Bluenote's back! Though by the time I post this he may already be cannon fodder for Natsu. Well, who cares about that? Chapter 10 time!

Chapter 10

"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!" I roared as my flaming fist aimed for Hoteye's face. He was still smiling, by the way, even as I was about to hit him. It made no sense to me and I couldn't exactly care either. We had to take down all the members, and that included this guy. Then his head vanished and my fist went sailing over where it would have been. I looked down; he had liquefied the ground to avoid my attack.

"You seem to have gotten stronger, Natsu! But how strong? Oh yeah!" I only just twisted my body around when Hoteye sent the liquid ground towards me like a pressurized stream. It slammed into me and threw me into a nearby tree. That hurt, and the gasp I gave off said as much. My body slid down the bark before I could stop. Damn…Who knew a pudgy doctor with such a polygonal face could hit so hard?

"Stop it! Please!" I heard Wendy cry. That got my head on straight and I dug my hands into the tree trunk to stop my descent. "Please, Dr. Richard, this isn't like you!"

"Wendy! That's not Dr. Richard," Carla admonished her. "He's Hoteye of the Oración Seis now!"

"I know, but…" Wendy looked close to tears now, her hands clasping at her chest. I could tell she was upset by this whole affair, but what was I supposed to do? Hoteye was out to kill us. "…But Dr. Richard was never this way. He'd never hurt anyone. I know something must have happened to him!"

"Stop fantasizing, child! He's not the same anymore! You need to fight and help Natsu," Carla said. Finally, I was able to turn my body around on the tree so that my feet were on the trunk.

"Don't worry, Wendy!" I called. At the same time, I propelled my feet off the tree in a flaming blur. "I'll take care of him for the both of us. Fire Dragon's Sword Horn!"

"That heat…Oh yeah!" Hoteye said jovially as I went right for him. Of course, I just had to underestimate the pudgy bastard. Before I could make contact, his fist came down and slammed into me. I crashed right into the liquefied ground, which was essentially mud by this point. I spluttered, but was able to get the mud out of my mouth. Hoteye was further away somehow. I looked down and saw the mud was flowing away in a stream, almost like a…like a…vehicle. Instantly, the bile rose to my throat and I barely had the presence of mind to latch onto a tree. Damn that motion sickness…

"Okay. Let's try that again. Fire Dragon's Sword Horn!" I shot off again, making sure to aim instead for his face. I was also faster so that he wouldn't be able to counter me. I'm an idiot.

"Mud Wall!" The liquid shot up to create a shield in front of Hoteye. Naturally, thanks to that thing called inertia (Laxus would be so happy I learned something from his class), I couldn't stop and I slammed into the mud wall and once more started tumbling to the liquefied mud. No way I was falling for the same trick twice.

"Fire Dragon's Talons!" I screamed, whipping around in midair. Finally, I connected, my flaming foot slamming upward into Hoteye's face. He grunted at the attack but seemed to still have enough wits about him to slam another fist into me. I careened straight into the mud. For a moment, I sank below the surface and was barely able to break said surface before the motion sickness took over again. This was getting annoying.

"Dr. Richard…" Wendy said quietly, yet I could still hear her over the sound of puke in my ears. "What happened? You remember us, right? So, why are you attacking?"

"I'm sorry, Wendy," Hoteye said. I was surprised he was even acknowledging her. "This must be done, for all the eternal love I have, oh yeah!"

"This…this is love?" Wendy asked. Her fists started clenching, but my vision was temporarily obscured by the mud. "I have a friend who always goes on about love, but honestly, I don't think either you or she gets it."

"Wendy, don't antagonize him," Carla said warningly, surprised at her sudden shift of attitude.

"I love my family! I won't let you hurt them!" Wendy yelled before she started sucking in air. "Sky Dragon's Roar!"

There is no way someone could describe Wendy's roar as a gentle breeze. That singular attack blasted downward from her altitude and struck the mud. I felt it flying away from my body and I stopped moving, since the mud was gone. Most of the mud splattered on the trees and even Hoteye was briefly knocked off his feet. Carla began to descend as Wendy kept her attack up. At the last instant, she let go of Wendy and shot off for me.

"That…was great, Wendy!" I cheered, still overcoming my motion sickness.

"Sky Dragon's Wing Attack!" Wendy yelled in response, sending buffets of wind at Hoteye, who grabbed onto a nearby tree to steady himself. Carla had reached me by now and lifted me out of what little mud was left.

