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Wheels of Fire	By : Rhov Category: +. to F > Fairy Tail Views: 22718 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 2
Disclaimer: Fairy Tail is the property of Hiro Mashima. I make no money, I just do this for my own pleasure.

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Chapter 26
The Army Over the Mountain

Lucy stepped out of the car and stretched her arms above her head. Fireball Natsu's car might be quicker than a train, which had to make stops in every town, but at least on a train she could get up and walk around a little.
A full day with a lack of mobility seemed even more annoying to Gray and Loke as they climbed out of the backseat and worked out stiff muscles. On the other hand, Edo-Natsu stayed right where he was with his hands still on the steering wheel. He looked reluctant to leave now that he had transportation once again.
"Fireball, we need to…"
Gray put a hand on her shoulder. She jolted and looked around. Silently, Gray shook his head. She wondered what he meant.
"People know Natsu Dragneel," Loke explained. "This isn't the crazy Salamander all of Fiore knows."
"He's right," Gray said, trying to sound sympathetic. "We're about to meet our client. They hired two wizards, you and me. Loke is here as your Celestial Spirit. Dragion … sorry to say, but he shouldn't even be here."
Lucy bristled at that. "He has just as much right—"
Gray's voice rose. "He is not a wizard, Lucy!"
"They're right." All of them looked over to the car as Edo-Natsu muttered. "I'm not Salamander, and I'm not a wizard. I shouldn't meet up with your client. They wouldn't understand, and it would tarnish Salamander's reputation." His narrow eyes gazed up to Lucy. "If our roles were reversed, and you were in Edolas, with people expecting Lucy Ashley, her attitude, her aggressiveness, wouldn't it be too weird for them to see a gentle princess like you?"
Although hearing him call her a princess made Lucy blush, she still wanted to protest. However, she knew he was right. As soon as he stepped out of that car, Edo-Natsu would go back to cowering behind her. Such timidity would look bad for Fairy Tail in general, but especially for Natsu Dragneel whenever he returned home.
"I'll drive around town, try to find a store that sells maps," Fireball suggested. "I'd like to study the road system in this area of Fiore. If that's okay with everyone," he added. "If not, I can stick around and drive you to the hotel once you're done."
"No," Gray said before Lucy could answer. "Sticking around for us will be boring. Go have fun." He smiled in a friendly way, although Lucy looked put off. She would have liked to cruise around town with Fireball after their meeting. Instead, she would have to spend that time walking to the hotel.
As the car drove off, Gray and Loke turned to the mansion of the man who hired them. Lucy watched the car leave until Gray called for her. She hated to admit it, but Gray was right. Natsu Dragion really could not be of much help on a mission that required the ability to use magic.
They sat around drinking tea in a posh parlor as they listened to the wealthy man give them the details of the mission. Lucy thought it sounded really hard. If the mission was this challenging, why didn't they bring Erza along, or…?
Or Natsu.
She thought it for one second before her heart fell slightly. She really was missing that destructive pyromaniac.
There was a baron with an army of his own. Fiore was doing nothing against him, since he was royalty, and since his army had killed no one so far. One by one, villages and small towns fell under the thralldom of this baron, purely out of fear of his army. The man who hired them was descended from the founder of this idyllic town, and over many generations his family had acquired quite a fortune mining a magical ore in the nearby mountain. Now the baron had his sights set on the mountain and its ore. He had plans to wipe out this quaint village and turn it into a full mining operation.
This man had been trying to work out some sort of deal with the baron. Even if they had to give away the mountain, he was not about to have all the people in the town lose their homes. Plus extensive mining would destroy the delicate wildlife that thrived on the mountain. The baron finally gave a long list of demands, which included yearly tribute in gold and the plutocrat had to give his only daughter over as a wife for the baron's son. Lucy bristled at the very idea, remembering when her own father had informed her of a marriage he arranged for the sake of business. As they spoke, a tiny head looked around a corner before a maid pulled her back. This daughter in question appeared to be no more than fourteen.
There was no question in Lucy's mind. They had to fight. However, it was them against a nobleman's army.
"If all else fails," the man said, "blockade the mine. Make it completely inaccessible. If he can't get at the ore, he has no reason to come here. We have no other things of value."
Gray looked thoughtful. "I could easily freeze a mine solid with ice, but up in the mountains, that ice won't melt for years, maybe decades. Your family would lose a lot of money."
The gentleman smiled at his concern. "I am ready to hand that mine over to this baron in order to save this town. We would have lost it anyway. What I refuse to lose is the town my ancestors built, the people here, the friendships, and most importantly, my family. No wealth can replace someone you love."
Lucy's head dropped as she thought about her father. "The world needs more parents like you."
It was a quiet walk to the hotel, and Loke went back home to rest up for what would be a tremendous fight.
"You do realize," Gray said, "with just the two of us, we might not be able to fight a whole army."
