AN: So, I hope that you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving with the people who mean something to you. Now, I decided to make a big change during the battle with the Element 4, but please do not hate me for it and give it a chance.
Now, the adventure continues!
X-Tail
Ch 11: Phantom Lord
Part 3
Previously on X-Tail…
"You're one of us. You don't have to leave." Natsu added.
"Come on; let's go back to the Guild." Kurt said.
Natsu rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Yeah, okay, I guess we should." Natsu conceded. Natsu turned to Lucy. "Okay Lucy, time to get up."
"Don't be so rough with her. Remember, girls are delicate." Happy chided.
"Okay, I'll carry you on my back. Is that cool?" Natsu asked her.
Lucy only cried in response.
"Ah," Happy moaned, "look what you did Natsu. You made the poor girl cry again."
"I was only trying to help." Natsu replied as he placed Lucy on his back, crossing her legs over his waist while she wrapped her arms around his neck, her teary face buried in Natsu's shoulder.
"I think she would have cried anyway, Happy" Kurt noted as he teleported them all away in a puff of blackish-blue smoke.
Fairy Tail Basement 3:30 PM
After escaping from Phantom; Kurt, Lucy, Natsu, and Happy made good progress in returning home, only for them to stop after the first time due to Natsu's motion sickness, forcing their half of Team Xavier to walk the rest of the way. Fortunately, they made excellent time since Kurt's Shadow Magic fueled teleportation actually got them to the outskirts of Magnolia, much to his pleasant surprise.
Inside the Fairy Tail basement, the majority of the Guild was licking their wounds after their battle against Phantom. They were sitting at benches and the morale was low, for good reason. Makarov was defeated and sick, forcing them to take him to Porlyusica and their forced retreat from their fight with Phantom.
As Macao, Wakaba, and a few other mages crowded around the table in hopes of hatching up a plan for a counterattack, Kurt, Natsu, Happy, Gray, Elfman, and Lucy were by a wall. The latter was sitting on a barrel in despair. The whole group had looks of thought plastered on their faces. Once the team, minus Azure, Gray, and Erza, arrived back at the Guild, Lucy had told them how she was captured and why Phantom Lord kidnapped her in the first place. Erza was the only one absent since she was taking a shower.
It turned out that Lucy was part of a vastly wealthy family; however, her father, who was her only living parent, cared little for her and she ran away because of it. However, her father had apparently hired Phantom Lord to bring her back to him. What Lucy and the others could not figure out is why.
Kurt, who was leaning against the wall to the right of Lucy, glanced at the Celestial wizard in concern. Since they had rescued her from Phantom's clutches, she had been blaming herself for everything that happened. However, Kurt surprised everyone by hugging Lucy in a brotherly embrace and gently stroking her hair, which the tearful Lucy welcomed and returned.
"It'll be okay, sis." Kurt reassured. "We'll get him back for what he did." Kurt was referring to Azure and Makarov.
Those kind words and gentle embrace only made Lucy cry more, but it was out of happiness. She increased her force on her hug, which prompted Kurt to do the same. "T-thank y-you." Lucy shakily said.
"Yeah. Being targeted by powerful people is just one of the downsides to being rich." Elfman stated, smirking proudly. "At least you're protected by a real man like me."
Gray glowered back at him. "Hey! Would you knock it off already?!"
"I got to say, I was pretty shocked when I heard the news." Happy confessed, standing in front of her. "Why'd you hide the truth from us, Lucy?"
"I wasn't trying to hide anything." Lucy replied, gently removing herself from her embrace with Kurt. "I mean, there's no way to bring up that I'm a runaway in casual conversation. I have been gone for nearly a year and my dad has not cared. Now, all of a sudden, he wants to force me to come back home? He has done all those terrible things. I hate his guts!"
"Look, I'm all for crucifying your dad after what he did, but don't you think that you are being a little harsh on the guy? One of the Ten Commandments is, "To honor thy father and mother," I am not saying he is a good man, but like it or not, he's still your dad." Kurt said.
"Why are you bringing this up now?" Lucy asked.
"Look, I never even knew my father, but believe me when I say that I feel your pain." Kurt replied.
"How can you possibly know what it's like to be the only child of someone so heartless?!" Lucy angrily asked.
"Because my mother actually tried to kill my friends and my adoptive sister on several occasions!" Kurt snapped back. "My mother is a very terrible woman who has done a lot of crazy crap to me and my friends, but despite all that she put us through, despite all the lies, despite all of her truly insane acts, I still honor her! If I can do that, why can't you?"
Lucy and the rest of the group was in stunned silence. This level of anger was even worse than what he said to Gray back on Galuna Island. In a seemingly eternal moment, Kurt took a deep breath and cleared his throat.
"I'm sorry I shouted Lucy, but you needed to hear that. Do you honestly think that beating yourself up is the healthy thing to do right now?" Kurt said, much more composed.
Lucy meekly nodded before she replied, "I guess not."
"Then you need to realize that sitting on your duff and playing the part of the pretty princess isn't the woman that you are." Kurt said, smiling brightly.
Lucy stared at the blue mutant, her breath trapped in her throat.
"In the short time since I've arrived in this universe, I can't even believe half the things I've seen here. In that time, I've seen that the young woman that you are is someone who laughs around the Guild Hall, going on adventure after adventure, even though you freak out most of the time." Kurt proclaimed.
The Celestial wizard turned away, taking in everything that Kurt was saying.
"You said that you actually wanted to stay with us." Kurt continued. "Why would you want to go back there unless it's to get closure? Whom are you trying to kid sis? You are Lucy of Fairy Tail. You don't need to run anymore, because you belong here with us."
Lucy looked back up at Kurt, her lower lip pouting out and a few tears trailing down her face. There was no question about it; she was definitely going to cry again. Natsu looked from her to Kurt and nodded, silently commending him for saying what she needed to hear. Gray, however, was rubbing the back of his head sheepishly while Elfman shivered in fear.
"Ah come on, don't cry," Gray said. "It's not like you."
"Please!" Elfman begged. "Real men are weak against womanly tears!"
Meanwhile, Cana and Mira were behind the bar, trying to get a hold of the other S-Class wizards. Gildarts was off on a long quest and was not available, leaving Laxus and Mystogan as the only ones left to help them. Cana had a set of magical playing cards set upon in front of her, trying to establish a connection with Mystogan, to no avail.
Eventually, she threw her cards off the table in frustration. "Come on! I'm not getting any kind of read on where Mystogan is!"
Mirajane, who was sitting at the bar, looked back. "Oh dear, you did your best." She assured gently.
"If Lucy's their real target, then they're bound to attack." Cana said. "And I would bet on it being sooner than later. Right now, we just have too many wounded to put up a good fight."
Mira turned forward, her eyes closed in sorrow. "Makarov is seriously wounded and we can't locate Mystogan." She then looked up and stared into a lacrima ball sitting on a golden, four-legged stand. "You're the only one we can turn to. Please help us, Laxus."
Suddenly, the image of a blond man with spiky hair that was Laxus, Makarov's grandson and one of the most powerful wizards in Fairy Tail, appeared in the lacrima. His expression portrayed annoyance.
"We could really use you right now." Mira pleaded. "Fairy Tail's in grave danger."
