Kids

by DD42

There are those who say that the future is not written in stone; that our destinies are ours to make. However, when a new group arrives at the doors of Fairy Tail, they will turn that theory upside down and then some (Multi-Pairing). *Cover art by Toni Boloni*

21. Chapter 16

A/N: Hello everyone and welcome back. As promised here is the latest chapter for Kids. And not just any chapter! This chapter marks my 100th review for this story. All I can say is: HOLY CRAP! One hundred stellar reviews have all led up to this and I have you guys to thank for it; from the bottom of my heart, thank you for all of your support and feedback; it's meant the world to me.

Sorry for the very long delay but I've just been absolutely swamped with work and haven't really had the chance or time to write. I had a variety of papers to write and two tests to review for and I had to take care of community service that is required for a class I'm taking (it was well worth it, I got to help out a lot of people). I was a little tired from everything and didn't have the energy to write. Plus work has been picking up again so I've been working during the week while also applying for a new job. I like the job I have but I need more hours. Because more hours equals more pay and more pay equals me being able to pay my bills for college and other stuff.

…Life happens, what can I say?

But! As of now, I'm back and ready go…and this chapter…has something that you've been waiting for. Patiently, been waiting for if I may add. Also, I should mention, that things will start to take a turn for the dark from this chapter onwards.

On a side note, I have only two more months of school left so yeah, the final countdown has begun. Come May, I will be done with college until September. So you know what that means…I'll have more time to write! But until then, I don't know how hectic things will get so that may mean I might have to take extended breaks from writing. As much as I love to write my education comes first.

So, I know a couple of you guys were excited for this chapter so before we begin, here is a shout out to you guys!

-PitbullColin: Hello and welcome back, glad you liked the chapter!

-kazenoseiren: Hello my reader from afar! How ya doin'? I'm glad you liked the previous chapter. Yeah…about the truth, it's actually coming out at the end of this chapter…so hold on to the seat of your pants! I know I take long to update, but I have a busy schedule. As much as I would love to devote my time to writing, I have other things that demand my attention and those unfortunately take top priority over my writing. But, hopefully this will suffice for the time being!

-TabbyCatxoxo: Hello and welcome back! Yeas, the previous chapter was essentially the calm before the storm but with this chapter the storm will really start to kick in, so I hope you enjoy it; Fairy Tail and the Kids will be in for it from this point on. I had fun writing the parts with Saito and Hisui so I'm glad you enjoyed them. I'm glad you like the Igneel and Senna pairing. I don't what it is about my story but people have been commenting that it is doing a good job of breaking the whole "future kid" mold and doing something new and different… I guess the means I'm doing something right, right?

-ashfrenzy: Hello and welcome to the story! I'm glad you are enjoying it so far. I'm SO TERRIBLY SORRY FOR THE LONG WAIT! PLEASE FORGIVE ME! You…you really think this story can't be compared to others!? I'm flattered to hear that; I really am. I'm glad my characters work out for the plot and that they make sense (I get that a lot believe it or not). So…you have you're predictions for what's coming next…*dark chuckling* Well, let's see if you were right or not. Be prepared though, for as I told TabbyCatxoxo, the storm will hit these next few chapters. Trust me, you may be in for a doozie. Please try to control your "fangirl" levels, I don't want to be the cause of your insanity! *Puts on helmet with blast shield in case of emergency*

-Lanvia: Hello and welcome to the story! CONGRATULATIONS; YOU ARE MY 100th REVIEWER! I take it this means you like my story? Your prize for such an accomplishment is…well…this brand new chapter for your reading pleasure!

So, prepare yourselves ladies and gents; you're in for a big one! Hopefully the length of this chapter and what follows will make up for the long wait I put you guys through…sorry! (Seriously, I think this is one of the longest chapters I have ever written.)

XXXX

CHAPTER 16: Second Encounter…Secrets Revealed

XXXX

Levy McGarden knew she was dreaming the moment she became aware of her surroundings. She could tell because she found herself back in the library. The same library where her shared dreams with Gajeel occurred.

But…there was something different about it.

Something felt…wrong.

Levy couldn't place it but she noticed that air felt heavier, almost like a deep sadness was weighing it down. And the lighting was dimmer too, making the shadows seem darker than they were before.

To put it in better words; the place had become downright spooky.

Levy frowned as she stood up from her table and looked around. The place, as usual, was as quiet as a crypt. Levy shivered at the pregnant silence and rubbed her arms while holding them close to her body so she may gain some semblance of warmth.

Venturing over to a bookshelf, Levy grabbed a random book and flipped the pages open. The pages stopped right in the middle of the book where on the right page, a single red dot sat in the middle of the paper.

Levy's brow furrowed in confusion. The dot almost appeared to be…wet?

Before Levy could voice her thoughts, the dot began to widen throughout the page, like the ink of a pen bleeding through paper. Levy stood frozen in place, unable to move as she watched the morbid spectacle before her. The bleeding red ink soon began to form and take shape as Levy found her hands tremble while her eyes widened in fear.

The ink was forming into that of a crimson red hand print.

But the ink didn't stop there.

Once the print had been formed, the ink continued to bleed out from the tips of the fingers to the base of the palm until it was spilling over the edges of the page like a waterfall of blood.

Levy let out a panicked whimper and the second she felt her body regain control of itself, she tossed the book away and let it unceremoniously tumble to the floor, the ink still leaking and pooling on the marble floor. Levy backpedaled as fast as she could from the horrid book and shook her hands rapidly in case she got any of the ink on her hands.

Something was seriously wrong.

Levy wrapped her arms around her small frame once more and hurriedly began to look about the library.

"Gajeel!" Levy cried, "Gajeel, where are you!?"

Levy continued to look for her mate with wide, panicked eyes.

"Gajeel, I'm scared; where are you!?" Levy called out as her voice echoed throughout the emptiness of the bookshelves.

Silence…was her only answer.

Levy hadn't felt this afraid in a long time. She knew she was dreaming but she knew she couldn't wake up until the dream ended…but after what had just transpired, Levy felt the urge to leave her current surroundings and never come back. She wanted Gajeel to be there with her…the hold her and protect her as he always did.

"This…this shouldn't be happening," Levy said with panic in her voice, "he should be here with me. Why…why isn't he here?"

Another sign that something was very wrong with the dream. She and Gajeel shared each other's dreams and therefore they were connected to one another and were never far apart. If she called out to him, he would always respond or be close by. But now, Gajeel didn't answer and Levy got the feeling that he wasn't even in the library or the dream for that matter.

What the hell was going on?

Levy suddenly got the distinct impression that she was being watched.

Spinning around, Levy let out a small sigh of relief.

Standing at the top of a nearby stair case, was Saito.

Levy let out a sigh of relief and clutched her hand to her chest.

"Saito, it's you," Levy said in obvious relief, "what's going on here? Where is your father?"

Saito didn't answer. He only stood at the top of the staircase with his hands resting on the banister. It took Levy a second to realize that he was in his Dragon Skin form. His glowing red eyes stared intently at the blue haired mage and thus Levy felt unnerved by his gaze.

"Saito…what's wrong?" Levy asked in concern.

Saito didn't answer. He instead blinked once before turning away and walking along the upper floor, his armored hands shoved deep into his pants pockets while his boots echoed off the floor.

"Saito wait, where are you going?" Levy called out only for her son to ignore her.

The mage soon gave chase and found herself running up the stairs two steps at a time. When she reached the top, she ran off in Saito's direction, following the sound of his footsteps. It took her a couple of minutes but she eventually caught up with the armored mage. Saito was standing in front of a large wooden door and he only gave Levy a cursory look over his shoulder before opening the door.

"Wait!" Levy called out only for Saito to close the door behind him as he entered the room.

Levy gave out and irritated huff. What the hell was Saito up to? It wasn't like him to be acting like this. Deciding to continue her pursuit, Levy gripped the door handle and opened the door…only to quickly regret the action.

A sudden wave of intense heat cascaded over Levy's body causing her to cry out in surprise. She fell forward and the door closed behind her, locking as it did so. The heat quickly became unbearable and Levy pushed herself up onto her hands and knees in order to regain her balance. Looking up, Levy gasped in horror upon seeing that the room she was in was on fire!

The bookshelves lining the room were cast ablaze as flames from an unknown source danced up and down the shelves from the floor to the ceiling. The room was steadily being filled with thick, grey smoke and Levy found herself coughing when she accidently breathed it in. Squinting against the inferno, Levy looked around the fire in hopes of finding Saito and more importantly, a way out. She was soon rewarded for her efforts when she spotted Saito standing only a couple of feet away from her. He continued to stare at her with his penetrating red eyes but his form quickly changed when the tongue of a flame licked his skin and thus set his armor on fire. Levy wanted to cry out but knew she couldn't lest she choke on the smoke. Instead of reacting in terror, Saito let the flames dance across his armor and reduce it to ash as it lightly crumbled from his exposed skin. Saito now stood as he normally did but his countenance was now graced by a look of…what…regret and…sadness?

Saito slowly spun on his heel and began to walk away from Levy. The Solid Script Mage reached out her hand in a desperate pleading manner and managed to stand on her feet as she began to stumble after her son. Through the haze, flames and the disorientation that clouded her vision, Levy was able to follow Saito as he navigated his way through the fire. It wasn't long before he came to another door. Only this time he didn't bother to look behind him as he opened and closed the door as he entered the room before him. Levy stumbled to the door and tried to twist the handle, only to have it resist her grip.

It was as if something was blocking her from entering.

The smoke was becoming suffocating and Levy's eyes burned with tears as she began to cough violently. Using all of her might, Levy began to pound and kick on the door as she tried to force it open. She soon resorted to putting all of her wait into her left side as she body slammed the door.

