Shadow's Crest - Part One

"Natsu-sama?"

The Door creaked open slightly as Yukino slid into his room, closing the door behind her as she leaned back against it, worrying creasing her face as she gazed at the unresponsive form of Natsu. The Fire Dragon Slayer had given no acknowledgement to her presence. He just continued to stare out of his window into the now dark, empty town below.

"I thought you may be hungry so I brought you some food." Again he did not seem to register her presence. She waited for a couple of seconds before he finally moved, patting the spot next to him from where he sat on the bed. Moving over slowly, Yukino looked over to him trying to get a handle on his current state.

Surprisingly though the Fire Dragon Slayer, refused to give anything away, his face unusually stoic as he continued to gaze out of the window from his seat on the bed.

"Yukino, I can come to you with anything right?" The Celestial Spirit Mage grew concerned at the tone of his voice. It shook ever so slightly, not quite matching the facade he was trying to maintain, cracking for only a second. Pausing in order to process why he would think she would ever turn him away, Yukino quickly answered letting only a drop of confusion out in her voice.

"Of course you can Natsu-sama? Why would you think you couldn't? I'd never turn you away." He finally looked over to her, giving a small smile at the reassurance he found in her, however, that quickly turned to a grimace as he dwelled on what was troubling him. Deciding that he should talk out his thoughts rather than bottle them away, he quietly responded to his friend's plea.

"Thank you Yukino something's bothering me. Seeing how dedicated the mayor was in trying to protect those she cared about got me worried maybe I wasn't ready for this job yet. She just seemed to put her every hope in us and I'm not sure I can deliver. I hate this feeling I've never had it before and I don't know what to do."

It became perfectly clear to her so quickly, the thought of the fight was still burning within him, indeed maybe even the willingness. But the problem lay in the fact that there was something at stake now. It was all well and good to think about how he would take out Shadow's Crest but now that he had seen the townsfolk and the desperation on Rika's face, he had an unusual moment of self-doubt. If he failed right now, he could potentially bring harm to such a wonderful town. Was he ready to retake that responsibility?

"I know what you're going through Natsu-sama; I always feel that I'm never quite good enough. However, a certain Dragon Slayer showed me that I couldn't think that way forever and that I could be everything I hoped I could be one day. He gave me the strength to know that I was strong enough to fight."

She gave him a gentle smile as he flushed slightly with embarrassment, she swore she heard him mumble 'that's because he's right.' But she could not be overly sure. Still, the thought gave her some joy that he really thought that highly of her, yet despite the slight blush on his cheeks she could tell he still needed some comfort.

"I'll tell you this then Natsu-sama, but please don't say anything. It's kind of embarrassing. I was having a conversation like this one this morning as well, luckily for me, Minerva set me right with her advice. If I have to be your Minerva I will be Natsu-sama, you are extraordinarily powerful in your personality and your magic. You are ready for this! I for one know you can do whatever you set your mind to do, your power and will makes anything possible."

Natsu looked at her mouth agape and eyes wide, processing what she had just said to him, although it was from the heart and he could tell from the fire burning in her eyes that she meant every word. This intensity created something strange that started to build inside of him, something that he just could not ignore. It clawed its way up from the pits of his stomach, creeping upwards gripping every part of his chest as he tried to contain himself, but no matter how much he tried to resist the urge he could feel it quickly taking hold. Looking deep into her eyes, taking a moment to relish in the depths he found there, he finally let his feelings out in one, simple action.

He snorted.

He snorted loudly.

Yukino watched on as her friend quickly devolved into a full-blown belly laugh leaning back on the bed as he kicked his feet into the air as if warding off someone who was purposefully trying to tickle him. She tried, she really did try, but the blush that exploded onto her face was almost instantaneous, there was no chance of her avoiding it. Luckily Natsu soon got himself under control, looking over at his friend only to find a look of pure mortification on her delicate features. Letting out another small chuckle, the Fire Dragon Slayer deemed it wise to give her some relief.

"I'm sorry Yukino but it was just that that was so cheesy! I appreciate it though I really do!" giving her a fanged smile Natsu pulled her into a quick hug before letting her go, hoping she would calm down from her small embarrassment soon. Luckily for him, she seemed to see the funny side as she narrowed her eyes slightly in a mock glare as she wagged her finger at him.

"And to think I wanted to help you Natsu-sama, shame on you! If this is how you treat the people who go out of their way to try and see you through your problems then I shan't be helping you again." Thrusting her nose into the air for added effect, Yukino could not stop the blush that appeared on her cheeks at her slightly out of character teasing. If she was honest with herself she was just more than happy to see the wide grin her gentle banter seemed to garner from her friend.

Natsu again let out a laugh as he put his hands up in surrender giving her another fanged grin before it softened, his eyes showing a deep fondness as he spoke once more.

"But seriously though, thank you Yukino, I knew I could count on you if I ever needed you and you really did deliver!"

She gave him a big grin of her own but before she could get out a response, Natsu spoke up again.

"And you got me food as well, that just doubles up your awesome count!" Laughing to himself he fell onto the food, to eat it as quickly (But politely, Yukino was still in the room) as possible. Laughing along at his antics, the Celestial Spirit Mage watched fondly as Natsu's real personality was coming out as he relaxed more. She could feel the pride welling up inside at the fact she had been the cause of his happiness.

Her Fire Dragon Slayer appeared to be full of surprises that night. She watched as Natsu picked up a large piece of chicken, looking at it intently for a second before offering it to her, eyes sparkling all the while. She blinked once, taking in the piece of meat in front of her face. Gingerly she reached out, taking it slowly out of his hands, looking at her friend with mild confusion, before a happy grin forced its way onto her face. Starting on her snack the two soon went straight back into their laughter, chatting as they let time slip away.

They were so lost in each other's presence that they failed to notice Rogue who snuck in with Frosch and stood silently watching the two for a while. Smiling at the scene, a mischievous thought popped suddenly into his mind. Opening his mouth, the Shadow Dragon Slayer spoke as loudly as he could without shouting.

"Are you two having fun?"

They both immediately jumped at the sudden intrusion, whirling around to look for the source of the voice in shock as the remaining pieces of food flew all around the room due to the plate being flung out of Natsu's lap.

Rogue was definitely not the type of person to burst out into laughter; however, he was the type to smirk. And he really struggled to keep one off of his face, although it was rather easy to tell he was not trying all that hard. The scene in front of him was made even better when a piece of lettuce landed on Natsu's head and the poor soul failed to notice, he was too caught up in the fact someone had snuck into his room and caught him off guard.

Moving further into the room, Rogue approached his fellow Dragon Slayer taking the piece of lettuce off of his head and eating it as he also joined his two friends on the bed Frosch following and jumping into the Celestial Mage's lap.