"Man! Makarov is freaking pathetic!" Laxus loudly laughed. He then stopped his laughter and sneered. "I don't see how this is remotely my problem. You're big girls, so deal with it yourselves."
"So, you're not going to help us?!" Cana shouted incredulously.
"Of course not!" Laxus replied. "Why would I? That senile old toad started this. Why do I have to be the one to clean up his mess?"
Mira furrowed her brows angrily, but she kept her emotions in check. "Please Laxus;" she pleaded again, "Phantom Lord is trying to kidnap Lucy."
"Who? Do I even know her? Oh, wait…the new girl? I tell you what; if you can talk her into being my woman, I will do whatever she wants."
"You are such a pig!" Cana admonished.
Laxus scowled. "Are you sure that you want to talk that way to a guy you're begging to help you? Do me a favor, if that old geezer manages to pull through this, tell him he's over the hill and that he should hand the Guild over to me!" Laxus broke out into another fit of laughter.
Suddenly, the lacrima shattered into tiny pieces, courtesy of Mirajane. The white haired angel stood there with her fists clenched and tears racing down her face. Cana, meanwhile, looked at her in shock.
'Mira?' she whispered.
"I don't understand." Mirajane whimpered. "How can someone in Fairy Tail be so heartless and cruel?" she then turned around with determination on her face. "I can't just sit here and watch. I must join the others and fight!"
"Wait! Don't be ridiculous!" Cana argued.
"I'm the only useless wizard here at the Guild Hall." Mira retorted, "I want to help!"
Cana laid a supportive hand on her shoulder. "I understand, but you'll only get in the way as you are now…even if you were once an S-Class wizard."
Mirajane glanced at Cana with tears streaming down her angelic face. She knew that Cana was right, which only made her feel worse.
Without warning, the ground began to shake violently; parts of the roof and wall chipped off the Guild Hall and fell to the floor.
"Hey, what's going on?" Gray asked.
Kurt would have assumed it was an earthquake, until Alzack rushed through the main doors, terror on his face. "Outside!"
The blue mutant and the uninjured Fairy Tail mages rushed outside; however, they were immediately petrified in shock when they spotted the source of the shaking. Even Kurt looked unnerved by what he was seeing.
In Lake Sciliora was the Phantom Lord Headquarters sitting on a big chunk of rock, but sprouting out from the rock were eight giant bronze colored legs. The earth trembled under each step that the giant building on legs took as it approached the shoreline in front of the Fairy Tail Guild Hall.
'Huh, is Spider-Man related to someone in Phantom? If he isn't, these guys really outdid him.' Kurt thought sardonically.
"What is that?!" Natsu shouted fearfully.
"It's a Guild Hall with ginormous legs!" Happy said.
"Is it Phantom?" Loke stammered.
Everyone's eyes were bulging out whilst their jaws hung low, their bodies frozen on the spot. Even Erza, who was in her Heart Kurez armor after her shower, was shaking in fear. "I did not anticipate this. I did not think they would go to such extreme lengths to attack us!"
"Trust me Erza; I don't even think that Destiny could have predicted this." Kurt noted.
Finally, the Phantom Headquarters took one more giant step before it came to a halt. The building remained motionless for a short amount of time until a hatchway at the front lowered, allowing a long metal barrel emerged steadily from the hatch.
Suddenly, dark blue energy began to swirl and coalesce around the end of the cannon's barrel, growing more intense by the second. Kurt gasped; he may not be a weapons expert like Forge, but even he could easily tell that it was powering up for a catastrophic blast. Based on the size of the cannon, the blast would not only destroy the Guild Hall, but all of Magnolia as well.
Without a word, Kurt rushed forward. He did not have time to explain to his new friends what he was going to do. At this point, he was running on the instincts of an X-Man.
"Kurt!" Erza cried.
"Are you crazy?!" Lucy shouted.
"Don't be stupid!" Macao yelled. "You can't stop that thing, even with your Shadow Magic!"
The teenage blue mutant ignored them as he rushed toward the cliff. He focused his Shadow Magic and something truly wonderful happened. He thought about his compassion for his friends, even though he had only known them for a short amount of time. Then, he felt a completely new level of courage that told him to protect his friends. All of a sudden, he felt his Shadow Magic grow stronger than it ever had before and it enveloped him a dark blue glow.
'For the protection of my friends, lend me your strength almighty Father.' Kurt thought as he began charging up a new attack in the palms of his hands. He summoned two dark blue magic circles in them.
This display of newfound power sent the majority of Fairy Tail into an amazed silence. While they had seen impressive magic power before, this level coming from a novice was extraordinary. Unexpectedly, Gray fainted and fell backwards.
"Holy Hannah!" Happy cried. "Is that Kurt?!"
"I-I think so." Loke stuttered.
"Whoa! Are you sure that Kurt has only had this power for a short amount of time? This level of power is something that takes wizards years to achieve!" Cana shouted.
"He's…he's so freaking strong!" Natsu stammered.
Erza said nothing; not that she could, she was incapable of saying anything for the moment. She gazed at the blue mutant enveloped in a dark blue aura, the same one who only had his magic for a little over a week. Her body was trembling in excitement, as she stood frozen in shock, unaware that her heart was going into maximum overdrive, like the state it was in during the first battle against Phantom.
Kurt stared at the eight-legged building standing at least half a mile away. Black lighting rippled across the energy ball collecting at the end of the barrel. Finally, with an earthshaking boom, a powerful bluish-black energy beam fired out of the cannon.
Kurt held out both of his hands in front of him. The dark blue energy began to take form from the magic circles in his hands. Without wasting a moment, Kurt unleashed the most powerful display of Shadow Magic he had ever fired. "Phantom, face the power of The Shadow of God!"
Suddenly, massive twin beams of Shadow Magic emerged from Kurt's hands and merged into a beam that was just as big as Phantom's. The two magical beams met each other head on above the lake water.
As a result, a giant ball of dark blue and black energy formed in-between the magical beams. The lake water below began to evaporate away due to the intense heat as the waves between the blue mutant and the building became bigger.
Kurt continued to drain his power into The Shadow of God. The beam from Phantom's cannon was powerful, more powerful than anything Kurt had ever witnessed. Nevertheless, Kurt was all that stood between it and Magnolia. The feelings for his new friends had sent him into overdrive as he continued to put more of his supposedly unlimited Shadow Magic into his new attack.
The Fairy Tail wizards watched in awe as Kurt's attack kept the enemy's beam at bay. Both sides fought for dominance, but Kurt's resolve was slowly inching its way to Phantom's barrel. A moment passed and Phantom's beam was starting to lose power. Kurt felt it and he used it to his advantage as he began to pump more Shadow magic into his attack, slowly overtaking Phantom's energy beam.
Another moment later, Phantom's energy beam disappeared, letting Kurt shoot through and strike the cannon's barrel. The entire floor connected to Phantom's cannon turned to rubble as the cannon fell from the structure and into the sea below where it sank.
"H…he…he actually did it… he destroyed Phantom's cannon!" Lucy said in astonishment.
"Incredible." Macao said, no other words coming to mind.
"Now that goes to show you how manly Kurt really is." Elfman stated.
