A/N: Hello! Long time no see!
Greetings of the day to you and hope the chapter finds you in the best of health and everything else!
And this is my new update!
I hope you all enjoy this chapter and the slight changes in the Next Arc!
Chapter not beta read yet!
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Now to the chapter!
Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail... it sadly all belongs to Mashima
Fiore Kingdom Year X784
"Come again…?" was all Gray could get out of his mouth as he and the others stared at Cana in shock, anger and a mix of other emotions.
Cana squeezed her forearm with her other hand, she bit her lip as she tried to not shed tears, "We... We were preparing for the Festival. Master gave us some time to rest after we finished rebuilding the Guild, then he decided to move the date of the Festival…." she began her tale as the others' attention was completely on her, "Then just as he ordered us to prepare for it... Laxus' bodyguards appeared before us and declared that they were going to take over the Guild."
*Flashback*
*King's Bar Just South of Magnolia Town*
"BWAHAHAHA!" A thug laughed boisterously, showing the new issue of the Weekly Sorcerer to his buddies, "Look at those guys!"
"HA! Fairy Tail is such an embarrassment!" Another thug exclaimed as he pointed to an article about a mage named Gray Fullbuster, "Look at this idiot! He's completely naked in this picture!"
"Tch, how can these idiots be so popular?" The third thug at the table asked, quickly skimming through the various articles and pictures, "They all seem like a bunch of drunk fools."
"Why would they have a pool inside their guild, that's so stupid!" The first thug laughed, as he slapped his hand onto the table.
"Check out this guy Natsu Dragneel guy! He sounds so pathetic!" The second thug yelled, handing the magazine back to his friends, "It says here that he is the strongest of all the Guild! HAHAHA! He looks so weak!"
As the thugs continued to laugh and berate Fairy Tail, they failed to notice the menacing presence approaching behind them. The first thug was about to comment on an article about a mage named Lucy, but he stopped when an imposing shadow covered the entire table.
"Ah! What the hell do-" The first thug stopped mid-sentence when he saw a large blonde-haired man with a lightning-shaped scar along his right eye towering over him. The thug's eyes shot wide open in fear when he immediately recognized who the menacing man was, "O-Oh shit...b-book it guys! That's Fairy Tail's Laxus!"
"Oh fuck!" The other two thugs yelled simultaneously, as they bolted out of the bar right behind their friend.
"Why is he in a dive bar like this?!"
"W-Who cares! Let's just get out of here!"
"Tch, stupid weaklings," Laxus muttered. And before anyone could even breath the thugs were engulfed in towers of Lightning. Their screams of pain echoed through the entire bar and outside. The others could only look in shock and fear. Laxus completely ignored them as he spotted the copy of the Weekly Sorcerer that the thugs had dropped. The large blonde-haired man glared at the magazine with barely disguised irritation, "Good job showing off those embarrassing stunts Jiji."
"Yahoo! HAHAHA!" A sudden laughing caused everyone to turn. They saw a large ape-like man sitting near the back of the bar. Though, every one of them stiffened, Laxus did not even glance at him as he continued to read the article. His eyes hardening as he saw the article that talked about Natsu, "You must be a real celebrity! You've got some serious presence man! You're master Makarov's grandson, aren't cha?" The ape-like man laughed as he pointed to the issue of the Weekly Sorcerer lying on the ground, "What do you think of that? Are you proud of your grandpappy? Cause that shit is pretty pathetic if you ask me." The ape-like man smirked when Laxus crushed the magazine in his hand, "Oho, how scary!"
"Zod...please don't start any trouble today." The bartender said weakly, as everyone else in the bar turned to watch what might unfold.
"Don't worry, there's no point in picking a fight with such a worthless guild." Zod laughed, slapping his hand onto his knee.
"Zod?" Laxus finally spoke. His voice filled with amusement. He finally looked at the man and quirked an eyebrow, "Never heard that name before."
"Really...that's a shame." Zod said, a smirk slowly spreading across his face, "But that's probably because we usually operate in the shadows. Not like you fools, acting like a bunch of idiots in magazines."
"Oh, it seems to me that you want to die today." Laxus said in a menacing tone, as lighting began to crackle off his body, "I'd love to give you hand with that."
"P-Please sir! Please let t-this go! Zod is-"
"Let's go outside buddy." Laxus said, beckoning Zod towards the door, "I don't want to get your blood all over this guy's bar."
"Yahoo. The one going outside..." Zod said, as he suddenly cocked his fist back and tried to sucker punch Laxus, "Is-" However, Zod was shocked when his attack was easily stopped by Laxus' palm. The large blonde-haired man was expecting a sneak attack and had caught Zod's fist. The ape-like man hissed in pain, as Laxus slowly began to crush his hand. He howled when he completely crushed it. Laxus smirked as he heard the sounds of bones cracking.
"You know, I really don't guys like you who fight dirty," Laxus said in a menacing tone, starting to apply some electricity into his grip. The bar was soon filled with sounds of Zod's screams of agony. Then all the onlookers winced when they heard the sickening sound of all the bone's in Zod's hand breaking. The pain was so intense that it caused Zod to fall onto his knees.
"P-P-P-Please m-m-man!" Zod struggled to say through the pain and electricity coursing through his body, "J-J-J-Just l-let me g-go! I-I-I b-beg you!"
"Oh, you're begging now?" Laxus asked in an amused tone, crouching down in front of Zod, "But you were acting really tough a second ago. I guess that was all just an act." Laxus suddenly increased the amount of electricity he was pumping into Zod, causing the ape-like man to howl in pain. Then in an amazing display of strength, Laxus lifted Zod into the air and slammed him into the ground. Laxus smashed Zod into the ground so hard that the ape-like man crashed through the wooden floor into the basement below, "Tch, punks like you should learn to keep their big mouths shut."
"H-Holy shit..."
"He defeated Zod so easily..."
"No way..."
"Who the hell is that guy?"
"Pathetic." Laxus muttered, balling his fists in rage; veins bulging along his arms and forehead, "Since when did people look down upon my guild...old man!" Growling in irritation Laxus stormed out of the bar, lightning sparking off his body, "It's time!" he spoke, reaching inside his pocket to search for a Communication Lacrima, channeling magic into it, a face suddenly appeared on it, "Proceed." he simply ordered before cutting off the communication.
*Same Time: Northwest of Shirotsume Town; Dark Guild: Ghoul Spirit*
"GAAAHHH!" Several Ghoul Spirit mages exclaimed as they were blown back by a powerful explosion.
"You guys were making fun of us just now, weren't you?" A feminine voice said, three figures appearing within the smoke and debris.
