Disclaimer: I am not the owner of Fairy Tail

Knowing the danger of using magic kept Invel holding back. With the guards enclosing in on him, he knew he was at a disadvantage. How did this plan get thrown so far off track? Regardless, he simply had to manage with what was going on. One lunged towards him, using a spear to keep his distance. Invel stepped aside, swiftly bending to let the spear sail past his chest. Reaching over, he gripped the handle tightly, glaring at the man wielding the weapon. Looking startled, the guard tried to rip the spear from Invel's grip, but Invel held on tight. He might have been exhausted and low on magic, but adrenaline still had the effect of pushing him forward.

Pulling on the spear himself, he watched as the guard stumbled forward in his attempt to keep the weapon in his hands. Now closer, Invel kicked out at the man, ducking as he did so to avoid the swing of someone's sword from behind him. With the kick to the guard's stomach, the man's grip was relinquished and the weapon now in Invel's control. That was one step out of the way. Next, he had to get rid of the rest of the threats. Staring around with the spear in both hands, he began to try and formulate his strategy for this battle. Technically, destroying the soldiers should not be his top priority, after all. Stopping Eclipse was, which meant he either had to find a way to destroy the gate or alter it to the point of it being unusable.

With too many guards blocking his path, Invel was forced to fight. A group charged for his side, swords directed towards him. Invel turned towards them, slashing out with the spear to try and shove them aside. The force, however, was too much for the weapon to handle. The wooden handle snapped, leaving Invel frowning at the shoddy craftsmanship used to create the weapon he had wielded. However, it had at least delayed the attack enough for Invel to duck underneath the few swords still nearing his body. Now, he needed to arm himself again before things took another bad turn.

The enemy took advantage of his lack of a weapon. Now more confident, guards slashed out recklessly towards his person. Alert, Invel began showing off his own combat prowess, showing what his training truly accomplished. One came from his left, with a longsword stabbing towards his ribcage. Spinning around, Invel slammed a fist into his back, making the man stumble forward and attempt to lower his weapon before skewering his own allies on the other side of where Invel had been standing. Another joined in from behind, but Invel heard the footsteps approaching. Quickly jumping to his right, Invel narrowly managed to dodge the blade from piercing through his gut from behind. However, he did not dodge entirely. An almost burn-like sensation spanned across his arm as the edge of the blade cut through his coat and into his skin, staining the blue material with red.

Shaking out his arm, Invel's eyes narrowed. The soldier who managed to draw blood was actually female, one of the few scattered among the knights. Having worked with many fierce woman in his past, he knew not to underestimate her skill. When she charged forward, keeping Invel's focus despite the others moving towards him from other directions, he sidestepped her, turning his body to let her sword slash out just past him. Unlike the others, she did not use her own body's speed to press the blade onward, however. She stopped just beside him, and with a smile, Invel grabbed her wrist swiftly, the one holding her blade.

Glaring at him, the girl kicked out towards him, hoping to weaken him enough to take away his grip. Her foot collided with his shin, but Invel was used to far worse pain from the harsh training regimen given by his emperor. Any pain was worth serving his needs, so he held on tightly. When another spear wielder charged from his left during his attempts to pull the blade free, Invel narrowed his eyes. Dodging while engaged like this was difficult, unless one used rather unsavory methods. However, if it kept his majesty's power out of abusive hands, Invel would gladly take the guilt upon himself.

Twisting his body, Invel shoved the girl towards her own ally. She looked startled by Invel's suddenly loosening grip, allowing the girl to distance herself slightly just as the spearman realized what was happening. She choked when the spear plunged into her side, coughing and clutching her stomach weakly. The sword clattered to the ground, her grip failing as she became far more focused on the bleeding wound on her side. Picking up her fallen weapon, Invel gazed cooly around at the others staring in shock. It was as if death was foreign to them, which was unusual given their own job as soldiers.

"Veronica…she can't be…"

"What have I done?" The spearman looked horrified, shaking his head and backing away.

Holding the blade out defensively, Invel gazed around at the rest. "I am not here to take away more lives. Give me what I desire, and I will fight no more."

"But the city will fall!" It was still the same man from before, the one so adamant on protecting the green haired girl near the gate. "Princess Hisui will defend our nation using the greatest power we have come to know. Giving it to you would disgrace her hard work and let all of us fall into ruin. No price is too great for us to achieve this goal! We will activate the Eclipse Canon and stop the dragons. Then, we will open the gate through time and prevent the existence of the greatest evil this world has ever known."

