Hi Fairy Tail Fans! Welcome to the dark and cruel world of Point of Impact!

This fic is rated M for a distinct lack of anything non-M-rated. Please expect drugs, gore, prostitution, guns, violence and all of the horrible misdeeds which happen in a life of crime. That's just a part of the story. Enjoy!

Introduction – The Stand-Off

The rain poured from the sky as an impending apocalypse. The dark clouds swirled and pulsated, crackling with heavy droplets and booming roars of thunder. Streetlamps blurred in the falling curtains of water, reflecting the rainbows of gas running down dirty drains.

Between the wild weather and the heavy breathing, silence had never felt so unbearably loud.

Two bodies shivered against their cold adrenaline, both staring down the barrel of a gun held by their best friend. They were beyond words, beyond fear or betrayal, running purely on the instincts that cried out to kill. Killing was all the boys of the street knew. Defending their lives to the bitter end was their way, their culture, their religion, their world. Right and wrong had long since blurred between the levels of desperation and reputation. There had been lines, however, lines that the one had crossed and the other would break just to drag their old companion into the dirt.

Neither pulled the trigger.

Their eyes stayed pinned to one another, desperately searching for something to prove all their fears wrong. There was a friendship hidden deep in the layers of bitter rivalry but it had never seemed less real than now. Two boys that had played together, trained together and fought together had faded to nothing more than a whisper between the two men.

Neither moved, weapons trained on each other, wondering how it came to this.

Chapter 1; Iron Sights

"Iron Sights are a system of aligned markers used to assist in the aiming of a device such as a firearm, crossbow, or telescope, and exclude the use of optics as in a scope. Iron sights are typically composed of two component sights, formed by metal blades: a rear sight mounted perpendicular to the line of sight and consisting of some form of notch (open sight) or aperture (closed sight); and a front sight that is a post, bead, or ring."

The boy's head crunched hard against the solid wall as he screamed in pain, his gurgled grasps echoing through the quiet alleyway. Despite the bright sunshine from the sky high above their winding alleyway, an uncomfortable darkness shielded the boy and his assaulters. He tried desperately to push back against the heavy hand that pinned him down, not quite an apology from his lips but squirming in a way that made him almost appear that he would be willingly sorry for anything if he could just get away from the older man's wrath. His nails ran across the rough edges of the concrete, scraping tiny pieces of spray-paint beneath his fingernails.

The larger man leaned backwards, examining the half-painted mural. The handiwork had been quick and sloppy. Absently, he wondered if the child had done it as some kind of twisted dare. It had certainly been sprayed onto the wall with speed and a particularly shaky hand, but the very fact that he had managed to bring up the courage to try such an act filled Gajeel with a bitter taste in his mouth. "Kids these days," he scoffed, spitting onto the ground. "The fuck is that supposed to be, anyway?"

Levy looked up at the huge mark, the swirling curve and two sharp pointed ears or teeth. She had never quite been able to understand what the crude symbol was meant to depict but the mark of the Ogres had been uncomfortably prominent over the last few months. They had been always one of the least influential gangs but that had not deterred them this time. "I can't believe that anyone would try and tag this far into the Fairy's turf…" she whispered, looking in disbelief at the spray-can that rolling in front of her.

The murmurs of Jet and Droy could also be heard in vague agreement at the sheer audacity of the young boy's actions. "An Ogre of all things…" one muttered.

"When did things get this bad?" said the other.

Gajeel quietened their hurtful mutterings with the scream of his victim. He threw his head hard against the wall once again. The blood ran over his green symbol, dripping down to the floor as it merged with his tears. "P-please… please stop…" the Ogre begged. "I won't do it again, it was just some stupid joke…"

"Some joke?!" Gajeel hissed, dragging his fingers through the victim's hair and feeling several strands snapping in his painfully tight grip. "Is that what you think the Fairies are now, huh?! A joke?"

"N-No!" the child whimpered, one threat away from yelling that he wanted to run home to his mother.

