can only answer is you choose to join our little family, and I'll be happy to answer them off you do. I can tell you, we armor a dark guild, and they hadn't been since I joined. We're an independent guild, and allied with the other indie guilds of Fiore. The Silver Moon Fairy Alliance. Being indie means greater freedom up to a point. Still havta stay on the Magic Council's good side. Not a problem for me. I've even made a couple friends on the Rune Knights. If the Magic Council or Rune Knights thought Fairy Tail or me were bad, they prolly wouldn't have hired me to help train their recruits. That was one of the first jobs I got after joining Fairy Tail."

Arcadia hoped Zachary understood, because she was pretty sure he'd make an excellent addition to the Fairy Tail family. She had no doubt be would prove more than trustworthy enough to share secrets of Fairy Tail's past sometime soon, but additional trust still needed to be proven on both sides.

WC: 809
Arcadia WC: 3131

Zachary was happy that Arcadia was so forward to share as they walked upwind to the ruins. He enjoyued hearing about her and what she liked. But he was surprised to hear there were more Dragon Slayers out there than he thought for a rare magic. "I'm sorry... I guess there were more Dragon Slayers out there than I knew. To be honest, I wish I was a Dragon Slayer. I LOVE Dragons. I read up on them, but its such a coveted magic I had no idea how to learn it or even to find it. But you met a dragon , then, right? What was he or she like? I would love to meet a dragon-- or wait, are you technically a dragon? Point is, I would love to meet one and talk to one. Even make friends with one. " Now it was Zachary's turn to ramble but it seemed the two got along swimmingly as they marched forward.

More so, she mentioned that there were some things that she couldn't say-- which he did worry about, but what she said did say they were independant. Despite that, they were well known. Zachary paused a bit at that to think carefully. "I can understand that... Thing is, ever since I was a kid, I really wanted to become a wizard and join Fairy Tail. I still do... I was so amazed by the stuff they did in the past. Maybe growing up made me a bit jaded but... I want to believe they are still a guild full of good people. Thing is... " he turned to her with a kind smile. "If you are a member of Fairy Tail, how could I think they are ever bad people there... But you know me, I am a bit too trusting too."

Zachary had the habit to be too honest and kind at times-- he knew that too. He just knew life needed kindness, even when he was hurt. He had faith in people, and he had faith in Arcadia's words. Perhaps Fairy Tail was a place he could be a part of after all...

They soon reached the ruins, and the bits of ice that had fallen and littered the ruins. A frown hit Zachary as he looked at the beautiful ruins. Arcadia, I know Fairy Tail has the rumor of being destructive but... these ruins are one of a kind. THink dropping hail the size of baseball fields was a tad reckless?" he commented.

By now, Ruby appeared on Zachary's shoulders to look around. Arcadia clearly had ruled out any trap there-- but something new would soon appear. There was a scent of a strange animal within the vicinity. A 'cat-like' creature, but of an ethereal, odd scent of some kind. Something that Arcadia wouldn't be able to put her sniffer on easily.

Zachary, while observing the beautiful architecture and significance of the ruins, made his way deeper in. The roman style ruins had no roof anymore, just bits and pieces held up by the pillars, but the mosacis were beatufil tiled. It was a historian's dream, and seemed to glow with magic of some kind.

Things were quiet, till Ruby's fur went on end and she gave a soft hiss of warning. "Huh? What's wrong Ruby?" he asked, but voiceless, the spirit just hissed and scampered around Arcadia and Zachary to get their attention.

GRRROWL!!

A lion' like roar echoed through the ruins, that alarmed them both-- and out from the height of the ruins dropped down a brilliant white blur. It struck right between them, alarming them with its approach.

"WHOH!!" Zachary gasped as he tumbled backwards alarmed, having evaded the crushing force of the impact.

A small bit of dust was kicked up as they soon saw it.


The figure to drop out of the sky was a seriously large, humanoid white lion adorn in tribal clothing. His limbs and body were well muscular and had a long thick mane, some tied into braids. His eyes glistened blue but snarled as he held a long edged spear in his paw.

"Leave this place! NOW" the beast roared.

WC: 737

Arcadia stopped in her tracks, immediately questioning her judgement. Had she made a complete mistake in coming out here? She had hardly crushed any structures when she landed, at most pushing rubble that was already rubble around. Landing on the ruined temple itself would have risked flying straight into the trap she was afraid of.

Being compared to baseball field in size was a tad more confusing. On the one hand, size among dragons correlated to their power, on the other hand the exaggeration of her size tied to the context of supposedly being carelessly destructive made her wonder if she was being insulted as clumsy and inept on top of it.

