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This chapter is brought to you by Dying Grin and Razamataz22.
...
Laxus cast a critical eye over his temporary team as the sun began its ascent in the sky. Gray was leaning against a nearby wall, his eyelids nearly closed. Cana sat against an upturned barrel, nursing a hangover, and the new girl wasn't looking him in the eye. The Lightning Dragon Slayer pinched his nose.
They were a far cry from his usual team. Laxus clapped his hands, three pairs of eyes instantly focussing on him as the sound vibrated through the alley. "We're going," Laxus announced, "we need to make the train to Hargeon Town."
Without waiting for confirmation, Laxus set off. He honestly wasn't sure how to handle the new chick. He was fully aware with why his grandfather had sent the blonde mage on such a dangerous mission so at some stage he would need to test her abilities, first hand if need be. If he went about it the wrong way however chances were that she would just clam up more. Last night, he had observed her laughing with Gray and Cana. That had proved that she was normally a bubbly, energetic go-getter and not this shy, introverted girl. Laxus decided that he'd just have to let her warm up to him on her own.
"Hey Laxus," Gray called out from behind him, "Master was pretty unclear about what we're actually going to be doing. What's the job request?"
"We need to go to an island called Galuna and deal with the problem there," Laxus replied, "the residents believe someone or something has put their entire village under a spell of some sort.
Cana scrunched up her forehead. "I've never heard of a Galuna Island before."
"It's east of Hargeon Town," Lucy piped in. Laxus shot the blonde girl a surprised look. He was pleasantly shocked that she was contributing to the conversation already. Lucy seem to wilt under his gaze and he silently cursed. Of course he messed it up.
The ragtag group soon arrived at the train station and Laxus paid for the tickets. They bundled into a cramped compartment and the train set off. Laxus slipped on his headphones and activated his music lacrima, ignoring his faint motion sickness. He cracked his neck and closed his eyes.
Like hell he was going to take part in the awkward small talk.
...
Several days had passed since Lucy had left and Natsu was eagerly awaiting her return. Considering everything that had happened, he could use the conversation. With Erza having successfully screwed up her chance at redeeming herself, Natsu had proven her wrong by having taken on several smaller jobs within the town without the aide of anybody, even Happy. The blue cat had actually accepted Natsu's request to do these chores without his help, Happy knowing that this was something that the dragon slayer had to do.
"Are you alright Natsu?" asked Mirajane as she closed the distance between herself and the pink haired boy.
"I'm fine," replied the teenager as he turned his attention away from the window he had been gazing out of. The guild hall was nearly empty bar from a few Fairy Tail members who were guzzling down the last of their drinks. Night had just taken its hold on the land and the guild would be shutting up. Like many nights though Natsu would stay behind after hours just sitting in the empty guild nostalgically. Nobody had any complaints to him doing so and the Master had even given the boy a spare key over a year ago so that the boy could lock up once he was done.
"Okay then," said Mirajane as she gave Natsu a weak smile. "I'll see you tomorrow."
"Yeah," said Natsu half-heartedly. "See you then."
Conversations like these were as well as the two of them got along, neither of them ever wanting to say more than the bare minimum. Even Mirajane who was one of the most joyous people in the guild struggled to keep herself cheerful in Natsu's presence. He didn't blame her though, not after that hellish night.
Turning his head to look out the window once more, Natsu could hear Mirajane's footsteps going further and further away as the boy gazed at the stars glistening in the night. It wasn't uncommon for him to spend hours just sitting there, not even thinking about anything in particular. Now that he was working again, he was beginning to add up small things here and there.
The money he was making from these requests was minimal to say the least but they were all he could undertake at the moment. Considering he had gotten used to living off of a shoestring budget though meant that he was saving a vast amount of what he had earned. If he continued at his current rate of income, he would be able to take Lucy out on a vacation in a couple of weeks.
To anybody the whole idea of Natsu treating the celestial mage on a trip would be confusing but it was just his way of saying 'thanks.' Unlike those he had known since being a child, she was unafraid to sit with him and talk and actually accepted him for what he was, not what he wasn't anymore and for that he was grateful.
Hours trickled by as Natsu just sat there, his mind wandering through all sorts of matters before the sound of the large doors opening caused him to shift from his position. It was closing in on midnight so nobody should even have been coming in at this stage. The person was one that he was unfamiliar with and they smelled of iron and steel.
"I thought I smelled someone inside," said the black haired man as he walked over to where Natsu was sitting. "Of all the people it could have been, it had to be you."
Natsu said nothing as the man sat down opposite him, rubbing his nose with the back of his hand. "You may not know anything about me, but I know a lot about you Natsu Dragneel," declared the man causing the fire dragon slayer's eyes to sharpen. "The Dragon Slayer who lost his wings, I probably owe you to be honest."
"For what?" asked Natsu as he crossed his arms across his chest.
"For teaching me that Dragon Slayers weren't invincible," stated the man.
"You mean..."
"The Iron Dragon Slayer, Gajeel Redfox," said the member of Phantom Lord, introducing himself with a cocky grin.
