Author's Note: Welcome back everyone! I hope the previous Erik-centric chapter was to your guys' liking, I can't really tell because I only got one review. Please, let me know whether you guys are still enjoying the story and if the chapter was enjoyable to read. I appreciate all feedback, good or bad (yes, even bad) and it's a little discouraging not to hear what people have to say.

Chapter 13: The Fog Rolls In

Erik felt an ice-cold chill run down his spine the moment he set foot into the small forest as the fog enveloped the entire environment with it's eerie tendrils. There was something off about this fog, and it didn't sit right with him. His vision only reached about five feet in front of him, and he hadn't the first clue as to where his Prey was. Even more odd was the fact that the forest was completely and utterly silent. The only audible noise was the crunching of grass underneath his boots, which sounded deafeningly loud in the current silence. Erik felt his increased heart rate with his hand, a slight ringing in his ears that were so used to at least some form of ambient noise. He wondered whether being the Hunter was such an advantage as opposed to being Prey, but he quickly put that thought to the back of his head. He needed to keep his head in the game, or he would surely be taken out swiftly.

Taking a moment to compose himself, Erik tested the numerous methods he employed to track his normal human targets. Sniffing the air, the results proved inconclusive as the fog seemed to eliminate all scent inside it's barrier. Sight was out of the question for now, and Erik didn't dare put his ear to the earth for fear of being attacked from behind. Erik had never felt so, for lack of a better word, blind. He relied on his senses more than other humans, and to hear nothing but pure silence, see only white mist and smell absolutely nothing terrified the young man.

Even though such a sound wasn't foreign to him, he was caught off-guard by the sound of another set of boots crunching on the grass around him. Or was it two pairs? Three? Erik could not even comprehend what was going on around him, he couldn't see his opponents but he could hear them all too clearly.

"Since the only way we can win besides hiding is taking you down, we've teamed up just this once." he heard a female voice call from inside the fog's cover.

Pouncing from his position to where he perceived the voice to be coming from, he was met with another empty patch of grass as he was hit with a strong but sharp gust of wind from what he figured was Kagura's sheathed sword, Archenemy.

"Can't fight what you can't see, eh?" he heard a male voice call from further away as he was hit with a blast of some magical energy and knocked to the ground. It sounds smug enough to be Rufus, Erik figured.

"You know, you really shouldn't have played this one, Mister! You should have let Wendy take your place, at least she puts up a fight." he heard a girly voice call behind him as he was slashed by a gale of dark wind, cutting his arms as he protected his face instinctively. Chelia, he thought.

"Baka, it's not like I want to gang up on you or anything." he heard a manlier voice call as he was knocked down into the ground by a burst of air above his head. Isn't that the tsundere guy? Ren? Erik thought.

Watching from the Lacrima Vision, everyone in the stadium held their breath as Erik was repeatedly battered by attacks from all four of the other guilds. This was especially painful to watch for Kinana, who held her hand over her mouth as she helplessly watched the man she loved getting destroyed and being unable to do a thing.

"That's totally unfair!" Alexia shouted, "That's a flaw in the rules!"

"Clearly, this event wasn't created at the advantage of the Hunter." Erza agreed.

Noticing Kinana shaking like a leaf and not saying a word, Lucy put a hand on her shoulder and smiled at her saying,

"Don't worry, Kinana, Erik is going to be fine. He's a member of Fairy Tail, right?"

Kinana nodded, and Lucy continued,

"Everyone in Fairy Tail gets stronger when they have someone they want to keep fighting for, somebody that keeps them going even when things aren't going our way. Don't give up on him yet."

Wiping away her few tears, she nodded with a new smile on her face and turned her head back to the Lacrima Vision with a new hope in her eyes.

"Giving up already?" Kagura called from inside the fog as Erik struggled to remain on his feet.

As he felt his strength waning, Erik recalled the time when he was still in prison and longed to see the outside world once more in his lifetime. He yearned to see the luscious forests and countrysides of Fiore, to smell the sweet breeze of the outdoors and to hear the familiar sounds of nature that he had grown accustomed to over the years. He had been moping silently in his cell as he usually did when a guard approached his cell, stating,

"You have a gift from a visitor. It came with a note too."

