Welcome to Chapter 6. Probably the darkest chapter I've written(yet). Without further due, enjoy!

"You're fired up?"

Grigol stared at Natsu, veins popping on his forehead, as he gripped his fist in pure anger. This little punk dared to oppose one of the Seven Commandments? The sheer thought made his blood boil: no one just took one of his attacks head on and just shrugged them off as if nothing happened.

The Dragon Slayer, on the other hand, continued to stare into Grigol's eyes, grinning wickedly. His flames burned the grass beneath his feet and mercilessly heated up the previously cold, night air. He raised his arm and wiped off the remains of blood off his lips, his eyes still glued to Grigol's figure. "Tell me, have you always been this weak? Or is it just me who's gotten that strong?" he asked mockingly.

The man was on his limit, his body shaking from anger. "The fact that I can't kill ya is the only thing preventing me from bashin' your head into the ground, brat." he hissed, raising his fist. "My name has been given to me along with this magic by Master Silva himself. Calling my fists weak is equal to insulting Master himself. For this, I will break every single bone in your body and drag your half dead ass back where it belongs."

The only response he received was Natsu's chuckle, who bent his knees gently and extended his pivot foot, ready to dash.

"On my honor as 6th Commandment: The Body, I will take you down, Salamander!" yelled Grigol, throwing his right arm back.

The man quickly stepped in, suprising Natsu, and brought his fist downwards. The Dragon Slayer backstepped at the last second, dodging the blow, as Grigol smashed his hand into the ground beneath both men. The soil split and a small tremor shook the area, cracks appearing on the ground around them. With Grigol's fist seemingly stuck, Natsu decided to use this chance and kicked the ground, pulling back his fist, ready to strike back.

FIRE DRAGON'S...

Seeing through this move, the giant quickly ripped his arm out of the ground and sent chunks of the ground flying towards Natsu, who had to stop his attack and raise both of his arms towards his face and chest to guard himself from pieces of soil, rocks and mud. Using this chance, Grigol quickly closed the distance between him and Natsu and threw a left straight, aiming for the Dragon Slayer's face. His attack caught Salamander off guard, as his eyes widened in shock, with a giant fist just mere millimeters in front of his nose. Using both his instincts and reflexes to push his body past its absolute limits of agility, he managed to lean backwards at the last possible moment and dodge the strike, which went few centimeters above his nose.

The force of this punch was so great, it sent a whirlpool of air towards a tree and left a giant dent in its trunk, breaking it like a twig. Gulping in fear, Natsu leaned back even more and touched the ground with his hands, pushing the surface beneath to jump backwards and land on his feet, only to see Grigol's face in front of his, as the man pulled his right arm back, ready to strike again. Having no chance of dodging this blow and with his legs still off the ground, Natsu brought up his arms and blocked the blow, his own forearms squashing his nose. The Dragon Slayer was sent flying, his nose leaving a river of blood in the air and his back getting scratched by all the branches and leaves he's passed through. Feeling tired of being thrown around, Natsu backflipped in the air and smashed his feet into a tree, coming to a halt. He pushed it with his legs as hard as he could and launched himself towards Grigol like a missile, igniting his fists in the meantime. But before he could even see his opponent, he was met with a ripped out tree flying in his direction. Terror grasping his chest, he extended his right arm to the side and launched a powerful fireball, its recoil changing the trajectory of his flight. The log scraped his right temple, but he managed to successfully dodge the collision, with the tree smashing itself into its kin, both breaking into pieces.

Natsu landed on his side and rolled on the ground for a short moment, before quickly shooting back onto his feet and shifting his eyes to Grigol's figure, who was standing in his spot, carefully observing the Dragon Slayer.

"He's not giving me any time to think." thought Natsu, wiping his bloodied nostrils with his right thumb. "That power of his makes creating an opening way too frickin' hard. I've already eaten two of those bombs, any more could be dangerous. If I can't get close to him, then..."

Natsu took a deep, relaxing breath and straightened himself up.

"What's wrong, Salamander? Where did all your confidence go?" taunted Grigol, walking up to Natsu who was standing still in his spot. "I was hoping ya had something to back your words up, but as always, all that comes outta your mouth is barking of a dog."

Not listening to the man's words, the Dragon Slayer focused on his strategy, visualising his attacks. Satisfied with the outcome, he extended his pivot and kicked the ground. charging at Grigol, his fists on fire.

"That's more like it!" yelled the man, dashing as well.

Both men ran towards each other at incredible speed, the ground beneath Grigol shaking from the weight of his steps. With around 20 meters between them, he pulled his arm back and readied a right hook. But his plans were spoiled, as Natsu stopped in his tracks 5 meters away from Grigol and puffed his cheeks out, the air around him heating up to an unbearable temperature.

FIRE DRAGON'S ROAR!

The forest was flooded by a sea of fire that came out of the Dragon Slayer's' mouth, scorching flames swallowing The Body as well. The force of this attack was so strong the flames have started to scrape the ground, leaving a shallow crater under their weight. Trees and leaves were reduced to ash almost immediately, with everything on the fire's way becoming a wasteland.