"You utter fools." The tallest of the three figures cackled.
"So ya bastards wanna fight?!"
"You're not getting out of this place alive!"
"Yeah, we'll slaughter ya!"
"Oho...a dark guild that cowers in the dark is trying to stand up to a righteous legal guild?" The woman said, her face hidden behind a hand fan. A smirk spread across the woman's face, as she slowly raised her glasses, "My oh my, what is the world coming to?" The woman's eyes suddenly began to glow bright green, turning all the Ghoul Spirit mages in front of her to stone. The other Ghoul Spirit mages gasped in fear and slowly backed away from the three unknown assailants.
"W-What the hell was that!?"
"They all just turned to stone out of nowhere!"
"What are you pussies doing just standing around!? Man the hell up and get those bastards!"
"Yeah! Get 'em!" But before the Ghoul Spirit mages could rally together, several wooden dolls swooped in and began to attack them. The wooden dolls darted through the air, ramming into Ghoul Spirit mages and firing beams of magical energy at them. The room was soon filled with the pained screams of the Ghoul Spirit mages.
"That's quite enough Bickslow, we don't want to kill them." A slim man with waist-length green hair said as he emerged from the smoke.
"What are you talking about Freed? Aren't there-" Bickslow asked, scanning his surroundings. But he was surprised to see that all the Ghoul Spirit mages were already defeated, "What the hell? It's already over?"
"These weaklings were hardly a challenge." A woman with short light-brown hair said as she nudged an unconscious Ghoul Spirit mage with her foot, "I barely had to lift a finger."
"I agree, Evergreen." Freed said, walking through the maze of knocked out mages, "I'm still amazed such a weak guild managed to exist."
"It's because they're so weak that they turned to illegal activities," Evergreen said in a haughty tone, as she fanned herself with her hand fan.
"AH! This isn't enough! My babies still need to run wild!" Bickslow exclaimed, stamping his foot in irritation.
"Well, then I think I have the perfect thing for you Bickslow," Freed said, as he rested his hand on his sword, revealing a green Fairy Tail mark on top of his left hand.
"Oh, you're talking about Laxus, right?" Evergreen said with a smirk, as she lowered her fan, a green Fairy Tail mark visible above her right breast, "So the time has finally come?"
"Oh, I've been waiting so fucking long for this!" Bickslow laughed semi-crazily, sticking out his tongue, a black Fairy Tail mark hidden on his tongue, "And my babies are ready to fuck some shit up too!"
"It's time to finally head back home." Freed said as he began to walked out of the partially destroyed building, "To Fairy Tail."
"T-Three people...managed to wipe out...all of Ghoul Spirit?"
"But...that long-haired guy...didn't really do anything...so it was more like two people..."
"There's no doubt...those guys were Laxus' bodyguards...the Raijinshū."
*A day Later*
"How the hell Natsu was always willing to help you with things like this?" Makarov grumbled, carrying a massive amount of supplies. He was next to Lisanna as the two walked on one of Magnolia's streets, "An old man shouldn't be carrying such heavy bags!"
"Come on, Master~! I wonder how Mira-nee would react if she found out that you let me carry all those heavy bags alone?" The cute girl wondered in an innocent tone, which caused Makarov's shoulders to stiffen. Fairy Tail's elderly master audibly gulped when he imagined the white-haired demon with a sickly sweet smile as she cracked her knuckles, preparing to beat the shit out of him. He shivered and coughed, "Well let's change the subject..." Makarov muttered, glancing at all the bustling and working people around him, from his observation, he could tell that they were all eager for something, "It looks like the whole town is in a festival mood."
"They sure are!" Lisanna said with a bright smile, as she waved to a group of workers, "And everyone's working so hard to get Fantasia ready."
"Well, this year we're going to make this a parade the whole continent will remember for a long time," Makarov said, a grin spreading across his face.
"Master...are you upset that Laxus won't be joining in?" The white-haired beauty asked in a quiet tone, as she began to walk a little slower. She knew that discussing Laxus was a very touchy subject for Makarov, and decided to tread very carefully. Although, she was sad about it herself, "After some of the things he's done the past few weeks I doubt he will join us."
"Please don't mention him." Makarov said with a heavy sigh, slowly shaking his head, "That boy..."
"It's just that...some people told me that he's back in town..." Lisanna explained, causing Makarov's eyes to shot open in surprise, "And that he got in a fight with someone at a bar...apparently Laxus hurt everyone on the bar pretty badly..." Lisanna stopped briefly when she saw the shocked look on Makarov's face, "Master...is something wrong?"
"To think this would happen now of all times..." Makarov muttered, releasing another heavy sigh. Looking down at the ground, Makarov began to remember the times he would take Laxus to Fantasia parades when he was younger, "How on Earth did you end up like this...Laxus?"
*Somewhere in Magnolia*
"Why did you guys call me out here?" Gajeel, the Iron Dragon Slayer, who recently joined the Guild, asked in an annoyed tone as he shoved his hands into his pockets, "I've got a damn job to do, so make this quick." he spoke to the two standing in front of him with one petite girl hiding behind a tree.
"Job? This coming from the guy who completely trashed our guild." Jet growled, glaring daggers at the Iron Dragon Slayer
"You couldn't go to any other guild to get missions?" Droy asked, as he tightly balled his fists in anger. "Do you have any shame?!"
"Man you guys really can hold a grudge. Can't you guys just let that shit go and move on?" Gajeel asked, slowly shaking his head, "I'm trying to put what I did behind me and move forward with my life."
"Jet, Droy...please don't do this..." Levy said meekly, as she poked her out from behind a nearby tree. "I'm not holding any grudge…"
"SEED!" Droy exclaimed as he threw out a handful of his seeds, "Knuckle Plant!" Droy's seeds instantly sprouted into dozens of fist-shaped vines. Gajeel was too busy handling Jet, so he was caught off guard by Droy's attack; the plants hitting him up into the air.
"Wing Strike!" Leaping into the air above Gajeel, Jet slammed his elbow into the iron dragon slayer's back, sending him crashing into the ground. Levy watched the entire scene unfold, and despite everything Gajeel had done to her, she had to admit that she was worried about him. As Gajeel struggled to get back onto his feet, Jet and Droy stalked towards him, "Oi! What's up with you!?"
"That can't be everything you've got." Droy said, not noticing that the air was filling with electricity, "You were way tougher the last time we fought you."
"You being bullied, huh?" A new voice said from behind Jet and Droy. Turning around, both men were surprised to see Laxus towering over them. Both gulped as they could feel the man's power radiating off him in waves, and the menacing smile on his face did not help the matter.
