I'm really lucky to have a very non-hectic school days recently. I mean, I just got back from break, but still. I expected more school work than I have gotten for the past two days. I don't know how long this trend will last, but I am hoping it will so I can get a lot of writing done so I don't end up disappointing you guys with a lack of updates.

Anyways, I think I should explain something before we get into this chapter. I don't usually have animals that can communicate with humans very often in my stories (I think there's been one other instance, but it was an OC somebody sent me), but there happen to be some in this chapter.

Italics means somebody is thinking or an animal is speaking

Now that you know that, I think I'm ready to start the chapter.

…

He had been walking through the forest the whole night, searching. Willoughby's dark circles were already a problem and the late night searching was not helping in the slightest. The mage suddenly stopped, looking around his surroundings. It was incredibly early with the sun barely coming up, the sky a light blue. He adjusted his glasses, looked around the forest, and sighed.

Valeria had run far, as expected of her. To be honest, Willoughby didn't like the forest at all, despite it being a good habitat for his crows. All the trees looked the same and on many occasions he had tripped on a root or low tree branch. Willoughby leaned against the nearest tree, thankful for the support the tree provided him. His eyes were drooping and he almost fell asleep when the cawing of a crow awoke him.

He looked up at the early morning sky and spotted a dark form coming down from the trees, stopping to rest on Willoughby's shoulder. The mage smiled at the crow as it lowered his head, shaking its wings.

"Have you found her? I'd like to get some sleep." yawned Willoughby as the crow looked at him with its beady black eyes.

'Yes, your majesty. She's not far from here. Please, follow me.' said the crow as Willoughby nodded, following the crow's path as it flew at an easy to follow pace.

…

The crow had been right about Valeria being close. Willoughby had been led to a riverbank where the short tempered girl was standing, spear in hand, looking down at the river. Several crows had gathered at her feet and the black birds immediately took off as Willoughby approached the riverbank quietly, the crows quickly landing at his feet. That was enough for Valeria to realize that she had a visitor, one who specialized with crows. She turned and blinked at him as if she didn't know who he was. Willoughby stared back as best he could, trying to keep his eyes open.

"By god, you look awful," Valeria said bluntly as Willoughby yawned and stretched.

"That reminds me, I need to thank you for the opportunity to chase you throughout the night, robbing me of the sleep I sorely need." responded Willoughby sarcastically as Valeria rolled her eyes as she wrinkled her nose at the crows that had gathered all around him.

"I don't need your sarcasm. Anyways, thanks for getting those disgusting birds away from me and coming to find me. I suppose you came to escort me back to camp?" asked Valeria as Willoughby furrowed his brow, suddenly bombarded by information from the crows at his feet.

At least a dozen reports were coming in from the crows around him, a few good, but most of them bad. According to one crow, Armanis and Lloyd were moving camp and had left behind a note asking them to meet them at the capital city, not too far from here. Another crow was saying that a few mages were wandering the forest, looking for them. Willoughby groaned as he silenced the crows with a wave of his hand, Valeria giving him a weird look.

"Yeah, yeah, but I can't really escort you because they're on the move. They want us to meet at Crocus, no doubt for that tournament Armanis wanted to check out. Anyways, I doubt you need any escorting. You're stronger than I am, remember?" asked Willoughby with a hint of annoyance as Valeria nodded her head, getting the hint. Willoughby coughed. "Also, apparently they're being tailed…by two groups. I can't explain everything right now. We need to go…now."

Valeria nodded and the two were off without another word. There were more important things to do than stand around and talk about possible enemies. They had to do something.

…

Unfortunately, the eye did swell. Armanis was now graced with a black eye and it really hurt to touch or keep open. The two of them had packed up the camp and were now on the move towards Crocus. Armanis was disappointed that Valeria and Willoughby didn't arrive at the camp before they left, but it couldn't be helped. The camp equipment was sort of heavy, but Armanis had bigger things to worry about. Something just felt…wrong. The two were moving at a good pace. It would be ideal to reach Crocus by the time night came again.

There was silence between the two mages because talking would be a waste of energy, but it was broken by the fluttering of wings as a tiny little black bird came down from the trees, fluttering its tiny wings as it hovered between Armanis and Lloyd, the Pride Slayer turning to look what had come down from the trees. Armanis raised an eyebrow as Lloyd scratched his head. Both were confused about what this little bird wanted and neither of them expected what happened next. It started to talk.

"Armanis, Lloyd, I need you both to start running. You are being followed. Do you hear me? I will say it again: you are being followed. They're gaining on you and you need to get the hell out of there before they find you." said the bird urgently…in Willoughby's voice.

Both of the rouge mages disregarded the message completely. They were too fascinated by the little bird and what magic had gone into creating it.

