Fairy Tail Fanfic.

Chapter 1: Bright lights, flying city.

The journey into Magnolia was a long one, but with the company he kept Blake didn't mind at all. They had all decided to hop on the train straight to the city, not wanting to risk getting jumped on the road. Ever since the new dark guild, Ravenholdt, turned up, the roads leading from town to town were constantly plagued by dark wizards and bandits. Blake and his friends were heading into Magnolia for help, from whoever they could find. Rumour had it a powerful wizard guild was set up in the city, and so far they had never refused a job before. Hopes were high and spirits were carefree, so Blake decided to take one last look around at his friends, so he could remember their smiles and laughter.

There was Elizabeth, a usually rowdy and explosive young girl with dark blonde, shoulder length hair and sapphire eyes. She was small, even for her age. Standing at a remarkable 4'11, Elizabeth had developed a hatred of short jokes and people never taking her seriously due to her height. She hated being treated like a child, and as such would either act far more maturely than her age, or hit things. It was usually the latter, if Blake was honest with himself. Elizabeth was a dragon slayer, although she rarely talked about the one that raised her. She specialised in a form of ice magic, and so far had proven to be the group's strongest fighter. Yet she always got careless if the fight was taking too long, so it was best to keep an eye on her at all times.

Sat next to her, almost a polar opposite, was Logan. Calm, collected and cold as ice, where Elizabeth was short and fiery Logan was tall and stoic as the rain. His hair was a black darker than sin; long enough to be swept over one eye like a velvet curtain. The eye that could be seen was a deep shade of crimson, and was currently wandering the country side from the train window. However, Logan was more than just the silent judgemental type people often mistook him for. He was fiercely loyal, to a fault, putting his friend's lives ahead of his own at the slightest sign of danger. He had never run from a fight, nor did he need to. Logan used requip magic, and over the years had gathered a fearsome arsenal of devastating weapons, ranging from daggers to great swords, bows to magical rifles, hammers to scythes and most things in between. His personal favourite was a weapon he never put down, a hand cannon infused with magical energy, capable of firing any form of magical bullet. He had even given it a pet name. Whisper.

Sitting on the other side of the bench, next to Blake, sat Arya. At first glance, one could mistake her for Logan's sister. However once up close the differences were startlingly obvious. Where Logan's hair was pure midnight, Arya's curled into wisps of auburn that fell over her shoulders. Arya's eyes were an emerald sea flecked with gold, carrying so much pain and sadness it hurt just to look at her. That pain was reflected in her character. She rarely spoke, and when she did it was softly and almost impossible to hear. Arya tended to hide behind Blake whenever they were approached, and small wonder. He was all she had left. Well, that and her single celestial spirit key. It was a gift from her dad. It was a silver key that he had signed a contract with that would let her summon it whenever she needed. So far, Arya had avoided using it, instead using what little she knew of healing magic to help support her friends when fights broke out.

Finally there was Blake himself, carrying himself with a rugged look to him you would never guess that he was actually the youngest in the group. He was only 17. Blake's hair was a fiery red that matched Elizabeth's temper, wild and unkempt but still shorter than Logan's, while his eyes were a brooding hazel. Or rather his left eye was. The right was pure white, broken and useless, a nasty scar tracing its way across it vertically at a slight tilt. Blake also stood the tallest among them, but only by a fraction. Blake's magic was by far the most unpredictable, but also the one with the greatest destructive potential. He focused on shadow magic; almost identical to magic's banned by the magic council for the raw destructive force they could unleash. Blake knew full well just what he was meddling with, knew just what it meant to master his chosen craft. But he had promised to keep the others safe, and if that meant breaking the laws of the land to so then so be it. Whatever it takes.

Blake glanced at his watch and realised that didn't have long left until they arrived, and with no idea of where to go once they got there he decided they needed a plan of some sorts. So it fell to him to break the melancholy silence that the group had fallen into. Blake had been so busy memorising his friends he hadn't realised it had even happened.

"We've got about five minutes until we reach the city. So did anyone lea-"
Before he could finish Elizabeth cut him off with a triumphant wail. Suddenly she was full of energy and bubbling with excitement.
"I cannot wait to get off this stupid thing! My legs are killing me"
It had to be said for Elizabeth, no matter what the situation was she always came out as completely oblivious to everyone else around her. However the sudden outburst had everyone smiling at one another, and for the briefest of moments they all forgot about the shadows of the lives they had left behind. The moment passed as quickly as it came, but it was Logan who spoke up next.
"The train will drop us off on the opposite side of town to the guild hall. It's a bit of a hike up there, but we can stop off for something to eat along the way at least."
Logan lost interest with the conversation as something out of the train's window caught his eye. For a moment, he glimpsed what he swore was a shadowy figure darting across the countryside, but it was gone in an instant. He blinked, not even sure if he saw anything at all, before going back to the others.
"If all goes to plan, we should be at the guild hall by dusk."
"If all goes to plan? What could possibly go wrong Lo? Honestly it's like you hope something goes wrong so you can hit things."
Elizabeth's tone was teasing and playful, but there was denying the edge to her voice. She was tired; they all were after having fled their homes. It still came as a shock to the others, but it was brushed aside. They were all friends, one slip up wouldn't hurt.
"I wonder if they have pizza..."

Arya's voice seemed to calm the others somewhat, while her choice of words brought along another round of smiling. Elizabeth reached over the bench and pinched Arya's cheek, giggling as the girl protested weakly.
"Of course they will silly. It's a big city! You can have as much pizza as you want."
Her next comment was interrupted by the train coming to a sudden stop, causing everyone on board to lurch awkwardly in their seats. They were all up on their feet the moment the train stopped rocking, racing for the doors. Elizabeth kicked one down and rushed outside, before stopping dead in her tracks. Her gaze tracked skywards, craning her neck to get a better view.
"Uh, guys... we have small problem."
Innocent bystanders had started to leave the train, their faces twisted in shock and horror as they saw what she did. Where Magnolia should have been stood a crater of roughly the same size, burrowing into the ground for almost a mile. Blake and the others followed Elizabeth's eyes up, and collectively gasped. Floating a few hundred feet above, covered in dark storms and raging winds, was the great city of Magnolia. It took the group a few minutes to gather their wits and drag Elizabeth's attention back down to earth. They looked to one another with dread, a silent argument raging between them. After a while, Blake sighed, and decided to break the tension as best he could.
"Looks like we're gonna have to go up there guys. Did anyone bring a bigger boat?"