At least the second one seemed to be a viable use for the gate, from what Invel knew. However, based on his majesty's comments before, Invel was inclined to believe it was not perfected to that degree. If it were so simple, Spriggan would already be in the past, changing the fate of the world without his war. Still, Invel was intrigued by his idea. "And just what evil is it you speak of? Few can claim any one evil to be of such grave importance to be stopped." In fact, Acnologia was the only existence Invel believed could be labeled as such.

"The Black Wizard Zeref." The princess spoke, moving to stand by his side. The other guards were still standing tensely, their weapons gripped tightly and pointing towards Invel. However, no one moved to continue the battle, not yet. "With his immortality, none can stop him today. However, we can kill him before he ever gains such an ability. We can stop all of his creations, all of his demons, from ever coming into existence. Is that not a reality we all wish to see? Have you not known someone to suffer from the indirect actions of the Black Wizard?"

While it wasn't often heard in Alvarez, Invel did know the name of Zeref. It was his majesty's true name, one few uttered since it was well known that Spriggan was his favored title in their country. At first, Invel did not make a move to react to her threat. Was it not Emperor Spriggan's dearest wish to die? Yet, Invel couldn't imagine it. This wasn't the way Spriggan desired his end to come about. Spriggan had been improving, had he not? Plans for war were dark, but still a path chosen by one who had decided to live. He had smiled on occasion during their meeting as well. Perhaps it was his own desire to see their emperor continue on, to continue showing Invel what it meant to truly endure and become strong, but it still began to fuel a fire within him.

It was odd, the metaphor for anger that came to mind. As an ice wizard, it really shouldn't still feel quite like igniting something warm inside of him, yet anger was still anger, no matter who it arose within. "I find it rather foolish then, using this method to do so. Do you not know who it was to create the spell you stand in front of? Do you not know who it is responsible for you even being allowed to perform such a feat?"

"You will stand in the way of even this goal?" The princess met his gaze, looking down withconflicted eyes. "Then there truly are no other options. Arcadios was correct…you must be stopped, so the Eclipse Project can be complete."

With her words and a slight nod, the soldiers resumed their battle. The fallen woman was forgotten about, removed from the battlefield while Invel was distracted by conversation. Still, he was armed this time. When someone lashed out with a blade towards him, Invel quickly lifted his own to block the blow. The swordsman looked startled, not expecting Invel to have any skill, but Invel pressed on. Taking an offensive route, Invel quickly began a flurry of attacks. He slashed out towards the man's side, knowing more vital areas were going to be heavily protected. Still, he was met by a quick dodge, followed by a counter attack. The man stabbed towards Invel's right shoulder, making the winter mage bend forward to duck under the blade.

Lashing upward with his sword, Invel swatted his opponent's sword away. Another came from behind him, making Invel jump away from his original opponent and slash out at another. His sword flashed out in an arc, attempting to do little beyond draw blood. A weakened enemy was the most he could hope for, at the moment. There were simply too many for even him to endure for long. If only the gate was not near. Then his magic could have easily dealt with all of them.

"What the heck is going on here?" A male voice shouted over the battle, but Invel kept his focus. Distraction lead to injury, as was proven when his surprised opponent missed his next block by searching for the source of the shout. The woman gasped when Invel's blade cut into her arm, making her glare back towards him and slash out with her own weapon. The head knight raised a hand into the air, as if signaling to someone else, and with it, Invel saw something fly through the air. Archers were now shooting at him as well, it appeared, making this even more irritating.

"Whatever the case may be, it seems as if our comrades are no where to be found." This one was female, but still of no concern.

"Wait…I know that guy." This male voice was familiar, but Invel still continued battling. He blocked another incoming spear, only to disengage quickly and lean back to avoid a flying arrow. He was breathing heavily, his eyes focused on as much around him as possible, but there was only so much he could do. Just as he reached out to block another blow, he felt something grab his arm and yank him back. He was about to turn on this new enemy as well, only for him to blink in surprise as a swordsman stumbled past the spot he had just been standing in. "Hey, Invel. What the heck did you do to piss off the royal guard?"

Looking over, Invel frowned. Why was Sting even here? He had no purpose in dealing with the Eclipse Gate. Then again, perhaps he did. "Another here seeking power. Are you going to stand in my way of stopping Eclipse as well?"

"You really can't see anything but bad things in others, can you?" Sting seemed to smile ruefully at him, shaking his head. "Look, I didn't come here because of any need to prove myself. Fairy Tail told me about what happened to their comrade, and after feeling the pain of losing my own…I decided to help."

