Chapter 22

Natsu walked along the wall of Magnolia, staring at the forest outside. The clouds darkened above, threatening to begin raining at any moment. It had been three days since they had returned, and nothing seemed to be getting any better.

The town was just as chaotic had been upon their arrival, perhaps even more so. Families ran around, desperate to find their family members. He clenched his fist. Throughout his walk here, he had seen too many families crying for their lost ones. Too many children standing alone in the streets. All because of Phantom Lord.

Word had spread quickly about what happened, and with the failure of the attack lingering over their heads, many had no clue what to do. Magnolia had been their haven. Under the watch of Fairy Tail—the leading guild in the Alliance—they had felt that nothing could hurt them.

This proved otherwise.

It had been a devastating blow. The guild had been flooded with messengers the past few days, from the towns that didn't have guilds to protect them, and Master Makarov had been constantly talking through the other Alliance guilds through his lacrima. No one knew what to expect, and there was already talk about the end of the Alliance for good. They had only been whispers, but Natsu rarely missed anything.

Natsu glanced at a group of guards as they passed. Their uniforms looked sloppy, disheveled, and there were bags beneath their eyes. Master Makarov had tripled the guards on the walls, which proved troublesome now that they had even less than before they left. If Phantom Lord came to attack, he wanted to be prepared for anything.

He nodded at them, but none would meet his eyes. Many of them blamed Fairy Tail for the attack…along with anything that might follow.

The soft pitter-patter of footsteps pulled him from his thoughts, and Natsu turned to see Wendy walking towards him. Her gaze was firmly locked on the ground, although every so often she'd glance over the edge of the wall and out into the forest below. He frowned when he noticed the guards stepping around her without a word, too.

"Wendy," Natsu said. She jumped, as if startled. "Who told you I was here?"

"Happy." She hesitated, glancing up at him briefly before reverting her gaze to the floor. "He wanted me to tell you that he's worried."

Natsu grinned, but it fell shortly after. She still refused to look up. "I'll talk to him later, don't worry."

They fell into silence. Natsu leaned forward, placing his palms on the edge of the parapet. He should've known that she'd come, especially having been resting for most of the past few days. Her final words had stuck with him, and yet, it seemed like that was the last thing on his mind.

"Is it true?" Wendy asked.

"I'm sorry," he began. "You shouldn't have been dragged into the middle of this."

Wendy remained silent.

"I will talk to Gramps later to confirm it, but there might just be enough time to get you back to Cait Shelter before anything else happens."

"Back to Cait Shelter?" she said softly. Natsu turned to find her staring at him with wide eyes.

"Gramps spoke to me about it while you were resting. You should be somewhere safe. We can't promise that here anymore."

"You can't."

"Wendy," Natsu continued. He ran a hand through his hair. "We just—"

"You can't!"

He fell silent at her shout, which even made a few of the guards look over. The wind swirled above them briskly, before dissipating.

"Wendy…"

"You can't send me away again," she said, her eyes brimming with tears. "I already had to leave on guild, you can't make me leave another!"

Natsu knelt, placing a hand on her shoulder, but she brushed it away. "I'm sorry."

"I'm not leaving."

"We have to make sure you're safe!" Natsu exclaimed, suddenly growing more irritated. He took a breath to steady himself. "We can't allow anything else to happen to anymore of our members. We've already lost too much."

"I can still help! I healed Erza!" Wendy rolled up the sleeve of her dress, pointing at the Fairy Tail emblem stamped on her arm. "I thought that you said Fairy Tail is a family. If that's true, then everyone here is my family too and I won't leave them!"

He watched her silently, trying to come up with a reply. She watched him determinedly, more so than he had ever seen her do before. For one that was typically so shy, she was proving that she could be quite the opposite when pushed, and it brought a slight smile to his face.

"She's right, you know."

Natsu straightened, and both him and Wendy turned to face Erza. She stood father down the wall, heavily favoring one leg. She still looked tired and weak, her red hair disheveled, but compared to how she was throughout the journey back, it was already a vast improvement. Even her Heart Kreuz armor was still cracked—a lingering reminder of how much magic she had used to stop the Jupiter Cannon.

Erza smiled at Wendy, although Natsu could see the trembling in her damaged leg. "Go back to the guild, Wendy. Let me speak with Natsu for a bit."

Wendy glanced between them, seeming unsure, but after a moment she nodded. She took off down the wall in a sprint, before pausing at the top of the stairs, glancing at them one last time before heading down. Erza moved closer, coming to a stop just beside Natsu as she leaned against the parapet with a sigh.

"You should still be resting."

"I will note your suggestion just like I have everyone else's."

Natsu's cheeks began to burn. She had always had that effect over him, making him feel like such a child even though she was just a year older than him.

"Natsu," Erza said. "You need to get out of your own head."

