So sorry I'm late. I was gonna upload this much sooner but then the College Christmas Production got in the way. And to top it all off, I tripped over the amp in front of EVERYONE! It was really funny to be honest... but any ways, on with the fic!

Things are finally starting to pick up with this fic, but we're only scratching the surface right now. Things are going to get a lot crazier... Just as soon as I can get out of a writers block. :/

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own.

Mystery Circle

By PokeTail

Chapter Four - A Foreboding Battle

Jarrod smiled menacingly as his male opponents sent him glares of disgust. His fellow companions stood behind his, rolling their eyes at the green-haired man's stupidity.

"Just let him have his fun," Arata whispered to the group. "If things get too out of hand we'll pull him away from the fight. Do not forget the main objective of our mission."

"Oh sure let Jarrod have all the fun…" the blunette pouted, folding her arms.

Fairy Tail's demonic duo were about to leap into action when they abruptly came to a halt when a sharp blade was blocking their advance.

"Erza, what the hell?!" Natsu roared as Gray gritted his teeth in anger.

The scarlet-haired woman purely ignored her comrade's comment and went on to question their enemy. "What are you after?"

"My, my, you sure get right to the point don't you Titania," the muscular male proclaimed. "I'm simply looking for a good fight, and after hearing that my two favourite wizards were in the area, I thought I would pay a little visit for old time's sake."

It was at this point that the boy's had had enough. Pushing Erza's sword aside, they both charged. Natsu ignited his fists while Gray got into his usual stance.

"Karyū no Tekken!" Natsu yelled, throwing is fist towards his opponent. The attack was easily blocked as Jarrod increased the size of his muscles and caught Natsu's flaming fist.

Gray noticed the elder man had left himself open, and went in for an attack of his own. "Hyōma Zero no Tachi!" He yelled, striking his sword down behind the enemy. What Gray wasn't expecting was the oversized leg to make impact with his chest, pushing him back a few paces.

A particularly pissed off Erza then decided that enough was enough and joined in the fray. "Reqiup: Purgatory Armour!" She cried out as her outfit transformed into her spiked armour with a heavy sword appearing in her right hand. Charging for her foe, the scarlet-haired wizard struck her blade down on his arm to release Natsu from his grasp. The three wizards continued to attack Jarrod. A punch here, a kick there, yet their attacks seemed to be doing next to no damage at all. Lucy and co watched the fight from a distance, almost an exact copy of the members of Bloodford, who seemed to be bothered about their comrade fighting the fairies.

"You can do it Natsu!" Happy called, pumping his fists in the air.

"This isn't just another silly guild brawl, you know," Carla rolled her eyes at her fellow Exceed.

"Lucy-san, do you think that this is the man who fought Natsu-san and Gray-san when they were young?" Wendy pondered.

"It wouldn't surprise me," Lucy sighed. "Anyway, we should help them. Open: Gate of-" Lucy was brought to an immediate halt when she noticed a magic circle surrounding the two girls and Exceeds. The only thing she felt after that was pain. It felt as if she had been attacked by one of Laxus' electric blasts – not that she knew what that felt like. All four of them began screaming at a high pitch as their team mates called out their names. When the pain finally ceased, the two girls were reduced to their hands and knees while the Exceeds were lying face down on the grassy plain, seemingly unconscious.

"Lucy, Wendy!" Erza called, turning around to check their condition. Rookie mistake. The moment she turned around, Titania felt a heavy force make impact with her back, shattering her armour and sending her hurtling towards the ground.

"I'm not here to fight you, Red," Jarrod grinned, menacingly. "I'm here to catch up with two of my favourite wizards."

"You bastard!" Both males roared, before preparing a powerful attack.

"Karyū no Hōkō!"

"Hyōma no Gekikō!"

One funnel of flames and one of ice raced towards the bulky man at top speed, making impact with Jarrod on either side. Smoke consumed the surrounding area and the other members of Bloodford had to pull their hoods over their entire face for protection. When the dust finally cleared, Jarrod stood in the exact same position as before. No visible wounds were on him and he still wore the same maniacal grin on his face.

"How did he…" Natsu was practically speechless. Those two were amongst the strongest in their guild, how did their opponent come out of that unscathed? Natsu could see Gray's anger rising as the raven's demon tattoo began pulsating more and more as he clenched his fists.

"Jarrod," a feminine voice spoke up. "There is no need for pointless fighting. There is nothing for us here."

"She is right," another voice continued, speaking in a similar monotonous fashion as the last. "Wasting our time like this will only get us punished by our master."

"And if you don't mind, I would like to avoid a beating, thank you very much," a male voice chuckled.

