Chapter 1: Bringing Ruin.
The ever vivid nature of the Fairy Tail guild never ceased to amaze Lucy, even though she had witnessed the kind of power her guild possessed, she would always find pleasure in it's antics.
"WHAT WAS THAT YOU BASTARD?!" Natsu hollered, at the now shirtless Gray.
The bare chested mage downed his drink before slamming it back down onto the table where he sat.
"I said you're a hopeless moron. That job should have been a piece of cake! I could have done it blindfolded!" The ice mage sneered coldly.
"Oh?! So you wanna fight about it, huh?!" The dragon slayer retorted, slamming his foot down on Gray's table.
Gray stood, his silver necklace swaying around his neck.
"Is that a challenge?! I'll take you down any day of the week pal!" He growled.
The first punch was thrown. And all hell broke loose.
Lucy giggled as she spectated the scuffle between the two boys, dust and fists flew in every direction. As far as she could tell, neither one of the short tempered mages were winning. Lucy sat upon a rickety wooden table, letting her legs sway beneath it. She danced her chocolate eyes across the new guild hall. The sheik little hamlet was nothing compared to the grand guild hall that once once their home. Yet still, the old windmill had a sort of rustic charm to it.
'So much has changed...' She thought, contemplating her guild's current standing. It was hard to believe how far Fairy Tail had fallen in the seven years she had spent on Temrojima. But despite those changes, her guild's spirit remained fiery as ever. Many of Fairy Tail's wizards were out on jobs, working to reclaim the guild's lost name. The one's who were at the hall were recuperating from their finished jobs.
"Alright, that's enough you two!" A deep commanding voice boomed, causing the two mages to pause mid punch and slowly turn gazes to an ever intimidating Erza Scarlet. The colour quickly drained from their faces.
"Given the guild's current standing, we have a difficult task set before us. Regaining the reputation of our guild should be our top priority, NOT CLOWNING AROUND IN THE GUILD HALL!" Erza scored.
Both Natsu and Gray started clinging to each other, shivers shooting all over their body.
"E-Erza we were only-" Natsu tried, before being cut off by the armored she-devil.
"We must go above and beyond when doing a job, we need to complete them quickly and efficiently! Do you know what that means?" Erza growled, looming over the two mages.
Both Natsu and Gray began to stammer incoherently.
"IT MEANS GOING OUT AND GETTING A JOB!" Erza hollered, Lucy had to cover her ears from the sound of Erza's voice.
Natsu and Gray went ramrod stiff and saluted before squeaking, "Aye Sir!"
The duo quickly ran to the request board, scanning the pieces of pinned paper as fast as they could.
The other Fairy Tail wizards chuckled before returning to their drinks.
Lucy had to stifle a laugh, she had a lot of fond memories of those three... Natsu, Gray, Erza... they meant the world to her. They had gone through impossible odds unscathed, only getting stronger with each passing day. They were amazing at what they did... and considering she was apart of the strongest team in Fairy Tail... her team. She was pretty amazing herself. Lucy grinned at the thought.
"What's that smile all about?" Levy asked curiously, removing her red spectacles as she walked over to the blonde celestial spirit mage.
Lucy jumped slightly, realizing she had been completely lost in her own imagination. "O-oh. Levy, you startled me." Lucy said with a smile.
"Sorry about that, I just wanted to give you back that book you leant me." She said with a giggle, handing out a thick leather bound tome titled 'Blood Ties'.
Lucy blinked. "Eh? You finished it already?! But it's only been three days!" Lucy exclaimed, eyes alight with shock.
Levy gave a crooked smile. "I couldn't help myself, it was far too engaging. If I don't give it back to you now, I may start reading it again." She chuckled.
Lucy gently took the tome out of the outstretched hands, a small smile gracing her lips. "Thanks, I remember reading it for the first time, I was totally hooked!" She squeaked with a grin.
Levy placed her hands on her hips."Ya'know I never thought you'd be into this kind of novel. I thought it was quite... dark... but entertaining nonetheless."
