The Skull Hidden in the Sand

Lull

A/N: Aras's fangirl, Emily. Sorry if it's hard to read... ><U

"Nothin'. He must've took off as an exceed. Damn scent just disappeared." Gajeel announced, rubbing his nose.

"Was it too weak?" Erza asked.

"Move it, Screw-For-Brains. Nah, it was strong enough. The smell completely vanished in the middle of a meadow." Natsu answered, shoving his way past Gajeel into the crowded hotel room.

Erza hmphed. As requested, the Fairy Tail guildmembers had returned to their rooms while the Lodge conducted a search despite many Fairies, including Erza, wanting to use the dragonslayers' and their noses to track the imposter before they got away. However, it was not until a few hours later, after the first search came up empty, that this came to pass. Natsu and Gajeel tracked the scent just fine, but it was close to sunset by then and the darkness came quickly. When they found the spot where the scent disappeared, the two wanted to stay and look around, but Min refused. She pointed out that while she knew her way around the mountain at night, they did not and she wasn't going to risk anyone else getting injuried. Min did agreed to accompany them the next morning and the dragonslayers had to be content with that. Searching the next morning had revealed nothing new and Natsu and Gajeel returned, frustrated.

"We coulda caught that asshole! Grrrr..." Natsu pounded his fists and would've started pacing, had there been room.

"Master, wouldja explain what's goin' on now?" Cana said loudly.

Makarov sighed. "There appears to be someone targeting us. Yesterday a shapeshifter launched an attack both on Lucy and Natsu and then later on Gajeel, Wendy, Romeo, Levy, and Lily. It's very likely that he or she was also behind the mudslide."

"So what're we waitin' for?! Let's find this guy and kick his ass!" Cana yelled. More than a couple Fairies roared with her.

"Hush!!" Mira called. The group slowly quieted.

"Master, if I may speak?" Erza asked.

"Go ahead."

"I don't think this opponent is particularly strong. The only reason they were able to catch us off guard is because we were unaware of their presence. But we're forewarned now. We should be able to handle them just fine."

"Yeah." Gray agreed. "As long as we got Flamebrain, Sparky, and Metalhead around, we'll know if they try to pull something again."

"And Wendy!" Happy added.

"Right. And Wendy."

"What did you just call Laxus?!"

"Freed, chill."

"Yer damn right we'll stop him!"

"I'm glad you're confident," Jellal said dryly. "But you can't be everywhere at once."

"The eyes and attitude will give the imposter away. We'll just have to pay more attention to each other." Erza explained.

"But what if it's someone we don't know? Like the girl Natsu-san assaulted at the pool?" Juvia asked.

"Hey, that was an accident!"

Erza thought a moment. "...travel in groups, I suppose. And leave the rooms as little as possible." She huffed.

"That's not much." Macao crossed his arms speculatively.

"Well-!" Erza started.

"I agree with Erza." Mira interrupted. "When we were attacked at the pool, they used Juvia's form. It makes sense, given the location. But when the real Juvia appeared, they took off." Juvia blinked at being called out. "They may have the powers of the people they impersonate, but I don't think they have the skill. Traveling in groups should solve that problem quite nicely~!" Mira gave a little giggle.