"Honestly, you two are so reckless," she commented. I laughed before peering down at Wendy and Hoteye from my new altitude. That gave me a brilliant idea.

"Take me to the top of the trees, Carla," I told her. She frowned, but began to do as I asked. Hoteye recovered in this moment and his eyes flashed. Wendy whipped around, but she was quickly obscured from my view by a giant mud dome that enveloped her. I needed to move now. "All right, Carla, let go."

"If you said so…" she sighed out and I felt myself going in a freefall. Flames rushed around my body again as I aimed my head for that mud dome. The closer I approached, the more I heard Wendy attempting to break out from within. I'd get her out soon enough. I didn't call my attack, but my Fire Dragon's Sword Horn hit the dome, cracking the surface of it a bit before I leapt upward. "Fire Dragon's Brilliant Flame!"

Fire formed in both my hands and I sent it crashing down in an awesome blaze. The conflagration was so huge that even Hoteye and some of the trees were consumed by it. More importantly, the dome covering Wendy was blasted away, freeing her from Hoteye's grasp. There was a brief moment of respite from the attacks, so I quickly latched to a tree and climbed up.

"Thanks, Natsu," Wendy said as Carla picked her up. I smiled and I looked down at her. It was strange, because much of the ground was still liquid, but where my flames had touched, it was hardening again. I grinned with another idea.

"No problem. Just get ready to attack, okay?" She nodded as I once more leapt off the tree and opened my mouth. "Fire Dragon's Roar!" Flames shot out in a stream that I moved ahead, their heat hardening the ground, including those around Hoteye's feet. Wendy shot past me as I landed.

"Sky Dragon's Claw!" Her hand landed across Hoteye's chest, knocking his torso back, though his feet were stuck in the ground just as planned. I ran past her now, a most feral grin on my face.

"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!" Finally, my punch landed on his face and I drove forward, pressing him into a tree trunk that snapped in two. It ripped his feet out of the hardened mud, too. More than that, it gave me immense satisfaction. Wendy joined me at my side as I stood back, cracking my knuckles.

"That hurt, oh yeah!" Hoteye jabbered out, wobbling as he stood. "I think that's enough."

"Huh? What're you talking about?" I asked. "I just figured out how to fight you, so we're just getting started."

"Is fighting all you think about?" Carla screeched. I didn't answer her question.

"I do not wish to fight, anymore," Hoteye informed us with a hand held up. "Actually, I never wished to fight you from the beginning, but it was necessary to test you, you see."

"Wait…so, you're not Hoteye?" Wendy asked. She looked confused. I was beyond that. My brain was practically fried.

"That's my codename within the Oración Seis, but I am still very much Richard, and full of love. Oh yeah!" he told us. He was smiling again, but I wasn't as annoyed by it. "I only joined the Seis as a courtesy to Sir Jellal."

"You know Jellal?" I asked. Man, this conversation was going beyond confusion.

"Oh yeah! I was just a doctor looking for a place to work to support my brother Wally and I. Brain found me and brought me to work at the facility. Once I saw that we were keeping perfectly sane individuals there, I wanted to leave, but Brain threatened my brother."

"You were doing all of that under duress? I don't believe it," Carla countered.

"It is true, though. That was when I met Jellal and he promised to protect my brother if I could infiltrate Brain's inner activities."

"You're saying the Alliance had a mole in the Balam Alliance?"

"Oh yeah! Though only Jellal knew, in order to keep anything from leaking out. I never found out much because Brain never told us much, but I do know how to remove our organic links and fix the sacrifices the others made for their power."

"I don't get it…but it sound like you're on our side," I said with my folded arms. "Can you prove it?"

"For you, Natsu, oh yeah!" Just like that, he raised his hand with his thumb and index finger perpendicular to one another. It was the Fairy Tail sign and more than enough proof for me. I grinned and walked over to shake his hand.

"All right, then. If you're on our side, let's go meet up with the others to take care of things."

"Dr. Richard!" Wendy cheered happily. Richard gave her a smile as she hugged him.

"Oh yeah! I'll tell you everything I can, too."

"Well, come on, we need to get to the rendezvous point," Carla said as she led us forward. It was a strange resolution to our fight, but not unwelcome. The only thing I had to wonder, though I didn't ask about, was why Hoteye had been testing us. My gut told me that he wanted to see if we were strong enough to defeat Brain. That was the conclusion I came to, and I was sticking to it as we walked on.

