Chapter 8 - The Hunt Begins

Fairy Tail: Paths of the Soul

Amber woke up to the sound of something crashing on the floor, immediately sitting upright in her bed. She had the body of a child, and looked around find herself in the room with metal walls once again. A cold breeze blew through the cloth door at the end of the bed, sending a chill up Amber’s spine, and despite her instincts screaming at her to stay put she crawled off the bed and headed for the exit. She took Armeria for comfort as well, taking her small hand in her own to walk together. A long hallway stretched into the darkness ahead of them, blinking lights and strange machinery covering the walls.

Amber and Armeria pushed on, occasionally catching a glimpse of something moving in the darkness just beyond their sight. Eventually, Amber felt her foot hit something, and looked down to see a mechanical bug like thing staring up at her. "Aaaahhhh!" She screamed, hiding behind Armeria as it scuttled away. Tears well up in her eyes as she waited for the clicking of the insect's legs to fade. Only then did she have the courage to look again, finding Armeria sitting on the floor in front of her.

"We should stay here." She suggested in her usual monotone voice.

Amber wiped her eyes, slowly pushing herself back to her feet. "What do you mean?" Armeria stood up as well, and the walls of the hallway suddenly faded away into darkness. Amber looked around franticly, seeing a number of small blue lights blink on all around her. Eventually it grew bright enough to see again, and Amber was surrounded by a swarm of mechanical insects on all sides. She didn't know what to do, but suddenly one of them emitted an ear splittingly loud screech.

Amber had just enough time to cover her ears before it stopped, however another began screeching before she could make sense of what was going on. The pattern continued, and Amber pushed harder and harder on her ears each time. She reached out for Armeria but she was missing, leaving her alone amongst the crying machines. "Armeria?! Come back!" She called franticly. "Don't leave!" It was useless, Armeria was nowhere to be found. Leaving Amber to collapse in the center of the circle. "Don't leave me alone!"

Amber opened her eyes again, finding herself in the hotel room they had rented the night before. The shrill sound persisted however, making her clasp her hands over her ears again. It didn't help so Amber's next thought was to fold the pillow around her head, but this proved futile as well. "Shelly!" She cried out, curling into a ball under the blankets. "Shelly, help me!"

Shelly sat upright in an instant. She rolled out of bed and scrambled to Amber's side, trying to assess the problem. "I-I'm here." Nothing seemed wrong, at least on the surface, and Shelly didn't know what to do. "What's wrong?"

Amber didn't hear her over the sound, but saw Shelly approach out of the corner of her eye. "Shut it off! Please shut it off!"

Shelly couldn't figure out what she was referring to at first, but caught a glimpse of Armeria sitting on a windowsill and holding out an alarm clock in her tiny hands. Shelly raced across the room and swatted it away, hitting it hard enough to knock something loose inside and stop the ringing. She spun around again and was relieved to see Amber had relaxed, but hung her head none the less. "I-I'm sorry. We were supposed to start early, so I set an alarm to wake us up."

"It's alright." Amber said quickly, noticing Shelly's concerned look. "I'm ok, really."

Shelly watched her for a moment, and Amber got the feeling that she didn't believe her again. "Are you sure?" She glanced back at the broken alarm clock on the floor, then again at Armeria on the windowsill. "You uh, kind of do that a lot."

Amber blushed, rolling over in her bed in an attempt to hide it. "I just... I don't like loud noises. They make my ears hurt." While not really a good thing, Shelly was relieved that it wasn't anything more serious. Amber shuffled under her blankets, still not comfortable talking about herself. "Please don't tell the others. Please?"

Before Shelly could answer, the door to their room burst opened and [Geno Aztech|Geno]] skidded to a halt at the foot of Amber's bed. "I heard screaming. You two alright?"

After glancing back at Amber for a moment Shelly quickly wrapped a blanket around herself, despite still being fully clothed. "Geno, this is the girls' room! Get out!"

"But-." He stuttered.

Shelly puffed out her cheeks, pushing Geno towards the door. "Get out, get out, get out!" His didn't move at first, but slowly began backing away after finding nothing wrong. Shelly leaned back against the door once he was gone, then smiled her usual innocent smile at Amber again. "Don't worry Amber. Your secret's safe with me. I promise." Amber smiled weakly as Shelly dropped her blanket back on the bed. "So that's why you fell off the train platform yesterday? Because of the whistle?" Amber nodded. "And why you ran away from the arena back home?" Amber blushed this time, but nodded again. "Alright, I think I get it." Shelly took out her travel back and headed into the bathroom, coming out a minute later already dressed. "Well? Ready to start your first job?" She asked excitedly.