"Well, why don't you? It's fucking hilarious, isn't it?" Gajeel continued, feeling the tightening skin as the boy gritted his teeth in pain. "We can all laugh at the Fairies now because it's just so fucking funny, right?" he said, every word hissing with a playful threat. He twisted his grip on the boy's tank top, pulled him back and cracked his head against the green spray paint once again. "Now that's funny," he said, a twisted laugh hissing through metallic teeth.

"Gajeel, stop it!" Levy said quickly, taking a small step forwards. Her face was draining of colour as she watched the blood running down the bottom half of her family's symbol, the upper portion already ruined by thick green paint. It stung her as much as Gajeel and she could understand the anger which shook his body: The reputation of their gang had been ruined by more than just one boy with an overeager ambition to spray the world. She bit her lip, stopping herself from explaining her warning. Though everyone in Magnolia city knew the reasons, she didn't dare say a word while the boy listened intently for some hint of saving.

Gajeel didn't want to stop. He wanted it to be the old way. He wanted to pull back this boy's head and crack it against the wall time and time again until he had no blood left to give. Nothing would make him happier than finally allowing the Fairy's name to be given the respect it had earned over generations. A low, animalistic growl left his gritted teeth. With one stiff motion, he yanked the boy back away from the bloody wall and threw him down into the ground. His gun slipped out of his jacket and pointed straight between the Ogre's eyes before he could even raise his gaze.

"Gajeel!" Levy warned him again quickly, her voice stern and filled with urgency.

"Seven years," the words hissed to his very core, burning and twisting through every muscle in his body. He had felt more exhausted from seven years of silence than he would have from decades of fighting, blood and power. It was starting to show. Every moment of frustration seeped through his words, staring down at the criminal below his gun with unjustified hatred. "For seven fucking long years we've been told to turn a blind eye to this kind of bullshit," he hissed, ignoring the way Levy's eyes opened wider. "And this is what we get for it? Fucking Ogres thinking that they can tag our turf?"

The huge man lunged forwards, pushing his boot onto the boy's chest and staring into his terrified eyes, never once taking the gun from the trained point in the middle of his forehead. "It makes me sick," he growled. It had been years since Gajeel had seen this fear in anyone's eyes, the respect and the whispering prayers under the young man's breath. For someone who was supposed to be the muscle of his criminal family, it had been a disgustingly long time and he found himself missing the smell of cold sweat. "If this was the good old days I'd have smashed your skull into the curb by now, you know that?" he promised him. "Maybe I should, just for old time's sake."

The boy's eyes widened, shuddering as his prayers found a sound. Bouncing between the concrete walls, a distant siren downed out his incoherent ramblings and begging. No one needed to mention the threat of a possible police presence but the atmosphere visibly shifted. Gajeel became stiffer, Team Shadowgear looked around themselves apprehensively and the boy clearly didn't know whether to be afraid or hopeful.

Gajeel's sharpened fangs shone as he gritted his teeth, reluctantly pushing the gun behind his back but keeping his heavy leather studded boot pinned to the boy's chest. As he straightened himself up, he looked back at Levy, the gleam still in his eyes as he saw her bitterness staring down at their target. "Do ya think he's learned his lesson yet?" he asked the girl.

Levy glanced back at Gajeel, a small blush on her cheeks as she realised that she was put in charge of this man's life. For a brief moment, she was conflicted. She wanted to say no, wanted Gajeel to prove the worth of the Fairies to the world in one bloody smear. However, she knew that the actions of one Fairy against one Ogre could do nothing to seven years of a shattered reputation. Hesitantly, she nodded, unable to meet Gajeel's eyes as she did so.

He gave a small 'tsk', though wasn't too surprised. Slowly the Fairy fighter raised his spiked boot from the boy, watching as he quickly scrambled back. If nothing else, the siren had helped keep the pretences that Gajeel was still a deranged and blood thirsty fighter. Not that that was too far from the truth.

Levy was wrong, however. With every inch he crawled backwards, his fear was starting to fade into something braver. Feeling the wound on his forehead, his eyes flickered in disbelief between the blood on his fingers and the man who had caused it. "Y-you-you'll pay for this, bastards!" he breathed as a shaking warning.