"So…why am I teamed up with you?" Gajeel snapped as he and Erza continued along at a brisk pace. They were far away from our starting point, the Woodsea having transformed into a near ruin-like structure. According to Gajeel, it unsettled him because the ruins were "creepy, yet familiar". He also said they could smell Brain close by which meant that, yes, Hoteye had intercepted me and Wendy before we had reached the closest member to Brain.

"Do you have a problem with that?" Erza responded with warning.

"No," he grunted. Gajeel had long since learned that you don't mess with Erza. He didn't continue the conversation that was sure to be filled with witty banter. Good thing, too, for his nose picked up on a scent and Erza threw her arm out.

"Someone approaches," she stated. Gajeel rolled his eyes, especially because said someone was already visible. Like all of the members of the Oración Seis, Gajeel recognized the guy approaching them calmly, as though he'd just woken up from a deep sleep.

"Oh, it's the Girly Man," Gajeel spat. Sure enough, that's who it was. Let me put this into perspective. During our time at the Facility, he was known as Macbeth and his most prominent feature was the fact that he looked like a woman. Until he grew older and his voice deepened, we always thought he was chick.

"I am Midnight of the Oración Seis," he greeted, ignoring Gajeel's useless comment. "I am afraid I cannot let you see my father. He's quite busy."

"Father? Man, they did a number on you," Gajeel laughed out. Not that the situation was particularly funny, or anything. "What was it? You were so rebellious that they hardwired your brain to make you think Brain was daddy dearest?"

"Possibly," Midnight responded, a treacherous smirk on his lips. "I don't know, but for now, I consider him my father and I will not let you see him."

"So you want a fight?" Gajeel asked with a grin. "Gee hee…good, I've been looking for one."

"Requip! Heaven's Wheel!" Erza shouted from next to him. Her armor changed into that elaborate one I mentioned before of silver and white, a sword in both hands. "Calm down, Gajeel, we need a strategy."

"Screw strategy!" Gajeel said as he ran at Midnight. Midnight, for his part, quirked an eyebrow and didn't make a move. "Iron Dragon's Sword!"

Midnight still stood there, that same eyebrow raised, refusing to move as Gajeel's sword descended on him point blank…and missed. It more than missed; his arm flat out bent at an odd angle to twist around Midnight's body. Gajeel stepped back with his own look of "What the hell just happened?" It didn't stop him from trying again. His arm kept slashing at the guy like a mad man, his grunts becoming increasingly louder. Not once did Midnight move, and not once did he get hit. Gajeel was exhausted, though.

"Are you done yet?" Midnight asked of him wearily.

"The fuck are you…?" Gajeel snarled as a response. He was feeling low on energy from the exertion and he also noticed that his arm was starting to feel sore. Erza hadn't made a move yet, but at this she stepped forward.

"Gajeel, allow me. Circle Sword!" Close to fifty swords flew from midair, all aimed at Midnight. Gajeel ducked and backpedaled at the last moment. Yet, in all of those swords, not one of them hit Midnight. Some of them got buried in the ground around him while others were flung off in many directions. One of them struck Gajeel.

"Watch where you're aiming your sword, woman!" he screamed, rubbing the spot the sword had struck. Good thing he was made of iron…literally.

"It's Reflector magic," Erza informed him, deliberately ignoring his comment. "Anything we throw at it will just bounce off. That's why you couldn't get a hit in."

"Aw, come on…that's just stupid!" Erza's eyes narrowed and her body shone again, requipping into a different set of armor with what looked like guns at her side.

"It's more than Reflector magic," Midnight told them smugly. "My father intended me to be the most powerful of the Seis. You stand no chance against me."

"Shut up, Girly Man!" Gajeel yelled. He made his arm normal again before shooting it forward. "Iron Dragon's Iron Club!" The metal club shot forward, but this time, it didn't even reach Midnight. It stopped in midair, and bent backward. Gajeel's eyes widened before he started screaming in agony.

"Interesting. Your entire body is made of iron…which means it's all magical," Midnight said with a callous smile. "How would you like me to suffocate you within your own body?"

"Morning Star: Photon Slicer!" Erza suddenly fired beams from her guns. Midnight snapped a look to her before stepping to the side to avoid the shot. It exploded behind him, but Erza kept fighting. Midnight scowled and he released Gajeel. Once more, he stopped moving and the attacks bounced off again. Gajeel, meanwhile, was rubbing his arm and catching his breath. It was this moment that Erza noticed Pantherlily (who everyone seems to forget lately, myself included). "Lily, take Gajeel away from here. You under stand?"

