There's no RoWen in this chapter, sorry! But it does have overprotective!Dragon Slayers, which I think everyone loves. I'm going to post chapter 25 within maybe 5 days. I really want the story to be finished and posted before I the end of May.
(also did anybody else read the fairy tail manga and cry bC OUR SWEET ANGEL WENDY KICKS FUCKING ASS)
I don't own Fairy Tail but I'm happy with it right now because Wendy has *spoilers* Dragon Force!
"What happened?" Freed asked, crouching down beside his comrades.
"I went to use the bathroom and I just found them like this," Levy answered, shaking slightly.
Hibiki's fingers reached down to check Ren's pulse. "Ren still alive, and I'm willing to bet that the others are too."
"Oi, Yuka," Lyon said, shaking the short man somewhat gently.
"Should we call for Chelia and Wendy?" inquired Levy, who had begun to calm down.
Hibiki shook his head. "It's late. We can't just have Wendy and Chelia come over and risk them getting attacked. Especially Wendy. She's been through enough as is."
"We'll just have Happy, Carla, and Pantherlily fly them over," Freed objected. "All three of them would rather die than let either of the girls get hurt."
Happy, Carla, and Lily, please pick up Chelia and Wendy and take them here to the school at once.
A moment later, Pantherlily replied.
Sure. But why?
No time to explain. Just bring them here as soon as possible.
"What the hell?!" exclaimed Evergreen's voice.
"Holy fucking shit," came Bickslow's voice as well.
"What happened, Freed?" asked Evergreen.
Freed stood up and walked to the busty woman. "We're trying to figure out. Where did you go?"
"We were out on the field doing our rounds when Bickslow thought he saw something. Then we heard you call us over so we came."
Freed turned to Bickslow. "You saw something? What?"
Said man in question scratched the back of his neck. "It was nothin'. It turned out to be a black snake slithering through the grass. Those are pretty common in the summer, so..."
"I don't get it," stated Hibiki. "My Archives shows that there is currently nobody in the vicinity but us. And since Evergreen-san and Bickslow-kun were outside patrolling, there's no possible way they could've managed to just escape like that."
Lyon's fingers stroked Sherry's hair gently. "That's not what's important here. We need to figure out what happened to them. Maybe if we know how they were attacked, Chelia and Wendy will know what specific spells to use. We have to be quick, too. Sherry's pregnant, and there's no telling what can happen."
"That's the most I've ever heard you speak, Lyon-kun," Hibiki teased. He smiled briefly, before returning to his serious mode. He pulled out a map of the school on his Archive, along with another map on where everyone was stationed. "Let's figure this out."
Levy stepped up. "Everyone was posted in different sections of the school, but only Evergreen and Bickslow were outside. Maybe the intruder slipped in when you two weren't looking."
Bickslow shook his head. "That's not possible. I had my babies posted at each entrance, plus Freed put up runes. No human could have gotten in."
"What if they were already inside?" offered Evergreen.
"That doesn't work either," Lyon said." Hibiki scanned for any magical presence before we even entered the room."
The pale haired man's eyes scanned the room, looking for some kind of hint as to what happened. Black eyes widened when they saw something thin and square under Yuka's left foot. Lyon picked it up.
"It's a Magic Card."
"Magic Card?" repeated Levy.
Freed spoke, "Wendy and Romeo were attacked by someone who uses Card Magic."
"So whoever attacked Wendy and Romeo is also the reason for this," Hibiki said. "Lyon-kun, please pass me the card. I would like to see if I can find anything on it."
Blue Pegasus' token pretty boy studied the card. It looked a bit simple compared to other Magic Cards. The card was completely a dark, murky shade of red, save for the black bird in the middle. He placed the object into a dock on his Archive, and began searching. As he did this, the others began to discuss.
"I wish Cana was up," Levy said. "Maybe she could tell us what spell could cause this."
"Given what happened to Wendy," Freed began, "it seems like a magic drainage spell."
"But Wendy managed to fight off the spell," Evergreen said. "And practically everyone here is a hell of a lot more powerful than a 13 year old. Not that Wendy doesn't have skill, of course."
"It was probably a lightning spell," replied Lyon. "Lightning Magic is extremely destructive, even for the weakest mage. Judging by the way the person left and entered so easily, it's safe to say that whoever is behind this has at least some skill."
"The magical trace on the cards say they're enough to knock out two people per card," Hibiki added in. His eyes widened in joy when the screen on his Archive read "MATCH FOUND" in bright green letters. "I got a ma—"
A giant puff of smoke appeared where his Archive had been. Hibiki coughed and stepped back.
"Wh-what happened, Hibiki-san?" asked Freed.
"M-my Archive exploded," answered Hibiki, wheezing slightly. He waited for the air to clear and restarted his Archive once more. "Damn it!"
"What is it?" Lyon inquired. His pale white hair was now littered with bits of gray soot, making his head look like a pepper shaker.
"The card was burned too! And right when I found a match!"