Gajeel frowned, grinding his teeth so hard the crunching echoed through the emptying alleyway. His eyes never left the boy as he scrambled back to his feet, almost tripping up over his baggy jeans but doing nothing to slow himself down. Despite the bravado, the fear was still very clear both from his pace and from how defiantly he refused to look back, feeling the glare of the Fairies from behind him. It was nothing like the fear that they had once commanded, but it was a small reminder of the domination that they used to hold in Magnolia.

Gajeel had been glaring so intently at the fleeing Ogre that he barely noticed the small girl beside him picking up the green spray can. She bounced it in her hand a couple of times, throwing and catching as she felt the weight and the quiet rattle with every shake, before looking back at the boy. "Hey asshole," she called after him, receiving stunned looks from every one of her criminal family. "You forgot something!" she yelled before hurtling the can through the air.

The boy turned around just in time for the metal cylinder to knock into the side of his head. He yelped out in more pain, another red mark welling on his forehead even before the can dropped to the ground. It bounced once against the concrete before rolling at the boy's feet, spreading yet more of his blood against the floor. He looked back at them all, realising now there was not just one overpowering lunatic but five angry Fairies. "Fucking psychos don't even realise you're old news…" he spat, doing nothing to stop the second drip of blood running through his eyebrow. He turned away in disgust, but somehow despite all his injuries and fears he left as the victor.

The Fairies were still powerless.

According to every encyclopaedia that contained any detailed information on the city of Magnolia, the centre of power came from large and ornate city hall more commonly known to the citizens as Era. This was the common meeting place not only for the politicians that pushed the coin of the city around, but also for many of the high risers and business owners as they made their dealings both above and under the table. While true that Era was a formidable force in the city, it was a mistake to claim it was the true source of power. That building lay far deeper into the city streets itself, under the unsuspecting sign of 'The Vermillion'.

A constant 'no rooms available' neon light melted the Perspex glass from overuse, but as Gajeel Redfox and his comrades entered the hotel he knew that sign held no weight against a Fairy. It deterred the few foolish tourists that would delve too far into unknown territory and helped to convince the more baby-faced cops that the business was legitimate. Their papers were filled out correctly and on time every tax year and legally speaking the police had no reason to bother the booming business; those that would push further would only doing so for an incentive to turn the other way. It rarely worked, however, as the criminal organisation took their Head Quarters very seriously and even as the small party of Fairies made their way across the entrance hall nothing appeared out of place from a normal hotel. They even had a receptionist on the desk, pointing towards the elevator and staring them down through her half-moon glasses. Despite her bright purple hair, there was a serious look on her face as she continued to glare at them until they disappeared into the elevator.

"Does she have to be so… creepy?" Levy sighed as she awkwardly looked down to her converse, fiddling with the bottom of her oversized hoodie.

"I think that's the point," Droy admitted with a shudder as he quickly tapped the button for the second floor, willing the mechanics to move faster. "Isn't she supposed to throw off newcomers?"

"I heard Mirajane kicked her out of the brothel after she almost killed a guy getting too… kinky," Jet said, his own shiver as he imagined the venomous receptionist wielding whips and chains with a sadistic grin on her face.

"I can believe that," Gajeel grunted, his arms folded across his chest as he stared at the doors straight ahead of him. "At the end of the day, Laki is just like the rest of us. If the boss would just let her use those skills on the right people I'm sure she wouldn't be taking it out on Mira's customers."

An uncomfortable silence hung on the muscled man's words, soured by the horrific wailing of some foreign music screeching away. Gajeel gritted his teeth, seriously contemplating if the side-effects of tinnitus outweighed the satisfaction of shooting a bullet straight through the speakers. Luckily for all of them, the doors opened with a calming 'ding'.

The second floor of The Vermillion was the comforting home that represented the Fairy's true heart. The place was packed to the brim with loud and wild characters that could each fill a room alone. Smoke hung heavily from the low ceiling, mostly from two slightly older men in the back enjoying particularly large cigars as they leered at the beautiful women that offered around drinks and promises of a night in Mirajane's. The shady dealings were far from hidden on the second floor as money, weapons, drugs and favours passed between lips and hands. Flickering between slender fingers, cards that could make or break a man slipped across a poker table as a drunk woman smirked and collected the ante. A southern couple examined their newest weapons and fired several holes into the plush furniture. Gajeel grinned to himself as he made a mental note to ask them later for the details of their new irons, walking past them with Levy close in tow as they settled back into the crowds and sat at the bar, nodding at one of the smaller girls to get him a drink.