"What? ! There ain't no way I'm leaving this fight. I'd never be able to live it down from Salamander," Gajeel protested quite vocally. He's right, of course. I'd never let him live it down. Lily cast his eyes between both Erza and Gajeel before sighing with a nod. He then took to the air and grabbed Gajeel. "Hey! Put me down Lily!"

"No, she's right," Lily responded sternly. "You're in no fit state to continue fighting in this manner." Before Gajeel could continue to protest, Lily carried him off. Erza then stepped forward to face Midnight alone. He looked particularly amused by this.

"This fight is over," Erza announced. She requipped again, this time into a robe with a floral pattern and a spear in her right hand. "I've figured your magic out. It's strong, but you're quite inexperienced with it. You can use both Reflector magic and magic that can obviously twist other's magic. However, you cannot use both at the same time."

"How true…but I don't need to use both at the same time. I'll just suffocate you with your magical armor," Midnight stated cockily. He twisted his hand and Erza's armor robe-thing (they told me it's a sarashi) tightened around her. She remained in giving him that mighty Erza glare.

"Did I mention that my Infinity Robe can stretch infinitely in any direction?" she questioned before lunging forward and impaling Midnight in the shoulder with her spear. He cried out in pain. "Now, Gajeel!"

"Gee hee…Secret Art: Karmic Demon Iron God Sword!" From behind, Gajeel descended from the air and sliced across Midnight with an absolutely giant sword. Obviously, Erza had passed some hidden message to Lily to bring him around back for a surprise strike. Midnight stumbled forward, now with his own scowl.

"How dare you…?" he gasped. His body was shaking, and soon it started to transform. Gajeel fell backward. Before him was a demon…an ancient one. It looked like a shark.

"Torafuzar…" The name came to his lips unbidden, as though it were from a memory long past. His limbs shook as he began to sweat. That illusion he had seen outside Wendy's house was coming back to him. It was an illusion of water…so much water. It had killed Sting and Rogue, left their corpses amongst the ruins. That same water was obliterating the rest of the ancient device, Nirvana. He had shut it down, stopped them from obtaining it, but Torafuzar, that demon was going to kill him anyway. He felt the water fill his lungs. He was drowning.

"Gajeel!" The voice was muffled, but it pierced like a light through the darkness.

"Levy…?" Gajeel gasped out. The water was starting to recede.

"Gajeel, hold out your hand to me." Gajeel did as the voice commanded, his arm turning to metal.

"Thunder Empress Armor! Now, fall!" There was a brief moment of silence before thunder shattered the air and Gajeel felt the pain of being a lightning rod shoot up his arm. The good news was that the demon vanished, as did the water, replaced with Midnight collapsing to the floor.

"Damn…" Gajeel huffed out at the sight. "What happened?"

"Illusion magic," Erza explained, requipping back into her usual armor. She walked over, bent down and slung the unconscious Midnight over her shoulder. "You were affected pretty bad. I was only able to break through because one of my eyes is magical. A reminder not to mess with Tartaros unprepared."

"Heh, certainly felt real," Gajeel complained as he stood. "I have gotta stop being struck by lightning, though. My whole arm will turn black."

"We could call you Black Steel Gajeel," Pantherlily quipped. Gajeel tossed him a nasty glare while Erza laughed.

"Come on. I'm sure the others have finished their battles by now. We need to rendezvous with them," she said. Gajeel silently agreed with her, but he couldn't repress the shudder that passed through his body at the memory of that image. I couldn't blame him. Who knows what was up with that?

Myself, Wendy, and Richard ran through the Woodsea, with Carla leading us toward the small village where we were to rendezvous with the others. As we ran, I began to hear the sounds of rushing water and I knew we were nearing a river. Wendy, however, was receiving some less than pleasant news from a concerned Richard.

"You mean…everyone I knew was an illusion back in Cait Shelter?" she squeaked in horror.

"Not everyone. There were a few people that were most definitely real," Richard explained. "Brain was monitoring the town apparently and was there the day he collected you. He ended up killing those who were real, effectively destroying the illusion. I'm sorry to tell you this."

"No…it's okay," Wendy said morosely. "I would've figured it out anyway, eventually." That's my little sister for you. Then I smelled something. It was somewhat concealed by the river, but I was almost certain that I smelled Lucy. I pushed myself to move faster and came to the river bank.

