Quest for the Eighty-Eight Keys

Chapter Thirty-One: I'm No Traitor

WARNING: MENTIONED/IMPLIED TORTURE AND A PANIC ATTACK!

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This Rufus guy was heavier than he looked. Nyx gave a soft grunt as he followed Terra and Lust. Their conversation filled his ears.

"I still don't get why we didn't just take the princess." Lust twirled a lock of hair around his finger as he questioned his partner.

Terra smiled at him. "Because it's not fun to torture someone twice."

"There has to be another reason." Lust glanced back at Nyx, who was carrying their captive on his back. Nyx simply sighed and looked away from Lust's. He was interested in getting dragged into the conversation.

"There is."

Lust and Nyx both looked at Terra. She stared ahead as they walked through the forest, making their way to their hideout. The pink-haired woman was silent for several moments before she continued, "we can use him to make the little princess give us her keys and whatever she's using to find the other keys."

"Really?" Lust raised a questioning eyebrow.

"Yes. Fairy Tail is very friendship-obsessed. They have a long history of preaching the 'magic of friendship," she said the last few words with a mocking tone, "so, if we use one of the little princess' precious friends, then, as a Fairy, she'll be forced to save him. Once she does come to save him, we can threaten to hurt him unless she gives us what we want."

Lust exclaimed, "that's genius, Terra!"

Nyx pressed his lips in a line. He wasn't all that sure about Terra's plan. While she was right that the Fairies would never leave behind a friend, but that didn't mean this plan would work. Fairy Tail also had a long history of saving their friends despite any obstacles that stood in their way. The Fairies weren't the types of mages who should be underestimated.

Nyx spoke up, "I think that you're underestimating them a bit too much. Have you even looked into the things Fairy Tail has managed to accomplish because their friends were in danger?"

"Oh shut up, Nyx! I keep you around to do the dirty work, not make up criticisms about my genius plans!" He gave a small flinch at Terra's biting tone. Instead of snapping back at her, he instead looked away from the pair in front of him and focused on keeping up with them while trying to not accidentally drop the man on his back.

The trio continued to walk in silence for several more minutes until they reached their hideout. Once they stopped in front of the doors, Terra turned to Nyx and commanded, "take him to the basement and tie him up. Once you do that, I want you to meet me in my room." Her eyes narrowed and her tone dropped to sound low and threatening. "You and I need to have a talk."

Nyx nodded, hoping that his nervousness wasn't showing, and walked past Terra and Lust to enter the hideout. Although, it didn't look like a hideout all that much. It was actually just a two-story house that had been recently abandoned. They had happened upon it and decided to use it for their temporary lodgings.

He quickly made his way to the staircase that lead down to the basement. Once he had descended the steps, he made his way to the wooden chair and magic-canceling ropes that sat in the middle of the cold, dim, dirty basement. He deposited Rufus onto the chair and quickly tied him to the chair. Once finishing this, he took the time to lean closer to the blonde man, checking for signs of consciousness. When he was sure that the man was indeed still out cold, he gave him a final look of pity before he turned and walked up the stairs.

Nyx closed and locked the door that he stepped through and made his way to another staircase, this one leading up. As he made the journey up the stairs and down the resulting hallway to Terra's bedroom, he tried to push down the feeling of anxiety that swelled within him. His hands clenched into fists and his brow furrowed, he pushed himself forward. He didn't know what Terra wanted to talk about, but it had to be about something that he had done wrong. Although, he had no idea what that could be. He hadn't done anything that she would disapprove of recently.