Sliding something through the flap in the glass wall, the guard left him as he sighed and turned around to see what he had been given. It was a simple apple, with a paper note attached with tape. Setting the apple to the side, he unfolded the paper and read it aloud:

"I hope I can hear your voice once more, Erik."

It has no name written on it, but he immediately knew who had sent it. Taking the apple in his hand again, he turned it about and about like it was a precious jewel that needed careful inspection. He smirked to himself, as he leaned against the glass wall of his cell and looked up at the ceiling.

"I do too." Erik muttered to himself.

That's it! Erik thought, feeling a stroke of brilliance come across his mind as he got to his feet, shakily but successfully.

"Mister, can't you just stay down?" Chelia called to him.

Chuckling to himself, Rufus frowned at Erik and asked,

"What's so funny?"

Turning to face him directly, Erik grinned and replied,

"I can hear you."

Launching to the side and away from Rufus' voice, his fist caught Rufus directly in the jaw and sent him spiraling into the nearby tree.

"Imp- Impossible! How did you know I was there?" Rufus called out angrily.

Letting out an audible click with his tongue, Erik said,

"There's more than one way to hear somebody, you know."

No, he doesn't mean… echolocation?! Rufus thought frantically.

Poison Dragon's Whip!

Erik shouted, lashing out at Rufus and catching him by the leg. Unable to free himself, Erik whipped Rufus around in a circle above his head and let him loose, sending him flying as he skid across the ground and bounced into a tree as it splintered from the force. Groaning to himself, Rufus looked for Erik amid the fog but couldn't locate him. Feeling a tap on his shoulder, Rufus turned around in horror as Erik snapped his fingers directly next to his ear, letting out a huge wave of sound that made an earsplitting racket throughout the entire stadium as the crowd and guild members held their palms over their ears.

"Turn down the volume!" Mavis shouted feebly.

Falling to the ground with an unresponsive expression on his face, Rufus was down for the count.

"Oh shit, that might have been a bit too loud for this guy. Well, you might have a ringing in your ears for about a week, but you should be fine. I'll be borrowing this." Erik said, removing his feathered hat and placing it on his head.

"Tch, I'm the only other guy that can pull that off." Gray muttered to himself as the guild sweat-dropped in the background.

"I suppose it's no use hiding from you anymore." Ren said as he emerged from the thick fog to meet Erik directly.

"Even if you've beaten Rufus, I, Ren Akatsuki, will-" Ren began.

"Your fly is down." Erik pointed out callously.

As Ren quickly averted his gaze and checked his fly, Erik hit him with a Poison Dragon's Sword Horn in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him and sending him deep into the forest and far out of sight.

"I kid, your fly wasn't down. That makes two." Erik said with a hearty laugh much unlike him.

This is pretty cool, you know. Fighting for fun, Erik thought.

The crowd roared with laughter at Erik's unnatural combat tactics, and Blue Pegasus was left to hang their heads once again in shame.

"Isn't he the clever one." Natsu said with a smirk.

"I wouldn't have expected something like that out of him." Mira chimed in.

"Deception is a Man." Elfman added.

"You might have made an idiot out of that man, but I won't be so easily tricked." Chelia said in a singsong voice as she skipped into Erik's view.

"I guess the fly thing isn't going to work on you. I'll try not to rough you up too much, I don't like beating up kids." Erik mused.

"I prefer young adult." Chelia pouted, stamping her foot on the ground.

"Right." Erik replied, rolling his eyes.

Making the first move, Erik's cheeks blew up to a ridiculous size as he let loose a Poison Dragon's Roar, which Chelia dodged effortlessly as she propelled herself through the air.

Sky God's Boreas!

Chelia shouted, sending two currents of black wind at Erik who attempted to dodge them both as one looped back around over his head and hit him directly in the chest. Chelia proved a difficult opponent for Erik, who mainly relied on medium-distance to close range attacks, which she dodged with relative ease.