It was almost like carnage had happened here. At my feet was the form of a girl who looked vaguely familiar; in this case it was Angel. She was out cold, but breathing. When Richard reached her, he bent down and picked her up. There was also a rock in the middle of the river that appeared to have been blasted apart. On the other side, collapsed in an unconscious heap was…

"Lucy!" I called, swimming across the river. Carla carried Wendy across.

"Natsu-kun! I'm so glad you're here!" I heard Lector cry and I saw him standing guard over Lucy.

"Fro is too!"

"What happened here?" I asked. I crouched at Lucy's side. She was breathing, but looked positively exhausted. She obviously wouldn't be walking on her own, so I picked her up bridal style. She was warm, but not my kind of warm; it was more comforting.

"We defeated Angel, but Sting-kun was blasted away somewhere," Lector explained. He looked really distressed as he floated upward. I smiled at him and patted him on the head.

"It's all right. We'll find him," I said. Lector nodded gratefully. Wendy landed next to me and Richard suddenly popped out of the ground. Carla wasted no time in flying ahead of us, leading on the path to the rendezvous point. We silently followed, wending our way through the forest. The closer we got, the more I could smell the amalgamation of scents. It was almost overpowering. I also smelled the incoming ice attack. With my hands full, I kicked up and blocked Gray.

"Oh, it's just you…" he spat, looking worse than I did. He wasn't the only one. Actually, out of all the people there, only Erza looked fine. Laxus, in particular, looked horrible. Wendy dashed to him immediately to heal him up. "Where's Sting?"

"Where's Rogue?" I asked, placing Lucy gingerly on the ground as she began to stir.

"Took a tumble off a cliff. I couldn't go after him." Damn, that meant the both of them were lost somewhere in the Woodsea. "Isn't this guy one of the Seis?"

"It's all right. He's with us," I vouched for Richard. "He says he can heal the others."

"The bigger issue is what to do next," Erza said as she joined me and Gray. "Sting and Rogue are missing. We should find them before they get hur-" She was cut off by a sudden shuddering. I whipped around and saw a burst of light and dark erupting from within the forest. It was pretty obvious who that was.

"Man, have they started without me?" I lamented. Suddenly, Lucy shot up.

"Sting!" she cried desperately. "He was-"

"I think we found him," Gray told her. She started shaking her head vigorously.

"No, I'm pretty sure his shoulder broke. I don't think he'll last long without medical attention," she said. Her eyes were pleading.

"Happy, let's go!" I called. I had to get to them before Brain killed the two of them.

"Aye!" I felt my body leave the ground as Happy flew in the direction I was pointing. I don't know why, but I felt a horrible feeling settle in the pit of my stomach. It was all the more imperative to get there quickly. Getting to punch Brain in the face was just an added bonus.

By now, you're probably wondering what happened to Sting and Rogue after they disappeared. Well, I won't tell you everything, but I will tell you what I can from their accounts. Rogue had been the first to recover from his fall, but as disoriented as he was, he just ambled in any other random direction. It was then that he came upon a passed out Sting and slapped him awake. Sting winced in pain, clutching his shoulder.

"So, we have no idea where we are, right?" Sting asked as they began to walk forward. Each was sniffing the air, hoping to find some scent of the rest of us.

"Pretty much," Rogue answered. "I hope the others are all right."

"Let's worry about ourselves for now," Sting commented. He tilted his head and took a huge intake of scents. He soon got a scowl on his face. "I think I found where Brain is."

"No, Sting."

"Come on, Rogue. It's make everything easier if we could beat him up, right?" Sting questioned.

"I couldn't care less. We need to find the others," Rogue argued. Sting frowned for just an instant. Then, he slapped Rogue on the back and offered him a grin.

"When have the two of us together ever lost?" he asked. "Brain's close by, so let's take him on."

"You'll be the death of me someday, Sting," Rogue said with a sigh. He followed the blonde anyway. I don't know quite what Sting was thinking right then, and he's refused to tell me, but he set his face into one of determination before leading Rogue silently towards Brain. Honestly, I think he wanted answers about whatever was put into him. It kept him going as he climbed up the giant ruins that we had seen running through the forest, to the very top.

Sure enough, Brain was standing there, no longer looking like the doctor he claimed to be. He instead wore a cloak and carried a staff that appeared to be talking to him. Yes, the staff was talking. Brain also noticed them approaching and observed with disappointment. "What a shame…I had hoped it would be the Salamander that would come here. Instead, I have the inferior ones."

