He sat on the edge of the Cathedral podium; his headphones weren't on; he was too focused. Focused on what he was forcing the old geezer into, forcing the old man to give some reign finally. Yet, he wasn't doing this for the reasons everyone else thought, which was precisely part of the plan. They couldn't know, not yet.
His ears twitched; someone was coming, earlier than he expected too. He could feel them too, their magic power; it was impressive, very much so. He looked up from the stone floor of the massive Cathedral and looked towards the medieval-esque open entrance of the grand hall.
Standing before him was a tall man, carrying a variety of magic staff on his back. Aside from his eyes, the man's face was completely covered by a green mask and a dark blue bandana with a silver forehead protector. He smiled, but his smile faded; he could already feel the pull, the memories fading; he had to do this fast. This person was possibly one of the only people he could talk to regarding his actual plans. For the man before him never stuck around home very long either.
"Mystogan, you finally showed your face. I figured you'd show up sooner or later, ironically enough, since you never show up for very long in the first place. Yet that's exactly why I need you here."
"Laxus, you need to end this madness; if you take down the Thunder palace now and surrender, we can convince the citizens of Magnolia that this was all just a part of the festival."
"...You still don't get it then."
"What exactly am I missing here besides seeing a member of Fairy Tail gone rogue?"
"You don't know why I'm doing this. You don't know about it."
"Don't you desire to become master of Fairy Tail by force? To force your grandfather's hand?"
"That's only part of the reason. Have you ever questioned why I want to be the master so badly?"
"..."
"Tch, figured. I wanna be master for one reason, Mystogan, because Fairy Tail's got a dark secret the old man doesn't wanna let loose, and it's got something to do with our guild marks."
"Guild marks? What do you mean?"
"I know it was my dad who noticed first; then he went insane. He had an affinity for dark enchantments, and the moment he joined the guild, he noticed something was up. He even wrote a whole journal on what he found out and gave it to me before he was forced to split, urging me not to read it until I got strong enough to do something about it."
Laxus reached into his fur coat, and he pulled out a thin black journal that had a padlock on it—showing it in all its glory to Mystogan.
"I need people who are strong and people who rarely ever show up at the guildhall to help me deal with this before it all goes south."
"Then why do this? Why not just ask me personally?"
"Because I needed to keep all the other runts occupied. The ones who've practically lived their whole lives at the guildhall, I'll admit I have too, but I broke that routine after becoming S class just for this reason. I started only showing up here once every few months, and you're the same way. "
"Where exactly are you going with all this?" Mystogan asked. Laxus opened his mouth, and then Mystogan saw a flash of light come from his side, forcing him to stumble. Mystogan's eyes widened.
That's where his guild mark was.
"Shit…guess even all those extra tattoos didn't cut it quite right...wait...what the hell?"
"What? What now?"
"Y-your chest…it's…shorting out or something."
"What?"
Mystogan looked down to his right pectoral, and his eyes widened in surprise; it was his guild mark. It was flashing red, but the light was weak.
"Stop speaking in riddles already and get to the point quickly, Laxus. What's the deal with our guild marks?"
"Alright…better do it quick; I got a feeling someone like Erza's going to show up soon. My dad wrote that he could sense that all our guild marks are interconnected as he could almost feel strange and dark energy that is constantly being transferred and reinforced between all the members of Fairy Tail. Like an enchantment that affects everyone with a guild mark.
Once he noticed, though, his guild mark started doing things to him, driving him crazy and causing him to do shit he'd never normally do. He knew it was the guild mark, though, and the old geezer banished him before he could get a word in otherwise. He left me this book, though, and explained to me what he learned before his mind went into the gutter."
"The guild marks are enchanted!? Why didn't you warn anyone sooner!?"
"Because every time I tried, I'd conveniently forget, or I'd suddenly get the irresistible urge not to. That's when I realized what it was; it's being around too many members at once. I had to leave Fairy Tail for months at a time and keep getting stronger so I could build up a resistance to the enchantment. Other members wouldn't believe me, not even the Thunder legion. I even got tattoo's around my guild mark, hoping that would weaken it a bit without cutting it entirely."