She did not want to believe that was what Zachary meant though. Arcadia glanced back toward the temple, her faerie green eye narrowed slightly. "I'm not so sure you would like real dragons. For one thing, my mother woulda practically eaten you alive if you insulted her with the insinuation she was both clumsy and inept while she was helping you out of generosity."

"Anyway, at least in Dragnof, the dragons mostly took on orphans and maybe some adults who had no other family. That's how I met my dragon mother, Khione Glacier. She took me in and raised me after my human family was killed by dragons. Don't remember them to well now, so when I talk about my mom I mean Khione Glacier. She taught me her magic, so one day I could fight by her side in the dragon wars against the dragons who killed my human family."

"Other than that high a price, the easiest way to learn slayer magic is to find a lacrima. Dragons don't give those away to just anyone. You'd still havta earn their trust and favor. Of course there's prolly ways to get them without tracking down a dragon. Dragons aren't so rare though. One of Fairy Tail's allies counts like three of them as members. and there might be other ways to learn now. With the advances in magic since I was put in magical hibernation, who knows how many other ways wizards may have found since Dragnof when dragons first taught humans dragon slayer magic."

Arcadia gave a little shrug, as she took a deep breath. She figured part of her reaction was from the growing influence of her Dragon Seed. It's affect on her age had worn off finally, but as she grew in power, so too did the seed's influence. To give into that influence would lead her into the same trap that befell her childhood hero and idol, Acnologia. The barefoot slayer believed herself stronger than that traitor turned out to be.

Letting her breath out slowly, Arcadia let more calmness flow in. There was little time to enjoy her little victory over her Dragon Seed. She smelled something... something strange. Something new to her experiences. The barefoot slayer reflexively took a combat ready stance, keeping alert for any other sign. Had she not been thorough enough in her assessment of the dangers around the temple? All the training she received in the ancient kingdom of Dragnof to become a slayer had engrained a soldier's instincts into her.

Arcadia backflipped out of the blur's way. She willed herself into Dragon Force, turning her blonde hair to pure white and he faerie green eyes to glowing crimson. A frosty aura sprung up around her momentarily chilling those near her to the bone. The barefoot slayer tapped into the Silver Star is Odin around her ankle, switching the output of her magic from ice to crystal. That way her Dragon Force aura would not slow her new friends, the chill around her warming away.

Lastly, she used her refraction spell to displace where she appeared to be. The slayer turned to face whatever had landed, a little surprised to see a large bipedal lion. Not the first thing she thought to be seeing, but she renamed at the ready until the lion issued his warning. Arcadia stood straight and bowed respectfully, still displaced a few feet from where she appeared to be visually. "We beg your pardon, Sir. My friend has come in search of a key." Arcadia felt it would be worth the risk to let the truth out, if it gave a chance to deescalate the situation away from potential violence. The lion's actions did not seem like those of someone with a trap on mind.

WC: 742
Arcadia WC: 3873

(Post Note: Zachary gave a nervous laugh as Arcadia corrected him regarding the dragons. He held up his hands in defense as he tried to calm the small Dragon Slayer. "No-no-no! I didn't mean any harm by that I swear. Just curious. I presumed only dragons could become... well dragons in human form. I love dragons. I hope to meet one someday if I ever... Anyway, I mean't no disrespect. But having a slayer power or not, I would LOVE to meet a real dragon. Make friends with them." He was over the moon with joy to learn dragons were more than just rumor. Despite the misunderstanding, things remained pleasant... at least till )

The surprise of the attacking Lion-man was a shock, but a bigger surprise when it actually roared/spoke to them. He clearly was angry as any fierce animal would be, the fact he was sentient made a world of difference. That and the giant polearm he had in his paws.

Arcadia was the first to speak up and her words couldn't be anymore truer as she literally took the words out of Zachary's mouth. He had his arms up in a yielding fashion to show the same to the large lion. Yes! We're sorry to disturb you," Zachary said as he held his arms up, the lion looking fierce.

At Arcadia's words, the lion, by default turned to Zachary, the only person one to whom was looking for the 'key'. "I KNOW why you've come. " he growled sternly, holding the pole arm in his direction. "This is a warning. You will NOT get the key from me, nor any human who seeks it out. Leave now, or I shall force you to!"

A sad look overcame Zachary as he sensed the growing hostility from the lion. He wasn't sure why, as he didn't know who or what this creature was. Though Ruby on his shoulder was still on guard, giving cat like hisses at the lion-- she would hid into the collar of Zachary's jacket for safety. Zachary glanced at Arcadia for a moment. In a situation like this, a fight would ensue for any other wizard. However...