"So, what have you two been up to?" And with that question, the ease of that Natsu and Yukino had before, returned in full force. The group of friends soon fell back into the rhythm of their conversations as the night wore on the Fire Dragon Slayer making his friends laugh as they happily kept their minds off the task that faced them in the morning.

However it was three different people who eventually went to bed, one was indifferent to the day ahead, more than used to these types of jobs. One was hopeful, a thirst to prove them self ever since their friends began to believe in their abilities. One was determined, determined to help the people of this town and get their life back on track and get back to the level of power they were used too. All three closed their eyes enjoying the rest before their first mission together as a team.

The sun rose slowly in the sky, signalling the start to the brand new day. Natsu slowly stirred as the burning light of the morning filtered into his room. Slowly opening a single eye, the Fire Dragon was greeted with an intense white light. Groaning at the pain that flared up, the Dragon Slayer quickly closed his eye, refusing to let his current nemesis in and pondered if it was worth it to even get up yet.

He knew that staying in bed was impossible though, there was too much to do and he was needed elsewhere. Sitting up and bravely opening his eyes to the light, Natsu embraced the pain as his eyes gradually became accustomed to the light and the visage of his room slowly came into focus.

Getting out of bed the Fire Dragon Slayer quickly went to the bathroom for a shower, deciding to simply let the water run over him as he relaxed. Emptying his mind surprisingly easily, Natsu managed to avoid any thoughts about what he was going to have to do that day and just enjoyed his present sensations.

However, his shower was soon finished, even if he did drag it out as long as he could. Slipping out he ignored a towel, instead activating his magic for a couple of seconds and drying, letting the comforting warmth do most of the work. Grabbing a clean version of his outfit Natsu quickly put it on heading out of his room to see if he could find either one of his friends.

As he headed out of his room, his keen nose caught a faint whiff of breakfast being prepared close by. His stomach growled suddenly, alerting him to the fact that he had not fed himself in a long time. Pushing down the surprise that he had missed such an obvious fact before, Natsu began his hunt for food, a grin now plastered on his face at the thought of enjoying one of his favourite pastimes.

It took a few minutes to find the source of the divine smell but he eventually got into a dining room of sorts. Tables had been laid out bearing the morning's food in a well-done display, while groups of people sat at tables of their own enjoying each other's company as they all made small talk.

A quick scan of the room found that Rogue, Frosch, and Yukino were already seated with breakfast in front of them, a seat seemingly saved for him. With a smile at their thoughtfulness, Natsu approached his friends, both of them looking up when they saw his approach with smiles of their own in greeting.

"Good morning Natsu-sama we got you some breakfast." Yukino pointed to the empty space next to them as the two quickly went back eating, leaving the Fire Dragon Slayer to look where his friend pointed to find a plate filled with a variety of meat products, ranging from bacon to chicken and sausages.

Feeling oddly touched that his friends knew what to get him and steadfastly ignoring the growing feeling annoyance that he really was predictable, Natsu wasted no time in sitting down to enjoy the feast his friends had laid out for him. Tearing in with reckless abandon, he savoured every ounce of flavour as he closed his eyes at the ecstasy.

A giggle soon convinced him to open them again; as light replaced the darkness he came face-to-face with Yukino, hand hiding her laughter as they covered her lips. Slowing down considerably with a sheepish look on his face, Natsu began to eat with some decorum, getting another giggle from his friend.

With a fanged grin from the Fire Dragon Slayer, breakfast continued for Team Yukino, all four of them enjoying the atmosphere of being with friends. All three finished their meal around the same time, patting their stomachs in contentment, the group seemingly agreeing that the meal was settling well. Leaning back in his seat Natsu opened his mouth to start up a conversation, however, a man burst into the room, sweat running down his brow and a panicked look on his face.

He mumbled to himself as he frantically searched the room, his eyes narrowed as frustration began to build. Eventually, his eyes met those of the woman's he was looking for. One of the hotel workers who was busy cleaning some of the cutlery. His whole expression changed, a grimace of what appeared to be sympathy spread across his features before he hastily jogged over to her, bending over to whisper in the rather nervous looking worker's ear.

A gasp escaped her lips as the words seeped into her mind. Spinning round to the man so they were face to face, she failed to stop herself from calling out instead of keeping her voice to the whispered level of their previously private conversation.

"They got Myra's stall?" The shock and fear was evident in the shake of her voice as she accidentally announced the news the now flustered man had quietly told her. Not stopping to hear any more details, the hotel worker charged out of the building leaving behind a dining room full of confused people.

It took little more than a moment for the rest of the guests to get to their feet, following the path set by the now running woman to see what had got her so agitated. Rogue, Yukino and Natsu all gave each other a look before they all tagged on behind, wondering what was going on.

Heading into the outside town centre with the crowd that seemed to be congregating, Team Yukino peaked over the heads that were obstructing their view to be met with a worrying sight. Where once there was a thriving business, a wreckage of a smoking stand was left. A lone woman surrounded by the crowd was on her knees in front of what everyone assumed used to be her shop, tears rolling down her face at the sight of her lost enterprise.

It was a rather harrowing experience to see, a person break down and cry at the loss of their livelihood. Everyone present realised what this meant for the poor woman. The very thing she needed to survive was gone. Her job, her connection to the town, even a degree of her social life was stolen away from her. Whispers of 'Shadow's Crest' quickly scattered through the crowd.

The effect was immediate. Children began to whimper as parents looked around in fear, it seemed that despite the fact that this sort of event was a constant, people were not yet desensitised to the threat that loomed over them. Natsu himself was close to letting his anger at the situation spill out. How dare Shadow's Crest treat this lovely town like this? He let his rage simmer and burn within him, letting it fuel his determination to see their end. His thoughts of his future fights were still festering away when he was forcibly dragged outside of his mind.

An explosion rocked the town square, filling everyone's vision with a brief flash of white before a deathly silence descended on the square. Everything seemed to slow down as time began to trickle. Rubble from one of the nearby buildings cascaded away from the source of the blast, raining down on the shocked townsfolk as people began to get buried under the weight. Sickening crunches and screams grated on everyone around.

Smoke billowed forth, blocking out the vision which had just cleared. The smell mixed with the distinct scent of gunpowder, chocking everyone around with the foul fumes. The sounds of hacking joined the moans of the injured as people desperately tried to clear their lungs, stumbling about as they were robbed of both sight and smell.

Screams of terror began to echo around the crowd, the locals turned around in a panic trying to find a way to escape from the disaster playing out in front of them. It was all happening too fast; no one knew if the way they were going was the right way to go, what was worse was that they simply did not care.

Survival had kicked it, people were only looking out for their loved ones, a minor few just themselves, leaving behind their partners and children as they ran to their own perceived safety. Some fell, the trampling feet of their friends raining down hard as their prone bodies lay ignored by the general population.

However, there were three people who refused to ignore the injured and endangered.

Natsu and Rogue immediately sprinted into the crowds picking up the injured and trampled, carrying them to any safe space they could find, placing them down gently to cries of thanks from the conscious ones. Unfortunately, not everyone was so fortunate.