The blonde mage chuckled nervously. "Well... it's not like I read this stuff all the time. It's good to have some variety in your life. Right?" She asked with a cock of her head.
Levy shrugged. "I suppose, I thought the author's take on black magic was fascinating, if a bit macabre... Speaking of which, I couldn't find the author's name on it anywhere." She said, stroking her chin.
"Noticed that huh? I've taken it to all the bookstores I can think of, none of them knew anything about it. I think it may be an unpublished work..." Lucy stated.
Levy made a small thoughtful frown. "Do you think anyone is looking for it?" She asked.
Lucy grimaced. "Maybe, I picked it up in a second hand bookstore. The store owner had no idea who wrote it, he thought it might have been some kind of stock error." Lucy pondered.
Levy chuckled, "Sounds like a mystery to me."
The blonde mage smiled, before hearing the soft tapping of rain against a nearby window. The droplets of water pooled against the surface of the glass, before running down it in slow intervals. Soon after, the soft booming of thunder could be heard in the distance.
"Mmmm, sounds like were in for a storm. I hope the Master and Guildarts don't get caught up in it." Levy mused, turning her back to Lucy.
Lucy cocked her head. "They've gone out?"
The long silver haired mage Mirajane, who had overheard the conversation replied. "Master and Guildarts have been going into town recently. Not sure why, maybe the Master is trying to convince Guildarts to take over from him." She beamed brightly, wiping down the guild's bar counter.
"Gotta feel sorry for the Master, he doesn't seem to get much of a break." Levy sighed.
It was then Lucy's vision was obscured by a mess of spiky pink hair.
"Lucy! Happy found us a job, you coming?" Natsu asked excitedly, the blue cat in question following his lead.
"Come on Lucy, it'll be fun!" Happy exclaimed excitedly.
Lucy nodded. "Sure! I will need to sort out a few things before we get going. Then we should be-" Lucy cut herself off as the guild doors swung open with a crash.
Everyone's attention flicked to the door as a solitary figure stood there, hunched.
Standing at the guild doors was a young copper haired women. A tattered and mud stained cloak clung to her saturated shoulders. She panted heavily, stumbling into the guild hall as she entered. She wore fine clothing beneath her tattered cloak, however they had been torn and stained with dirt. Beneath her cloak, she cradled what looked like a small bundle of cloth, which she kept close to her body.
As this tattered woman entered, she tried to prop her self up. Before wincing and hunching over into a hobble again. She was heading towards the bar.
Erza was the first to intercept her.
"Greetings, what business do you have with the Fairy Tail gu-" Erza cut herself off as the woman moved straight past her.
Natsu and Gray's eyes bulged at the sight of this woman completely ignoring the legendary wizard Erza. She was still heading towards the bar.
Erza turned on her heel as the stranger reached the bar.
The stranger peeked at Mirajane from underneath her grubby hood with two haunted blue eyes.
"W-water..." the girl begged in a trembling voice, "please... water..."
Mirajane's eyes softened, before rushing to find a fresh pint.
This is when Erza confronted the girl once again, marching over to her with heavy steel boots.
"If you have no business here, I must kindly ask you to leave." Erza stated in a firm voice before placing a metal gauntlet on the stranger's shoulder. The girl retaliated, knocking Erza's hand away.
"Stay away!" She shouted, wincing once again.
The stranger yelped in pain, before going limp.
Erza gasped as she rushed forward to catch the stranger, warping her plated arms around her. The cloth bundle fell from the strangers arms before hitting the floor with a weighty thump. Erza gently set the collapsed girl upon the floor, the armored warrior's eyes alight with confusion.
"Oi, Erza what did you do to her?!" Natsu queried, craning his neck to get a better look at the scene.
"I... I don't know, she just collapsed." Erza muttered, her brow furrowing with worry.
Mirajane peered over the bar. "Poor dear, is she hurt?"
