Chapter 2: a dark figure.
Night had fallen over Fiore, and team Natsu was ready for the bandits. They hid in the shadows as they waited for the bandits to show themselves. Natsu sniffed the air, and grinned.
"They're here." Natsu told. He then lit his fist on fire, and jumped out of his hiding spot. Lucy's eyes widened.
"Natsu! Wait!" Lucy cried out, but it was too late; Natsu had already revealed himself. The group of bandits were raiding a stall when they turned to see Natsu throw a punch at them.
"I'm all fired up!" Natsu cried as he knocked one of the bandits into the stall. Lucy sighed.
"Well, looks like we have to show ourselves now." Lucy then took out her keys. "Open! Gate of the scorpion! Scorpio!" Lucy chanted. A golden light then appeared, and Scorpio appeared. The bandits looked at the golden light with wide eyes.
"Wicked!" Scorpio yelled. Lucy pointed to the group of bandits.
"Blow them away, Scorpio!" Lucy ordered. Scorpio nodded.
"Sand buster!" Scorpio shouted as he used the sand buster to create a whirlwind of sand. The bandits cried out as they were blown towards Erza, who was waiting for them with her sword drawn. She then held out her arms.
"Requip!" Erza yelled as she used her magic to requip into her heaven's wheel armour. She then summoned 500 hundred swords, and fired them at the group of bandits. The bandits cried out in fear as the swords neared them. A big cloud of dust appeared as the swords pierced them. Gray put his hands together.
"Ice make, cage!" Gray shouted as a cage made of ice appeared, and trapped the bandits. Wendy sucked in some air.
"Sky dragon rooooaaaarrr!" Wendy shouted, blowing the bandits along with the cage towards Natsu. Natsu smirked, and lit his fist on fire.
"Fire dragon iron fist!" Natsu shouted as he punched the cage, smashing it and blowing the bandits away. The bandits flew into the nearby shops, causing some buildings to come crashing down. Natsu laughed like a maniac as he watched them. Lucy looked at the town, and gaped at the damage caused by Natsu. She then walked up to the dragon slayer, and swatted him across the back of the head.
"You idiot! You just destroyed half the town!" Lucy shouted. Natsu winced, and held the back of his head as he pouted at Lucy.
"Not my fault that they were so weak." Natsu told. Erza frowned.
"Natsu's right. We were told that these bandits were supposed to be powerful." Erza stated. Gray crouched down in front of one of the bandits.
"Weren't they supposed to make stuff disappear?" Gray questioned. Lucy nodded. Happy flew down to one of the bandits, and saw an opal ring on the bandit's finger. Happy took the ring, and put it on himself. He smiled, and stood up.
"Hey, guys! Look at what I found!" Happy exclaimed. Everyone turned towards him, then looked around in confusion.
"Hey, where did Happy go?" Wendy questioned.
"I don't know. Happy!" Lucy called. Happy cocked his head to the side in confusion.
"I'm right here!" Happy told. Natsu frowned.
"That's strange, I can hear him, but I can't see him." Natsu then turned towards where Happy's voice came from. He then sniffed the air, and leaned towards Happy. Happy sighed.
"I'm right here Natsu." Happy told. Natsu stared at Happy, then his eyes widened.
"Happy!?" Natsu questioned as he stood back in shock. Happy nodded.
"Aye!" Happy then looked down at his hands, and screamed. "AAAAAAAHHHHH! WHAT HAPPENED TO MY HANDS!?"
"THAT'S WHAT WE'D LIKE TO KNOW!" Natsu shouted. Happy continued to stare at his hands. He then looked at his entire body.
"Hey! I'm invisible!" Happy shouted.
"You just realised that now!?" Lucy questioned. Happy stared at his hands, and grinned.
"Wow, awesome! It's just like that time Lucy turned invisible!" Happy exclaimed. Lucy sighed, and put her hand to her forehead.
"Don't remind me." Lucy muttered.
"These rings must be the cause of it." Happy then looked around, and his eyes widened. "Look out!" Happy cried. Natsu raised his eyebrow in confusion until he was smashed into one of the nearby shops. Everyone looked at Natsu in shock.
"NATSU!" Lucy cried. She was then knocked to the ground.
"LUCY!" Everyone cried. They then got into a battle position. Happy shivered.
"Guys, there's a whole lot of them now!" Happy told. Erza looked at Happy.
"Where are they!?" Erza questioned. Happy looked around him.
"They're all around us!" Happy cried. Natsu groaned, and pulled himself out of the shop. He then growled.
"Okay, I've had enough of this! Let's take em down!" Natsu shouted. Everyone nodded.
"Happy! You'll need to tell us where they're at!" Gray shouted. Happy nodded. Happy then spotted another ring, and threw it to Charle.
"Here! If we work together, then we'll be able to take them down!" Happy told. Charle nodded. She and Happy then flew up into the air.
"Erza, in front of you! Wendy, to your left!" Charle shouted.
"Natsu, to your right! Gray, Lucy, behind you!" Happy shouted. Everyone nodded, and attacked. Erza summoned a round of blades, and fired them in front of her. Natsu sucked in some air.
"Fire dragon's roooaaaar!" Natsu shouted as he used is magic to his right. Wendy clenched her fists, and held them out to her side.
