The coalition of Fairy Tail, Cait Shelter, Lamia Scale, and Blue Pegasus had set out shortly after the briefing. They had a plan for approaching the Oracion Seis. They were supposed to split into a few groups, with a mixture of powerful and support members. They would hopefully track down the Seis members individually and eliminate them. Because they were each so very powerful, trying to fight the whole guild all at once was not advisable. Unfortunately, the terrible weather of all things ended up complicating things. The rain and darkness made it a lot harder to see. It would make it harder to find the Oracion Seis. And it certainly was not ideal for travelling on foot.
The group wandered through the forested area, trying to stick to the clearer paths. They were carrying a couple of magical lacrimas with them that emitted light, to help them see. Hibiki had also been able to use his magic to create a shield barrier to block the rain, and prevent them from getting too wet. They knew the Oracion Seis were nearby, and they were hoping they could catch them off guard. So far it wasn't looking too good though. They weren't very inconspicuous walking around like this all together, carrying lacrimas and shielding. They were going to need to split up.
Team Fairy Tail were at the front. Gray was keeping a sharp eye out for any sign of danger. Lucy was walking behind him, silently worrying about having to face such powerful foes. Juvia was a little away from them, seemingly lost in thought. Gejeel was scanning the area. Wendy Marvell, the girl they had just met, had caught up to him and was walking next to him. Wendy looked up at him. "So, um, you're a dragon slayer too right? That's what I've heard." Wendy asked. Gajeel looked down at her. "Yeah, so what?"
"Well, its just that I thought that since you're a dragon slayer, and I'm a dragon slayer, maybe you could teach me a few things?" Wendy looked up at him hopefully.
"I don't think so. I'm not looking to be a teacher, or a daddy figure. Find someone else." Gajeel said. He didn't sound angry or even annoyed when he said it, but he did sound firm. Wendy looked disappointed. "But…" she began, but just slumped her shoulders. After that, they walked in silence for a few minutes before coming to a clearing.
They group stood there, seeing several paths they could take. Jura Neekis spoke up. "I think we should split up here. Divide into two teams moving together. Sound good?" He said. Gray nodded. "Fine by me." Lyon stepped forward. "Good idea. Maybe Lamia Scale should go with Fairy Tail." He said, while eyeing Juvia. Sherry stepped forward as well. "Lyon, maybe we should go with Blue Pegasus instead. Let the little girl and the cat go with Fairy Tail." Lyon shrugged. "Fine. But Juvia could at least accompany us. She doesn't seem very happy with Fairy Tail." Sherry and Juvia both looked annoyed at this suggestion.
"Just get out of here Lyon, we don't need you." Gray said. Jura spoke up again; "Lamia Scale and Blue Pegasus travelling together sounds like a good idea. Unfortunately, that means the other group won't have a shield to protect them from the rain." He stated. Gray shrugged. "I don't mind getting wet." He said.
"Is that really true Gray?" Juvia asked bitterly. Gray looked confused. "What?" he said simply. "Never mind." She said.
"Then its decided. Lamia Scale, you're with us." Ichiya said. Jura nodded, and Sherry looked relieved. "We'll contact you soon. I'll use my archive ability." Hibiki said. "Good luck." Lucy called. Lamia Scale and Blue Pegauss went westward together, and disappeared. Now, the Fairy Tail team was left with the Cait Shelter "team" of Wendy and Carla.
"So, which way do we go?" said Lucy. Happy raised his paw. "I could go up and fly around, scout things out." In response, Carla gave an annoyed sigh. "First of all, its stupid and reckless to go flying around in unknown territory in this weather. Secondly, what if the enemy is expecting something like that and sees you? Nobody would be there to help you if you get caught. Try using your head." Happy looked dejected. "Yeah, I guess you're right." He was hoping to impress her, but instead just annoyed her.