"Who are you calling inferior?" Sting asked angrily. "Answer me: what did you put inside us?"

"I have no need to answer you worms," Brain said aloofly, choosing to turn away.

"Then we'll make you answer us! Rogue!" Sting called to his fellow warrior. Rogue nodded as they stepped forward. "White Dragon's Roar!"

"Shadow Dragon's Roar!" Their breath attacks shot forward side by side in a brilliant blaze of black and white. They impacted on Brain, giving Sting reason to smirk from the powerful attack. Only, when it receded, Brain was fine and staring at them with only mild interest. This made the duo step back in surprise.

"Hmm, perhaps indulging you would make for an interesting experiment. Klodoa, could you entertain them for a moment?"

"Of course, Master Brain," the staff said as it jettisoned straight for Sting. It hit him in his broken shoulder, causing him to cry out in pain. Yes, a staff was giving Sting trouble…well, at least it was sentient.

"Dark Rondo!" Brain cried and these green and black beams shot out. Rogue melted into shadow along the floor to avoid the attack, which resulted in Sting getting slammed by it. He flew into one of the ruin's walls. Klodoa the staff decided this was the moment to lay the beatdown on Sting. Sting, himself, was starting to have difficulties, thanks to his shoulder, but he was still able to latch onto Klodoa with a maniacal grin. That was when Rogue struck. He sped along the ground as a shadow, straight for Brain. As he came upon him, he shot up to find Brain vanishing.

"White Dragon's Fist!" Sting proclaimed, imitating me as he brought his fist onto Klodoa, shattering that stupid talking staff into many pieces. Of course, it was affected by his shoulder, which completely gave out now, causing him to fall to the ground, breathing heavily. His breath was ragged from the pain and he could barely move when Brain reappeared.

"Dark Capriccio!" he roared and he sent a green laser at him. This one was more direct and looked like it could rip through Sting whole. He, however, could not move. Sting did see it and attempted to stand, but the spell was moving too quickly.

"Sting!" Rogue called, and as quick as his shadow could move, he dashed to Sting and slashed at the incoming attack, deflecting it entirely. His hand was bleeding, though, the spell having done more damage than he hoped. Sting stood, too, using Rogue as a crutch. They were pretty quickly figuring out that they had waded into a fool's battle.

"Tell me, my slayers, do you know where we are?" Brain asked, like he wasn't even in the middle of a fight. "These are the Ruins of Nirvana. Once upon a time, it was known as an ancient weapon that could switch the alignments of light and dark. Oh, if my predecessors or Tartaros had gotten their hands on it, my methods would not have been necessary. Nevertheless, I almost have no use for pawns such as you, unless it's to draw that pesky Salamander here."

"Natsu-san…?" Sting grunted out, his teeth grit in anger.

"Yes. His is a fascinating strength worth studying," Brain said. He was grinning a most evil grin. "I can't kill him quite yet, of course, but I'll have fun dissecting him and his magic power. That little girl, too."

"Leave Wendy alone!" Rogue yelled.

"You won't touch them!" Both of their bodies were shaking like mad, like they couldn't help themselves. That was when it happened: the brilliant light we had seen from our rendezvous point exploded. Sting and Rogue's bodies were consumed by the white and black lights respectively. Brain just laughed maniacally, as if this was something he had planned for all along. He didn't stop laughing, even as the lights receded.

Sting and Rogue looked different now. It was like they had scales on them and were brimming with an aura of power that they didn't have before. Even Sting's shoulder seemed healed at the moment. They were ready to rumble, and Sting moved first. "White Dragon's Talons!"

Brain took the attack, the stigmata appeared that seemed to prevent him from attacking or moving. Rogue dashed past Sting and got into their enemy's face. "Shadow Dragon's Slash!" It wasn't just one slash, though. It was a frenzy of slashed that Brain took with the same laughter as ever. It was getting on both of their nerves.

"I'm sick of this guy," Sting snarled out as Rogue rejoined him. "Let's finish this together."

"Yeah," Rogue responded. They held their hands beside them and began to somehow fuse their powers together. Once it reached its zenith, they fired it off. "Divine Shadow Dragon's Flash Fang!"

"Dark Rondo!" Their attack, as powerful as it was, never stood a chance. From in front of it, Brain had removed the stigmata and vanished, only to send his own attack at the static duo. It hit them, canceling their spell and sending them flying backward. Sting flipped to his feet in seconds and was about to attack again when his body suddenly convulsed with pain. The same was happening to Rogue.