"That can't be a coincidence," Levy said.
Freed shook his head. "No, it's not. Hibiki-san, is there any way for someone to hack your Archive?"
Hibiki answered, "Yeah, if they were that skilled. But to people who use a magic like mine, it's as bad as someone breaking into your house."
"What in Mavis's name happened here?" Carla's shrill voice yelled. The white Exceed had finally arrived, carrying Wendy in her arms. Not to far behind her were her fellow Exceeds.
"Sorry, Freed," Pantherlily apologized. "Chelia was still at her friend's house."
"It's alright," replied Freed. "Wendy, could you please heal everyone here? If it's of any service, we're pretty sure they were attacked with a lightning spell via a magic card."
Wendy nodded. "I'll do my best!"
As Wendy healed the unconscious mages, Freed began informing them of what had recently occurred.
"This is getting more and more serious," Pantherlily said.
"I have a feeling that they will plan their attack on the children soon," Freed agreed. "I will inform Laxus of the procedures to better prepare the school."
"Hey, guys, I have a question," said Bickslow.
"What is it?"
"WHY THE HELL ARE YOU GUYS HERE?!" he exclaimed, pointing at Natsu, Gajeel, Sting, and Rogue, along with their respective cat partners. "We only called for Chelia and Wendy, damn it!"
"Salamander had a bitch fit and decided we had to go with the kid. We just met up with Ryos and Blonde Salamander on the way," Gajeel replied bluntly. He turned Levy and said with genuine concern, "Oi, Shrimp, are you okay?"
Levy blushed. "I'm fine. Thanks for cari—"
"I don't really care, but your two fanboys would whine at me if I didn't keep you safe."
He's almost as tsundere as Ren, thought Hibiki with slight amusement.
Blonde Salamander?! thought both Sting and Natsu. The former thought this with glee, while the latter thought this with disdain.
"We thought it'd be best if we came along as well, to protect Wendy," Rogue answered for himself and his partners.
"I see," Freed said. "Well, no matter, we'll just-"
Wendy's scream rang into their ears.
Before Freed could even blink, all four of the male Dragon Slayers were by her side, shoving the unconscious mages on the floor out of the way rather roughly. Natsu and Sting each had an arm wrapped around her, holding her with a gentleness that didn't fit either or them.
"What happened?" asked Gajeel with rare concern that was typically reserved for Levy or Lily.
Wendy's wide eyes stared at something on the floor. She brought up a shaking hand and pointed at a manila envelope.
Rogue moved Eve's shoulder and picked up the object. He opened it. His red eyes scanned it, before scowling at the contents with utter disgust. He glared at it one more time before handing it to his fellow Dragon Slayers.
The Lost Magic users looked at the envelope, and within moments, the aura of the room turned dark. The lights in the room flickered on and off, as if fighting between light and shadow. The metal pipes in the walls began to bulge out of place, and the temperature in the school peaked to an alarming high. [1]
Wendy was suddenly pulled in closer by the Dragon Slayers. Her tiny body was covered by their tall ones, and everyone else in the room lost sight of her.
Levy was the brave soul who went to retrieve the envelope from the tight bunch. She cautiously stepped over the mages sprawled on the floor.
"Forget about the envelope for now!" Evergreen yelled. "There are still people knocked out, damn it!"
"Don't even try, Ever," said Bickslow. "I don't think anyone could snap them out of that."
"I've never seen Sting-kun look more concerned," Lector said.
"Fro thinks so, too," agreed Frosch.
"It's a primal response that all Dragon Slayers have," Pantherlily replied, answering their unspoken question. "They have to protect, no matter what."
Levy handed Freed the manila folder. Everyone began to crowd around him, anxious to see its contents.
He first pulled out a sheet of white paper. On it were Wendy's statistics, such as height, weight, and magical power. A picture had also been attached, with a crudely drawn heart surrounding her face.
"What is she screaming for?" Evergreen scoffed. "It's just her medical records. Some creepy kid probably just found it and—"
"There's more," Lyon said, effectively shutting her up.
Freed stuck his hand in and pulled out a camera lacrima. He turned it on, and everyone realized just what had the Dragon Slayers so pissed off.
There were various shots of Wendy, seemingly taken without her knowledge. Many of them were of Wendy alone, but some had shots of Romeo and Wendy in them, walking together. The final one, however, was what had everyone seething. It was of Wendy in the public bath at Fairy Hills. Nothing was visible, thank Mavis, but Wendy's completely innocent expression showed that she had no clue a camera was there.
A grim silence fell upon them, of which Lyon decided to break.
"Someone's been stalking Wendy."
Freed nodded in grudging agreement. He placed the lacrima back into the folder and turned it over. An audible gasp was heard when the group read the message on the back.
Kill Wendy Marvell.
[1] Ok, so you know how like whenever Juvia's sad it starts to rain? I have this headcanon where the Dragon Slayers have something like that, but only with the most intense emotions.