"And he destroyed it without any difficulty." Erza said in astonishment, unaware that he face had turned even redder than her hair and that there was steam coming out of her ears.
"That was awesome!" Natsu said energetically.
Kurt's new aura dissipated as his eyelids grew heavier and his knees shook under him. He was feeling very exhausted, struggling to even keep himself upright. Kurt let out a moan as he fell backwards. Before he even hit the ground, Erza rushed to his side and caught him. Erza carried him back to their Guild mates, all of whom were concerned about his welfare. However, Erza, Natsu, Happy, Lucy, and Gray were the ones who were surrounding him.
"Kurt!" Natsu shouted. "Are you okay?"
"Speak to me, Kurt." Erza said worriedly.
A few seconds passed before a low groan came from Kurt's throat. His yellow eyes fluttered open and darted between the remnants of his team as he returned to consciousness, although Erza captured most of his focus since she held him in her arms. It was then that the pain and exhaustion hit him like a freight train. He would have stood up, but strangely, he enjoyed being in Erza's embrace, until his rational side made itself known.
"Not to be rude, but can you let go of me now?" Kurt asked Erza.
Erza blushed heavily as she realized that she was still holding Kurt in her hands and helped him stand up before removing her hands and looking away in awkwardness.
"So, did I get him?" Kurt asked.
"That blast you fired at Phantom's cannon blew it to bits!" Happy answered. "That was amazing!"
Kurt smiled, relieved that he had been able to save his new friends. However, he was still questioning on how he had been able to tap into so much hidden potential. When he stared down Phantom, a mixture of compassion and courage fueled his new Shadow Magic to an experienced wizard's level, only for it now to be missing from his body.
"So, how did you manage that?" Gray questioned.
"I have absolutely no idea." Kurt answered, before starting to fumble back.
Erza managed to catch him again and carried him underneath his shoulder to support him. Kurt was still too weak to stand, but his strength was slowly starting to come back, whether it was from his mutant genetics or his new Shadow Magic. He stood by his teammates, minus Azure who was still recovering at the hospital.
"That was…" Erza trailed off, still recovering from her shock, "…quite an impressive display of magic."
"Yeah…" Natsu said, and then shouted, "I can't wait for us to fight and see which one of us is the strongest!"
Kurt shrugged and weakly laughed. "Maybe someday, Natsu."
Suddenly, before anyone else could comment, the voice of Jose echoed out from a PA system at Phantom Headquarters.
"That was quite an impressive display of power, demon," Jose praised. "I'll admit, I'm somewhat impressed, but you're still a novice compared to a true Darkness magic user, like myself. You still don't have Makarov with you and none of you are a match for me."
Kurt growled. He pulled his arm off Erza's shoulder, standing tall and firm to prove a point. His power was coming back rapidly.
"You may have destroyed the Jupiter Cannon, but any chance of victory has slipped through your fingers. Surrender Lucy Heartfilia immediately or I'll have no choice but to kill you all."
'Is this trottel really that dense?' Kurt pondered, briefly using his native tongue. 'I just blew his cannon to kingdom come and he still thinks that we don't have a shot? He's more stubborn than Logan!'
"That's not going to happen!" Alzack yelled.
"Like any Guild would hand over one of their own to a monster like you!" Bisca added.
"You hear that?!" Macao shouted. "Lucy's staying put!"
The other Fairy Tail mages spectating in the back began to rally.
"I won't ask again!" Jose said, his voice seething with rage.
Lucy stood still, her head hung low in a crestfallen manner. She started to cry again. Everything that happened was her fault, despite Kurt's attempts at cheering her up. "Maybe I should just go with them? Give myself up."
"We'd never betray her like that!" Erza roared. "You'd have to kill us first!"
The other Guild members yelled in agreement. Lucy's head perked up in shock.
"You can stop asking now because we're not going to give you any other answer!" Natsu shouted in anger. "We're taking every single one of you jerks down!"
"If you think we'll hand her over like that, then you sinful scoundrels are in for a world of pain!" Kurt yelled.
"If that's what you want, then I'll give you something worse than Jupiter!" Jose bellowed through the speakers. "When I'm done with you, not even rubble or your bones will be left. Pray to your respective gods, because your sentence is death!"
"No way!" Elfman gaped.
"What are we going to do?" Cana asked.
"Are they going to fire at us again with something else?" Loke stuttered.
"In the name of the almighty father, give us all you've got!" Kurt yelled.
Kurt soon regretted that, as he and the rest of Fairy Tail took notice as Phantom's Headquarters began to transform.
In the wreckage of the cannon room, smoke was hazing off the floors whilst piles of rubble laid scattered everywhere. Without warning, however, they all took notice as the building shook violently. All of a sudden, Phantom's Headquarters began to break apart and reassemble. At that moment, the entire building began to shake violently. They stood in shock, as they saw the huge castle they were looking at, break away and shift into a new position.
"No way," Elfman breathed, "They're awakening the Giant."
"This is not good." Gray added uneasily.
Kurt blinked and looked at the two in confusion. "Okay, what's the Giant?"
"It's Phantom's ultimate weapon. They're transforming their headquarters into a giant warrior." Elfman explained.
"allmächtiger Gott." Kurt responded in his native tongue.
"Who would do something like that?" Wakaba added. "They can't be that desperate to resort to that!"
The building turned to one of its sides, having it stand on the mechanical legs placed on that side, and then completely changing the layout. Several legs were detached from the body; a single, more massive pair remained in the lower part, where the base stood; two more, large limbs sprouted on the top part, some mechanical parts appeared from the main body alongside several pipes, and a small, helmet-like head sprouted on the highest part. The result was a bizarre transformation of a gargantuan, humanoid, mechanical bipedal being, possessing a par of large arms, with its dark hands having just the thumbs and two more fingers, and bright "eyes" visible in the crack of the helmet. Smoke fumed profusely from the pipes on the upper part of its body, at its head's sides.
Without warning, hordes of black phantoms flew out from the building and swarmed toward Fairy Tail.
"Well, this is a fine quandary you've gotten yourselves into, isn't it you Fairy scum?" Jose mocked. "There are only two ways this situation can play out; my troops will tear you apart or you'll be destroyed by the might of Phantom Lord!"
"Or you'll be the one begging for mercy like the spineless coward you are." Kurt retorted.
Instead of replying, the giant began to raise its hands, as it seemed to touch the air and a light appeared where its fingers had ended. It began slowly moving its hands, beginning to create a huge magic circle.
"That's the magic circle for Abyss Break!" Mirajane said in recognition. "That's one of the forbidden spells."
"Would you look at the sheer size of it?! If that thing goes off, then it could wipe out the whole city!" Macao yelled.
"Yeah, but he's got to be bluffing." Wakaba sheepishly argued.
"No, he's going to do it." Cana remarked, which made Macao and Wakaba's jaws drop. "These Phantom soldiers are creations of Jose's Shade magic. They're not human, so it doesn't matter if they're destroyed."
"So, wait, these guys are basically artificial ghosts?" Kurt asked.
His question went ignored as Cana said, "We've got to do something!"
"Kneel before me, you brats!" Jose interrupted over the PA system. "Or you will fall victim to my wrath. Savor your last few moments because I will soon end your pathetic lives!"
