The Fairy-Tail Bride

Chapter 5 part 3: The Cliffs

Not going to bore you with some long explanation as to why this is so late. All I will tell you is that I have also a Mass Update of "Fairytail Fleet" that I will release before month's end. That sounds like a long time, but when I say mass update, I mean that I have 5 one-shots that are ACTIVELY in the works, Coming Soon to an Internet Near You!

Enjoy.

"Look!" Shouted the swordsman, waking the others on board. "He's right on top of us!" Lucy looked and saw that he was correct. The mysterious boat from last night was far closer now. So close that they could see the man at the tiller. A man in black. "Must be that same fisherman out for a pleasure cruise through eel infested waters alone at night." Said Lucy sarcastically.

"It doesn't matter!" Replied Brain. "SEE!? THE CLIFFS OF INSANITY!" he pointed out ahead of them, and sure enough, enormous dark walls of stone seemed to be rising from the foggy channel.

In a matter of minutes, the small boat was anchored in the waters along the edge of the Cliffs. Elfman gathered up a bundle of ropes and harnesses. He piled them up at the cliff face and began to get himself tightly secured in them, mainly tightening a thick leather vest with various secondary harnesses about his middle.

A massive rope dangled from the top of the cliff, so far up that Lucy couldn't see. The shirtless swordsman helped Brain to secure himself to Elfman's left side, Lucy to the large man's back. Gray then carefully secured himself into the harness on the strong man's right side.

"This is perfect!" Said Brain proudly, as they began their ascent. "Only Elfman is strong enough to make it up this way. He'll have to sail around for hours until he makes it to a harbor." 'He', obviously, referring to the mystery man sailing the little black ship from the night before.

More than any of the others, the white-haired leader feared heights. All of his nightmares, and they were never far off, dealt with some oddly familiar demon wrestling him down and hurling him down the mountainside of his mind. So this ascension was most terrifying for him. Or, should have been.

But he would not allow it.

Instead, he focused on the man in black.

There was no way that anyone should have been quick enough to follow them. And yet, from some other world, that black sail had appeared out of the mist. How? How? Brain flogged his incredible mind for an answer, but he found only failure. His frustration at this short coming made him furious. He took a deep breath and, in spite of all his terrible fears, he looked down toward the dark water of the channel.

The man in black was still there, sailing like a bolt towards the cliff face. In only a few moments, he would make the shore.

"Faster!" The tattooed man commanded.

"I'm sorry," replied the giant meekly, "I thought I was going faster."

"Such laziness!" Barked Brain.

"I can't see!" Elfman explained patiently "The girl's hair is in my face. Could somebody tell a hard-working man wether we are halfway?"

"A little more than, I think." Supplied Gray, "Keep up the good work, big guy."

"Thanks." From the climber.

"He's jumping out of his boat now." The swordsman added. No one had to ask who he was.

Six hundred feet in the air now. The great arms continued their toil. Six-Twenty. Six-fifty. Now even faster. Seven hundred.

"He's on the rope. He's starting to climb." Said Gray.