"How? How are we supposed to do that when everything is still so messed up?"

"We take it one step at time, just like we always have. Together."

Natsu shuffled, turning away to look at the forest below. A group of people approached the gate and were quickly stopped by the guards. They looked to be from another village, but all he could think about was when he had first met Lucy out there.

"We aren't together, anymore. Levy, Jet, and Droy are still held prisoner by Phantom Lord. Lucy is somewhere we don't even know, and half of Magnolia is ready to turn against us at any moment."

Erza nodded. "I know—"

"They were waiting for us to save them, Erza!" he exclaimed, throwing his hands up into the air. "And we failed them."

"We did everything we could, Natsu. None of us would've expected that they had something like the Jupiter Cannon hidden away. We will eventually stop them, no matter what it takes."

Natsu opened his mouth to continue speaking but was halted by Erza raising a finger.

"However, that does not mean we should let ourselves dissolve like this in the meantime. It's more important than ever that we remain united, and that means not sending one of our own away at the slightest hint of trouble. If we resort to that, then you should've been sent away long ago."

He couldn't hold back the grin at that thought. She was right, of course, having typically been the one to save him from most of his antics back during his early days in the guild.

"She came here because I was a dragon slayer, just like her. I was supposed to teach her what that meant, but I failed even in that."

Just like he failed to save Lucy.

"And now she has been brought into the middle of a guild war with us. No one deserves that, Erza."

"You're right, she doesn't." Erza shuffled slightly, readjusting her position. "But she's one of us, and we will continue to look over her no matter what happens. Besides, you've been a better teacher than I think you realize. You've just been too stuck in your own head."

"How?"

"Your determination is infectious, Natsu," she said. "Your will to protect Fairy Tail affects everyone around you, even if it may only be hurting you. You need to let go of the idea that you need to do it all yourself and realize that we all have the same goal. When you can do that—when everyone begins too—then that's when we truly become a guild."

"We already had the same goal."

"No, we didn't." Erza shook her head. "I've been speaking with the master. We were too rash in our direct attack on Phantom Lord. Saving Levy, Jet, and Droy was important, but we should've prepared ourselves better for the attack."

"It wouldn't have made a difference."

"Maybe, maybe not," she replied. Natsu turned to her then, only to find her looking out over the town. The gate opened below them, allowing the group of travelers to pass through. "Laxus refuses to aid us now, stating that we aren't worthy after losing the fight at Oak Town and we've not had any word from Gildarts or Mystogan. If we can't even rely on our top mages when things go south, then how could we really say that we are united?"

Erza shook her head, turning back to him. He didn't find Laxus' refusal to help surprising, but it still made him furious. The lightning mage had always been an egotistical jerk, but to even refuse when your guildmates were in danger was unforgivable.

"I know what you're thinking," Erza said. "The master is already coming up with ideas on how to punish Laxus. In the meantime, he is going to hold hope that either of the other two S-Class mages respond."

She turned towards him then, meeting his eyes. There was an intensity there that he didn't think he had ever seen from the scarlet-haired mage before. "With me unable to fight, that leaves us with no S-Class mages available against Phantom Lord's five. The master will be preoccupied with Jose, leaving him unavailable to help. It's time for you to stand up and become the leader that Fairy Tail needs you to be. Both you and Gray."

"And that starts by you not abandoning your family."

Natsu clenched his hands into fists, hands trembling. He knew that she was right. He knew it. And yet, he still found himself in doubt.

"How?" he questioned again. He took a breath, trying to steady his trembling words. "How do you expect us to do so when even you couldn't stand up to Phantom Lord?"

She grasped his shoulder, pulling on him until he was facing the town. In the distance, the sun loomed over the Fairy Tail guildhall, casting a shadow over the entire town. The people bustled through the streets, doing whatever they could to prepare in this frenzy.

"With them, Natsu. You have all of Fairy Tail standing with you, and even more people throughout Magnolia. They may doubt or question, but that's because they are scared Natsu, just as we all are. Phantom Lord's betrayal won't be forgotten, but we also won't allow them to continue on this path without at least attempting to stop them."

Erza stood up then, still favoring one leg heavily. Natsu offered her his arm, which she quickly took. They began to walk down the wall, following in the path that Wendy had taken. She was right. If there was one thing that had always stood out about Fairy Tail, it was the fact that they were a family. They shared their pains, and fought their battles together, no matter what odds they faced.

"Phantom Lord is coming," Erza said. "It's only a matter of time. What are you going to do, Natsu? Continue wallowing away up here alone? Or join the rest of us at the guild preparing, and help those like Gray to lead the rest of them in the fight against Phantom Lord?"

For the first time all day, Natsu didn't have to think. He grinned. "We're going to fight, of course."

I hope you enojoyed!