As the black, ghost-like beings swarmed toward Fairy Tail, everyone reacted and began to fight back. Macao used his purple fire magic to burn some of the Phantom soldiers. Wakaba used his pipe to make multiple fists to try to knock them out. Cana used her magically charged cards as weapons where she threw them at the specters. Alzack and Bisca were using their Gun Magic to shoot at any soldier that approached them while covering for others.
Erza Re-Quipped into her Heaven's Wheel armor. It featured silver plated armor on her chest with a large metal flower over it, a large billowing skirt that had metal plating in the upper area, and big metal wings made up of individual blades. She used this armor to summon several swords in the air and had them strike down dozens of the soldiers. Kurt was using his Shadow Blasts to attack the artificial soldiers. Everyone else, minus Lucy and Mirajane, were chipping into the fight.
For a while, it seemed like they were winning as most of Phantom soldiers struck vaporized, but then they reappeared, as they simply seemed to regenerate themselves. Strangely, in Kurt's case, the Phantom soldiers were having more trouble to regenerate from his Shadow Magic attacks.
"Okay, why are they regenerating so slowly with me, but they're regenerating so fast with you guys?" Kurt questioned.
"It must be because of your Shadow Magic; the properties of your magic are so close with Jose's that the Phantoms can't regenerate as fast as they can with other attacks." Erza deduced. "Even so, we'll never win like this!"
"Then what can we do?!" Gray questioned as he fired three ice spears that pierced three soldiers, causing them to puff out before they regenerated.
Kurt said nothing as he surveyed the battlefield. He watched the others fighting the Phantom constructs and managing to hold them back for now. As he gazed up at the Giant, if Mirajane was right, that would mean that upon completion, the Giant would destroy not just Fairy Tail, but all of Magnolia as well. Kurt looked to see Erza, Natsu, Gray, and Elfman fighting fiercely. Suddenly, his X-Men instincts were kicking in and he knew what to do.
"Guys, I think I've got a plan!" Kurt yelled as he destroyed a few regenerating Phantom soldiers.
Everyone turned to him, eager to see where he was going with this.
"We can't keep fighting these ghost posers forever, even with my Shadow Magic, so here's the plan. The Giant is slowly making that magic circle, so we still have time to stop it. It must be using a power source from somewhere inside, so a team of us will have to go inside and destroy it." Kurt said, while destroying every single Phantom soldier that tried to attack them, all of them barely able to regenerate.
Everyone blinked at Kurt's plan, even Cana seemed to think it was impossible. "Take it down?" Cana asked incredulously, and then smiled weakly as she stated, "Kurt, I know you were able to take down the cannon, even though you haven't had your magic for long, but still…"
Kurt whipped around, a serious expression shown on his face, as he stated, "Makarov is barely clinging to life, and Team Shadow Gear and my puppy dog are still recovering in the hospital, and they tore down the Guild. We can't let these Hurensöhne take down Magnolia too!" Kurt yelled, briefly using his native tongue. His three-fingered fists tightened to the point of drawing blood, but he ignored it as he continued, "And worse: they kidnapped one of our own, and threaten us to hand her over on a silver platter!" Kurt looked at them, with a fire in his eyes, just as the Giant stood before them. "I don't know about you guys, but if none of you are willing to give your life for Fairy Tail, then you don't deserve to be a part of this Guild, because this is my new home, you are my new family, and I'll be sentenced to eternal damnation in Hell before I kneel before the likes of Jose!"
Kurt's speech enthralled the entire Guild to silence, even Erza and Natsu. In their eyes, they saw the true spirit of Fairy Tail in this mutant from another universe, and that is why they all cheered in agreement. Even Erza struggled not to cry, unaware of a small blush on her cheeks.
"Okay, but how do we get there and who's going inside the Giant?" Gray asked while freezing a whole group of soldiers solid.
"I'm glad you asked frostig." Kurt explained, briefly using his native tongue. "We are going to play it smart. Jose, Gajeel, and the rest of the Element 4 are likely inside, so we will need the most firepower we can spare. Natsu, Happy, Gray, and Elfman are with me; we will go inside through the hole I made when I blasted Jupiter. Erza, I need you to lead the outside forces."
Erza and the others smirked in determination and slight admiration in how Kurt took command and came up with a counter attack plan. However, Erza's blush was unknowingly intensifying, greatly confusing Kurt.
"Uh, Erza, why are you blushing?" Kurt asked.
Erza stammered and comically composed herself, as she stubbornly answered, "I wasn't. You're just imagining things."
"Whatever you say, süßen Backen." Kurt teased in his native language.
"What the hell does that mean?!" Erza asked frantically, blushing once again.
"I'm coming too." Lucy said, as she wanted to help after everything that has happened.
The blue mutant however, shook his head. "I'm sorry Lucy, but I can't allow that, we need you to hide on this one."
Lucy became offended at that, as she shot back, "Are you saying that I can't handle myself?"
"No, it's not that." Kurt stated as he pointed out. "Not only is it a huge risk if Phantom captures you, but, you don't have your keys, do you?"
Lucy's eyes widened in realization as she looked to where her waist where her keys would normally be found…only to see that they were missing. She paled and went wide-eyed as her jaw dropped in shock. Gray took note of that too and pointed out, "He's right you know. Celestial wizards without their keys are pretty much powerless."
"No, it's not that," Lucy whined, as she fell to her knees, shaking with fear, "I lost Aquarius' key too. When she finds out about that, she is going to…" she was unable to finish as her mind flashed to what awaits her.
"YOU LOST MY KEY, YOU LITTLE BRAT! I'LL ANNIHILATE YOU!" Aquarius yelled out with her head looking gigantic before a tsunami emerged from behind her and was heading for Lucy with the intention of swallowing her to the depths below.
Lucy whined in fear, as she gripped her head and cried out, "AHH! She'll kill me for even losing her key, let alone if I used a toilet bowl to summon her!"
Kurt sweat dropped. "Under what circumstance would you summon Aquarius from a toilet bowl? If someone tries to kill you when nature calls?"
"We need to get you someplace safe, Lucy. Phantom's goal is also to capture you. If they succeed, then we will have already lost one of our reasons for fighting." Mirajane said urgently.
Lucy said nothing as she looked down to the ground, hiding her eyes from view. Everyone thought it was because she was feeling so useless, but Kurt guessed it came from inner conflict.
"All right.' Lucy said simply before raising her head again.
"Good. Based on what I have seen, the warehouse district is probably the safest place to be right now. There's way too many to figure out which one you're in." Kurt requested, having obtained this knowledge from Erza. Lucy nodded as she left with Mirajane.
Once they had left, Kurt turned back to the team he selected, but not before, he donned his Glamour Ring again. "Okay, grab on to me and I'll teleport us to the Giant." Kurt said before shifting his gaze towards the scarlet haired angel, "Erza, man the front lines, I'm counting on you." Erza responded with a quick nod and a barely visible blush on her cheeks.
"Wait, why did you bother to disguise yourself?" Natsu asked innocently.
"It gives us the element of surprise. These guys don't know that this guy and my real form are one and the same, so they won't know what to expect until it's too late." Kurt explained.