"Wow, that's very cool. I had no idea you could do that!" exclaimed Armanis in wonder as he cupped the little bird in his hand.

"Will you listen to me?!" shouted the bird as it pecked Armanis's hand rapidly, the mage yelping as he withdrew his hand, glaring at the little bird. "Just drop all the camp equipment and run! They're getting closer as we speak. I managed to find Valeria and we're taking a detour. Meet us in Magnolia Town near the Twilight Ogre guild building, alright? I'll try to stay with you the whole way, but if they take this crow out you-"

A shard of ice sent the small crow to the ground, dead. Armanis and Lloyd looked at each other for a moment before immediately looking in the direction of where the ice shard had come from. There stood a group of three, one of them recognizable from the fight yesterday. He was accompanied by a mage who had dark blue hair with just pants on and a pink haired mage who looked like he was about to explode in fury.

"That's them!" shouted the mage who was called Atlas from yesterday.

The two rouges wasted no time. Lloyd had his camping equipment off his back within seconds and threw it at the three, trying to slow them down. Armanis had already thrown the equipment off and was trying to use his magic to slow them down.

"Illusions of Reality: Pawns!" he shouted as several soldiers appeared from thin air, charging towards the group of three.

The two turned tail and ran after that, Armanis looking over his shoulder once to see what was going on. The soldiers had already been taken down and they were hot on their tail. A few bolts of fire shot past them and Armanis willed himself to run faster. Lloyd kept an even pace, his muscular legs giving him an advantage. Thoughts shot through Armanis's head.

'Oh shit, this isn't good. How the hell did they even find us? Where the hell is Magnolia anyways? Oh, wait, to the Southeast from Crocus. Goddamn it!' he thought desperately as the two continued to run, barely staying ahead of their pursuers.

Everything was a blur as they ran and Lloyd suddenly disappeared, leaving Armanis alone. The leader of the rogue group frantically looked around as he ran when a sudden flash of black sent his entire world tumbling. He heard something crack and he started to slide. Things stood still enough for him to realize that he had fallen off the edge of steep hill, about to slide down a rocky path perhaps to his death.

'Shit.' thought Armanis as the pain started to begin as he slid down the hill, the speed doing strange things to his head. The black eye didn't help.

Crack

Pain shot through Armanis's body as he hit the ground at top speeds. He couldn't move his leg. He collapsed on the grassy ground, unable to go anywhere. He tried to drag himself forward, but he failed. He couldn't even think as he heaved, unable to get the pain to subside. He swore he could hear fighting from above, no doubt Lloyd trying to hold the attackers off. Armanis chuckled weakly as he lay there, helpless. This was all so pathetic. He was the leader, but he couldn't really help. He simply wasn't useful. Suddenly he felt somebody grab him and hoist him onto their shoulder. A pursuer no doubt.

'Maybe I never will get revenge on Sting…' thought Armanis sadly as he passed out from exhaustion.

…

The rouge mage wearing the hat was suddenly hit with something black and he quickly disappeared. They had already lost the blonde rouge and the group stopped running and slowed to a stop. Atlas stepped forward cautiously, wondering what the black blur had been. It must have had considerable force as it slammed the rouge right off of his feet. Natsu and Gray didn't wander too far as well, looking for the rouges. Atlas cursed as he slammed his fist against a tree, frustrated beyond belief. They had lost both of them. The chase was as good as over.

The Fairy Tail mages were about to search a bit more when slow clapping was heard. They turned to see a blonde haired man around Natsu's age clapping at them, a sneer on his face. Standing beside the blonde was a black haired man most likely the same age, accompanied by somebody dressed entirely in a ninja suit, a blade in his hand. They wore an unfamiliar guild symbol that appeared to represent a creature with a large fang or tooth.

"Well, this is a great surprise. My greatest idol before my very eyes!" laughed the blonde as he took a step towards the group of three.

Atlas gritted his teeth while Gray and Natsu looked confused. Saber Tooth. What the hell were they doing here? Rogue remained silent as Sting continued on.

"Well, it's unfortunate that the rogue mage was killed. I believe Dobengal's attack was enough to send him falling to his death. I didn't get in any training, but I see that my idol is here to help me train," Sting said in a snide manner as he suddenly looked Natsu in the eyes. "I'm stronger than you and I'm going to crush you to prove it."

…

And so the Fairy and Tiger meet. This chapter was pretty fun. Sorry if the chase seems really rushed and non-descriptive, but I'm really not going to drag out a chase with every little detail. I apologize to Edward the Pure for the lack of his OC, but I'm looking for a more appropriate time to introduce her.

I apologize for the lack of fighting, but that'll take place next chapter and fighting isn't what this story is about. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the story and I will see you all later! FF