Business and response to reviews:
The reason Zeref is not becoming an option is because of how far the poll has progressed. It would be unfair to the voters to add new options each time a new man makes an appearance. To make it fair the entire poll would have to be deleted and remade, which would be unfair to the voters who have voted so far. Responding specifically to Lucy Heartfilia, I am unclear on what you mean by a second part. This story does not have a sequel, if that is what you mean. The continuation of that chapter will be in one or two weeks from now.
DISCLAIMER: FAIRY TAIL BELONGS TO HIRO MASHIMA
Chapter 25: Entrance of Evil
"Evergreen, take a sharp left into those bushes!" Elfman ordered.
"Shut up! Don't you dare order me around! I was planning on doing that anyway!" Evergreen twisted on her heel and dove into a dense mass of bushes. Elfman shortly followed. The beast that had been pursuing them could not stop due to its momentum and continued to charge forward. Once the forest was quiet, except for a few rustling leaves and chirping birds, Elfman and Evergreen got out of the bushes they dove into.
"Good riddance it's gone, why did you provoke it into chasing us, anyway?" Evergreen accused Elfman with an inquiring tone.
Elfman immediately began to defend himself. "I didn't cause it to chase us, it was just hungry!"
Evergreen rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Is that why when we first saw it you screamed at it about how it was manly? That's enough to provoke me!"
"Then that's your problem! You're not manly!" Elfman countered.
While they were bickering, they hadn't noticed that they walked into a clearing where a man clad in a black robe and toga stood. The man seemed mildly surprised to see them. He took a step back.
Elfman first noticed the movement made near him and Evergreen and looked towards the source of disturbance. When Elfman looked away from her and stopped speaking to her, Evergreen looked in the same direction that Elfman was. They both deemed the man in the black robe and toga as mysterious.
"Who are you?! Tenrou Island is now being used for the S-class exams of Fairy Tail and I'm sure that you are not a part of it!" Evergreen shouted.
The man before them muttered something which neither Evergreen nor Elfman could hear.
"Speak up and be a man about what you want to say!" Elfman shouted.
Magical energy rose around the man, and this caused Elfman and Evergreen to think that he was going to attack them. The man shouted with a note of desperation in his voice, "Get away from me!" Elfman and Evergreen were surprised by what he said, but knew it was too late to get away when a black sphere engulfed the man and dexterously spread over the surrounding grass and trees. As soon as it hit a tree or a patch of grass it would wither away. The edge of the black sphere glided over to Elfman and Evergreen, but they felt frozen as they witnessed the effects of the dark magic.
As the sphere was about to engulf them, a flash of pink appeared and tackled into the sides of Elfman and Evergreen; pushing them both out of the way. The sphere then vanished, revealing the man in the black robes and toga once again.
"Natsu!" Elfman and Evergreen both yelled as Natsu stood up.
Natsu whirled around to face the man in the black robes, all the while shouting, "Oi, who do ya think ya are and what are ya doing!?" The enraged expression on Natsu's face melted into confusion when he saw tears streaming down the sides of the man's face.
"Natsu… It really is you," the man said quietly.
"H-how do you know my name?" Natsu asked, getting even more perplexed.
"Careful, Natsu! You might have done something to him in the past to make him angry!" Happy called out from his hiding spot in the bushes.
Natsu called back, "What could I have done to him?" Elfman, Evergreen, and Happy all stared at him silently with blank expressions etched onto their faces. "W-what? All I've ever done to people is beat them up, or burn down their towns, or run away when they tried to make me pay for the damage I've done…" Natsu finally realized what he was saying. Elfman, Evergreen, and Happy sighed.
Natsu put on a sheepish grin and gave a nervous laugh before addressing the man in black robes, "Ehehe, so um… Sorry for whatever I did to ya. Is everything okay now?"
The man quietly responded, "I've finally found you."
The smile dropped from Natsu's face as he muttered to himself, "What's wrong with him?"
Suddenly, magic power rose around the man again. The man sorrowfully called out, "Not again, I can't control it! Natsu!" The black sphere formed and expanded again, but this time Natsu tried to match it with his Fire Dragon's Iron Fist, but his flames were instantly extinguished as he took the attack head on.
"Natsu!" Happy screamed, sure that Natsu would end up with the life sucked out of him just as the tree had experienced earlier. When the sphere vanished, everyone saw that Natsu was laying on the ground. He looked fine, except for that the scarf that Igneel had given him had turned black. Natsu moaned.
Slowly bringing himself into a sitting position, Natsu groaned, "What was that magic?" Then he caught sight of his scarf. "My scarf…! What did you do to it! Turn it back or I'll kill you!" Natsu growled furiously.
The man in black robes merely looked down at Natsu before even more misery filled his eyes. "You really can't. Why!? Why can't you kill me!? I've been waiting for so long, and yet… Why are you not capable yet?!" Now tears of frustration rolled down his face and held his head between his hands.
Natsu could only sit there in shock. "He wants me to kill him? Is he serious?" Natsu thought.
"She was right, you weren't ready. I don't know how much longer I can wait, but for now…" the man turned around and started to walk away.
"Wait, who's "she!?" And what are you planning to do now?!" Natsu lunged up to pursue after the mysterious man, but Elfman, Evergreen, and Happy held him back.
"Wait, Natsu, we don't know what he's capable of, but we do know he's dangerous! It's a miracle you survived!" Evergreen yelled while trying to hold him back.
"You could've died! Dying is not manly," Elfman stated.