"Aye sir! That plan is genius!" Happy praised.
"Natsu, hold on to your stomach." Kurt said as his team disappeared in a puff of blue smoke.
'Don't die, Kurt.' Erza softly whispered.
Unbeknownst to them, there was a certain bandaged blue Beagle puppy watching in the background, eager to help in any way she could as she made her way down the cliff. She was unseen as she walked to the bottom of the cliff and swam to the Giant with only one thought on her mind, to protect her master.
Jupiter Cannon Charging Room 4:00 PM
They had gotten through quickly, considering that it had only take a few seconds with Kurt's teleportation. After Natsu tossed his cookies, they heard a mysterious groan emanating from the room. Kurt looked down and blinked in surprise, as did his teammates.
There, lying half-dead on the floor was one of Phantom Lord's Element 4. He was a young man with long, two-toned, tied-up, Japanese-style topknot hair of black and white on the back of his head. The black portion overlaid the front and left side of his head, which left the smaller white portion concentrated on the left, with the topknot also having the two separate colors correspondingly. On his face, he sported a simple marking consisting of three horizontal black bars passing across the ridge of his nose and both cheeks in a linear formation, with the one in the middle being the longest.
He wore a ninja-like attire consisting of a long, orange reddish gi-like cloth, held closed by a black belt, with prominent reddish fur around the collar, and with the sides made out of thick fishnet, with other, looser fishnet appearing on his forearms, with his robe's sleeves rolled up.
A simple shirt appearing from under his gi completed his attire, and a pair of loose black pants tucked inside simple black boots. He also appeared to carry around a simple katana strapped to his left hip. This was Totomaru, the Fire Wielder of the Element 4, and a rather comedic member… considering while he was unconscious, his eyes were swirling all around.
Happy floated down, as Natsu slid down as well, as he poked at Totomaru's face with a metal pipe. "Man, he's still alive. The cannon blowing up must have knocked him for a loop." Happy said.
"At least I didn't kill him." Kurt said, relieved.
"Would you stop doing that, cat? A real man doesn't kick a man when he's down, enemy or not!" Elfman said.
"Aye, sir!" Happy smirked.
However, Kurt's curiosity got the better of him and he asked, "So, who's the Silver Samurai poser?"
"That's Totomaru," Gray answered, as he looked down at the unconscious mage. "He's a Fire Mage and one of the Element 4."
The others blinked, as they looked down at the downed Totomaru, as Natsu stood up, and looked at the downed Phantom Mage rather pathetically. As Natsu continued to poke the unconscious Totaomaru, he asked, "So, this guy's one of those what you call it, five guys, right?"
"Geez, Natsu!" Happy scolded. "They're called the Element 4. How could you not even get the number part right?"
Natsu chuckled, as he shot up, "Man, this guy's pretty pathetic! If he's anything like the others, we've got nothing to worry about!"
"Don't think they'll be easy to beat." Gray stated.
Natsu shot a look at him, as he roared, "What's that supposed to mean, you popsicle?!"
"He's right." Kurt told them, as he explained. "I'm pretty sure that one of the Element 4 was behind Makarov losing his power, not to mention that two of them kidnapped Lucy with no problems. We cannot underestimate the remaining three just because we got lucky that my attack on Jupiter tossed one of them for a loop."
"So, what's the plan?" Elfman asked.
"The plan is still the same, but now the odds are in our favor with this guy out of the picture. Now, there are only three members left of the Element 4, including Jose and Gajeel. So, the five of us will split up to look for this Giant's power source and destroy it, while also looking for the remaining members of the Element 4 and Gajeel and take them down. The point of this is to take out Jose's forces and force him to fight alone. So, we'll divide and conquer to ensure our victory." Kurt said as he continued his plan, "If we fail to find the power source, but we still manage to defeat the remaining members of the Element 4 and Gajeel, then we'll meet up together to find Jose and make him turn off the Giant, as a team,
"And if he doesn't listen to reason…" Natsu smirked, as he smashed his flaming fists together and roared, "…We'll make him stop it by force!"
The others sweat dropped at Natsu's enthusiasm, but Happy smirked, "Man, Natsu's fired up for real this time!"
"When is he never?" Kurt asked. "Okay, so you all understand your objectives, so let's get to work."
The other four nodded in understanding.
"Good, let's hope that this works. Natsu, Happy, Elfman, and Gray, fan out and try to find Gajeel and the Element 4. It does not matter who finds whom, as long as one of you gives Gajeel the beating of his life. I'll also search for them, but I'll be going my own way." Kurt explained.
"Yeah, Gajeel is mine! I can take that Dragon Slayer poser downtown!" Natsu roared as he and Happy ran, or in Happy's case, flew, in a random direction, leaving Gray and Elfman to take their own paths before Kurt took his own path.
Before he left, Kurt took a longing look at the battlefield, focusing on Erza fighting, completely unaware of a light blush on his disguised cheeks.
"Bitte nicht sterben, mein Engel." Kurt said in his native tongue, before running off in a random direction.
Phantom Headquarters Roof 4:04 PM
A moment later, gray storm clouds were forming over the giant Phantom; thunder rumbled through the air as it began to rain. Natsu climbed through a broken window to get outside, Happy flying by his side. They had hoped to find Gajeel to settle the score, although that was mostly for Natsu.
When they felt the rain hit their bodies, they glanced up at the sky in confusion. "Great, not only do I not see Gajeel anywhere, now I have to deal with this stupid rain?" Natsu angrily noted.
"Aye, sir! This rain is really strange; wasn't it sunny when we got here?" Happy said suspiciously.
"Drip, drip, drop," a monotonous feminine voice called.
Natsu turned around to see a young woman around his age with a curvaceous figure, curled blue hair at the base, dark blue eyes, and pale skin. She wore a navy blue coat, a fur shawl, and a hat that Kurt would later find similar to that of a Russian Cossack. She was holding a pink umbrella with a white frilly trim at the base over her head as she walked towards Natsu. This was Juvia Lockser, a member of the Element 4. Happy only watched from the sky, feeling strangely about her presence.
"Hello," She said, "My name is Juvia, and I am the Rain Woman of the Element 4. Drip, drip, drop."
Natsu climbed out of the window and stood tall glaring at the Phantom mage, while Happy seemed to cower in fear of her. "So, you're one of them too, huh? I wanted to fight Gajeel, but I guess a member of you five guys is good enough." Natsu conceded.
"I must say, I'm quite impressed that your Guild was able to knock down two of the Elements." Juvia admitted stoically. "However, you must not underestimate the other two."
"I guess one of our friends must have taken out another one of Phantom's Element 4." Happy implied fearfully.
"Then that means we've got to play catch-up." Natsu said, before shifting his gaze back to Juvia. "Listen lady, if you're looking to get your ass kicked, I'm more than happy to be the one to give it to you." Natsu said in a serious tone. 'But let us get one thing straight here, I am not holding back just because you are a girl. I fight without hesitation."
A moment of silence passed while Natsu and Juvia stared at each other. Happy was merely observing from a safe distance in the air above them, terrified of Juvia. A knife could cut the tension in the room. Unexpectedly, a hearty blush appeared on Juvia's pale face.
"Well then," She turned around and began slowly walking away. "I give up. You win. Goodbye."
