AN: Hey guys. I'm late, I know and I apologize but please enjoy.
Chapter 6
Tadasuke released a tired breath as he made it to the train station with Natsu, Lucy and Happy. He was starting to wonder if something was wrong with him, this was the second time he woke up late. Thinking about it for a few seconds he just realized how busy he had been these past few days. Arriving at Fairy Tail, going on a mission, finding an apartment to rent and fighting Erza. Doing all these could tire any person.
Glancing in front of him, he quietly greeted the other two teens. The dark haired boy returned his greeting with a lazy wave of his hand as his other hand was covering his mouth, trying to hide a yawn. It seemed that he wasn't a morning person. Next to him, the red haired beauty didn't have such trivial problems. In fact, she looked quite upset, guess she didn't like that they were late.
"Why are you all so late?" She asked, crossing her arms at her chest. Yeah, she was angry. "The train is about to leave." She waited for an answer as she measured the newcomers with her eyes.
Tadasuke turned his head slightly to look at Natsu and the rest who came with him. They were obviously scared, Lucy was trembling slightly while Natsu was sweating a lot. Happy instead chose to hide behind the blond girl's legs, only peaking with one eye from time to time. Seeing as they weren't going to answer anytime soon, he decided to take one for the team so to speak and answer the scarlet mage.
So, after swallowing the lump in his throat, he answered. "It's my fault, I woke up late and they had to wait for me." He spoke quickly, rubbing the back of his hood, trying not to look at Erza's eyes fearing that they would kill him on the spot.
Suddenly, Erza's gaze relaxed considerably as all her anger dissipated without a trace. "I see. Make sure it doesn't happen again." She turned around and headed for the wagon, leaving everyone speechless. No beating, no punch to the gut or the face, not even a lecture? Next to Erza, Gray's expression was akin to a gaping fish's. He could remember all those times the armored mage vented her frustrations on him when he was late and here Tadasuke was having it easy. His eyebrow twitched slightly thinking how unfair this whole thing was.
Natsu on the other hand, seeing how Erza calmed down considerably, decided to try his luck and bail out of the torture known to him as transportation. "I'm not going inside that thing." He said quickly, voice slightly higher pitched because of his fright.
Erza stopped walking abruptly causing the dragon slayer to twitch and shake. "What was that Natsu?" The scarlet mage turned her head slightly, giving him a side glare, her visible brown eye shadowed by her hair releasing enough killer intent to root him on the spot.
"You heard me." He said bravely, trying to ignore that every fiber of his being was begging him to stop. "I can't handle transportation, you know that. Why don't we walk there?" He suggested like he did every time despite knowing it was futile. But who knows, maybe Lady Luck would be on his side today.
She wasn't.
"Because walking there would take us several days, days we can't afford to waste." Erza answered powerfully.
"I'm still not riding that thing and there's nothing you can do to change my mind." The pink haired boy declared boldly, crossing his arms around his partially exposed chest. A though act on his part, one that he will soon regret.
Getting frustrated with his stubbornness, the armored mage decided to stop wasting time and started stomping towards the dragon slayer. At that moment Natsu realized the gravity of his mistake, his fate was sealed as he saw his doom approach him. He was about to suffer the full wrath of Titania and from past experience he knew it was going to be painful. Before he could even attempt to run, Erza had already grabbed his scarf and started pulling him towards the wagon, choking him on the way as well, not that she noticed mind you.
The others were observing the scene with different expressions, ranging from amused in Gray's case to Lucy's disappointed and crestfallen expression, not to mention embarrassed. Tadasuke on the other hand was totally confused with what was going on. He looked between Gray and Lucy and asked why was Natsu so against going inside the train.
"Natsu has extreme motion sickness, he can't handle transportation at all." Lucy answered him. Happy only responded with an 'Aye' as he was staying on Lucy's shoulders, too lazy to walk or fly.
"Don't worry, you'll see soon enough what we're talking about. My advice, stay away from Natsu when he's on a train, cart or something like that. Believe me, the last thing you want is to find out the hard way what that ash brain had for dinner." Gray said noticing Tadasuke's confused posture, it was pretty weird not seeing his face Gray remarked. The ice mage wondered why he still kept the hood on, they already saw what he looked like. He only shrugged his shoulders and decided it wasn't his business.
Shortly afterwards, they started following Erza, who was still dragging a screaming Natsu behind her, and embarked on the train. They quickly found their seats and sat on their seats. There were three on each side of the compartment. On one side stood Tadasuke, Lucy with Happy and Gray, with the ice make mage near the window and on the other side stood Erza who was 'nursing' a pale Natsu.
Seeing how the pink haired boy looked, Tadasuke understood how bad his sickness was. He limply stood next to the armored mage, the girl supporting him fully otherwise he would fall like a brick to the ground. He cringed slightly when he saw the Erza deliver a strong punch to Natsu's gut, knocking him out cold and them putting his head in her lap.
"There, that should ease his pain for a while." The scarlet beauty declared, feeling proud with her accomplishment. Her friends on the other hand weren't as convinced as she was but they said nothing on the matter. They weren't going to ruin her good mood.
"So Erza, what's this request about?" Gray asked, going straight to business. "We know it involves a dark guild but do you know anything else?" The dark haired mage asked leaning slightly into his chair, trying to find a comfortable position.
Erza nodded slowly. "Yes, the guild's name is 'Tiger Knee', it's been causing problems for villages and towns for about 3 months now. On my last solo mission, I've been following a lead on it, one that was supposed to take me to their Guild Master. But unfortunately it seems that they knew someone was on their trail and at the last village they've been, they made sure to leave nothing behind. I was forced to give up the lead and return to the guild, but my expedition wasn't in vain. While their reasons for these attacks are not known, I did manage to find out that it's a small dark guild under the direct order of Tartaros." The Requip mage replied grimly.
Gray's eyes widened at the name. "Tartaros? Are you talking about that 'Tartaros'? The one from the Baram Alliance?" He asked in a panicked voice, Erza's nod doing nothing to calm him. Lucy wasn't much better either, she was obviously scared, but who wouldn't be? It's not every day you hear about one of the three strongest dark guilds in Fiore.