Suddenly, the flames were dispelled, as Grigol covered in light burn marks all over his body flexed his muscles and sprung his previously raised arms to the sides, breaking the attack. Remains of flames spilled all over the area, landing on both the fallen trees and the now scorched ground.

Grigol quickly shifted his gaze onto Natsu's position, only to see a blank space where his figure used to be. Looking around and focusing his hearing, the man started to search for the Dragon Slayer. But he didn't have to look for too long.

FIRE DRAGON'S GRIP ATTACK!

Using his Roar as a cover, Natsu snuck up on the member of Seven Commandments and jumped down from above, placing his open hand on the man's back and unleashing his flames point blank. Flames and smoke erupted from the place he was hit in and created a wall between both men.

"This one felt good." thought satisfied Natsu, falling to the ground.

Suddenly, the smokescreen has been breached, with Grigol's arm cutting the air like a knife. Not having any time to defend himself, Natsu took the full extent of this blow, with The Body's right arm backfisting his right side, his ribs making an unpleasant sound.

The Dragon Slayer spit up some blood and was sent flying yet again, his back once again receiving a free massage from branches and leaves. Wanting to avoid a collision, Natsu extended his right arm and caught a tree by its trunk, spinning around it, his flexed shoulder and back muscles crying from pain, as he tried to keep his body stay put in one spot. Upon successfully killing the force, he dropped to his knees and breathed deeply, his right side pulsating and biting with enormous pain. He slowly lift up his jacket and took a peek at his ribs: nothing was broken, but the strike heavily crippled his mobility. Moving around at full speed with this injury was next to impossible, his skin already turning dark purple.

"This wasn't worth it..." wheezed out Natsu under his nose.

"That one was juicy." Grigol's voice echoed from behind the smoke. He soon walked out of it, his body basically unscathed. This sight slightly shocked Natsu, who didn't expect his attacks to deal little to no damage. "Don't look so suprised, Natsu. Deep down, you knew this would happen, didn't ya?" he taunted, slowly closing the distance him and Natsu, who was currently getting back up to his feet. "The feeling of your ribs on my knuckles...I need more!" he moaned, licking his right hand.

Grigol's face twisted in a sadistic smile, as he flexed his calves and kicked the ground, dashing at the Dragon Slayer at much higher speed than before. Instead of stepping in as well, Natsu jumped back and spat out a fireball out of his mouth. Both its size and power were nothing when compared to his previous Roar, which resulted in Grigol simply swatting it to the side with the back of his hand. However dealing damage was not a part of Natsu's plan: the fireball was supposed to act as a decoy and allow its caster to hide in the forest. Seeing that his prey was already hidden, The Body stopped in his tracks and breathed out, relaxing his body. He knew Natsu was waiting for a chance to land a sneak attack, it was too obvious. The same trick would never work twice on someone of his caliber.

Several seconds of silence have passed, with Grigol's ears not registering even a single sound, even after closing his eyes to sharpen his focus. Suddenly his eyes shot up wide open, as he quickly turned around in the direction of a freshly picked up sound, with another ball of fire making its way towards him. He clenched his fist and punched the attack, succesfully breaking it. Not even a second later, yet another one was sent in his way, which was broken just like the other ones.

"You're so scared of my power you've decided to hide like a bitch?!" yelled Grigol, looking around in search of a pinkhaired Dragon Slayer. "Come out and fight like a man! You had bigger balls when you were 11!" he continued to taunt his opponent, only to receive silence in return. The man clicked his tongue in irritation, his patience reaching its limits. He bent his knees as low as he could and sprung up, jumping upwards to a ridiculous height. He stayed in the air for a second, before dropping down like a boulder. He smashed into the ground, creating a crater in the place he landed in and cracked the ground around him, causing a small earthquake. All the nearby trees have started to shake and break, with the remaining wildlife flying away in terror out of the leaves. In this chaos, Grigol's ears picked up a weird sound, followed by a grunt. Grinning madly, he turned around to see Natsu, who was currently laying on the ground, his face grimaced from falling onto his wound.

"There ya are." Grigol licked his lips, his sadistic side kicking in with full force. He turned his body around to face the Dragon Slayer with its entirety and started to walk towards him, his speed increasing with each step. Seeing this, Natsu jumped back, keeping his distance.

"Guess we're turning this into a long-ranged fight then?" asked The Body, raising his right arm in the meantime. He put it on chin level and bent his middle finger inwards, grabbing its first knuckle with his thumb afterwards. He flexed his hand and flicked his finger with incredible force, sending a small whirlpool of wind towards Natsu.

Salamander's eyes widened upon seeing the high pressured air making its way towards him and threw himself to the side. The attack smashed itself into a tree, leaving a small crack in its trunk. Natsu didn't have too much time to rest for, as two other whirlpools were now making their way in his direction. He managed to dodge the second one, however he had no such luck with the third and caught the blast with his guard, its force pushing him 2 meters backwards.