"P-please wait! I am not here to fight. We come in peace," Zachary said earnestly as he slowly reached into his pocket for his keys. As the lion saw the keyring and the keys he had, he growled fiercely, as if about to pounce, but Zachary held them limp. He kept them visible for the beast to see, then tossed the keys a fair distance away, landing on the grassy patches of the ruins. The lion's roar lessened as he saw the gesture, now Zachary 'unarmed'. "Please, I just want to talk. That's all."

The lion still was on guard, glancing between Zachary and Arcadia. However, after a moment, he lowered his polearm, but still held a menacing presence. "Very well, human. But be known, no matter your case, you will NOT leave here with the golden key. "

A pit formed in Zachary's heart, as if he had already lost before he even began. Still, he knew he had to press on and get answers. "Um... well, I'm very sorry we disturbed you. But my name is Zachary. It's nice to meet you. " TO show further submission, Zachary sat himself down cross-legged on the ruin floor. "Who are you?"

The lion still kept standing and had a guarded look. There was a hint of perplexity in his face, as if confused. "You may call me ... Ajani... for now. I am guardian to the Golden Key, sworn to protect it."

As no doubt, Arcadia would introduce herself as well, probably now more comfortable to see the large lion-- even potentially in a cute light, the lion remained resolute and firm in his attitude. "I understand you come here to find this key-- but I have vowed upon Leo, that it should never fall back into human hands. "

Zachary listened carefully as he looked back to Arcadia, silently expressing his perplexity. "I... don't understand? Are you the key's owner? And why wouldn't you want it in human hands? If you are the owner, I wouldn't want to take it from you." he explained.

"Human wizards had sought out Leo, and other Celestial Spirits for centuries. All willing to kill and slaughter one another to obtain the power of the stars. Even when they possess it, they treat the spirits as if they are nothing but pawns! Tools to be used and useless when broken! The cruelty of humans is a constant as bright as the stars. For that, I vowed the Leader of the Zodiac's key would never fall into human hands again." Ajani explained, his voice showing distrust and pain. Zachary couldn't help but gulp at the pain in the lion's voice. It was a situation that he knew all too well...

WC: 878

The lion did have an authoritative presence, one Arcadia would have easily been intimidated by when she first joined Fairy Tail. Well on her way, but not quite a full dragon, Arcadia did not usually scare as easily as she used to. Her confidence had grown quite considerably in her time with her new family. The young slayer would not be so easily turned away.

She dropped out of Dragon Force, hoping the drop in her magic power would further show they really meant no threat. Her hair returning from pure snowy white back to it usual pale blonde, and her glowing crimson gaze fading back to a sparkling faerie green.

The barefoot slayer still did not trust that Ajani would not turn violent to make his point, so Arcadia maintained her displacement spell. It was a purely defensive precaution, merely keeping her image just far enough of to the side that there should be no need to actually dodge any first strike aimed her way. She held up her hands to show she meant no harm, slowly approaching closer to Ajani. Arcadia offered a bright and sincere smile introducing herself, "I'm Arcadia. Nice ta meetcha, Ajani! Uh... I guess I can understand all that. I havta admit I've had misgivings about all this being a trap. It did seem like way too much of a coincidence that that Leo guy just happened to be in the right place at the right time to overhear what we were looking for, and then direct us here. Now we know the key really is here, and it wasn't a trap. That means Leo had to be some kind of sign, because we would not have known how to find this pace without his help."

"So, maybe Zach is destined to find the key and deserve a chance to prove himself worthy. What do you say, Ajani? A trial for Zach to prove he is unlike other wizards who have sought the power of the key for themselves. If he fails, then we will leave this place. Never bother you again. If he passes, then... well wouldn't It be nice to know there was at least one human out there who didn't see celestial spirits as merely tools?"

"If the way he and Ruby get along is anything to go by, you won't find a human mage who is more gentle with his friends than he is."

WC: 404
Arcadia WC: 4277

It was good that Arcadia was now resting from her powered up state as Zachary glanced at her. She seemed less likely to be a threat-- in appearance anyway, but still she was cautious but kept her hands up in defense. Oppose to Zachary now relaxed and sitting cross legged on the grass.

Her suggestion was a nice one and seemed that Arcadia trusted Zachary as well, something that was welcomed for Zachary's rejected heart. At the mention of Ruby too... Ruby came out of hiding from behind Zachary's jacket and peeked to look at the lion. Its little head and ears went up in acknowledgement at the lion, curious by the guardian.

Still a solemn and stern look was on the lion as he lowered his weapon, telling these people were indeed somewhat kind. "This isn't a matter of personal character, child." Ajani growled in answer to the idea of a trial. He turned to Zachary, despite the view of the little spirit on his shoulder. "Whether it is for power, wealth or vengeance, no man is immune to darkness in their hearts. From it, even later in their lives, they may use it for the wrong reasons. I can't bare to see it happen again..." he explained.