"C'mon let's get outta here," the final voice whined.

Jarrod, despite having the time of his life kicking the fairies, obliged. "Well, Fairy Tail, it's been fun but I must be going now," he taunted. "Hope to see you boys again." And with that, Bloodford's team turned around and left the fairies wounded in forest.

Natsu and Gray turned to each other and nodded before taking a singular step. They were halted in their tracks by a booming voice shaking through the trees. "Don't you two even think about taking another step!"

"But Erza!" They both retorted.

"SIT DOWN!"

"Y-yes ma'am!" The two demons rapidly fell to the ground while placing their hands on their knees, fearing for their life.

"Lucy, Wendy, Happy, Carla, are you all alright?" Erza rose from her position and slowly made her way over to the group who were all gasping for breath.

"I feel like all my strength's been drained," Happy murmured, eyes threatening to fall shut again.

"What's with that guy's magic?" Carla wondered, trying to push herself into a sitting position.

"It almost looked like Master's Titan magic," Wendy mentioned, leaning her back on a tree in order to catch her breath.

"It's called Muscle Magic," Gray informed. "He can increase the size of his muscles which, in turn, increases his own strength. He can also steel his opponents' strength which gives him a boost."

"How on Earth could you beat someone like that?" Lucy moaned, using a tree stump to pull herself up. "No wonder you two lost against him." This earned her two pissed off glares.

"There's no use talking further on the subject here," Erza addressed the team. "Let's return to the guild and tell Master what has occurred."

No further questions were asked as the team silently made their way through the forest. Natsu and Wendy held their Exceed companions in their arms as the pair was far too drained to fly by themselves.

XXX

"What the hell was that?!" Lexine roared once the team were well out of range for the fairies to hear.

"We were told to observe the wizards, not challenge them," Sharmilia continued, her voice calm and steady.

"And there was no way to do that without provoking them," Jarrod argued. "Their job didn't even require magic. I fail to see why the so called 'Strongest Team in Fairy Tail' would feel the need to take on such a request."

"Master doesn't need to hear about this," Arata stated, taking his hood off. "No matter how we did it was have completed our task."

"We didn't get to 'observe' the Sky Dragon Slayer though," Ron rolled his eyes. "Wasn't the plan to get a good observation of all of them?"

"Ahh, that girl will be easy to beat," Lexine giggled. "I heard she's a real scared-y-cat."

"You shouldn't believe rumours, Lexine," Sharmilia mentioned. "I find it hard to believe that anyone with magic of their capabilities to have fear."

"Says the girls with no emotions…" Ron muttered, before leading his group back to their base.

XXX

After an agonising (well, for Natsu and Wendy at least) train journey back to Magnolia, the team had finally walked through their guild doors and were greeted with the pleasant smiles of their members. Natsu and Gray's first stop was the bar. After the previous events, they needed to drink their aggression away. Makarov joined the group at the bar after seeing some puzzled glances being directed towards them.

"How did your job go then?" He asked the five, though he was mainly looking at the males.

"The job went fine, Master," Erza smiled. "However, we ran into some trouble on our way back."

Makarov sighed. Here we go again, he thought. "What happened this time?"

"We encountered a group of Bloodford's guild members. Including the man who attacked Natsu and Gray years ago." At this, both boys clenched their freshly poured mugs of booze in rage.

"You idiots didn't do anything stupid did you?" Makarov questioned, bringing his palm to his forehead.

"We fought back when he started attacking, that's all," Gray mentioned, avoiding eye contact with the others.

The tiny guild master paused for a moment's thought. "Don't think much of it for the time being, but the both of you need to keep your guard up. They clearly have something they're after, so we'll most likely be hearing from them again. They didn't show any interest in capturing you again, did they Natsu?"

"Nah," Natsu rested his arms on the bar, taking a swig of his drink. "All the guy wanted was 'a good fight.'"

"I see..."

"Master," Wendy chimed in. "I think they were following someone else's orders. I heard them say that fighting us would get them punished by their master."

"I heard them say something about a mission too," Lucy added.

"Really?" Makarov leaped up from his sitting position. "Looks like we've not seen the end to our troubles yet. I want you all to stick together. If Bloodford happen to attack again I want you all by each other's sides for support. No buts, understand?" This was directed towards the two demons of the team.

"Yes Gramps," they both answered in a child-like fashion. Noticing that a fight had just broken out, Natsu and Gray both bounded out of their seats and joined in the brawl.

"Erza," Makarov muttered. "Make sure you keep an eye on those two. It's not that I don't trust them, it's just..."

"I understand, Master. You have nothing to worry about. They'll be safe with me."

XXX

"So you met with our target?" The man on the throne boomed, grinning slightly.