"I think he knows that too," Lucy agreed. "That's why he said to block the mine. At any cost, we need to protect that girl and this town."
"I would almost suggest we block the mine now, and if we win, we'll just melt it later, but … that would take Natsu's flames."
Lucy pouted, realizing he was right. "We could really use him."
"I hate to say it," Gray grumbled, "but our team needs him." He glanced over to Lucy. She was biting her lip, looking conflicted. Gray felt bad for forcing her to see just how useless Edo-Natsu was on a guild mission. He equally hated admitting that, if Natsu was around, their plan for this mission would be completely different. Hell, with Natsu and Erza, they could easily stand up against a whole army. However, with just him and Lucy … no offense to Lucy, but Gray was really hoping this royal army was just a band of inept thugs.
… They weren't.
When they reached the hotel, Edo-Natsu was not back yet. He returned late that evening, and his face looked grim.
"You two are not prepared for this mission," he said immediately. "It was a good thing I checked out the road to the baron's castle." His brow tensed. "You need to see this."
In the dead of night, Edo-Natsu drove them along a winding mountain road. Lucy saw the cliff, but it was so dark, she could not see a bottom. Fireball's eyes were narrow and hard as he took the road with probably too much speed for night driving in the mountains. Just before she could warn him about his speed, he slammed on the breaks.
"You can see it from here. Any closer and they might see the car lights."
Lucy and Gray stepped out and saw the lights of many fires burning around a castle. Gray was really hoping to find just a few dozen soldiers, or even a hundred mercenaries. What they saw was a whole estate filled with campfires, pavilions set up for hundreds of soldiers, maybe a thousand. Lucy got a chill just looking at it. It was obvious they were preparing to invade the town.
"We can't fight all of them," she realized. "Could we call Fairy Tail for reinforcements?"
"No time," Gray said grimly. "From the look of things, they're ready to march out tomorrow, and with that many, they probably won't take the town peacefully."
"That's definitely the case," Edo-Natsu said from the car. "They have horses and weapons ready. If you guys had taken a train here, you would've been too late."
Gray scowled, but for now he set that issue aside. "We'll freeze the mine now. Maybe we can evacuate the town before morning."
"Gray, all those people will lose their homes."
"Better than their lives!" he shouted.
"The only reason Fiore has done nothing against this baron is that his army hasn't killed anyone."
"No one has ever fought back."
"Because they couldn't. We can."
"Not against that," he shouted, waving to the amassed army.
Edo-Natsu looked down at the castle thoughtfully. "There … is a way."
Lucy and Gray both looked back to him in surprise.
"I studied a map of the road system here. This mountain pass is the only route an army of that size could take. The road is narrow. We have a story in Edolas of ancient times, when a small band of three dozen elite soldiers held out against an army of many thousands by ambushing them on a mountain pass. You two have magic abilities that far surpass anything Edolas ever had. From what I saw of the weapons those soldiers are using, I don't think any of them can use magic like you guys can."
Loke appeared in a golden shimmer. "I think the three of us just might be worth three dozen soldiers. Forgive me, I sensed some of the conversation."
Edo-Natsu's eyes narrowed. "How could you sense it?"
"When I'm really attuned to Lucy, I can hear her voice and sense what's going on in this world. I sensed trouble, and I heard some of what you guys were talking about."
Fireball glared, wondering what other times Loke might have listened in on Lucy.
"I can stay out here on my own magic. Lucy can call out Gemini, who can then also use two keys. That gives you three Celestial Spirits without nearly killing yourself. For an army like this, I suggest Sagittarius, Aquarius, and Scorpio. You'll get maximum mass damage from those three."
"If we just shove them off the cliff, people will die," Lucy protested.
"Aries can create a wool cushion at the base of the cliff. She doesn't have to stay out for that to remain in place. Between Gray's ice and the power of your Spirits, you two can prevent the army from crossing the mountain. Meanwhile, I'll fight my way to this bastard baron. Maybe if we take him out, the whole army will retreat."
"This could really work," Gray admitted. "Good thinking, Loke."
Lucy reached back into the car window and hugged Edo-Natsu. "Good job, Natsu."
Loke bristled. "Hey! I was the one who came up with the plan. You should be hugging me."
Lucy rolled her eyes. "It's a good plan, but if it wasn't for Natsu driving out here ahead of time to scout out the area, we never would have known about this. It was also his idea to use the mountain pass to our advantage."
"I … I would have suggested it," Loke protested stubbornly.
"Let's get back to town," Edo-Natsu suggested. "We'll have to wake up early if we're going to drive back here in the morning and have enough time to set up the ambush."
Loke vanished, and Lucy climbed into the car, with Gray sitting in the back. Edo-Natsu carefully backed the car around and drove down the mountain. In the glow of the dashboard, Lucy realized his face was still grim. It was the face of a man ready for battle.
End of Chapter 26

A/N: Wheels of Fire is two years old today. Maybe writing 26 chapters in two years isn't all that impressive, but I'm happy where this story is going.
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Wheels of Fire