"So this is you.." The man at the airport security desk looked over Mikoto's fake passport with a raised eyebrow. "
"Yeah." said Mikoto nodding.
"Your name is Annabeth Chase?" said the gaurd. "Cause it sounds a lot like someone I read about in a book once?"
"I-it does?" Mikoto said shakily. "W-wow...what a coincidence! I wouldn't know anything about that.."
"And your friend there." said the gaurd looking at Lucy's fake passport. "Her name is Asuna Yuuki?"
"Y-yeah.." said Lucy. "That's right!"
"And your black haired friend is April O'niel?" said the gaurd. "and your pink haired guy here is Bruce Wayne?"3
In Mikoto's head, all she could think was: This is the last time I ever let Natsu pick the names!!!!3
Mikoto had all the names set up..unsuspecting names that she was sure would not arouse any suspicious looks..then Natsu came along and asked if he could pick the names....and low and behold, Bruce Wayne, Annabeth Chase, April O'niel, and Asuna Yuuki were born...yeah...not exactly subtle. Mikoto was just glad Natsu hadn't named himself Optimus Prime.
The guard scanned the passports under a strange sleek black machine. A new security measure provided by Academy City to instantly search databases for suspicious identities. However, Mikoto had also erased hers along with all her friend's identity info on the net, meaning photo id wouldn't be a problem.
The man nodded. "This says you guys are supposed to be at gate 13 with that academic field trip flight. Erm..if you don't mind me asking..not to be rude, but those names, are rather odd.."
"We had our names legally changed." said Lucy. "We really like fictional media and stuff...hehehe....and Na- I mean Bruce is a real comic fan. Isn't that right Miko-I mean Annabeth?"
"Y-yeah Lu-I mean Asuna!" said Mikoto. "I just love Percy Jackson books...yeah!"1
"And those stuffed animals." said the gaurd. "they look quite life like. Where did you get them?"
Mikoto hugged Elli a little tighter in her arms. Elli was currently pretending to be a motionless toy, whering a pink hoodie and small denim pants to assist in hiding her breathing.
"Yeah..we brought them at a store in Fiore before the whole war thing..we love Exceeds!! hehehe..."
"Hmmm...yeah fine you can pass." said the gaurd.
Mikoto did her best to hold in her sigh of relief as she and her friends passed the front desk.
Suddenly, the gaurd held out a hand. "Oh! Hold on, I almost forgot."
Mikoto stopped in her tracks, her heart beating hard beneath her ribs.
The man brought out a strange scanner with a mark of the Magic Council on it. "Sorry about this..but rumor is, even kids your age could be one of those dark guild guys."
As the man's scanner passed over Mikoto's right shoulderblade she felt a shiver go up her spine and her eyes began to water. Fighting the urge to cry Mikoto hugged Elli a little tighter. Elli closed a paw around Mikoto's hand to reassure her.
"Well looks like you kids are good." said the gaurd. "Fly safely kay?"
"Thanks."
The group walked through the airport that day looking cheerful on the outside, but feeling afraid and nervous on the inside. Mikoto could relate to how everyone was feeling..she knew her guildmark had pretty much just been a magic tattoo, but without it, she felt bare and vulnerable..as if she just lost half her entire identity.
They finally reached gate 13 after around 3 minutes. The waiting area was full of high school, middle school, and college students. Mikoto had to pull her hat lower over her face as she recognized some students from Tokwadai back in Academy City.
"Well.." said Natsu. "We're getting on another plane?"
"Yep." said Mikoto.
"And nothing I say is gonna change your mind about us swimming there?"
"Nope."
Natsu slowly began to edge away. Mikoto suddenly grabbed Natsu's ear. "Don't even think about running."
"Eh.." Natsu began to sweat. "Let's see...being beat up my Mikoto...or riding transportation...I'll ride the plane.."
"Good answer." said Happy.
Another 10 minutes later, Mikoto was seated with Elli on her lap as she and Lucy tried to ignore the loud screaming and riots from the other youths on the plane.
