Chapter 70: The Stomach of the Shadow
The world, for the two Dragon Slayers, was a nauseating, purple-hued nightmare. It was dark, cramped, and smelled faintly of ectoplasm and the half-eaten fish Happy was currently crunching on. They were all pressed together in the bizarre, non-Euclidean space that constituted the inside of Mew's transformed state, a living pocket dimension that, unfortunately for them, swayed with every step its host took.
"I'm gonna be sick," Natsu groaned, his face a distinct shade of green.
"You and me both," Gajeel grunted from beside him, his own face an unhealthy shade of grey. "This is worse than a train, a boat, and a rickety cart combined. Stop squirming, Salamander, you're making it worse!"
"Both of you, shut up!" Lucy whispered frantically, her face illuminated by the only light source: a floating, psychic orb that showed them a perfect, third-person view of Erza. The ghost-like creature Mew had become was a silent, two-dimensional predator, merged perfectly with the shadow cast by Erza's armored form as she walked the long causeway. They saw what the shadow saw.
Gray, already shirtless from the stuffy confines, watched the orb with cold, silent intensity. Juvia, meanwhile, was having the time of her life, practically melting against his side. "Oh, Gray-sama," she sighed dreamily. "Trapped together in the dark... it's so romantic."
"Aye!" Happy chirped, the sound of him crunching on a fish spine echoing unnervingly in the fleshy space. "It's cozy!"
Their bickering died as the great stone doors of the tower opened. They watched through their psychic viewscreen as Erza came face-to-face with her past. They saw the manic glee on Millianna's face, the cold resentment in Sho's eyes. Lucy's own eyes filled with tears, her hand flying to her mouth. She could feel Erza's agony, the sheer willpower it took not to fight back.
When Wally tackled her to the ground and Millianna wrapped her in bindings, Natsu snapped.
A low growl vibrated through their hiding place. A dangerous, orange light began to emanate from his skin, causing the purple walls to shimmer violently. "That's it," he snarled, his voice low and guttural. "They touched her. I'm getting out."
"No, you don't!" Gray hissed, grabbing one of Natsu's arms.
Gajeel, looking even greener from the sudden thrashing, let out a furious roar and grabbed the other arm. "Stay put, you flaming idiot! You're gonna make me hurl! And you'll blow the plan!"
The memory of how they'd gotten here flashed through Lucy's mind, as vivid as the scene playing out before them. They were on the cliff, the salty wind whipping at them, just after Erza had declared her intent to go alone.
"No," Gray had said, his voice cutting through the emotional turmoil. "That's not a plan, Erza, that's a suicide note."
"But he'll sense you!" Erza had insisted, her voice desperate.
"What if he thinks you're alone?" Lucy had interjected, the idea sparking in her mind. "Mew, can you hide us?"
In response, Mew had floated forward. It spun in the air, its form stretching and distorting until it was no longer a small, pink creature, but a large, grinning, purple specter. It cackled, then melted completely into Gray's own shadow on the ground before popping back out with another grin, demonstrating its perfect stealth.
"Okay, it can hide itself," Gajeel had grumbled. "How does that help us?"
As if in answer, the creature floated before them and opened its mouth impossibly wide, revealing a swirling, dark abyss within. A strange, otherworldly pressure seemed to pull at them from the void.
A stunned silence fell over the group. Natsu and Gajeel spoke in perfect, horrified unison. "No way! We are not getting in there!"
Gray, however, looked at the creature with a flash of strategic brilliance. He ignored the disgusted Dragon Slayers. "This is how we do it," he announced, taking charge. "Phase one: Infiltration. We all get inside... that thing. It merges with Erza's shadow. You walk in, Erza, and play your part perfectly. Let them capture you. It's the only way to get us all inside without him knowing."
He'd then laid out the rest of the plan: using their surprise appearance to clear the board of Jellal's lieutenants before Natsu's final confrontation. Erza had looked at them, at the sheer, insane brilliance of the plan, and agreed.
The struggle inside the ghost ceased. They watched in grim silence as Erza was dragged to a dungeon cell and chained to the wall. These chains seemed to have the ability to drain the magic power of the prisoner and they started draining her magic as soon as she was bound by them. As the guards' footsteps faded, the shadow in the corner of the cell deepened and stretched. It peeled itself off the floor, rising into the three-dimensional, grinning form of the creature, which then, with a disgusting, wet lurch, coughed up its entire contents onto the stone floor.
The team landed in a messy, undignified pile of limbs. At the bottom of the heap, Natsu and Gajeel were both groaning, clutching their stomachs for a moment before the promise of a fight finally overrode their crippling nausea.
Erza looked at the messy pile of her friends. She let out a long, weary sigh, a mixture of exasperation and profound relief washing over her.
"...So the plan actually worked," she murmured, a faint, tired smile touching her lips. "I can't believe you all fit in there."
"Plan's a go," Gray said, already on his feet and pulling on his shirt as if being regurgitated by a ghost was a perfectly normal Tuesday. He looked at the heavy chains binding Erza. "Gajeel."
Gajeel cracked his knuckles, the nausea instantly replaced by a thirst for destruction. "With pleasure." He walked over and, with a single, contemptuous twist, shattered the iron manacles.
Natsu, his own motion sickness forgotten, slammed his fists together, sparks flying. "Alright! I've been cooped up in there for way too long! Time to hunt!"
"We split up," Gray commanded, his voice crisp and clear. "Cover more ground, find them faster. Neutralize Jellal's pawns. All of them."
They looked at each other, a silent agreement passing between them. This was it. The real fight was beginning.
"Juvia will go with Gray-sama!"
"Aye! I'm with Natsu!"
Gajeel grunted, giving Lucy a sideways glance. "Guess that leaves me with you, Bunny Girl. Try to keep up."
Lucy nodded, her expression determined. "Be careful, everyone."
"Erza you should stay here and recover your magic power while we deal with them. After that we will come to get you and we will face Jellal together." Gray said to Erza.
Without another word, the three teams broke off. Natsu and Happy, following the scent of an enemy and the promise of a fight, charged down a dark corridor to the left. Gray and Juvia, sensing a powerful magic signature from above, headed for a set of stairs. And Lucy and Gajeel took the final path, their footsteps echoing as they began their own hunt for Jellal's followers.
The hunt was on.
Erza, now free in the cold, empty cell, leaned against the damp wall for support. She watched them go, a storm of emotions warring within her. It was the most ridiculous, reckless, and idiotic plan she had ever heard of. And as a sliver of genuine hope ignited in her heart for the first time in a decade, she knew, with absolute certainty, that it was going to work.
#Join my [email protected]/Eros_Storge and get access to advanced chapters early