Thanks to Gajeel, another member of E.R. was beaten. Erza, Gray, and Wendy remained outside and saw his finishing move when he took down Hamuro.
"Was that Gajeel?" Wendy questioned.
"You know any other iron heads around here?" Gray questioned.
"It looks like he was able to defeat another member of E.R." Erza said. She had a look to see Sasomoo was still beaten. "That's two down and only two to go. Of course, the ones remaining are Kojishi, that powerful ice wizard, and this Kuma. He's the one that separated all of us."
"Wendy, how's Hitomo doing?" Carla asked.
"Pretty well. In fact, I'm done." Wendy said as she finished using her magic on him. "I think I got most of the poison out. Just to be on the safe side, I'll run another check to make sure he's okay."
"Good. He's one of the ten wizard saints. We might need his power." Erza said. Gray agreed with Erza, but he suddenly felt a shiver running down his spine.
"That's weird. I just felt a chill." Gray said.
"It's not really like you to get cold. Is something wrong?" Erza asked.
"I'm not sure." Gray said.
"Gray!"
"That voice…" Gray said as he turned to the ship's entrance. He was surprised to see Juvia was running out and went running to him. "Juvia?!"
"Gray, my love! We're together again!" Juvia said as she lunged herself right against him. "I was so worried about you. We've been apart for far too long."
"So you were here the whole time?" Gray said.
"Juvia, is everyone else from the guild here?" Erza questioned.
"Yes. We were all held prisoner right on this ship." Juvia said. "Thanks to Gajeel, we're all free now."
"Good. I'm sure Natsu and the others can handle the last two members of this unit." Erza said. "So we should focus on figuring out how we're going to get back to land." She looked up to shooting Star that Nagare kept piloting. "There's no way we'll all fit on that ship."
"No problem. Once we beat the last two members of this unit we can just use this ship." Gray said.
"That's assuming IF it's still in one piece." Carla said. "Gajeel already ripped a hole through this ship. Let's also keep in mind that Natsu holds a very short fuse. Once he starts fighting, no matter who his opponent is, this ship will no longer be in one piece."
"You've got a point with that." Gray said. "That idiot never did learn to hold back. So what are we going to do?"
"Hope for the best. That's all we can do at the moment. I just hope the others are all doing okay." Erza said. Two members of E.R. may have been beaten, but the remaining two could be a real challenge.
…..
Natalia
When Erza and Gray finished off Sasomoo, Sasomoo used what little strength he had left to capture Natalia. Natalia was tossed inside the ship and she was faced with Kojishi. Back when they met when Natalia was a child, Kojishi was the one who gave Natalia the fear of ice magic. At the moment, Kojishi was leading her somewhere, but she was nervous about all of this.
"There's no reason to be nervous, Natalia." Kojishi said.
"Speak for yourself." Natalia said. "It's because of you that my mother is gone. You're the one that made me afraid of ice magic. You can be cold blooded when you want to be."
"I suppose I can't argue with you on that." Kojishi said. "On top of that, I'm an enemy of the guild you allied yourself with now."
"So where are you taking me, Kojishi?" Natalia questioned.
"Patience. You'll see." Kojishi said.
"See what?" Natalia questioned.
"It's something I thought you should see since you were once a member of E.R." Kojishi said. Natalia wanted to put that life behind her, but it seems like it still comes for her. She's not sure what Kojishi wants to show her, but she knows she's not going to like it.
…
Natsu
"Where ae you hiding?! Come out and fight!" Natsu called out as he searched around the ship.
"Natsu, wait!" Happy called as he and Lucy tried to follow him.
"Do you even know where you're going?!" Lucy said.
"Nope but sitting around and waiting for something to happen just isn't my thing. Besides, how big can this ship really be?!" Natsu said, but when he turned a corner, he ran right into a metal wall.
"Good grief." Lucy complained as she caught up with him. "You're lucky you're adorable."
"You loooove him." Happy taunted.
"That's not as effective since we're dating now." Lucy said. "Natsu, you need to calm down. We need to figure out what we're going to do before we do it."
"I guess." Natsu said as he tried to stand back up. When he did, he caught a whiff of someone's scent. "Wait a minute. I think I've picked up on Natalia's scent."
"Really?! Are you sure?!" Lucy said.
"Yeah. There's no mistaking that sweet flowery scent." Natsu said.
"Sweet and flowery? Not something you want to say about another girl in front of your girlfriend." Lucy complained.