"Thank God this flight is only 20 minutes." Mikoto moaned.
"Imagine what Nicole and Natsu must be feeling." grumbled Lucy. "This chaos and their motion sickness, I'm glad I'm not them right now."
Nearby Mikoto saw some kids playing a sort of playing card game. Upon a closer look Mikoto saw that the cards had the images of well know magic guild members. She heard about this..apparently some people in Canada thought that there would be a large market for the magic guilds being in a trading card game after the Rainbow Gateway formed.
The kids looked like they were currently in a heated discussion about something..Mikoto couldn't help but hear.
"Well, I'll trade you two Juras for one of your Erzas...kay?"
"What?" said the other boy. "Why do you want Erza that badly?"
"Well she's Fairy Tail right?" said the boy. "I'm building an entire set."
"Don't you get it." the other boy said. Mikoto noticed this boy had a smug arrogant attitude about him. "Fairy Tail's finished..it's the end of the world. Mermaid Heel and Quatro Cerberus are the only guilds that are worth anything anymore..they're the guys that escaped that whole plague thing.."
"Well so did Fairy Tail." said the boy angrilly.
"Yeah..like 6 members.." said the smug boy. "And they're doomed anyways...we're all doomed. Those monsters are gonna kill us all..might as well just enjoy life while we can..."
"They'll stop em..you'll see."
"Yeah, yeah...whatever." said the smug boy. "I've got a Misaka card..ya can have that for a suitable trade."
Mikoto watched as the boy reached into his bag and pulled out a 3 foot stack of cards. "I'll give you all these for her."
"Are you crazy!?" said the smug boy looking bewildered. "She's only worth as much as Laxus and Jura! I mean sure she's strong..but.."
"She's the best one.." said the boy determindely without a single inch of doubt in his voice.
"No she isn't, her hit points aren't even.."
"That's not what I meant."
The smug boy went silent. He took the stack of cards without a word and handed other boy the single thin piece of cardboard with Mikoto's picture and name on it.
The boy took the card and put it in his velcro wallet with tender care. Mikoto could hear him whisper. "Don't you worry..I know you'll save everyone..I know it.."3
After the plane landed and all the passengers unloaded at the Big Island airport, Mikoto looked in the crowd for the boy...but she never saw him.
Everything else seemed to go by like a blur. Mikoto thought about that boy's words. At the moment, she wasn't sure if she could do that..if she could save everybody. But, she had to try..even if it cost her everything. Besides, she'd come too far to back down now.
And what would happen then? When she finally succeeded. Would she die? And was it right to take Natsu, Lucy, Nicole, Elli, and Happy with her? She knew they would follow her all the way to death..but if that happened...
Mikoto shook herself. This wasn't the time to doubt herself. She had a job to do...and she would go to hell and back to complete it.
Later, the group followed a massive group teens onto a tourbus bound for Mauna Loa, Hawaii's most active volcano.
"You actually think it might be at Mauna Loa?" asked Elli.
"Well the map showed a volcano." said Mikoto. "And this is as much volcano as it gets on this island."
As the bus drove past smoking burning black rock and got closer and closer to the volcano..Mikoto suddenly felt her heart beat faster..faster then it ever beat before. She frantically looked out the window then pulled it open. She saw it...the black rock magma...around here it was giving off an intense magic aura...and it was calling to her..not like a voice or anything...different...as if it was feeling for her..
"We need to stop here." Mikoto whispered to Lucy. "How are Natsu and Nicole doing?"
Lucy looked at the seat behind her where both Natsu and Nicole looked out of their minds with motion sickness. "Like they're gonna drop dead any second..why?"
Mikoto stood up raising her hand. "Um sir!? My friends are feeling really really sick, can we stop for a second?"
The chaperone at the head of the bus rolled his eyes. He got up and walked up to where Nicole and Natsu were sitting. His eyes went wide. "Dang..they are sick...stop the bus!!"