As long as she stays in the air, I might as well be a sitting duck, Erik thought. The air…

Blowing his cheeks up again and bluffing that he was attempting another Poison Dragon's Roar, Chelia leapt into the air in anticipation. What she hadn't expected, however, was Erik to pounce on her with immeasurable speed and release the poison in his lungs, the area around the two exploding in a wide range of purple gas.

Chelia attempted to struggle against him, who pinned her arms down to the ground to prevent her from blowing the cloud of toxic gas away, but soon began to feel light-headed as she nodded off from lack of oxygen.

Getting to his feet and panting heavily, Erik flashed another toothy grin at the camera, proclaiming,

"Three down."

The crowd roared with applause as Erik defeated yet another member of the opposing guilds. Despite his disadvantage, he still managed to strategise and come out on top, which was admired even by the other guilds that had lost so far.

"So it's come down to the two of us, I see." Kagura said, approaching him at last.

"It sure looks that way." Erik replied confidently. "Hey. I thought that you were the leader of your guild, why are you even allowed to compete?" he asked.

"I'm actually just a member, our leader doesn't operate in the public eye. I'll have you know that I don't intend to lose to you here today, Erik of Fairy Tail. Or should I say, Cobra." Kagura spat, extra venom added to the end of her sentence at the mention of his old alias.

"My name… is Erik. Don't you forget it!" Erik roared angrily, his body erupting in a purple aura.

Secret Dragon Slayer Art: Plague Dragon Mode!

The poison aura that Erik emanated began to swirl with a new green mist, creating a sickly shade of dark green that coated his form completely and gave off the scent of a rotting corpse.

"The only thing more devastating than poison would be a plague. You'll soon regret facing me alone, Kagura!" Erik shouted.

"Hmph, you don't scare me. Come!" Kagura shouted, Requipping her second Archenemy and clashing with Erik in the centre of the forest. From the moment he got within feet of her, Kagura felt deathly sick and had a hard time keeping her balance as she dodged his relentless swipes from his clawed hands.

I wont... lose! Kagura shouted in her head as she thrust out with her swords, piercing both of Erik's shoulders as he cried out in pain.

"ERIK!" Kinana shrieked.

Composing himself, Erik inflated his cheeks and let out a spray of a sickly green liquid, which sizzled on contact with Kagura's skin as she screamed in agony, dropping both her swords and furiously tried to wipe the substance off of her face.

"Two can play dirty, bitch." Erik growled as he kicked Kagura in the head with such a force that she flew backwards and broke about half the trees in the forest, eventually stopping at the edge of the arena.

Continuing his assault, Erik noticed that Kagura had all but given up, although her face looked severely burned and her clothes were extremely tattered. Launching herself at him with a very surprising force and speed, they began what seemed like an eternal close quarters deathmatch. Kagura was just as effective with bare-handed attacks as she was with her sword, but Erik's Plague Dragon Mode severely burned her fists with each blow they dealt to his body. Fighting tooth and nail, they scratched, punched, kicked, smashed and clawed at each other until they both could barely stand. Erik felt as though each one of his ribs were broken, and blood poured from his two open shoulder wounds. Kagura had deep gashes all along her face and neck from Erik's razor-sharp talons, and she was missing part of her right ear.

"Is all this... really worth... a stupid win?" Erik asked between heavy breaths.

"I could... ask you the same... question." Kagura panted.

"I need... to prove... that I belong..." Erik stated in a breathless tone.

"I have... to prove to myself... that I'm strong enough to win, on my own." Kagura replied.

"I think you've proven... you're just as strong as I am, Kagura. Can't you give it a rest?" Erik asked desperately.

"No, I have to keep fighting... no more running..." Kagura said faintly, her eyes fluttering shut as she lost consciousness and began to fall towards the earth as Erik quickly deactivated his Plague Dragon Mode and caught her before she hit the ground.