With the attack successfully blocked, Natsu lowered his forearms, only to see Grigol's facer in front of his.

"Got ya." mouthed the man before delivering a powerful uppercut to the pinkette's stomach, making him cough up alot of blood. His body became limp and buckled over, with the Commandment's fist being the only thing supporting it and preventing him from falling onto his face.

Grigol pulled his fist out of Natsu's belly and grabbed him by the collar with his other hand, his limp body swinging in the air gently.

"For insulting Master, I should've ripped your arms off, but I guess this will do. Don't disappoint me and do struggle, that's where the real fun is-"

FIRE DRAGON'S IRON FIST!

Grigol's moment of victory was painfully stolen from him, with Natsu delivering a sharp and compact high right hook, his fist sliding off the man's left temple, across his cheek and right into his jaw. Blood poured out of his freshly opened lip and left eyebrow, his grip on Natsu's collar loosening.

"W-what?! He shouldn't be able to move!" Grigol panicked in his thoughts.

He tried to counter attack with a left straight, which was nowhere near as strong or fast as his previous attacks. This allowed Natsu to swiftly dodge by slipping his head to his right, as he pulled his left arm back and landed an uppercut on Grigol's stomach, paying him back. The man buckled over, blood leaking through his grit teeth onto Natsu's back. Not wanting to miss this chance, Natsu quickly pulled his hand out, ready to attack once again.

However this time, Grigol was prepared, He parried Natsu's overhand right with one of his own, his strength suddenly returning to its previous level. The Dragon Slayer felt himself being pushed back, but before he could lose the struggle, he willingly jumped back and created some safe distance between him and his opponent. They both took deep breaths, recovering from their damage.

"None of my previous attacks worked on him, and yet that halfassed punch messed him up. That counter of his was weak, way too weak, even if I did weaken him. Then again, that followup was just as strong as his previous bombs, and that was after he got nailed with a body blow. Just what the hell is going on..." wondered Natsu, calculating the situation.

He replayed the fight in his head, searching for missed clues that could help him solve this mystery. Its scenario was simple: Grigol dashing forwards, throwing some punches and then making Natsu fly in random directions. But his hunch was telling the Dragon Slayer that something was hidden in plain sight. Something simple, something obvious. He once again relived the last clash: flick, whirlpool of air, dash, punch, Natsu's first successfully landed strike, Grigol's weak, missed counter, second landed punch, strong counter. What was the link between last four parts of this puzzle? What could possibly happen in this short period of time...?

And then it clicked.

Natsu's eyes widened in realization, as he straightened himself up and spat up some blood, wiping his bloodied lips that started to curve themselves into an pitiful smile with his sleeve. How could he be blind? How could he miss something so obvious? True, it was still a theory, but if it was right, the fight was already over. If not, then...

Willing to give it a shot anyway, Salamander looked at Grigol, who has already recovered from his injuries. Emptying his lungs slowly through his mouth, Natsu relaxed his body and waited for his opponents next move. He didn't have to wait for long, as The Body charged at him like an enraged bull. Instead of jumping back and creating some distance like before, Natsu stepped in as well and launched himself straight towards the running mountain of muscles.

DRAGON SLAYER'S SECRET ARTS:

1...

CRIMSON LOTUS: FIRE DRAGON'S FIST!

Without giving him enough time to react, Natsu bombarded Grigol with a barrage of punches, his flaming hands turning into living machineguns. The man was forced to bring up his arms and guard himself, successfully blocking majority of punches that were landing all over his body.

2,3,4...

Due to the sheer amount of strikes, Grigol felt himself being pushed back, with Natsu continuing his rush on the other side of his guard.

5,6,7...

Fed up with being tickled, Grigol flexed his arms and sprung them to the sides, successfully killing Natsu's barrage. The Dragon Slayer was knocked off balance, all his built up force and momentum gone.

8...

With his arms finally free, Grigol took a swing and threw an extended right hook at Salamander's face. The pinkette regained his composure at the last second, ducking under the enormous arm.

9...

With Grigol out of position, Natsu quickly sidestepped to his left and got behind his opponent, his back completely exposed and vulnerable.

10.

FIRE DRAGON'S TALON!

Flexing his leg as hard as he could, Natsu delivered a powerful middle kick right into Grigol's lower back, his foot sending waves of pain all over his kidneys. The Commandment grunted in pain, his back arching itself.

11,12...

Grigol quickly turned around, throwing a left backfist in the meantime. Instead of dodging or parrying it, Natsu caught it with his raised left forearm and pushed the man's arm away, immediately following up with a right straight, which found its way towards the man's nose.

13,14...

Grigol's head was blown back, his nose bloodied and heavily burned. With tears in his eyes and fury taking over his mind, he clenched his right fist and swung his body forwards, using the momentum to increase his punch's power. This time, instead of dodging or blocking it, Natsu bent his knees and jumped back, distancing himself from The Body.

15.

The ground shook and cracked when Grigol's fist made contact with the surface beneath. Chunks of the soil rose up from its spot, forcefully pushed out. Natsu landed on a large piece of the ground, losing his balance upon landing for a second. His face was twisted in an evil and satisfied grin: he was right.