"Tartaros? Baram Alliance?" The confused voice of Tadasuke snapped everyone out of their thoughts. That's right, the hooded mage was not familiar with the dark guild structure. Lucy took it up to herself to explain it to him.
"One of the strongest dark guilds. In Fiore, besides the legal guilds like Fairy Tail, Lamia Scale or Blue Pegasus, there are also guilds who are not officially recognized by the Magic Council, they are known as dark guilds. Most of them are treated like a criminal organization because unlike the legal guilds, they wreak havoc and destruction wherever they go, basically they are evil and wish to bring pain to everyone. You get it so far?" The bond haired girl asked to be sure.
After seeing him nod she continued. "The Baram Alliance is like a contract between the three strongest dark guilds, Oracion Seis, Tartaros and Grimmoire Heart. We don't actually know a huge lot about them, only that these three guilds control the smaller ones and that they mean bad news. Nevertheless, they are a power that the Magic Council can't afford to ignore, especially now when they're on the move." She finished sadly. Tadasuke stared at her for a few moments not knowing what to say.
Thankfully for him, Gray started speaking immediately. "You probably heard about our last mission, you were there when Gramps gave us the details. The Magic Council ordered four official guilds to form an alliance and take down Oracion Seis who's been on the move more than it should. Needless to say, we beat them but two other guilds still remain and this time it's Tartaros we're dealing with."
"It's not Tartaros directly." Erza interrupted him suddenly. "Like I said, the guild we are after is called 'Tiger Knee' and while it is operating under Tartaros, there's nothing to suggest that they are acting under direct orders. We also have to take into account the possibility of them acting on their own. That being said, while I was following them I was unable to make direct contact, but." The scarlet haired girl paused for a moment as she crossed her arms at her chest, eyes opening slowly giving everyone a serious look. " I did manage to see the trail of destruction they left behind. It was horrible, every town was almost completely destroyed, there were barely any buildings intact. The casualties were also very high, many people lost their lives and very few survived, but even they were unlucky, having suffered many life threatening injuries." Erza paused again, letting the words sink in.
"That's why we must find them and deal with them as soon as possible. We have to put an end to their chaotic destruction." The armored mage declared boldly, eyes full of determination and voice completely drenched in fury. Tadasuke nodded slowly, agreeing with her but also a bit reluctant about facing a dark guild. Looking at the rest, he noted that Gray shared the same determined look as Erza despite the more obvious fear he was exuding, notion strengthened by his gritting teeth and clenched fists. Lucy on the other hand was shaking visibly, tears threatening to fall from her eyes, although they were comical ones. Natsu was still sick so he didn't have much of a reaction.
Tadasuke just slumped into his seat more as he mentally prepared himself for the mission. He was nervous, despite facing reincarnated monsters a few days ago, an entire dark guild was another deal. He wondered if they'll be alright. They spent the rest of the train ride trying to hold a conversation to ease the tension, it didn't working that well.
xxx
After a few hour of awkward silence and failed tries to brighten the mood, they finally arrived at the train station in Meiros. Quietly disembarking the wagon, they stood on the platform of the train station. Immediately everyone noticed the lack of human activity around them. A few quick glances also revealed that they were the only ones to get off at this station.
"Ah, finally!" A loud scream alarmed everyone. Quickly searching for its source, they relaxed noticing it was just Natsu, apparently he was conscious again. "Sweet ground, oh how much I missed you." He spread his arms on the ground trying to engulf it in a hug, an expression of pure delight plastered on his face.
This got everyone to relax a bit, they could always count on the pink haired dragon slayer to cheer them up with his childish stupidity.
"Alright Natsu, that's enough." Erza spoke calmly, her voice missing the killer edge it had just a few hour ago. Instead a more calm and friendly tone was heard from her mouth. "We have to get to the main city and find someone to brief us on our request. Let's go." With the last words said, the Fairy Queen started walking towards the center of the town, the others right behind her.
The walk to the town made Tadasuke realize a couple of things. One, the chemistry team Natsu had was totally different than team Shadow Gear's and two, Natsu and Gray argued all the time about the smallest of things. This time they were contradicting each other about some weird bird they saw a few minutes ago.
"I told you already ice pants there's no way that was just a plain old bird. It was huge and it didn't have any feathers. That thing must know where Igneel is." The fire mage screamed loudly.
"And I keep telling you matchstick, that was no bird, it was a Wyvern. Seriously, it's been only a few weeks since that request where we had to capture one. How messed up is that brain of yours for you to forget that?" Gray grumbled defectively, not even bothering to look at the dragon slayer.
"What's that you pornstar wannabe? Did you just call me stupid?" Natsu yelled, grabbing the ice mage in a headlock.
Frustrated, Gray escaped from the tight hold and started fighting back throwing fists left and right. "I didn't call you stupid, that would be an insult to stupid people all over the world." The half naked man shouted.
The second thing Tadasuke noticed was that it was always Erza that separated the two whenever they were at it. It was obvious that the two boys were afraid of her when she was mad, not that he could blame them. Tadasuke himself saw just how scary she could be, add in her strength and you have one hell of a woman, the strongest he had ever seen.
"What did I tell you two about fighting?" He heard the armored mage yell at the two boys. Yeah, there she was. Stomping at the two, she punched them in the head calming them down, she then resumed her place at the front of the group. He sweat dropped when Natsu and Gray started arguing again, telling each other that it was the other's fault they got scolded.
He was at the back of the group, trailing behind the other mages with Lucy next to him. She was the most normal of the group in his opinion, he could get along with her better that the others. Part of the reason was because he didn't have to think much about what to talk with her, it was her that usually started conversations, he just had to respond. But boy, she sure liked to talk a lot.
"And then there are these rumors about me that keep popping out of nowhere." Lucy was talking about some of her frustrations. "Like how I beat 19 mercenary gorillas with my pinkie or how I defeated 1000 dark guild members with ease at Acalypha. Seriously, who comes up with these things?" Tadasuke just nodded absent mindedly, his gaze focused at the approaching city.
