Edited: 11/10/16

Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail, all I own are my OCs

Blayze arrived back at the guild tired and disappointed. He had flown all over Magnolia searching for Laxus and found nothing. He let his wings disappear with a light 'pop' and landed lightly on the ground in front of Makarov, Natsu, Gajeel, and Happy. He frowned slightly when he saw that Raven wasn't with them but quickly shrugged it off. Knowing her, she had probably isolated herself somewhere.

"So, what'd you find?" Natsu asked impatiently.

Blayze's shoulders drooped, and he let out a sigh. "I didn't find anything. I looked all over, but I couldn't find where Laxus is at. I'm sorry."

Makarov smiled gently. "That's okay, Blayze. Even if you had found something, it's not like we could do anything about it. Not as long as we're locked in here. But thank you for trying."

Blayze nodded. "Of course. I'll go tell Raven."

He stepped away from them and scanned the first floor, surprised that she wasn't there. After all, she almost never spent time on the second floor. Blayze sprouted his wings and flew upstairs. Landing lightly on the railing, he looked all around and frowned when he didn't see her.

Where else could she be? These are the only places she can go.

Slowly, he floated back to the first floor and stood a moment, thinking. There was no where else she could be, so where was she? It's not like she could leave the guild...or could she?

No, he thought, Natsu and the others are still here, so she has to be here also. Unless she had found a way out. But why would she not tell the others?

Starting to get a bad feeling, Blayze hurried over to the others.

"Where is Raven at?" he asked quickly.

They all looked at him in surprise.

"What do you mean?" Happy questioned.

"I looked on the first and second floor, and she's not on either of them," he explained.

"That can't be," Makarov murmured. "She has to be here somewhere. Natsu, Gajeel, can either of you catch her scent?"

After a few seconds of sniffing around, the two dragon slayers turned to Master, confusion all over their faces.

"Her scent isn't here," Natsu said.

"Yeah, I can't smell her either," Gajeel confirmed.

Makarov's brows furrowed. "So she got out? But how?"

"Wait!" Natsu yelled. "She left us behind? That's not fair. I want to fight to!"

"Look!" Happy gasped, pointing at the board.

Everyone turned, and their eyes widened at what they saw.

Happy read it out loud. "Another person has entered the battle: Raven!"

"No way, she really did get out?" Gajeel muttered.

"That's not fair!" Natsu cried.

Makarov felt a surge of hope. With Erza fighting Evergreen and Raven out there to find Laxus, the girls would be saved in no time. He had no doubt that Erza would win her battle, and as for Raven...it would be a hard fight, but he believed that if she really concentrated, she could beat him.

Raven is so much stronger than she knows. She has incredible power that when used correctly, could be unbeatable. She just has to keep her emotions in check, he thought frowning. Because if she doesn't...

Makarov turned to Blayze and spoke quietly to him. "Blayze, I need you to go find Raven and watch her. Make sure she stays in control."

Blayze nodded gravely and took off.

Makarov stood quietly and watched him leave.

She must be careful. Because if she lets her anger grow too strong, he thought grimly, this fight will turn into a bloodbath.

Raven walked through the streets of Magnolia with her eyes and ears peeled for anything that could lead her to Laxus. She had yet to pick up his scent, so she was forced to wander the streets until she was able to hear or smell him. So far, this tactic was proving to be useless and slow.

I suppose I could shadow travel throughout Magnolia. That would definitely be faster, she thought then shook her head, No, I need to be at full strength when I find him.

She wasn't so naive as to believe that fighting Laxus would be easy. No, this was going to be an extremely difficult fight. After all, Laxus wasn't made S-Class for nothing. He was an incredibly strong mage, and she would never even think of underestimating him. However, she wasn't going to underestimate herself either. She was confident in her abilities and was proud to admit that she was S-Class. She knew what she was capable of, and she knew that she could beat Laxus if she set her mind to it. And right now, with the anger she felt toward him...Well he was in for one hell of a fight.

Her head jerked to the left when she heard a piercing scream cut through the air. Stopping in her tracks, she tilted her head and smirked when she recognized the scents to be Evergreen and Erza. All the sudden, the screaming stopped, and she heard a loud 'smack'. Her smirk grew when she heard what they were saying.

"If you're going to threaten someone, do it properly," Erza advised.

"Alright," came Evergreen's pained voice, "I'll turn the girls back."

Raven closed her eyes and let out a deep breath. "Way to go, Erza."

Now, time to find Laxus.

With the girls now safe, she didn't have to worry about them anymore. Taking off at a sprint, she opened up her senses and focused on Laxus. The only problem with putting all of her attention on him was that she didn't realize what was ahead of her until it was too late.

'WHAM!' Raven fell back on her butt and groaned, rubbing her forehead.