"Well, it looks like the winner is-" the announcer began before Erik also fell unconscious, slumping down next to Kagura's sleeping form as they lay in an odd human dogpile.

"It's a tie?!" the announcer shouted in disbelief.

As the bell rung that signaled the end of the event, all members of each guild rushed out onto the now forest-free arena to check on the well being of their competitors. The members of Fairy Tail hurrying over to Erik, Wendy immediately got to work on healing him as well as Kagura. With the added potency of her Healing Magic while using her Primal Dragon Force, Wendy was able to close all of their wounds and determine their exact injuries. Thankfully for Kagura, Erik's claws barely missed the vital point on her neck, and her own impalements from her sword didn't pierce anything important of Erik's.

"After a trip to the hospital, both of them should be just fine. I was able to reattach Kagura-san's ear, or the piece of it, and neither of them are in any mortal danger." Wendy stated, wiping a bead of sweat off her forehead.

"You really are a lifesaver, Wendy. We don't know how to thank you." Miliana said gratefully.

"It's really no trouble." Wendy replied with a smile as she got to work on healing the other fallen guild members.

"Erik, Erik, are you okay?" Kinana asked desperately, clutching his hand tightly in hers.

Coughing up a small amount of blood, Erik's eyes opened just enough to notice he had awoken, and he said in a weak and faint voice,

"How'd I do?"

"You were incredible, but never scare me like that ever again, Erik!" Kinana nagged between tears, overjoyed that her friend was alright.

"Great job today, Erik. Don't ever worry about feeling like you aren't a member of our guild or that you have anything to prove to us. You've always been a member of our family since the day you joined, and that hasn't changed one bit. You've made us all proud." Natsu said, praise apparent in his voice as the rest of the guild congratulated him on his victory, or tie.

It sure is nice having a family for once, Erik thought as he faded back into black.

Later that night, at the inn of the Ordina Alba Rosa...

"So they've won another match?" a hooded man asked the other members seated around a long table.

"Good. All is going according to plan." another stated.

"We'll extract the Dragon Essence in the Victor's Event, then?" a hooded woman asked.

"I don't believe that will be necessary. We still have this after all." a man said, removing a small jar from his cloak and placing it on the table. At first glance, the jar seemed empty, but upon further inspection held a shiny cloud of dust that shimmered like stars in the night sky.

"Is that really-" one member began.

"Yes. The life force of Yukino Dragneel." the man replied.

"Then she's still alive?" a woman asked.

"Of course she is, we cannot afford to kill her before we achieve our goal. To be quite honest, I never could have imagined our plan would have gone this smoothly. Slip the woman the pheromone to send her dragon instincts into a frenzy, she nearly kills her husband and their bond is severed as mates. When she begins to fade from our world, we collect her life essence, or this 'star dust', and then use it accordingly. She can still very well be revived." a man at the end of the table said.

"Why not return her to Natsu Dragneel? Surely he laments over the 'death' of his wife and child." a woman asked.

"Believe me, if there was a way that we could do this without holding anybody hostage, we'd have already done it. Should the opportunity present itself where we needn't sacrifice the woman, we can return her with our utmost apologies. We hold no vendetta against our Prince." the man at the end of the table said.

"At any rate, are you sure our goal is as pure as we claim it is? How much blood must be spilt to achieve the impossible?" a man opposite the end of the table said.

"This is all for the Rose Kingdom. The pages of our history has been stained with blood for centuries. A life or two is nothing in comparison." the leader stated.

Suddenly, the door to their inn was blown completely off of it's hinges, destroying a row of tables and chairs in it's wake. Stumbling to their feet, the members of the Ordina Alba Rosa looked to the doorway to see a large, muscular blond haired man with a large lightning scar down his right eye.

"I thought there was something fishy about you lot. Now, give my Master his wife back, RIGHT NOW." Laxus growled.

I told you clowns that said "I can't read this story anymore after Yukino "died", keep reading! Think of this as a reward for not giving up on me, I wouldn't just kill off the main character for no reason lmao. Cheers!