The Power of One Dream (A One Piece x Fairy Tail Story)

Part 29

Back in the Mobile Chamber Surveillance Room; prior to the end of the rooftop battle and the battle of the Final Arena]

Chopper still in Pan-Point perused the controls of the Magical Surveillance system, desperately trying to figure out a way to contact his friends, and fighting all the harder to remember them clearly. His recent ally Mest Gryder knelt down and worrying over a still unconscious Wendy Marvell propped up between a wall and the floor. And considering he had not had direct access to this room during his short tenure within Manticore Sting undercover, there was little Mest could do to operate the complex network of buttons, dials and levers.

Boiling with pent-up frustration at their helpless situation, Chopper bellowed and slammed his human-shaped fists on the flat of the control panel. Before Mest could dare to reprimand Chopper's rough treatment of the delicate machinery which they were depending on right now, a cover flipped back exposing a glowing green crystal. "What's..... What is that?"

"A lacrima..." Mest answered the humanoid-reindeer's question, walking over to the control panel with a curious frown and a finger across his chin. "...And by the glow of green energy, I'm taking a guess it's connected to life-force.... Maybe...... Maybe what was draining you guys, and our allies of their respective energies? But as we took out the guy running this room, I think it's a safe bet that our enemy isn't siphoning any more off them."

Chopper felt a little relief, but not much as he looked from Mest back to the control panel with a serious frown. "Is there any way to use this thing to give them back their stolen energy?" The undercover Fairy Tail Mage sighed heavily. "I'm not sure how, without a better idea of how exactly the process works and a direct link to whoever the stolen energy went too? At best I could probably rewire the console to enable hacking in with my basic access code. But I'm only guessing that energy went directly to Maw and even if it did, tracking him down in this place and getting him to hold still long enough to set up a long-range connection is another story..."

"We don't need him..... You've got me."

A shocked Chopper and Mest turned to Wendy's voice, the Sky Dragon Slayer having regained consciousness and was now painstakingly slowly pushing herself up along the adjacent wall. "Wendy! You're still recovering, you can't push yourself too far!" Chopper panicked. But Mest just scowled, seemingly knowing exactly what was on her mind. "No! It's too dangerous and you're too hurt! If you lose anymore stamina you could-"

"AND WHAT ELSE CAN WE DO!" Wendy snapped back defensively. Her eyes met both of theirs with a steely glint of unyielding resolve. "First and foremost, I'm a healer. And also the only one in this room with the power boost we need to help our friends." As she said this, a moment's silence followed. Then she drew in a slow, deep breath, and her hair waved upwards moved by an unseen force as it and her eyes took on a bright pink hue. She maintained her stern expression throughout as she hobbled painfully slowly towards the green crystal on the control panel, despite the other two's protests. And silenced them with a look as she laid hands on it. "I'm counting on you guys to have my back if I'm getting too close to the edge. Otherwise, I'll find another way to help our friends, even if I have to search every room in this awful place. With.. or without you!"

Mest and Chopper looked from the determined girl too each other, and sighed. "If you look ANYTHING like you did before, I'm pulling you straight out!" Chopper said sternly. "Right, guess I'll get to work on that panel..." Mest began before something caught his eye. Another dial containing a lacrima which he had been too stressed to notice before, a lacrima that thrummed with the same shade of teal blue energy as the borders of the dimensional cracks in the air that still hung about the Control Room and still revealed glimpses of other areas.

"On another note, I think I have an idea of how we can use these rifts to our advantage."

[Back on the church rooftop courtyard, a few minutes later]