"All in preparation for…today?"
"Yes and no…I don't expect this plan to work. I'm just hoping it will before shit gets even worse."
"I still don't think I understand. Fairy Tail is regarded as the kindest-
"That's the issue."
"What?"
"My dad sensed an enchantment darker than any other that slowly drove him insane but left other members alone because they remained ignorant about it. He sensed an enchantment that realized he was self-aware, and it got him kicked out for being aware, yet it doesn't ever seem to activate until someone realizes its existence. Doesn't that seem a bit suspicious? Why the need to hide? What kind of enchantment is even capable of that? Something's very wrong in the guildhall, and we need to weed it out before it rears its ugly head and shows its true colours. Or at least figure out what the hell it is first."
"I...I see I was mistaken to think that this was the reason you detached yourself so much from everyone else and not just stupid arrogance like everyone assumed."
"It only got worse for dad once the infected members heard him say shit about the mark as the old man did. I didn't know if this would work, to be honest, but I'm glad your guild mark doesn't work on you for some reason. It only flashes when it wants you to forget something, or it's trying to influence you somehow; that's what my dad wrote anyways. He saw gramps' mark do it, but Gramps never remembered. He got kicked out before he could figure out anything else, though, and that's where we come in."
"There you are!" A new voice exclaimed. Mystogan turned around to see a young scarlet-haired woman, clad in steel armour and wielding a broadsword in one hand.
"Erza," Laxus growled. In another time, Mystogan would've sided with Erza.
Yet while he didn't fully trust Laxus, there was truth in his words, so he decided to try and be neutral for now.
"Erza, can whatever you're planning to do please wait a moment? I believe I was just getting through to"
"Mystogan? If you don't intend to help, then stay out of the way; Laxus needs to be stopped before he ends up killing everyone in Fairy Tail!" Erza cried out, pointing her sword threateningly at Mystogan. Mystogan didn't think anything weird about what she claimed until he looked under her steel shoulder cover.
Her mark was faintly glowing blue.
Mystogan remained calm yet was now internally leaning towards Laxus' side on the matter. It was true; it had to be, the marks were enchanted, and her overly aggressive behaviour might not be just due to her usual personality after all. However, he shouldn't expose himself; he was the only one seemingly immune to the mark's effects. Which made it no wonder why he never noticed before; he was semi-well-versed in enchantments as well with his staves.
"Erza, I will fight Laxus if it comes to that. But, do you not desire to see a peaceful ending where no one gets any more hurt? Even Laxus?"
Erza growled, her eyes became furious, and Laxus and Mystogan both nearly took a step back.
Her eyes were starting to glow blue.
"May Ankhseram has mercy on us all," Mystogan whispered.
"You will either help me bring him to justice, or I'll cut you down where you stand here and now, Mystogan!" Erza threatened. She summoned a second sword in her free hand; Mystogan could feel her magic pressure rising with every second. She was preparing to strike them both down.
"Erza, please think about this for a second. Laxus still has control of the Thunder palace; what of the other members he might harm if you decide to drive him into a corner so rashly."
The glow faded; Mystogan took note of that.
"I-I didn't think about that…Damn you, Laxus! You selfish coward! What do you hope to gain through all of this!?" Erza yelled. The glow was fading quickly, too quickly; why?
"ME? I want the old geezer to roll over and hand the guild over to me! So I can finally kick all you losers to the curb once and for all!" Laxus yelled. He was a pretty good liar, it probably helped that the truth was laced into it to an extent.
"LAXUS! I'M GONNA KICK YOUR BUTT, Y'HEAR ME YA BIG OLD COWARD!" A loud voice shouted from outside. Everyone turned to see a young pink-haired man with a scaly white scarf, both of his hands were literally on fire, and a blue flying cat was floating next to him.
"Natsu? Go handle the Thunder palace; I'll deal with Laxus." Erza ordered.
"I can't! He used body link magic on those things! Bisca already got taken out!"
"What!? You absolute scum!" Erza barked. Mystogan saw her guild mark glow again. Did it react based on the user? Or to purely external factors? He saw Natsu's glowing red too, yet if he hadn't been looking for it, he wouldn't have noticed.