"Sky dragon's wing attack!" Wendy cried as she used her magic to smack the bandits into the sea. Gray put his hands together.
"Ice make war hammer!" Gray cried as he slammed the war hammer into the bandits. Lucy took out another key.
"Open! Gate of the archer! Sagittarius!" Lucy shouted. Sagittarius appeared, and saluted to Lucy.
"How de do my lady!" Sagittarius greeted. Lucy smirked, and pointed to where the bandits are.
"Take those guys down!" Lucy told. Sagittarius nodded, and closed his eyes. He then used his senses, and aimed for the bandits. The bandits growled, and ran towards him with their swords and magic staffs raised. Sagittarius frowned, and fired the arrows. The bandits paled when the arrows were fired towards them. In the distance, a robed figure watched them. The bandits cried out in pain as the arrows pierced them. Lucy cheered, and high-fived Sagittarius.
"Is that all, my lady?" Sagittarius questioned. Lucy smiled, and nodded.
"Yep! You were great! Thanks for the help." Sagittarius nodded, and disappeared with a bow. Happy and Charle smiled, and cheered. Erza looked up.
"Was that all of them?" Erza questioned. Happy looked around, and nodded.
"Yeah, that should be all-" Happy stopped when he saw one of the bandits running away. "Wait! There's one getting away!" Natsu looked at where Happy was pointing, and saw that this bandit had lost his ring. He then ran after him.
"I got him!" Natsu shouted. The bandit looked behind him, and paled. He then ran faster, but was no match for Natsu's speed. Natsu grabbed the man from behind, and smashed him to the ground. The bandit cried out in pain. Natsu then fisted his shirt, and pulled him up to his face. Natsu was then about to knock the man unconscious, but Erza intervened by gripping Natsu's shoulder.
"Wait. He may have information for us about those rings." Erza told. Natsu groaned, but when he saw Erza's expression, he shut up. Erza then pushed Natsu out of the way, and fisted the bandit's shirt. "Tell me. Where did you get those rings?" Erza questioned. The bandit paled.
"I-I don't have to tell you anything!" The bandit told. Erza frowned, and was about to threaten him when the bandit caught on fire. The bandit screamed out in pain. Erza gasped, and let go of him. They then heard a laugh.
"He really shouldn't be blubbering on about these kinds of things, you know?" A voiced told. Everyone's heads whipped around to the source of the voice. Their eyes then widened at what they saw. A cloaked figure stood in the distance, and grinned. Erza frowned.
"Who are you? Are you their leader?" Erza questioned. The cloaked figure only grinned. Natsu growled.
"He was your friend! And you killed him! You, bastard!" Natsu shouted. He then lit his fist on fire, and ran at full speed at the cloaked figure. Wendy sniffed the air, and her eyes widened. She then reached out for Natsu.
"Natsu-san! Wait!" Wendy cried. Natsu threw a punch at the cloaked figure. The cloaked figure caught his fist, and threw him to the side with almost little effort. Everyone gasped. Natsu groaned, and looked at the figure bewildered. The cloaked figure raised his hand, and clicked his fingers. The opal rings on Happy and Charle's fingers then shattered, and fell to the ground. Both exceeds cried out in surprise as the rings shattered. Natsu growled, and ran at the cloaked figure. The cloaked figure turned towards him, and used his arm to block Natsu's kick. The cloaked figure then pushed Natsu back. Natsu lost his balance, and fell to the ground with an 'oof!'. The cloaked figure grinned.
"We'll surely see each other again, Natsu Dragneel." The cloaked figure told. He then laughed, and disappeared as a cloud of smoke appeared. Everyone coughed, and waited for the smoke to clear. When it did, the cloaked figure was gone. Natsu growled, and slammed his fist into the ground.
"Dammit! Who the hell was that guy!?" Natsu questioned. Lucy walked over to him, and held her hand out to him. Natsu took it, and Lucy pulled him up.
"I don't know, but he seemed to know you." Lucy told. Wendy nodded.
"Yes, but he smelled weird." Wendy told. Everyone looked at her in confusion.
"What do you mean, Wendy?" Erza questioned. Wendy looked up.
"Natsu-san, didn't you notice? His smell." Wendy questioned. Natsu frowned, and looked down in thought. Happy waved his hand.
"Don't overdo it, buddy." Happy warned. Natsu looked away.
"Shut it, Happy." Natsu then went back into thought. His eyes then widened. "You're right. He did smell weird." Gray raised his eyebrow.
"What did he smell like?" Gray questioned. Natsu frowned.
"I can't quite describe it, but he had an old musty smell with a hint of blood. But he smells familiar." Natsu informed. Wendy walked up to everyone.
"He's hiding his true identity. We couldn't even sense him." Wendy informed. Erza nodded.
"Yes, when he appeared, I sensed almost no magic from him." Natsu frowned.
"Then how come he blocked all of my attacks?" Natsu questioned. Happy shrugged.
"Maybe he's just really good at martial arts." Happy suggested as he punched the air. Lucy shook her head.
"No, he definitely knew how to use magic. He demonstrated that by shattering those rings." Lucy told. Lucy's eyes then widened. "That's it! The rings! He must have shattered those for a reason! Come on, let's look over the bandits and see if there are any rings that might have survived!" Lucy told. Everyone nodded, and started searching the bandits.