Gray decided to speak up. "Look, the other teams went west, so we go east. Let's keep it simple. Unless someone has a better idea." He looked at the others, and nobody seemed to disagree. "Yeah, that makes sense." Lucy said. Juvia nodded in agreement. And so, they all started heading towards the east path. Along the way, they tried to use the tress for cover from the rain when possible.
As they moved onward, Juvia spoke up. "So, what are we looking for? Something called 'Nirvana'?"
"We're looking for the Oracion Seis before they can get to Nirvana. Not that we know exactly what they're planning to do." Gray responded.
"My guildmaster said that Nirvana is incredibly dangerous and destructive. It can turn good people bad, and bad people good. That's what he told me, anyway." Wendy added.
Lucy appeared concerned. "That does sound creepy. But if we can stop the Oracion Seis in time then that won't be a problem, right?" As Lucy said this, she almost walked right into Gajeel, who had stopped. Lucy looked at him, confused. The others stopped too. "What is it, Gajeel?" Gray asked. Without turning around, Gajeel said, "You don't hear that? I guess its cause you're not a dragon slayer. There's a fight going on not too far from here. A big one." Gray shook his head. "I don't hear anything." He turned to Wendy. "How about you? You're a dragon slayer. You hear a fight?" he asked.
Wendy looked surprised that they were asking something important of her, but after a moment she focused on listening to see if she could hear what Gajeel was hearing. "I didn't notice anything before. But now that I'm listening… I think I hear something. It does sound like a bunch of people fighting. I think they're casting spells." Wendy pointed in a direction. Gajeel nodded in confirmation.
"Guess we're heading that way then." Gray said. Juvia turned to him. "Gray, are you sure that's a good idea? I mean, I'll follow you, but we don't know what's over there."
"Its all we have to go on right now. We can sneak over, so they won't see us."
"All seven of us?" Happy said. "Yes happy, all seven of us. Now let's move." Gray said. He moved towards the direction Wendy had pointed. "Who made him the boss?" Gajeel muttered. But they all followed.
They slowly moved through the tress and vegetation, trying not to make too much noise. It was wet, and cold, and dark. Juvia was awkwardly holding the light lacrima while trying to stay low. For the non-dragon slayers, the only prominent sound they could hear was the rain falling against everything. It was a demoralizing atmosphere, but they all knew they had a job to do.
After moving through the greenery for several minutes, they finally came to a clearing, where they found the source of the noises. They could all hear it clearly now. And see it. Dozens of mages all battling each other. There were several bodies on the ground. The group stared at the spectacle while trying not to be seen themselves. "What the hell is this?" Gray asked.
"Who are they?" Wendy asked.
"I don't know, but it looks like there are two factions. One with hoods, and another that… kind of look like monkeys." Juvia said.
"Monkeys?" Gajeel said. He looked closer. "Yeah, I guess they sort of do."
"Wait a minute, I think I know that one. They're Naked Mummy, the guild that attacked Love and Lucky." Lucy said.
"That's the one you took out single handed, right? If you could do that, they should be no problem for all of us." Gajeel said. Lucy wasn't sure how to take that.
"I think I recognize the other group too." Juvia said. "I'm pretty sure that's Red Hood. They work under Oracion Seis."
"Oh yeah. I thought they looked familiar." Gajeel said.
"Actually, Naked Mummy works for Oracion Seis too. They're both on the same side. Or at least, they're supposed to be." Juvia added.
"Then why the hell are they fighting each other?" Gray said.
"Good question." Happy said. The group watched as the two supposedly allied factions battled. The Naked Mummy members were mostly using magic guns, while Red Hood were using staffs, with some pict magic thrown in. A few of the participants had even resorted to brawling with their fists. It was turning into a melee.
"What do we do now?" Wendy asked nervously.
"Well, we could just wait for them to finish up with each other, and then question whoever is left standing. We can take 'em." Gray said. But as he said that, one of the Red Hood members turned in their direction. He pointed and shouted something. "Or we could just get involved right now!" Gray said. He stood up and formed ice blades from his arms.
"So much for being sneaky." Gajeel said.