As for Happy
His back was flashing red.
"Happy, could you come here for a moment?" Mystogan suddenly asked.
"Huh? Why me? W-wait, are you that Mystogan guy!?" Happy exclaimed.
"What!? Whaddya want Happy for, weirdo!? Hands off him; he's my buddy, not yours!"
"Yeah, you tell him, Natsu!" Happy cheered.
"I'll give you a fish later if you hear what I have to say."
"Welp, sorry Natsu, but he's got a point." Happy conceded. Laxus was just confused, but alarm came racing to him as Natsu suddenly grabbed Happy's tail.
"N-Natsu? What're you doing? I'm sure he won't-"
"Don't talk to him, Happy! I don't like the looks of him! He's freaking weird!" Natsu yelled.
"Hey morons! Aren't you two forgetting the whole reason you came here in the first place!? HHHRRAAAA!" Laxus yelled. The blonde-haired mage coated himself in lightning, his magic power was astonishing in Mystogan's mind, much more than he ever anticipated. It was so great that magic waves were being thrown off of him just through the sheer density of his magic.
"W-Woah! Man, I knew you were tough; let's go Laxus!" Natsu yelled. His guild mark never stopped glowing, and Erza's eyes began to glow as she seemed to hone in on the new lightning-clad threat that appeared. Mystogan was left completely forgotten.
"W-woah! Man Laxus sure is as strong as ever!" Happy cried out. Mystogan vanished into a puff of smoke and reappeared behind Happy, grabbing him by the backpack before proceeding to vanish with Happy into the corner of the Cathedral, away from all the chaos happening.
"W-woah, I feel dizzy. Woah wait why'd you do that!?" Happy yelled. Mystogan said nothing, instead he tore off his backpack and looked at Happy's guild mark.
It was shorting out, and Mystogan came to a realization.
"It couldn't be because-"
"Hey Lemmie go! What're you doing!?" Happy yelled in protest. Mystogan complied and handed him back his backpack.
"Oh, uh, thanks? What was that for though!? I need to be there to help cheer on Natsu and Erza!" Happy exclaimed. He could hear the sounds of combat from here, and the ground shaking from the two on one fight but that didn't matter right now.
"Happy, look." Mystogan said. He actually pulled down his shirt and revealed his guild mark.
"W-woah, why's your guild mark glowing all weird like that?" Happy asked.
"Yours is too."
"Wait it is!? Why'd no one tell me before!?" Happy yelled in confusion.
"Long story short none of your friends were able to notice. Listen to me for a moment…because what I have to say impacts all of Fairy Tail."
Happy just looked stunned.
"You and I…were immune to the effects of the mark, for reasons I believe I know but won't say for now."
"The mark?"
"The guild mark. Someone apparently has casted a dark enchantment onto it, that's the real reason Laxus is going through all this trouble. Only certain members can see through the mark's influence...its possible someone is attempting to gain control of all members of Fairy Tail."
"What!? Well, then we have to warn somebody before it happens!"
"Laxus knows more than I do. Apparently his father tried to do that years ago if I understand correctly, and the master banished him for it. Members who live in the guild hall almost daily are completely under its influence, they won't even notice the glow if you shoved it in their faces, but you and I, and people who rarely visit the guild hall like Laxus and probably old man Gildarts know better."
"Wow really!? So that's the real reason why Laxus went so crazy all of a sudden!?"
"I can't speak for all of his reasons but yes, he wanted to become master to figure out the cause of this enchantment. He's frightened by it, and after seeing it for the first time, I can safely say I am too. Once I knew what to look for, I immediately saw how it influenced people like Erza and Natsu alike."
"N-Natsu and Erza, team Natsu is being controlled!?"
"Maybe, it's only a theory, but one thing for sure is that the mark doesn't like those who realize its existence. It doesn't want Fairy Tail to know about it, and it drove Laxus' father insane just to hide the truth from everyone else. Yet if what Laxus claims is true, then we need to help him; I'm afraid of what might happen now that even three of us have grown aware of-"
"Ah! Mystogan behind you!"