"What the hell are ya smirkin' for?!" yelled Grigol, charging at the Dragon Slayer with suprising speed. his fist landing on the pinkette's quickly put up guard. His feet were lifted off the ground once again, as he was sent flying deeper into the forest. Due to constant abuse from Grigol's power, Natsu's arms have started to give up, small cracks forming on their bones, as he grit his teeth in pain while flying through leaves.

Instead of feeling the cold soil beneath his back, Natsu was suprised by the feeling of water creeping through his jacket, as he landed in a small pond. This small body of water muffled and killed the force of his flight, preventing any further injuries. He drifted limply on its surface, the cold water pleasantly cooling off his sore arms, as he stared at the moon, thinking about his next move.

"That rush was worth it, thanks to that, I now know his weakness. But using it against him will be tricky. All I need is a few seconds, but how can I distract him?"

Natsu's brain worked on full throthle, his ears picking up the so familiar sound of Grigol's heavy steps making their way in his direction. He heard him step into a puddle, and that's when a lightbulb light up in the Dragon Slayer's head.

"You really have a gift when it comes to pissing me off, Salamander." huffed Grigol, squeezing his right nostrill and blowing out the other one, a giant, bloody snot launching itself out of his nose. "Is it because of that stupid village? Is that what it's all about?!" he yelled, taunting the Dragon Slayer, who was currently in hiding. Hearing nothing in response, the Commandment decided to continue his mind game.

"Ya know, at first we thought it was cute. A small kid chasing after the most powerful guild in the world - fucking hilarious. But when we started to lose our supply routes and people started to distrust us, that's when it became a problem. We looked for ya, you know? But apparently after spending all these months with us, you became smarter. Or maybe it was your thirst for revenge that poured some oil into that thick head of yours? Then again, I can't really call you smart, not after picking a fight with us. And what was it all for? A couple of orphans and one stupid whore. Ya really are a walking definition of disappointment, no wonder you can't protect those close to ya."

With his rant finished, Grigol focused his ears once again, looking for a sound of a furious Dragon Slayer. But the only response he received was thick steam spreading all over the area, quickly covering all the surroundings.

"What a persistent brat. He should have realised by now that smokescreens have no effect on me." thought angry Grigol, a vein popping on his forehead. "But I have to give him some credit, he's not as reckless as he used to be."

The Body's eyes searched for any kind of movement inside of the steam. his fist ready to strike when needed. Jumping out or leaving the steam could be dangerous - his opponent could be anywhere. It was better to wait for his attack and secure a successful, decisive strike.

Grigol's right ear twitched, as he turned around and saw a fireball making its way towards him. Instead of parrying it like he used to, he simply slipped out of its way and let it pass by. Not even two seconds later, another one made its way through the steam, flying towards the Commandment's abdomen. This time, he jumped over it and landed on the ground, making it shake under his enormous weight.

Those little shenanigans cleared out the mist, greatly increasing Grigol's field of view. With his eyes joining his ears, he resumed his search for Natsu.

"Yo. Looking for me?"

The Body quickly turned around at the sound of Natsu's voice, who was several meters behind him. His face was taken over by a menacing grin, his bloodied teeth exposed in their entirety and his hands planted deep into the ground up to his elbows.

"Game over." he whispered, as the ground started to shake. Grigol looked around in search of the cause of this tremor, but upon seeing nothing, he looked at the Dragon Slayer once again. He glued his eyes on the Dragon Slayer's hands, gears turning themselves inside of his head. Terror grasped his heart when he realised what was happening, his gaze slowly shifting towards his own feet. But before he could react, it already happened.

FIRE DRAGON'S PILLAR!

A giant tower of purging fire erupted from beneath Grigol, consuming both him and everything on its path. The forest, previously lighted up by the moonlight, was now as bright as during the day, with the tall pillar of fire right in its center. Inside of this pillar was Grigol, flexing his body as hard as he could, trying to endure the scorching flames that were burning his skin. His clothes have already been reduced to ash, the only piece of it being the remains of his pants that somehow avoided the purge. He struggled to keep his breath in check, all of the air currently cut off, his skin hurting more and more with each second. With his body at its limit, Grigol rejoiced in relief, as the fire finally dispelled, allowing him to take a deep, much needed breath. But it was soon sucked in, fear filling his lungs instead.

As soon as the pillar disappeared, Natsu dashed towards Grigol, with his right hand thrown all the way back behind his back. On top of his lit up palm, there was a lightning cracking all over his flames, something The Body knew nothing about.

LIGHTNING FLAME DRAGON'S FIRING HAMMER!

Not giving his opponent any chance to defend himself, Natsu smashed his fist into the man's abdominals, bending him like a pocket knife. His fist submerged itself in Grigol's stomach in its entirety, severely burning the punched place. Flexing his shoulder and back muscles with all his might and roaring loudly, Natsu gave it one final push and sent Grigol flying, pieces of his burned skin glued to the Dragon Slayer's fist. The Body flew through several trees, knocking them down and rolled on the ground afterwards, without even trying to stop himself from crashing into something. This happened pretty soon, his back making contact with an unusually thick tree. He bounced off its bark and spit out alot of blood, before falling onto his face, his previously mighty body now completely robbed out of its strength.