"I guess we're doing this." Lucy said. The rest of the group stood up, preparing themselves. By this point both Red Hood and Naked Mummy now saw them, and they both looked like they wanted to go at it. Some of them began charging towards team Fairy Tail. "Let's do this." Gray said, and ran towards the approaching enemy.
Back at Fairy Tail, things were relatively quiet. Evergreen had decided to go home because of the weather. Bickslow didn't want to look for a job solo, so he left too. Cana was sitting in a corner with a strong drink. Alzack and Bisca were sitting close together, having a conversation. Nab Lasaro was indecisively looking at the request board, as usual. Macao was trying to help Romeo learn some magic. And Elfman was having a meal at a table.
As all of this was going on, the front door of the guild opened, and in walked Mirajane followed closely by Seraiisa. Mirajane closed the door, and put her umbrella away. Seraiisa had stayed dry thanks to her hooded robe, but the robe was dripping water all over the place. Seraiisa looked down at the puddle. "Don't worry about it, I'll put a towel down." Mirajane said.
As Mirajane went to clean up, Seraiisa walked further into the guild. Spotting Elfman, she said, "Hey Elfman, nice to see you again." Elfman looked down at her, swallowed his food, and said, "Yeah, likewise. You, uh, keeping out of trouble?" She tilted her head slightly, and smiled. "For now." Elfman didn't know how to respond to this, so he just shrugged and went back to eating. Seraiisa still stood there. "You don't like me, do you?" she asked. Elfman turned back to her.
"What? I never said that." He replied.
"No, you didn't." she said, looking at him with a strange expression. But then she smiled again. "That's okay though." She said. Elfman raised an eyebrow. At that moment Mirajane walked over to them.
"What are you guys talking about?" Mirajane asked cheerfully. Seraiisa looked up at her. "Just chatting. I think Elfman wants to be left alone to finish eating though." Mirajane looked at Elfman. "Elfman, be nice to her." She scolded. "I was." He protested. But Seraiisa had already found something else to interest her. She moved over towards Alzack and Bisca. They were chatting about something, and holding hands under the table, while trying to be discreet about it. They didn't notice the little girl walk up. "Hi." She said, startling them. "Hey, are you two a couple? You're holding hands." She said bluntly. They both immediately unclasped their hands, and turned red with embarrassment. "N-no, we're not… I mean." Bisca said. "We're just friends. I mean, good friends. I mean…" Alzack trailed off. Seraiisa tilted her head at them. "Seraiisa, no." Mirajane said from behind her. Mirajane wagged her finger at the girl. "You shouldn't ask them that." By this point Bisca and Alzack had gotten up and quickly left.
"Why not?" Seraiisa asked.
"Because some people aren't comfortable talking about that sort of thing." Mirajane explained. Seraiisa tilted her head again, expression blank. Regarding her, Mirajane remembered that she's just a kid, and a foreigner to boot. Of course she won't understand things like that. "Its fine. I know you didn't mean anything by it. Just try to be careful about that, okay?" Seraiisa nodded. "Okay."
Seraiisa stood there a moment, seeming to consider something. Mirajane waited to see if she wanted to say something. Seraiisa looked up at her and said, "I think its time. I should call my family here now. They can be here very soon, I think." Mirajane looked at a window, considering the awful weather. "Are you sure? Maybe tonight isn't the best night."
"Tonight is the best night. It was decided." Seraiisa said. Mirajane nodded slowly. "Okay. I'll go let master Makarov know about this." As Mirajane started to walk away, Seraiisa grabbed her arm.
"Mira, can I use one of the tables to set up? I'm going to contact them telepathically, and I need to prepare." Mirajane put a finger to her chin. "Couldn't you just use a lacrima to call them?"
"They said that using my power was the best way. We all agreed." Seraiisa said with a serious expression.
"Okay. If that's how you want to do it, I guess that's okay. Its not very crowded tonight, so we can spare a table." Mirajane said.
Seraiisa gave a small smile. "Thanks Mira."