"Ne Tadasuke, are you listening?" The blond girl complained as she turned to look at the soul mage. "Have you been paying attention to what I've been saying?" She asked angrily, putting her hands on her hips as she glared slightly at him.
"Yes." The hooded mage answered before looking at her. "You were complaining about your rent, how Cana-san teases you, how you barely end up with money after missions, how Juvia-san views you as your 'love rival' and how some people keep coming up with insane rumors about you."
The answer left the celestial mage staring at her friend. She pouted in response. I was apparent that he had been listening to her and quite carefully if he could recall all those things she said. It was really hard to guess his expression, she was starting to agree with Cana that he should just take the hood off. She'd much rather see his real face than some shadowed version of it.
The blond girl released a breath as her expression eased. "Okay, you were listening. But please, next time try to be a bit more engaged when we're talking. I don't want to feel like I'm just talking by myself." She advised carefully.
This time Tadasuke turned to look at her fully. "Sorry about that. It's just that, there is an unpleasant magic around this place and it's getting nastier as we approach the town." He said looking carefully around.
"Nasty magic?" The blond girl questioned, slightly tilting her head to the side. "You can sense the magic around us?" This got everyone's attention, they weren't expecting the hooded mage to have such a skill.
"To an extent." He answered simply. "I can sense whether there is magic or not around and I can somewhat feel the nature of it. It's something I had to learn with my Shinigami Magic, I had to be able to visualize my own magic container to progress with my training." He informed the group.
"Speaking of unpleasant things." Natsu commented as he looked around with a serious expression. "There's also a nasty stench in the air, it smells rotten and it makes my stomach churn. I don't like it." This new demeanor of the dragon slayer put everyone on guard.
"Look, there is the town." Erza's voice cleared the air and everyone turned to look in front of them. True enough, small buildings were beginning to show through the thick forest. However, as they approached, they couldn't help but notice traces of destruction around. Torn trees, building parts, shredded objects, craters, all in all, remnants of a massacre.
Reaching the gate, the Fairy Tail mages were shocked with the sight. Nothing, there was absolutely nothing intact in the town, no building, park, road, nothing. Destroyed carts, houses, trees and bodies lingered everywhere. The sight was absolutely horrifying, it made everyone, even Erza, tremble standing near it. The scarlet mage was very glad that she decided to not bring Wendy with them, she couldn't even imagine how the small girl would react to all this.
"Bastards." Everyone heard the fire mage mutter. Judging by the heat he was exuding, it was obvious that he was furious. "How dare they, how dare they do something so awful?" He growled loudly, giving everyone the chills.
"Something is not right here." Erza stated seriously. "The request was to meet with our client here and discuss our job. But this whole place is destroyed, did something happen while we were on our way?" She questioned aloud, not really expecting an answer.
"You think that dark guild, 'Tiger Knee', got here before us and did all this?" Gray asked, looking directly at the scarlet haired girl.
"I don't know, but it's clear that someone or something is responsible for all the destruction." Erza looked around to examine the remains of the town. Heading to one of the collapsed buildings, she carefully caressed the surface for a few seconds before she frowned at what she felt. "These cuts seem fresh, whatever did this didn't happen too long ago. Perhaps a few days or maybe even less." She got up and turned to the group. "Let's split up and look around, we may be able to find some survivors." Erza stated clearly, her words leaving no room for complain, not that anyone had any.
"How are we going to split? Should we go alone or make smaller groups?" Gray asked looking at the scarlet mage.
"Groups of two." Tadasuke said suddenly catching everyone's attention.
"Yes, that's what I was thinking." Erza agreed calmly. "That way we have a large enough search party and we can also watch each other's backs." She nodded in Tadasuke's direction, agreeing with his plan before she shifted her view at the Dragon Slayer. "Natsu, you and Happy can form a team and search the whole town through the sky."
The pink haired mage nodded before punching his fist in his palm. "Yosh, got it. Let's go Happy." With that said, the blue cat brought out his 'Aera' magic, latched onto the boy's back and with a resounding 'Aye sir', took off towards the scorched sky.
After watching him leave, Erza started dividing the rest of them. "While Natsu will search from above, we'll have to cover the ground." The armored mage said as she sized them up, her mind trying to come up with the best possible pairs. "Lucy, you and Tadasuke will search the northern part of the city. Meanwhile, Gray and I will check the western side. We'll meet at the other side of the town. Is that clear?" Everyone nodded.
"Let's go Tadasuke." With that, the Celestial mage turned and started heading their way. The hooded male stared a few moments before he followed, catching up to her in a matter of seconds.
Erza watched them disappear in the fallen ruins ahead, before she turned to the Ice mage. "Let's go." A simple order before she took off in their own direction.
"Yeah." Gray responded strongly before he went after his teammate.
xxx
In the other direction, Tadasuke was trailing along the blond, looking around for anything that stood out. It was easier said than done, the whole town was wrecked and he doubted any survivor would stick around after whatever happened here. But despite what he thought, they had to search the place, if by chance someone did survive and because of their beliefs he or she would be left to die, that wouldn't sit right with anyone. So they were going to give it their all.
At that moment, both mages emerged from the demolished houses and entered what looked like a park. Though it could hardly be called that anymore, torn benches were seen everywhere you looked, the greenery was completely incinerated and the ground showed a large crack, one that would normally formed by a large earthquake. The whole scenery was very demoralizing to the Fairy Tail mages.
"It's so horrible." Lucy commented sadly as she absorbed the sight. Tadasuke said nothing but the blond could tell that he felt the same, the tense atmosphere was a giveaway. "How are we going to find anyone in this chaos? How could anyone survive this destruction?" She asked, glancing slightly at the mage next to her.
"I think the best way to find someone is to put ourselves in their place." Tadasuke responded making the girl turn to him fully, confusion plastered on her face. "We have to think what we would do if we suddenly found ourselves in their place. Say the fight ended and the attackers left, as a survivor what would your first priority be?"
Lucy though about it a few moments. "Shelter, food and water." She answered catching on to what the hooded mage was talking about. "I see, in that case the best place to take refuge would be near a market or a supply warehouse. But that's not all."
"Yes, given the magnitude of the destruction, the shelter should be a building that is structurally strong, one that won't crumble as easily as say a normal house or a store." Tadasuke continued with the explanation.