"Wh-what's going on?" Sting choked out as he collapsed to the ground. Brain began to approach them.

"Just Lacrima Poisoning," he told them with his evil, gleeful grin. "It's not fatal, but since this is your first time using them, your bodies must acclimate to the change. I'd always heard of Dragon Force, but I must admit that to see it in action is rather underwhelming. Well, your lacrimas served their roles."

"So, you…believed us…this whole time?" Rogue gasped out before he puked onto the ground.

"Of course. Now, I do believe your roles in this cycle will be obsolete very soon. Accept destruction gratefully." Brain raised his hand, as if he was about to land the killing blow.

And that was the moment I arrived.

"No way in hell!" I screamed, falling from above. "Fire Dragon's Talons!" My flaming kick landed on his greasy white hair, sending his body downward before I landed. "Fire Dragon's Wing Attack!" Now I dashed forward and Brain tumbled behind me. Clearly I had caught him off guard.

"Natsu-san…" Sting coughed out. I turned my head to him with a grin.

"You did a great job, Sting. Now, you need to rest. Leave the rest to me," I proclaimed. Sting chuckled, but didn't make a move to stop me. Brain was recovering, too. "Finally, I've been waiting to smash your face in for imprisoning us those seven years."

"Ah…the Salamander," he said, blood dripping from his mouth as he grinned. "The most fabled one…I may not be a match for you without Zero, but I can't risk releasing him until our mission is accomplished."

"What mission?" I demanded with a crack of my knuckles.

"I won't waste conversation on a dullard such as you." I hate being called stupid. So, I ran forward and, as promised, sunk my fist straight into his fist. He went flying back and crashed into a wall. It must have hurt, because it took him a minute to stand again. I hadn't even used magic yet.

"Call me stupid again and you'll regret it, 'cause I'm all fired up," I said, practically begging him to attack me. At least, that was what my stance was conveying. Brain finally stood and spat some blood from his mouth.

"What a thorn you've always been in my side," he lamented. "I don't like using this spell, but special circumstances call for it. Genesis Zero!" I had no clue as to what that spell was going to do, but it looked sick. In other words, I wasn't going to let him do it. I forced flames into my feet and used it to enhance my jump just enough to land on a broken pillar, granting me elevation over Brain. I summoned fire to both my right and lefts hands, leaping at him.

"Fire Dragon's Brilliant Flame!" My fireball hurtled at Brain, who looked at it in surprise right before it struck. The flames consumed him as I landed, and his spell was canceled out. It felt good to have such a cathartic punching bag. Amidst the burning blaze, I heard a hacking cough as it started to reduce to cinders. Brain's jacket was burning and he flung it off with the nastiest scowl I'd seen on his face. The good news was that he'd sunk to one knee.

"Damn…this body is no match when he's not in control," he huffed out. But he raised his hand nevertheless. "Dark Capriccio!"

The attack moved so fast that I didn't, or couldn't, move to dodge it. The black and green blast ripped right into my abdomen, blood spurting out from it. My fresh wound hurt like hell and I couldn't help but gasp out. No way was I letting this guy get away with that, though. I held my right hand and steadied it with my left. "Fire Dragon's Crushing Blitz!" Flames came out of my hand like an explosion that was powerful enough to push even me back. It was pretty cool for a first time use. I dug in and waded through my own blast as I reached Brain and started pummeling him rapidly with my fists. "Crimson Lotus: Fire Dragon's Fist!"

With my final blow, Brain flew into the air, away from me. He tried to right himself, but his older body wasn't as adept at it, so he started randomly firing spells off. It made them all pretty easy to dodge. "Dark Capriccio! Capriccio! Rondo!"

"Secret Art: Crimson Lotus: Exploding Flame Blade!" I summoned the rush of flame that flared out, destroying his incoming spells and striking him head on. He gave a strangled cry as I ran to reach him. His body was falling and I leapt up to grab him and slam him into the ground. He practically spat blood at that. "You're done!"

"Ah…ah…A dragon…no…don't hurt me…" I don't know what he was rambling about, because there was no dragon nearby according to my smell and sound. So, I headbutted the guy.

"Shut up!" I roared. It caused my wound to act up, but right now, answers were more important. Happy fluttered down and landed near me. "Now, tell me, why did you lie? Dragons do exist, don't they?"