Many were laid down unconscious, blood dripping from wounds leaking onto the two Dragon Slayers, beginning to stain their clothes as they did their best to staunch the flow, luckily succeeding. After they were taken care of the two darted back into the crowds, removing rubble and saving the people trapped underneath. Taking them to safe spaces and treating them the best they could with their limited knowledge. They still needed attention and soon but first, this attack and the panic had to be stopped.

Luckily it seemed Yukino had an idea of how to deal with the situation. Grabbing one of her silver keys from her belt she quickly summoned Deneb. The Swan Spirit looked about, getting a fix for the situation. It took a few moments for him to realise what his partner wanted. Grabbing onto her under her armpits, the Spirit lifted Yukino into the air, guiding her to a vantage point where she could take a look around the area.

Internally keeping as calm as possible, The Spirit Mage plotted routes through the town where the crowds could go to safety, directing Deneb to fly her above the crowd, she immediately began to yell instructions as loud as she could, desperately trying to be heard above the sound of the crowd.

"Please, this way!"

It took a while for the crowd to hear her words but eventually, some of the locals heard, looking into the alley she was pointing to and running in that direction. After a small space of time, others from the crowd saw people running in a different direction, quickly changing their own course they followed in their footsteps, hoping that the route that they were now on would lead to safety.

Seeing that more people were following her path, Yukino flew over to another alley entrance, repeating what she did before, leading more of the crowd down another path to what looked like a safe zone. She repeated this process a few more times, the crowd slowly beginning to thin as they followed her instructions. After a few more minutes the main crowd had gone and only a few stragglers remained.

Luckily this clearing of the locals allowed a couple of official-looking people to make their way into the market, Rika in their lead as they all immediately began to investigate what had happened. Medics followed not too far behind, seeing the injured dotted about the marketplace and rushing over to administer treatment as quickly as possible. Seeing as though her job was now complete, Yukino asked Deneb to put her down back on the ground. She felt herself slowly descending as her spirit did as instructed, depositing her safely back onto the stones of the pavements. Natsu and Rogue soon joined her as Rika made her way over to them a frantic expression on her face.

"Thank you all so much, this incident would have been a lot worse if you hadn't have helped." She treated them to a tired smile, looking around at the destruction of her pride and joy, a single tear fell from her eye before she brushed it away quickly, forcing her face into a hard mask before continuing talking to the group.

"This is the worst one yet, usually it's just some property damage and that's it. For them to go this far..." She gazed into the distance eyes misting slightly as she left the rest of her sentence unsaid. Picking up on her meaning the group grimaced to themselves as one, joining her in gazing at their surroundings as Rogue picked up Frosch from the safe place he had left his Exceed.

Pieces of rubble now laid strewn around the square, petals interspersed throughout, adding a strange colourful palette to the scene of the attack. Small blood splatters dotted the streets painting different pieces of foliage a crimson red, droplets slowly dripping off and onto the floor creating tiny puddles.

Smoke still poured out across the square, although not as thick as it once was, it still obstructed vision, making it difficult to see through with the increasing wind. The smell had seemingly settled into a strange mixture of pollen, blood and gunpowder. If the current inhabitants of the market were not already used to it, they would be sure to gag even more at the burning scent.

"My town..." the three mages all looked over in sympathy to Rika, the mask the mayor had worn already gone as she let her tears fall, mixing with the dust and ash on the ground. A broken woman in the broken centre of her pride.

"Please..." Team Yukino nodded as one all moving out towards the only road that led out of town, a new fire burning in all their hearts, even the usually cool Yukino was feeling an anger she had never felt before. The explosion had rocked her to her very core, she had seen many great atrocities in her time but nothing had shaken her quite like that.

The Dragons in the Grand Magic Games had been a disaster there was no doubt about that, but they were indiscriminate, attempting to kill everything and everyone in their way. It never felt so targeted. And she had been in the centre of it. A whisper in the back of her mind saying maybe she was the cause? What if they had heard about the mages being hired?

She began to shake ever so slightly only for a second. But in that second many comforting voices whispered to her from throughout her life. She straightened herself before either of her companions could see that there was something wrong with her. She was a strong person, she got through the past half an hour or so with no problems and when the time came, when people desperately needed her, she was able to deliver with a cool head. That was some improvement.

"W...Wait a minute." They all turned around to see the running form of Rika approaching, her auburn hair streaming behind her as she caught up, a look of guilt on her face as she finally came to a stop. She seemed to go through some internal struggle for a while, before opening her mouth to stutter out what she wanted to say.

"I just wanted to say..." She squirmed under their eyes, trying in vain to desperately say what she needed to but somehow the words seemed to fail her. Avoiding looking anywhere near their faces, she kept her eyes solely on the ground, shoulders visibly sagging as her hand reached for her elbow, rubbing up and down her arm in some form of small comfort.

"Just...be careful." Natsu gave her a simple thumbs up and a fanged grin before he turned around and walking on further down the path, determination to see this job through. Yukino glanced back at Rika one last time before following her friend down the road, a look of concern on her features as if she was trying to figure out a puzzle. It was Rogue who had the most intense look on his face.

He stared straight into the mayor's face; his own the very picture of stoic as he tried to figure out the woman in front of him. After a full minute of silence, Rogue turned his back on Rika walking after his team, leaving the mayor to her tears.

After getting clear off Everbloom, both Natsu and Rogue caught a strange scent in the air. The smell of smoke and burning was still present although it was mixed with a floral scent Natsu had problems placing.

Following the scent for a good hour or so, the group finally found the building they were looking for. It stood majestically in the middle of a field of poppies, a cathedral that had stood the test of time. The outside was covered in tendrils of hanging ivy that reached all the way down to the ground, dotted around inside the plant-life where small flowers of red, blue and yellow matching with the somehow intact stained-glass windows.

Looking at the building with a degree of indifference, Natsu was eager to get into the building, the smell of the person coming strongly from the inside. However, it appeared that Yukino and Rogue were not as used to cathedrals as he was. They stood there for a moment wondering how they had missed it on the approach and how something so beautiful had escaped their notice.

From the multiple bell towers that still looked to be in working order, to the tips of the tallest staple, everything seemed to be in fantastic condition. It was a strange occurrence; the building was obviously old but showed no outward signs of decay. The two original Sabre mage's had a hard time wrapping their heads around it.

However, they still had a job to do and it was clear Natsu was eager to do it. The older Dragon Slayer had lit his hands on fire and was approaching the cathedral with gusto, a huge smile on his face at the thought of making the people on the inside pay for what they did to Everbloom. A soft hand quickly grabbed him by the shoulder pulling him back to his group.

Looking up with a mixture of annoyance and disappointment he came face to face with the scolding face of Yukino. Immediately switching to a more bashful face, Natsu quickly extinguished his hands much to the Celestial Mage's happiness. A soft smile appeared on her face, forcing her friend to smile back. He had a feeling he would never be able to not smile at that face.