"You're welcome. You know, I should come up with a nickname for you too." Mirajane said. She then turned and walked off. After watching Mirajane leave, Seraiisa turned and looked for an empty table. She found one near the front of the guild. Seraiisa walked over to the table. She reached into her robe, and pulled out a few things. A couple of vials, and a bag. She opened the bag, and poured out a green powdery substance in a circle onto the table. She then opened a vial, and trickled a small amount of liquid into the center. What she was doing was attracting some attention from nearby guild members, both curious and confused. She then began touching the symbols on her robe in a strange way. She made sure to touch each symbol using only two fingers, and was muttering something to herself. This went on for a few minutes, and the symbols began to glow, and the liquid began to smoke a little. She closed her eyes for added concentration, and stopped muttering. She stood there silently, fingers still touching symbols on her sleeves.
While all of this was going on, Mirajane had come back with Makarov. The two of them were watching Seraiisa's strange ritual from a distance. By this point much of the guild was now watching the spectacle. Mirajane watched this with a confused look on her face, while Makarov wore a more serious expression. Neither said anything. After another minute, Seraiisa suddenly opened her eyes. The symbols on her robe stopped glowing. The smoke dissipated.
Seraiisa turned, and noticed everyone watching her, including Mirajane and Makarov. She appeared uncertain for a moment. But then she decided to ignore most of the stares, and just looked at Mirajane and Makarov directly. "They're coming. They'll be here soon." She said.
Gray swung his arm at a hooded foe. An ice blade happened to be attached to his arm at that moment, so the damage to the enemy was impressive. He went down hard. Gray then swung his other arm at a member of Naked Mummy just a couple of feet away. His jaw cracked, and he fell. Something suddenly hit Gray in the head from behind, causing him to stagger and fall to one knee. Holding his head, he turned and saw that a Red Hood member had struck him with a staff. That same Red Hood lunged at him, maybe hoping to impale him. Gray managed to grab the staff, and hold onto it. Gray got to his feet, and he and the opponent struggled with the staff. But a magic blast came rushing from nearby. One of the Naked Mummy members had fired their magic gun. Still holding the staff, Gray swung the Red Hood into the magic blast, avoiding damage himself. Gray then used an ice blast to propel the man into the one who had fired the gun, knocking them both to the ground.
Nearby, Gajeel was fighting several Red Hoods. Two of them tried to attack him head on, but he took them down with a quick flurry of fists. As he was doing that, three more were using pict magic to summon a large monster to fight for them. Gajeel looked at the summoned monster, and readied himself. It slashed at him, and he barely dodged it. He countered with an Iron Dragon's Club attack, launching a metal pole from his arm at the beast, knocking it back. He then followed up with an Iron Dragon Roar attack, knocking the monster and the Red Hood members to the ground. "These guys are too easy." He said. He didn't notice that close by, Wendy was watching him, observing his moves and techniques.
In another part of the clearing, Lucy was surrounded by no less than eight Naked Mummy members. Lucy stood in the center, looking prepared for a fight. But the dark guild seemed unconcerned. "You got lucky last time little girl. This time will be different." A rather large member said. Lucy took a step back. She reached for a key, and the large Mummy pulled a magic gun. As he fired, Lucy dodged to the side. However, she was struck by another member. She hit the ground. Four of the members walked over to her, at which point Taurus burst though the ground. Lucy had been able to summon him after all. He swung his axe, knocking them all down. He slammed it into the ground for good measure, insuring they would stay down. The large Mummy fired the gun at Taurus several times, hurting him. Taurus rushed at the man in a rage. They engaged in close combat.