"Dragons?" he asked in a daze. Then he began to laugh, pissing me off more than I already was.

"Why did you lock us up? What did you do to Sting and Rogue?" I demanded. It didn't give him much time to answer the questions, but at that particular moment, I couldn't care less; I was more than a little impatient.

"To shift balance of light and dark…" he chuckled amidst his fits of laughter. "It seemed to be a far quicker method to teeter the balance than killing off more people. Their powers were best suited: the pain and confusion that the light feels from the lacrima implanted would turn to darkness, as more darkness is amplified. Now, it has become reality! We need only wait."

"For what? Why us?" I screamed. Honestly, I would have punched him if it gave me my answers.

"Brain kept laughing, but soon composed himself enough to answer me with, "To bring Zeref into this day and age." Zeref? What the hell was that? Another weapon? Some hidden guild? And why did he say "this day and age"?

"What is Zeref?" I asked, but the guy had completely lost it, stretching his hand skyward.

"Seven Slayers, Seven Keys," he chanted. For some reason, it creeped me out beyond belief. "The Light to Dark, so it must be, To bring him back, that Wizard most foul, And begin again, Zeref's hour." Did that mean this Zeref was a wizard?

"Is that what the Balam Alliance is after? Tell me!"

"Natsu, I think he's lost it," Happy commented. I gave him a look of vague frustration.

"I don't care! I need to find out who the infiltrator from the Balam Alliance is!" I said angrily. This appeared to get Brain's attention, for he stopped laughing and once more wore his look of haughty attention.

"The infiltrator? You still haven't figured them out?" he mocked me with a loopy grin. "Did you even know that they were from Grimoire Heart?"

"Grimoire Heart…?" I questioned. "Who is it?"

"Their name is-" BOOM! Or at least, that was what it sounded like when Brain's body suddenly exploded. It threw me back and I swallowed as much of the explosion as possible. The attack hadn't hurt me, but shock had certainly passed through my limbs.

"Are…are you okay, Natsu?" Happy asked, floating down against the stone. He must have been pretty affected by the explosion too. I shook my head to try to clear the ringing from my ears. It only barely helped.

"I'm fine. What about-?" I looked to where Brain was, only to find he wasn't there. Well, he was, but he was just a charred pile of innards. I also felt something warm and sticky on my skin, and realized in horror that it was the guy's blood. Still disoriented, I began to wildly look around for the attacker.

It was a brief second, but I swore I saw a shadow flit away, a faint "Kah ha ha!" on the air. Then I heard movement behind me. I whipped around to see a man with a strange mask and a crystal ball sitting there, observing me.

"That was entertaining, Salamander," he said as the crystal ball began to circle around him. It was strange, too, because he reeked of the women's perfume I could smell at the dorms. My nose wrinkled at it.

"Who are you?" I shouted.

"Zalty, Jellal's associate…though I'm on no one's side." Huh? That made no sense. "You're lucky, Salamander. Jackal of Tartaros hardly cares who he kills, even if they still need you alive."

"You're making no sense! Why are you here?" This Zalty stood and grinned at me.

"I'm just waiting, honestly. I need you to stay alive, after all. When the battle between the Mythical Salamander and the Black Wizard begins, the world will enter a new era. When that time comes, I can finally make my move. So, stay alive until then, Natsu Dragneel." Just as suddenly as he'd appeared, he vanished.

"Wait!" I tried to stand, but my wound made it difficult, even nigh impossible to go after him. Not that I cared to. Everything he said had been cryptic nonsense, and I was never fond of riddles. Sure, it disturbed me, but I was willing to let it go, especially when I heard footsteps with Lucy's voice.

"Natsu, you're okay!" she said in relief as she, Erza and Gray approached. I would guess Wendy was healing Sting and Rogue. Gray was the first to walk around me.

"Where's Brain?" Erza asked.

"Dead…someone blew him up," I answered. "Sorry, I only got some riddle crap."

"You know you're covered in blood, right?" Gray observed. "Are you sure you're okay?"

I stared at my arms, noticing that Brain's blood was starting to dry on them. It was a painful reminder that I failed. Still, I smiled and said, "It's okay. It's not my blood."

It never was.

Author's Note: This chapter sucked. At least, writing-wise. The fights were bland for me but my mythology deepening stuff was exciting. I've dropped tons of clues here and we're hurtling forward at an astronomical pace. Anyway, there's not much else to say at the moment, other than my standard Review, and Dare to Be Silly.