The hood of the young woman had fallen back, revealing a beautiful face. Faint red scratches crisscrossed her cheeks and for head. Erza grimaced as she realized the girl had been horribly beaten, large cuts and swollen black bruises were scattered across her body. It had looked lake she had been mauled by a wild animal. And upon the girl's neck was a blazing orange insignia. One that belonged to the Phoenix Grave guild. She was a wizard.
"The vial... where... is... the vial..." the broken wizard muttered, regaining consciousness, her hands clawing weakly for the bundle.
"Don't move." Erza commanded, shock and worry ringing in her voice.
She gently grasped the girls hands and set them down. The wizards from Fairy Tail began crowding around the two, wondering what in Earthland was going on.
"Wendy!" Erza called out, only to find the blue haired dragon slayer was already by her side. Wendy quickly stuck out her hands to hover above the wounded wizard. The young dragon slayer began channeling her magic, healing the damage that had been done.
"How is she?" Mirajane asked.
Wendy frowned. "She's badly wounded, nothing fatal. But she's had these for a while... and she's been running with them..." Wendy explained in a worried, trilling voice.
"Running?! Running from what?" Lucy squeaked, nervously glancing to the now closed guild doors, afraid that a beast would come crashing in.
"The vial!" The wizard exclaimed. "Where is it!?"
She tried sitting up, only to be restrained by Erza.
"Calm down, the vial is safe. Tell me what happened to you?"
The Phenoix Grave wizard tried fighting Erza's indomitable grip, but to no avail.
"No... I need to destroy it! If I don't then he'll... he'll... oh god..."
The young mage burst into tears, breathing in big heaving sobs that left the Fairy Tail wizards with an icy tingle down their spine.
Lucy bit her lip before spying the bundled cloth at her feet. She reached down and picked it up, surprised by the weight of the object buried within the sullied cloth. Carefully she began removing each layer, until she gazed upon a large crystal vial.
It was rather old, the details and markings that were once upon the crystal had long been worn away. It must have been beautiful once. The crystal itself was blue like the sea, with an ornate figure of an angel corking the vial. However, inside was a thick, dark red ichor that stirred within the vial.
Lucy arched her brow as Natsu peered round her shoulder.
"What the hell is that?" The fire mage asked, peering into the blue crystal.
Levy donned her spectacles to identify the vial. After a few brief seconds her face dropped and a concerned frown began to form.
"It's a phylactery..." She mumbled.
Lucy cocked her head. "What's a phylactery?"
Levi removed her glasses, looking Lucy dead in the eye.
"An artifact used to store the blood of a particular host, various spells and incantations are placed upon it to keep the blood inside fresh... This one has a lot of them." She explained, her voice becoming icy.
Lucy nearly dropped the vial out of disgust. "B-B-Blood?!" She squealed.
The blue haired wizard nodded.
"Why the heck would someone want to do that?!" Natsu scowled.
"Various reasons. Blood is a wizard's life force, their energy. If someone with the right knowledge got their hands on it... it wouldn't end well for the receiving party... The only time I've heard of them being used is with... well... Blood Magic." Levy murmured.
Gray flinched, "Blood Magic!? Don't be ridiculous, nothing like that exists! It's just a stupid scary story." The ice wizard objected.
Levy flicked her gaze to the shirtless mage. "No. Blood Magic was real... once upon a time. Such evil practices were banished long ago by the Council. But there are remnants, if you know what to look for. However, there haven't been any active Blood Mages since it was outlawed. Not for hundreds of years." She explained, tapping her chin.
Natsu shifted his gaze to the mysterious wizard, who was still on the floor. "Oi, Lady where did you get this thing? And why have you got it?!" Natsu exclaimed, demanding answers.
"Natsu!" Lucy scolded, angered by his attitude towards the wounded mage. Natsu was about to retort to Lucy's comment but was cut off by a raspy voice.
"My... name is Felicity... My guild mates and I were contracted to... find the vial." She hissed, obviously still in pain.
Felicity tried to sit up, only to be caught by both Wendy and Erza who helped her sit upright.
"Careful, you shouldn't move too much." Wendy protested.
Her protests were ignored.
"What went wrong?" Erza inquired.
Felicity was quiet for a long time before speaking.