Focusing on the task at hand, the group approached the unnamed Cathedral. Stopping at the front doors, covered by the shade that the archway provided, they knew they should probably stop for a moment and think of a proper plan. However, it felt like some force was pulling them in. All nodding together as one, Team Yukino creaked open the door and slipped in taking a moment to adjust to the light change of the interior.

They did not expect to see a small, plain room in such a grandiose building, but their expectations were obviously misplaced. Ahead, down a narrow corridor laid a completely darkened room, completely cutting off any vision beyond its opening, it was ominous at best as the gloom seemed to silence all around it. Luckily there were a handful of doors to the left and the right of the now labelled death room just waiting to be explored.

Moving to the door to the farthest left, Rogue took the lead. Creaking the door open, voices spilt out. The group froze instantly, all carefully listening to see if they were discovered. However, it appeared that they were not discovered as the voices continued on as normal, no pause or exclamation of noise was made.

"Bosses got back not too long ago I think, came back from blowing the hell out of that inbreeding sack of backwaters. Sounds like they had fun too! Wish I could have gotten in on that, talk about easy pickings." A couple of laughs came from the room, all melding together to form one harsh sound, grating the ears of the eavesdroppers and only fuelling their outrage to even higher levels.

"Tell me about it, glad we got posted here. Easy pickings and the pay is great, can't say better than that eh?" Cheers were the response of the rest of the people as they dissolved into their own conversations. There were clear sounds of eating and drinking as it became obvious that a few members of Shadow's Crest were settling down to a very late breakfast.

Giving a signal to stand back, Rogue dissolved into shadow, creeping into the room without a sound, avoiding any detection with his uncanny skills. Taking a look around he found around six people all enjoying a late breakfast, talking amongst each other, laughing at what their guild mates were saying. Two of them were even arm wrestling in the corner, each trying to psych the other one out to gain any added leverage they could.

He paused for a moment, taking in scenes in front of him with curious eyes. It took a full minute to remember he was here to do a job. Targeting the arm wrestling pair, he travelled over stealthily, slashing at them with shadows covering his arms. They crumpled instantly as they both took the attack, falling into the pit of unconsciousness before anyone could even respond. The rest of the grunts looked on in shock at the sudden appearance of Rogue and the defeat of their friends.

It would have taken them a couple of seconds to fully process what had just happened however, the Shadow Dragon Slayer never gave them a chance. Powering up his roar he unleashed it as quietly as possible. It appeared that stealth seemed to suit him as the spell was equally as effective as if he screamed the incantation, engulfing his intended targets as darkness took them away from the realms of consciousness.

Walking back to the door and opening it, he gave the all clear to the group currently waiting for his return. Natsu gave him a nod of satisfaction while Yukino gave him a smile. Frosch hopped back into his arms snuggling into his chest for comfort, purring happily when the Shadow Dragon Slayer began to pet his head soothingly.

Moving onto the next room, it was Natsu's turn to poke his head inside and see what lay ahead. Finding a room with only three guild members, the Dragon Slayer pulled his head back out the room and gave a smile that sent very unpleasant shivers down Rogue's and Yukino's spine. Heading into the room he closed the door on the rest of his team who heard a muffled cry, before a massive whoosh of air as the temperature rose to a whole new high. It vanished after a couple of seconds leaving an eerie quiet.

Natsu strolled out as if nothing happened, a huge smile on his face. Ignoring the smell of burning coming from the room as well as a very faint groan, the team moved on to the other rooms systematically between the three of them clearing them out until there were none left unchecked. Overall they had managed to take out around thirty members; the stealthy approach seemed to have benefitted them greatly, even if it was not the forte of at least one of the members.

Eventually, all that was left to do was to traverse the corridor and enter the eerie room. They all stood about nervously not wanting to go through and see what was on the other side, however, they all know one thing. Taking out a dark guild did not mean just taking out the grunts, they had to take out the leader as well, and if they were all honest with themselves, they knew whoever the leader was, was waiting through that dark room.

Giving each other a comforting nod, Team Yukino walked down the corridor, their steps echoing in the empty space, the room seemingly getting further away instead of closer. The illusion eventually had to come to an end though as they passed through the threshold of the dark room.

A chill went through every single one of them as they entered the room, being momentarily robbed of their senses for a second or so building a sense of panic that only went after a couple of seconds. As their sense began to come back and they all took deep breaths to calm their stuttering hearts, they finally took in their surroundings.

The room turned out to actually be quite a large hall, light pouring in through more stained-glass windows, illuminating the place and revealing what seemed to be a large preparation area. Bowls of water laid on numerous desks scattered around, candles dispersed amongst them. Fluffy towels were neatly folded and kept in a scattered few open cupboards.

Looking around the room in slight shock, Team Yukino's eyes landed on the wall of shadow they had just walked through. Although on the other side it just looked like an entrance to a dark room, the shadows on their current side seemed to almost be alive. Slithering and squirming amongst and over each other. It was a disturbing display, heightened by the fact there was no sound coming from this wall.

They were so busy staring at the abomination in front of them; they had failed to fully check the room they were in. They never saw the beams supporting the ceiling nor did they see the hidden figure that was silently watching them. Dropping to the floor without making a sound, the figure simply stood and watched for a while, monitoring his prey carefully.

It took almost a minute for the group to tear their eyes from the Shadow wall in front of them. Yukino, in particular, seemed to be affected by it the most; she struggled to find a way to escape from the dark feelings that was coming off it. Rogue seemed to be more interested than bothered by it deciding on making sure that Frosch was okay in his arms. He left Natsu to gently place his hand on Yukino's shoulder, pulling her into the present and out of the corrupting daze she was in. She smiled thankfully at the Fire Dragon Slayer who gave a soft one back. However, they were all stunned as a voice behind them broke the silence.

"You all resisted my Shadow Wall? Interesting." Turning around they found a shrouded figure waiting for them. He was obviously a male, his tone of voice giving him away. If it was not for that hint the group would probably have never found out. He was covered from head to toe in black garb. The only two noticeable features were his hooded cloak and a pair of piercing blue eyes that bored into each one of them individually.

"I wonder how you all did it, that was meant to drain you of your will to continue. It was meant to make you panic and succumb to the darkness but here you are." There seemed to be no emotion behind what he was saying. It was all just fact. He glanced at Rogue halting for a moment as his body noticeably tensed.

"You… You are like me, that explains how you got through." The Shadow Dragon Slayer blinked in shock for a second, however, before he could utter a word the eyes of the figure had landed on Yukino, widening slightly as he properly observed her.

"So pure, no wonder you struggled to come through. Yes, you needed just a little bit of help to get the remnants out of your head didn't you. The weak link, I suppose." Yukino gasped not sure how to respond to her fears being so laid bare before her like that, the doubts nagging in her mind beginning to build, however, before an all-encompassing volume could be reached, Natsu strode in front of her, fists blazing as he vented out his fury.