The moment the bus had stopped and everyone had piled out of the bus. While the bus driver and chaperone were busy trying to call a paramedic of some sort, Mikoto nodded at Natsu. "Now."
Natsu grinned and jumped up pointing into the sky. "OH MY GOD!!! FLYING MONKEYS!!!!"
Everyone, shocked by Natsu's sudden rejuvenation, looked up where he was pointing. At that moment, Mikoto ducked down and pointed a finger into the air. Several small sparks, too small to be seen at the moment shot into the air. When the sparks reached a certain height, a massive explosion of electric sparks blasted through the sky causing everyone to "ooo" and "ahhh" at the unexpected sight. As Mikoto and the rest of her friends ducked down and snuck away from the group, Mikoto saw the boy who had been in the plane...his mouth was open wide and he had a deck of trading cards in his hand. He was younger then Mikoto, short enough to see under her cap...
The boy closed his mouth and ran over to Mikoto, pressing the trading card into her hand..the card which had her on it.
"Don't give up." the boy whispered before he ran back into the crowd.1
Mikoto stared at the card for a second..then gently put it into her pocket as she followed her friends into the black barren wasteland..
After what seemed like hours...Mikoto put her hand up, and the group stopped, they were standing in the middle of the heated black lava...the glassy rock cracked under their steps.
"The air." said Nicole. "It smells different here. And I can feel magic..ancient magic."
Mikoto kneeled down in the black rock. She could feel the energy more powerfully then ever before. She knew what to do without even knowing how she knew to do it. She pressed her hand against the glassy rocky ground and immediately a large red circle glowed molten orange in front of her..morphing into a large red doorway made of magma. It looked like a red door shaped lava blade sticking out of the ground. On the front of the molten surface, the insignia in the shape of a red dragon could be seen.
"Wow.." said Natsu. "This smells...like Igneel."
Mikoto reached a hand towards the lava.
"Mikoto..wait!" said Lucy. "you'll burn your hand off!"
But Mikoto phased her hand through the molten rock and pulled it back out, completely unharmed. "It's like warm water. Hold on..I'm going through."
"Mikoto wait!" Lucy said again. But Mikoto passed her entire body through. The moment she came through the Gate of Igneel, she found herself in a large chamber the size of a football field. There was a large circular arena of rock with a treacherous brigde of blackened dirt going from where Mikoto stood over to the arena. Below, magma splashed and rumbled. Mikoto looked behind her to find nothing but bare rock wall...the gate had closed behind her.
Mikoto then saw a familiar figure standing in the center of the arena...someone she couldn't believe was actually here. In fact..Mikoto was sure it was impossible.
Mikoto ran down the bridge panting...she could feel a combination of fear, joy, and incredulity sprouting up within her like a broken well that decided to shoot out all these emotions like a high pressured water hose.
Mikoto stopped right before the center of the arena. Standing a little ways away, with her back turned, was a girl with long red hair and armor.
"Erza.." Mikoto said. "Erza...it's really you!!"
'Erza' turned to look at Mikoto, she looked the same all the way down to the last detail. But there was something different...something not quite right.
Erza smiled at Mikoto. "Sorry, but I'm not the one called Erza Scarlet. I am a phantom..a phantom made to resemble and mimic one of the ones who has influenced you on your long journey."
"A-a phantom!?" said Mikoto.
"Yes..though I bear all of Erza Scarlet's memories, so I am sure she would be quite proud that you made it this far. However, just passing through a gate isn't enough..you must be tested."
Mikoto stared at Phantom Erza with amazement. She talked like Erza, she looked like Erza down to the last detail..it seemed impossible that this wasn't Erza..the Erza she had always looked up to..
"And what kind of test are you talking about.." Mikoto asked tentatively.
Phantom Erza's smile became a little wider. There was a flash of white light, and the phantom requipped into Erza's Black Wing Armor, drawing her two swords challengingly. "One that involves battle. Mikoto Misaka...in order that this gate be complete...you must first defeat me!"