Crimson Illusion || Fairy Tail [✔️]

🍃Chapter Five🍃Bats and Cats🍃

"What should we do, hide and wait it out? Or plunge straight into the fight?" I asked, pulling Cindy around a corner and ducking down.

"We could become the best ninjas in the world?" The fire mage suggested, throwing several punches at the air.

"See, this is why I trust you more than anyone else," I smirked. Cindy flipped her long braid over her shoulder.

"Oh please, I'm fabulous!"

"In your dreams. Let's go."

It was eerily quiet within the looming walls of the maze. If the other teams were fighting, we wouldn't know until it was too late.

"Hey, Mast-" Cindy began.

"Call me 'Master', and I'll flip out," I threatened. Cindy chuckled.

"Right. Anyway, what do you think that pumpkin guy meant when he said that the other team's wizards' weren't going to be our only opponents?" She inquired, raising a ball of dark fire for more light.

I frowned, thinking back to Mr. Pumpkin Face's warning.

"There will probably be small monsters or something lurking here and there..." I murmured. Cindy made a quiet noise of agreement. We both halted as we reached a turn in the path. Carefully, I poked my head around the corner and came face to face with a pair of glowing, red eyes. I was frozen. Until the Monster, which resembled a giant mutant bat, lunged forward. I would have been turned into Bat Chow right then and there if Cindy hadn't yanked me backwards.

"DIDN'T MEAN TO DISTURB YOU!" I screamed as Cindy and I high-tailed it back the way we had come. Right, left, left, Right, left, right, right, right, left, dead-end, back-track, right...

"It's still following us," Cindy grunted. I didn't need to ask how she knew that. The Bat thing was crashing into about every wall in existence as it pursued us. I threw a brief look over my shoulder, and my stomach did a nasty leap. The Bat was closing in on us. I could clearly make out slimy saliva dangling from its yellow fangs.

"LEFT OR RIGHT?!" Cindy yelled. I waved my arms about randomly to signal; 'IT DOESN'T MATTER, PICK EITHER BECAUSE BATMAN'S MUTANT TWIN IS ABOUT TO RIP US TO PIECES! ALSO WHO'S BATMAN?!

Cindy chose the left path, and we both dove down it, nearly smacking into the surprised looking Fairy Tail team.

"BAT!" Cindy hollered. The two Fairy Tail wizards, who I recognised as Natsu and Lucy, gaped over our shoulders. There was a deafening crash, an ear splitting scream, then silence. Slowly, I turned on the spot. The giant Bat was lying motionless on the earthy ground, knocked out cold.

"What is that thing?!" Lucy spluttered.

"Remember how Pumpkin Head told us there would be other challenges, apart from wizards?" I panted. Her mouth shaped a perfect 'O'.

"You okay, Cindy~san?" I asked.

"By 'okay', you mean; 'almost got killed by the evil overlord of vampire bats but not dead yet'? Then yeah. I'm okay."

I straightened up. The Fairy Tail wizards were staring at us, apparently waiting for something. For a moment, I was perplexed, then it dawned on me. Natsu and Lucy were on a different team. We had to get their sash, which probably meant we had to fight. Cindy suddenly darted past me without any warning, and hurled twin balls of fire directly at the Fairy Tail mages. There was an explosion.

"Direct hit!" I marvelled, then stiffened, eyes widening in shock. Cindy's flames were disappearing... Right into Natsu's mouth.

"What the hell?!" Cindy gasped, reeling backwards.

"Thanks for the snack!" The boy grinned, "I'm all fired up! FIRE DRAGON'S ROAR!"

Without pausing to think, I launched myself at Natsu, ducking under his flames, and slammed my shoulder into his chest. He tumbled backwards, leaving the unbearable heat of his Roar in his wake.

"Cindy~san, you'll have to take care of the other one! Your flames won't effect this guy!" I ordered.

"But-"

"Go!"

Cindy jumped past me once more, bee-lining towards Lucy. Unfortunately, at that moment, Natsu took advantage of my momentary distraction by slamming his fist into the ground at my feet. The ground cracked, and flames burst up, sending me rolling backwards. I slid to the wall, dodging the Fire Dragon Slayer's next attack, and inhaled deeply (A\N: HAHAHA 'DEEPLY' JUST RANDOMLY AUTO CORRECTED TO 'DERPY'!).

"Storm Phoenix's Wing Slash!"

Magic surrounded my arms, and elegant Phoenix feather blossomed from my wrists as I charged Natsu, sending the pink-haired mage crashing into a wall. Immediately, he jumped up again. We continued exchanging attacks; back and forth, back and forth, until yet another disturbance caused us to pause, mid-fight. Lamia Scale's Chelia Blendy, Mermaid Heel's Arana Webb, and Mermaid Heel's Milliana were tumbling towards us. Natsu and I scrambled to the wall, just barely avoiding the three girls as they rolled past.

"Weird..." I muttered, then raised my fists in a 'ready' stance. Natsu grinned again.

"I GOT TWO SASHES!"

I turned my gaze on Milliana, who had evidently detached herself from the fray, and was now waving two bright pink sashes around wildly. Instinctively, my hand went to my waist, where I had tied Cindy and I's sash. It was gone. So was Natsu's. We stared at each other, dumbfounded.

"Lucy's going to kill me," He said after a long silence.