Forgetting about her nightmare, Amber picked up her bundle of clothes and nodded. "Yeah, let's go."

They met with Axel, Geno, and Zeke in the lobby and, after a short break for breakfast, set out to begin their mission. They began heading up a spiral staircase that lead higher into the canopy, wherein another level of houses and pathways sprawled out in every direction. Amber let the others lead, taking more time to see the sights of this strange town now that she had a better vantage point.

Compared to the lower level, the walkways above where more frequent and much more crowded. There was still plenty of room between people, but Amber kept her distance from the edge regardless, not wanting to risk being bumped into the rope nets that acted as a guardrail. She was pulled from her somewhat pleasant stroll when she heard Zeke cry out ahead of them. "Axel! Axel, I smell fish!"

"Yeah, me too." Axel agreed, though he sounded more annoyed by it than exited. "I think that's why." He pointed below to the base of another large tree with a much larger dock built around its roots.

Amber looked on just in time to see one of the cranes lift a net full of fish from one of the ships, though what really caught her eye where a trio of similar ships lifted out of the water on stilts. It took a moment, but she began to spot small holes over the deck of one. The second had a large gap near the bow, and the third was almost broken in half.

Apparently the others had noticed as well, as Geno soon spoke up. "Wow. What's been going on there?"

"Maybe they've got a new pilot?" Axel suggested with half a smile.

"Maybe..." Shelly mumbled, crossing her arms to think. "But what could they have hit that damaged them so much?" Axel and Geno both scratched their heads, shrugging their shoulders after a moment. Shelly shrugged too, turning back to the road ahead of them. "Well, we have a job to do. I guess we can ask about it later." She began down the walkway again, waving for the others to follow. "C'mon, we're almost there."

A few minutes later the group descended back down to the lower level, and Amber spotted a single massive tree rising up from the water in the center of a clearing up ahead. More houses dotted the outsides, though what really drew her eye was a strange orange light glowing from inside the branches at the top. If Amber didn't know any better, she'd have thought the tree was on fire. A single dock connected it to the rest of the town, and Amber stopped just as the others began to cross it. "Where are we going?"

"This is Aged Pelt." Shelly said simply, spinning around to walk backwards down the dock as she explained. "It's a mage guild like ours, but they specialise in magic artifacts and stuff." She turned back around and looked up at the light beaming from the top of the tree. "It's kind of like a museum, if that gives you a better idea."

"Basically they collect old stuff." Axel complained. "Is that what we're here for? To find something for them?"

Geno slammed his fists together. "Long as it gets us a good workout, I'm good with that."

Shelly rolled her eyes and began walking a little faster, apparently growing annoyed with her teammates attitudes. "Just don't break anything." She called back at the both of them. Amber giggled, but quickly calmed herself as they came upon the front door.

Shelly activated a small lacrima next to the door, which began to glow a light blue color as a female voice echoed around them. "Welcome to Aged Pelt. What can we do for you?"

Shelly opened her mouth to say something, however Zeke flew from Axel's shoulder to her head and said. "What are you going to tell them?"

Shelly brushed him away, trying to shush him as the voice echoed again. "Pardon?"

"We're mages from Blazing Soul." Shelly announced, handing Zeke to Axel to keep him from interrupting again. "We came about the job request you posted."

There was a slight pause, then the door slowly opened with a creek. "Please come in. I'll be down to greet you in a moment." Shelly nodded as the lacrima clicked off, and she waved the others through the door after her.

Amber was the last to follow, still taken in by the massive light held at the top of the tree. A large circular room almost three stories high greeted them once inside, bookshelves lining every wall and a number of study desks in the center. The inside held its own spender as well, however everyone's attention was drawn to a staircase next to them by the same voice as the one from the lacrima. "This way please." They all looked up to see a purple haired woman in a long white robe standing part way down the stairs. "The Master will be with you shortly."

"Thanks." Shelly beamed, obviously more than impressed by the book collection before them than the others. "C'mon guys." Amber followed her up the stairs, looking back to see Axel and Geno slowly trudging after them. It was apparent from the looks on their faces that they were bored already; a fact that Amber couldn't help but smile at.

The room above was smaller than the one below, possessing a number of glass cases filled with all manner of things. Their guide walked to one of a number of doors along the walls as the others looked around, and knocked a few times. "Master Vulcanus, there are some people here to see you."

At first there was no answer, but then an eccentric voice called through the door. "Show them in!"

The woman who had greeted them sighed, but then held the door opened for everyone to enter. Inside was another room with a mountain of books haphazardly piled almost to the ceiling, and more bookshelves and glass cases littering the walls. There didn't seem to be anyone present, however after closing the door their guide clasped her hands behind her back and said. "May I present, Rondo Vulcanus. Guild Master of Aged Pelt."