"Watch what you're saying jackass! Yukino is one of the best mages around. You looking for a fight?" The figure's eyes focused on the raging boy in front of him with indifference.

"Hmm, what's that? Oh, it's easy to see how you got through my wall. Seems you'd struggle to comprehend the intended effects." Natsu blinked for a moment trying to process what the man in front of him had just said. Sighing to himself the figure turned to address Rogue who was eyeing him with a mixture of suspicion and anger.

"Tell me what are you here for?" For a full minute, Rogue seemed to stare into the eyes of the man in front of him before deciding that honesty was his best course to take at the moment.

"We were hired to stop Shadow's Crest from terrorising the town of Everbloom. We're here to stop you." The figure nodded to himself as he appeared to mull over the words.

"Just as I thought. Shame really, you were all so promising, I kind of hoped you were coming to join us. Oh well." The figure vanished in front of their eyes making them all jump in surprise. Looking around for a glimpse bore no fruit; however, they did spot a door at the far end of the room. Without the need for any words, they all began to move towards it hoping to leave their now aggressive adversary behind.

As they reached the door tendrils of shadow reached out from the dark spots of the rooms, wrapping themselves around their waists, dragging them back towards the root. Luckily they all managed to escape their predicament. Natsu lit himself on fire and burnt his way, while Rogue ate his, dropping Frosch and allowing the Exceed to scuttle out of harm's way. It was Yukino who suffered the most, having to actively wiggle her way out with her own strength.

All three turned to look at the remnants of the tendrils as they slithered back to the darkness, only for their eyes to widen in horror as spikes rose from the shadows, stabbing upwards into the room, looking to impale any unfortunate soul caught nearby. The figure of the man appeared by the door, barring their escape and keeping them inside the room.

"You will not get to Miko, you will not lay a hand on her."

Lifting his hands, spears of darkness flew out of his hands and at each and every one of them. Luckily they all had their guard up and avoided the attack with relative ease, the number advantage playing a part as the weakened attacks spread over three different enemies. Natsu charged forward, sensing the weakness he set his fists ablaze as he swung at his opponent in front of him.

Seeing the attack coming, the man immediately erected a wall of shadow causing Natsu to jump back in alarm at the sudden blindness in front of his eyes. The man remained as stoic as ever not even flinching from the heat of the intended attack, however, he took his eyes off his other opponents.

Yukino had sprinted forward kicking him in the stomach driving him back towards Rogue who expertly tossed him away from the door, leaving the path ahead clear.

"Go on ahead you two, I'll deal with him." The Shadow Dragon Slayer yelled at his friends who both looked at him once before nodding and sprinting to the door, not looking behind as they charged into the next room and slamming the door shut, leaving behind the two combatants.

Hearing that his opponent was getting up behind him, Rogue turned to meet his now blazing eyes. Blue fire burning within them as he removed his face mask and lowered his hood. Sharp features were revealed as a rather handsome, cleanly shaven face looked back at him. Green spiky locks falling around his face and standing atop his head as he eyed his opponent with a murderous intent.

"You let them through, you let them get to Miko. You bastard! I'll… I'll kill you." Rogue's eyes widened as he realised that this man in front of him now wanted his life. His eyes held a killer intent in them. What was even more disturbing, it actually looked like he was okay with the idea of killing another person.

He was not prepared when the man bent over, drawing two knives from sheaths on his shins. Eyeing the weapons with suspicion, Rogue could have sworn he saw flashes of green on the actual blades as the man expertly wielded them and assumed a stance.

"I was right you have power like mine, I saw you eat my precious shadows. I am no fool! I am well aware of the legal guilds and the most powerful mages in them. You're one of the Twin Dragons, the one with control over the darkness. I guess I'll have to resort to a more common way of dealing with you."

Before Rogue could respond the man charged with a blinding speed, slashing at his face with precision. Tilting his head back, the Shadow Dragon Slayer avoided getting slashed as the knives narrowly avoided raking across his cheek and potentially taking his one of his eyes. Grabbing a hold of the man's arm, he flung him away hoping to get a degree of separation.

In mid-air, the man corrected himself, reaching into his clothing he drew out a handful of shurikens and sent them flying at high speed towards Rogue. Not expecting the use of weapons, the Shadow Dragon Slayer barely dodged, forcing his face to stay stoic as all the missiles flew past him. However, that meant his eyes were briefly off of his opponent.

Sensing something coming towards him Rogue looked up to see the man flying through the air at him, two curved daggers in his hands pointed directly at him. Letting the man approach a slight bit more, he rushed forward darkening his fists in shadows before punching his opponent in his face. He watched with a large amount of satisfaction as the man was once again thrown back across the room before a searing pain blinded his vision for a second. Falling to one knee and looking down in confusion, he saw two small nicks on his arm that were currently looking very red, despite the fact that they were so small.

His vision swam as the man stood up from his landing spot at the other side of the room. Turning his eyes to Rogue a smirk came across his face as he watched the Shadow Dragon Slayer wobble as he attempted to find his footing.

"Poisoned blades. For a normal person, these would be deadly, I've seen it many times before. For a mage with Dragon's blood, it probably won't kill. That doesn't mean it won't affect you though. Tell me, how are you dealing with my poison?"

Rogue glared as he finally got to his feet, taking a deep breath to settle himself before narrowing his eyes at the smug figure opposing him. His scratches burned again and he actively fought from falling to the ground in pain. He failed to notice the figure moving towards him, his daggers raised. He felt rather than saw two pummels crack into the side of his head, dazing him as he began to see stars. Jumping back to gain some distance, Rogue's eye came back into focus as he watched the man throw his daggers into the air and catch them all while staring right back at him.

"I said you'd pay. After I'm finished with you I'm going after your friends. If they dare to lay a single finger on Miko I'll kill them too." The man's voice was entirely calm this time. It almost seemed as if he had either gone well beyond anger or he was very skilled at reigning in his emotions. He still smiled yet there was something cold behind it, like his smirks beforehand. There was a certain malice hidden there and although he hated to admit it, Rogue was in trouble. He had underestimated him and he had made him pay.

Before he could shout out a response, the man was charging again, swinging at the Dragon Slayer with a speed that would have been impossible for a normal man to keep up with. Luckily Rogue was expecting this attack, and after all the preparation he did to stave off the effects of the poison, he was able to dodge the swipes coming at him.

"Shadow Dragon's Slash." Covering his arm in darkness he slammed his fist directly into the stomach of his opponent watching with satisfaction as the air was driven out of him. However, despite the fact the man did take some damage from the attack, the shadows did not appear to hurt him quite as much as he had hoped. It appeared that he had some degree of immunity to his magic, the both of them sharing a strong similarity.