Lucy nodded, agreeing with him. "And in that case our best hope to find someone would be either a hospital, church, police station or the local town hall. I see, so we have to search all these locations and hopefully we can find some survivors." The girl reasoned, traces of hope finding themselves in her voice. "Let's start with the hospital first and then with the town hall, people may have got injured in the attack and the hospital is the best place to treat themselves."
"We still don't know the way around this town though." Tadasuke reminded her but this didn't affect the blonds demeanor at all, in fact she actually smiled at his words.
"We don't right now but there is a way we can find out." She said confidently raising her hand slightly with her finger pointed upward in a lecturing manner. "Most parks have a board with the map of their town and since we're in a park now, all we have to do is find it somewhere around here." Lucy then started scanning the area, looking for anything that resembles a land post.
"What about that over there?" Tadasuke spoke, catching Lucy's attention.
Turning to where the hooded mage pointed, the blond saw a broken piece of wood that connected with a larger one at one point. Gesturing for him to follow her, they approached the place. Crouching, the girl examined the wood for a few moments.
"Yes, this is it. This is a map." The Celestial mage exclaimed. "But it's under all these trees and rocks. The map itself doesn't seem to be too damaged but we can't look at it like this." The blond pondered a few more seconds before making her mind. "Alright, we'll go with this." She then took out her keys and picked a golden one.
Tadasuke just watched her with curious eyes, was she about to use her magic? The answer to his question came moments later.
"Open, Gate of the Maiden. Virgo." Doing a hand motion with the key, her magic activated and her spirit was summoned. The spirit looked like a cute girl with pink haired, blue eyes and was dressed in a maids outfit. What Tadasuke found odd were the broken chains on her wrist.
"Greetings princess, how can I serve you today?" The spirit spoke calmly, bowing slightly to the blond girl.
"Virgo, can you clear the mess from that map? We need to read it so can you be careful and try not to damage it?" The blond told the spirit.
"At once princess." And with that Virgo approached the land post and started picking up the trees and rocks throwing them a few feet away. Tadasuke was surprised by her strength, he didn't expect her to be that strong. In just a few short minutes the job was done. "Will that be all princess?" Virgo asked, waiting for new instructions.
"Yes, thank you Virgo." The blond smiled at her spirit.
"Punishment?"
"Of course not, why would I even do that?" Lucy cried in exasperation, displeased with the spirit's antics.
"Then I'll be off." After her words she disappeared in a cloud of smoke.
After the spirit's departure, Lucy released a tired breath. Why can't she have at least one normal spirit?
"Punishment?" Tadasuke asked confused, looking at the blond mage with an unreadable expression.
Catching on quickly, Lucy raised her hands in panic. "No, she didn't mean it like that. Virgo has this habit of asking for punishment every time I summon her." She tried to clarify his confusion. "I wouldn't hurt my spirits, ever." The power and conviction in her voice was obvious. She meant it.
"Don't worry, I never said you did. You don't seem the type that would do those kind of things anyway, you're too nice for that." He replied softly, a small smile on his face, hoping it would calm the girl down.
Lucy blushed slightly at his words and looked away for a moment to hide her embarrassment. "W-well let's go check the map." She turned around quickly and started walking to the now visible map. She studied it for a few seconds before pointing at a location marked by a green tree. "This is where we are now. And here."She let her finger glide above the map towards a red 'plus' sign. "This is where the hospital should be and that's our next stop. It seems that there is a church to the left, can you see it?"
Tadasuke turned around and checked the surroundings. A few seconds later, he spotted what he was looking for, a tall chapel that could be seen from any point in the city. "Yeah, it's right there." He announced pointing in a seemingly random direction. Following it, the blond girl soon spotted the building as well.
"Alright, we'll head there first, see what we find and then make our way to the town hall." Lucy explained their plan. Seeing him nod in agreement, they started heading in the hospital's direction.
As they walked, the scenery around them started improving a bit. The place was still in ruins, but the degree of the destruction seemed to have lessened as they approached their destination. This gave the two mages some hope, maybe they could still find someone.
It took them a good 20 minutes but they finally reached the hospital. After a quick glance at the building, it looked that it managed to survive the destruction. Save for a few broken windows and smashed doors, the structure seemed mostly intact. Though despite the encouraging surroundings there was still no sign of any human activity.
"It doesn't seem like anyone is here." Tadasuke commented dryly watching the hospital sign above the front entrance move slightly in the soft yet quite chilling breeze.
Lucy frowned slightly at his observation. "Maybe, but we have to look inside first before we move on. There could be someone inside." The Celestial mage spoke before heading for the entrance, Tadasuke right behind her.
With a light push the door fell to the ground shattering on impact scaring the blond mage a bit. She panicked slightly at her action, she only meant to open it not break it. Her demeanor returned once Tadasuke went past her, not even bothered by the loud noise and stopped in the middle of the hall.
"Which way?" He asked looking back at his teammate.
The girl approached him looking at a map on the wall in front of them. It showed the different areas of the facility with all of its equipment. After a quick study, she decided that it was best to search the storage area first, she figured it would be where people would go first, to get provisions or medication.
"This way." Lucy informed him and started walking down a corridor. The hooded mage went after her, not complaining with her idea.
After a few meters, Tadasuke went in front of Lucy to take care of the front while the girl guarded their backs. Despite this arrangement, is was still Lucy who leaded them while Tadasuke just followed her lead. The hooded mage reasoned that if something were to attack them from the front he'd rather take it on than the girl. It was something his master told him many times, always protect the members of the opposite gender.
He felt like snorting at that idea. A small smirk made way to his face as he pictured the scarlet haired mage of Fairy Tail. Someone like Erza definitely didn't need to be protected. She was a monster capable of handling herself, heck she could probably demolish him if she went all out. He ignored the chill that went up his spine as he briefly remembered their fight.
Glancing around, Tadasuke tried to make out his surroundings but it was proving quite hard. It was almost night time, with only a few rays of the Sun left to illuminate their path. It also didn't help that the corridor they were in was positioned in a shadowed area. Despite that, from what little he could see, he wasn't able to spot a door yet and they've walked quite a bit, maybe half the hospital.
