I'M SO SORRY FOR THE LONG WAIT!

My cat became sick, so I put all of my attention on her, and then after a few weeks she died, and I was in like a giant state of depression after that.

I'm so sorry.

Also, WARNING this chapter has about two cuss words, and blood at the end.

I'm sorry, but I was reading the manga, and there IS blood in that, plus cursing.

I'm sorry about that, but this is a VERY intense and important chapter.

Please enjoy! ^^

Erza ran towards the shadowed man at the same moment he sent another blast of energy, but directed straight towards her. The 'light', though it was more like shadows, shot towards Erza at an intense speed, and before she could fully put her shield up once more, it made contact and grazed her right arm. She flinched in slight pain and grabbed that location, the man laughing maniacally.

"Erza!" Natsu exclaimed, looking towards the silhouette with pure hatred, "You're going to pay for hurting my friend!" he growled at the man as fire engulfed his fists. "FIRE DRAGON IRON FIST!" he exclaimed, leaping towards the darkened man.

The silhouette just chuckled, and thrust a hand out towards Natsu. Magic energy shot out from behind him and they all made contact with the Dragon-Slayer's chest, causing him to fall back towards the ground with a grunt. Seeing this seemed to cause everybody to nap out of their small dazes, and they all launched into battle, fighting off the dummies, or dolls, behind the man. Each doll was easy to defeat, but every time one was knocked out, another just took its place. Gray tried to solve that problem by freezing multiple opponents at once, but his efforts were almost useless as more and more charged towards shim. Distracted by the enemies in front of him, he failed to notice the group of dummies coming up behind him. Just as he froze the group in front of him, he turned around quickly, but could do nothing as magical energy was heading straight for him. He brought his arms up for protection and braced for impact, but a flash of light shot in front of him, and the dolls crumpled to dust. He looked over to see Aurea, her hand in a knife position and surrounded with light, her eyes narrowed at the pile of dust and slightly panting; she had seen Gray's situation, and sprinted over, just to succeed in the nick of time.

"You okay?" Aurea asked, looking over towards Gray, "You may want to be more careful…" she started but suddenly turned around towards Gray, shooting a ball of light that soared past him, "these things are everywhere."

Gray just nodded, and created an ice lance with his magic, before charging at yet another group of enemies. Meanwhile Lucy had summoned Leo, who was fighting off enchanted dummies, back-to-back with Lucy who was using her whip. Her whip slashed around at various dolls, cutting through them easily. That is, until they started to swarm. Seeing her as a larger threat than the mage they were currently occupied with, they turned towards the blonde-haired mage. They came so quickly, that Lucy began to fumble with her weapon, allowing many dummies to get closer than she desired. Magic energy was beginning to be launched at Lucy, and she desperately tried to block each attempt with her whip, but it wasn't enough. The dolls began to creep even closer and they revealed the dark blades that they used for close combat. One raised its sword and was about to strike Lucy down, but was suddenly struck through, along with many of its comrades, with a green vine that pierced through their chests. They faded into ash to reveal Kai behind them, using his vines much like Lucy's whip, but his was different, he had about five vines he could control.

"You guys okay!?" he asked, striking down another group of dummies.

"Yeah, thanks." Lucy replied, as she moved to assist him.

Kai just nodded in response before returning all of his concentration to the battle at hand. Whilst dealing with the dummies that surrounded her, she kept her peripheral vision on Kai, watching him as he demolished dolls without end. She looked at his face, and it wouldn't be easy for any outsider to be able to notice that this was the same cheerful child that was now a member of Fairy Tail. His eyes were narrowed as his mouth was slightly open, only to reveal teeth, tightly clenched in anger and determination. He was muttering something as his mouth slightly moved, but Lucy couldn't hear enough to gain a solid phrase.

"You will NOT hurt any of my friends, I'll destroy all of you before that happens." Kai muttered as he slashed through enchanted dummies like an expert fighter. In all truth, Kai was barely even thinking of his actions, and letting his magic take over. Sadly, that caused him to be blind to the situation going on not too far from him.

Natsu, once again, jumped at the silhouette, only to be thrust towards the ground by the target. The man laughed and continued to blast heaps of magic at the dragon-slayer, causing cracks to form beneath him. Taking this as an opportunity, Erza dashed behind the man and raised her sword, only to be launched into the air by the man's fist, which was encased in a magic gauntlet. Erza fell back towards the ground with a grunt, as she looked back at the 'mage' in front of her.