Deciding it would be best to push the attack; Rogue continued reigning down blows on the man, surpassing even his speed as he was forced to take the abuse for a while, gradually losing ground before he decided to change up his tactics. Suddenly jumping into Rogue, his body seemed to leak dark spots that hung in the air for a second before speeding directly into his face.

Jumping backwards, the Dragon Slayer gasped as he felt the effect take hold, his vision once again began to blur as the dark spots joined with the effects of his small wounds making him topple over as his knees gave out. The whole room was spinning; he could not focus on anything. The man once again smirked as he watched Rogue tumble to the floor disoriented from his magic.

"What do you think about my magic? I never asked you before. Those dark balls you accidentally breathed in, confusion spots. And with the nicks I already made on you, I'm guessing you're not doing too good round about now?"

There was no response he could make. Even if he attempted to he was not sure that his unsettled stomach could actually let words leave his mouth. All he could do for the time being was watch as the man approached him, crouching by the side of his prone body as he gazed into his eyes, the cold fury from before showing again.

"I'm going through to help Miko, your friend may be an idiot but even I know how powerful he is. Still, a dagger in the back can do wonders for a person's health."

Rogue felt rage bubble within him before a burning pain shot through his body causing a cry of pain to escape from his lips. Looking up in shock, his opponent had planted his two daggers into his shoulders and let the poison take its effect. The man wondered off towards the door withdrawing his daggers and not even casting a spare glance in Rogue's direction. He refused to let this be the end of the battle. He may have been outsmarted but that did not mean he was out of the fight altogether.

The man paused mid step, a look of rage visibly taking over the entirety of his face as he sensed an increase in magic from behind him. He had only been a couple of centimetres away from the door as well. Turning back to see Rogue on his feet shadow's surrounding him as well as a dark aura that seemed to seep off of him in wisps.

Trying hard to remember where he had seen this level of magic before, a brief flash of the Grand Magic Games went through his mind and he found the answer to his unasked question. Shadow Drive.

Before he could do anything with the information Rogue started his attack. A punch to the side of the face sent him careening into the wall. And the Punishment did not stop there. The Dragon Slayer kept up his assault, manhandling him with kicks and punches keeping the man on the defensive.

"Shadow Dragon's Slashing Sword." The man was not expecting a katana made of shadows to slash across his chest but he was once again sent flying backwards colliding into the desk as the wood splintered, embedding into his back as he screamed out in pain. He scoured his memory to think of a plan to combat this new aggressive Rogue.

It hit him far too suddenly that he had no plan for this. This threat was supposed to be dazed out of his mind, struggling to even stand, not thrashing him around the room as if this was a warm up exercise for him. Panicking at the power now on display, the man weakly mustered a large portion of his magic creating four shadow walls around the raging Dragon Slayer. Figuring that would hold him for enough time to help him recover and think of a new plan of attack.

However, he never got what he wished for. The shadows around Rogue started to be sucked into some internal source stuck in the wall. The man could only gape as the walls slowly disappeared into the now revealed Dragon Slayer's mouth. One of his most powerful attacks was swallowed in the space of a minute without a single problem whatsoever. That's when he felt it. The fear.

He could only faintly remember the last time he felt the cold touch of fear running down his spine but right now it was all that was consuming his mind. Of course, he felt the fear of being completely overpowered but that was not the worst part. He felt the pang of disappointment and regret at now stopping Rogue here, at failing despite all of his plans. Had he planned his way out of victory? His thoughts turned to Miko.

She had saved him all those years ago, from that life on the streets, they had been together ever since. He refused to fail her, he could not! But what would she say if she could see him now? Trembling away at the thought of failing to protect her, would she hate him for being so weak?

"Of course she wouldn't!" He had not intended to scream out his response to the questions in his mind but the fact that they were out in the open seemed to give him some meagre confidence. "I won't fail her! I'm ending this now! Shadow's Abyssal Fear!"

Rogue paused for a second confused as to why the man had just screamed out loud for no logical reason. As soon as he stopped in place, a circle of darkness appeared around his feet stretching out to completely surround his immediate area. Slowly he began to be sucked into the abyss below him.

Having just eaten the shadows of the previous attack, Rogue knew he could not devour these ones straight away. He had not entertained the notion of his opponent still having enough trickery left to summon something like this. As he sank lower his vision slowly turned darker as he was enveloped in the gloom.

He floated there for a while, not seeming to be anywhere as nothingness overtook him. He knew he should feel panicked or furious yet all that filled him was a strong sense of calm. He closed his eyes as he enjoyed the sensation, this isolation was almost comforting.

"Enjoying yourself I see."

Spinning around as best he could the Dragon Slayer came face to face with the source of the sudden voice. A familiar man stood in front of him, black hair covering the right side of his face, while it gradually gave way to a long white ponytail to the left. A scar running from the figure's right eye right over the bridge of his nose, a tattoo adding some symmetry on the left side of his face surrounding it gave him the answer he needed. Future Rogue stood there arms crossed, smirking at his past self, casually managing to lean despite the fact that there was nothing around either of them. Before the current Rogue could say a word his future counterpart cut him off with expert smugness.

"So you've been captured by a mage that is, quite frankly, beneath us. You should have ended this a long time ago but you didn't. That's why I'm here; it's my job to bail you out of this 'situation.' Take my power, end this fools miserable existence. I know you want to. The power at your fingertips will be breath-taking."

It did sound tempting. As much as it made him hate himself he could not stop the slight shot of adrenaline when he imagined wielding even more power. After all the guy deserved it. He had threatened death on his friends; it would be justice would it not?

No, he could not, would not, give into this man again. He had lost control of himself once and it was not an experience he wanted to ever repeat again. Waking up with no memory, his body broken while his partner cried, desperately trying to protect him from a rampaging Gajeel. It certainly never remained in his favourite moments of his life. Shaking his head at his future counterpart, Rogue answered him with assurance.

"I'll never need your help; you may as well go. I'll find my own way out of here."

A scowl appeared on the face of Future Rogue at the rejection. He seemed to float away slightly turning his back on his past self as he eerily disappeared from sight. The Dragon Slayer breathed a sigh of relief. He thought that it was going to be a struggle to get his future self to leave him alone yet he did so straight away. It only then clicked that it was far too easy. Just as he began to think of a strategy a blinding light flashed and blinded him temporarily, leaving him to claw at his eyes for a few seconds.

When his vision cleared he was standing in a room of clear, eye-piercing white. His future counterpart appeared to be dragging some unfortunate soul with him. The body appeared to be battered and bruised, struggling in vain against the man who was dragging him by the neck.

Soon the two Rogues stood face to face, eyes not leaving each other's as they started into their souls.

"Take my power."

The past version of Rogue spared a glance at the beaten man in front of him, unrecognisable even if he could not see his face. He refused to be cowered, despite what lay in front of him.

"I already told you, I don't need your help. I'll take this man down myself, without the help of some random maniac."