Zachary felt a bit saddened now, knowing that any hope to meet or make a pact with Leo was off the table. Still, it was even sadder to hear this noble creature have such a low opinion of him because he was human. Worst thing was, there was truth behind it. Arcadia and Ajani would no doubt sense the saddness on Zachary's face to hear this.

"You're not wrong. People are capable of doing horrible things... I too am a victim and I get it... It's easier to be alone than to put your faith in people. But... what good would that do? Be it now or centuries from now, being alone is still alone... " he explained, causing Ruby to look at him with a curious look.

Zachary shook his head, to regain his composure. He took a deep breath and remained seated. "Mr. Ajani. I know you have every reason to, but if I can ask, would you mind calling Leo himself and let me ask him? If he truly wishes to not be my partner, I rather hear it from him. "

Ajani looked a bit surprised by the request, but kept his ground. "I-Impossible. I cannot summon him. But I can tell you this is his will. If you truly are as kind and compassionate about spirits as you say you are... you both will honor his wish."

Zachary lowered his head in disappointment. They came all this way and now this. He let out a sigh and rose to his feet. "You're right. I'm sorry. I will leave you in peace. " he said.

There would be no doubt that Arcadia would be surprised and just as disappointed by this. He felt bad she had come along with him for nothing... but he valued the honor and respect of the spirits than just to have them to summon. "Just tell him one thing please? " he asked as he stood to face Ajani. "Please tell Leo that ... I'm sorry that we couldn't have met. To meet him was a dream of mine and even more so to work with him. But... more importantly, humans may be mean and stupid at times. We all are prone to make mistakes as well. It even makes me sick to think about it... but, ... but I have to have hope. The very same thing that made me want to be a Celestial Wizard is the hope to that there are good people and to help those who suffer from the bad ones. Anyway... just tell him that, please don't give up hope that there are good humans out there. Because whenever I look at the stars, I see hope. "

Ruby on his shoulder kept trying to paw at Zachary's cheek-- as if trying to tell him something, but he couldn't understand her words sadly. Ajani soon looked wide eyed at his words. Despite the sadness to be told no and no hope to claim the treasure he wished for, he turned to leave.


WC: 750

Arcadia sighed, glancing briefly to the ground. It seemed the lion was quite resolute. There would be no getting to see the inside of the temple. While she found that disappointing, Arcadia was more saddened for Zachary. All that work and lifelong dreaming It seemed he had put into finding that key. Granted, he was still young, and he would have time to find a new life dream. It'd was still never easy to watch anyone's life dream get dashed so hard. If they were to walk the wall of respecting a celestial spirit's wishes though, it couldn't be helped. It was time to go.

The barefoot slayer pulled her dimensional scissors free of her pocket. She bowed solemnly to Ajani, "I'm sad to hear so many celestial spirits have been treated so poorly, especially by wizards who should know better. I'd like to think Dragnof's wizards were better behaved, but truly I don't know how our celestial wizards treated spirits in general. We'll leave you be."

Arcadia turned away from the temple and snipped open a portal back to Fairy Tail's guild hall with her scissors. If the opportunity arose to visit the temple again sometime, it would be easy slough to return. She did not expect to be back though. The young slayer turned her faerie green gaze to Zachary and Ruby, "You both are welcome to come to Fairy Tail with me. Drown your sorrows in some of Fairy Tail's famous juice. Or any drink you want really. Maybe we can still see about you joining our little family. If you'd rather be alone instead right now, I hope y'all will come visit Magnolia sometime."

She let the portal hang open, inviting Ruby and Zachary to go through first. The Fairy Tail guild hall lobby was visible through it. Arcadia glanced back at Ajani and the temple, her faerie green eyes taking a parting glance around the ruins. She couldn't help wondering if her home, Dragnof, looked like this for awhile after it was abandoned, or if its destruction had been more complete from the start. With the prospect of exciting new things to see out the window, this place was starting to remind her a little too much of how she had not been there when Dragnof needed its warriors most. Yeah, she was so ready to leave this place, drying the memory away from her faerie green eyes.

WC: 403
Arcadia WC: 4680

Sadness loomed as even Arcadia sympathized with how things gone, even more so for Zachary. He felt rejected for reasons that were not in his control. As Arcadia was soon quick to open a portal to give way to let them leave faster... she offered Zachary a chance to join the guild. He smiled alittle, liking the idea. "Thanks... I--"

"Brrrrr!!" Ruby growled. Her fur stood on end suddenly as she let out a small cry-- catching both their attention. She seemed agitated as she glanced in the downwind direction, a place that Arcadia's sense of smell wouldn't have caught on to.