"Aw, this is much too easy…" the silhouette whined mockingly, "I'm not having any fun…" he looked out at the other team members, who were frantically fighting off enchanted dummies, "Ah, I know! You're in my way." he finished before snapping his fingers, causing every doll to fall down to the ground. "I can't have you stealing all the fun, now can I?"

All of the wizards then looked over to the smirking silhouette and immediately charged after him. Magic launched from all angles, but the man just laughed and blasted every wizard away. Discovering that that is now way to deal with this enemy, they all stood back, surrounding the enemy. Gray tried a long-distance attack, and froze the ground, causing the ice to trail towards the man and shoot up with five large ice shards once they reached their destination. The shards shot upwards, but the man moved his head back quickly and broke the ice with his arm before slouching his head forward like a maniac, so an insane smile and a single, black eye could be seen, along with black, almost blue, hair above it. Laughing, the man thrust his staff out towards Gray, and let out a blast of magic energy. It directly hit the ice mage, sending him a good ten feet backwards, before he fell to the ground. Aurea immediately ran over to him, getting on her knees and trying to assist in lifting his torso up. Gray growled and struggled to get up, his skin burnt in various places.

"Damn, he's strong." he growled out, beginning to get back onto his feet.

"Ah, ah, ah," the man said, waving a finger in the air, "You haven't seen anything yet."

The man started to laugh maniacally, before thrusting the top of his staff into the ground, sending another wave of magic energy out. He had stabbed the staff into Gray's earlier attack of magic, and the two energies were now combining, twisting the magic into something even more powerful than before. The magic shot out at breakneck speed towards Gray and, seeing this, Aurea sprang forward in front of him as quick as possible, but she was too late. The magical energy hit Gray full on, except for a small patch on his face, where Aurea's hand was caught in the blast in her desperate attempt to rescue her friend. Gray fell back to the floor, now out-cold, while Aurea twisted around in pain. Falling to her knees she grasped her wrist and gazed at her burnt hand before looking at Gray, and seeing him on the floor. She quickly stood up, and gazed at the silhouette angrily. Kai ran over towards her, and looked at her concerned. Noticing this, Aurea looked back at him, with a small smile and a look of determination on her face.

"Let's beat this guy."

Kai nodded in response, and they both took a step forward. Their hands formed their designated positions and they began to run forward, but an arm stopped them. They both hesitantly looked up to see Lucy standing in front of them, a determined look on her face.

"L-Lucy?" Aurea asked.

"Stay here and out of sight, got it?" Lucy commanded.

"What!? But why!?" Kai demanded.

"It's too dangerous for you two. We'll handle it."

"But Lucy—" Kai tried to reason.

"No buts, you trust us don't you?" Lucy said, turning to give the children a small smile.

Aurea nodded and grasped onto Kai's arm, pulling him further into the shadows with her.

"I trust you, Lucy." she whispered, holding Kai's arm tighter.

Natsu was once again blasted into the air by the silhouette, landing harshly on the ground with a sickening thud. Erza charged after the man after Natsu's attempt, slicing through the many blasts of magic coming after her, but soon gaining the same fate. Seeing all of this, Lucy pulled out her keys, ready to speak the special phrase, but she was stopped by a beam of magical energy blasting her hand, causing her keys to fly out and fall into the shadows behind her. Lucy gave a frightened look before running after her keys, only to be stopped by strings of magical energy wrapping around her wrists and ankles, before pulling her to the ground. She grunted in pain before looking back at the man, his eye and mouth no longer seen.

"Ah, ah, ah," he said once again, pulling Lucy closer, "keys are so boring, I think this is a bit more FUN!" he exclaimed, before laughing.

Magical energy then ran through the strings at an intense speed, before contacting with Lucy's skin. Magical energy surrounded Lucy and she screamed out in pain while shocks ran through her body. Though, even though the pain was enough to knock a person out instantly, she reached out towards the darkness towards the direction of her keys. Seeing this, Aurea dashed through the darkness and chased after the lost keys, desperate to help her friend, but it was too late. Right when she was about to use her magic to light the darkness around her, Lucy's eyes rolled to the back of her head, and her body slumped over, unconscious. The magical strings released the sleeping body, and it fell to the floor with a sickening thump. Aurea covered her mouth to stop herself from screaming, but she did as Lucy told her, and stayed in the darkness.