Arriving at a corner, he turned to consult with the blond girl. Following her signal, he went right towards another wing of the building. After a few steps, he came to the conclusion that this way was the same, he still couldn't make out any doors and there were fallen rocks and bits of pavement on the floor. The boy was starting to feel like they were getting nowhere like this.
"Eeeeeeeeeek!" Startled by the sudden scream, Tadasuke felt the blond latch to his left arm as he turned abruptly, a dark magic circle appearing in his right hand as his sword materialized. He quickly raised it, ready to face whatever made Lucy yell only to come face to face with...a mouse.
Yes, it was a small white mouse that stood a few feet away from the pair, its head tilted to the side. After a few moments, the mouse got bored and disappeared into the darkness of the hall.
Tadasuke relaxed as he realized it had been a false alarm. His weapon vanished into nothingness as he turned to the blond girl.
"Are you okay?" He asked with a hint of worry in his voice.
Lucy, still a bit shaken by the small rodent barely heard him. "Huh? Oh yeah, I'm fine." It was then when she noticed she still had her arms wrapped around his left arm. Embarrassed, she quickly released it before mumbling an apology. "S-sorry."
"It's nothing, don't worry about it." Tadasuke replied slowly scratching the back of his hood awkwardly.
A silence lasting a few seconds set between them. Neither had no idea what to say or do, but it seemed that fate were on their side and a noise similar with something falling was heard. Forgetting the mood, they headed for the source. After a few more moments they arrived at the end of the hall where a single double door was what stood between them and where the noise came.
Tadasuke put his hand on the handle, he slowly turned to the blond girl as if asking her if she was ready. After seeing her nod with a confident look in her eyes, he pressed on the handle and pushed the door open. It didn't even take one second and he felt a pain in his face as something hit him.
"Take that you monster!" A small but alarmed voice was heard.
Lucy was startled when she saw something connect with Tadasuke's face. Upon a closer inspection it turned out to be a chair and as she trailed it, she came in contact with the culprit that engaged the attack. A small boy, probably around Wendy's age with dark spiky hair and dark eyes. She then watched how Tadasuke took the chair in his hands and yanked it from the small boy. Scared, the boy ran back into the room.
"Hey, wait." Lucy called extending an arm. "We're not here to hurt you." She went inside after him. After a few steps she saw him hide behind a counter.
"No! Get away and leave me alone!" The boy continued to cry. He covered his head with his arms hoping he wouldn't be seen by the two mages.
Arriving at the counter, Lucy tried to reach the boy but it proved impossible, she didn't fit through the tight opening. "Please." She pleaded with a soft voice, hoping to calm the boy down and show him that they meant him no harm. "I'm from Fairy Tail and we've come to help you."
"How can I believe you?"
"Here." Lucy pushed her right hand through the opening. "You can see my guild mark on my hand." The blond waited a few moments before she felt the boy grab her arm slightly. Smiling to herself, she continued with her pleas. "Please, we only want to help you. You'll be safe with us, I promise." Her smile intensified as she felt the boy grab her hand fully before he emerged from the whole.
"Promise?" He asked slowly, tears threatening to fall from his eyes. The boy was so scared but the blond could still see the hope in his eyes. It almost broke her heart seeing him that way.
Pulling him in her arms, she hugged him tightly. "Yes, I promise."
The boy hugged her back, enjoying the warmth of the girl. Pulling away a bit he turned to the other mage that was with the pretty lady. He almost wished he hadn't, in the small light and with his hood covering his face, he looked like Death itself. Terrified, he hid his face in the girls chest and started shaking.
Noticing this, Lucy turned to the soul mage. "Oi, Tadasuke." She caught his attention and frowned at him slightly. She then pointed at hood and motioned for him to take it off.
Caught a bit off guard by the request, Tadasuke glanced at the scared boy before he complied with the blond. He grabbed his hood with both hands and pushed it back, revealing his face for everyone to see. He slowly approached the two and bended down on his knees.
"It's alright now." Lucy spoke to the boy again, rubbing his back softly. "He took his hood off. Look, he's just an older boy, not a scary monster."
Reluctantly, the small boy raised his head and looked at the mage again. This time, instead of the scary, shadowed face, he saw the face of an older boy who was trying to smile but wasn't being successful. Drying his tears, he looked at the pretty blond again who was smiling brightly at him.
"There, you see?" Lucy exclaimed cheerfully. "He's not scary at all." Getting on her feet again, she grabbed one of the boy's arms and motioned for him to follow her. "Let's go. We'll search this place and then we'll go to the town hall and maybe find your parents."
"There's no one else here." The boy spoke softly, a pang of sadness in his voice.
Neither Lucy or Tadasuke said anything for a few moments. "Okay, then we'll go straight for the town hall." Lucy said trying to brighten the mood between them. "By the way, I'm Lucy and he is Tadasuke." She said pointing at herself and then at the other mage. "What's your name?"
"Kai." He spoke, his tone not changing from a few moments ago. "Kai Rainburner."
"Let's go Kai." And with that they left towards the town hall.
xxx
On the other side of the town, Gray and Erza reached a sign board which pointed out various directions to either malls, points of interest, parks, police stations, churches, hospitals and the place they were headed to, the town hall.
After wandering around for several minutes through the ruined city, it became obvious that they weren't making much progress. After thinking about their situation, they decided that it would be best to search the places where people could have taken refuge. Erza decided that it was best to start with the town hall, she figured that would be the place where most survivors would go after what happened here.
"Looks like we're going that way." Gray commented dryly, looking in the direction the cross was pointing. Despite his seemingly calm appearance, on the inside he was very anxious. Seeing the state of the town they were in stirred distant memories in his head, memories from his childhood that he thought were forgotten. Or at least that's how he wanted them to be, but he knew better, he knew he could never forget the fear and cold he felt on that day, the day that changed his life forever.
"Gray!" Snapping himself out of his thought, the raven haired mage was brought back to reality by the sudden voice of his teammate who called for his name. Turning his head to look at her, she met her two brown eyes that held a hint of worry in them.