"Ruby? What's wrong?"Zachary asked.

It was only seconded that the alarm came-- and soon was answered by a mighty shot! A searing laser-like blast sliced through the air right before them and struck its target.

"GRRRAAAAHH!!" Ajani roared, the laser piercing his side with a searing blast that made the lion roar and cry of pain. Zachary's eyes widened in shock and alarm to see the Lion struck, unable to comprehend what happened.

"N-NO!! Ajani!" Zachary cried, and quickly rushed over to him. The lion now was barely standing, using his polearm as a prop to keep himself on his feet.

Darting his head to the direction of the blast-- he saw it. A strange condor-like creature flying overhead. It didn't look like a spirit, but a monster with twice as many eyes and a bulbous orb on its chest. A demonic looking creature by the look of it. Along it-- they could see a figure above the bird, riding on its back. A figure dorn in white.

It was the man from before-- the one who gave them the clue about the ruins. Arcadia had been right. He DID follow them.

"Y-You?! What's going on!?" Zachary demanded, not sure if his voice was heard over the distance.

The man stood elegantly on the back of the monstrous bird, holding his hat with a hand to keep from flying off. "Ah, what a well-placed strategy. I owe you, children, thanks for luring my prey out. That pesky guardian had been a thorn in my side every time I came here. It was nice to know I had some decoys this time around..."

Zachary's sadness was swept away with the pain of being lied to and manipulated. "You... USED US?!"

"Heh," the man chuckled, "It wasn't that hard... Now kindly step away and leave so I may take this fleabag's golden key... Unless you too wish to see my Ghouler's firepower first hand." he said, almost never breaking that cynical smile he had.

The grunt from Ajani drew Zachary's attention back. He quickly grabbed a hold of his shoulder to hold him up. "No... Ajani Hold on--" He quickly reached to put pressure on the wound, but that was when he saw something weird. In place of blood or a burn, part of his body was seeping a strange aura. As if the Aether nano was visible-- in the form of black and starry mist that seeped out into the air from the wound. As if he was made of starry energy...

"Now, beast, " the man said, not regarding Zachary and Acadia as much threat, "Hand over the Golden Key or so help me, I will make you into a pelt."

Despite the pain and weakness, Ajani glared angrily at the man. "Never... I'll sooner die than see it in your hands!" the lion roared.

Zachary looked to Leo with concern. He had to save him. Key or not, they had to do something. He didn't know the full scope of what was happening, but if they didn't do something Ajani would die.

For good measure, the man used his summoned beast to fire a beam-- this time now at Arcadia's portal, to prevent escape. The beam would shatter the portal and the thin magic that kept it open. No doubt it would cause confusion back at Fairy Tail, but now Arcadia and Zachary now had to deal with this strange man.

"By the way, I never introduced myself. My name is Kane. Summoner, Historian, collector of artifacts... Now, either you can hand over the key, or all of you can perish here in these ruins." he said smoothly as if it was a casual conversation.

Zachary struggled for a moment but realized they had to protect Leo. With his free hand as he tried to hold on to Leo, he took out his Keys-- the ones he recovered after he had dropped them on the ground. He quickly used his fingers to flip through them to soon find one he could use. "Open, Gate of the Winged Horse... " Zachary breathed, and then slashed the key in the air before him and Leo. "PEGASUS!!"

The eruption of light before them gave rise to Pegasus, once again taking flight into the air dramatically. The saphire and white colored steed took flight into the air and flew out the overhead of them. "Zachary, back so soon?" The horse spoke.

"Pegasus! This is an emergency. That man is attacking us! Please, defend us!" he cried.

The seemingly stuffy personality of the horse from before, quickly faded as he smiled. "As if you had to ask, my friend. Find safety and I will deal with this scoundrel. " the horse said bravely.

It was then that Pegasus gave a wide arch of his wings-- and flew upward. With it, strange crystals of ice formed around him as he flapped his wings. With one wide one, he sent several shards of ice flying for Kane and his flying Ghouler. Though the shards didn't seem to severley do any wounds, it was more than enough of a distraction to put the man on guard.

While Arcadia would no doubt try to help-- Zachary worked to move Leo, urging the lion to follow him to cover.

WC: 1043

Arcadia did not take such betrayal lightly. No one really does, but the barefoot slayer was permanently scarred by the betrayal of he childhood hero turning against her mother and herself. That fallen idol was no longer around, so the old man would be paying for more than his own transgressions. When he cut off their potential retreat on top of it all, the old man pushed away any mercy her heart may have sheltered for him. Since Zachary appeared to be helping Ajani, it looked like she should help Pegasus make sure the old man couldn't threaten her new friends or Ajani any further.