"What the hell?" she muttered. Opening her eyes slightly, she saw a large barrier in front of her. She sat frozen for a minute, eyes wide, before bouncing back to her feet. Spinning in a circle, she saw that the barrier had formed a cage around her, even the top was sealed off, so she couldn't hop over.

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me," she scowled.

According to the barrier in the guild, the reason everyone was fighting each other was because they had gotten trapped in an enchantment, similar to the one she was in now.

Alright, so if I'm trapped in here, then where the hell is the person I'm supposed to fight?

After a few moments of consideration, her face dropped.

"Wait a minute," she grumbled. "I don't get an opponent?!"

Damn you, Freed, she thought angrily, How am I supposed to get out of this now?

She ran a hand down her face in exasperation. Of course. Of course she would end up in the one enchantment that was made simply to keep someone in. She started pacing around and ran her hand through her hair.

"Think," she muttered, "What can you do to get out of here? You broke out of the guild's barrier, you can do the same here."

No, she argued with herself, You broke through that because you were in the shadow. You were at your strongest then.

"Then, I can do the same here."

Look around, idiot. There's no shadows here.

"Argh! Dammit, dammit, dammit," she growled.

Her pacing stopped when she heard crackling. Scanning the sky, she saw balls of contained lightning surrounding all of Magnolia.

"Thunder Palace," she breathed.

Her nails bit into the palm of her hand, drawing blood. Her whole frame shook as her face darkened, and her violet eyes sparkled with fury.

"Laxus," she ground out through clenched teeth. "What have you done, you sick son of a bitch?"

She placed one bloody hand against the barrier. "Shadow Dragon Atomic Bomb."

The barrier exploded into a thousand pieces, and within a second, Raven stepped into a shadow and disappeared.

Raven shot through the streets, bouncing from shadow to shadow. She had finally locked onto Laxus' scent. Now, it was only a matter of time before she arrived at the Cathedral.

She came to a screeching halt at the sound of a agonizing scream. Looking up, she saw someone falling from the sky with lightning crackling all around them.

"Juvia," she murmured, watching as the water mage disappeared from sight.

The anger that had been coursing through her turned into a cold fury at the sight of her fallen comrade. She knew Laxus was cruel, and she knew that her friends were getting hurt because of it. But seeing just how far he was willing to go and hearing the pained screams made her realize just how cruel Laxus had become.

Her magic raged inside of her. She could feel it building up to a dangerous rate and with it came another presence. She could feel her on the edge of her mind, waiting for an opening, and Raven tried to suppress her magic, feeling a spark of panic when she couldn't.

Black mist erupted from the ground beneath Raven and shot high above her. It surrounded her, rippling like angry ocean waves. She felt the immense power surging through her and threw all of her focus into blocking her mind against her.

Sweat dripped down her face as her body trembled. Her breathing turned shallow as fear crashed through her. If she didn't get control of her magic, then the presence in her mind would break through eventually, but she couldn't take her focus off blocking her mind long enough to do that. She was stuck.

It's going to happen again. It's going to happen again. It's going to happen again.

She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to shove down the panic when she felt a wave of someone else's magic energy rush through her. Her eyes snapped open as she felt the strange magic mixing with her own. It was like nothing she felt before. It was dark, raw power, and that's when she realized who it belonged to.

Mira.

Raven stumbled and grabbed her head. The power...it was too much. She had already lost control of her own, and Mira's only made it worse. Because instead of passing by like it would anyone else, it had collided with her own. Raven's darkness had felt Mira's and consumed it, making itself ten times stronger.

She fell to one knee, clutching her head. She was paralyzed. The dark mist around her thickened and resembled black flames. A surge of power shot through her, and the mist erupted into the air, high above the buildings.

And that was all the presence in her mind needed to break through.

Don't fight it, Raven.

Lilith.

Her eyes clenched shut, and her teeth ground together. "No," she hissed, "Go away, just leave me alone."

Now, now, no need to get angry, Lilith purred, I'm just trying to help you.

"I don't want your help. I don't need it," she ground out.

If you hope to defeat Laxus, yes you do. Sure you would do okay on your own, you could even hold your own against him. But you can't defeat him, not without me. And do you really want him to win? The man who hurt your friends, your family?

Raven could feel Lilith grin.

Remember how well we did last time?

She bit her lip hard and felt her fangs pierce the skin. "I don't need you," she argued. "The love I have for my family will give me the strength I need."

Love? Lilith scoffed, Love is nothing. It will get you nowhere. Are you really going to rely on love to defeat the person who is destroying your friends and pitting them against each other? Your friends are scattered around the city hurt and defeated while the person who caused it all stands unharmed. Are you going to let him get away with that?

Raven knelt there, eyes closed, and paralyzed with fear. She didn't know what to do. She wanted nothing more than to go after Laxus and make him pay for putting them all through this. But she couldn't do that until she had Lilith under control.

She let out a long breath, blocking out everything around her and putting all of her focus on Lilith.