"Are you alright?" Erza asked softly. "I tried calling you a couple of times, but you weren't responding and I got worried a bit."
He blinked a few times before looking away and letting his right hand run freely through his hair, calming himself. "Yeah." He answered quickly. "It's nothing, don't worry about it." He told her before he stated going on their way.
After watching the ice mage for a couple of moments, she went after him, a small frown appearing on her face. If there was one thing that she didn't like about her teammate, it was the fact that he always closed himself when he had problems. She couldn't understand it, the boy had no problem getting others to open to him, but when it came to him he refused to let others get too close to his personal feelings.
Getting in step with him, the scarlet mage tried to talk with the boy again. "If there's something bothering you Gray, you can tell me." She spoke more seriously this time. "I won't tell Natsu if that's what's bothering you."
Gray felt like snorting, flame brain was the least of his worries but seeing Erza so persistent, he figured he might as well tell her. "It's not that. I just don't like this place, brings back bad memories." He replied seriously, eyes averted from her gaze.
Hearing his response, the armored mage put two and two together and figured out what he was talking about. "I see, this reminds you of Deliora doesn't it?" Erza stated quietly. "I'm sorry then, I didn't mean to force you to recall such memories."
The ice mage just waved her off. "Don't worry about it, it's all in the past, I got over it anyway so it's fine."
Erza just nodded, accepting his response. A new silence settled between them, but the scarlet mage used this opportunity to get a better look at the city. It looked as worse as it did in the beginning, but this time the sight had a bigger effect on her. She imagined a normal sunny day where people were just doing their daily activities, the children that played in the street and a general happy atmosphere in the town when suddenly, total destruction occurred. The tranquility was soon replaced with terror, laughter morphed into screams and the wind shifted from a cool breeze to a blazing inferno, it was like the air itself caught fire sucking the very like out of everyone. Amidst all the chaos, Erza found herself standing in the street, people around her running, screaming, pushing, doing everything in their power to escape death. She watched numbly how a small boy collapsed on the floor, nobody even bothering to check if he was alright.
Not bearing to watch, the armored mage rushed to his aid. Arriving next to the boy, she went to grab him and help him get on his feet only for her hand to slip right through the body. She watched with wide eyes how the boy got on his feet and after going through her, he started running after the flock. Hearing a loud explosion before, she quickly got on her feet and turned around. A bright light flashed in front of her, engulfing her figure entirely forcing her to close her eyes.
As soon as she opened them, she found herself walking on the streets again, the ice mage next to her not noticing her sudden jolt. Absorbing the surroundings around her, she figured her trance lasted only a few seconds. She bit her lip slightly, remembering the tableau she saw. She couldn't even begin to imagine the emotions those people felt living such terror. "But Gray could." She thought to herself as she turned her head to watch the boy next to her. If the incident with Deliora was as devastating as the one she saw then he'd understand the best how people felt.
"Did you really?" She asked suddenly, catching his attention.
"What?" Gray asked confused looking at the scarlet haired girl.
Locking their eyes she asked again. "Can someone really get over something like this and say that he is alright? I've only seen the aftermath of such events, but even that is enough to shake me. Living the entire experience, I don't think I'd be able to handle it."
Gray watched her expression and found concern in it coupled with fear and powerlessness. It felt weird to him, the Erza he knew was supposed to be strong, a warrior that will never refuse a challenge and that will fight to the end. But at the same time he was glad, because in moments like these he could see that different side of her, the one that makes her the most human and also a girl. He let a small imaginary smile appear in his head.
"What are you saying?" The ice mage started loudly. "You're stronger than this. If anyone were to handle such an event and survive, it would be you." He said confidently making her look at him in confusion. "I'm serious, this doesn't even compare to the shit you went through at that tower. You went to Hell and back there but you never gave up, even in face of death, you just kept fighting and fighting so don't let such a sight putt you off. It's unbecoming of Fairy Tail's Titania to get so down."
By the time his speech ended, that imaginary smile the ice mage had in his head turned into reality. After fully absorbing his words, the armored mage herself also couldn't help but let a small smile morph on her face before she lightly shock her head. "I swear, here I was trying to help you cheer up but instead you ended cheering me up."
The raven haired boy couldn't help but boast at her praise. "What can I say, I'm just that good."
"Hai, Hai. Of course you are, you're the great Gray-sama after all." She teased him knowing how he would react when she brought this up.
"Oh come on." Gray said exasperatedly. "It's been years since I called myself like that." He was trying to sound hurt but truthfully, he was quite happy. He managed to get Erza out of that depressed state, right now she was barely able to contain her laughter.
The rest of their walk was surprisingly pleasant. Despite the whole ruined scenery, they managed to discuss about the guild and some detail regarding the request.
Arriving at the town hall, the two mages noted that it was heavily guarded. The windows and doors were sealed, there was also a fence around the building giving it some protection as well as some sand bags and a ditch. Not to mention a huge tent to the side of the building that seemed to protect something.
"Looks like we came to the right place." Gray spoke observing the building in front of him. He noted thanks to the night's darkness that small traces of light escaped through the small gaps in the windows.
"Yeah." Erza confirmed arriving at the same conclusion.
Stepping forward, the jumped over the fence and the ditch using a small ice bridge Gray made, went over the sandbags and arrived at the main doors. Erza knocked loudly a couple of time before taking a step back and waiting for some kind of response. Shortly afterwards, the door opened slightly only for a tip of a lance to appear from inside.
"Who goes there?" A booming voice was heard from the inside.
"We're mages from Fairy Tail." Erza responded confidently. "We have come to handle the request you sent to our guild."
Hearing this, the door opened further and the owner of the lance stepped into view. It was a man of average, probably in his mid forties wearing what appeared to be an armor. He sized both of them up with his black orbs, weapon still kept raised in case something happened.
"Fairy Tail mages. Show me your insignias." He demanded loudly.
Not complaining with the request, Erza showed them her left arm where her blue guild mark was located. Gray simply raised his shirt exposing both his pectorals as well as the guild mark.