The man desperately gasped for air, a pool of blood that leaked through his mouth forming underneath his chin. Using all the remaining strength of his body, he tried to get up, with little to no success. All he managed to do before he ran out of steam was turn around onto his back. He gently lifted his head up to look at his numb stomach, before feeling his eyes widen in shock.

Instead of his well toned muscles, there was a fist sized, deep hole. There was no blood, as Natsu's fire immediately cauterizing the wound. The inside of said hole was filled with black, charred flesh, with a pink outline spreading around said hole, burned pieces of skin hanging off of the wound.

"10 seconds. That is your limit."

Fear grasped Grigol's heart when he heard these words, with Natsu slowly walking up to the downed man.

"You can use your Body Enhancement Magic for 10 seconds, after that you need to rest for at least 5." he explained, his voice losing any traits of its previous mockery, or confidence. Now, it was filled with poison and pure hatred. "It increases its users physical abilities tenfold. The stronger the users body, the more powerful the result is. You've always been strong, even without your magic. That's why you can cause earthquakes with a single punch."

Grigol's stared at Natsu in shock, unable to believe he figured out what his magic was.

"Don't look so suprised, Grigol. I didn't waste those 7 years, you know. I did some digging. Not just about you, I've figured out most of you by now."

Salamander has finally closed the distance between him and lying Grigol. He stared at the man with cold eyes, his fist clenching itself on its own.

"Before we begin: which arm was it?" he asked in a quiet voice, confusing the man.

"W-what are you talking about?!" he wheezed out in response, his voice overtaken by fear. He felt like he was being stared down by a real dragon.

"Nevermind. I remember now."

In one, swift move, Natsu brought his right leg up and crashed his heel down into Grigol's left elbow, smashing it into pieces. The man screamed out in pain, pieces of his bones planting themselves into the flesh underneath his skin and some of them piercing it, sticking out for the world to see.

"P-please...please, just let me go. I swear, I will never cross you again! I will leave the guild! Just let me go!" he pleaded in horror, tears of pain forming in his eyes. His honor and pride were shattered, along with his body.

Natsu continued to glare at the man, listening to his desperate voice. After a short while, he slowly squatted in front of him, his eyes still glued to Grigol's.

"That's not how it works Grigol." he whispered, slowly shaking his head and raising his eyebrows. His voice was completely stripped off any mercy. "You may not cross me, but you'll cross someone else. I can't let that happen. Not to mention..."

Natsu paused his response and slowly stood back up, leaving Grigol on the edge of breaking down. He stared at the downed man with pure hatred, his pupils turning into slits and his fangs bared.

"I already made you a promise."

Natsu quickly lifted up his leg and brought it down onto Grigol's stomach, his shoe making contact with burned flesh. The man's screams of agony spread all over the forest, echoing through the trees.

"And now you're going to sing for me." whispered Natsu, silenced by Grigol's crying.

Morning of November 23rd, Seven Commandents' HQ.

A brownhaired woman sat on the edge of a railing of a balcony, looking far into the ocean spreading in front of her. Her eyes burned, both from looking at the gleaming water for so long and lack of sleep. She sighed quietly for tenth time in the last 5 minutes and pinched the bridge of her nose, massaging her sore eyes.

"Trouble sleeping?"

Jolene jumped in her seat, startled by the gentle voice behind her. Turning around, she felt her body relax at the sight of her guest. It was an elderly man of quite high height, clad in black suit pants, brown vest and a white, long sleeved shirt underneath it. His head was covered by middle-length gray hair, with a thick mustache underneath his nose. He watched the woman with his blue eyes carefully, a slight glimpse of concern imprinted on them.

"Arthur...you're back." muttered Jolene before turning back around.

The man sighed and walked up to the woman, placing his hands on the railing right next to her.

"You're worried about Grigol, aren't you?" he asked, receiving a nod in response. "He's always been like that. Charging in without a thought and making us all worry. I understand why you're so concerned about his wellbeing. But has he ever failed a mission?" he asked her once again, this time receiving a shake.

"It's not like that." replied Jolene shortly. "I know he can pull it off. It's just..." The woman paused and gripped the railing harder. "This time, I have a bad feeling about this. That something has happened to him." she finished with a broken voice.

Arthur looked at her, suprised. After a short while he chuckled, irritating Jolene.

"What?!" she asked him, annoyed.

"You should tell him when he gets back." he replied, confusing the woman. "How you feel, that is."

Jolene's face quickly changed color to red, her voice stuck in her throat.

"It's not like that!" she yelled, punching the man in his arm, who laughed in response.

"I jest, I jest, child. " he laughed, massaging his arm. "I know you two have been together ever since you were kids. You're practically siblings. Your concern is natural."