"Open," Levy said with gritted teeth, "open!"

SLAM

"Damn it, open!"

SLAM

"I…SAID…OPEN!"

The third attempt did the trick and Levy found herself sprawled out on the floor as she crashed through the door before it suddenly slammed shut behind her. But Levy didn't care though, she was out of that forsaken room.

Levy didn't attempt to move and opted to lay on the cool, featureless black floor. She took in deep and ragged breathes as she reveled in the fresh air that graced her lungs.

After an unknown amount of time, Levy rose to her knees and leaned forward slightly as she took in her new surroundings.

"Now where am I?" Levy glumly asked no one in particular.

The door that she had come through had vanished and she was surrounded on all sides by a jet black void. The only light seemed to be provided by an incandescent red glow that illuminated herself and the floor she sat on.

…And Saito was nowhere to be seen.

"Saito?" Levy called out.

No answer.

"Saito!?" Levy called out again with a desperate urgency.

Still no response.

…Drip

Levy was about to call out again when she felt something warm and wet land on her right hand. Looking at her hand, Levy's brow furrowed in confusion as she used her left hand to rub the substance of her right. Smearing the dark red liquid around her index and middle fingers with her thumb, it took Levy a second to realize the liquid she was touching was…

"Blood?" Levy whispered in fear as her pupils shrank while her eyes widened in fear. Her blood cooled to the point that it felt as if liquid mercury was passing through her veins.

Drip

Drip

Drip

Levy felt more drops of liquid land on her exposed skin and clothes. Levy began to hyperventilate in panic as she watched the drops of blood pool on her skin and stain her clothes. Before she knew it, blood was slowly dripping all around her. It wasn't like the steady pattern of rain but it was enough to make Levy go into a full on fear driven panic. A sensation to look up slowly pervaded her senses and Levy found herself slowly looking up towards the ceiling, if what was above her passed for one anyway.

As much as she tried to resist, Levy couldn't stop herself from doing so. As her head slowly rose, Levy swallowed hard and dreaded whatever she was about to see.

When her wide, fear filled brown eyes finally gazed upon the ceiling and realized what she was looking at…Levy screamed at the top of her lungs in pure terror.

XXXX

Levy bolted awake as she continued to scream, her arm reaching out and trying to grasp at the image still burned into her minds eye.

"NO!" Levy wailed, "NOOOO!"

Gajeel, along with Pantherlily, had awoken minutes earlier to her once muffled whimpers and cries. The larger mage was upon his mate in an instant.

"Levy!" Gajeel said as the smaller mage flailed against him, "Levy stop it!"

Gajeel grabbed Levy's shoulders and gave her a solid shake. This action seemed to snap Levy out of her dream induced terror and she stared with wide, tear stained eyes at Gajeel.

"Levy," Gajeel said calmly, "it's alright…your awake now…it's over."

Levy blinked before she suddenly burst into tears once more and buried herself into Gajeel's chest. The iron mage gently ran his fingers through Levy's hair as he let her cry against his bare skin.

"G-g-gajeel…y-you a-an-and S-s-saito…you two were…were…" Levy managed to maon before sobbing once more.

Gajeel held Levy closer. Whatever she had been dreaming of, it had obviously traumatized her. The fact that he hadn't been in the dream with her made Gajeel feel a pang of anger. He hadn't been there for her…he had failed to protect his mate from whatever frightened her.

"That must have been one hell of a nightmare." Lily said as he gently gave Levy a comforting pat on her back.

Gajeel glared slightly at the cat before siting Levy back up.

"It's alright now," Gajeel said as he looked Levy dead in the eyes, "I'm here now…you're awake."

Levy sniffed and whimpered slightly as she framed Gajeel's face with her shaking hands.

"It…it was so real…I saw you…and Saito...both of you were…"

Before Levy could continue, the glass of the windows and the floor shook slightly as a loud explosion echoed throughout their floor of the castle. Whatever had caused it was either loud or powerful enough that she heard the others in their adjacent rooms begin to stir.

The two mages and one cat were instantly out of bed and at the small balcony outside of their room. Looking to the source of the explosion, the trio saw half of the windows of the atrium two floors down suddenly shatter as another explosion echoed out. A more violent shake of the building quickly followed.

This explosion, however, had been accompanied by an animalistic roar that was laden with pure, unbridled fury.

Both Gajeel, Levy and Lily instantly recognized the sound.

It was Saito's roar.

…And he was in a full-blown rage.

XXXX

30 minutes earlier…

The sound of boots pounding on marble flooring echoed throughout the hallway as Saito Redfox and Igneel Dragneel ran down the winding turns back to rooms where their guild was staying. The two didn't care if they woke anyone up or pissed off the royal guards. Compared to what Igneel had just told him, Saito reasoned that those things were of little to no consequence given the situation.

Making a hard right turn, the two teens nearly slid awkwardly on the polished floor before quickly righting themselves with their momentum.

"Bro, are you absolutely sure about what you saw!?" Saito yelled out to Igneel who had now taken the lead.

"I know exactly what I saw Saito!" Igneel yelled, not bothering to look over his shoulder, "Shadows don't move of their own accord like that!"

The two mages performed a power slide on the floor as they made a left at a new hallway.

"It's her, she's really here,"Igneel said, "And she's not alone."

Saito felt his Dragon Skin unconsciously form to his body. His anger was beginning to spike and it only served to amplify his power.

"Who's with her?" Saito asked as his armor finished molding to his body.

"Shriek and Wraith." Igneel said with suppressed anger as they finally found the area of their designated lodgings. The walk that had taken Igneel an hour to complete had been covered in a matter of minutes.

Hearing those two names, Saito let out a deep growl/hiss that could only be described as a very pissed off crocodile. His eyes glowed a fiery red as the runes on his body flared to life.

"Wake my sister and Sam, I'll get Jenny and Senna. Don't wake Chiara, I don't want her anywhere near us when we intercept the bitch and her friends."

Saito nodded and made his way to the end of the hallway before stopping at the second to last door. Pounding his fist on the doorway to the point that it might splinter in on itself, the door opened to reveal a groggy and disheveled looking Sam; courtesy of him and Lilly having a…well, saying they had an enjoyable romp in the sack would be the tame way of putting things. The ice mage wore only a pair of boxer shorts around his hips.

"Dude, do you have any idea what time it is?" Sam asked as he rubbed his eyes with his hands. Lilly was soon behind him as she wiped the sleep from her eyes. A silk robe was clutched close to her body with her free hand.

"Yeah," Lilly said as she tried to stifle a yawn, "what gives?"

It was then that the two mages noticed Saito's appearance and they slowly perked up.

"Dude…what's wrong?" Sam asked.

"She's here." Saito said.

Sam and Lilly instantly froze hearing the tone in which Saito spoke.

"You…you mean?" Lilly asked as her brow slowly kneaded in anger. Sam's hands had begun to shake.

"And she's not alone; Shriek and Wraith are with her." Saito said as he watched his two friends become positively livid.

"Where?" Sam hissed.

"Don't know but Igneel does. Get dressed and triple time it out here, we don't have much time." Saito said. Sam and Lilly didn't respond as they closed their door and quickly threw on some spare clothes. They emerged minutes later with Sam having buckled up his cargo pants and his boots on his feet. He didn't bother throwing a shirt on. Lilly wore her black elbow length undershirt along with her short skirt and combat boots.

The three mages soon met up with the rest of their group who were waiting for them at the opposite end of the hallway. Senna had summoned her armor and was in full battle mode with her sword unsheathed and held tightly in her right hand; her anger and bloodlust radiated off of her. Jenny had forgone her poncho and skirt but wore her casual attire which consisted of a black, high collared sleeveless top, a pair of grey, baggy cargo shorts and her laced up sandals.

Everyone was assembled.

"Where is she?" Lilly hissed as she cracked her knuckles.

"Two floors below us," Igneel said in a hushed tone not wanting to wake anyone else, "they should be heading right for the grand staircase. No one is on that floor so that means we don't have to hold back." Igneel said.

"Are you sure that's wise?" Jenny asked, "I'm all for gutting those three like fish but won't we cause a lot of damage if we engage them?"

Igneel gave the water mage an understanding nod but his firm look still held.

"We need to take every advantage we can get if we want to mop the floor with them. Fighting indoors, though hazardous, will separate them. If you can get them outside or somewhere less crowded, fine; but let me make myself clear: those three die here, tonight." Igneel said as he pointed at the floor with each word to emphasize his point.

Igneel did not receive any protest. The others wanted this just as much as he did.

"Here's how this is going to go; Jenny you take Shriek. Senna, you handle Wraith. Saito, Sam, you two are backing me and Lilly up after we summon Knight. We grind these guys down until we ain't got nothing left to punch; clear?" Igneel asked.

"Clear." The others said in unison.

"This is what we've come all this way for guys," Igneel said as he looked each of his friends and his sister in the eyes, "let's do this."

The mages turned on their heels.

"Ani-san…Ane-san…what's going on?" A tiny voice asked.

The mages spun around to find Chiara in her night dress and teddy bear held close as she stood outside Gray and Juvia's room. The little girl let out a long yawn as she wiped her eyes.

"Shit." Igneel whispered under his breathe.

"Must've knocked too hard." Saito grumbled.

Jenny was before her little sister in an instant. Placing her hands on Chiara's shoulders, Jenny's voice was firm and even.

"Chiara, I want you to go back in the room and stay there with mommy and daddy until your brother and I come back; understand?"

"What?" Chiara could only ask in slight worry. She hadn't seen her big sister this serious in a long time.

"Do you understand?" Jenny asked a little more firmly.

Chiara swallowed hard and nodded in response. Jenny's features softened seeing her sister's fear and confusion.

"Sammy and I have to go stop some bad people from doing some very bad things. We'll be back, don't worry." Jenny said with a small reassuring smile.