Meanwhile, Lucy got to her feet, but was brought to her knees with a knee to the abdomen. Three of the members had avoided Taurus' attacks. "Fun's over, bitch." A sleazy Naked Mummy said to her. Lucy gritted her teeth as the man aimed his gun at her. The man's head snapped back from a hard blast of water. He staggered, and was hit with another, larger blast, knocking him to the ground in a wet heap. The other two stared at their fallen comrade. While they were distracted, Lucy uppercutted one of them in the jaw as hard as she could. He fell to his knees. Before the remaining member could react, Lucy kicked him with a "Lucy Kick", knocking him down as well. Juvia fired a final shot at the kneeling man to finish it. Standing there for a second, Lucy turned back and saw Juvia. "Thanks for the help!" Lucy said gratefully.
"Don't mention it. I noticed your cow man had gotten jumped by a few other guys, so I decided I could give you a hand while he was busy." Juvia said. After Juvia said that, Lucy suddenly clutched her hand and grimaced. "Ahhhh." Lucy groaned.
"What's wrong?" Juvia asked.
"I think I might have broken something when I punched that guy. I'm not used to punching people." Lucy tried to move a finger, but she flinched when that caused her pain. "Wendy has healing magic. She can fix it." Juvia suggested. Lucy nodded. "Good idea. At least the rain has eased up. For now." By that point, the fighting was pretty much over. Lucy and Juvia, along with the rest of the team, gathered together as a group.
While Wendy tended to Lucy's hand, Gray, Gajeel and Juvia looked for any dark guild members who were still conscious. Gray found a Naked Mummy member who was still awake. He was bruised, but still able to talk. Gray picked him up, while Juvia stood nearby in case he tried something. "Alright, I'll make this simple. Tell me where to find your masters. The Oracion Seis." Gray said.
The bruised man looked at Gray defiantly. "I'm not telling you anything." This annoyed Gray. "Don't think I won't hurt you." He threatened. "Gray, maybe this isn't the best way to handle this." Juvia suggested. Gray ignored her. "Just tell me where they are and what they're doing right now, and you won't get hurt." The man spit in Gray's face. Gray punched him, and he fell to the ground. Gray stalked away, annoyed. Juvia said nothing.
Further away, Gajeel had found a Red Hood member who was still conscious. "Alright, my turn." Gajeel said. "Maybe we should ask why these guys were all fighting each other?" Lucy said. Her hand was healed, so she had walked over to the others with Wendy and Carla in tow. "I think that's a good idea." Said Juvia, walking over to join them. Gajeel nodded slightly. "Okay, fine. Why were you fighting the monkey men over there? You're all supposed to be on the same side, right?" The hooded man appeared to smile, but it may have been a grimace of pain. "We were on the same side. Not anymore." He replied.
"What happened?" asked Juvia.
The man, sitting on the ground, appeared to consider. "We had a change of heart. The Red Hood I mean. Decided there was a better way."
"A better way to what?" Gajeel said.
"To everything." The man said vaguely.
"That doesn't exactly answer anything." Lucy said. Gajeel was now getting impatient. "So, are you still working for the Seis or what?" he asked. The Red Hood shook his head. "Nah. They are though." He said, pointing to the downed Naked Mummy guild. "But Red Hood is on a different path now."
"So, can you tell us where your former bosses are?" Gray asked. The Red Hood took another moment to consider. "I guess there's no reason not to. Sure, I'll tell you. Or at least, I'll tell you where we last knew them to be. Can't guarantee they're still there."
"Good enough." Gajeel said.
"Wait, maybe we should ask him more about who he's working for now. What if his new boss is around here somewhere?" Lucy interjected. Gray thought about this for a second. "Whoever you're working for now, are they still around here?" Gray asked. The Hood shook his head. "No. They're gone now. You won't find them here. And that's all I'll say about that."
"Fine by me. If they're not here, then they're not our problem." Gajeel said.
"Our priority is the Oracion Seis." Gray agreed. "Now, where are they?" Gray asked. The Red Hood told them.
Makarov was sitting with Mirajane at a table. He often spoke with her about important guild matters. Officially she was just a waitress, but in many ways she served as an assistant to Makarov, and helped him with certain aspects of running the guild. Makarov also valued her opinion. Despite her young age, she had a way of seeing to the heart of things in a way that many others couldn't.