She willed herself back into Dragon Force, once more turning her blonde locks snow white and faerie green gaze a burning crimson. With Pegasus drawing their attention first, she conjured up a freezing snowstorm around the giant bird and old man. The frostbite of its ice and winds easily slowing the pair down. Tapping into her scissors, the barefoot slayer opened a hands free local portal that lead to an exit portal a few feet above their treacherous adversary. Arcadia was already sprinting forward as the entrance portal opened in front of her, dragon-like wings of hoarfrost growing from her back. Before passing through the portal, she invoked her displacement spell, making herself appear to the left of where she truly was.

The portal closed behind her and her magical hoarfrost wings spread holding her aloft over the giant bird and man. From above, she unleashed a glittering roar of freezing mist and razor ice, and flung ten icicle spikes. Launching five from each swing of her arms, two lodged in the man and three lodged in the giant bird. The other five missed completely, flying in an array of off target paths.

Any counterattack would sail through her displaced image, and she was in too close over the giant bird's back to fall prey to any frontal attack. Folding in her hoarfrost wings, Arcadia dropped down onto tback door jut tohe bird beside the old man. On landing, ice spread out over pay off the bird's back to temporarily freeze the man in place. In almost the same instant, she dropped Dragon Force, transforming into full ice dragon.

The ice dragon used her powerful wings and great icy bulk to drive both bird and old man
out of the conjured blizzard, straight into the ground below. The force of impact broke the old man's feet free of their iced over hold. If that did not kill them outright, it surely stunned or left either of them out cold.

Arcadia stopped shy of moving in to finish off the old man. No matter how she felt, this man wronged Zachary and Ajani more. She decided, it was not her place to decide the man's fate. She offered Pegasus the best approximation of smile a dragon's jaws could give. "We make a pretty good team." She lowered her head to the man, "If you can hear me, I wouldn't try anything else if I were you. Me or Pegasus will most def end you if you do. Otherwise, it's not my place to decide your fate. That right belongs to Ajani, and perhaps Zachary."

She lifted her faerie green gaze in the direction Zachary had taken Ajani for cover, ”How's Ajani? And.. I think what we do with this guy, is up to your two.” Arcadia remained in dragon form to guard the old man, in case he still had some tricks in mind.

WC: 588
Arcadia WC: 5268


(Damage to bird summon - 613.25
Damage to old man – 534.5*)
(*Only meant to give an idea of how hard her magic hit.)

Zachary couldn't truly see as his attention was getting the lion man to safety. He did feel the sudden drop in temperature, then the howl of wind as Acadia went full on ice queen in the drop of a dime. He didn't see, but when he did steal a glance, the demonic bird was now frozen solid and dropped out of the sky-- and Arcadia had become a dragon once more. It was pretty impressive for him to see as he looked to see her and Pegasus talk.

At the address to him, Zachary grimaced and looked to Leo. THough he held pressure on the wound, no real blood was lost-- but the strange magic mist was slipping through his fingers despite his pressure. "He is badly wounded-- and I don't know how to stop... whatever this from leaking out." he grunted aloud, Ruby on his shoulder giving sharp meows in concern.

Ajani moved his own paw to try and add pressure to the wound, his eyes closed from the pain and his teeth barred. "Leave me human. I'll be alright..."

"Quit being stubborn! Just go back to the Celestial World already so you can heal your wounds!" Zachary shouted. Ajani's eyes opened in surprise, looking right to Zachary. A sigh escaped him as he tried to give Ajani his space. "Yes, I know who you really are. You aren't a guardian-- you are THE Leo, aren't you." he said, more of a matter of fact. "Its why you wouldn't summon him yourself, cause you are him. That-- and the fact your wound isn't physical but magic is leaking out. You're a Celestila Spirit. It wasn't hard to figure out." Zachary revealed.

Ajani, or Leo as he was outed, was quiet for the moment. WHile that revelation sunk in-- something else was not right.

Pegasus saw it-- and Arcadia would smell it.

"LOOK OUT!!" Pegasus shouted.

In place of the ice that Arcadia had made, both the bird and the man-- suddenly glowed in a red light--- and erupted in a violent explosion!! (B rank level burst damage from summon) The summon -- even the body trapped in ice--- seemed to just combust like a fleshing human bomb. Needless to say the intense heat wouldn't be good for Arcadia, unless her ice was colder than the flames.