"Promise?" Chiara asked and received a kiss on her forehead from her sister.

"I promise." Jenny said as she stood and rejoined her group.

As soon as they heard the door close behind Chiara, the young mages set off at an adrenaline fuelled run as Igneel led the way.

They had a score to settle.

XXXX

Aya Higurashi, flanked by Wraith to her right and Shriek to her left, walked with a steady but confident gait as she and her cohorts entered the atrium that led to the grand stair case, which in turn led to the rest of the upper floors of the castle. The space itself was impressive, Aya thought nonchalantly as she took in the atrium. Each floor had a space like this where the wide and winding hallways came together in a space that could almost be considered a small ball room.

"I have to hand it to the royals, they certainly spare no expense when it comes to decorating their castles…either that or someone is overcompensating for something." Shriek said.

"It's a shame really…" The Dark mage added.

Tossing her hair over her shoulder, Aya smirked in a manner that gave off a hint of arrogance.

"I agree. The royals should enjoy what time they have left. Once we have find the key, this place will be nothing but a distant memory." Aya said.

Her words in turn caused her to think back to Wraith's plan.

It was simple really, as Wraith had put it.

The armored mage had surmised that now the "Master Key" was in the possession of Fairy Tail, it wouldn't be long before they figured out its purpose. That in turn meant that someone had to be watching over the key; the thing was too valuable to be left alone. Seeing as how the direct approach had failed to work for Thorn and Talon, Wraith proposed a more clandestine tactic…that would rely on force if necessary. The Fairy Tail mages couldn't be attacked on their own turf so it would be in the groups best interest if they struck at a time where they were all separated from one another. Luckily for them, Wraith had caught wind of the Magic Appreciation Festival.

And that was when they would strike.

When the others voiced their objections to this, Wraith wasn't surprised.

The Festival would bring some of the most powerful guilds from across the land together in one area. Their group was composed of powerful mages but each member knew when to back down from a fight.

Wraith had a solution to this problem, however.

The first night of the Festival involved a large welcoming ball for all the mages. That meant food, alcohol and plenty of fun. Wraith deduced that after a night of hard partying and drinking, all the mages would be tired or inebriated and would have let their guard down. Besides, they were in the heart of Crocus itself and were protected by the Kings elite gaurds. What could possibly go wrong?

And that was when they would strike. The mages would be so far into their comfort zones that they wouldn't suspect an attack. All a small team would have to do is bypass the gaurds, sneak into the rooms that housed the members of Fairy Tail and… "subtly question" them for the location of the Master Key. And if they had to slaughter the whole Guild in order to find the magic relic; so be it.

The plan was brilliant, Aya had to admit.

Now it was time to put it into motion. Having had their asses handed to them last time they encountered Fairy Tail, Aya had made it clear that Thorn and Talon would not be accompanying her and the males on this night. The two had wanted to protest but knew better than to go against their leader.

"The gaurds are completely unaware of our presence," Wraith said, "The element of surprise is ours."

Aya nodded.

"If what we learned is true, then those meddlesome mages should be somewhere two floors above us." The leader of the dark mages said.

"Remind me again why we're two floors down." Shriek said.

"On our way up, I sensed someone was on the balcony to that floor. If we had gone in through that way we would have drawn unwanted attention to ourselves." Aya said.

"Who's to say we didn't?" Shriek asked as he crossed his arms.

Aya rolled her eyes.

"Shriek, get real. Even though I lingered behind, it was only momentarily. If anyone saw us, they would merely cast it off as a trick of the light or that their sleep addled minds were playing tricks on them. If that person had seen us, they would have to be very skilled or lucky."

The trio were soon approaching the stairs and Aya paused as she looked over her shoulder at Wraith and Shriek with a dark, confident smirk.

"Believe me when I say this; no one is going to stop us tonight."

"And that is where you're wrong." A voice suddenly called out.

A sudden wave of magical energy and killing intent swept over the dark mages, causing them to stop in their tracks.

Aya's head turned forward in time to see a group of mages calmly walk down the winding steps of the stair case before stopping at a small landing that allowed them look down on the trio.

"Dead wrong, in fact." Said the voice which now belonged to a young mage who stood in the center of his group. It was obvious that he was the leader of his team.

And he, along with the rest of his group, were glaring daggers at the Dark Mages.

Aya instantly took stock of the group before her. Three boys and three girls; each with varying levels of power. These were gifted individuals.

Recovering from her surprise, Aya fixed Igneel with an annoyed look.

"And whom might you be?" Aya asked.

"Our names are not important." Igneel said.

"You just need to know what we look like when we send you on the express elevator to hell." Lilly said as she cracked her knuckles one at a time. The air around her began to waver from the heat radiating off her body.

Aya fixed Lilly with an annoyed glance before focusing her attention to the others. That's when she saw Saito, standing in his dragon skin as a low growl emanated from deep within his chest.

"Dragon skin…" Aya thought in surprise, "just like Thorn. So this must mean these mage's are…"

"They're Fairy Tail." Wraith said, voicing his master's thoughts, as he drew his sword from its back strap sheath.

"How observant of you." Senna said in a sarcastic manner.

Aya smirked once more.

"So, you must be the mages who took down Deathwing and held off Thorn and Talon; small world wouldn't you agree?"

"Not small enough." Sam said through gritted teeth.

"Relax now, we're not here to fight," Aya said in a mocking tone, "but if you want one we'd be happy to oblige." Aya said as darkness began to form around her hands.

"You see, we have reason to believe that one of your guild mates has something that I want and if you don't get out of our way, we'll be forced to resort to drastic measures."

Igneel smirked as he reached his hand beneath his shirt. He then pulled out a piece of chord that hung around his neck…and dangling from the necklace chord was an old stone key.

"You mean this?" Igneel said as he dangled the Master Key in front of him, his voice dripping with contempt.

Aya's facial reaction changed from shock, to greed and finally to a dark, malice laden smile.

"Well now…isn't this a surprise." Aya said as she licked her lips. Shriek cracked his neck while Wraith stepped forward.

"To think that you just saved us all the trouble of having to look for that key, I must say I'm flattered." Aya said, her eye's never leaving the key.

"Cut the crap, we know why you're here." Jenny said.

"Indeed we do…Aya Higurashi." Igneel spat out.

Aya's eyes grew wide as dinner plates.

"How...how do you know my name!?"

Igneel gave a dark smirk of his own.

"Oh, let's just say that you and I have a…shared history."

"How can we when I don't even know who you are?" Aya hissed.

"That's right," Igneel said as he tucked the key away, "you don't…at least, not yet anyway."

"What are you talking about?" Aya asked.

"I fail to see why we should tell her anything," Saito said, "considering we're talking to a bunch of dead men walking."

"No arguments here." Lilly said.

A tense silence formed between the mages.

"Listen…I'm only going to say this once and only once; give. Me. That. Key." Aya said through clenched teeth.

"The only way you're getting that relic is if you pry it from my cold dead hands." Igneel retorted.

"That can be arranged." Aya said as she glowered at the Light Caster.

"Likewise," Igneel said before instantly snapping into a fighting stance, "Ladies!"

With those words, Jenny and Senna sprang into action.

"Water Force: Blast Wave!" Jenny yelled as she swiped her hand back as she ran down the stairs. A large amount of water quickly appeared behind Jenny before it rushed forward with intense speed. Before Shriek had a chance to react, the dark mage found himself hurled across the atrium as the water slammed into his body. While Shriek slid across the polished floor on his back, Jenny gave chase. Quickly catching up to her target, Jenny summoned a water whip which she lashed around Shriek's left ankle before she tossed him down the hallway to her left.

At the same time, Senna had equipped her Heaven Armor in combination with her father's magic technique, Meteor. Her already increased speed was doubled and Wraith barely had time to react before the blade of Senna's katana clashed with his Claymore. The force of the impact drove Wraith back across the room. Although he held his stance, the soles of Wraith's boots screeched across the floor. With a forceful shove, Senna pushed Wraith further back before leaping forward and delivering a fierce roundhouse punch that sent the dark armored mage careening down the right side hallway.

Aya, having been caught off guard by this sudden turn of events barely had time to react herself as a shadow quickly surrounded her. Looking up before quickly back flipping, Aya let out a string of audible curses as Saito landed where Aya had previously been standing; his fist shattering the marble beneath his knuckles while he landed in a crouched stance. Saito raised his head and growled at Aya via a series of audible clicks.

"My turn; Shadow Magic: Shadow Beam!" Aya yelled as she extended her right hand. The dark magic which shimmered around her hand turned a deep shade of purple before flying forward with an audible screech.

Saito raised and crossed his arms in an "X" shape as the dark energy beam hit him. The blast took out a chunk of the stairway and caused the floor to shake. Aya backed away using the smoke created by her attack to afford her some cover as she raised her hand for another attack.

Two figures suddenly leapt out of the smoke and rushed Aya.

One was Saito as he ran in low with his fingers forming razor sharp blades as they dug into the floor. His armored skin had a light trace of smoke clinging to it from the attack but he was otherwise unaffected by Aya's magic.

The second was Sam who had leapt into the air as his ice gauntlets formed around his hands.

"Ice Make: Death Scythe!" Sam yelled as said weapon formed in his hands. Sam brought the scythe high above his head and flung his body forward.

Aya countered the attack by turning her body into a living shadow just in time for Sam's weapon to harmlessly pass through her. Sidestepping as Sam landed, Aya delivered a powerful left cross to Sam's face which knocked him back a few feet. She was forced to cartwheel to her right however when Saito chose to strike as he charged her at full speed. Although Aya was able to dodge the attack, Saito's bladed fingers tore through her cape.