"Solid script! Fire!"
Mystogan whipped around, preparing to block the attack. He knew who had fired it, but his eyes widened in surprise; the attack was far more devastating than he anticipated with the fiery words melting the ground beneath them as they sailed towards them!
Mystogan was suddenly yanked out of the way of the flames that burst into the Cathedral behind him, melting through the solid stones of the ancient building. He was floating in the air now with Happy carrying him.
"Man those staffs weigh a lot! I wasn't sure if I was gonna even make it out in time!" Happy complained.
"Happy, that was Levy who just attacked us."
"Really!? That attack was like Natsu firing a roar at us though! She's not that strong!"
"HEAVEN'S WHEEL!"
"FIRE DRAGON'S ROAR!"
A massive burst of fire burst through the Cathedral roof that had swords swirling around the flames and being launched towards a singular point at the top. It was Laxus, and he looked much worse for wear. Yet to Mystogan's surprise his lightning reignited, lighting up the sky briefly as he reappeared on the roof of the building. He was burnt and he had cuts all over his body.
Erza and Natsu both came out from the Cathedral, their eyes were both glowing a deep red now. Natsu was covered head to toe in flames so intensely Happy had to make sure it was really him, while Erza summoned at least a few hundred swords at once that covered the sky above the three powerful mages.
The swords suddenly launched into the sky, and they struck every one of the orbs simultaneously, destroying them all at once. Laxus looked baffled, and when all the lightning came for Erza, she re-equipped into her lightning empress armour.
Over one hundred bolts of lightning came racing at her all at once. The resulting explosion overcame the entire Cathedral and sent everyone flying away; even Happy nearly fell out of the sky simply due to the shockwave and pieces of rubble that went flying due to the explosion. When the mushroom cloud cleared, the entire Cathedral was nothing more than a pile of smouldering stone and rubble, yet all three mages were standing.
Even Erza, although she looked as if she was quickly on her last legs.
"That was fifteen billion volts to the face if I account for her resistance; H-how the hell is she still standing?" Laxus wondered aloud. Erza took a knee.
"T-the rest is up to (cough!) you, Natsu," Erza said.
"Just leave it to me, alright?" Natsu said.
"Holy fuck, Salamander, how the hell are you, idiots, even still breathing after something like that? I think all of Magnolia felt the explosion." A gruff voice said. Laxus looked past the smoke and saw a young man with long black hair and iron studs all over his face, Gajeel, the iron dragon slayer.
His guild mark was glowing but flickering green.
Mystogan appeared in a burst of smoke and grabbed Gajeel by the shoulder. Laxus smiled, It seemed Mystogan was pretty observant since Gajeel's guild mark was flickering in the smoke; it was easier to notice.
"What the hell!? Let me go, bub! I gotta kick that lightning bastard-"
"Shut up and look at your guild mark."
"My guild mark? Why…T-the hell? Why's it look so…wait forget that why, OW WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU!?"
Mystogan had used magic to slice through Gajeel's guild mark, and it ceased glowing altogether.
All hell broke loose.
"Don't let them get away!" Erza cried out. Laxus and Gajeel both heard cries all over Magnolia, Mystogan had just unleashed a sleeping giant.
"Fuck me just what the hell going on here!?" Gajeel yelled. Natsu reacted to him first, bursting out from his position like a rocket, his fist aflame before Mystogan could move and Gajeel got a fist full of fire to the cheek that was so strong it caused a shockwave and sent Gajeel flying backwards.
"Five layered magic circle:Sacred song!" Mystogan chanted. Five multi-coloured magic circles appeared above Natsu's head, and a beam of magic shot through all of them and hit him head on, forcing him to the ground as the scorched rubble cracked under the pressure. An explosion occurred that shook the ground, but Mystogan was no fool, he morphed into mist and reappeared by Gajeel right as a giant plume of fire erupted from the crater he had created and blew away most of the remaining smoke in the area. Taking on the form of a fiery dragon, with Natsu's glowing red eyes piercing through the flames.