"She's this way!" Natsu said as he led the way. At least they have an idea as to where to search this time.
…..
Laxus
Laxus was out on his own in the ship. Laxus made his way through and found himself in a hanger.
"This ship is huge. How much room do these people need? There's only four of them." Laxus said. "Still no sign of the guild or Natalia? What are those bastards planning?" Laxus was keeping his guard up for anything that might come at him. What he didn't know was that someone already spotted him and remained hiding. The one hiding was getting ready to attack. "Nice try." Laxus turned around and shot a blast of lightning.
"Hph…" The man moved out of the way and stepped into the light to show it was Kuma.
"You again." Laxus said.
"Laxus Dreyar, one of Fairy Tail's strongest wizards." Kuma said. "So you've returned. It would seem that I failed in sending you away far enough. We had hope that you and the others wouldn't be able to return and that Fairy Tail would never be a problem again."
"Guess again." Laxus said. "It doesn't really matter how far away we are or how long it takes. Fairy Tail always finds a way to come back together."
"I see. In that case, I'll make certain you are unable to come back." Kuma said as he launched a blast of air from his hand, but Laxus was able to jump out of the way.
"I'm not going to fall for the same trick twice!" Laxus said. "I'll admit that you caught me off guard with that trick you used on me the last time we saw each other. I'll also admit that I actually enjoyed where you sent me. However, as much as I enjoyed it, I'm not going to make the same mistake again."
"Incorrect." Kuma said. "I have no control over where you are sent. It's completely random. Wherever you ended up at was just by chance."
"Sheesh. That robotic-like personality is already getting on my nerves." Laxus said. "Time to shut you up for good!" Laxus shot a blast of lightning at him again, but Kuma was able to avoid the attack. Kuma moved fast and reached for a switch on the wall. Once he pressed it, the wall at the front of the hanger was opening up and the front of the ship was opened. "What's he doing?" Laxus was wondering what he was planning, but Kuma suddenly appeared behind him.
"Farewell." Kuma said as he was about to use his magic on Laxus again. His hand almost reached him, but Laxus dropped down and swung his leg over him to kick Kuma right in the face.
"I'm not falling for the same trick twice!" Laxus said. Kuma slid back, but he was still standing.
"Noted." Kuma said. "Using the same ability on him a second time will not be easy, but it must for be done for him to stay out of our way."
"What's wrong? Too scared to face me yourself?" Laxus said. "Is that why you're trying to send me away again?"
"It is so Fairy Tail does not interfere with our plans. Away with you." Kuma said and launched a blast of air. Laxus got hit by it and was pushed back, but he was able to endure it. Kuma hurried over and tried to send Laxus away again as he reached out with his hand, but Laxus ducked down and avoided his palm. However, Kuma swung his leg around and kicked Laxus with him being pushed back more.
"I guess this guy actually can fight." Laxus said.
"You were the first to be sent away. Therefore, you were unable to see what I am capable of." Kuma said.
"Shut up." Laxus said as be built some electricity around his arm. "It's because of you that we even got in this mess to begin with. I'm going to enjoy taking you down, you freak."
"All obstacles must be removed." Kuma said. "You shall be sent away until a more effective countermeasure is taken to eliminate you. Fairy Tail will no longer be a problem to us."
"Keep thinking that." Laxus said. "It doesn't matter where you sent me. I'm going to keep coming back. So enough talking." Laxus became a flash of lightning and slammed against Kuma. He put his hands together and smashed them against Kuma's head, driving him against the floor with some lightning. "The only thing that's going to happen is that I'm going to beat you to the ground."
"I see." Kuma said as he pulled himself back up. Kuma acted fast and gave Laxus a powerful uppercut to knock him back. "My normal measures aren't going to be enough against you. It would seem that I have to take things further."
"Now this is getting interesting." Laxus said as he was looking forward to this. "It's just as you said earlier. I was the first to be sent away. So I didn't get to see what you're capable of. However, the same is true the other way around. You don't know what I'm capable of."
"Incorrect. I have done my research on you while you have little to no information on me. I hold the advantage." Kuma said as he unleashed another blast of air, but Laxus gathered electricity around his fist and smashed it against Kuma's attack and was able to block it. Kuma was actually surprised that he was able to do that.
"You were saying?" Laxus said. Laxus actually hit back air. Kuma moves with the air itself, but Laxus is able to hit back. Kuma was the one that put the guild in this position. So Fairy Tail's best is going to be the one to punish him for it.