"I don't want you to die, Natsu! He's out of your league!" Happy sobbed.
Hearing his nakamas protests, Natsu calmed down. He looked at his scarf with concern. "What to do, what to do… Aha!" Natsu took off his vest and turned it inside out. "Now it matches!" Natsu exclaimed in glee.
"That's what you were worried about?" Happy inquired in unbelief. Natsu flashed a smile at Happy and replied, "Of course!" Happy had no response to that.
Changing the subject, Elfman asked, "How did you know we were in trouble? Was it your manly instincts?"
Natsu looked at Elfman and answered, "I smelled something funny. I came to see what the strange scent was."
"So do you know who that guy is and why he is fixated on you?" Evergreen asked Natsu.
Natsu shook his head. "I can't remember if I've ever seen that guy before, although a part of his scent seemed to be slightly familiar."
"So what should we do about him?" Elfman asked.
"I think we should just continue with this exam. It'll be over in a few hours anyway and we have to find the grave," Evergreen commented haughtily.
"I don't know. I get a really bad feeling about that guy," Happy murmured.
"Don't worry, Happy. I'll be here to protect you, so let's finish what we started," Natsu reassured.
Hearing Natsu say that soothed Happy and so he responded, "Aye, sir!" Happy flew up from the ground to eye level with Natsu. Natsu gave him a high five.
Turning to face the pair of Elfman and Evergreen, Natsu said, "Well, see ya guys after I win this trial!" With that, Natsu ran off with Happy.
Once Natsu and Happy had disappeared from sight, Evergreen raised her fist and with a fire burning in her eyes, she shouted, "We can't lose to them, or to anyone else for that matter! Let's go, Elfman!"
"We'll win because of our manliness!" Elfman yelled, and with that the pair ran off in the opposite direction.
Meanwhile…
"We haven't been able to find anybody to fight! How could this be called a trial? It's so boring," Gajeel complained.
Levy sighed. "We're lucky we haven't had to face anybody so far. If we had we might've not been able to make it this far."
"What do you mean by that, shortie?" Gajeel asked.
"Well, my magic isn't really meant for fighting, so it would probably be a two against one battle if we had chosen one of the paths that required us to challenge another team."
"Are you saying I'm not strong enough to take on two opponents at once?" Gajeel asked, offended.
"I'm saying we would be at a disadvantage. What if we had to challenge Mirajane, Erza, or Gildarts. Do you think we could've won against them?"
Gajeel stopped walking and crossed his arms. "Tch, I'm sure I could've t least put up a good fight. I'd say our chances of winning against them are pretty good. You know what you lack? Self- confidence."
"Huh?" Levy did not expect for Gajeel to bring something like that up.
"You give up before you even try. That's why you're not very strong. I'm willing to bet we could've beaten either Natsu or Erza. It would've been amazing if we had run into either one of them."
Levy clenched her fists and muttered, "You only see them. You never look at me."
"Hm?"Gajeel looked down at her and smirked. "Well, how can I see someone so short?" He held his arm straight over Levy's head. "It's almost as if nobody is there! Maybe if you become stronger I'll see you!" As Gajeel started laughing, Levy grabs her purse and whacks it on Gajeel's head, causing him to fall forward slightly.
"Idiot Gajeel!" Levy exclaimed before running off out of his sights. Standing straight, Gajeel rubbed the back of his head where the purse had hit him and wondered, "Huh?"
Levy walked at a brisk pace while muttering under her breath, "I hate him. Gajeel is only a jerk." Levy stopped her muttering when she noticed that some shrubs near her were rustling. Levy stopped to see what it was. Suddenly, two figures darted out of the shrubs. Levy saw a thin line of silver approach her at lightning speed so she hurriedly took an unsteady step back in attempts to avoid it. Once it had passed, Levy felt her headband fall away as she fell onto the ground.
The figure dressed as a chicken clasps both of Levy's wrists in one hand and holds her down with his other hand. The other figure stood at the end of her legs and raised something above his head.
"A katana?" Levy thought. The man holding the katana smiled as he begun to swing it down. Seeing the thin line of silver approaching her caused Levy to scream and struggle with all her might, but she couldn't get free. While screaming, Levy thought, "I'm going to die." Levy shut her eyes and prepared for her end, but instead she heard the sound of metal hitting metal and felt the figure holding her down forcibly let go. Levy hesitantly opened her eyes to see Gajeel standing above her with one of his arms blocking the katana and the other outstretched as if he pushed away the figure that held her down.
Without looking at her, Gajeel muttered, "You're so small it's hard to look over you," Levy looked away in shame, "so you shouldn't leave my side." Levy looked back up at him and blushed. Gajeel forces the figure attacking him backwards and demands to know, "Who are you?"
Levy notices a symbol on the man armor and exclaims, "Gajeel, look at his armor! His guild symbol is there! He's from-"
"Grimoire Heart," Gajeel finished for her.
"Why would the strongest dark guild be here?" Levy asked herself. Why Levy pondered on that, Gajeel continued to face the mage with the katana, all the while being wary of the other one.
Directing his comment at Levy, Gajeel muttered, "There are accidents in every job, and this is especially true for S-class jobs. If we can't take care of these current hindrances, then we don't deserve to be S-class mages. That's the reason we're here, right?"
Levy nodded at his comment before shouting, "Even a dark guild should know better than to mess with Fairy Tail! Tell us what your intentions here are!"
With his katana, the mage began to write something in the air and just before he finished, he declared, "We are here to hunt some fairies."