The scowl on Future Rogue's face turned murderous. Wordlessly he lifted up the battered man by the hair, ignoring the groan of pain that came from his lips. It took a second for the past version of Rogue to realise just who the figure was. The now shabby blonde hair should have been a giveaway; however, it lacked its usual spiky look. His face was swollen almost beyond recognition, his lips were split, a few droplets of blood seeping from the corners of his mouth.

One of his eyes was completely swollen shut; it was obvious he could not see out of it as he was staring intently at his old friend with a face of misery. His cheeks were puffed up and blue, the outline of the bruises looking like they were already going black. Blood caked certain portions of his face; it looked like a merciless beat down.

"Rogue…"

It was raspy, the life totally stolen from its usually boisterous tones. His voice died in a couple of seconds before future Rogue released him and he crumpled to the ground at the feet of the present Shadow Dragon Slayer. He felt something boil within him that he had never felt before. Murderous rage filled with an overwhelming sense of fear.

He feared that his friend may not survive the beating he had received, that his wounds were just too much for him to take, even as a Dragon Slayer. Bending over to tend to his friend, Rogue called out to him in hopes of getting a response.

"Sting! Sting! Are you alright can you hear me? Please answer me!" There was no answer, not even as he picked him up and cradled him in his arms. All there was coming from his friend was laboured breaths from a man lost in the depths of unconsciousness.

" .Power."

The look Rogue gave went beyond a glare. It was so intense it seemed to bore straight through his future counterpart. Despite the sheer amount of rage directed at him, Future Rogue did not seem all that affected by the look being sent his way. He gave his own back with what appeared to be a promise behind his eyes.

"Are you insane what did you hope to get from this? Why the hell would I join someone who injuries and tortures my friends."

What scared Rogue the most was how his counterpart's face turned from enraged to indifferent in a blink of an eye. It was an unnerving sight to behold as he gazed, with almost sadistic boredom. With a flick of his hand, there was once again a blind light and another figure appeared. He had her by the hair as she kicked helplessly, her usual delicate features contorting into a mask of obvious pain.

Yukino hung there; feet not quite touching the ground as she desperately tried to find some solid ground to stand on to alleviate the pain shooting through her hair, flowing right through her entire body.

"Rogue-sama, I'm sorry I…"

She was cut off as a katana made of shadows was driven into her stomach. The Dragon Slayer watched in horror as her eyes widened as the found the weapon protruding from her, she looked straight into her friend's eyes and tried to speak but nothing came out except a trickle of blood staining her lips, dripping down to join the pool that appeared from the wound in her stomach. Her eyes rolled back into her head as the pain took over; she crumpled to the ground in a heap without so much as a grunt.

"What about now? Will you take my power now? Will we finally be able to fulfil what we were meant to do?"

Rogue ignored his future counterpart for a few seconds, choosing instead to drag Yukino's body next to him, away from the reach of the thing in front of him. His eyes once again show defiance as he furiously glared at the still indifferent look on the face of his greatest adversary.

"Very well, we'll just have to continue."

Another snap, another body appeared before him, this time the scene was all too grim. Natsu was pinned to one of the walls with numerous shadow spikes driven into him. His breathing was shallow, although he looked like the worst of the pain was over, it seemed that it had been intentionally drawn out. All the points on his body that could be stabbed and not be fatal were taken advantage of with a sickening glee.

There were no words this time. Future Rogue picked up Natsu's body and flung it with the all the strength he could muster, sending it crashing into one of the white walls of the room. The body fell and impacted the floor with an audible crunch followed by the faintest whimper only a Dragon Slayer could pick up.

Future Rogue's face morphed into glee. His past counterpart was still in shock with how callously his fellow Slayer had just been treated and did not see it until the flash drew his attention. Another person was kneeling before him, eyes locked on him as realisation dawned on him. He knew those eyes.

They belonged to a woman of class, the very picture of elegance. Her usual smirking features twisted into a clear face of fear, hair wildly clinging to them as sweat dripped off of her. Her stylised clothing had tears running up and down them, revealing parts of her bruised skin beneath. Minerva knelt, her face showing an unnatural amount of fear.

"Rogue I'm sorry I wanted to stop him, I know this isn't you. Please believe-" She was cut off when she slowly began to sink into the floor, a gasp was the only thing that sounded from her as she was sucked in.

It took a moment for Rogue to realise what was going on and by that time it was already too late, even as he dived forward in a futile attempt to reach her, both their hands came within a mere centimetre of touching before she was sucked into the void, her last ditch cry the last thing heard from her lips.

"Rogue!"

"MINERVA!"

His scream went unanswered. He stared at the spot on the ground where she had vanished into, eyes starting to tear as his failure played out in front of him.

"Will you take my power now Rogue? Will you finally let yourself become one with me?"

Absolute hatred consumed him. He looked up, letting his magic flow out of him, cloaking him in his shadows. However, he soon stopped when he saw just who was being held by his future counterpart. Forsch was held tightly in his grasp, the same happy expression on his face as always. The Exceed probably recognised he was being held by a version of Rogue but did not recognise the danger he was actually in.

All of his magic drained away at the sight. His eye widened for a brief second, before narrowing in fury. That appeared to be all the answer that Future Rogue needed as he surrounded his hand in shadows causing the poor feline to cry out in alarm. After a short second, Frosch dropped to the floor unmoving, shadows still flickering on him as he silently lay on the ground.

It took Rogue a full minute to realise what had happened, his eyes glued to the still body of his best friend. Falling to his knees, an anguished cry tore from his throat as grief overtook him. Tears started running down his face as Future Rogue laughed at his weakness.

"All you had to do was take my power, you could have fulfilled your destiny, instead you're here crying on the floor. I expected better you know. Now for one last, accept my help!"

Rogue looked up to his counterpart, red-eyed from his tears as fury coursed through his veins.

"I know who I am, I will never be you. I would never hurt my friends so heartlessly. You are nothing more than a shadow of someone I was never meant to become. I'm ending this right now, Shadow Dragon's Slash!"

Driving forward with inhuman speed, Rogue drove his fist into the face of his future self. As soon as there should have been a connection, his surroundings shredded into strips of shadow. As the last of the magic cleared from his vision he found himself back in the room before, a very scared man eyeing him from across the room.

His previous opponent stood there gaping, eyes wide with fear at what he was seeing before him.

"No this can't be happening that was all I had! Yet you burst through my illusion. You can't! I need to help Miko why would you-"

He was interrupted as he felt a powerful spike in power emanating from the mage in front of him. Black scales appeared around the eyes and stretched down the side of his face, masking his face in darkness. His magic seemed to be its own living entity shooting upwards in a display of sheer power that left the man quaking in horror. Rogue's tone was dark as he simply responded with one sentence.

"I don't care who you want to protect, you'll pay for what you showed me. Shadow Dragon's Roar."