"Yes Master," Jarrod continued. "Their job didn't require the use of magic so we were forced to engage in combat." Of course, Jarrod wasn't exactly happy about this white lie, but anything was better than earning a beating - or worse. "They weren't able to leave a scratch on me, but those boys are strong none the less."

"And what of the girl?" Their Master questioned.

"The Sky Dragon did not fight against us. She stood back with one of her other female comrades. However, I did manage to get a read on her power levels. It's nothing compared to the other Slayers."

"Looks like you five are good for something after all. I've had your rooms prepared. I hope you're all willing to spend time away from your guild as you will not be returning back to it until our mission is complete. You can meet your fellow comrades tomorrow in the meeting. You are dismissed."

The group bowed their heads in respect for their new Master before exiting the room and pacing down the corridor towards their new chambers.

"Alright! We're in!" Lexine cheered, pumping the air with her fist.

"Wonder what our comrades will be like?" Ron chimed in.

"We shouldn't discuss the matter now," Arata concluded. "It's time we get some well-deserved sleep."

"You may have got off the hook this time, Jarrod, but there will be no more disobeying orders, understand?" Sharmilia warned.

"You are in no place to order me around. Might I remind you who the leader of this team is," the bulky man sent a stern look her way.

You're also the most stubborn member of this time, Ron thought to himself, sighing.

As the Bloodford members continued their conversation, a girl - no older than fifteen - turned around the corner and they wound up crossing paths. This girl had light purple hair that reach to her shoulders and yellow eyes as beautiful as the bright sun. Her violet dress was littered with flowers all the colours of the rainbow and capped off at the knee. Her black boots concealed the rest of her legs and hid her white guild mark from their view. She was sucking on a red lollipop which was quickly pulled out of her mouth when she noticed the group of wizards before her.

"Hey, you guys the Bloodford members?" She beamed.

"Yeah, what's it to you?" Ron responded, folding his arms and raising an eye brow.

"I'm Maya Kyushi from Deceased Outlaws. One of the guild's in this alliance."

"I'm Lexine Di Antonio," the blunette leaped forward, shaking the older girl's hand.

"Nice to meet you, Lexi," Maya winked, placing the lollipop back in her mouth. "I heard the Master sent you out on a mission. So what was it like fighting a Lost Magic user?"

"Well thanks to Jarrod over here, none of us except him got a chance to throw down with them." Ron rolled his eyes. The twins just stared at the Deceased Outlaws wizard, remaining silent.

"Jarrod?" Maya mumbled. "Weren't you the guy who failed to capture them fifteen years ago?"

"You don't even look like you were alive fifteen years ago," Jarrod took a step forward, looking down at the girl.

"My father is the Master of my guild, old man. He told me what's expected of me and what will happen if I fail," she glared at the muscular man, grinning. "Well, it was nice meeting you all. See you at the meeting tomorrow. Bye Lexi." Maya continued walking down the corridor while the Bloodford members watched her until she was out of sight.

They were snapped out of their thoughts when the female twin addressed her comrades. "Come on, we're going to have a busy day tomorrow and we want to make a good first impression on the other guilds, don't we?" she glanced over to Jarrod.

The wizards found their separate rooms and closed the doors with a loud BANG that resonated through the corridor. Each one sighed with content, knowing that they were now officially members of the Mystery Circle Alliance.

To be continued in chapter five - Christmas Special!

Character Profile - Bloodford

Name: Arata Tsuyomi

Age: 17

Magic: Arrow Magic

Likes: His sister

Dislikes: Strong winds

Description: The older twin of Sharmilia, Arata often fashions a blank expression, making it hard to get a good read of his personality. When fighting, he is usually the one to stay calm and collected – a complete contrast to his team mate. It is extremely rare to see Arata get aggressive but he will not tolerate anyone bringing harm to his sister. He believes family always comes first.

So... I have good news and bad news.

The good news is that I have almost completed the notes/structure for this fic that I need to write this fic, but the bad news is that I have hit a tad bit of writers block mid-way through writing chapter six. A new chapter will come out next week as planned, but after that it may be a while until I update this again. Basically, I have planned to write this fic in sections. This would be called section one, AKA, the prologue and I'm now writing the start of section two which I don't plan on releasing until it's all finished. It's gonna take a long time to finish writing it as I've barely started it, but I will get it done. I break up for Christmas soon so I will get to writing a lot. Just be patient with me guys. ;)

In other news I finally reached sixty pages on my book that I've been writing for the past three years. When it's finished I plan on getting it published so I can't wait for that! XD

As always, remember to follow, favourite and review! They make me happy. :D

Au revoir!