Coming to a stop as she righted herself, Aya silently thanked her agility for once again saving her skin as she unclipped her cape and let it drop to the floor. She was now clad in her unbuttoned, long-sleeved white button down shirt which revealed her black leather corset and her skin tight black pants and knee high leather boots.

Aya blew a stray strand of hair out of her face as Saito charged her once more. Ducking down as Saito slashed his hands at her, Aya swept her foot across Saito's legs and knocked him off balance. Before the armored mage could hit the ground, Aya formed a small ball of Shadow Magic in her hand and thrust it forward. The sphere connected with Saito's jaw and with a compressed blast of energy and a small shockwave, Saito was sent flying backwards into the nearby wall and subsequently crashed through it.

Aya turned her attention back to Sam who was pushing himself off the ground. Readying another small sphere, Aya was in the process of tossing it when she was once again caught off guard; this time by Lilly.

The fire mage had charged down the stairs right as Saito had been hit. Summersaulting forward, Lilly's legs sprang out from her as she delivered a powerful, flatfooted gut kick to Aya's stomach. Letting out a pained and surprised choke of air, Aya was knocked onto her back as she slid across the floor.

Lilly, now on her feet, arched her back as she inhaled a large quantity of air and brought her hands together before her face.

"Fire Dragon's Roar!" Lilly said as the jet of superheated fire spewed forth from her mouth.

The jet of flame engulfed Aya before letting off a small explosion, which caused the chandelier on the ceiling to rattle violently while the large, glass paned windows of the atrium began to crack.

The fire quickly settled down as Lilly glared at the large scorch mark on the floor.

"That was too easy." Lilly said.

Out of the blackest part of the scorch mark, Aya rematerialized having made herself into a shadow once again.

"Is that the best you can do?" Aya asked as she pulled a stray lock of hair behind her ear.

Lilly simply made a dark smirk before chuckling slightly.

"What's so funny?" Aya asked.

"Forgetting someone are we?" Lilly asked in a false whimsical tone.

"Light Magic: Multi-point Burst Attack!" Igneel said from his spot on the stairs.

Igneel had raised both his arms with his fingers extended as points of light glowed on the tips. From his fingers, beams of light raced forth and steadily increased in size as they did so. Bypassing Lilly, the beams struck the floor and shattered the marble into large chunks as Aya back flipped, dodged and weaved her way around the attacks. The last beam of light made a zigzag pattern before sharply curving at Aya. However, the attack was deflected as Aya formed a sword made from hardened shadow in her hands.

Igneel leapt from his perch, performed a midair flip and landed next to his sister as Aya held her blade in a horizontal grip. Igneel's eyes squinted at Aya in annoyance and he grumbled some choice words under his breath.

"The bitch is more skilled than we give her credit for." Lilly said.

Igneel didn't respond as he glanced over his shoulder back to Sam and Saito.

"You okay?" Igneel asked Sam.

Sam had fully risen and had reformed his ice gauntlets as he cracked his neck.

"Yeah, yeah, just a bruised ego that's all." Sam grumbled in anger as he walked up to Igneel and Lilly.

"How about you Saito; you feeling alright?" Igneel called out to the armored mage.

Saito had since recovered from his attack and had pulled himself out of his hole in the wall. Emerging from the ruble, Saito pointed a sharpened and accusing finger at Aya.

"I will be when I rip her fucking heart out!"

"I'll take that as a yes." Igneel said as he turned back to Aya.

"I think it's time we brought this to a close. Jenny and Senna are currently mopping the floor with your friends so I think it's time we returned the courtesy." Igneel said as he removed his sterling silver key form his belt pouch while Lilly removed her blue diamond key from her necklace.

The siblings extended their arms and reconnected their shared Celestial Spirit Key.

"Open gate of the Celestial Paladin!" the brother and sister said in unison.

An intricate circle of runes appeared before the two siblings as a figure began to materialize in it. There was a brief flash of light but when it faded, before the two mages stood a man in heavy armor.

Knight had been summoned. (A/N: See Chapter 5 for details.)

"What is thy bidding my masters?" The Celestial Warrior asked in his calm and composed voice.

It took only a few seconds for Knight to take in his surroundings before he took note of Aya standing a few feet away across from the group.

"Ah…I see," Knight said as his voice took a slight edge to it, "How very interesting…the mistress of the shadows has finally graced us with her presence."

Knight's grip on his sword caused his knuckles to audibly crack from the strain he was putting on the grip.

"How very interesting indeed." Knight said as he pointed his broadsword at Aya.

"I have long dreamt of this day Shadow Mage…now I want to savor it as I end the pathetic excuse you call your life; I want to savor it as I purge you from existence."

Aya let out an irritated huff of annoyance.

"Great, another one," Aya said as she eyed the celestial spirit with caution, "once again, you claim to know me but I still don't know who any of you are."

"Need I remind you; dead men walking?" Saito said as he rejoined his group.

"Your overconfidence blinds you. I am not someone you should take lightly." Aya said in a threating tone.

"Considering you're outnumbered and outmatched, I don't think you're one to talk." Lilly said.

A knowing smile formed on Aya's lips as she slowly and deliberately her shadow sword.

"Outmatched I may be," Aya suddenly raised her sword high, "but who said I was outnumbered!?"

The shadow mage plunged her sword into the floor. The blade easily passed through the marble but rather than crack, the floor almost seemed like it was bleeding as tendrils of shadow seeped out from the sword.

The mages knew what was coming and slowly worked their way back from Aya.

"Shadow Magic: Dark Army." Aya said as the tendrils widened into a spiral pattern. From the tendrils, numerous amounts of hands reached towards the ceiling before falling to the ground and pulling upwards. What emerged were human shaped and sized creatures that were black as the night itself. They were gaunt and featureless and they slouched forward slightly.

"Mannequins!" Igneel yelled as he formed two hard light swords in his hands.

The atrium was steadily filling with the creatures who were aptly named for their appearance. If Igneel had to guess, there were now at least a hundred or more of the things in the cavern like space.

Aya smirked as she extended her hand forward and pointed at the mages.

"Where's your overconfidence now!?" Aya called out in sadistic glee, "Attack! Do whatever needs to be done to kill those mages!"

The mannequins did as they were told and with surprising speed, charged the small group of mages as their hands formed into various forms of bladed weaponry. The young ages of Fairy Tail braced for the attack and when the living shadows were close enough, they lashed out.

Knight was the first to strike as he used his shield to smack away to mannequins while cutting another one down the middle with his sword. The three mannequins instantly shattered like they were made of glass.

Saito had strengthened the armor around his hands and forearm's and had delivered a series of punishing jabs and blows that shattered his selected targets on impact. Sam had similar results when he used his "Ice Make: Battle Axe" spell to cleave the heads off a small cluster of mannequins in a single swipe.

"For Mavis's sake, how many of these fucking things are there!?" Lilly raged as she used her Fire Dragon's Iron Fist attack to lay the beat down on a series of mannequins who got a little too close.

"You know how these things work," Igneel said as he spliced a mannequin in two, "we cut them down until there's nothing left of 'em."

Igneel ducked under the swipe of a mannequins arm and swept the legs out from underneath the thing. Caving its head in and subsequently shattering the shadow proxy, Igneel brought his dual swords together and increased the flow of magic into the combined weapon.

"Light Magic: Piercing Light!" A charged beam of energy erupted from the blade and cut through most of the ranks of the mannequins. It was through this newly created opening that Igneel saw Aya flee down a nearby hallway. Apparently, it had been at that point that she decided to make her exit.

"She's making a break for it!" Igneel yelled out in anger, "Lilly, your with me; we're going after her!"

"Right!" Lilly said as she quickly went to her brother's side.

"Fire Dragon's Crushing Fang!" Lilly said and used the attack to widen the gap Igneel had made. The siblings dashed through the mannequin horde before they could close ranks again.

"Saito, Sam, stay here and hold these things off; we'll handle Higurashi!" Igneel called out from over his shoulder.

"Consider it done!" Knight said as he curb stomped a mannequin into the floor.

"Go get her boss, make her pay!" Sam called out as he stood back to back with Saito as the two fended off the mannequins.

"Sam if you die, I'll bring you back from the dead and make you regret it!" Lilly called out to her mate with one last fleeting glance as she and Igneel disappeared down the hallway in pursuit of Aya.

Sam smirked when he heard his girlfriend say those words.

"Y'know, I'm more afraid of her than I am of these guys." Sam yelled over the chaos as he turned his Axe into his ice sword.

"And rightfully so." Saito added.

"Concentrate boys, don't let them swarm you." Knight said as he parried a mannequins strike before sending it flying with a powerful kick.

The two mages and the celestial spirit quickly began to make headway as they whittled down the small army of mannequins. They thought they were beginning to gain the upper hand…until something happened they weren't expecting.

As if answering and unheard call, the mannequins backed away from the trio and into small clusters. What followed was something mesmerizing as it was shocking. The mannequins suddenly began to melt down back into shadow before merging into a series of amorphous blobs. The blobs then quickly absorbed each other into a single mass before it began to solidify. What had been created was best described as a giant.

A mannequin which stood well above both Sam, Saito and Knight, let out a low groan as it slowly flexed its hulking frame. The thing rippled with shadow muscle thanks to it now possessing the combined strength of all the mannequins that had merged together.

"Bruiser!" Sam yelled out just as the new monstrosity raised its foot and brought it down on the floor. The floor where the foot made contact caved in on itself as the floor shook with earthquake grade force as a powerful shockwave sent Sam and Saito careening backwards. Knight had managed to hold his ground when he kneeled down and plunged his sword into the damaged floor; his strength holding him in place.

The chandelier attached to the ceiling fell from its mount due to the explosive force that rattled the entire atrium and most of the building. It was the same force that had caught Gajeel and Levy's attention on the other side of the castle.