"Mirajane, can I ask you something?" Makarov began. He looked at her seriously. Mirajane was a little surprised by his demeanor. "Sure, what is it?" she said. Makarov paused a moment, collecting his thoughts. He looked over towards the front of the guild, where Seraiisa was. She was sitting with Levy, talking. "That girl… Do you trust her?" he said, still looking at the girl in question. Mirajane followed his gaze, watching Seraiisa. "Yes, I do. You don't?" Mirajane asked.
Makarov turned back to Mirajane. "I'm not sure. We don't know much about her, do we?" Mirajane shrugged. "You didn't know much about me and my family when we first came here either."
Makarov nodded. "True. But that ritual she performed… it was very unusual. Unsettling. I know some magic requires rituals, but not quite like that."
"Well, she is foreign. Her ways are different." Mirajane said.
"I'm aware. But I've also spent a fair amount of time studying magic from all over. I've never heard of anything exactly like that. Although, something about it did seem familiar…" he trailed off. There was suddenly a banging noise at the front of the guild. Makarov turned. "What is that?" he asked. The noise repeated. Mirajane looked at the front door, which was currently closed. "I think someone is knocking on the door." she observed.
"That's weird." Makarov said.
"Yeah, the door isn't locked, and people usually just walk right in." Mirajane agreed. The noise repeated again, louder this time. Towards the front, Levy got up from the table. "Um, I'll get it, I guess." She walked over to the door and opened it. "You know, it was op-" Levy stopped mid-sentence. She stood there a moment, confused. Something reached out and wrapped itself around her midsection, and lifted her. Levy's confusion turned to panic. She struggled in the grip of whatever had her. Several other mages in the guild stood up to help her. But Levy was pulled out of the guild to the outside. A few Fairy Tail mages, along with Seraiisa, now stood at the door.
Makarov and Mirajane rushed over to see what was happening. There were several ominous figures outside of the door. One of them had Levy. The one holding Levy was a young woman in a red dress, with long red hair. That hair is what she used to grab Levy, and it was currently wrapped tightly around her. There were a few other figures, including a short, pink skinned man, and a slender dark-haired man, and another tall, lanky man in a mask and hood. However, there was also one person in the group that Makarov immediately recognized. "Ivan!" Makarov said. Ivan Dryer, son of Makarov Dryer, smiled maliciously. "Hello father. Its been a long time."
The Fairy Tail / Cait Shelter team had been traveling for a little while. The man they interrogated had told them where to find the Oracion Seis, assuming they were still there. The rain was light at the moment, but the team was still using the tree canopy for cover whenever possible. They still had the light lacrima, which fortunately had not been damaged during the fight, since Wendy held onto it while the others fought. Wendy was still carrying it, and was walking next to Carla. "You should have brought a jacket child, you're going to get sick." Carla scolded. Wendy looked downcast. "I'm sorry. I should have thought of that. But the lacrima is keeping me warm. So, maybe it'll be okay."
"Hmph." Was Carla's only response. Happy sensed an opportunity, and decided to move closer to Carla. "Hey Carla, I'm Happy. Nice to meet you." He said. Carla eyed him irritably. "We already met earlier."
"As a group, yeah. But I wanted to say hi personally." Happy said.
"Why?" Carla asked.
"Just being friendly. Also, are you dating anyone?" he replied.
"Ugh." Was Carla's response.
Meanwhile, Juvia was walking beside Gray. Gray looked focused, staring straight ahead. Juvia tried to appear focused too, but kept stealing glances at him. "So Gray…" she began. He didn't turn to face her. She started to say something, but then thought better of it. She then decided to say something else: "Gray, even if that man was telling the truth about where the Oracion Seis are, do you really think it's a good idea to just go after them directly like this? Each member is supposed to be powerful enough to take on a whole guild. And there's six of them." She said with some dread. Now, Gray turned to face her.