Upon seeing them, the man relaxed considerably as he lowered his weapon and addressed the two mages. "I apologize for my behavior, but as you can see, we're in a bad position at the moment." Neither Erza or Gray said anything, they understood what he meant. "Follow me, I'll take you to mister Benson." Opening the door, he started leading the two mages.
Stepping inside, the two Fairy Tail mages were shocked when they saw what was in front of their eyes. Tens if not hundreds of people crowded the whole building, many of them looked terrible. Dirty, bruised, bandaged, looking as if they were about to collapse and die at that very moment. The mages were barely able to avert their eyes and follow the guard. As they walked, they heard whispers around them, they could barely make out that they were the subject.
At that moment Erza started thinking. Were they talking bad about them? Were they blaming them for not being here to protect them? Were they blaming this whole mess on them? All these questions pilled up in the redheads head as an uncomfortable feeling set in her gut.
They entered a room that was separated from the large hall. In it only a few people were present, most likely the officials of the town. "Mister Benson." The guard saluted raising his arm at his forehead. "I bring you the mages from Fairy Tail." He spoke loudly before stepping aside letting the mayor get a full look at the duo.
Benson Jake, mayor of the town Meiros. A man of short stature in his late fifties, with a fair complexion and with black and silver hair was sitting at a desk in the middle of the room. His blue eyes studied the boy and girl in front of him through his small round glasses, gently caressing his moustache.
"Mages from Fairy Tail." He started calmly. "I thank you from coming, though I had wished you would have arrived sooner." The way he spoke made Gray and Erza feel guilt build up in their stomach as they averted their gaze slightly. "No need for such faces, I understand how these guild matters work. Besides, our situation wasn't as dire when we sent the request compared to what it is now. I'm grateful that you came even now."
"I apologize if we disappointed you." Erza bowed to the leader of the town, the raven haired boy followed her example but said nothing. "I promise we will do everything in our power to help you." The armored mage declared confidently.
"Can you tell us what happened here?" Gray asked, speaking for the first time since entering the building.
The mayor only brought his hands in front of his face and joined them in a thinking fashion. "Unfortunately, we can't tell you what happened. The disaster took place during the night when most of us where asleep. Some may have see what happened but unfortunately those people are either dead or missing . The most we found out from the few that have survived is that whatever did this it was something big." He informed them grimly.
"Something big?" Gray asked feeling extremely uneasy all of a sudden.
"So you can't tell us nothing at all?" Erza asked, her only response being a shake of her head.
"We don't know who or what did this or even if they'll come back. We knew of some guild called 'Tiger Knee' that was spotted nearby and we requested the help of the Magic Council a few days ago. None of us predicted last night's disaster and the worst part is that we have no idea if it was indeed 'Tiger Knee' that's responsible for all this." The elder spoke, trying to hide his worry.
"If it's the same guild that I've been following then they will come back." Erza spoke crossing her arms at her chest, voice drenched in certainty. "Going by their track record, they will return to finish the job and completely destroy the town."
Hearing these words come out of the armored mage's mouth made chills run down the mayor's spine. He swallowed the lump that formed in his throat as he hesitantly addressed another issue. "I see. But, even if you do manage to help us, I'm afraid we cannot pay you. We have so little left it would be impossible for us to..." He didn't get to finish his sentence because he was interrupted by the redhead who simply raised her hand, indicating for him to stop.
"Don't concern yourself with that now." She told him honestly. "As members of Fairy Tail it would be against our principles to ask for a reward given the state of the town. None of us would feel alright doing such a thing, that's why we will ask for nothing in return."
"Are you sure?" The mayor asked not believing his ears.
Her answer came immediately. "Yes." The ice mage next to her only smiled and nodded in confirmation. Not expecting such generosity, the mayor started crying lightly as he started thanking them quietly. Erza only smiled warmly at the elder before shifting her gaze at her teammate.
"Given that we don't know when the enemy will strike, we have to be on constant watch." She informed the raven haired boy. "Gray, we'll have to patrol the area around this place and guard the people here."
Gray only nodded, agreeing with her plan. Their priority was clear, protect the civilians and take down whatever was responsible for all this.
"Mister Benson, excuse me but I bring news." The guard that escorted the two mages entered the office again. At the mayor's sign to continue, he spoke again. "Some other people have arrived, they say they are from Fairy Tail. They also brought George Rainburner's son with them."
"You mean they brought Kai back?" The mayor asked remembering the boy's features.
"What do they look like, the ones that arrived now?" Erza asked curious to see if it was their friends.
Turning to look at the girl, the guard responded. "A tall boy with brown hair and dark clothes and a blonde girl."
Erza nodded her head thanking the guard before turning to the mayor again. "They are our teammates that came with us. We'll go inform them of our plan and then we'll head out." The mayor only nodded. With that, the two mages exited the room.
xxx
It took them a while but Lucy and Tadasuke managed arrive at the town hall. They had gotten lost on the way once and ended up going through a cemetery. It had been a scary experience for everyone given the state of the town and the lack of light Though Tadasuke managed to keep up his calm appearance, the same could not be said about Lucy and Kai who held on to his outfit all the way.
"This is the town hall?" Lucy asked sizing the building with her eyes. The small boy only mumbled a small yes, still a bit scared by the previous experience.
Getting past the blockades and arriving at the front door, Lucy knocked a couple of times before the door opened and asked them what they wanted. The blond told them that they were from Fairy Tail and wanted to speak with the mayor.
"Fairy Tail?" The guard questioned confused. "But I just let some Fairy Tail mages not too long ago."
"They must be our friends." Lucy insisted. "Would you please let us in?"
The guard eyed them for a few moments before he spotted the small boy that was holding the girl's hand in his own. "Kai, is that you?" He asked recognizing the boy.
Kai raised his head a bit and looked at the man. "Mister Law?" He asked silently, recognizing the person in front of him somewhat.
"It is you." The guard exclaimed as he lowered his arm completely. "Thank goodness you're alright, your parents were so worried about you." He then looked at the blond girl. "Alright, if you are friends with the other two then you can come inside." With that said he opened the door and let them in.
Stepping inside, the mages were introduced with the same sight that Erza and Gray saw before them Lucy's eyes widened at the scene while Tadasuke wished he had his hood on.