"So...this is the punk who demolished my guild. And that old man, he let you join our guild for some stupid reason?" Laxus suddenly growled as a massive amount of lightning sparked off his body, "It's because of shit like this that we're looked down upon! Damn it!" Gajeel howled in pain, as an extremely powerful bolt of lightning struck his body. The lighting coursed through his entire body, "It's all your fault!" Gajeel continued to roar in pain, as Laxus continued to bombard him with lightning.
"S-Stop it Laxus!" Jet exclaimed, watching as Gajeel collapsed onto his knees, "You're g-going way too far man!"
"It doesn't matter how strong Laxus is..." Droy said, as his entire body began to shake, "He should still be able to fight back..."
"Could it be, that Gajeel was, from the start..." Jet breathed out, a sudden realization striking him.
"He wanted us to recognize him as our nakama." Levy said, tears forming in her eyes, "So, he didn't fight back at all."
"It's all your fault that we're being made fun of!" Laxus roared, as he kicked Gajeel in the stomach, knocking all the breath from his lungs, "Why don't you just die already!? I'll destroy anyone who goes against Fairy Tail!"
"Stop God damn it!" Jet exclaimed, preparing to jump in a intervene, "Laxus!"
"Shut the hell up! Little weaklings like you should keep your damn mouths shut!" Laxus yelled as he fired a bolt of lightning at Jet and Droy. The two couldn't even form words as they were engulfed in a huge amount of Lightning. Their mouths were opened wide in silent screams of agony. Levy put her hands on her mouth as she watched their charred and smoking figures fell down without moving an inch. Her horror only grow as Laxus shot her a glare before he sent another bolt of Lightning her way. She closed her eyes and waited for the inevitable pain. Some time passed and she felt nothing. Only feeling the earth shaking from the powerful blast of Lightning. Opening her eyes, they grow wide in shock and surprise as she saw Gajeel in front of her, taking the attack head on.
*Two minutes earlier in Some Nearby Street*
Two women were walking side by side. One was a tall and beautiful woman with chin length purple hair. It was Gray's mentor and Ultear's mother, Ul Milkovich. Wearing he usual clothes of a vest and pants, she walked with confidence and grace, drawing the attention of many males and females. The second was a beautiful and cute girl with Blue hair. It was Juvia. The blue-haired beauty had finally done it and joined Fairy Tail. She walked one step behind the older woman with her head down. Her cheeks slightly red from being in the presence of Her Gray-sama's teacher
Upon joining, she was warmly welcomed by some. Namely Cana. Though, some people were still holding a grudge. However, that only made her more determined to earn their trust and be considered a member of their wonderful Guild. Then, she had met Gray's Teacher and she was honestly a little happy and depressed at the same time. Happy because as soon as Ul laid her eyes on her, she took an interest in her, and depressed because she honestly thought she was inferior to the beauty that was Gray's Teacher. Especially, with knowing that Gray held his Teacher dearly.
"So..." The soft and mature voice of Ul brought the blue-haired beauty out of her thoughts, "Can you tell me exactly what do you like in that good-for-nothing student of mine?" she asked and smirked as Juvia's cheeks exploded with red. She was just so cute. Ul thought as she fought the urge to hug the girl. Soon enough, Juvia began to sputter nonsense at how she wasn't thinking about Gray or his handsome face or his muscular body, all the while Ul just smirked in amusement, 'Alright. It's not really just a simple crush. She's in complete love with him'
"Oh, Gray-sama~!" Juvia dreamily sighed as her eyes turned into hearts. She could clearly see it, her Gray-sama confessing to her that he wanted to finish the rest of his days with her.
'….more like addicted.' Ul concluded as she sweatdropped at the girl's antics.
Boom!
A cracking boom was heard throughout the whole Town. It quickly snapped Ul and Juvia out of their thoughts. As they looked, they could see a massive amount of Lightning zigzagging in every direction, leaving trails of destruction and flames on their paths. Ul narrowed her eyes at the Magic that was being used. It was powerful. Way too powerful. From her brief stay in this Town since her 'Revival' she hadn't met anyone capable of producing such a powerful Magic, nor anyone strong enough for it to be used against. Well, aside from maybe that cute pink haired boy.
With that in mind, she could only conclude that there was an attack on Town from someone foreign. A split of a second and she was dashing toward the source at incredible speed. Juvia took a second to collect herself and she quickly followed the older woman. Although, she was quite shocked at the speed Ul showed.
*Back with Levy and Gajeel*
Levy stared in shock as Gajeel took the full blunt of the attack, "Gajeel…" she muttered to herself, "GAJEEL!" she screamed again as he fell down, completely unmoving. Her eyes widened in horror as several burns were on his body from the attack he took on.
"Hmph."
The sound sent massive shivers down her spine as she looked up. Laxus was looking at them, but his eyes were now shining with a sinister purple light. His right palm was yet again pointed at them and Levy could only whimper as she hugged the unconscious Gajeel. Soon enough, another powerful blast of Lightning was sent to them.
"Ice-Make: Shield!" Levy only heard a voice and could only open her eyes slowly, her mouth opened in awe as she saw Ul with her back to them. Her arms were spread wide open. Her awe only grow more as she saw the massive a shield of ice that resembled a frozen wave crashing against a cliff. The Shield stopped Laxus' Lightning like nothing. Not even a crack was formed on it.
'That's some strong magic...' Ul thought as she dissipated the Shield after seeing the Lightning had stopped. She rose a brow as she observed the man in front of her, she instantly felt a bad feeling about all what was happening.
"Gajeel-kun!" Juvia, who just arrived, screamed in horror as she saw the state her old friend was in. She kneeled beside him and frantically thought of something to help him.
"Ice Magic?" Laxus asked in interest as he eyed the woman, "Ah! You must be that brat's teacher, Ul. Now, that's interesting." he chuckled as his eyes glowed, causing the purple haired woman to narrow her eyes at him, "I heard you were strong. Strong enough to be one of the Wizards Saint."
Ul didn't respond as she took her Ice-Make posture. She gave Juvia a look, "Juvia, get out of here. There is something wrong with him." she whispered to the blue-haired beauty before turning her attention to Laxus. Soon enough, a massive discharge of Lightning flow out of Laxus and traveled toward her. She quickly followed with a chunk of Ice. The collision caused a massive shockwave as the two magics clashed.
"Kyaaa!" Levy desperately tried to remain as the waves threatened to send her flying. Juvia was having the same problem. Her water dome proved to be totally useless. She just hugged Gajeel closer and dug her boots into the ground.