"I hear what you're saying, but we've got a mission here. We have to do this, the sooner the better. Besides, maybe we'll get lucky and only a few of them will be there. Even taking out a few would be better than nothing." He said. Juvia seemed to accept this, but still looked concerned. Lucy, who was right behind them, spoke up; "You know, Hibiki said that he would be in contact with us. Maybe if we could get in touch with him, we could ask for backup from the other guilds."
"Yeah, that would be nice, but how do we go about contacting them?" Gray asked. As if on cue, they suddenly heard Hibiki's voice. "Hey guys. I've been following you." Most of the team was startled by this sudden intrusion. "What the hell…" Gajeel said.
"Uh, did anyone else hear that?" Lucy said.
"Relax. Its Hibiki. I'm using archive to monitor you, and I'm contacting you telepathically."
"Oh, is that all?" Carla said sarcastically.
"Well, I guess its nice that someone's watching out for us." Happy said.
Hibiki resumed what he was saying. "Anyway, you're heading towards the Oracion Seis right now, right? You know where they are?"
"Yeah, we do. We think." Gray said. Gray relayed the directions to Hibiki. "So, you didn't run into any of them?" Gray asked.
"No, we didn't. We ran into some of their henchmen though. Funny thing is, it seemed like they weren't all on the same side." Hibiki said.
"We had a similar experience." Juvia interjected.
"I guess we were lucky. If they had still been working together, we would have had a harder time." Lucy said.
Hibiki considered this. "Maybe. Whether it's a good thing depends on what caused the split. Anyway, our team is a ways off from yours, so if you want backup then its going to take us a little time to reach you."
"That's fine. We'll go on ahead, and you can meet us there." Gray said.
"You sure? It might be safer to wait." Hibiki said.
"Yeah. This way we can at least scout out the location, see if they're even there. We'll try to hold off on a fight until you guys show up. No promises though." Gray said."
"Okay then. See you there." Hibiki sounded unsure, but accepted Gray's decision.
"Later." Gray said. And then Hibiki's voice was gone. "Alright, let's get moving." With that, the group moved forward to find the enemy. They walked for a couple of miles. They stayed on their guard the whole way, although they managed to avoid any serious trouble. Eventually, they came to the area. As they got closer, they became increasingly sure that they were in the right place, due to a distinctive landmark. It was the giant structure known as Nirvana. It was quite imposing. But there was something unexpected as well.
The group moved close to the structure. "So, this is Nirvana?" Juvia asked.
"This is it, yeah." Wendy confirmed. "But this isn't supposed to be here." She was referring to what Niravana was surrounded by. The base of Nirvana was enclosed by a rust colored metallic structure. It appeared simultaneously old and worn, but also highly advanced. Emanating from this structure was what appeared to be a translucent magical barrier enclosing Nirvana as a whole, apparently cutting off access to it.
"What is this?" Gray asked. Gray touched it experimentally. "It feels pretty strong."
"Do you think the Oracion Seis are in there?" Juvia asked.
"No clue. If they are, then its gonna take us a while to get to them." Gray answered.
"Maybe we should look around a little. Maybe we'll find some clue that can help us?" Lucy suggested. Gray thought this over, but Gajeel spoke up first. "I smell something. Its hard to tell with the rain, but I think there's someone nearby. Gajeel looked around, trying to find the source. The others started looking too, suddenly becoming more alert. Without saying anything, Gajeel starting walking towards a bunch of ruins close to Nirvana. Lucy looked at Gray. "Should we follow him?" she asked.
"I guess we better, in case he runs into something. Just be careful." They slowly starting moving through the broken dwellings, keeping their eyes open for an attack. They didn't hear anything, except for the sound of rain patter everywhere. That, combined with the darkness, made it hard to find anything. "This is creepy." Lucy whispered. She kept a hand on her celestial keys just in case. Wendy hung back a little from the others, lest her light give them away. Gray was checking around every corner, but saw nothing. He was tense, but also wondered if this was a waste of time. Time that could be spent breaking through that barrier to get inside. Gajeel was still trying to search using his nose. He stopped, and looked around. It was pretty dark here, so it was hard to see. He turned back to Wendy. "Hey kid, get over here. I need your light." He said. Wendy quickly walked over to where Gajeel was, with Carla tagging along. As Wendy walked up to him, the surrounding area was illuminated. It was definitely easier to see now. They also now noticed something. There was one building that was half absorbed into the tress, with the front wall torn off. It had wide stairs leading up to a second floor. At the top of those stairs was a figure, watching them. Gajeel readied himself into a fighting stance once he saw this.