As he reached for the cold beer he couldn't help but notice a pair of eyes watching him, or more importantly watching the blood that seeped between the metal piercings across his knuckles. Gajeel grinned into his drink. "Something offend you, punk?" he sneered.

Levy, only just realising the company, peered around the giant man and stared back at equally built and equally vicious blonde.

Laxus narrowed his eyes, taking his time to answer. His glance slowly shifted between the bloody marks and the man, meeting Gajeel's childish confidence with a cold determination. The frown across the blonde's face deepened. Gajeel not only understood the reprimanding look but was purposefully toying him with silence. "What the hell have you been up to, Redfox?" Laxus finally accused.

Gajeel's lip curled into a smile. He was feeling cocky now, pretending he hadn't seen the small barmaid holding the metal tray close to her chest almost as a shield as she watched Gajeel's defiance. Laxus's rage was legendary, but the dark-haired muscle felt more than ready to test his mettle. He was bored. He was restless. Laxus was an easy target. "More than you damn well have, that's for sure," he chuckled to himself, pulling the drink back to his lips.

The snarl from Laxus was almost animalistic as he leapt forwards, suddenly taking the dark-haired fighter by the wrist. Before Gajeel could take even one sip, he was stopped from bringing the glass any closer. Laxus's eyes narrowed in warning, feeling the force of the dark Fairy's tensing arm beneath his grip.

The room submerged into a dense silence. Staring at the heavyset pair, no one dared even utter a whisper. Unspoken prayers for the inevitable spark glittered in their eyes, a hope and fear that the entire room would explode into carnage. Any duel between the two heavyweight bodyguards could end in nothing but bloodshed.

Laxus's eyes remained trained on his rival slayer, breathing heavy through his gritted teeth. "I'm not going to ask you again, bastard," he hissed, tightening his grip on the muscular wrist. "What the fuck did you do?"

Undeterred, Gajeel tilted his head back and flashing his metallic teeth as he silently dared the apprentice leader to land the first hit. He had a taste for blood now. Despite still being an attack dog on a short leash, all he could do was bark until anything came close enough to bite. The playful gleam in his eyes hardened into a defiant anger, gladly taking the challenge of power and pressing his own face so close to Laxus's he could feel his hot breathing. "You ain't the boss of me, punk," he growled. "Probably not ever at this rate."

Laxus wasn't taking the bait, nor was he going back on his word. He wasn't going to ask yet again what had happened to the defiant fairy, or who's blood was running down from his knuckles and against the blonde's strong grip. He stared in silence back to the dark-haired man, waiting for something to break.

Levy swallowed hard, slipping between the two huge men and putting her arms between them both. Her eyes pinned to the blonde as she defended her closest friend. "The Ogres were tagging our mural on seventh," she said quickly, her face drawn and serious as she heard the sounds of shock from her friends all around. "Gajeel took care of the punk. Just one kid who got overzealous with a spray-can put in his place, that's it!"

Laxus took a step back, examining the fellow slayer for some hint that his girl was throwing lies to protect him. The agreeing mutterings of the rest of their team only twisted his features more into disgust. The shocked whisperings of criminals wrapped around him. The more that people talked the more he could feel the crackling anxiety twisting through the crowds. They echoed his own thoughts and fears, the creeping cold down his spine at the very thought that such a weak gang would attempt to disrespect their organisation just two blocks from their head quarters. Slowly, his fists tightened. The whispers pounded through his head, the worries of so many of the people he cared of growing louder and filled with more bitterness and more fear and more restlessness and more anger.

Suddenly his fist slammed into the bar. Every pair of eyes stared at him. The silence returned. The blonde's teeth gritted so hard his head ached but it blocked out the empathic pain. He had to be the voice of reason and the guiding light that he had trained his entire life to become. Every single Fairy in the halls was watching him, waiting for the wisdom that would only anger them further. "You shouldn't have done that!" he barked, glaring back at Gajeel. "One Ogre or twenty fucking Sabres, you should have come back here!"