"Ice-Make: Rose Garden!" Ul exclaimed as she released chunks of ice in the form of roses and thorns towards Laxus. The woman's eyes widened as she saw the Lighting Mage's body turn into Lightning and escape from the Ice.
A glance at her right found him with his hand raised in the air. He then clenched it into a tight fist and began to chant, "Resounding through the air, the roar of thunder, plunge from the heavens and reap destruction!" A large bolt of Lightning was formed above her, "Raging Bolt!"
Boom!
A massive explosion of Lightning was seen and felt throughout the whole Town of Magnolia. Laxus grinned as he waited for the results of his attack, "I just hope I didn't accidentally turn her into dust."
"You, turning me into dust? Not in million years." Ul spoke as she appeared from the smoke, a huge dome made of Ice surrounding her protectively, "At this level, you're still a far cry from taking me down, boy." she taunted with a smile, causing Laxus' eye to twitch in annoyance, "I think I know who you are. I've heard about you. You're Makarov's Grandson, aren't you?"
The last one made Laxus flare in anger, his entire body was surrounded with Electricity as he glared at Ur. He was about to unleash his anger, but a familiar voice stopped him.
"Laxus!" Makarov appeared between the two of them, "What do you think you're doing?!"
"Master!" Juvia and Levy cried in joy. Ul only looked on with a frown. She had a bad feeling about this.
Makarov made his way towards the Lighting Mage, "Are you trying to ruin the festival?!"
"Oh old man…it's been a while." Laxus grinned as he crouched in front of Makarov, "Well, a festival needs a main show, don't you think so?"
"Don't start anything stupid boy. We have to start preparing for Fantasia soon." Makarov said, glaring at his grandson.
"Fantasia isn't until a few days." Laxus said as he stood back up to his full height, "Besides, I'm not the one you should be scolding now, old man."
His smirk made Makarov shiver. He opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by an explosion. His eyes widened in horror as he saw that the explosion came from the Guild.
"Oh no…" Levy whispered in shock as she saw the smoke rise from the guild and the sudden cries of the citizens. Juvia could only look in shock. She didn't expect for things to turn this way.
"The main show will start when the principal guest arrives. Until then, the Guild will be mine," he spoke with a grin.
"There are things that can't be taken as jokes Laxus," Makarov growled through grit teeth. "You're taking this too far."
"Oh, but I'm very serious." Laxus said as he spread his arms wide as if addressing a crowd, "We're gonna have a game to see who's the strongest in Fairy Tail. The last man standing wins!" he declared with a loud voice. Then his face gained a twisted smirk, causing them to shiver, "By the way, old man. You should hurry or everyone on this Town will be reduced to nothing." he finished, snapping his fingers, "Thunder Palace!" he called out and Makarov was stunned when multiple Lacrima filled with large amounts of Lightning Magic appeared up the sky. Suspended in the air in a circular formation around Magnolia
"Stop it!" Makarov roared, tightly balling his fists, "Are you insane?! You're going to involve the innocent civilians in this?!" he shouted angerly. The two girls were whimpering, Even Ul was shocked, but gasped as Makarov gave a sharp gasp and grasped his chest, where his heart was. He then fell down with a thud, much to their shock.
"Master!" Juvia and Levy cried out as they saw what happened.
The Ice Mage grit her teeth before she made her Ice-Make posture. Seeing the blond-haired mage quite surprised at his grandfather's state, "Ice-Make: Ice Geyser!" Freezing the ground in front of her, Ul created a tower of ice spikes that impales Laxus. It hadn't any effect of Laxus, however, it was enough to restrain his movements, 'I'm not really fully recovered, but I think I can do it.' she thought as she gathered a large amount of Ice Magic in her hands, "Ice-Make: Ice Volcano!" she shouted as she slapped her hand onto the ground, causing the very earth beneath Laxus to gape open in the shape of a pit. Snow, hail and large blocks of ice erupted out of the crater. Engulfing the blond and laying waste to the surroundings. The force of the eruption was enough to give her time to grab Makarov and flee with Levy, Juvia and Gajeel and the unconscious Jet and Droy.
As the attack was dissipated, Laxus was shown standing on the same spot, his arms crossed. The only thing that was damaged was his clothes, "Hmph. It didn't hurt as much as I thought. Guess she didn't recover completely." he whispered before slowly walking toward the direction of the Guild.
*At the Guild: Earlier*
"Man, I wonder what those two idiots are planning?" asked Wakaba as he leaned against the bar with his pipe gritted between his teeth. He and Macao were sitting on a table, enjoying the view of their new Guild.
"Who?" Macao asked with a blank expression.
"Jet and Droy. I saw them talking to Gajeel earlier."
"What do I look like a mind reader?" Macao answered with a rhetorical question, "Anyway, I just hope they don't mess with that guy. He's dangerous. Make me wonder why the old man let him join."
"Tch, he's such an arrogant bastard." A random man spoke as he heard them talking.
"Yeah, I can't stand him." another said as he crossed his arms, "Someone needs to teach that guy a lesson."
"Yeah," Wakaba answered as he blew some smoke. His expression soon turned perverted, "I can't believe that Fairy Tail is taking part in the celebrations this year. You know what that means?!" he asked his friend.
Macao had a blush on his face, "It's...Miss Fairy Tail contest!" he exclaimed loudly, causing cheers to erupt.
"I can't wait to see what Mira-chan have in store for us!"
"Yeah, we should thank Master for waiting until they come back from the vacation."
Macao and Wakaba froze at the last one, "A vacation..."
"Mira-chan in there..."
"And Natsu there as well…"
The two of them continued to mutter as they imagined what would be happening in there. Especially seeing as Mira almost obsessed with the pink-haired man, "NOOOOOOOOOO! Not Mira-chan! Natsu, you bastard!"
"Bunch of idiots..." Cana, who was sitting at the bar, muttered as she watched all the males in the Guild crouching down with depressing auras around them, "Can't someone drink a glass of wine in peace?" she complained and began to drink the entire barrel, causing a few to sweatdrop at her antics.
"Ne, Cana-san." Cana turned to the sound and was greeted with Bisca. The green haired woman wore a smirk as she bent forward, "Why don't we give it a try. Miss Fairy Tail contest, I mean." she suggested with a grin, causing cheers to erupt.
"Waooooh!"
"Go for it, Cana!"
Cana only sighed as she let go of her precious barrel, "Alright, but don't blame me if you lose." she smirked. The excited mages began to surround the stage as the girls prepared themselves.
