Face Your Fears (Fairy Tail Fanfic)

Find The Exit

{LEXI'S POV}
Lighting strikes. Thunder booms.

It hurts. I'm going to be devoured.

"He only delayed the inevitable. The first three seals are broken. I'll be released on the final day."

I wake up in a cold sweat, breathing hard. My mind replays the memory of that night in my head against my will. I involuntarily shudder. We were no match against him—the snake.

"No!" I slap my cheeks, leaving red marks. Today is supposed to be a fun day. If I succumb to terror now, I'll lose all my progress so far. And yet, I can't help but fret that Reiki's seal is weakening.

"Lexi!" Nashi kicks open the door to my room. "Oh, you're up. We gotta head over to Domus Flau!"

I swallow down my unnecessary panic. It'll be fine. We have bigger fish to fry. "Ugh. Coming."

I roll out of bed and grab the first clean clothes I can find before joining Reiki, Nashi, Avery, and Storm for a rushed breakfast.

Once at Domus Flau, we watch the audience file into the stands with growing anticipation as we wait for Mato-kun to explain the second event.

We've already decided that Avery will be the representative for Fairy Tail this time. It seems like she'll be competing against Whistle, Enigma, Lionel, Fae Marty, and Rum.

Finally, Mato-kun's voice echoes over the arena, ending the wait. "The second Storybook game is self-explanatory-kabo. It's called Find The Exit-kabo!"

The arena is revealed. Simply put, it's a rainbow hedge maze. I'm sure there are all sorts of magic tricks and traps within to confuse the contestants.

Avery and the others are all on one side of the arena. I can see a singular exit to the maze: a door on the opposite side. However, there's no clear path to it. Moreover, there are an assortment of colors and moving parts assaulting my eyes.

This morning over breakfast, I told Reiki and the rest about my storybook theory. They've taken popular stories for children and designed them into a game to show off talented youth.

I have a sneaking suspicion I know what story this maze is emulating, and it's not going to help.

Wonderland was a place of hallucinations, designed to turn you upside down. How did Alice make it out? I'm pretty sure she found a tree with a door in it, but that knowledge isn't going to help Avery.

She still has to find said door using her own wits.

Chapati takes over the explanation. "The rules are quite simple. There are two ways to earn points. The first person to find the exit will earn 5 points. The second person will earn 4 points, and so on. Each time you defeat another player, you'll get 1 point. Said defeated player can continue to try to find the exit, but defeating them a second time will not earn you any additional points. The teams will be ranked based on their total number of points in the end. If there's a tie, the one who exited the maze first will earn the higher rank. Best of luck!"

It's a fairly straightforward event. The person who finds the maze exit first gets a huge boost in points, but someone who defeats 2 other contestants and comes in second would overtake them point-wise. Balance between offense and speed is key.

The bright, multicolored hedge encircles the contestants. They can't get out anymore, unless it's through the exit door. The rainbow foliage then withdraws to create six different pathways. They all lead deeper into the maze. It's game time.

Whistle is the first to act. She brings her fingers to her mouth and whistles, loud and sharp.

A few seconds later, an army of dog-sized spiders crawls out of the maze. Whistle grins.

Beside me, I hear a terrified shriek. I look over at Nashi, who has leapt into Storm's arms, shaking. I look down at the spiders. I look back at Nashi.

"You're... afraid of spiders?"

"No!" Nashi yelps, tears in her eyes. Behind her, Storm nods his head vigorously.

"Seriously?" I didn't think Nashi was afraid of anything. "You can defeat dragons, but a tiny little arachnid bests you?"

"I'm okay with regular spiders!" Nashi protests. Storm shakes his head vigorously. "But those are completely different! Their babies would totally tie me up in a web and bite my head off!"

Whistle has none of the same qualms Nashi does. She bends down on one knee in front of the largest spider and places her hand on top of its head.

"I need your help. Take me to the exit please." She requests politely.

The spider hisses, then scurries down one of the six open paths. The hedge closes around Whistle as she follows, so only five paths remain.

Enigma calmly chooses a different path. I see her doing something with her hands, but they're kinda blurry from up here. That path is also blocked.

Fae Marty and Avery seem to be facing off already. Rum and Lionel quickly dart down different paths, neither wanting to get stuck in the middle of a potential fight right out of the gate.

"Get her Fae!" Opal shouts from the Blue Pegasus box. "You got this!"

Fae grins up at her teammate, giving him a thumbs up, a faint blush dusting her cheeks. Then she turns to Avery, her expression grave. "Sorry, but I can't afford to loose now."

"Earth vs metal, huh?" Avery cracks her knuckles. "I'm curious who'll break first."

Fae walks slowly towards Avery, the earth rumbling with every step. "I admit, I was worried about facing you in a competition of magic head on. But then I saw your extreme reaction to your friend's injuries after yesterday's fight. I had my suspicions, and now I've got you all figured out."

Fae raises her arm, pointing at Avery. The ground heaves and rises in a tidal wave of dirt. Avery crouches and leaps, eyes narrow.

Avery lands on top of the tidal wave as it crashes down where she once stood. She runs down the other side of the wave and back on to solid earth.

Avery forms a spear of... iron, it looks like. Of all the metals she can manipulate and control, iron is the only one she can spontaneously create without needing to find a mine beneath the earth.

Avery throws her spear at Fae with high speed and perfect accuracy.

Fae smirks. "Wanna know what our difference is? You're going to try to dodge all of my attacks, while I'm not going to try to dodge any of yours."

The spear is nearly invisible in the air. Fae steps straight towards it, her footstep echoing off the earth. In a second, Avery's hand twitches. Her spear freezes and drops. It doesn't even graze Fae.

One more inch and the sharp iron spear would've been up Fae's nostril, embedded in her brain. If Avery couldn't stop it in time, Fae would be dead. That was such a dangerous ploy.

Avery is in a cold sweat. Stopping one of her spears midflight isn't easy. It requires a lot of magic power and only works about 50% of the time.

But even that intense magic power drain wouldn't leave her looking like this. Avery's face is pale and she looks like she's about to pass out in fright.

"What's wrong with Avery?" Nashi frowns, her voice laced with concern. "I've never seen her like this."

"W-Why?" Avery stammers. "How—"

"—did I know you won't hurt me?" Fae finishes her question. "Because you have severe hemophobia. You can't watch me bleed without having a panic attack. So how are you going to beat me in a fair fight?"