Found & Forgotten

Chapter 12

Levy, Gajeel, Erza, Gray and Panther Lily were not in the most comfortable situation they had ever been in.

Once Levy had flipped the map back open and worked out just exactly how far away the Tosho Sekai was, she and the others had almost forced Erza to admit that another hour-long walk was not what they needed, nor was it the quickest way to travel to where they were heading. Erza having agreed rather reluctantly, the five of them were now squashed into the back of a cab designed to carry two.

Lily was sat on Erza's lap, arms crossed, Gray was sat uncomfortably between Erza and Gajeel, who was staring stonily out of the window. Levy, somehow, had ended up sat on Gajeel's lap, which was the cause of the blush now gracing her cheeks as she stared fixedly at the ceiling of the cab. All of them were squashed into awkward positions, and all of them had remained silent for the entire twenty minutes or so the journey had lasted so far.

At that moment, thankfully, the cab came to a stop.

"We're here." the driver informed them unnecessarily.

"Arigato," Erza leaned forward and handed over the money they owed him. "Keep the change."

The driver, who had at first looked smug at the fact he was getting a tip, soon looked more annoyed as he worked out that Erza had only tipped him about 100 Jewel. The five hurried out of the cab onto the pavement, where they took a few moments to stretch before admiring the glass dome, which looked even bigger up this close.

"Right, let's go!" Erza said, marching forward.

The others all followed obediently after her as she led them through the library's entrance into complete chaos. The five stopped and stared in utter shock.

Librarians were running around frantically searching for something, members of the public were being hurriedly shunted outside, but only after they'd been thoroughly checked by the Army that were milling around.

"-hai, they've taken the SunSphere. Hai, heavily protected with-"

Levy turned her head to see who had been speaking and saw a General marching purposefully across the room, portable communication lacrima held close to his face.

"The SunSphere's been taken." Levy whispered.

Erza, who had also heard the General and was looking rather irritated, scowled at nothing in particular. "Recently, too, by the looks of it. If only we'd been here early, we might have prevented them taking it."

"Well, there's nothing we can do about that now," Gray shrugged, "we might as well see what we can find out about the theft."

"Hai," agreed Erza. "We should split up."

The five all covered up their exasperation at the situation, and headed separate ways through the crowded chaos that still reigned in the lobby of the Tosho Sekai.

Meanwhile, Kenji and Soseki were walking triumphantly towards Master Sosa. Kenji was holding a rather large object covered by a white cloth in his arms. It was slightly bigger than the size of the average bowling ball, and at least twice as heavy as one. Kenji was struggling slightly under the weight of the thing, but he wouldn't admit that, not while Soseki and Master Sosa were in the room.

Covering the last steps alone, as Soseki had stopped, he placed the object on the table in front of Master Sosa before retreating backwards to where Soseki stood, head bowed slightly in a show of respect.

Master Sosa stepped forward and grasped the white cloth in one hand. Sending a cursory glance towards Kenji and Soseki, he whipped the cloth off the object. Sat on the table was a large golden globe, spinning slightly on its stand from the force of Master Sosa removing the cloth.

Twisting his head this way and that as he slowly circled the small table, Master Sosa inspected the object from every possible angle. Light glittered off the golden globe, but it was unclear whether the golden metal, for it surely could not have been anything else, Kenji thought, was inscribed with patterns that caused this effect, or whether it was a natural property of the material.

Having finished his inspection of the globe, Master Sosa stood staring at it, stroking his beard thoughtfully. Kenji and Soseki waited for his assessment with bated breath.

"You have done well." Master Sosa said, finally.

Kenji and Soseki both breathed a small sigh of relief and even dared to exchange quick glances of hope.

"However," continued Master Sosa, dashing their hopes to pieces, "we still have not the slightest clue how it works."

Kenji and Soseki, who both had no idea how to operate the globe they'd gone to such lengths to retrieve either, remained silent, both wishing that the other one would speak up. Neither did, and after a few minutes of this Master Sosa intervened.

"I'm not pleased with this." He stated, turning and walking away. "You both need to keep searching."

"Hai, Master," Kenji and Soseki replied together, bowing a little deeper.

Both were relieved to have only been reprimanded. Kenji, in particular, was glad that Master Sosa was feeling merciful today. He had seen some of the worse things the Master could do not too long ago. He wasn't even sure if that particular ex-member of Shin Uchu was still alive-

Suddenly both he and Soseki were flying through the air, landing hard on their backs on the cold stone floor. The thumping sound of the pair hitting the floor crashed through the room, echoing loudly in the silence.

"Have you forgotten what we are fighting for?" shouted Master Sosa.

"No, Master," Soseki answered, for which he was thrown through the air again. Kenji, wisely, had remained silent.

"We are bringing salvation and peace to the world!" continued Master Sosa. "And you two can't even be bothered to find out how this vital piece of equipment works!"

Soseki, having learned his lesson, merely bowed his head this time.

"FIND ME THE KEY TO THE SUNSPHERE, OR ELSE YOU'LL REGRET THE DAY YOU JOINED SHIN UCHU!" roared Master Sosa, turning and striding purposefully out of the room.

Ohayo minna-san!

It's quite late here, so I'll just make it a short A/N today :)

What do you think of Master Sosa? And how about Kenji? You've gotten a tiny bit of insight into the way he thinks now.

Also, how are the revised Team Natsu going to find the SunSphere now? Will Shin Uchu have left a trace behind them? They're quite a well-trained group, so I think not ;)

Finally, what do you think the SunSphere does? Does it really bring salvation and peace like Master Sosa said? Or is it something more sinister?

Please comment and let me know what you think!

Also, arigato for all the reads and votes! It makes me so happy when I log on and see them, but I'd love it if you guys all commented as well!

This wasn't as short as I meant it to be...if you've read this far, comment which type of magic is your favorite in Fairy Tail! Or the other guilds as well, if you prefer :P

Matta ne!