Max, a slim young man of average height with beige hair kept in a bowl undercut, with two large, straight bangs framing and partially covering the sides of his face, with dark eyes and thin, dark eyebrows stepped on the stage, "Now let me introduce our first contest!" Max exclaimed, as the stage suddenly became engulfed in light, revealing the green-haired beauty, "Bisca!" he announced, causing cheers, the loudest of them was Alzack. The green haired woman winked at the crowd and used her Gun Magic to perform several impressive trick shots, which awed the crowd, especially Alzack.
Once Bisca was finished, it was Cana's turn. The stage began to shine, revealing the voluptuous brunette, "Miss Cana Alberona! What a stunner!" Cana gave the crowd a sultry wink, before blowing them a kiss. The entire crowd burst into cheers, all the men doing their best to crowd around the stage. Reaching into her bag, Cana pulled out a stack of cards. The card mage then scattered the stack of cards into the air, swirling around her entire body, "WHOA! The cards seem to be covering up her body!" Moments later the cards dispersed, revealing that Cana was now dressed in a skimpy striped swimsuit, "WOW! She changed into an amazing swimsuit!"
The crowd exploded with cheers, shaking the whole Guildhall, "How'd you like that little show, Bisca?" Cana spoke to the shocked sniper with a smirk, Giving her a quick wink, Cana made her way off the stage, feeling a great sense of accomplishment, 'I may not have gone with them on that vacation, but I will surely get Natsu to notice me the day of the contest. That's a win in my book.'
"Contestant number eight is here." The cheers were abruptly stopped when a new voice spoke up from behind Cana. The brunette instantly stiffened as she recognized the voice.
"What the?! Evergreen?!" Cana thought in shock as she turned to the person behind her. Her suspicious were proved right as she saw one of Laxus' bodyguards standing behind her. Her fan covering half of her face.
"If you want to talk about fairies, then you're talking about me." The mysterious woman said, strolling past Cana completely ignoring the fuming brunette, "If you talk about beauty, then that's me. That's right, it's all me. Th champion will most certainly be me, Evergreen! So end the beauty contest here, before it gets too boring!"
'Jeez someone's sure full of themselves.' Bisca thought with a sweatdrop, "It's not the contest anyway... '
"Evergreen!?" Max exclaimed, his eyes shooting open in surprise.
"When did she get back?" Elfman asked, as he tightly balled his fists.
"What are doing here, Evergreen?" Bisca asked as she approached the woman.
"Bisca!" Cana shouted as she tried to warn the green haired girl, "Don't look her in the eyes!"
"What?" Bisca said, but Cana's warning had come too late. The green haired sniper had already locked eyes with Evergreen.
"Did you say something little girl?" Evergreen asked, lifting up her glasses, as her eyes began to glow. Before Bisca even had a chance to react she had been turned into stone.
"What the hell is this!?"
"That green chick was turned to stone!"
"This is a performance right!?"
"This is awful!" Max exclaimed, as made arrows out of the sand to point to the exits, "Everybody get out of the guild hall now!" the ones who weren't from the Guild immediately ran away from the guild as fast as they could. Only the mages stayed behind.
"What are you doing Evergreen?" Cana asked, making his way towards the main stage, "Revert Bisca to her normal form immediately!"
"I'm afraid she can't do that." Another voice spoke, looking up, the others were surprised to see Freed and Bickslow.
Freed Justine was a slim man of average height with waist-length light-green hair; his bangs are brushed to one side, covering the majority of the right side of his face, as well as a pair of thin strands jutting out backward from the sides of his head, both shaped like lightning bolts. His hair was gathered at the end and tied in a short ponytail. Freed's eyes were greenish blue; beneath the left one lies a small beauty mark. In addition, Freed possessed prominent eyelashes. His green Fairy Tail Mark was located on the back of his left hand as it was visible.
Freed's outfit consisted of a knee-length double-breasted coat, which possessed a wide collar, large lighter-colored cuffs decorated with a darker line on the back part, and edges adorned by two, thin golden lines each. The buttons closing said coat were four; the coat itself has been shown in two different colors: red and black. Over it, around Freed's waist, was a pair of buckled belts, attached to which, on his left hip, was his sword. Underneath, he wore a simple, light-colored shirt with large cuffs and a mildly high collar, mostly obscured by other pieces of his clothing, among which a light cravat tie around his neck, with the lower part, tucked inside the coat.
Bickslow was a tall man with a mildly muscular build and broad shoulders. His upper body was covered in a dark, mildly fitting cloth covered in vertical white stripes, which extend up to his head to cover it in a tight hood, exposing only his hands and face. The upper part of the latter, however, was obscured by a metal visor reminiscent of a Medieval sallet, which comes covered with eight small, elongated holes, with four of them in front of each of his eyes, allowing him to see. He wore large armbands, and he had large shoulder pads each with skulls on its center. His waist was circled by a simple dark band, which holds up a massive waistguard made of cloth, which came in four long, light-colored pieces, each adorned by a dark "X", reaching down below his knees. Under such waistguard, Bickslow donned a pair of extremely baggy, loose dark pants, with each leg being adorned by a pair of lighter-colored belts crossing in an "X" formation. Such pants were tucked into a pair of light, armored greaves.
"Don't joke around! Revert her back now!" Cana shouted at them, only to get silence from the three. The room exploded in outrageous shouts. Each and every one of Fairy Tail's mages demanding for Bisca's freedom and for Laxus' bodyguards to get lost.
"Why don't you try to revert her by force?!" Bickslow asked, tongue out of his mouth in a creepy manner.
"Of course we will, bastard!"
"Who do you think we are?!"
"Men fight to save their comrades!"
"Oh? They are getting quite feisty, aren't they?" Evergreen asked as she hid a portion of her face with her fan, obscuring her devious smirk.
Soon enough, every mage gave out a battle cry and advanced toward the three of them. Cana desperately tried to stop them. She could see it. Those three had something planned. And whatever it was, it was not good, since Laxus was Surely the one ordering them.
Her suspicious were proved right when in less than a second, a good portion of the mages was blown away by one of Bickslow's attacks. Their bodies flow everywhere, unconscious as a large explosion echoed, blowing a hole up in the ceiling of the Guildhall. Smoke rose from it. That had scared some of them as they clearly hesitated. Only Elfman wasn't affected as he charged at them. However, he was clearly outclassed.
'Damn it. At this rate, I will be the only one left!' Cana thought as she held two cards in her hands. One of them was for attacking and the other was for retreating. She was stuck between two and didn't know what to choose. However, it didn't last as she saw how much weaker they were compared to Laxus' bodyguards, 'I have no choice! Laxus is not even here and yet….' she thought as she watched her Guildmates falling one after another.