The Bruiser subsequently caught the fallen chandelier and deftly hurled it at Saito. The armored mage had quickly regained his footing and had charged forward towards the giant. The chandelier crashed into Saito but the mage was un-phased by the attack as the glass and crystal simply shattered on impact with the boy. Saito leapt forward and with a roar of pure, animalistic fury, used his Seismic Slam spell on the floor and directed it at the Bruiser…causing the second explosion that alerted those who were starting to become aware of the fighting.

XXXX

Now…

Jenny Fullbuster had always been seen as a calm and polite young woman with the biggest heart and a smile that could brighten up a room.

Many knew her as a healer, someone who helped save life and not take it.

On this night, however, if those people saw her, they would see that Jenny was the complete opposite of those assumptions.

Jenny, although she was never fond of admitting it, could hold her own in a fight. So much so that many would call her vicious or terrifying.

Because if push came to shove, Jenny wouldn't just shove…she would kick, punch and, as her current situation dictated; kill.

"For the love of the gods would you stand still and just die already!" Shriek yelled as he held out his hands while magic seals, styled like a subwoofer's, and his headphones glowed a brilliant light purple.

With a high pitched scream the seals let out a visibly concussive blast of sound that shredded anything in its path while the glass windows that lined the hallway shattered from the sound pressure. Jenny used her water magic to push herself out of the way and after rebounding off the nearby wall, delivered a fierce kick with her shin that Shriek was barely able to block with his forearm.

Shriek, having finally been able to counter Jenny's murderous onslaught after freeing his leg from her water whip, found himself doing something he wasn't used to; playing defense.

Shriek, as his name suggested, specialized in Dark Sound Magic. It was magic he had used to rupture eardrums, cause people to drown in their own blood and break both body and mind.

This girl however, this Fair Tail mage, was something else though.

She knew how to fight him.

When Shriek had first used his first counter attack, a close range sonic blast, he had expected Jenny cry out in pain as her left eardrum exploded in a rush of blood. That had not been the case. Instead, Jenny and spun on her heel before delivering a full on round house punch square to Shrieks face that would make even Gajeel do a double take.

"Surprised that your little noise didn't rupture my eardrum?" Jenny had asked in mock concern even though she retained her glowering expression.

"Surprised that I'm not screaming and stumbling?"

Jenny gave a smug, uncharacteristic smirk.

"Here's your answer." Jenny said as water began to emerge from her ears and pool around the pieces of soft cartilage before taking the shape of, ironically, a pair of headphones that mirrored shrieks.

"I created these things to protect my ears. It is true that sound can travel fast under water…it's just depends on how dense the water is that's all."

Shriek had wiped the blood from his cheekbone before tossing his sunglasses away; glaring at the water mage as he did so.

"Stealing my look…not cool, not cool at all."

Shriek quickly slammed his palms flat on the floor.

"Take this; Sound Magic: Earthquake Pulse!" Shriek said as he pumped sound into the floor causing it to visibly rise up and push forward in a wave like motion.

"Water Body." Jenny said calmly.

The rising mass of the floor snapped against Jenny with enough force that the bones in her legs would have shattered on impact. Instead, her entire body seemed to disappear in a splash of water before leaking into the newly created cracks in the floor.

Shocked by this turn of events, Shriek slowly began to back away from his current spot, his eyes and hands nervously scanning for Jenny.

"Damn it, this isn't right! I'm the one who should be doing the ass kicking, not the other way around." Shriek mentally berated himself.

And all the while, he did not see the small pool of water forming beneath him as it followed step by step. When the water had accumulated enough, Jenny's hand silently slipped out of the water. With her long and slender index finger, Jenny daintily tapped Shriek's left foot.

"The hell?" Shriek said aloud as he looked down. It was a mistake he would come to regret…for as soon as he looked down to the puddle that had spread beneath him, Jenny's hand along with her arm and shoulder snapped out and punched Shriek smack dab in the nose.

CRUNCH!

"Mmmmmmppphhhhhh!" Shriek yelled out as his hand muffled his mouth while he clutched his now broken nose, stumbling back as he did so.

Jenny wasn't finished however.

The puddle surged forward and before Shriek could react, her right leg burst from the water as her foot snapped upwards with all the force she could muster…and delivered a punishing kick right between Shriek's legs, lifting him up off the floor by a fraction of an inch.

The dark mage's hands instantly flew from his nose and to his crotch as he gripped the sensitive organs in white hot pain. His knees caved inwards slightly as a silent, pain laden scream squeaked from Shrieks agape mouth. His eyes threated to pop out of their sockets.

Time for the coup de grace.

Jenny let her body reform before Shriek as the sound mage looked at Jenny with wide, surprised eyes. His body shook in a mixture of pain and anger.

"Lady…what is wrong with you!?" Shriek said in hoarse voice, "That's…not…something you do!"

Jenny smirked with a slight "hmph" coming from the back of her throat.

"Tell someone who cares; Water Punch."

And with that, Jenny used her magic infused punch to send Shriek flying end over end down the hallway and crashing through the doors at the end before tumbling down a set of stairs.

When he came to a stop, Shriek found himself lying on his face. After a solid minute of not moving, Shriek slowly rolled over onto his back before sitting up. Snapping his nose back into place, wincing as he did so, the sound mage came to a stark realization.

He wasn't going to simply kill Jenny anymore.

Oh no, that simply wouldn't do. Killing her was far too simple; too easy.

No, after what she had just put him through, Shriek wanted to make her suffer. He wanted to make her scream as her ruptured her eardrums and internal organs with his magic. He wanted to break her bones with the concussive force of sound. He wanted to vibrate the blood in her veins until she popped like a red mist filled balloon.

To put it simply…he wanted her eviscerated.

"Had enough?" A voice asked.

Shriek looked up to see Jenny standing at the top of the stairs, arms crossed under her chest.

"Ready to accept your fate and let me kill you?" Jenny asked in a tone that dripped with suppressed anger as she walked down the steps and over to Shriek.

Shriek stood up as his hands shook in visible anger while he inhaled deeply through his nose.

"On the contraire; I should say the same for you!" Shriek yelled as his hands flew up, palms extended.

"Dark sound magic: Sonic Hell-storm!"

A massive pressure blast of ear splitting sound flew forth from Shrieks hands with the force of a Category F5 tornado. The continuous blast of sound wailed against Jenny as the floor tiles behind her were ripped out of the concrete and blown away or simply crumbled. The castle exterior behind her behind began to crack or break as the force of the sound smashed against it. Shriek lowered his hands and stopped the attack, not waiting for the dust to settle.

"You like music, listen to this; Sound Magic: Blast Riff!" Shriek said as the purple energy formed in his hands before taking the shape of a stylized electric guitar.

He then pointed the guitar at where he knew Jenny was standing as his fingers moved across the fret board while his other hand strummed the chords. A series of high pitched notes came forth from the instrument and subsequently blasted the area in front of Shriek to pieces; each blasting mortar, concrete and carved stone to smithereens.

Dispersing the magic weapon/instrument, Shriek smirked beneath his mask as he fanned some dust away from his face.

"Now she's dead." Shriek said.

However, as the dust cleared Shriek was met with a sight that made all of the blood drain from his face.

Standing in the exact same spot as she had been was Jenny. Her arms were held up, forearms facing Shriek as an elongated wall of water fell to the ground.

"You missed." Jenny said simply. Although her clothes were ripped in a couple of places, she was otherwise still in one piece.

"…How?" Shriek whispered.

"Water Shield." Was all Jenny said.

"Those were two of my strongest spells…what the hell are you!?" Shriek yelled as he took a step away from Jenny.

"I let you have your fun, now it's my turn." Jenny said as she raised her hands to her sides.

"What the hell are you?" Shriek asked.

"Someone who wants to punish you for your sins." Jenny said, "For a dark mage, I have to admit, I thought you'd put up more of a fight." Jenny said as she slowly closed her fingers together in a claw like manner.

A dull rumbling could soon be heard as the floor began to shake slightly.

"You are in my killzone." Jenny said, making Shriek to bling in confusion before taking stock of his surroundings.

He knew he was outside, but as to where, he wasn't sure. It was an open space with benches evenly spaced out allow a good view of the city and the surrounding area. But what caught Shriek's attention most of all, were the numerous and ornately designed water fountains that decorated this part of the outside area.

The rumbling increased and realization dawned on Shriek.

"…Oh shit." Was all he said as Jenny's fingers closed into fists.

The floor shook and large metal pipes that supplied water to the fountains broke through the ground and burst water high into the air. The water then began to spiral around Jenny as her eyes began to glow a brilliant blue. The water soon took the shape of fierce and terrifying dragon that seemed to come to life right before his eyes.

Jenny then pointed a single finger at Shriek.

"Water Force: Dragon's Tempest!"

With those words, the mighty incarnation of a water dragon surged forward and engulfed Shriek, plowing him to and fro across the water garden. He was smashed into the castle exterior, the fountains and the floor before he was taken into the air. The water dragon let out a might roar before it slammed into and through the floor. The water soon dissipated and left Shriek a battered mess on the floor as the crater he lie in filled with water left over from the dragon. Pulling himself out, Shriek rose to his knees as he coughed the water out of his lungs. The thing had nearly drowned him.

Before he could stand, jenny dropped in through the hole. Unable to resist, Jenny kicked Shriek back into the now full water crater. Jenny didn't waist anytime in straddling Shrieks hips, wrapping her hands around his neck and pushing his head under water.

She would drown him.

She would end this; here and now.

Shriek flailed under the water as Jenny held him down in a white knuckled grip. Water bubbled just a few inches under the water.

Her brow was furrowed in intense anger while her lips had become nothing more than a thin line.

"Die." She hissed.