"LUCY!" Natsu shouted, looking at the girl who was now covered in scorch marks with a serene look on her face. "YOU'RE GONNA PAY FOR HURTING MY FRIEND!" he cried out before launching himself at the silhouette.

Again, the man just laughed wickedly at the oncoming Fairy. He raised his staff and a large blast of energy was shot out at Natsu, larger and brighter than the one shot at Gray, and it was determined to take the Dragon Slayer down. The magic came in contact with a solid object, and Natsu's attack faltered, resulting in him falling back towards the ground, landing not-so gracefully on his feet. He was uninjured, and he looked confusedly at the figure in front of him. It was Erza in her Adamantine Armor, holding her shield up in front of her and Natsu, the magic blast still nailing down at her shield. Erza grunted in her struggle to keep the shield held in front of her, but that didn't affect the power the magic held. Suddenly, Erza let out a surprised gasp as the magical energy started to wither away her large shield. The Armor was breaking down quickly, and soon there was barely a small scrap of metal left to defend her. Soon, that broke down as well and she was hit harshly by the magical energy. It completely broke down all of her armor, and she fell to the ground with a sickening crack, skidding along the ground after. She placed a hand on the ground, trying to pry herself upwards, resisting the pull of her damaged body. Scorch marks covered her all over and blood slightly dripped down her mouth as she grunted in pain.

"Who…are you?" she asked as she tried to get up.

The man just smiled sickeningly as yet again a single eye was showing, before sending another blast of energy towards her, and silencing her quickly.

Natsu looked at Erza in horror, before he turned back to the man, shadows covering his face as he let out a dragon-like growl. "Erza, Gray…Lucy… YOU HURT THEM!" he yelled, "YOU HURT THEM, AND NOW I'M GOING TO KICK YOUR ASS!" he shouted, launching himself yet again towards the man.

His fist glowed with fire and the flames spread through his body, shrouding him in golden brilliance as he drew towards the evil silhouette. He yelled as he gained distance, and the man just let out another large blast of energy, smiling evilly at the salmon-haired mage. The magic came in contact with the fire around Natsu, but he did not stop, and the magic seemed to be broken down by his flames of wrath. The man frowned slightly at this, before letting out a small growl and twisting his staff in a strange direction. The black magic then split slightly, and strings of the magic left the central beam, and begun to surround Natsu. They surrounded his fire in a very snake-like way, and then pointed themselves towards Natsu, sharp points at the end of each string. As Natsu's fist was just about to hit the man, the strings launched forward and embedded themselves within Natsu's skin, magical energy flying out of them viciously. Natsu stopped and cried out in pain as the energy his him head on and through the tiny parasite-like strings. His screams rang out loudly, and Aurea and Kai watched with tears in their eyes, pleading that Natsu would be alright. Natsu's eyes were wide with determination, but his body was failing him as he grew weak, and cried out once more.

"Aw, poor fairy. Oh, you shouldn't fight it. Just give in, and…go to sleep." the man said, and with those last few words, increased the magic power and Natsu slumped forward, and his body was thrown away from the darkened man.

"Natsu…No." Kai hissed as he fell to the ground, tears rapidly falling from his eyes. "Why? WHY? It's all over…" he sobbed.

Aurea just looked at the scene, and every member of the team blankly. "No." she said.

Kai looked up at her, "What?"

"No. It's not over," she said, looking down at the older child, "we're still here."

"W-what are you saying?"

"Get up." she commanded, holding her hand out to Kai, "Get up and fight with me."

Kai would've fought back, saying it was dangerous, but she was right. He couldn't just give up. This wasn't some petty game at the Guild anymore, this was real, and they had to do something. He nodded his head and grasped Aurea's hand, pulling himself up. He wiped the tears from his eyes and looked at Aurea.

"Let's do this." he said.

Aurea nodded in response and, holding hands, they walked out of the darkness, revealing themselves to the man. The man turned towards them, and laughed at their weak attempt to look frightening. The two just growled and closed their eyes, before holding their folded hands out towards the man. They didn't think, or react to what was around them, as they felt magical energy surge through their veins. Green and golden light surrounded the floor around them, and their guild marks started to glow with their respective colors, and light started to form through their arms. They then suddenly opened their eyes and magical energy shot towards the man. Green and gold mixed together as one as the energy neared the man. As the magic made contact there was a bright light, and the room went silent.