The figure at the top didn't move. It appeared to just be sitting there. Gray moved closer to the building. "Who are you?" he said. The figure turned its head towards him. "Well, Well. Fancy meeting you here." A masculine voice said. Gray turned to Wendy. "Wendy, give me the light. And stay back."
"O-okay." Wendy said, handing him the sphere. Gray, light in hand, moved closer to the figure. The area became brighter. Gajeel and Juvia stayed somewhat close for backup, with Lucy still ready to summon a spirit if need be. As the light hit the man up top, his appearance became visible. He was a blond-haired man dressed in red and white clothes. As Gray got closer, he could see there was someone else there too. A man with black and white hair, and heavy makeup. He appeared to be sleeping.
"That's close enough." The blonde said. Gray stopped. "You're Oracion Seis?" Gray said. The blonde grinned. "Good guess. Now, if you know what's good for you, you'll turn around and leave. You don't want to pick a fight with us."
"Wrong. That's exactly why we're here. Your buddy there is asleep, so its just you against us. So maybe just surrender, and tell us where your leader is. We'll show mercy if you do." Gray said. The blonde's smile widened.
"Our leader is around, but you don't want to be here when he gets back. Trust me. All of you together couldn't take Brain." The blonde said. Gray scoffed. "Brain, huh? And what should I call you?"
"You can call me Racer. Now leave before I show you how I got that name." Racer said. Gajeel suddenly walked further up the steps, closer to Racer. "Hey, did you hear what I just said? You don't want to fight me." Racer said. Gajeel grinned.
"You might be right. Its not very sporting fighting a lamed opponent." Gajeel said, stopping just a few feet from Racer.
"What?" Gray said, confused. He then looked closer at the man, and noticed one of his legs looked odd. Racer was trying to hide it, but it looked like his leg was injured. Maybe even broken. "Huh. So that's why you're just sitting there." Gray observed. "That changes things."
"Yeah, your friends ain't here to help you, and you can't even walk. Better start talking. Where are your friends anyway?" Gajeel said. Racer grimaced.
"I'm kind of wondering how he broke his leg. Did he trip and fall or something?" Happy said. It was unclear if he was joking or not. As Happy said this, Lucy noticed something. With the light closer to him, Lucy noticed bruises on Racer's face. "I think someone else did this to him. Does it have anything to do with the dark guilds fighting each other earlier?"
Gray paused a moment. "Yeah, I had wondered about that. Some of your goons turned on you. Why is that? They do this to you?" Racer scowled. "No. Those losers couldn't touch me. It was someone else. Some… outsiders came here. Started getting involved in our business."
Team Fairy Tail exchanged glances. "Outsiders? You mean another guild?" Juvia asked. Racer shrugged. "I don't know if they're a guild. I've never heard of them before. Just some outside group."
"So, this faction; they turned your goons against you and broke your leg?" Gray asked. Racer looked at him. "I guess there's no reason not to tell you. Yeah, they turned some of our guys, somehow. But my leg? They didn't do that. They never lifted a finger against me." Racer explained.
"Then who did?" Gray asked. Racer looked him in the eye. "My so called friends did this."
End Notes: I know that the presence of Raven Tail might seem a little weird here. In particular, the fact that Flare would likely have been too young to be in the group at this point, going by the canon. However, for the purposes of this story I'm going to play fast and loose with some of the characters' ages. Especially since I don't plan to do a seven year time skip. If need be, you can just say "its different because its an AU".