Tilting his head back The Dragon Slayer unleashed a horizontal cyclone of shadow directly into his helpless opponent. The force of the attack was so strong the wall of the cathedral was blown out letting natural sunlight stream into the room, illuminating the man as he fell to his knees the roar too much for him to take. Collapsing on the ground the man cried silent tears as he tried in vain to move but his body was well and truly defeated.

Rogue looked on, a small smile on his face at his victory. He deactivated his Dragon Force before turning on his heel to face the door that lead to what he could only imagine was the leader of Shadow's Crest and this so called Miko. However, as soon as he took a step forward his body gave in and he fell to the floor. He may have fought off the toxins in his body but that did not mean that they did not drain him more than he had realised. He had nothing left in the tank.

He had mixed feelings about his current condition, on the one hand, he trusted both Yukino and Natsu to complete the job that was given to them and defeat the leader but he sorely wished to be there helping. If he had only been more cautious he would be fighting side-by-side with his friends right now.

A quiet sob brought him out of his thoughts as his now finished opponent let out his first audible cry. Forcing his body to roll over so he could at least face him, Rogue called out to him.

"Hey, what's your name?"

There was a long pause, long enough to install some doubt into the Dragon Slayer that his question would actually get an answer. However, that was soon disproved when a small and rather fragile voice gave him the answer he wanted.

"Riam… My name is Riam."

Rogue nodded to himself as Frosch came over from his hiding place and curled up into his arms. The Dragon Slayer gave his Exceed a smile before he called out to his now named opponent one last time.

"You fought well…Riam." Although there was no response Rogue did note that the sobbing had subsided, and that was probably as good as he was going to get. Letting his mind wander to the task at hand, he sent his well-wishes out to his still standing teammates.

Not a second later an explosion rocked the building as the sounds of a fight came from the room his team had gone into.

"Natsu, Yukino. Stay safe."


So this took ages...

To let you know why I originally wanted the entire saga involving Shadow's Crest to end in one chapter, as a result, the chapter went well above 20K words...

To put that into perspective, this chapter is currently 11,503 of just story (Not including my AN) and my Part Two is currently 10,289, and it still needs a write-up! So that number will probably go up. I'm trying to get that part finished by next week I think? (No promises.) Will be nice to have two Chapters so close together though huh?

Also, I'm still trying to figure out my mental and physical state at the moment, it seems that my moods are fluctuating between happy some days and well more extreme thoughts on others. Kind of affects the writing process when your up and down like a yo-yo (I won't go with the original simile I had in mind...)

Anyway Fairy Tail has ended now, I originally wanted this chapter to come out before its last chapter but that didn't happen. I wanted to ask what everyone thought of it? I know my own personal opinions (I'll leave it at they're in the vein of my previous analysis and leave it at that) but I want to know if you enjoyed it!

Huge shoutout to Mike Uzumaki-Heartfilla for keeping me sane through writing this! Thanks a lot mate (I'm English calling everyone mate is in my DNA.)

I haven't been able to keep up with stories so there are no recommendations for this chapter, need to get back in the game!

As a sidenote I noticed that this got added to a couple of Communities. If you want to add it to any community feel free to! I have zero objection to it!

Anyway onto the reviews.


LucyMabely - Thank you! I actually think my details are more worst skill! Good to know that I can do it if I try!

Fairy Tail Shu Heller - I won't say too much about my future plans but they are more set now then they used to be! That's all you're getting for now I'm afraid as something is happening soon... Also, thank you for the support you give me! Means a lot!

Johnjuanrambo3553jr - Thanks mate!

samuraikeichii - Thanks! Haven't been able to work on it recently but I have a plan and a few hundred words so maybe in the future!

SecrecyHeart - Thank you for the compliment! Also, I've never understood why Natsu gets hate for leaving, The poor soul lost everything he ever worked for. Literally, his main goal in life was to meet Igneel again and show him how strong he was. Half of his goal was to get strong to get his friends, half was to show his father how far he had come and he had it taken away. Half of Natsu was torn away after Acnologia did what he did, he needed some time to mourn and recover and decide what to do in life - hence why we got the chapter when he bumps into Gildarts. At the end of the day, Natsu owes Lucy nothing for leaving. She bought the miserable year on herself, she could have gone with Levy to the Magic Council or Wendy to Lamia Scale, she knew where they were. She could have waited with friends. Hell, she could have gone to Sabretooth if she wanted but didn't. Honestly, I question Hiro's judgement at what he was doing here. He made Lucy an unnecessary victim (giving those who hate her, even more ammunition) and made Natsu out to be a bad person. It was just all wrong.

Also, no worries if you disagree about my shipping points! Many of the base personalities and ships just needed to be implemented differently and I would have gotten behind them. They were just done in a way that annoyed me I guess. Ship what makes you happy though! Life is too short to not have your heart melted by sappiness every now and then! (PS sorry for the Great Wall of Text.)

ReshiCan - This is a humour story that needs to happen! Someone get on it!

xNaruHina - Do have an idea about a Natsu/Wendy story, it probably won't come out because of time constraints but there we go!

Ah, I'll explain my thought process. It was mainly used for humour, to lighten the mood on my otherwise angsty story but apart from that, I thought it fit her character well.

To me, Minerva does like things to be done her way, hence why we see her scheming so much in canon and why she has an intense dislike for Erza until her redemption as she was the one who actively foiled her when it looked like no one else would be able to. She is also shown to have a sadistic side to her, the GMG with Lucy springs to mind. So I kept up that tradition although she is a lot more mellow now she still has her claws, she seems like a no nonsense type of person.

She doesn't expect him to change, just curb the more destructive tendencies he has. She's just become temporary Guildmaster, the last thing she wants is to have funds drained away, repairing damages caused by her new Dragon Slayer. She's thinking along the same lines as Makarov except she just knows how to push his buttons better.

Speaking of Makarov, Natsu is being treated no differently than he did by Makarov and Erza both of which have been seen to beat Natsu if he was been misbehaving and considering the Minerva is meant to be similar to Erza it makes sense if she carries on in a similar vein. And that was coming from two people Natsu considers family and it's pretty clear that the feeling is mutual.

Also, Natsu can't just walk back into Fairy Tail, I tried to make it clear that by going back there he would have to consistently face Lucy and her new relationship, something he can't quite do yet as he doesn't want to torture himself over the fact that he lost his second love.

Anyway, I'm sorry you don't like my Minerva, it's my failing as a writer if you feel that way and I hope I can create a better story for you in the future.


Well that's it for another chapter, just a head's up if you want to message me on here about anything at all don't hesitate to get in contact (I'm only anti-social in person!)

Now I'm off to try and decide whether to go to work tomorrow with my dodgy back (I think it's close to spasming again...) and to try and catch up with Critical Role while ignoring the fact that Your Lie in April made me feel like I was a little child being so incredibly over-emotional.

Until next time!