"Die…die…die…" Jenny repeated over and over again as Shriek grabbed her wrists in a vain effort to fight back. She could feel his grip begin to weaken.

Suddenly, just as Jenny felt that Shrieks life was about to expire, the sound mage became engulfed in a dark, winding shadow. Before Jenny could react, Shriek had disappeared.

"What!?" Jenny whispered in shock and recoiled as if she had been struck.

"No…" Jenny said as her voice picked up in anger.

"No…no…NO!" Jenny screamed.

XXXX

Meanwhile with Senna; exact same time…

With a fierce cry, metal clashed against metal as Senna's katana met Wraith's claymore.

Pushing back from each other, the two sword masters pivoted on their heels before facing each other; their swords held in horizontal stances.

"You are a worthy opponent, young lady. It has been a long time since I last fought someone of your caliber." Wraith said in his calmed tone.

He seemed to be taking the fact that he just had his ass handed to him pretty well, Senna mused.

"I could say the same for you." Senna said as she charged forward again.

Slashing forward, Wraith parried the attack but was backhanded by Senna's armored fist. The dark mage spun into the hit and swung his sword which Senna was able to dodge but her cheek was cut in the process.

Wiping her cut flesh, Senna looked at her fingers as she rubbed her thumb against the blood. She made a dark smile as she glared at Wraith.

"It's been a while since I've seen my own blood." Senna said.

Wraith spun his sword around his hand once but did not answer.

"It's getting a little cramped in here wouldn't you agree?" Senna said as he armor began to glow, "Let's take this outside. Reequip; Black Wing Armor!"

The armor changed into a slightly altered version of Erza's signature black armor. The wings flared out against her back, Senna burst forward with such speed that Wraith was unable to counter the attack. Her palm slammed onto Wraith's face mask before latching onto the armor. Within seconds, Senna had burst through a nearby window as she soared into the air. With Wraith still in hand, Senna flew alongside the building before smashing the side of Wraiths head against the castle exterior. This went on for several seconds before Senna increased her speed and altitude. Flying to the upper levels of the castle, Senna tossed Wraith to the ground below as he landed into a small outdoor garden.

The armored mage bounced off the ground once before rolling to a stop.

"Ouch." The dark mage said in a strained tone as he pushed himself up…just in time to block Senna's Moon Flash attack.

Bracing his free hand flat against the blade of his sword while holding it in a vertical stance, the armored mage bore the brunt of the attack. Although he was far from taken down, most of the armor that covered his arms had been blasted off thus revealing the bodysuit that lay beneath. Senna came to a hovering stop as she looked down on Wraith.

"I have to say that I'm impressed; not many people can survive my Moon Flash attack, let alone stand on their own two feet after it."

Wraith cracked his next.

"I'm not most people." The swordsman retorted.

"…So I see." Senna said with a narrowed gaze as she watched a black ichor drip from a deep slash on Wraith's left shoulder and down his arm.

If the armored mage was affected by this, he made no indication of it.

Senna flew back down and reequipped her Heaven Armor just before touching the ground.

"Circle Sword!" Senna said as a ring of swords appeared around her body before spinning at great speed. She then slashed her katana forward, launching the attack.

As the swords spun at Wraith, the mage countered with a spell of his own.

"Deep Slash!" Wraith said as his sword glowed a vibrant white before swiping the blade forward.

An arc of magical energy flew at the Circle Sword spell and when the two connected, the combined energy forced the two spells to detonate on impact with a tremendous blast. From the smoke, having seized the initiative, Senna ran in low to the ground, ducked underneath a swipe from Wraith and delivered a fierce kick to Wraith's jaw. The mage flew back, losing his sword as he did so.

Senna leapt forward, Sword held high and brought it down on Wraith. Her attack was blocked however when Wraith snapped his hand open and used a quick burst of telekinesis to retrieve his blade. Sword instantly in hand, the mage countered Senna's strike.

Both sword users began to grunt slightly in exertion as Senna pressed her blade down against Wraith's. For a lithe girl, she had incredible strength.

Wraith used his free hand to slap the open palm on the ground, causing a series of sword blades to spike forth from the ground. Senna barley dodged the attack. With Senna off guard, Wraith front flipped forwards and punched Senna square in the face, knocking her on her back.

Wraith charged but jumped up when Senna tried to swipe his legs out from under him. Senna had a counter for this, however. When Wraith landed half a second later, Senna rolled on her back slightly before laughing her legs forward, nailing Wraith in the chest.

Knocked back once again, Senna decided it was time to end her little fight and kill one of the people who had caused her so much pain.

Reequipping her Black Wing Armor, Senna took to the sky once more, this time ascending to greater height. Once she felt she had reached the correct point in the air, Senna made her wings slow her ascent before turning forward ever so slowly. Her maneuver completed, Senna's wings flapped once and propelled her back down to the castle as she quickly picked up speed. Just when she was halfway down from reaching Wraith, Senna made her move.

"Black Wing Armor Special Ability: Meteor Strike!" Senna yelled as she infused her armor magic with that of Jellal's Meteor spell. Her body coursed with the Heavenly Body Magic as he wings snapped back one last time. With a small shockwave and a sonic boom, Senna had propelled herself with blinding speed with her fist extended outward. She was far too fast for Wraith to block or evade.

Senna's fist met with Wraith's face and the two crashed through not only the floor of the garden but straight on through three other floors of the castle directly below them. When the dust settled, Senna rose from the crater she had created and stumbled back slightly to see her handiwork. The room they had landed in was trash and luckily, no one had been present.

The sound of a deep groan caught Senna's attention and looked down to see Wraith in a crumpled heap. The black ichor from before leaked from beneath his armor from where it had crumpled in on various places.

Senna stepped forward and leveled her blade at Wraith's neck.

"What the hell are you?" Senna asked in disgust.

Wraith didn't answer for a minute before a pained, sucking gasp escaped his lips.

"I...am…my…m-master's…s-servant." Wraith said.

"N-nothing…more…nothing…l-less."

"So you're a puppet, basically." Senna stated rather than questioned.

Wraith shook his head slightly.

"I am…what I am...I can't…c-change that." Wraith responded.

Senna drew her sword back as she glared down at the armored dark mage.

"To be honest, I really don't care what you are; you'll just be a corpse beneath my boots in a second."

A dark, winding shadow suddenly engulfed Wraith and he began to fade from Senna's sight.

"My master beckons me." Wraith said in a tone that could almost be described as relieved.

Senna instantly recognized what was happening. A shadow teleportation spell was taking Wraith away.

"NO!" Senna screamed as she thrust her blade forward…

"We'll meet again." Wraith said.

…and struck the floor with a metallic "clang."

Wraith, had disappeared.

Senna mechanically pulled her blade from the floor as her hands clenched and shook in anger. Senna lowered her head as hot tears streamed from her eyes as her lip too, started to quiver. Senna suddenly threw her head back and let out an unadulterated scream of anguish. Expelling all the air from her lungs with her scream, Senna inhaled deeply but raggedly when her throat and lungs began to burn. Sinking to her knees in distraught sadness, Senna buried her face into her hands and openly wept.

XXXX

Back to Sam, Saito and Knight…

Levy ran down the hallways as she used the sounds of battle as her guide. Gajeel, along with most of the other mages who had been awakened from the fighting, followed suite.

"What in the hell is that boy doing!?" Gildarts called out to Levy as the mass of mages rounded a corner. They were getting close by the sound of it.

"I don't know but Saito's in trouble and he needs help!" Levy said. Although still clad in her night gown, Levy wasn't concerned about modesty at the moment. Her son was in trouble and needed help. That's all that mattered.

It didn't help that when the rest of the adults had awoken, little Chiara, who was currently in Juvia's arms, said that the other kids had gone off to fight the "really bad people."

Just what the hell had they gotten themselves into this time?

The mages soon arrived at the grand stair case…and saw Saito once again get hurled into a nearby wall.

"DAMN IT, AGAIN!?" The dragon skin user hollered out from his hollow in the wall.

"Flank it! Flank it!" Knight called out to Sam as he rolled out of the way.

"Sorry but I'm more concerned about not getting my fucking head punched off!"

"Shut up and just do something!" Knight said as he brought his shield to bear. The Bruiser brought its fist down onto the celestial strengthened steel and Knight found his feet sinking into the marble from the impact. Had he not had his shield, that attack would have sent him back to the Celestial Spirit World.

Sam took the opportunity to strike.

Using his Ice Impact Hammer, Sam slammed it into the Bruisers head. The weapon shattered to pieces but it was enough to knock the thing away from Knight.

"What the hell is that!?" Natsu called out, catching Sam and Knight's attention.

"Damn it!" Knight said aloud while Sam let loose a string of curses.

"What are you guys doing here? It's not safe!" Sam said just as the Bruiser returned its attention back to the duo.

"Aw shit, just stay back and let us fight this damn thing." Sam said as he reformed his ice gauntlets.

A blur of motion caught his, and everyone else's, attention as Saito charged out from his hole in the wall. With a roar of fury, Saito leapt high and punched the Bruiser in the head causing it to take a knee. The force behind the impact had been so great that even with his armor and enhanced healing factor, Saito's arm still broke from the punch.

But he ignored the pain, his adrenaline and fury helped him block it.

Saito delivered a double spin kick that caused the Bruiser to slide back slightly, but it was enough for Sam and Knight to strike. With a precision strike, Sam, now equipped with his Cold Excalibur, and Knight used their blades to cut the Bruisers arms clean off at the shoulders. The two appendages shattered like glass when they hit the floor.

Quickly recovering from this latest attack, Knight and Saito charged forward. Body slamming and pushing with all of their might, the two warriors forced the massive shadow mannequin back and careening out one of the broken windows. The two watched the Bruiser plummet to a lower level before it landed on a stone terrace.