Kai and Aurea slowly opened their eyes to see an image of pure horror. The man was still there, un-harmed, and smiling like a maniac. The man then started to laugh loudly, clutching his stomach slightly in hysterics. Soon, though, he stopped his laughter and looked at the two children. There was nothing more that they could do. The man smiled evilly and held his staff upwards, pointing it towards the two children. Magical energy than shot towards them, and Aurea braced for impact, griping Kai's hand tightly. Feeling this, Kai looked at her, to see her frightened face, like none he had ever seen before. In his moment of thought, he knew that he could easily move out of the way, any of them could. But one would have to stay behind. Kai remembered all of the times Aurea had cheered him up, kept him going, and even saved him. She showed him kindness no one ever had, and not just to him, but to everyone. She smiled and laughed to keep everyone happy, and he wondered what she really felt. Was she sad? Was she still grieving the loss of her family? He didn't know. She always wore a mask. Why? Now, here, he could truly see her frightened face, and feel the fear through the grasp of her hand. He felt the care that she always had, and could tell from the look in her eyes that she was not afraid for herself, but for him. That slight glance towards his face told it all, and of how she wished she could just take the blow for him, and she was willing to do that. Kai felt Aurea's hand start to raise, as she was about to thrust Kai away from the magical energy, but Kai wouldn't allow it. He came out of his thoughts, and pushed Aurea harshly out of the way of the energy, before taking the full blow of the attack meant to extinguish two, and leaving the presence of this world.

Aurea watched in horror as she was pushed to the ground, and the energy flew past her. "KAI!" she screamed as she watched the boy get blasted back, and fall to the ground. Not moving.

The man laughed maniacally. "Five down, one to go." he said, looking over to take a peek at the 'frightened child's face'.

Now, Aurea showed no fear. Her bangs covered her eyes with a shadow, and her lips were pulled down in a sickening grimace. "You hurt my friends…my…family." she said, "You hurt Gray, and Lucy, and Erza, Natsu…and you hurt Kai. You hurt the people I love. The people who helped me. The people who stayed with me. You hurt my family," she said, as memories of team Natsu appeared in her head with each word, "and I WON'T LET YOU DO THAT!" she suddenly screamed.

Magical energy surged through her body and around her, but it wasn't gold. It wasn't magic from her happiness, or her determination, or her love. It was from the deepest depths of her rage. Burning hatred for the man filled her body, and black energy moved around her being. "Gray, Lucy, Erza, Natsu, Kai…" she muttered repeatedly as the energy grew in size. "Gray, Lucy, Erza, Natsu, Kai…" The man now took a step back in slight fear. The once bright child with her friend, that once weak child, was there no more. In her place, was a demon, and it lived sorely on rage. "You hurt my family… AND NOW YOU MUST PAY!" she yelled out, her face revealing a single eye that held a glowing red, replacing the soft gold. The magic energy surrounding Aurea suddenly shot out towards the man, wrapping around his body and stabbing through his being from every direction. Blood started to spray out from the merciless punctures, but the demon that was now resting in Aurea's body didn't care. The magic continued to strike through the man, and didn't stop. "This is for Gray, this is for Lucy, this is for Erza, and this is for Natsu…"she said as each slash of magic energy made contact with the man. "And this…THIS is for KAI!" she screamed as all of the magical energy surrounded her, left her presence and slashed through the man, stabbing him from every which way and viciously slicing through his torso with the last strike.

The man fell to the ground, blood still spilling from his wounds, as Aurea breathed heavily. She looked around at the destruction around her, all of her friends, and looking lastly at Kai. Her breath hitched in her throat as the demonic power left her body, and her eye stopped glowing. Tears filled her eyes and she fell to the ground, unconscious.

With tears still spilling down her cheeks.

Review Replies!

Featherleap: I really like the character! She'll hopefully be in the next chapter ^^

The Utterly Fabulous Z: WHAAAAAAAAT!? Really!? PANTHERLILLY'S BROWN!? I HAVE BEEN LIED TO ALL THIS TIME!

Yeah, I figured out it's Plue a while ago...sorry about that ^^;

Till next time!

Hasta-la-pasta!