"Thank you Miki!" Came a voice from the top of the book pile. "You're always so helpful." Everyone looked up just in time to see someone slide down the pile and land just in front of them, books landing all around him. He sported a purple long sleeve shirt with a matching scarf and a held his blond hair out of his eyes with a purple headband. He smiled up at them with a set of pearly white teeth and purple eyes and said. "Pleasure to meet you all. My-." A shadow loomed over him just as he had begun to speak, and a second later the pile of books he had been sitting on came crashing down over top of him to stop his introduction mid-sentence. Everyone was stunned into silence as the dust cleared, not sure exactly what to think.

Miki sighed again. "Honestly Master. Try to present yourself in a more dignified manner." She snapped her fingers, making toppled texts and guides began disappear in a flash and reorganising themselves back on the bookshelves around the room. "Your hubris set's the wrong impression."

The last of the books lifted from the floor, revealing Rondo laying on the ground with a slightly embarrassed look on his face. "Yes. Your right Miki. I'm sorry." He jumped back to his feet and brushed himself off, apparently still a little sore from having so many books land on him. "So tell me. Who the heck are you?" Miki sighed again, rubbing her forehead in exasperation, but chose not to say anything this time.

Nobody answered at first, still trying to fathom how a man such as this led a guild. After an awkward silence, Shelly finally spoke up. "M-my names Shelly Vamiro." She spoke timidly, not knowing how to act in the presence of such an eccentric person. "We're all part of the Thrill Seekers team."

"Ah yes, your Davin's little girl." Rondo blurted. Shelly nodded slightly, and Rondo leaned in closer to her. She took a step back, beginning to think there was something on her face, but he simply smiled again. "I must say your resemblance to your mother is striking."

Shelly stepped back again. "Y-yeah." She looked down at the floor and crossed her arms over her chest, and Amber noticed that she seemed to be tensing up. "Dad says that a lot."

"I bet he does." Before Amber had time to think about it, Rondo had apparently moved on to the others. "So if that's who you are, these two must be the Dragon Slayer and the brawler of Blazing Soul. Yes?" He gestured to Axel and Geno respectively, then glanced at Zeke sitting on Axel's shoulder. "And of course your adorable little feline companion."

"You got it!" Zeke barked proudly.

"And who is this?" He asked, abruptly turning in Amber's direction. "I don't think I've seen you before. Have I?"

"N-no." Amber stuttered. He was so abrupt that it made her head spin, making it difficult to organise her thoughts. She stepped back as well, beginning to understand why Shelly seemed so uncomfortable as the focus of Rondo’s attention. "My, uh... My name's Amber."

"Amber, a lovely name. Lovely stone too." He stepped back, and began scanning around the room for something else. "What about the other fellow?" He enquired, leaning back on the desk behind him. "What was his name again? Valley? Chasm?"

Shelly looked back at the others, who all shrugged. "You mean Rift?" She suggested.

"Yes, that's it. Rift. The one with the morbid sounding alias." He said snapping his fingers.

Just when it seemed like Rondo would never stop talking, Miki cleared her throat to cut him off. "Master, they are hear about a job we sent out." You wouldn't have known it by her voice, but her face betrayed the fact that she had become slightly more annoyed by Rondo's actions thus far. "Please try and remain on topic."

"Right, right. Of course." He said apologetically, apparently trying to quell Miki's built up frustration. He took a deep breath, than began to explain in a voice much calmer than before. "We need you to locate a boat we lost in the swamp some time ago."

"We just have to find a boat?" Axel asked confused.

"Yes, a fascinating craft really. It uses the-." Rondo stopped himself upon hearing Miki give a particularly loud cough, and his eccentric voice calmed once again. "Well, in truth it's the cargo that we want you to recover." After a slight pause he stepped around the desk and produced a small journal from one of its drawers. "We've recorded the few details we have in this book. It should be invaluable in your search."

Shelly took the book and began flipping through the pages. While she did, Geno stepped up. "If that's all you need to do, why bother asking another guild for help?"

"Well, we aren't a very big guild." Rondo explained, sounding a little embarrassed. "There's maybe a dozen of us in total. And we've been tasked with figuring out what's been happening to the fishing boats lately."

Hearing that reminded each of them of the ruined boats they passed on the way here. "What's been happening to the fishing boats?" Zeke asked after a slight pause.

"We suspect them to be victims of a rouge monster attack." Miki interrupted. "We do not know very much however, as they only began a few months ago and we often hear about an occurrence too late to be of any help."

"Which is why the job was listed as requiring five people to complete." Rondo added. "Seeing as you came with only four, I implore you to exercise caution if you intend to see this through."