"Sam, lock it down!" Saito said.

"Got it!" The ice user replied.

Leaning out the window, Sam placed his hands on the castle exterior before a long stream of ice raced down the side of the building and met the Bruiser, quickly sealing it in ice.

"Stand back." Saito said as his eyes turned from red to bright white.

Cracks formed in his armor near his eyes with a similar white light emanating from the cracks. A high pitched wail could be heard as Saito's eyes glowed with further intensity. Saito leaned forward and a concentrated beam of energy fired from his eyes and raced down at the pile of ice below. As soon as the beam hit, the ice and the Bruiser it held, were vaporized in a massive explosion that echoed out into the night.

All that was left was a smoking crater.

Saito let out a deep and tired sigh as he let his eye's return to normal and his armor disappear back into his body. His arm had healed by then.

"What…what was that?" A voice asked.

Saito recognized it as Erza's. Saito turned his head over his shoulder as he flexed his wrist.

"Dragon Skin Special Attack: Optical Laser." Saito replied simply.

"I can see that," the red head replied in an annoyed tone, "I was talking about that creature."

Saito looked at Sam and Knight. Sam had a grim look on his face while the Celestial Spirit slowly shook his head.

"It's…it's none of your concern." Saito said.

"None of our conce-…SAITO NOT THIS BULLSHIT AGAIN!?" Gajeel raged.

Saito let out an irritated groan and palmed his forehead.

"Here we go." He muttered.

"We just raced here after being awoken in the middle of night to sound of fighting. And what do we find? You boys and the others at the center of it!" Master Makarov said in obvious anger.

"Saito, half of the castle has been damaged by this fight," Levy said in a pleading tone, "we ran here as fast as we could to help you and we find all of this. Please; just tell us what is going on!"

"…I cannot." Saito said as he turned away from his mother. He couldn't meet her gaze.

Saito began to walk away down an adjacent hallway.

"Oh no you don't." Gajeel growled as he stormed off after Saito.

"You get back here and explain what the fuck is going on right this instant."

Saito ignored his father.

"Look at me when I talk to you." Gajeel yelled as he grabbed Saito's shoulder, spun him around, and was punched square in the jaw by Saito's fist.

"Gajeel!" Levy cried out and ran to her mate's side.

Gajeel tasted copper in his mouth and wiped his hand across his lip. He was bleeding.

The two mates looked at their son in shock. What they saw in turn made them pause.

Saito stood rigid as he looked at his father with wide, terrified eyes…the same eyes Igneel had when he had his forceful confrontations with Natsu. His shoulders and hands began to shake and Saito slowly looked at his right hand…his knuckles stained with Gajeel's blood.

"I…I…didn't…" Saito began to say but his voice quickly died on his lips. With a pained expression on his face, Saito spun around and darted down the hallway.

"Saito, wait!" Levy called out.

"Don't." A voice said.

Levy and Gajeel turned to see Knight approach them.

"He needs his space. Let him be unless you want something worse to happen." The Celestial Spirit said.

"Define worse." A low, feminine voice said.

Everyone turned to see Jenny and Senna walk out of another hallway.

Sam was at the two women's side in an instant.

"Did you get them? Are they dead!?" Sam asked the two mages.

Senna lowered her head and bit her lip. Jenny raised her head and met her brother's eyes with her tear rimmed ones. Their expressions told Sam all he needed to know.

"Sammy...he…he…" Jenny whimpered, her normal calm and relaxed tone now gone.

Sam's expression was unreadable. All he could do was numbly pull his sister into a weak hug and let her cry on his shoulder.

Knight pinched the bridge of his nose/mask and let out deep, sad sigh.

"Our enemies have eluded us once again…this is getting rather tiresome." The Celestial Warrior said.

"They'll be back." Another voice said.

Everyone turned around to Igneel and Lilly walk into the atrium and back to their group.

"And we'll just have to try harder next time make sure they never get so much as a chance to breathe." Igneel said before looking at Knight.

"Knight…you can go now, we're done here." Igneel said.

The Celestial Paladin gave a solemn nod.

"As you wish." He said before disappearing in a large mote of light.

"I take it the bitch got away." Senna said.

Igneel and Lilly simply nodded to Senna's statement.

"Shit." The swordswoman said under her breathe.

XXXX

Minutes earlier; exactly during Senna and Jenny's fights…

"Fire Dragon's Brilliant Flame!" Lilly said as she brought her flame engulfed hands together as the ground behind the retreating form of Aya Higurashi exploded.

The dark mage let out a cry of surprise as she found herself knocked forward by the blast but somehow managed to jeep her legs running.

They were practically on top of her; the attacks were getting too close!

Aya spun around and fired a beam of shadow at her pursuers only to have it deflected when Igneel created a hard light shield.

Igneel returned the attack with equal ferocity as he fired a beam of light from his hand that suddenly split in two. The energy attack moved too quickly for Aya to counter and she was subsequently and coincidently blasted outside via a nearby window and onto a large outside patio. Aya rolled on the ground for few seconds before coming to a stop. With shaking hands, Aya grunted in exertion as she pushed herself up from the concrete and spat out a wad of blood.

She then felt someone forcefully kick her in the ribs and looked up to see Lilly standing over her and glowering. Her nostrils flared and smoke literally rose from the two holes.

Lilly then forcefully picked Aya up but her throat before tossing her away.

"Never underestimate you…weren't those your words?" Igneel asked as he hopped down from the broken window.

Aya wiped her mouth and glared at Igneel but she didn't answer.

"For someone who's caused so much trouble, you are very disappointing to the point that it's almost pitiful." Igneel continued as he stepped next to his sister.

"Though I do wonder; how does it feel to be the one receiving the pain instead of the other way around?"

"Go to hell." Aya hissed.

"You first." Lilly countered.

"Give it up Higurashi it's over. You're finished." Igneel said.

"Make your peace." Lilly said as she formed her fire around her hands while Igneel charged two orbs of light in his.

The brother and sister raised their hands and fired their attacks. Lilly's was a large jet of flame while Igneel combined the orbs in his hands together and fired a concentrated beam of light. The two attacks struck Aya and vaporized her in an instant. But there was something wrong about this whole situation, Igneel and Lilly immediately noticed…and their suspicion/alarm had been triggered when Aya let out a sound of shattering glass.

When the dust settled, the two were treated to the sight of a large scorch mark that had blasted half of the patio railing to bits…and the disintegrating pieces of a shadow mannequin.

"What!?" Igneel and Lilly said in unison.

"I have to hand it to you two…you're the first people to ever to knock me down this bad." A voice said.

The two mages turned to face a part of the patio that was further away…and saw a living and breathing Aya Higurashi.

"How?" Lilly whispered.

Aya gave Lilly a sharp glare.

"When I crashed through that window, I briefly passed through the shadow of the castle. It was still long enough for me to make a mannequin to take my place."

Aya straightened her stance before three slim objects formed in her hand out of a shimmer of shadow.

"If you were able to hit me this bad…I think the same has become of my compatriots." Aya said as the objects in her hand began to shimmer once more.

Igneel squinted as he tried to recognize what Aya was holding. When he finally made out what the objects were…it was too late.

"Shadow Teleportation Cards!" Igneel yelled out in a mixture of surprise and fear.

Before either of the Dragneel siblings could react, Aya had already begun to fade away.

"Mark my words boy, when we meet again, our roles will be reversed."

Aya gave a final glare at the two Fairy Tail mages.

"And I will have that key." Aya whispered before she vanished into shadow.

And just like that, she was gone.

The brother and sister stood stock still for a moment as they processed what had just happened.

"She did not just do that...she did not just pull that stunt." Lilly said in shock.

Igneel lowered his head as his hands began to shake.

"No…" Igneel said through gritted teeth.

"No."

"That didn't happen, that didn't' happen!" Lilly said as her voice began to steadily rise.

The fires of anger coursed through both their veins.

They had been so close; so damn close they could taste it!

But their chance had slipped away.

It was too much for the siblings to handle and they found themselves screaming in protest, anger and sorrow as they tossed their heads back and cursed Aya Higurashi's name.

XXXX

Now…

"What happens now?" Jenny said as she wiped her tears from her eyes.

"I…I don't know." Igneel said after a long and hesitant pause. His tone had taken a defeated air to it.

"Alright, that's it!" Natsu suddenly raged as he stormed forward forth from the crowd of assembled mages.

"I've been patient with you guys for long enough; especially you Igneel!" Natsu said as he pointed a finger at Igneel, "We want answers and we want them now; you know something and we demand an explanation!"

"That makes two of us." A new voice said.

With a large contingent of guards behind him, Captain Tenembaum entered the atrium.

"You have a lot of explaining to do young man. You'll be accompanying me for questioning." Tenembaum said.

"Wait just a damn minute!" Natsu snarled, "Who says you can just take him off and start grilling him for questioning!? We've been kept in the dark about something our kids know and they sure as hell ain't telling us jack shit. We're more entitled to an explanation than you are!" Natsu said letting his temper get the best of him.

"Natsu…" Lucy said as she gently placed her hands on her mate's shoulders.

The effect was instantaneous. The vein throbbing in Natsu's forehead disappeared and he slowly began to settle down.

"…Sorry." Was all Natsu was able to mutter.

"I can understand what you're saying, I really do. But our security protocol dictates that Igneel Dragneel be questioned on the damage he and his comrades cause to the castle and how the intruders bypassed our security."

Tenembaum then looked at a solemn Igneel.

"Son, if you would follow me please." Tenembaum said calmly.

Igneel lowered his hands in his pockets, lowered his head and walked over to Tenembaum without protest.

As Igneel was led away, Laxus kneeled down next to Makarov as he began to speak in a hushed tone.

