Summary: Grimiore Heart has been defeated by Fairy Tail, but not before leaving a devastating blow on the guild. Makarov's wounds had finally sunk in and left him for dead, and Bluenote killed Gilarts when he was weakened. Zeref has disappeared as well. Could his disappearance have something to do with the final dark guild, Tartaros?
Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail in any way, form, or fashion.
Erza's Stand
The Guild remained quiet for a few moments after Laxus's departure, but Erza stood up immediately, a determined look on her face. "You heard him! Everyone, stay here!" she yelled, a snarl on her face. How can he expect us to sit here and wait while our Nakama have been taken! she thought. "I will search out the rat responsible for this. When we find him, we will declare war on their guild!" Erza spoke as a true Guild Master. While Laxus was more powerful, she was far more fit for the position, or that was her opinion anyway.
Natsu waved a fist in front of him, "So now you are telling us to wait while you disobey his orders? Why should we listen to yours?" he snapped. He was enraged. Natsu always was when his Guild had been threatened or attacked.
Gray walked next to Natsu, joining his complaint. "For once, I agree with this lizard-breath." Ignoring Natsu's retort, he continued, "You can't expect us to just stay here, can you Erza?"
Erza was still facing the doorway, her back to the duo. "Natsu, Gray, I understand your complaints. You don't want to sit still while our guild is in trouble. Believe me, I understand, and that is why I am going," she said, tilting her head so as to face them. "The entire Guild is enraged. If I let you two go, then it would only anger the others," she murmured.
"Who gave you the right to make that decision in the first place?" Gray demanded. He and Natsu, surprisingly, still hadn't backed down.
"I made a promise to Master," she replied, turning her head back to face the doorway and closing her eyes. "Please, I beg this of you." There was an emotion in her voice that Lucy had never heard before. It almost sounded like...fear? Did Erza know something that the rest of them didn't?
"Natsu, listen to her," Lucy pleaded.
Natsu glanced from Erza to Lucy, and placed an arm, albeit reluctantly, in front of Gray. "We will stop, for now," Natsu said, casting a look at Gray. The ice alchemist scowled, but nodded hesitantly.
Erza returned a small smile. "Thank you," she said, and walked out of the guild, her Heart Kreuz armor flashing in the light.
Lucy wrapped her hands around her shoulders and looked down sorrowfully. Fairy Tail almost always seemed to be on the verge of destruction. A hot (literally) hand gently touched her shoulder reassuringly. She looked up and saw Natsu gazing down at her, a small smile on his face. She smiled in return, and returned to her table.
Erza walked on determinedly. She could remember Master's words as they rang clearly through her mind. They were his dying words. The scene itself was enough to shatter even Titania's heart.
Erza knelt down at the Master, who was bleeding profusely. His back lay on the ground and he stared up at the sky. "Erza, this Guild has went through so much. It saddens me that I have to leave. However, there is something I think you should know. I trust your judgment, and will entrust this information to you and you only. Fairy Tail has conquered many battles, and we have even lost a couple, but the biggest one has yet to come. Zeref's return has convinced me. The tides of the world are shifting, and something large is going to happen soon, large enough to shake the very foundations of Fiore, no, the world if not stopped. Fairy Tail has turned itself into quite a threat, especially to the..." he coughed up a spout of blood, which landed on his already stained clothing. "Balam Alliance. Two of the four most powerful dark guilds have fallen, both of which belong to that Alliance. However, the largest struggle has yet to come: Tartaros. They will undoubtedly make a move being the last of the Balam Alliance. They don't seek to avenge Oracion Seis or Grimiore Heart but to deal with Fairy Tail. We are definitely a threat to them. They are going to strike very soon, probably before we can recover from this battle. Be warned, Tartaros has been rumored to be the most powerful dark guild in all of Fiore, and they are also the largest base of intelligence other than the Council. I'm not even sure what we should do about Fairy Tail now. They will be saddened, no doubt, but you must lead them through this alongside Laxus. Stop Tartaros before they can become a bigger threat, Erza. If the Guild works hard enough, I have no doubt that we can do this. The sad thing is," he said, and tears were pouring down his face, "that I can't even watch you do so, and I considered you a daughter to me," he weeped.
Those were his last words, and Erza wouldn't take them for granted. She was more stronger now than she ever had been. Not just stronger in strength, but stronger in resolve. She would start this war and give Fairy Tail an upper hand, even if it took her life. She knew just where to do as well.
She was pouring her energy into the cart that carried her. Her surroundings were a blur. The odd thing was that she couldn't feel any energy drain. Maybe it would only come back to hit her when it really mattered, but it mattered not. She was going to deal with this man.
She saw a lone figure, running at a nearly imperceptible speed, and she could make out two figures slumped over his shoulders: Levy and Droy. She poured another load of energy into the cart and managed to catch up to him. She slid the cart to a stop in front of him. The man stopped. He was a little over six feet with black hair and black fuzz along his chin, probably a shaved beard. The oddest thing about him couldn't be noticed physically, however. She could feel no energy resonating from him.