"What for?!" Gajeel snarled. "So you can all sit on your asses while they take our fucking city!?"

"Gajeel," the single word slid through the air like a blade. The agile young woman glided through the crowds, causing a ripple as those around her took their halting steps back with bowed heads. There was an aura of strength beneath the fierce Erza Scarlet and the world trembled beneath her when she wielded the slick and commanding tone. Even the two heavyweight fighters kept their mouths shut, staring back at the redhead and waiting for her to say her piece. "You know that your actions went directly against our boss's specific orders," she warned him, standing straight and folding her arms confidently across her voluptuous chest.

Gajeel offered a 'tsh', but before he could say a word the redhead was challenged by one of few that could dare.

Across the silent hotel floor the sounds of the wildest fairy could be heard long before he was seen. "That's bullshit, Erza!" came the shout from deep within the crowds, fellow thugs awkwardly being pushed out of the way between the flashes of bright pink.

Erza didn't flinch, though the frown across her face deepened. The last thing that they needed was the entire hotel floor pulled into the eternal fight. She drew in a sharp and calming breath, her silent warning slipping through the air as she turned back to search for him.

The man finally pushed his way to the front, standing before one of his closest, most powerful teammates defiantly. Although the terror rippled through every fairy around her, he could only feel the fiery passion burning him from the inside, his constant frustration eating his words. He stood brave before the terrifying woman while so many more fell back from her, his sharp eyes pinned to hers. "You realise how close seventh is?!" Natsu yelled, his legs spread as he prepared to stand his ground.

She met his determination without breaking her expression. "I do," she remarked coolly, glaring down at the pink-haired intruder.

"You know that's our turf!" Natsu continued to scream at her, his fists gripped so tightly they were shaking. He could overcome any terror that the redhead would usually have over him while images of a broken Fairy symbol fuelled his fire. "That's always been fucking Fairies turf!"

She remained patient, ignoring the two juggernauts that were staring at the fire-starter with disbelief as he challenged the fierce redhead. "That's true, yes," she replied patiently.

"If we let them take that then you might as well let them have the whole goddam city!" he growled back to her, in complete disbelief of his own as he searched for some hint of his own passion in her eyes.

Her gaze narrowed, a small glimmer of her irritation towards him making its way through for the briefest of moments. "Natsu."

"Then what the fuck are we waiting for?!" he said, bounding even closer and staring up into the tall woman's sharp gaze. He gritted his teeth hard, seeing red as the world blurred together in a force of fury. "We've got to go!"

"That isn't the way," Erza spoke.

Natsu once again seemed to pay no heed to the terror that gripped his comrades. "Like hell it isn't!" he screamed, his feet pinned to the ground and fists tightening. "This is our family we're talking about. This is our lives, the lives of everyone here and I won't just sit here and let them take it away piece by piece. We can't just let them get away with it!"

"I never said that we would."

Natsu stopped suddenly. His eyes grew wide, staring at the redhead and waiting for her to retract her statement. Every sentence had been carefully chosen, every word deliberate and clear across hushed hall. Her last words bounced around his head, reading every possible hint of hope and confusion. He matched them against every argument and every flare of anger of almost a decade, trying to claw onto any previous time that Erza had even suggested that there was another way. "We're going to fight back?" he asked with a breath, the corner of his lips daring to tug into a smile.

Erza kept the frown on her face, turning away from the young dragon slayer and back to the large blonde. "Laxus, where is Makarov?" she asked calmly.

Laxus, too, appeared both sceptical and drawn aback by Erza's change. "Give you one guess…" he muttered.

Erza nodded to herself. "I see," she said simply, before turning back to the main crowd and the pink-haired boy before her. "The Ogres have taken things too far this time, I believe even Makarov will agree. I'll speak to him immediately. Do not do anything until I return," she hissed as a quick warning, keeping her eyes trained on the excitable young man before her, even as she meant her words for every fairy in the hall.

Natsu just grinned, eyes gleaming in new hope. "Not a thing."

I hope you enjoyed the first chapter! If so, please remember to leave a review and follow for future updates. Next up... Chapter 2; Glass Houses!