"What the hell happened to Salamander? That one punch felt as strong as when he was all fully juiced up in Phantom Lord!" Gajeel exclaimed.
"I think we need to leave Magnolia, effective immediately!"
"Lightning Dragon's roar!" Laxus suddenly exclaimed, Gajeel couldn't believe what he was hearing right as the largest blast of lightning he'd ever seen in his life hit Natsu dead center and caused an explosion so powerful that the shockwave shattered whatever remaining glass was around the town and Natsu was sent flying while spitting up blood.
"Quick! Shits really hit the fan so let's get out of town before the stronger members-"
"Solid script! Fire!"
"Three layered magic circle, mirror water!"
Mystogan redirected levy's blast of fire and it struck the glowing-eyed blue girl dead on, blowing her away and horribly burning the girl at the same time. Mystogan didn't exactly look like that spell was effortless though, as he was panting heavily like he had just gone for a twenty mile run.
"Th-their attacks are becoming even more powerful. I won't be able to keep this up much longer." Mystogan admitted.
"Fire dragon's ROAR!"
"Iron dragon's ROAR!"
Fire and metal suddenly clashed in the center of Magnolia, the shockwave tearing up the ground and being heard throughout the entire city. Yet the flames were quickly melting the iron whirlwind that Gajeel was producing.
"Lightning dragon's breakdown fist!"
A fist of pure lightning erupted from Laxus's body and travelled through Gajeel's iron roar, the added power pushed back Natsu's flames and hit the dragon slayer dead on.
"The explosions are coming from the center of the city!"
"They're all here! We can finally end this!"
"Laxus you need to stop this madness!"
"Laxus you pig, it's time to end this!"
"All of you back up, NNNOW!" Laxus roared. He flexed his magical power, sending waves upon waves of magical pressure through the surrounding area. He probably had enough energy built up inside of him to destroy most of the city if he used up all his magic at once. God knows the Cathedral was demolished as were the houses in the immediate area. His lightning coarse through the air and tore through the ground, causing most weaker members to back up to avoid getting hit with a few million volts of lightning.
Not all of them were intimidated by the display of raw power though.
"Soul extinction!" A demonic voice chanted right before a stream of pure darkness erupted from her hands. Laxus leapt in front of the group and threw back his hand.
"Lightning dragon's heavenward halberd!" Laxus chanted. He threw a lightning halberd at the stream of dark magic and the magic power collided, sending waves of magic rippling through the air and even causing the immediate ground to shake as the two epic powers clashed with one another. Yet the she-demon let out a roar and her beam tripled in size, easily overtaking Laxus' spear.
"Fuck! Plan B! Hope I got enough magic for this!"
Laxus suddenly grabbed hold of everyone right as the stream was on his back, and they were all coated in lightning before vanishing from sight right as the beam of darkness hit the ground. Yet once the smoke cleared, Laxus and the others were long gone.
On the outskirts of town, Laxus reappeared with his newfound allies in hand, and he collapsed immediately. Completely worn out.
"We still need to keep moving, we've only temporarily got them off our trail…they must be tracking us somehow."
"The mark, of course, of course the damn thing is also a Tracker. But, hey Iron-brain, you got the sword don't you? Do us all a favor and cut our guild marks."
"Shut up sparky or I'll leave you to the berserk Fairies." Gajeel retorted. Yet he still fashioned his hand into a knife and cut through Laxus's guild mark, alongside Mystogan's…he admittedly didn't feel that comfortable but Happy seemed to understand so he went through with it.
"Alright (huff!) Mystogan's right about one thing. We gotta get the hell out of here before someone like Gramps decides it's time to make an appearance. We got lucky that Erza took herself out alongside the Thunder palace for some reason, and wasn't expecting Mirajane of all people to get her powers back all of a sudden."
"You mean that freaky demon lady was mirajane the guild bartender? Holy shit and I thought I'd seen everything." Gajeel said.
The four of them all began to move, with all their guild marks cut (Mystogan did his own), there would hopefully no longer be any way for Fairy Tail to track them down. So they made their way down the main road, leaving the ruined town of Magnolia behind them.