Chapter 23
Phantom Lord were said to arrive around midday, and the guild did not know what to expect. Where they going to arrive by foot? Or perhaps take control of some of the trains to get here quicker? They certainly never expected to witness the entire Phantom Lord guildhall approaching them from the lake, walking atop four gigantic mechanical legs.
"Prepare yourselves!" Master Makarov shouted. Natsu stood to his side, watching as the Magnolia guards rushed into place at the edge of the ledge. The waves were rising from the force of the approaching monstrosity, covering many of them in a light mist. They held enchanted items, such as spears that could shoot a laser of light, or swords that burst into flames once a button was pressed.
"Gramps," Natsu said. "What's the plan?"
Master Makarov was silent for a moment, watching the approaching guild. Gray ran over next with Elfman, his shirt missing and frost already beginning to form over his enclosed fists.
"We are going to have to stop them." Master Makarov pointed to the legs of the machine. "We need to stop the guild from getting any closer as fast as possible."
Natsu slammed his fists together, creating a small puff of smoke. He had been waiting for this moment to come for too long, and know that it was here, he would ensure that they didn't fail like last time. He would save Levy, Jet, and Droy. Find out where Lucy went, and then put a stop to Phantom Lord once and for all.
"I will confront Jose," Master Makarov continued. He closed his eyes, and Natsu quickly became all too aware of the Wizard Saint emblem on the back of his jacket. There had never been a time where he had to watch the master go all-out during a fight, but if that time had ever come, than it was now. Jose Porla was a Wizard Saint himself, appointed by the top members of the Alliance and recognized as one of the strongest mages.
Although, Phantom Lord couldn't be considered part of the Alliance any longer.
"C'mon!" Natsu waved to Gray, Elfman, and the few other Fairy Tail members that had gathered behind him. They rushed to the edge of the lake, where the guards were just putting the finishing touches on the last of the fortifications. "Do you think you'll be able to make a bridge, Gray?"
Gray nodded, slamming his hands together as mist began to rise from below him. He got to work on forming the bridge, so Natsu turned, spotting Erza approaching with Wendy at her side. She was still limping, although she looked much better.
"Right now," Erza said, glancing between him, Gray, and Elfman. "You three are the first ones assaulting Phantom Lord, excluding the master."
Natsu frowned, glancing at Wendy. She was standing quietly, fiddling with her fingers. Happy and Charla floated in the air beside her head. "Can we spare any others?"
Erza nodded, grimacing. "We plan to send Alzack and Bisca with you, along with Macao, but they will only come once the path has been secured. You three are our top mages now."
"You're going to stay to defend the lake?"
"Yes," Erza continued. "The master has determined that I am still not fit to return to battle right away, so I will ensure that everything runs smoothly at the edge of the lake." She met his gaze for a moment, before turning back to the approaching guildhall. "Although, if things take a turn for the worse, I will head up there too."
Natsu nodded. Gray had created the bridge, and it was quickly forming over the lake, heading in a straight line for the guildhall.
"Your first priority will be saving Levy, Jet, and Droy," Erza continued. Elfman nodded beside him, transforming his right arm into a few of his different beast souls. "We don't know how many they have brought with them, so—"
Her words were cut off by a load groaning from Phantom Lord. They all turned, watching as a large hatch at the top began to slowly creak open. Natsu's heart stopped as he watched the barrel of the Jupiter Cannon slowly push its way out, the front already beginning to shine from the build-up of magic. The images of Oak Town being decimated popped into his mind, and he couldn't imagine Magnolia suffering a similar fate.
"We'll stop them," he declared. Gray had almost finished the bridge, so he took the first step onto the ice, gathering his balance. More Fairy Tail mages were filling in, preparing a variety of spells. The guildhall came to a lumbering stop, the cannon tilting down to aim directly at the town.
"Fairy Tail!" Jose Porla's voice boomed from the castle. Natsu tensed, halting his steps on the bridge. "We shall give you one last chance! Surrender yourselves or suffer the consequences of your choices!"
No one moved, and Natsu found himself relieved to turn and witness all the people—both members of Fairy Tail and Magnolia alike—staring up at Phantom Lord in defiance. They wouldn't back down in the face of evil. Not now, not ever.
"Natsu," Erza said, garnering his attention. "If you can't find where they are, then you need to just buy time. Master Makarov managed to get in contact with Mystogan, and he's on his way. There's still no word from Laxus, but apparently he was beginning to have a change of heart."
"How long?"
Erza frowned. "We aren't sure. Mystogan said that he was still a day's travel out when we spoke to him yesterday. I'd say that the best case is maybe an hour."
He turned, nodding at Gray before continuing to run down the bridge. Gray quickly followed behind, with Elfman soon to follow, screaming the entire time. They may not be able to defeat the entire guild themselves, but if they could at least hold them back until the S-Class mages could arrive, and for Master Makarov to confront Jose, then they might just stand a chance.
"Natsu!" He turned towards the cry and found Happy barreling through the air towards him. Natsu didn't stop running, but the small cat continued to fly beside him, waving his arms frantically. "I tried to stop her, but she wouldn't listen! She is coming to help!"
Before Natsu could reply, he was interrupted by a blur as Wendy flew past in Charla's arms. She was lowered to the bridge in front of them, watching Natsu with a determined look on her face.
"Wendy," Natsu said. "You shouldn't be here."
"I can help!" She tightened her fists, staring at the three mages defiantly. "If any of you are hurt, then I can heal you, and I even have enchantments that I can use to make you stronger!"