*End Of Flashback*
"After that, I had used my Card Dimension and trapped everyone in my cards. Then I did go to Natsu's house. Luckily, you have created an impenetrable Barrier around your home. At the same time, Lisanna already evacuated every citizen." Cana finished the tale as she watched the emotions ran through her Nakama's faces. Aside from Seilah -The ever calm Etherious- Most were anger, however, Natsu's reaction wasn't what she excepted. He just sighed heavily and relaxed. She had seen a flash of anger inside his dark eyes, but it completely disappeared. It was almost as if he knew something like this was going to happen. The brown-haired beauty made a mental note to ask him later.
"That's horrible!" Lucy placed her hands over her mouth in shock as small droplets of tears appeared at the corner of her eyes. She could only imagine what her friends had gone through because of Laxus and his personal bodyguards.
"That Fucking bastard!" Gray hissed in anger as he slammed a fist into a nearby tree, almost making it fall. Not Even Erza bothered to scold him for the foul words he used, as she was exactly thinking the same thing.
"Cana. Tell me, who are those people we almost ran it before you put us inside your cards?" Natsu curiously asked as he didn't remember seeing those men anywhere in the Timeline he came from.
"I don't really know who they are. However, what I can say is that they are hundreds of them. They were the ones who destroyed Magnolia little by little, leaving only The Guildhall and the Kardia Cathedral." The brunette explained as she recalled some of the reports they received when they sent someone to investigate. It was a miracle that he returned.
"Goddammit!" Natsu cursed under his breath. Another unexpected thing. A fucking army! When did Laxus found the time to form it?! He was sure that he had him under surveillance. He knew everything he said and everything he did. From missions to his personal life. Then again, sometimes ago, he wasn't able to get any useful pieces of information and judging by how even Ultear was deceived, Laxus knew that he was being observed.
"Wait a minute! Where are Lissana and Elfman?!" Mirajane shouted as she grabbed into Cana's shoulders, "What happened to them?! Answer!" she cried, shaking the brunette. Her face showed a tremendous amount of worry and fear at the thought of her Siblings' fate.
"D-don't worry! They're fine!" Cana quickly answered as she felt the grip on her shoulders tighten with every passing moment. Luckily, Mirajane let go of her while sighing in relief.
"Natsu-sama, what should we do?" Seilah asked the silent pink-haired Dragon Slayer.
Natsu could only sigh in frustration. Nothing was going as it was supposed to. Nothing! Where did this come from anyway?! How could Laxus destroy everything like it was nothing?! That were the questions that swirled inside Natsu's head as he tried to make sense of what was happening in this Timeline. Granted, the old man messenger had told him that there will be changes in this Timeline, but he never excepted for things to go this way. He had excepted what Jellal did, but Laxus?!
Erza saw the conflicted expression on Natsu's face and decide to take charge, "First we need to regroup. Cana, is everyone at Natsu's house?" she asked the brunette, who nodded her head, "That's good. If the barrier is still on, then no one will be able to attack them."
"Hey, if the barrier around Natsu's home is impenetrable, then how did you access to it?" Lucy suddenly asked a question.
"Now that you're mentioning it…." Happy added as he looked in confusion at the brunette. He always thought that no one but Natsu or maybe Makarov could penetrate the barrier. It was powerful enough that even a mage or a monster would be burned to ashes the moment they touch the invisible Barrier.
"Yeah, how is that possible?" Gray asked as he tried to calm his nerves.
"Uh, Natsu had taught me how to, just in case..." Cana trailed off as her eyes widened slightly. From their questions, she concluded that His team didn't know how to penetrate the barrier. Then, 'Why did only taught me and not his team?!' she thought as she looked at him suspiciously. And from the suspicious glare Mirajane and Erza sent his way, they were thinking the same way.
"Alright, let's go," Erza ordered as they nodded with Mirajane grumbling at how this redhead ordered her.
The Dragon Slayer soon made his way through the thick forest, his companions close on his heels.
After a few minutes, the group came out of the thick forest into a large clearing. Lucy was surprised to see what looked like a mansion in front of her, "That's my home." Natsu sighed as he saw it unharmed. It was a pain to build it and he wasn't going to go through all that again.
"It's huge!" Lucy exclaimed in shock, "Why would only two people and a cat live in there?!"
"That's why you're a disgrace to all blondes. Besides, weren't you and just your parents along with some maids living in a mansion too?" Happy asked with a giggle. He immediately passed into retreat mode as the blonde began to chase him.
"You damn cat!"
Natsu smirked in amusement. Even at a time like this, Happy didn't feel like stopping annoying the hell out of Lucy.
"That's right though. Why the hell would you build something like this, Flame-brain?" Gray asked as he crossed his arms over his... Bare chest.
"Where are your clothes?!" Lucy shouted at him as she saw him in nothing, but his boxers.
"Eh! When did this happen?!"
Natsu chuckled at the antics before grumbling in annoyance, "Mira-chan told me to make it like this..." he spoke as he huffed, "It took me ages to finish it! I'm only good at destroying things, damn it!" he shouted, causing them to sweat drop at the truth of his words.
"Why did you?!" Erza demanded an answer from the white-haired demon. She wasn't informed of this and had a bad feeling about this.
Luckily, the snow-haired beauty was more willing to give an answer, "For when we marry of course!" she exclaimed, puffing her chest out proudly. Natsu couldn't help but follow their movements as they bounced.
"Eh?!" Lucy and Gray exclaimed in shock as Erza, Cana, and Seilah glared at the white-haired demon.
"Hehe…" Natsu chuckled as he began walking toward his home. However, he stopped in his tracks within some meters of it. He then lifted his right arm and pointed his palm toward his house. Suddenly, a massive light appeared and the others were surprised to see a giant light red barrier dome dwarfing over the group covering the entire house. Natsu stepped up to the edge of the barrier and put a hand up to touch it, "I put it on because of the dark mages who held grudges against me. Since they couldn't really beat me, they would try to destroy my home. It was getting annoying." he explained as the others looked on. He then lifted a large rock and surprised them by sending it straight at the barrier.
Much to their shock, the rock has vaporized the instant it came to contact with the barrier. He smirked at their reactions as he rubbed his hand across the surface of the barrier slowly, the only ones not surprised were Seilah, Happy and Cana, "Alright then Here we go, guys." Natsu announced as he held a hand and made some fingers gestures before slamming a palm on the barrier. In the next instant, the shimmering red wall disappeared.
It wasn't long before they were inside his house. They traveled down to the basement. Cana explained that they wanted to be regrouped, in case anything happened. When the group had finally made their way down, Lucy almost found the guild unrecognizable due to its current glumness.