"Hey" Natsu shouted, his eyes bulging from his sockets out of shock and confusion. "Where are you going? Come and fight me!"
Juvia ignored him as she continued forward. She placed her hand over her chest. Her breathing was becoming deeper and the blush on her face remained.
"There must be something wrong with me." Juvia said. "Why is my heart beating so fast?"
"If you're going to run away like the girl you are, the least you could do is tell me how to stop the Giant!" Natsu yelled indignantly as he chased after her.
Juvia stopped in her tracks. Her dark blue eyes were twinkling with an emotion she had never felt before. "I can't explain why, but I have this strong urge to make him mine. I just can't help myself anymore." Juvia held out her hand and chanted, "Water Lock!"
Without warning, a big ball of water trapped Natsu inside instantly. The pink haired teen began losing oxygen, air escaping rapidly from his mouth, much to Happy's horror of watching this.
"I really want to help him, but what can I do against that scary water lady?" Happy asked fearfully.
"Oh no!" Juvia cried in panic. "He's drowning! I had no idea that this would happen! I do not know what to do! I guess I should probably release him."
Suddenly, Juvia's ranting ended when the water she trapped Natsu in began to bubble and instantly evaporate, leaving nothing but steam in his wake. Natsu landed on his feet, but he lowered himself to his hands and knees trying to catch his breath.
"He must be a fire wizard." Juvia realized. "He boiled my Water Lock and broke free."
'I've never witnessed such a level of fire magic before; it's beautiful!' Juvia thought. Then, the water mage began to have dreamy visions of her and Natsu together as lovers. 'I'm water and he's fire. Our elements are the complete opposite of each other, but together, they create steam. I can't believe I've finally found my handsome prince.'
Natsu groaned as he struggled to catch his breath. "You…almost…got me with that sneak attack you pulled" Natsu admitted. "You're playing dirty."
Juvia held her beating heart and wailed happily, a perverted thought flowing through her mind.
Natsu stripped off his black waistcoat, much to the embarrassment, shock, and guilty pleasure of Juvia.
'He's taking off his clothes!' She cried inwardly. 'But I'm not ready for this, we just met! Wait, can't we take things slowly?!'
Natsu threw his black waistcoat to the ground and stood defiantly. "I don't mind fighting a girl, but you ruined my favorite waistcoat!" Natsu stated. "So, you better surrender, or I'll be forced to hurt yah!"
He slammed his fists together and summoned a red orange magic circle in front of him. He put both hands over his mouth like a trumpeter and summoned a huge torrent of flames. "I'm going to blow you away! Fire Dragon Roar!"
The torrent of flames fried out of the magic circle straight toward Juvia. The rain woman, however, did not attempt to dodge the torrent at all; instead, it passed right through her! Instead of being roasted alive, her injured areas took the form of water, merged with the rest of her body, and returned to normal.
Natsu lightly gasped and stared at Juvia in confusion.
"My body is made entirely out of water." Juvia explained. "Surprise, drip, drip, drop."
Natsu's eyes widened even further from shock.
She held out her hand and summoned a blue magic circle. "Water Slicer!"
Three water whips shot out from her magic circle. However, instead of striking Natsu, they hit the top of a steel pillar. The top half broke into tiny fragments, much to Natsu's surprise.
"You see, given the right amount of force, water is strong enough to slice through steel." Juvia enlightened. "Underestimate its powers, and you'll find yourself in a world of pain."
In response, Natsu growled and rushed to her, his fist on fire, "Fire Dragon Iron Fist!"
Suddenly, Natsu punched where Juvia's face was, only for it to go straight through. The water that comprised her body quickly connected back together.
"Can't you see that you're wasting your time?" Juvia said nonchalantly. "Your attacks have no effect on my body made of water. Drip, drip, drop."
Natsu snarled, "Now what the hell am I supposed to do?"
"It doesn't matter what you do, you cannot beat me." Juvia stated. "However, there is one way that you and your Guild may be spared. All we ask is that you hand over Miss Lucy Heartfilia. Do that and I'll ask our master to call off his attack on Fairy Tail."
"Ah come on; don't give me that bull crap!" the Fire Dragon Slayer yelled. "You and I both know that we're past the point of no return. Besides, Lucy is a member of Fairy Tail. I would rather give my life than hand her over to you!"
At that statement, Juvia dropped her umbrella. One of her eyes was now twitching. 'He'd rather give his life, give his life, give his life?! Lucy is my rival! Lucy is my rival! He loves her!'
All of a sudden, Juvia screamed loudly as she covered her face. "Oh the pain!" she sobbed miserably. "How can fate be so cruel? My heart feels like it's been torn to shreds! It hurts, oh it hurts!"
"What's wrong?" Natsu asked worriedly. "Are you sick or something?"
Juvia ceased her crying. Rage and heartbreak replaced the anger in her eyes. "She's not worthy of my prince." She muttered. Then, she roared out, "Lucy Heartfilia cannot be allowed to live!"
Natsu only watched excitedly with a confused expression on his face at Juvia's display.
Without warning, Juvia shot out a blast of water at Natsu. As he skidded back a few meters, he quickly took note that the water was hot, much to his enjoyment.
"It burns?" Natsu asked. He turned his hard glare at the blue haired young woman. "What's your deal? What do you have against Lucy?"
Juvia did not answer. She only fired another raging torrent of water at Natsu. He swiftly leaped into the air to avoid the blow, but the speed in Juvia's attack surprised him.
"So fast," Natsu murmured. "I don't know if my Fire Magic will be able to keep up, but that's what makes it exciting!"
The water torrent that Natsu dodged came back and circled around Juvia before she blasted it at Natsu again. The pink haired wizard leaped to the side; however, his sandals lost traction on the wet ground and caused him to slip over the edge. Before his motion sickness could catch up to him, Natsu was able to catch his balance at the last second before he plummeted.
"Whew, man that was close." Natsu sighed in relief.
"Ever since the day I was born, I've been followed by the rain." Juvia said. "It gives me strength. It makes me invincible."
She stopped and held out her arm, convening a magic circle above her. "Prepare to be scolded by my jealous rage!"
She fired a few streams of boiling water at Natsu, but the fire mage skillfully jumped back to narrowly avoid the attacks.
"Although I love hot water, what are you jealous of?" Natsu yelled in confusion.
He spread his legs to make a wide base and summoned a reddish-orange magic seal before chanting, "Fire Dragon Shield!"
A shield of living fire instantly appeared in front of Natsu, blocking Juvia's attack. However, the Fire Dragon Slayer was not sure it would hold. The water in Juvia's attack began to extinguish his fire.
"Man, this water may be boiling hot but it's way cooler than my fire." Natsu said. "I won't be able to keep this up much longer."
"Like I told you," Juvia responded angrily, "I am at my most powerful in the rain. You will never be able to defeat me."
Juvia continued shooting her hot water surge until both attacks canceled each other out, creating steam that shrouded Natsu's body. When she heard a crash, she immediately stopped. When the steam faded, Natsu was gone. She sauntered toward the broken window upon which he had been previously standing.
"He used the steam as a smokescreen." She realized. "He's not just handsome; he must also be the smartest one in his Guild."