"Erza Scarlet, hm? How did you know where I was going, or were you moving from your instincts? I heard you have great instincts, but the hotheaded Dragonslayer's one is better. What was his name? Natsu...?"
She knew what he was doing. He was trying to threaten her with knowledge from her guild. However, everyone knew about Natsu, she thought to herself and allowed a small smile. The fool was known throughout Fiore.
"What's the matter? Do you not know how to speak, and why are you smiling?" he asked, cocking his head to the right in a questioning manner.
Erza snarled at him. "You ask far too many questions. I wish for you to drop those two right now, or I swear it that you don't leave this battle alive," she snapped, her tone both deadly and serious. She wasn't kidding in the least.
He dropped them on the ground and shrugged his shoulders. "There, I dropped them? Can I go?" he smirked, drawing his sword.
"Don't play around!" Erza snarled. "Requip! Heaven Wheel Armor!" she shouted. She glowed with a ray of brilliance which dimmed in moments, revealing her and what she considered her most powerful armor.
"You wouldn't go serious on a human, now, would you?" he whispered in a false plead.
"You aren't human. You're a monster; no human would kidnap another's friends. You're a guild member of Tartaros," she said quietly.
"Wow, it seems that we aren't the only ones with information. But did you think I was kidding? I'm a human!" he revealed. Erza narrowed her eyes at his odd revelation. Jet had said that he could move extremely fast, and Erza had seen evidence of that a few moments ago, so why did she get the feeling he was telling the truth?
"I'm right, aren't I? I have no magical power whatsoever. I am just enhanced physically from the use of magic," he said as if it were obvious.
"Really, then this should be easy," she snarled and charged at a quick speed, swinging her sword when she came close. However, her blow met air. She gasped when she noticed a sword at her neck. When did he-
He was standing behind her, and with a swift, unseen flick of his wrist, his sword collided into her shoulder. She flew forward and turned immediately, her hand gripped on her shoulder.
"Don't kid yourself, hun," he said, clearly enjoying her surprise. "Do you think that a member of Tartaros would be so weak as to not be able to avoid a single blow. No offense intended. You are extremely talented, but you underestimate others far too easily," he hissed. "Requip to your fast armor, and get ready for an onslaught," he muttered, bending his knees.
Erza hesitated, "Requip!" she yelled. She was now in her Flight Armor, her fastest armor. Strength would mean nothing if she couldn't hit this man, whoever he was.
"Goooood," he said, licking his lips in anticipation. His vision was a blur as he charged, and Erza charged as well. Their blows met in the middle, and Erza had a slight chip on her stomach.
"Why are you holding back?" she demanded.
"Weird, I was wondering the same about you, or don't tell me. You are really this weak?" he taunted.
"As if!" she snapped and took to the air, attacking him from above. At one blink of her eye, her blade was above his head, which was completely disposed. The next, a sword was blocking her strike. She backed up and came from behind, moving with a lithe form and amazing speed. He raised his hand above his shoulder, his sword pointing behind him, and blocked Erza's strike from behind. She attacked from nearly every direction, and she moved at a speed that was so fast, she seemed to appear from one place or another.
The man's face was no longer calm but now a scowl as even he had trouble blocking all of her strikes. One of them managed to graze his abdomen, but it was nothing serious. Erza's strikes had also been slower than she normally would have been in this armor from the wound he had given her earlier in her shoulder. She then flew in front of him, about ten or so paces away. She was panting from her work, when really she had only struck him twice.
"You are as good as they say, no doubt," the man said. "Your diversity as a fighter leaves you as a threat alone. If it had been against some other member in the guild, save the Guild Master of course, you might have actually won." He was now directly in front of her in the blink of an eye. "However, half-credit is no good, I'm afraid," he frowned, and brought his sword down on her neck.
A large explosion struck the area. Erza had thought she was a goner, but now, in front of her, stood Jellal.
The member of Tartaros stared, a grimace on his face. "When did you get released, Jellal?" he had moved back nearly twenty yards to avoid the explosion.
"Who are you?" Jellal asked. "There's no way you should be able to avoid my attack."
He shrugged his shoulder. "It's true that I'm not normal, but there's nothing wrong with me, I promise." He glanced at Levy and Droy, who lay five feet from Jellal. He could probably get them before Jellal could interfere, but would be able to escape Jellal? If he couldn't he wouldn't be able to fight both Erza and Jellal. "My name is Azune, and I am a member of Tartaros. Remember the name well, Scarlet," he murmured, and he ran. Azune's form couldn't even be made out as he ran away at full speed.
Jellal glanced at Erza. "Are you ok?" he asked concernedly.
OH! HE IS BACK! (Terminator) xD