"The job went off without a hitch, we got the vial without an issue. Next we had to bring it to our contractor in Whitelow, where we would collect our payment... but..." Felicity trailed off.
"But you were ambushed..." Natsu interjected, his brow furrowing in thought.
The mage was silent before making a weak nod.
"We were. It was just one man... one against five... they were some of the best wizards Phoenix Grave had to offer..." Felicity's voice began to crack with sorrow.
The mages in Fairy Tail stared in blank horror. During the seven year gap the Phoenix Grave guild, rose to become one of the top guilds in Fiore. So when Felicity had said a group of five Phoenix Grave wizards were defeated by a single man. It was something to be worried about.
The storm outside grew stronger, as the Felicity continued her story.
"He told us to give him the vial, we refused... he... he killed them... my comrades... he killed them..." The battered mage sniffed.
"How? How could a single man take down your entire group?" A granite like voice grunted, it was Gajeel, the iron dragon slayer.
Felicity went quiet once again.
"Magic... the most horrific magic I've ever seen in my life. Thumnas was obliterated before we knew what was happening. Ericor was torn to pieces... Silvia and Gale... were forced to kill each other... I took the vial and ran. I barely got away." She said beginning to tremble, tears began rolling down her cheeks.
"It was horrible."
Felicity buried her face within her hands before lightning flashed, filling the room with a bright light before vanishing.
Lucy felt her knees tremble. "W-what did this man look like?" The celestial mage stuttered.
Wiping her tears away, the young mage went to look Lucy in the eye. They were afraid, haunted.
"I... I never saw his face... it was covered by a white mask... and his eyes... oh god his eyes..." The mage began to sob again, Erza did her best to comfort her.
Natsu leaned over to Lucy. "That's one messed up story." He mumbled, his eyes a thousand miles away.
Lucy bit her lip. Felicity's assailant must have been ruthless if he was just after the crystal phylactery.
She felt uneasy holding it.
"It's why I have to destroy it." Felicity explained, looking to glare at the crystal phylactery. "My friends are dead because of that thing. I'll see it smashed to pieces, even if it's the last thing I do!" She spat.
"I'll rob him of his prize!"
The room went deathly silent after that. Nothing stirred. Even the storm outside became calm.
Erza stood, looking at the guild doors with a hostile glare.
"Do you feel that?" She asked, still fixated on the door.
Mirajane nodded, now glaring at the door. "I do."
Natsu turned to the door, worried after seeing the two S-class wizards stare in the direction of danger. And with a quick sniff of the air, an angry snarl spread across his face.
"Lucy. Get behind me." He growled, before standing between her and the guild door.
Lucy blinked as Natsu took up a protective stance. He was ready for a fight.
Just then, the guild doors slowly creaked open. All attention switched to the door, the wizard's faces ranging from surprise to unease.
The most horrified look of allbelonged to Felicity. She began to shake uncontrollably.
"No... How did he find me?!" She whispered.
Lucy's gaze broke from the figure and to the trembling mage. Seeing that she was so distressed, Lucy knelt beside her, trying to calm her down.
A lone figure entered the hall, the soft thump of footsteps echoed throughout the building. All eyes were upon the figure now, a hooded black robe obscured the newcomer's face.
"I'm sorry... I'm so, so sorry." Felicity muttered.
"I have brought ruin to you all..."
Lucy's eyes went wide with fright before the figure lifted his head, revealing a solid white mask.
A pair of demonic topaz eyes stared hungrily at the grouped wizards.
"Give... Me... The vial..."
(Author's note: 20/5/14)
Hey there! Hope you enjoyed this chapter. If you did, then you're awesome!
Anyway, I whipped this little chapter up so I can focus on my other story. (This one was getting really distracting. I couldn't get it out of my head!)
I will be continuing it, but not for a while. I've still got my other story to finish and real life commitments. Boo!
I love it when you people read my work. And I take every comment / review / whatever-you-hip-youngsters-call-it on board.
On a closing note:
FAIRY TAIL FOREVER!
-RRR