Everyone's eyes soon fell on Shelly, who had a nervous smile on her face as she tried her best to avoid eye contact with her team. "Oh, so that's why..." She muttered, thinking back to her conversation with Jaina before they had departed. "Well, it's too late to back down now. We said we'd do the job, so we'll do the job." She said confidently.

"As long as you're sure." After a moment, Rondo's expression changed, and his voice regained the same ecstatic tone it had when they entered. "Well, I wish you luck then. I have research to return too." With a single leap, Rondo landed on top a bookshelves behind his desk and began reading from one of the books that had buried him not minuets ago. "Miki, would you be so kind so to show our guests on their way?"

"Not at all." Miki replied, opening the door for the others again. "This way please."

After a short walk through town, and waiving off an apology from Miki on behalf of Rondo's actions, the group arrived at the edge of Treetop town. Taking a moment to look out at the swamp that stretched out before them, Shelly retrieved her sketchbook and began drawing something. Amber leaned over her shoulder to see what it was her just as she turned the book out toward the water and called "Pict Magic: Transport!"

In a bright flash Shelly's picture sprang off the paper and landed in the water, a small boat with fish like fins on the back. Amber crept closer for a better look, amazed by what she had just seen, while Geno began to chuckle. "Always with the cutesy stuff, huh?" He said, pointing to a small bunny face acting as a figurehead.

"What's wrong with that?" Shelly huffed defensively. "I like what I like." Geno laughed, but slid down to the water's edge and jumped on. Shelly did the same, hopping aboard the small vessel and holding a hand out to Amber. "You coming?"

She thought about it for a moment, then remembered Axel's motion sickness problem; and how close they would all be to each other in such a small boat. "Isn't Axel going to-?" She turned to look at him as she spoke, but cut herself off when she saw Zeke wrap his tale around Axel's waist and grab hold of the back of his shirt.

Wings grew from the tiny felines back, and he lifted Axel off the ground with surprising ease. "Course I'm going too." He said, apparently a little insulted. "What? You think I was going to ride a train here and not do any work?"

Amber huffed, becoming slightly annoyed, and looked down at Shelly's small boat again. Even if Axel wasn't riding with them, it still looked too small to fit everyone. She looked back at Axel for a second, then had an idea. "Hold on." She tapped at her large belt. "Armeria. King's shield."

Her belt disassembled into pieces and flowed to her arm, reshaping into a large blue shield. It resembled a teardrop with an array of five diamond shaped blades fanned over the bottom. The others watched in awe as Amber threw her new weapon out over the water and jumped after it. Just as they were both about to hit the water, the shield stopped in mid-air and Amber landed on it as if it was a surf board.

She circled around Shelly's boat with the momentum of her jump, hovering just inches from the water, and stopped on the side opposite the shore. "Wow! You can fly?" Shelly asked, obviously more than a little jealous. "That's incredible."

"Kind of." Amber said with a smile, a little embarrassed after having shown off. "Armeria's the one who can fly. All I do is steer, really."

Geno pushed off of the shore and the boats fish fins began paddling through the water, setting the group on its way. "That's still pretty cool. Bet flying can come in handy." Amber nodded, floating alongside the boat to match its speed. Axel and Zeke followed along on the other side, looking around at the trees that they passed by.

"So where are we supposed to look exactly?" Axel asked, scanning in every direction for danger.

"Oh yeah." Shelly began digging into her bag, pulling out a few papers before finally reaching the journal Rondo had given them. "The boat we're looking for was an exploration vessel. It was supposed to be delivering something to Aged Pelt, but it sank somewhere in the swamp." She kept reading, but stumbled upon something farther down the page. "It said it happened just a months ago."

"Sank?" Geno repeated, brushing his hand through the murky water outside the boat. "The hell are we going to find it if it's under all this?" A dull buzzing began in his ear, and he quickly swatted a bug away. "We might as well be blind out here."

"The paper says the crew ran aground and had to abandon ship." Shelly corrected, pulling a map out of her bag to examine. "By the looks of it, there are only a few places where it's gets shallow enough for that to happen."

Axel hovered over the boat for a moment, reading over Shelly's shoulder. "A few dozen maybe."

"It's better than nothing." Shelly said defiantly, smacking at a bug on her cheek. "We can cross places off as we go, so it’s not like we're just going to be wondering around." Axel sighed and flew out over the water again, however Shelly seemed to remain confident. "Trust me, this'll work. No problem."

Everyone had their doubts about that, however nobody said anything as they continue into the swamp. Unknown to them, a large grey bird had witnessed their departure from the town, and now followed after them from high above the trees.

Next Chapter - Tangled web