"You're wrong," she murmured, slowly standing up. "Love isn't nothing. It's what gets us through the darkest times in our lives. It gives us the strength we need to push on. It's the most powerful magic there is. Love is everything. And in Fairy Tail, we have nothing but love."

As she said this, she concentrated on pushing Lilith's presence out of her mind. It was a struggle, but after a minute, she felt Lilith slip away, and Raven put up a barrier, keeping her out.

Letting out a deep breath, she unclenched her hands and opened her eyes. Lilith was gone for now. She did it. She ran a shaky hand over her face and tried to pull herself together.

The combined force of her magic and Mira's still flowed all around her, but now she had control. Only a few blocks from the Cathedral, she could hear fighting going on inside. Sniffing, she caught the scents of Laxus, Gajeel, and Natsu. Just as she was about to move, she heard a voice in her head, but this time it was a welcome one.

"Everyone in Fairy Tail, please lend me your strength as well."

Her brows furrowed. "Erza?"

Did I really just hear her? Why would she be asking for strength, what does she need it for? She must be in trouble. I want to help her, but...what about Laxus?

She was torn. She wanted so badly to rush into the Cathedral and fight him, but she couldn't ignore Erza's plea for help.

She sighed. Natsu, Gajeel, I'm leaving Laxus to you. Make us proud and kick his ass.

With one last glance, she turned and sprinted away from the Cathedral, toward Erza. She caught her scent easily and using the shadows, got to her in no time.

Raven could hear her mumbling. "Hundred ninety-eight, hundred ninety-nine, that's still not nearly enough."

Just as Erza starting to fall, Raven dashed over and caught her.

Erza looked at her in surprise. "Raven? What are you doing here?"

Raven helped her stand upright before answering. "I heard you ask for help. What was I supposed to do, ignore you?"

Erza smiled, and Raven gave a toothy smirk. "So what's the plan, Scarlet?"

Before she could answer, a voice started talking in their heads.

"Hey, Fairy Tail! Can you hear me?"

Raven and Erza looked at each other. "Warren?"

"Things aren't looking to good for us. Check out what's floating in the sky," he said. "We're gonna have to pull together, so get off your butts and lend us a hand."

Raven listened as he explained to everyone what was happening.

"Wait, how did you hear about the Thunder Palace, Warren?" Erza asked.

"I've never been happier to hear your voice. I was worried about you," another voice said.

"Gray?" Raven questioned.

"Raven, is that you? I'm glad you're okay too," he said.

Erza smiled. "I see. You're the one that told Warren, weren't you?"

"Yeah, would've happened sooner, but I had to track the guy down," he explained.

Before they could establish a plan, everyone started shouting at each other and accusing each other, and Raven was growing frustrated.

Lucy's voice cut through the the yelling. "Enough! We shouldn't be wasting our time arguing. The citizens of Magnolia are in danger, and we're the only ones who can help them. So we're gonna have to work together. I know things have been rough having to fight against each other, but we can do anything if we pull together, that's what you guys have taught me. I know that I'm fairly new to Fairy Tail, but I promise you, I love being a part of this guild, just as much as the rest of you. Now that I've joined, it means everything to me. If you feel the same way, let's work together and save our town!"

Raven couldn't help but grin when she finished her speech. She didn't know the girl at all, but she had just earned Raven's respect.

Her fangs gleamed as she spoke. "Basically, what she's saying is shut the hell up, get off your lazy asses, and get to work, Fairy Tail."

Erza chuckled at her choice of words.

"I'll take the 200 to the north," Erza called out.

"And I've got the 200 to the west," Raven informed.

Erza nodded. "Everyone else, take care of the rest. We can do this!"

Raven let her magic flow around her freely and raised her hands to the sky. Hundreds of small black spheres appeared high in the air.

"Shadow Dragon Bomb!"

Raven watched in awe as everyone's attacks sped into the air and destroyed all the lacrimas.

"We saved the town," Erza smiled.

Raven sighed. "And now comes the hard part."

Lightning crackled around her for a second before unleashing its power. As it struck, she gave a cry of pain. The power of the 200 lacrimas was so intense, it felt like she was on fire from the inside out. After a few seconds, it stopped, and she dropped to ground, trying to get her breath. Her whole body ached, and she could smell the smoke coming off of her.

When Erza asked if everyone was okay, all she could do was give an answering groan. She had always hated lightning. She rolled onto her side, facing Erza.

"We did good, didn't we?" she murmured.

Erza gave a pained chuckle. "Yeah, Raven, we did good."

Raven gave her a small smile.

I knew it. This guild's love for each other really is the most powerful magic.

This was the chapter that I had needed to change the most, and I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out. I hope the whole 'presence in her mind' made sense and wasn't confusing. Just to clarify, regular italics are Raven's thoughts, and bold italics are Lilith's voice. It'll be that way in future chapters to.

Until next time:)