"Hey, Erza and the others are back," Max said as he looked up from his table.
"Did you see what those Raijin Tribe did to the guild hall?!" Elman boomed across the room, "So unmanly!" he shouted before spotting his elder sister, "Nee-san!"
"And they brought Natsu back with'em!" One of the members exclaimed.
"Mira-nee!" a teary-eyed Lisanna exclaimed as she jumped at her sister. Mirajane welcomed her with open arms as the girl wept into her chest. A moment later, Elfman joined the family reunion.
"You've returned, Gray?" A woman's voice spoke from behind the group, as they turned, they saw Ul slowly walking toward them.
"Ul!" Gray exclaimed as he rushed toward her, "Are you Alright?!"
"Of course I am. Calm yourself, kid," she smirked as she saw his eyebrow twitch when she called him a kid. Of course, he wasn't a kid. Ul had a hard time masking her shock and pride when she saw him for the first time in so long. And now he was growing even more before her eyes, "By the way, the Guild has a new member."
"A new member?" Erza asked in confusion. She didn't think it was time for that now.
"Come here," Ul spoke as a figure moved beside her. The group, minus Natsu and Seilah were surprised to see Juvia, "This is the new member, Juvia. Isn't she a cutie?" Ul smiled as she asked, her question was specifically for Gray.
The Ice Mage looked really uncomfortable, "Why are you asking ...me?" he hesitantly asked the woman, who chuckled at his flushed expression. Oh, she was going to have so much fun later.
"Juvia is glad to be of service!" Juvia exclaimed as she bowed a little.
"So you really joined?" Gray asked with a small laugh.
"You helped us a lot at Akane, You have my thanks." Erza smiled at the blue-haired beauty, who blushed at the praise.
"Glad to have you!" Lucy greeted cheerfully, but her cheerful face quickly melted as Juvia glared at her.
"Love rival!" Juvia with a dark aura around her. Lucy sweat-dropped in disbelief
"Actually, I'm not..."
"So you joined, huh?" Mirajane suddenly appeared and wrapped an arm around the blue-haired Water Mage, "Welcome to Fairy Tail!" she cheerfully cried, much to the others' surprise.
"Why are you so happy, harlot?" Erza asked with a suspicious glare.
"Hmph! Of course, I would be happy! It's not every day a new girl who isn't my love rival join the Guild." Mirajane explained before smirking, "Not that the previous ones were anyway..." She finished, her tone mocking and directed at Erza, Lucy, and Seilah.
"Oh, aren't you popular with the ladies?" Ul asked as she placed a hand on Natsu's chest.
"Hehehe.…." Natsu chuckled, not knowing what to say. Ul smirked as she bent forward a little, showing Natsu a very good amount of cleavage.
"And we have one more new member." Ul then announced as she stood straight up.
"There's another one?" Happy asked as he sat at the top of Natsu's head. Ul nodded as she gestured toward a bed at the right side of the room. The bed was occupied with a certain black-haired Dragon Slayer. He was heavily bandaged from the beating Laxus gave him. What was more surprising was that Levy was beside him, looking down at the floor.
"Hey! You've got to be kidding!" Gray shouted as he got into an attack stance, "Gajeel! What the hell is he doing here?!"
"Why is he..." Lucy muttered as she stared at him with wide eyes.
"Wait! Juvia recommended him!" Juvia stepped between Gray and Mira.
"Juvia is one thing, but he's the very person who destroyed the guild!" Erza exclaimed as she glared at the Iron Dragon Slayer.
"Now now... He hadn't done anything." Natsu finally spoke as he stepped forward, "In fact, we should be thankful since he saved Levy. Remember?" he asked them. They took a second to understand his words. Cana did say that Gajeel protected Levy. Natsu smiled before directing his gaze toward the petite girl.
"I don't mind at all..." Levy muttered as she shifted her eyes down nervously.
"Poor Gajeel-kun was always all alone, and Juvia couldn't leave him like that, so..." Juvia explained her reasons before looking at Gray with a frustrated expression, "It's not that kind of relationship though, really!"
'So cute...! ' Ul thought as she squeaked mentally at how adorable the girl was acting.
"Still, you don't think I would work with someone like him?" Gray asked as he approached the Bandaged Dragon Slayer.
Gajeel in turn, glared at him, "Don't worry, I ain't sharing my work."
"Why you!" Gray shouted.
"They say yesterday's enemies are tomorrow's friends. That's what the old pervert would have said anyway..." Natsu whispered the last part, causing Mirajane and Lucy to giggle.
"If that's what you're saying, Natsu... But I think it's best to watch him carefully for now." Erza finally conceded.
"Whatever you want, Princess." Natsu teased, causing Erza to madly blush. He then snapped his fingers, "Speaking of old perverts! Where the hell is Gramps?" he asked and narrowed his eyes as the glumness increased tenfold.
"Natsu-sama." Seilah suddenly entered the basement and called for him. When his attention went to her, she continued, "Come with me, please."
At her request, he and the others plus Ul and Cana followed her as she took them to one of the rooms. It didn't take long before they arrived. When she opened the door, they entered, only to gasp in shock as they spotted Makarov laying down on a bed, with Porlyusica tending to him as always.
"Master/Gramps!" They all exclaimed as they approached the bed.
"What happened to him?!" Erza demanded loudly. Her eyes roaming across the downed figure of her only parent.
"Don't yell! That's why I hate humans so much!" Porlyusica shouted as she waved a broom around. No one knew from where she got it.
"When he confronted his grandson, he fell down, gripping his chest," Ul informed the young mages.
"What? His heart?" Lucy put her hands over her mouth.
"Brat." Porlyusica suddenly spoke as she looked at Natsu's eyes. Her face changing from its usual expression to a sad one. Even Natsu was shocked this time, he had never seen her like this before, "Bring Laxus here. Bring that brat here quickly." she requested, much to their confusion.
"But why?" Lucy asked her as she tried to shake off the dreadful feeling she had since she entered the room.
"Yeah, I don't see why he should be here after all he has done," Gray added as he crossed his arms over his chest.
"You have to bring that foolish brat, who is making all this ruckus in spite of his grandfather's critical state."
"Critical state? Surely, you couldn't mean..." Cana trailed off. The doctor hasn't informed them of this earlier!
"Just do it, please." she pleaded, to their's shock as they never heard her sound so weak before, "This man..." The Guild's doctor gestured toward Makarov, "Doesn't have much left." she finally dropped the bomb, stunning them into absolute immobility.