They walked down the hall as they approached a room separated from it. The guard told them to wait outside as he went towards the door and inside the room.
Lucy released a breath before she looked around. She hoped that they could find Kai's parents, the guard did say that they were worried about him, that meant that they were fine and must be somewhere in the building. It seemed that she didn't need to search much because the next moment two people approached them, a man and a woman.
"Kai?" The woman spoke quietly as tears started forming from her eyes.
"Mommy? Daddy?" The boy looked at them before he released his hold on the blond girl and leaped into the arms of his parents. Lucy couldn't help but smile seeing the reunion of the family, she could feel the love coming from them and it made her warm inside. Tadasuke on the other hand felt very uncomfortable. The scene in front of him was making him remember parts of his own childhood, all of which ended with the scene where his parents were killed.
The father started thanking them, tears of happiness streaming down his cheeks. Lucy just took his arm and kept assuring him that it was their pleasure. At that moment they were interrupted by the sound of the door opening. From inside the room the other two Fairy Tail mages revealed themselves.
"Tadasuke, Lucy." The armored mage called as she and the ice mage approached the duo.
"Erza, Gray." Lucy called back turning to face them. "You guys are here as well?"
"Yeah, we got here a while ago and discussed with the mayor. Come, we'll tell you what the plan is." They started heading for the exit as they discussed. Knowing the blonde's financial problems Erza informed her that they wouldn't be paid for this request. She couldn't help but smile when the blond declared that she wouldn't even think of asking for money when the town is the way it is. The redhead then told them that they would have to stay around the area and guard everyone in it in case the dark guild attacked.
As they exited the building Gray addressed Erza on a problem that's been bugging him. "Are you sure it's a good idea to just stay here and guard the place Erza?" Erza looked at him confused before she asked him to elaborate. "I mean we don't know when this dark guild will attack. For all we know they could wait days before launching another attack, days in which they can gather allies while we're stuck here. Wouldn't it be better if we searched for them instead? Hit them before they can hit use."
Fairy Tail's Titania began thinking about this. She had to admit that the ice mage did bring up a good point. The only problem would be where to start searching for the whereabouts of the dark guild.
"Oi! Erza!" A loud but familiar scream was heard coming from the sky. Everyone looked up only to see the pink haired dragon slayer arrive next to them. He floated a couple of feet off the ground, Happy still on his back with his 'Aera' magic still on.
"Natsu." The redhead almost forgot about their other team teammate. "Where have you been? Did you find something?" She starting asking questions.
Natsu only smiled at that. "Yeah, we found something really big, didn't we Happy?" As usual, he got an 'Aye Sir' from his blue companion. "Follow us, we'll take you to where we found it." With that, the fire mage set off in to the sky once again.
"Natsu, wait." Erza yelled after him but she was unheard. Grumbling to herself she told the rest to follow him. She hoped that whatever the dragon slayer took them it wouldn't take too long, they couldn't leave the town hall with everyone in it unprotected.
After running around through half the town, they arrived at a clearing where a long and deep crater extended towards the forest near the town. The group searched for the dragon slayer and found him a couple of feet away from the small canyon to its left.
"What did you want to show us Natsu?" Erza asked not finding anything useful in this scenery.
The pink haired boy just waved his hand telling them to follow him. Walking past some buildings he stopped and turned to them with a proud smile. "Here, look at this." Looking past him, the rest of the group saw a huge foot imprint into the ground.
Their eyes widened at the sight. The print was huge, almost as big as a house. Even Natsu turned to look at it despite having seen it before. While the others were busy imagining what kind of creature could leave such a mark, he was busy deciding whether or not what left the mark tasted good or not.
"Holy shit, that is huge." A voice alarmed the entire group. Everyone turned their heads to the source only to be shocked to find that a person was standing in the middle of their group. They had no idea when he got there, no one sensed him approach. The man was tall with wild blue hair and eyes and was wearing a pair of dark cargo pants with black boots and a ragged white jacket with an upturned collar.
The Fairy Tail mages stared at him a couple of moments before the stranger finally noticed them. "Oh hi, sorry about sneaking like that. Did I scare you?" He asked confidently as a cocky smirk appeared on his face.
The mages jumped away from him, each one of them prepared to engage him in battle. Erza pointed the sword she requiped at him. "Who are you?" She demanded loudly, her as commanding as ever.
"Who am I?" The man repeated eyeing them up with the same arrogant smile. "Nah, I won't tell you. No point in it since you're all going to die." He spoke in the same confident manner.
Erza's eyes narrowed at his response. "You bastard. Are you with 'Tiger Knee'?" She yelled at him, making everyone next to her tense.
The man only faked a surprised look. "Oh my, you know about that. Now I really can't let you escape here alive." He jumped high in the air avoiding a swing from the armored mage. Smiling wickedly at her, he brought out a worn out book in his right hand and started reading a spell from it in a foreign dialect.
Natsu tried getting a better look at the book, his dragon slayer enhanced eyes managing to see what was written on the cover of the book. "'Ganarea.'" He said those words slowly not knowing what they meant but getting an unsettling feeling in his gut just from hearing them.
"Rise, 'Ganarea!'" The stranger finished his chant and threw the book in the air. Dark magic started surrounding it as the book started morphing and expanding. The mages watched with wide eyes how the book started getting bigger and bigger and how it started growing a head and limbs.
The figure landed a few feet away from them and started waving with his left hand. "Have fun now." In the next instant he disappeared. But the Fairy Tail mages forgot about him as they focused on the monstrosity in front of them.
Gray was petrified on the spot, he knew exactly what that thing in front of them was. There was no way he could ever forget that feeling. "A demon from Zeref's book." He whispered as the beast released an infernal roar.
xxx
AN: I'll apologize again for the late chapter. I don't like making excuses so I'll just say that this one was a hard one to write and life didn't give an easy time either. But I hope you'll enjoy the chapter.
Thank you TritonA7 for the review, I appreciate it.
Next chapter, don't know. I'll post it as soon as possible, though right now I want to start some other stories as well. We'll see what happens.
Don't forget to review and favorite if you like the story.
Bye bye.