As the explosion erupted-- they heard another whistle. "Heh, a Dragon Slayer? I suspected as much, let alone one who was taught by one. Your' first generation right?" the same voice of Kane. Sure enough, several meters away in the fields, was Kane himself. The well-dressed man now stood among the field-- and alongside him were two ghoulish looking hounds. Or rather two beastly like creatures with 'brains' for heads, sickly muscle exposed along its body with razor sharp claws. They looked like cats, but with grizzly faces-- and long whipping retracting tongues. "Unfortunately, my infernal beasts have a good deal of tricks, as do I. "

Somehow he used magic to not only leave a duplicate of himself, but he somehow used it to make his summons explode, turning them into living bombs when they would have been defeated.

"You use your own summons as bombs?!" Zachary gasped, disgusted.

"Please... they are demons. They are a dime a dozen. Even when defeated they regrow-- " he said as casually as if they were just tools. "Now, youngsters, hand over the beast to me and his key... and I might leave you two alive. I am a busy man and I have an auction prepared for that key."

Needless to say, not only did this bastard want the key-- but not even for himself, but to sell it. If that only made Zachary upset-- imagine how pissed off a Fairy Tail Dragon Slayer gone all "mother of dragons" would react.

However-- the problem was he then sent the two 'lickers' after them. One for Arcadia, and one for Zachary. As good as Arcadia was, having 3 active targets might be a problem.

Zachary struggled, trying to decide what to do. He could heal his spirits-- but he could only do that to ones he was contracted to. Because Leo wasn't one, his magic wouldn't work without his key. Unsure what else to do, Zachary took out another key. "OPEN-- Gate of the Clock Constellation!" Zachary shouted, and swiped the key forward before him. "Horologium!"

The flash of light and celestial energy poured out before him-- and followed the sound of an 'alarm clock'. IN front of them was an odd creature in the shape of a round clock! The creature was multi-colored, looking like a kid's toy. However, his clock face had eyes and a nose. He wore an odd gear-like hat and in his little hands attached to his round body-- was a wand with another small clock on it.


The odd little spirit looked like a mix between a Magician and an alarm clock for lack of better description. Even when there, the clock gave a series of ticks, boops and beeps-- its own way of talking.

"Showtime! Please, help us!" he called out-- what he called his clock spirit beyond its traditional name.

As the first of the 'lickers' came into view, the vicious beast let out a howl and from its maw, fiery projectiles went flying. Upon closer examination, it was boney thorns that it shot out of its body-- which would be gross. However, Showtime was not disturbed.

With a loud series of beeps, it moved its wand forward and the hands-on its 'face' began to spin. Just as the projectiles got close---

--- they stopped. Zachary almost flinched, but soon saw that the bony shards and flames were soon suspended in mid-air, unmoving. Somehow, the little spirit was able to manipulate time itself and caused the attack to be frozen in time.

"Get away from my friend, you monsters!!" Pegasus cried as he flapped his wings fast-- casting a violent shimmering gale of wind out at the monster. The wind smacked right into the surprised licker, tossing it aside into a pillar of the ruins.

(Pegasus duration: 2/5. Showtime duration: 1/5 )
(WC: 1098)

Any ice created by Arcadia's recent magic certainly melted in the intensity of the explosion's flames and heat. The living ice her draconic body was made of, could never melt. Not even hellfire could melt that ice. Yet, she was not immune to fire. It was the vital magic inside her that made it living ice that was vulnerable. If her insides were baked too much, she would die like any other wizard exposed to lethal levels of fiery magic. Like her foster mother before her, a dragon shaped sculpture of never melting ice wolf's be left behind. Rigid and immobile, her icy form's flexibility would be lost with the vital magic sustaining her. The very rare Moon Drip, in theory, could melt the living ice of her draconic body, the same as it can the ice created by Iced Shell. Only, Arcadia would never hold still for that to be applied, and single vial would hardly leave a scratch. Not much return for the effort needed to gather any Moon Drip by anyone vile enough to try it.

So, the fiery explosion left behind puddles from only the ice generated by her slayer magic. Arcadia came out of the fiery blast with only charring here and there. She was lucky it was only one explosion, because two or three would have brought serious harm. Now she was just angry again. Arcadia cast the one healing spell she knew on herself, slowly freezing any fractures from the explosion. The magic Leo was leaking made her wonder if her spell would even work on the kind of wound he had. She also drew on her learned draconic heritage to temporarily boost her fortitude.

To take the edge off any more surprises Kane could throw, the ice dragon armored herself in an extra layer of magical ice. She turned to be greeted by the 'licker' sent her way. She traded letting the creature's fiery bony bolts strike at her side for moving in close. Between the added health, her ongoing healing and her ice armor, the'licker's' attack was too little too late. Arcadia's icy jaws clamped down around its midsection. Shaking her head back and forth, the ice dragon turned it into a ragdoll. In the third shake, she flung it hard into one of the Kanes.