"This is getting out of hand gramps; something is seriously wrong with those kids."

Makarov nodded before letting out a sigh.

"As much as I hate to admit it, I must agree with you Laxus. There is something those children have been hiding from us for far too long and I do believe that it's time we settled this once and for all."

Makarov then looked at his grandson.

"As soon as we get back to the Guild, we're going to demand an explanation from them. If they refuse to answer our questions then we'll persist until they finally crack."

Makarov then looked over to the retreating form of Igneel.

"It's time they stopped dodging the issue and come clean with us."

XXXX

Hours later; early morning…

After three hours of being questioned by Tenembaum, Igneel had been released. He had given short and cryptic answers to Tenembaum's questions and for some of them he didn't even respond at all. Seeing as how he wasn't going to get any more information and taking into account that Igneel and the others had helped fend off the intruders, Tenembaum released Igneel back to Fairy Tail.

The Captain then had the task of addressing the mages about the current situation. Having briefed the King and Arcadios on the events that had transpired and what little information he got from Igneel, the King had issued the flowing statement to all of the present mages:

"Due to the events of this early morning, it is with deep regret that I must postpone the Magic Appreciation Festival. This decision has been cast due to the fact that three, yet to be identified, dark mages entered the castle with the intent to cause great harm to one of the present Guilds. For security purposes and the safety of others I ask that you return to your respective Guilds. You will be compensated for your return and will be notified as to when the festivities will recommence. Also, in regards to safety, certain areas of the castle were damaged in the fighting. To avoid potential hazards, those areas have been sealed off for repairs and we do not want to run the risk of injury or further structural damage. We apologize, but this must be done…thank you for your time."

The mages of Fairy Tail once again found themselves on a train heading back to Magnolia Town; with tension thick in the air.

The kids sat in a separate train car, excluding Chiara. They wanted to be left alone…as was the usual case when they were confronted with something they weren't ready to accept.

They ran away and hid, for all intents and purposes.

There were a few mages who were miffed by the fact that the festival had been canceled but most of the animosity stemmed from the fact that once again, the kids were hiding something of great importance from everyone in the Guild. They had engaged in an all-out brawl with mages they apparently knew and had made every effort to kill with extreme prejudice.

They went from finally being ready to open up to not only their parents but the rest of the guild, to tight lipped and throwing up a wall of silence.

Combined with the recent event in East Gate and the fact that kids routinely dodged questions about their pasts; it all had to boil over at some point.

…Which happened to be now.

Enough was enough.

It was time for answers.

It was late in the morning by the time the mages returned to their Guild.

The tension that was present on the train followed over into the Guild hall. Another hour had passed but neither kids nor the mages made a move. Instead, everyone sat in silence, not wanting to dare speak up.

Igneel sat alone at the bar as he poured himself another glass of Whiskey before quickly downing the burning liquid. He paused for a moment and then set about repeating the process for the third time in a row.

Saito and Senna leaned against two of the main support beams ti the building with their backs turned to the others.

Jenny sat alone at a table with her eyes hidden behind her hand as she silently leaned against the wooden table top.

Most surprising of all was that Sam and Lilly were smoking. As in the actual inhaling of cigarette smoke.

Lilly had procured a pack of the cancer sticks from who knows where and as soon as she had sat down, she lit one up. Sam soon followed and had held out his own cig' for Lilly to light with a snap of her fingers. Lucy and Gray were not pleased in the least…but made no move to speak up.

The silence, in upon itself, had become torturous.

Makarov knew someone needed to speak up sooner or later so he took it upon himself to fill that role.

Sighing as he stood up, the aging Master of Fairy Tail made his way over to Igneel; the boy with all the secrets.

"Igneel." Makarov said, his voice catching everyone's attention.

Igneel made no move to acknowledge Makarov. He simply took another generous sip of his drink.

"Igneel, we need to talk."

"…About what?" The young mage said in return.

"You know exactly what." Makarov replied.

Igneel took another sip of his drink.

"I have no idea what you're talking about; leave me alone." Igneel replied.

The sound of someone slamming their hands onto a table made Makarov, along with everyone else, flinch as Natsu stormed up to the bar. He then proceeded to spin his son around in his seat so he was facing him before swatting Igneel's glass from his hand. The glass crystal shattered into jagged pieces as its amber contents spilled across the floor.

Igneel slowly closed his now free hand into a fist before rising off his seat. He now stood nose to nose with his father; their emerald green eyes starring each other down.

Sam and Lilly extinguished their smokes and moved to break up the fight but were stopped when Igneel held out his hand.

"You got a problem?" Igneel asked bitterly.

"You're damn right I do," Natsu hissed, "my problem is with you!"

Natsu grabbed his son by the collar of his shirt.

"You've been dodging the issue for far too long Igneel! Enough is enough; we want answers and we want them now!"

"It's my business and my business alone; back off!" Igneel said only for Natsu to toss over his shoulder and onto the floor.

There was a unanimous gasp of shock. Natsu had always been known to have a short fuse when it came to his temper but for him to attack his own son; it was terrifying.

"Girls, go play in the other room. You don't need to see this." Bisca said as she guided both Asuka and Chiara into the waiting room. Before the door to the room closed, Chiara let out a small whimper of fear as she watched Igneel rise to his feet, his eyes taking on a slight glow of severe anger. She hadn't seen Igneel this angry in a long time…and she always got scarred when he did.

Igneel, now back on his feet, cracked his neck and held out his hand once again to stop his friends from intervening.

"You just couldn't mind your own damn business, could you dad?" Igneel hissed.

"Your business became mine when you attacked me after that nightmare you had on the first night." Natsu countered.

Igneel's eyes snapped wide as another gasp of shock broke out amongst the Guild.

"I thought I told you not to talk about that?" Igneel said as the vein in his neck began to throb painfully.

"We're well past that point Igneel." Natsu said.

Igneel's nostrils flared.

"I have everything under control." Igneel said, his voice taking on a sharp edge.

"Under control? Under control!?" Natsu raged.

"Igneel, you just ripped the Royal Palace a new one and went toe to toe with a group of people we don't even know! How is that under control!?" Natsu said in anger and exasperation.

"Because it's our business." Igneel retorted.

"In the name of Mavis, stop turning this around!" Natsu hollered.

"I agree," Makarov said jumping back into the conversation, "things have gotten completely out of hand with you and the others, and it's time for you to come clean."

"Stay out of this old man!" Igneel snapped.

"I will not," Makarov answered in defiance, "you are a member or Fairy Tail. You are part of our family and that means your problem is also our problem. We have a right to know what in the hell is going on Igneel and we can't help you if you if you don't tell us what's going on."

"I don't need your help; I don't need any damn help!"

"Yes you do!" Lucy said in a pleading tone as she went up to Natsu and linked her hand with his.

"You're in pain Igneel; I can see that. But you bottling up your emotions and running away from your problems is killing you…my heart breaks every time I see you like this."

Lucy's eyes began to tear up.

"I want to help you…please…just let us in."

Igneel backed away from Makarov and his parents. A look they couldn't place formed on his face.

"Why…" Igneel said as he shook slightly, "why do you all have to be so damn stubborn?"

"Because you are our son." Natsu said.

"You are our son and as your parents we have every right to know about what's tearing your soul apart."

"You're not ready for anything." Igneel hissed.

"Igneel…I'm only going to ask you this again; what are you hiding?" Natsu said undeterred. He would get an answer out of his son, even if it meant him having to bully him a little.

"It's not your fight, stay out of it." Igneel replied.

"That's not good enough; what are you hiding!?"

"Stay out!"

"Still not good enough; what are you hiding!?

"I said stay out!"

"What are you hiding!?"

Their voices began to rise. It wouldn't be long before-

"I SAID STAY OUT!" Igneel roared, his face coloring red in anger and his veins throbbed against his temples.

"NO!"

"BACK. OFF!"

"NEVER!"

"FUCKING DAMN IT DAD, WHEN I SAY BACK OFF, I MEAN IT!"

"NOT UNTIL YOU GIVE US WHAT WE WANT FROM YOU!"

Igneel's body began to shake as the air around the father and son began to thicken. Something was about to happen.

"WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME!?"

"WE WANT THE TRUTH!"

"THE TRUTH? YOU WANT THE TRUTH; FINE!" Igneel screamed as he slammed his fist onto a nearby table, shattering it two as he did so.

"YOU WANT THE TRUTH!? I'LL TELL YOU THE FUCKING TRUTH!" Igneel continued in his anger.

"THE REASON WHY LILLY, SAM, JENNY, CHIARA, SENNA, SAITO, AND I ARE ALL HERE IN THE PAST IS BECAUSE YOU ARE DEAD!"

Igneel took in a shaking, short breathe.

"YOU ARE ALL DEAD!"

XXXX

A/N: And there it is everyone. The secret that has been ever so elusive but hinted at is finally revealed. At long last, everything in the story so far has led up to this point. Some of you were able to guess as to what was going on and the rest of you I was able to keep in the dark. But, you can put your speculation aside now for the truth is going to hit full throttle.

Good God all mighty, this took me way longer that I had hoped but I got this done and out. 37 Pages people! 37! That's a brand new record for my writing and for this story.

Like I said before, I'm sorry about the delay but it had to happen sooner or later. Things are getting busy on my end since I only have one more month of college classes left. I expect things to get pretty hectic once finals role around. But, that won't be until the end of April and the start of May, so I should have some time here and there to update. Just be patient with me as you always have done thus far.

From here on out, things will start to change for our favorite mages…and not in the good way.

Next Time; CHAPTER 17: The Truth

As per usual, if you guys have any comments or questions (which I expect a lot of for this chapter), please put it in your review and I'll make sure to respond to you in the next chapter.

Until next time; read, review and most importantly of all, HAPPY READING!