Jolene pouted and shifted her eyes back to the ocean, watching the subtle waves. She wasn't so sure of those feelings herself. Grigol has always taken more missions than the others, and yet she never worried about him even once. But this time was different. She just couldn't shake off that feeling that something terrible has happened. The red sun spreading above the ocean didn't help either.

"If it makes you feel any better." Arthur's words knocked Jolene out of her trance. "I have brought Luppi back. You can head down and greet him, if you wish. He's in the main hall, along with Jellal. I suggest you hurry up, otherwise something disgraceful is bound to happen with those two together."

"Is it time?" she asked, forgetting about her worries for a moment.

"It is." confirmed Arthur, nodding. "All we have to do now is await Grigol's return. I trust he will successfully capture Salamander."

Jolene's eyes narrowed upon hearing this news. After so long, they were finally one step away from fulfilling their dream. She jumped down onto the balcony and looked at the ocean one last time, before getting inside of the building..

Few minutes later, they both found themselves in the main hall. Luppi was sitting by the table, a cup in his hand. On the other end of the table sat Jellal, his legs crossed and a smirk glued to his face.

Luppi lifted his head to look at Jolene, before giving her a weak wave. His face was paler than usually, with a shade of green creeping onto his cheeks. The woman walked up to him and muffled his hair, greeting him.

"How are you feeling?" she asked, restraining herself from teasing him. The longer the distance he had to use his magic on was, the more nauseous he was.

"Like shit." replied the teenager, taking a sip of his drink. "Where's Grigol?" he asked, making Jolene freeze in her spot.

"He's on a mission." replied shortly Arthur, taking a seat as well. Jolene sent him a grateful look, before sitting down herself.

"So, how was your last day in the Council" she asked the teenager, making him frown.

"Way too nerve straining." he replied, making her raise her eyebrows in confusion. "Fairy Tail's Master is onto us, he almost exposed me during his trial."

Jolene's eyes widened in shock. "Please, tell me you got rid of him!" she yelled, standing up from her spot.

The teenager weakly shook his head, greatly distressing his companions.

"He ran away, but I've already taken of the problem. Tomorrow, Fairy Tail will be no more."

Jolene sighed in relief and sat back down. "Atta boy!" she complemented him, patting him on the head.

"Now all we need is Salamander." threw in Jellal from the end of the hall. His words reminded Jolene of her bad feeling, the grip on her cup increasing.

"Yes. We do." she replied weakly before emptying her cup in one go. "Just get back safe, little brother."

Early afternoon of November 23rd, Fairy Tail Guild, Magnolia.

Erza pushed the heavy door leading to the guildhall and entered the building. Usually half empty hall was now completely full, with almost every single member present. They all received a weird and unusual order: to arrive at the guild by noon. Erza's frown that was glued to her face for the past hour deepened even further. Something smelled fishy.

"Erza!" a familiar voice called out to her, her team sitting in the right corner by one table. Unsuprisingly, they were accompanied by Mirajane, Gajeel and Juvia. Ever since the incident in Blackhill Village, they all spent their time together.

"You're finally here! I was about to go get you, you know." said Lucy, scooping on the bench to make some room for Erza. The knight thanked the blonde and sat down.

"Forgive me. I've slept suprisingly long this night." smiled Erza, getting rid of her troubled face. Her eyes noticed Mira staring at her, so she shifted her head to meet the woman's eyes. "I heard you had to take my place at the trial. I'm sorry, Mira."

The Demon waved her hand in response, dismissing the matter.

"Don't sweat it. I was planning on making you pay for making me go through this mess, but what they've given you is far more satisfying." she smirked, confusing the redhead.

"All I can do is trust your words." sighed Erza. "Is Master here?" she asked.

"No. He told me to head back on my own, but he never returned to the guild." Mira shook her head.

"Maybe he got lost in a tavern on his way back?" asked Gray, lazily reading through his magazine. "He always wastes at least one day on his way back."

"Then how come he gathered us here?" asked Lucy. Gray simply shrugged and got back to reading.

"Come to think about it, I was told to come here by Juvia." wondered Mira out loud, looking at the girl.

"I've been told to spread the message by Wakaba." replied Juvia, looking in the man's direction.

"Hey, don't look at me." he raised his hands defensively from a nearby table. "Someone told me to pass it on, so I did."

Erza frowned. Something was definitely not right here. If Master was currently absent, who ordered all the members to gather here? For what purpose?

"It's way too frickin' noisy in here." whined Gajeel, standing up from his seat. "I'm out."

"You're not going to wait for Master? You'll get in trouble." Lucy called to him.

"Like I care." he muttered under his nose, making his way towards the exit.

Just when Gajeel was about to push the door, he noticed that it was way too heavy than it used to.

"What the..." he grunted, pushing the door even harder, only to feel his body being pushed back.

"What's wrong tincan, can't handle the door?" yelled amused Gray, watching the struggling Dragon Slayer in amusement.

"Shut yer trap! Something is blocking the door! Come and see for yourself, stripper!" retorted Gajeel, pushing the door with his shoulder.