A warm smile appeared on her face as she gazed into the broken glass. 'I really am in love.' She whispered.
Meanwhile, Natsu ran down a hallway that had windows on both sides of the wall and ceiling too.
"I can't waste any more time on this crazy water chick!" Natsu shouted. "I've got to find Happy and either destroy the Giant's power source, or beat the living crap out of Gajeel."
All of a sudden, an inundation of hot water broke through the ceiling, carrying Natsu away.
"This feels nice, but I can't breathe!" Natsu yelled when his head broke the water's surface for a moment.
The water gush blasted through a window in front of Juvia and threw Natsu in the air.
"It's all over now!" Juvia cried, shooting another water torrent at him.
Anger and determination crossed Natsu's face as he turned around in midair, holding out his palms. "Oh, yeah!" When his hands touched the boiling water, it began quickly evaporating until it became a large torrent of fire. "Burn up!"
"No," Juvia said in disbelief, "It can't be!"
Suddenly, Juvia's body and the water around her immediately evaporated into a large blanket of steam. A giant torrent of flames surrounded her, forcing her into her solid state to prevent herself from evaporating as well. Natsu was about to smirk in victory, until he noticed something. His lower left arm was trapped in the fire vortex as well, and his hand ended up grasping Juvia's left breast. This made him freak out.
"AHH!" Natsu screamed frantically. "It's not what it looks like! I didn't mean to!"
Natsu pulled out his hand, which caused the fire torrent entrapping Juvia to disappear. "Sorry!"
The young woman fell to her hands and knees. She looked up and gazed at Natsu warmly. 'Even though I'm his enemy, he released me. He's such a nice guy!' Juvia thought.
"Let's just start over, okay?" Natsu offered, nervous sweat drops falling from his face.
Juvia stood up and replied, "Let's not. Honestly, I don't want to hurt you, so there's no point in us fighting anymore."
"Huh?" Natsu asked in bewilderment. "Is this your weird way of saying you can't beat me?"
"You know, I'm much stronger than Lucy. If you let me, I would be happy to protect you." Juvia responded.
"Protect me?" Natsu repeated. "From what?"
As they talked, the rain around them fell harder and in more volume. "Well, I…" Juvia stumbled, "I think you're…uh…so…"
"Is it just me, or is it raining even harder?" Natsu interrupted, glancing irately at the sky.
"Oh, this is so frustrating!" Juvia shouted.
However, her ranting went ignored by Natsu as he continued to comment on the rain. "Man, this damn rain won't let up. It just makes me feel so gloomy."
Juvia instantly froze, the word 'gloomy' echoing in her mind. She fell to her hands and knees, her fists clenched tightly, almost to the point of drawing blood: or whatever flowed through a rain woman. Natsu looked back in concern.
"Uh…do you need the bathroom or something?" Natsu asked.
"I thought that he was different, but he's just like all the rest." Juvia mumbled in ire and misery.
Suddenly, she stood right back up, water shrouding her emerged form. "HOW CAN YOU BE SO CRUEL?!" she bellowed.
"What's wrong with you?" Natsu demanded.
Before Natsu could react, a blast of hot water slammed into him. He fell back a few meters before he found some footing and managed to stand against the raging water. The Fire Dragon Slayer held out his hands, trying to evaporate it again.
'I can't evaporate it when I'm submerged like this. Sure, it feels nice, but I still can't breathe!' Natsu thought.
"I'm through with love and I'm through with you!" Juvia roared.
The power behind the torrent tilted Natsu off his feet and sent him flying back.
"I've lived my entire life as a gloomy rain woman," Juvia cried, "but Phantom Lord looked past that! They welcomed me warmly! I am one of the Element 4, a proud Phantom Lord wizard!"
Juvia's body transformed into a surge of water as she shot at Natsu. The Fire Dragon Slayer caught his footing and summoned a fire shield to block her attack.
"How could you be proud with them?" Natsu demanded. "You and your entire Guild is going down!"
With a mighty yell, Natsu punched the water torrent with his flaming right fist, instantly evaporating it. As Juvia descended to the ground, she noticed that the rain droplets around her had evaporated as well.
"He even evaporated the rain! He's amazing!" Juvia said.
"Fire Dragon Brilliant Flame!" Natsu yelled as he summoned a reddish-orange magic seal.
All of a sudden, a large fireball appeared in Natsu's hands as he threw it at Juvia, severely hurting her liquid form. She screamed in pain from the boiling temperatures. A moment later, the fire dispersed, leaving nothing but a huge amount of steam in its wake.
As she plummeted off the roof, Juvia thought, 'I lost. It is all over now. I am going to fall to the ground and splatter… just like a raindrop. I suppose it is a fitting end to a rain woman. Farewell gloomy Juvia.'
Juvia snapped out of her thoughts as she felt a strong hand grab her wrist. She looked up to see Natsu on the edge of the roof, holding on to her tightly.
"Just hold on, okay?" Natsu reassured. "I promise I won't let you fall!"
The rain woman gazed up at Natsu, deeply moved by his selfless heroism.
Natsu used his strength to pull her back onto the roof. He gently laid her on her back while he kneeled in front of her.
"Why did you save me?" Juvia asked.
Natsu stared at Juvia for an eternity, his mind flashing back to the girl he couldn't save two years ago, her form briefly replacing Juvia's before switching back. Finally, he gave his answer.
"I don't let people die if I can prevent it." Natsu replied. "Now, get some rest, okay?"
'He saved my life.' Juvia said in her mind.
Natsu turned back with a smile on his face. "You good? You starting to cool down a bit?"
Juvia did not answer. She stared longingly at Natsu, tears beginning to leak from her dark blue eyes. Suddenly, she had to close her eyes as a bright, warm light struck her face. As her vision adjusted, she looked up in shock.
The rain clouds that always followed her before they were retreating. In its place were a beautiful blue sky and the sun shining brightly.
"The rain?" Juvia gasped. "It stopped?"
"Hey look," Natsu, said, "the sun is coming out."
"The blue sky, I've never…seen it before." Juvia mumbled with wide eyes.
Natsu looked back with a cocked brow. "Seriously? Uh…well there you go. It's pretty, don't yah think?"
Juvia was silent for a moment as she admired the blue sky. "It is…truly beautiful." She replied in genuine honesty.
"So, you want to go at it?" Natsu looked back with a toothy grin.
He was obviously referring to another fight, but Juvia thought he meant something else entirely different. In response, she howled girlishly with hearts in her eyes. She then passed out, a happy smile on her pale face.
"Hey!" Natsu shouted in worry. "Is something wrong? Talk to me, Juvia! You okay?!"
"That's Natsu for yah, a lady-killer." Happy deadpanned from the safety of the sky.
Fairy Tail Courtyard 4:14 PM
Meanwhile, down in the Fairy Tail courtyard, Erza had Re-Quipped into her normal Heart Kurez armor. The number of Phantom soldiers attacking the Guild was decreasing, so she did not need to summon any of her more powerful armors. As she and the others engaged the small groups of Phantoms, they began to notice that the Giant was drawing the magic circle very slowly now.
'I'm confused. That thing should have fired by now.' Erza thought. 'Why is it taking so long?'