Arcadia made sure her target Kane was frozen in place with the same spell that had frozen the original to his now exploded giant bird. Ice spreading out and momentarily freezing the target Kane on place. Sadly, it was the copy, and not the original she was hoping to target. A blast of her frosty glittering, razor ice breath followed the 'licker' to hit it and the copy of Kane. She had no way of knowing it was the copy, and so she had a big choice to make. She could turn her attention to the other Kane or focus on finishing off the Kane and'licker' she was already after.

Without knowing which Kane was the real one, it was too much of a risk to let the first one in her sights go. It was better to whittle down enemy numbers than find herself surrounded by wounded but still dangerous adversaries. The ice dragon squashed the 'licker' under one forefoot and moved to try and pin or squish the copy under her other forefoot. To keep the Kane she couldn't deal with directly get in his toes, Arcadia created three illusions of herself. One stayed with her to visually surround the 'licker' and copy of Kane. The other two were a bluff to give the Kane pause, before doing anything else. By themselves, they could do anything else but be seen. They would not stop Kane, if he was not fooled by their illusion.

WC: 630
Arcadia WC: 5898

Zachary witnessed as Arcadia was using her ice in ways he couldn't imagine. He was in awe of the power these Dragon Slayers had-- let alone those who were actually taught by real dragons. They were incredible. "No way... she's amazing. I didn't know Ice could do all that." he said in awe.

However, his attention was drawn back to Showtime, as the little clock beeped and waved his wand around to keep Zachary's attention on his immediate surroudnings. Zachary looked back to Leo, trying to keep his wound closed. Leo merely grunted as he kept the wound closed, the magic energy starting to leak out less and less-- but still painful to the lion.

"YOu need to leave, now! If you go back to the Celestial World, your wounds will be restored! " Zachary urged.

"I can't... I refused to go back..." Leo growled.

"Why?" Zachary asked, Ruby on his shoulder concerned with a whine. "I don't know how long you been here, but if you stay with this wound you're as good as dead."

Leo's eyes narrowed in frustration and pain. "If I return, I cannot take my key with me. It will be left here for anyone to pick up. I ... I cannot take that risk." he grunted.

"Stop it! I know how you feel but your life is not worth being so stubborn." Zachary urged. He struggled to figure something out. It was then he looked sad but tried one last time. "Please, lend me your key."

"What?" Leo growled.

"I promise you-- if you give me your key, I will keep it safe and not let you be taken by this guy." Zachary urged, looking the lion in the eye. "The next time I see you or summon you, I promise I will return the key to you. Those are my conditions. If and only if you return to the celestial world now."

The white lion glared at Zachary, despite his determined look. Any other state he would have attacked, but he was beyond that at the moment. "Why do you think I would agree to such a thing? For all I know, you could be lying. I would have no power to oppose you after."

"I get it-- but I keep to my word. I promise you, I won't turn against my word. Right now, what I'm more concern about is your safety. So please! Let me have your key, and I'll keep it out of his hands. I promise!" Zachary begged, desperate to prove he was sincere.

Leo hesitated for a moment and looked around. With Kane still about and his exploding demons nearby, he had little choice.

"I can heal you but I need to be contracted to you for my magic to work. Either way we cannot keep arguing like this. I promise you, I will honor the deal. Trust me with your key, and when we meet next-- I will hand it back to you. What do you really have to loose either way?" Zachary urged.

A grunt escaped Leo as he realized he had no really good options. Slowly with his free paw, he reached up into his mane. He tugged something to snap and from the fur, he pulled out a golden key-- etched with elegant, fiery designs with the zodiac symbol of Leo on the top of the key. Leo had the key all this time on his person.

"Do not allow my trust in you to be disgraced, human. If you do not mean what you say.. my hope in your kind is gone." he said with a growl. It was then Leo's body shined-- and began to vanish. In a matter of seconds, the white lion faded from view before Zachary as he took the key from him.

Meanwhile, Kane focused on the dragons around him. He snickered with amusement. "Three of you hm? Well, any mage understands the value of misdirection." He extended his hands, as his lickers moved around. With it-- fire blasted forward in a wide volley, easily eclisping him-- obscuring his person among the flames that shot out for one version of Arcadia.

From above, Pegasus saw that Arcadia was doing well for the moment, but his eyes were focused on the Lickers too. THe one he had thrown was slowly coming too, and shook off his annoance. "Careful! The one before is coming back for more!" the horse cried out.

WC: 800