The guildhall shifted again, turning sideways as they began to slowly approach Magnolia once again. Jose Porla laughed, and in a burst of darkness, a wave of dark spirits began to pour from the top of the guild. They descended like a storm, immediately swarming those at the lake. From the bridge, Natsu could pick up many of the screams, as waves of magic were shot out to stop them. They seemed to dissipate whenever they met some of Fairy Tail's magic, but there were so many of them that it was impossible to stop them all. He turned back to Wendy, but Gray placed a hand on his arm.
"We don't have time, Natsu!" Gray shouted, pushing him forward. Wendy and Elfman fell in step beside them, the cats flying overhead. "We may need her help, anyhow. We need to focus on stopping Phantom Lord!"
Natsu grumbled quietly, but relented, nonetheless. "Fine. But you need to stay with one of us at all times."
She gave a nod of affirmation, and they continued forward. The guildhall towered over them, the castle-like structure looming as wave after wave of spirits continued swarming out from the top. When any strayed to close, they would quickly be stopped by a quick attack from one of them. When they finally reached the end, the cannon at the top was beginning to grow ever brighter, pulsing from the amount of magic that was being gathered.
"Split up, here!" Gray shouted. Elfman gave a roar of approval. "We need to try to find any member of the Element Four that we can and put a stop to them. Remember, our goal is to try and find the captured members and open a path for the master!"
With that, he was gone, stepping into the castle, and disappearing down a corridor. Elfman gave one final shout, transforming his arm into another one of his beast souls before taking off down another. That left Natsu alone with Wendy and the cats, breathing hard as he tried to gather his surroundings. They stood in a small room, with a large staircase in front of them, although through a doorway at the top, he could just make out the sight of a large, circular crystal.
"C'mon," he said. "We need to see if we can find a way to stop that cannon from firing."
They stepped up the stairs, Natsu ensuring that Wendy stayed a bit behind him. When they stepped through the door, they were met with a wide-open room, with the crystal sitting in the middle, supported and glowing bright. There were a few cables connected to it, leading into the ceiling above.
"Do you think this is it?" Wendy asked. "What's powering the cannon?"
"I'm not sure…I—"
A lone figure walked into the room at the far end, dressed in plain red. His hair was split down the middle, one half being black and the other being white. Natsu quickly pushed Wendy further behind him, as Happy flew up to his shoulders, grabbing ahold.
"Welcome, Salamander!" He proclaimed. "I've been waiting for you, just dying to find out which of our flames are stronger."
"You one of the Element Four?"
The man grinned. "Indeed. I am Totomaru, and I will be the one to stop you from interfering with our plans. I'm sure that Black Steel will be a bit upset later, but it can't be helped."
The lacrima began to grow brighter, sending more magic up to the cannon above. Totomaru's grin widened.
"And it looks like you better hurry, else you'll be too late to save your precious town."
LINE BREAK
Gajeel grunted, taking a bite out of the plain loaf of bread as he sat down on the empty crate. Guard duty. He couldn't think of anything more humiliating than that.
"Awe, don't be so sour, Gajeel," another member of Phantom Lord said. Gajeel couldn't even care enough to remember his name. "Master Jose simply wants to save you for the finale. Doesn't want to waste your talents on the early fights."
He ripped another chunk out of the bread. "There wouldn't be no finale if he just sent me in to put an end to this in the first place."
The Phantom Lord member simply cackled, before leaving the prison. Gajeel had been sent to relieve him as they had been approaching Fairy Tail. He had been hoping to fight the Salamander and prove that he was truly the strongest dragon slayer there is. There had even been part of him hoping to encounter this new dragon slayer that had been rumored to join Fairy Tail. Apparently, they were even stronger than the Salamander himself.
He sighed, leaning back against the wall, and shutting his eyes. He could hear the screams from the fighting outside and couldn't help but wonder how he had ended up here. In the beginning, he had simply wanted a place to find work, and had been ensured that Phantom Lord would be that place. He didn't even care for the guild much, if he was honest, but after spending so long here, he felt a bit of obligation, even if he didn't care for the entire war much.
"Are we at Magnolia?"
The light voice dragged him out of his thoughts, and he turned an eye to the blue-haired girl sitting in the cage. She looked weak—weaker than the day he had captured her—yet, there was a defiance in her gaze that hadn't lessened from the moment he had first put her in there. Her other two companions lay sleeping pathetically beside her.
"Yes," he grumbled. "Don't expect much out of it. They'll be finished by the end of the day."
"No," she retorted, voice hard. "Fairy Tail won't lose."
"Oh yeah?" Gajeel snorted, turning, and shutting his eyes again. "We'll see about that."
"Why do you fight for Phantom Lord?" she continued. "I know you don't want to, not really."
"You don't know what you're talking about."
"You didn't hurt me more than you needed to," she continued. "I saw the way some of your other guild members were watching me. They wouldn't have hesitated to hurt all three of us and enjoy it while doing so. Yet, you didn't do so, and even stopped them when they tried to."
He sighed. "Don't think on it too much, girlie. I enjoy pissing them off."
She didn't reply but settled back down in the cell. He couldn't lie and say that she didn't interest him at least somewhat. While her partners had all but cowered after the first few minutes of being captured, she refused to submit, and took even more punishment for it. It wasn't something you'd see out of any of these Phantom Lord members.
"Like I said," he continued, tossing the last bit of bread in his mouth. "It'll all be over before the sun sets."
"You're right."
Gajeel turned, meeting her gaze with a single eye once more. There was something in her gaze that almost made him shiver.
"And I can't wait to watch Fairy Tail destroy Phantom Lord."
I hope you enjoyed!