Gray sighed and stood up from his seat, with the guildmembers laughing at the scene in the background.

"Fine. Let me teach you how to open the door." said Gray, dragging out the syllables. He pushed Gajeel aside and stood in front of the door. "You extend your hand like this, you put it on the doorknob, and..."

Gray tried to open the door, but failed to do so. His hand was pressing the doorknob as hard as it could, but it didn't do any good. Feeling his cheeks turning red, he tried pushing even harder, with no effect what so ever.

"What's wrong, Gray? You're having trouble with the door as well?" taunted one of the wizards, making the others laugh.

"Shut the hell up! There really is something here! Freed!" he yelled, turning around to look at the green-haired man. "Stop messing around!"

"I am doing no such thing." replied Freed. "Stop pushing your own failures onto me."

"Damn it..." cursed Gray, walking away from the door. "I'll show you then!"

He smashed his fist into his open palm, ready to bust the door open, but before he could use his magic, Gajeel punched it with his iron club. The attack didn't even reach the wood, his hand stuck in the air, which was currently pulsating unnaturally.

"Believe us now, pricks?" hissed Gajeel, killing the laughter.

Erza walked up to the two, curious about their shenanigans.

"What seems to be the problem?" she asked, seeing both males in fighting stances.

"Something's blocking the door." explained shortly Gray, deepening the knight's frown.

The redhead walked up to the door and tried to put her armored hand on its surface, only to get stuck midway through by something solid.

"Is this a barrier?" she asked herself, caressing the wall.

"That is exactly right."

In one, swift motion, all three wizards jumped away from the door, a voice echoing all over the guildhall.

"This voice...Lahar?!" asked Erza loudly.

"I have no obligation of responding to this question." replied the voice, confirming Erza's question.

"Why the hell have you locked us up?!" asked Gray.

"Every member of Fairy Tail is under arrest, be it present, or absent. That is the Council's official decision."

Gasps of shock filled the hall, followed by outraged voices.

"What did you..." started Gray, only to feel an armored hand on his mouth.

"Let me handle this, Gray." whispered the knight in a commanding voice. The Maker mage nodded slowly, receiving a small smile from the redhead in return.

"What is the meaning of this, Lahar? Why are we under arrest? Is this because of what happened a week ago?" asked Erza.

There was small pause after this question, before the Council member's voice echoed across the hall once again.

"Makarov Dreyar has been found guilty of treason against the Council. He fled before being arrested and is currently a fugitive. Fairy Tail has been officially disbanded, with its members sentenced to prison for cooperating with the traitor."

The guild was now completely silent, everyone gagged by shock. Erza's eyes widened in shock upon hearing this. Master, a traitor? Fairy Tail disbanded? The mere thought of these ridiculous lies stripped her off any restraints, as the knight felt her jaws clenching from anger.

"This is absurd!" she yelled, scaring her friends. "If you want to punish someone, punish me!" she banged on the barrier as hard as she could with each said word.

"This matter is closed. You will all remain inside of this barrier until our reinforcements arrive." Lahar's voice echoed for the last time, before being cut off. Silence fell inside of the guild, everyone at loss for words.

"Lahar!" roared Erza, smashing into the barrier once again with no effect. She grit her teeth in frustration, her hands sliding off the barrier.

"Freed!" called out Gray. "Can you do something about this barrier?!"

"I'm already on it, Gray." replied the man, his hands analysing the invisible walls "But I don't think I'll be of any use. This magic is far more advanced than my Runes, canceling them may be next to impossible."

"We do know something." a voice echoed across the guild, everyone looking in its direction. It belonged to Levy, who, just like Freed, was checking the barrier out with her hands. "This barrier is a one-way type, meaning that objects, or in our case people trapped inside cannot get out, but anyone and anything can get in at any time."

"I do hear lots of footsteps and voices outside as well." threw in Gajeel, his ear glued to the barrier. "They're dragging something, too. If you ask me, the bastards are planning on gassing us."

"Can't we just bust out of here?" asked Elfman.

"No, we can't. Even if we all strike at once, all we will do is destroy the guild. This is the exact same type of barrier they used on us after our fight with Oracion Seiss. All we can do now is look for a way out or wait for someone to break it from the outside." replied Erza, her voice regaining its composure. Losing her head at time like this was unacceptable.

"We can go to the library and look around, we might find something useful." added Mirajane, receiving approving nods from many members.

"I'll go with you, I'm way better with theory anyway." called Levy.

"Alright. Let's go!"

Mira, Levy and several other guildmembers ran towards the library, leaving the main hall. The remaining members started to look around the guild for any possible holes or cracks in the barrier, their voices getting on top of each other, which caused small chaos.

Erza placed her hand on the barrier once again, thinking about the circumstances that led to this moment. Before her meeting with Natsu, she'd blame herself for this situation. But now, even if she wanted to, she couldn't bring herself to feel guilty. Ever since their talk in that cave, she felt some sort of weird connection with the Dragon Slayer, that prevented her of feeling any ill will towards him. But what if she did capture him...?