"That thing still hasn't cast the spell." Wakaba said.
"This stress is bad for my heart." Macao commented. "We have got to put an end to this."
"Hey, doesn't it seem like the Giant is being turtle-ish right now?" Laki asked.
"Huh?" Wakaba asked in confusion. "Say what about turtles?"
"She's trying to say that the Giant's moving slowly." Macao explained. He then glanced back at Laki and said, "Try thinking before you speak, Laki."
"It made perfect sense to me! You guys are just dense!" Laki countered.
Erza slashed through the last Phantom trooper in the courtyard. She walked toward the group and explained, "Natsu, Kurt, and the others are in there doing their best to take that thing down, and now…we're going to lend them a hand."
Erza turned her attention to another wave of Phantoms swarming toward them.
"The last thing that they need is these things distracting them! We must wipe them out!" Erza exclaimed.
"It's time to take care of business, kids!" Macao added. "Now, let's do this!"
With that, the group of wizards charged forward at the next Phantom wave.
Phantom Headquarters Roof 4:17 PM
"Natsu! Happy!" Elfman and Mirajane shouted.
Natsu and Happy turned their attention away from a passed out Juvia to the duo.
"What's Mira doing here?" Natsu asked.
Unbeknownst to Natsu and Happy, Mirajane had transformed her body to match Lucy's and came forward to Phantom, trying to give herself up in the hopes of buying more time. However, Master Jose had seen through her disguise. As punishment, he entrapped her in-between the large fingers of the Giant, threatening to crush her.
Erza was too late to stop him, and when she attempted to rescue Mira, a barrage of Phantoms drove her back to the courtyard and intercepted her. Thankfully, Elfman had come to the rescue. Remarkably, thanks to the mockery of Sol, a member of the Element 4, and Mira's crying, that he became so angry that he finally succeeded in a full body Take-Over.
He easily defeated Sol and was able to save Mirajane. In addition, he retained control of himself while performing a full body Take-Over.
As they ran up to Natsu and Happy, Elfman said, "I see you defeated another member of the Element 4." Elfman paused when he noticed the expression plastered on Juvia's face. "Why does she have that creepy grin on her face?"
Natsu thought about it for a moment. Though he was not exactly the most experienced when it came to love, considering his bizarre relationship he had with a certain girl two years ago, he overheard most of what Juvia had said during their battle. The Fire Dragon Slayer knew that this rain woman had somehow developed an attraction towards him. However, there was no way in Hell that Natsu was going to let anyone know that, especially Elfman and Mirajane.
He simply shrugged and replied, "I don't know; must be having a good dream or something."
'She loves you.' Happy quietly teased. Although he loved to mock others on their supposed relationships, he felt Natsu's emotions to this matter and made sure that only he heard it, much to his ire.
"With Elfman's win against Sol, there's only one left." Mirajane said, snapping all three of them back to the situation. "If we can stop them, I think we can stop the Abyss Break."
"Mira just figured it out." Elfman explained. "There is no power source to find, because the Giant is being powered by the Element 4."
"We can do this, right boys?" Mira said.
All three of them nodded in agreement.
"So," Natsu rubbed his chin in contemplation, "we managed to defeat three. Therefore, that means that there is only one left. Gray and Kurt are still searching this building. One of them has to run into that last guy."
"Yeah, question is; which one?" Happy inquired.
Phantom Headquarters Interior 4:25 PM
The disguised Kurt continued to sprint down an empty corridor with high ceiling and giant, stone-carved demons sitting on Roman-like pillars. The very sight of them made Kurt's skin crawl. He split up with his team in his plan to take down the Giant and Phantom Lord in one fell swoop. Along the way, Kurt had felt the building shake a few times and heard faint, monstrous roars echo through the stonewalls.
However, to the disguised blue mutant, they were not just normal roars, they sounded like Elfman's, but with more ferocity. While he assumed that something happened to him, he had faith in his friends and continued running.
The disguised blue mutant had been running down the hall for several minutes, coming up against zero Phantom opposition.
'This is bad. Why don't they have guards or something patrolling these halls?' Kurt wondered. 'Maybe they're on a really long coffee break. Even if they are, this is excessively easy for me, like I am about to walk into a trap.'
Kurt ran through the end of the corridor and into a large room with a red carpet, stretching down from the center of the room and up a grand staircase at the other end. Running along the carpet were brown pillars with light-emitting lacrimas on the top.
Kurt stopped and observed his surroundings. "Hmm," Kurt tapped his chin in thought, "maybe the power source is up those stairs?"
Suddenly, in the blink of an eye, Kurt yelped in surprise as a powerful gust of wind lifted him off the ground. Not wanting to reveal his teleportation ability yet, Kurt merely used his superior reflexes to land on his feet, trying to comprehend what just happened.
"How sad," a masculine voice commented.
The disguised blue mutant lifted his head to see a swirling twister of air a few meters in front of him. The twister vanished and left behind a big man wearing a long green coat, a yellow shirt, loose pants, and a green top hat.
Kurt merely crossed his arms in front of him and smirked. "Let me guess, you're one of the Element 4."
"Indeed. My name is Aria, and I'm the strongest member of the Element 4." Aria replied. "I have come here in the hopes of slaying the demon that destroyed our beloved Jupiter Cannon."
"Well, look no further Blob. You found him." Kurt replied.
"Hah! Don't make me laugh!" Aria remarked in derision. "The demon I seek has blue fur, three fingers, two toes, yellow eyes, sharp teeth, pointy ears, and a devil-like tail. You possess none of those qualities."
"Then let me prove it." Kurt said as he removed his Glamour Ring, revealing his true demonic form to Aria, whose eyes widened behind his white blindfold.
"I see. I'm guessing your Guild master fished that out for you, am I right demon?" Aria accused.
"So, what if he did? I am here to take out the power source for the Giant! If I have to take out your fetten Arsch to do it, then so be it!" Kurt proclaimed, briefly in his native language as he stared down Aria.
With that, the final battle against the Element 4 had begun!
AN: Well, this is by far my longest chapter, so let us recap. For all the Gruvia and Nalu fans, I am sorry, I ship them too but I just think that Navia gets little to no attention in any Fairy Tail Fan Fiction, so I am making this change. In addition, I made Natsu notice Juvia's feelings, because she makes it so obvious that anyone would be able to tell that she had fallen in love with whoever she was fighting, in this case, Natsu. I also plan to have them paired together eventually, so Navia fans, rejoice!
In addition, I brought Azure back because she is going to have a big impact when she finds Kurt and they take on Aria and Jose together with Erza. I also figured that it would be cruel of me to keep her in the hospital and miss out, unlike Team Shadow Gear. Now, the next chapter may take a while, but rest assured that I am not giving up on this story.
I also got rid of Totomaru because it would have just made this chapter even longer and to showcase how powerful Kurt's Shadow Magic can become under the right conditions. You can thank Lewamus Prime for that idea. Please do not un-follow or un-favorite me because of my choice.
So, rate, review, and I'll be back with the next chapter as soon as I can. In addition, the German translations in order are, moron, god almighty, sons of bitches, frosty, sweet cheeks, please don't die my angel, and fat ass.
Next time – Chapter 12: Phantom Lord Part 4