*At The Guild*
Laxus was sitting on a chair on the second floor. In the same spot, his grandfather always sat and watched his brats. As he sat, his brain began to send him various memories of him and Makarov.
"Laxux!"
"You promised to watch Fantasia together with me, right?"
"How about that, Laxux?"
"Those are Fairy Tail wizards!"
"Why Am I remembering stupid things now?"
There was a particular one that was bothering him. The one memory that started everything.
*Flashback*
"Laxus...You aren't going to participate in the Fantasia?" Makarov asked a much younger Laxus as the blonde began to leave his office.
"What're you talkin' about, old man?" Laxus stopped and spoke, his body trembling from fury and frustration, as he turned, his grandfather was quite surprised at the fury that invaded his eyes, "Since I was little, everyone's always seen me your grandson! It doesn't matter what I do, I'm always 'Makarov's grandson'!" he exclaimed his worries and complains to the old man, "Since I'm always, 'The Master of Fairy Tail's grandson' I can never get credit for what I do!"
Makarov sighed. So that was it, "That really depends on your point of view." he replied calmly, "Is there anyone in the world who really gets the credit they deserve?"
Laxus then completely changed the subject as he saw that they were going nowhere with this, "All he said was that he was uncomfortable and then you went and shamed him even more!"
Makarov instantly knew what he meant and looked down a little, "Well..."
"Don't you have any sympathy?!" Laxus shouted at him, "Why's you expel my dad?!" he demanded, but much to his everlasting fury, Makarov was silent, "Say something!"
The third Master of Fairy Tail closed his eyes as he remembered his son's activities that brought more harm than good, "He...Ivan bought harm to the guild."
"Yeah, he did a lot of stupid stuff, but even so, he's your son!" Laxus defended his father, "He's family!"
Instead of getting the guilty expression he excepted from Makarov, all he got was a serious face, "Even be they family, I cannot allow those who threaten the lives of their comrades to remain in the same guild." The old man spoke seriously, not breaking his gaze from Laxus, "That's how my predecessor protected Fairy Tail before it passed to me. That's Fairy Tail!"
"Then kick me out too!" Laxus argued back, as he pointed at himself, "I will join the guild my dad started up and crush you!"
"He started a Guild?!"Makarov bellowed in fury, "You know where Ivan is now?!"
"As if you actually care. Nice try." Laxus scoffed as he turned around, preparing to leave.
"W-wait, Laxus!" Makarov called out in a slight panic, "He left the guild in the possession of information that could harm Fairy Tail! I have to find him or Fairy Tail's in trouble!"
"That's rich, coming from the one that threw him out..." Retorted the blond, "One day I'll surpass you. Not for my dad, but for myself!" as he neared the door. He only turned his head, showing the determination on it, "For me to become my own man!"
*End of Flashback*
"The time is ripe...Old man, I will surpass you!" Laxus declared as he stood at his full height.
*Back at Natsu's home*
Makarov coughed as he slowly opened his eyes, "Laxus... " he muttered.
"Makarov, you're awake!" Porlyusica exclaimed as she moved by his side, "Don't move."
The old man ignored her completely as he turned to face Natsu and the others, "Natsu..."
"Yeah?" replied the pink-haired man as he crouched down in front of the bed.
"Please... Save that boy." he requested weakly as consciousness began to leave him again.
"Don't worry. I will." Natsu declared as he grabbed the old man's hand in his own. Soon enough, Makarov was fast asleep, but with a noticeable change in his state. Natsu straightening himself up and turned to his friends, they were all waiting for him, "Alright guys, Gather everyone in the basement and wait there. We aren't going to be defeated without a fight!"
"Yeah!"
"I'm going to my room. I have some business to attend," he said as he left, the others following him. As they stepped out of the room, they separated. Natsu chuckled as he began to walk toward his room. With his enhanced hearing, he caught what the girls were saying.
"Hey, you said that you put on a bikini in the contest!" Mirajane exclaimed as she stared at the brunette with calculating eyes, "You sly bitch!"
"That what you're worried about?" Cana could only sweat drop at the white-haired woman, "Besides, we were only testing."
"A bikini! That's totally not fair!" Lucy hissed, slightly glaring at the brunette card mage, "I'm really gonna have to step up my game now!"
"I see..." Erza said, as she suddenly appeared next to Lucy. Her hand under her chin in a cute thinking position, "That's a very valid tactic."
"That's not really the time!"
*Sometime Later*
Ul was wandering around the house. She had to admit that it was pretty big. For three people to live in any way. One was a cat. As she passed some doors, she heard a voice and peeked through the opened door.
"Mind explaining what the hell is happening, Ultear?" Natsu's voice was calm, but there was still anger in it. He was in his room, sitting on a desk while a Communication Lacrima on the desk, showing Ultear's beautiful face.
The purple haired beauty sighed heavily as she pinched the bridge of her nose, "I..." She stopped speaking as she didn't know how to express herself.
The Dragon Slayer ground his teeth, "Didn't you tell me Laxus wouldn't do a thing for at least two months?" he asked, a vein on his temple as he remembered the state Magnolia Town was in.
Ultear averted her eyes, "I thought so too, but..." She trailed off as Natsu rose a brow. He nodded, indicating to her to continue, to which she sighed and continued, this time in an ashamed tone, "It seems that Laxus knew you will ask me to investigate."
The revelation hit Natsu like a fully powered Dragon Roar, 'Oh...' he thought with a smack to his forehead. Now realizing that Laxus had tricked him. He probably had a spy somewhere in the room, when he spoke to Ultear and Makarov. He had to admit that he didn't sense anything, even though his sense were exceptional, "I see." Natsu finally spoke before he gave the purple-haired beauty a smile when he saw a hint of nervousness in her face, "Don't worry. It's not your fault."
He told her, Much to her poorly hidden relief. Ultear cursed herself for her failure. She was so good at her job that. However, that was what brought this. She was ashamed to admit that she was arrogant enough that she didn't even try to investigate further. Sadly, that arrogance brought a calamity to Natsu and his friends. She only hoped they would forgive her.
"Anyway, we are going to fight pretty soon. So goodbye for now, Ultear-chan!" Natsu exclaimed before he stood back up. He suddenly heard the door opening and looked back, 'Oh shit!' he thought in shock as he saw Ul standing there with a hand on her mouth. Tears slowly building and flowing down her cheeks. Ultear was the same, as she stared in shock. She didn't expect this and honestly, she wasn't prepared to meet her mother yet.
"Uhh..." Natsu stammered for something to say, but all that he could get out was nonsense.
Why was he always put in complicated situations?!
To Be Continued...