She shook her head, knocking these thoughts into the back of her mind - right now, she had to focus on getting out of here. Time was limited.

"Has anyone found something?!" she yelled, before stepping into the crowd.

Few hours later

Unfortunately, Fairy Tail mages have not found anything they could use to break through their prison. Levy and Freed tried everything in their power, before finally hanging their gloves and falling onto the chairs, both exausted. Books and scrolls were thrown around all over the guild, none of them useful. Those less gifted when it came to intelligence tried to break through with brute force, but all they managed to do was damage the guild and receive a punch from Erza as punishment.

"This is beyond annoying, how long are they planning on keeping us here?" asked irritated Mira, kicking the barrier.

"You heard him: they're waiting for more soldiers. They know we'd steam roll them right now." answered Cana, who was currently emptying yet another barrel of booze,

"This is messed up." groaned Gajeel, who was currently lying on a table. He figured that since he can't get out, he might as well sleep through this mess.

"There has to be something we could do..." wondered Lucy, her index finger caressing her chin. "Maybe I could try to summon Virgo?" she asked, directing the question to Erza.

"If even Laxus can't break this barrier, I doubt she can. I'm sorry, Lucy." sighed the knight, pointing at the charred wall with her thumb. The Dragon Slayer was irritated with this situation, to say the least, so he tried to break his way through. The only thing he broke was the left wall of the guild.

"I'm sorry, everyone." apologized Levy, her voice tired. "If only I knew more about this type of magic..."

Lucy and Lisanna immediately ran up to her, trying to comfort her. Erza looked around the guild, a sad frown forming on her face. This situation was heavy on everyone, not only Levy. People were tired, irritated and easy to startle. Not to mention the air supply was much smaller than it was before - with all exits shut down, they were left with the same air they were shut down with. Breathing the same, used air for so long was not healthy, no matter how tough a person was.

Suddenly, Gajeel shot up from his spot, and shifted his head towards the door.

"What's wrong, Gajeel? Smelled something bad?" asked Mira, bored out of her mind.

The Dragon Slayer ignored her and quickly ran up to the door, gluing himself to it.

"More soldiers?" asked Gray, walking up to the man, with Erza and Lucy following him suit.

Gajeel ignored this question as well and put his ear up against the barrier. Seeing that his guildmates opened their mouths, wanting to say something, he put up his hand and silenced them, focusing his ears on what was going on behind the barrier. His sensitive ear picked out something that resembled an explosion, followed by multiple muffled screams. The sounds started to become clearer, creeping towards the door with each couple seconds.

"W-what are you doing, you fiend?! Where did you-" a man screamed, followed by his grunt of pain. This one happened mere few meters away from the guild.

Gajeel's ear twitched and caught the sound of footsteps, walking up to the door. A short moment later, the person was standing right by the door, mere centimeters of the barrier and door separating them and the Dragon Slayer.

Gajeel's eyes have suddenly widened, as he jumped away from the door. "Everyone, get back!" he yelled, startling Erza and her team. The trio jumped back just in time to avoid an explosion, as the door to the guild suddenly blew up with incredible strength. Fire consumed the entrance, with pieces of charred wood and metal flying all over the guildhall, scaring the mages. Some members fell to the ground, the whole building shaking.

"What the hell is going on?!" yelled Cana, falling off the bar counter.

The tremors have finally calmed down, the guild being filled with smoke and dust. Erza, who had Lucy in her arms, let go of the blonde and looked towards the exit, her eyes squinted. Gajeel, who landed on top of a table, looked in the explosion's direction as well and sniffed the air, the smell of burned wood filling his nostrils. But that was not the only smell he picked up, His eyes widened in shock, and his fist clenched, the memories of his previous battle resurfacing with full strength.

"Y-you are..." he growled, baring his teeth.

Erza stared at the newcomer, her face as shocked as Gajeel's. Why was he here?!

A man of average build has emerged from the smoke, the defeated and unconscious Rune Knights covering the floor behind him. His face, hands up to his elbows and his previously black jacket were covered in crimson, dried blood. His step was slow and unsteady, as he walked into the guild over the debris. His messy and tousled pink hair covered most of his face, as he searched through the guild with his onyx eyes.

"Salamander!"

To be continued in Chapter 7: Alliance.

So...I tried to expand the main baddies, even if only a little. I'm going to focus on them more in next chapters, but you know me, I suck with dialogue.

I turned this fight into a slugfest, mostly because of Grigol's magic. I didn't want to make him an overpowered powerhouse with no weaknesses, because he'd most likely solo the entire FT Universe with this kind of power. I hope I kept things balanced.

As for the end of this fight...let's just say these two share a certain event in the past. If you're dissatisfied or disappointed with the way I played it out, please, go back and reread Natsu and Erza's talk, where he confesses to her. As I said, I don't put things in this story for no reason.

By the way, we hit over 10,000 views with last chapter. You have no idea how happy I am, I never expected this story to get this much atention.

As always, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and see you in the next one! Make sure to speak your mind out in reviews. Cya!