"I didn't even realise there were other Dragon Slayers," said Natsu in somewhat disbelief.
"Probably because you never bothered to look," stated Gajeel as he rubbed at the back of his head. "I really wish you of all people weren't here."
"What do you mean?" asked Natsu.
"Look," said Gajeel as he stood up from the table, his shadow looming over the pink haired boy. "I'm going to give yo- no... I'm telling you that you have to leave now."
"Or what," said Natsu as he pushed himself up, hobbling a little bit as he balanced himself on his one leg.
"I'll beat the shit out of you."
To most, the mere prospect of Gajeel actually threatening them would be enough for them to back down. The Iron Dragon Slayers words however only caused adrenaline to pump through Natsu's veins as flames burst into existence around his hands.
"I'm firing up!"
...
The sight that befell the four members of Fairy Tail as they walked down the street shook all of them to their core. Having just returned from a mission where they had encountered old friends and demons on Galuna Island, it all paled in comparison to this.
Fairy Tail, their home, was in ruins.
Gigantic iron pillars had pierced the walls and a good portion of the roof had caved in. As Lucy raised her hands up to cover her mouth, the bottle dropped from Cana's hand. Considering that the sun had only just risen all of them knew that they were likely the first ones on the scene and feared the reactions of the rest of the guild when they saw the carnage before them.
"What the hell happened here?" asked Gray breaking the silence as the four of them stood by the wreckage of the guild hall.
"This was an attack, plain and simple," stated Laxus, doing his best to contain his anger. Like Gray and Cana, he had effectively grown up inside Fairy Tail since the day he could use magic. Memories of watching the younger crowd run around like the children they had been flooded his mind making him want to implant his face into whoever was responsible for this.
Bending down, Lucy picked up a piece of wood that had the Fairy Tail insignia on it. Why she had picked up this single piece out of the rubble however was because it had been partially scorched black. Rubbing her fingers over the burnt piece of wood there was still a small amount of heat that residing within. It was obvious however that the destruction of the guild wasn't done by fire, or at least all of it.
Gray, noticing the wood in Lucy's hand, paused for a second before his eyes went wide and he started tearing away at the rubble, tossing chunks of wood behind him. "Gray, what are you doing?" asked Cana fighting against the tears that streamed down her face.
"Natsu's in there!" shouted Gray.
The rest of them didn't know whether it was the conviction in his voice, the desperation of the situation or if it was just a random hunch but those words were all that were needed for them to drive their hands into the rubble and shovel chunks out at a time. Nobody asked Gray if he even knew if Natsu was underneath the destruction, frankly just the possibility that he was under there was enough for them to rip into the building's shattered remains.
Their desperation, however, ended up creating more destruction as the removal of several large wooden planks caused another part of the wall to cave in. "Fuck," cursed Laxus, looking up at the building. While there were technically still four walls, a good portion of the front had collapsed in and the structure of the whole building was unsteady to say the least. There was no guarantee that the building would remain standing: if they went about this the wrong way the whole thing could come down, provided it didn't come down by itself. At the same time, if Natsu was indeed in there they didn't have time to mess around either..
"Get back!" commanded Laxus as lightning began to flicker off of his body. While Gray was hesitant, the ice mage stepped back along with Cana and Lucy. A primal roar escaped Laxus' mouth as he powered up his magic knowing full well that what he was about to do would hurt like hell but if it rescued his guildmate it would be worth it.
In the blink of an eye he charged forward, straight through the wall causing a chain reaction as the roof began to fall in. Lucy screamed out in fear as the entire building came crashing down but not before Laxus appeared in front of them with barely a second to spare with the pink haired Dragon Slayer in his arms.
"Natsu," said Gray in disbelief as he looked at the state of his friend, Lucy once more covering her mouth as she saw the dried blood covering most of his face.
"Tell the master to meet me at the hospital," stated Laxus before he shot off again, using his magic to speed towards the destination. Lucy meanwhile simply stood there in disbelief as she turned towards the wreckage which had been their place of work. What happened when they had been away? And, more importantly, what lay on the horizon because she sure as hell knew that this was not the end.
...
Word had spread like wildfire and the hospital soon resembled more the guild hall than the clinic. There was no playful banter though: no jokes, no laughs, just eerie silence as the members of Fairy Tail just sat and waited. None of them knew the details of what had happened, they merely knew the result. Some of them were in tears and doing their best to keep their emotions in check. Others, like Laxus, were unafraid to show how angry they were, small bolts of lightning literally crackling around the body of the S-class wizard.
The silence was shattered as the door to Natsu's room opened, Makarov Dreyer exiting the small confines before closing the door behind him. "Master..." started many of the guild members but they were silenced as the proud leader of Fairy Tail lifted his hand. Seconds ticked by like hours before the powerful mage finally spoke.
"If I had awoken this morning to find the guild destroyed I would have been content, to find one of my children beaten and broken however I cannot stand for," he declared before looking everybody there in the eyes, showing each of them his sadness and anger.
"Fairy Tail is going to War!"
...
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