So that was what caused the anger from before. Looking at Sting now, the anger and pain had lessened, transformed into something calmer and steadier in his blue eyes. "Very well. If you truly wish to aid me, then help me approach the gate you see over there." Invel nodded towards Eclipse, watching Sting frown. "Avoid all use of magic as well. The gate is designed to absorb your energy once magic is activated in its vicinity."

"You know, this is kinda a treasonous act." A man with black hair moved towards Invel. The winter mage recognized him as the ice-make wizard from Fairy Tail. "Still, my friends are somewhere in that castle. I don't know what the hell they want with Lucy, but we're helping Natsu and getting her back."

Glancing towards the castle, Invel scowled. That was where his majesty's brother was. "Indeed. If it means becoming traitors, then so be it. We will do whatever it takes to protect our comrades." The scarlet haired wizard pulled out the blade she had on her person, standing ready to fight herself.

Glancing towards them, Invel nodded and moved forward. Lashing out at one of the wizards, Invel swung towards her hand that was gripping her sword. Startled, the solider pulled her blade away, avoiding his attack. However, Erza came from the right, slashing at her legs and knocking the girl off of her feet. Taking advantage of her fall, Invel knelt down and grabbed her sword, glancing towards Sting and nodding. "This is a battle. Do not be foolish enough to think that killing is too immoral of an act to perform."

Sting snorted, shaking his head. "You know…for a guy who claimed I'd kill my friends, you say some weird things. Did you actually believe Rogue then?"

He was talking rather carelessly as they fought. In fact, he wielded the sword like he had never utilized a weapon of that nature in his life. He blocked with slow movements, leaving clear openings for his opponent to strike after words. After stopping one attack, one of the soldiers quickly dove in and slashed towards Sting's left hip. Seeing the action, Invel scowled and shoved the boy back, punching the soldier's back hard. The man flinched from the action, but turned around with a fierce glare to attack back. "Pay attention, you idiot. I did not arm you so you could make a fool of yourself either."

"Try giving me a weapon I can use. I'm a dragon slayer, not a swordsman. At least Erza is used to fighting with weapons." Glancing towards the scarlet haired wizard, Invel simply frowned. She was cutting through the soldiers like it was nothing. However, Invel supposed she did show expertise in the games he had just observed moments ago.

With Sting's comment in mind, Invel wondered if there was even a way to work that to their advantage. Dragon slayers fought in hand to hand combat, or variations of it due to their magic being highly based on physical ability. Therefore, weapons were not a skillset they needed to understand. However, as Invel saw Hisui approaching the gate, ignoring the battle behind her, Invel realized he did not have time. Magic truly was the only option, but one more use of it would render him unable to fight further. What could he do in one attempt that would stop this from happening?

Intricate spells were not his strength. This was Emperor Spriggan's work, and in the end, it was his majesty's true genius to devise such complex devices. However, an odd comment came to mind, back from when Invel was still hardly older than a child, learning to control his magic. Spriggan had been attempting to educate him on the finer points of how magic operated, lessons to give him an understanding of how his power functioned.

"See, magic in its simplest form is little more than energy. Thoughts and emotions give it life and form, though targeted spells give us control."

Invel had frowned, a young boy of about ten years of age sitting in an everlasting winter storm by Zeref's side. "I don't understand. I keep trying to create these spells relating to my magic…it doesn't seem as if magic circles exist that create storms like this. So how can I stop them so simply?"

There had been an amused smile on his emperor's face, even then. "Oh, I assure you, such a spell exists. For any task you put your mind to, a spell can be created that accomplishes it for you. Take it from one who knows that even the impossible can be achieved with such methods…you will find the activation spell to gain control over your winter eventually, Invel. Once you do…stopping it becomes a simple matter of understanding the reverse of the process."

Spriggan had turned towards him at that moment, studying the child who watched with hopeful blue eyes, wanting nothing more than control over his winter. "See, this is why magic can be so complex. You are creating an endless amount of magic circles, simply hoping for one to be correct. Really, any of them could be simply one improper rune away from what you need."

"Really? Wouldn't the spell at least do something even if I misplaced one rune?"

Shaking his head, Spriggan had chuckled. "Most would think so, but this is why intent is such a major factor of magic. One improper rune will cause failure of the entire spell…almost always resulting in the occurrence of absolutely nothing at the cost of an immense amount of energy."

Staring at the gate, Invel narrowed his eyes. He couldn't destroy it, not with his limited energy. In fact, he couldn't even stop this army with Eclipse nearby, not with what little remained of his magic power. However, he could create a magic rune. He could add and engrave such a thing to the surface of the gate, simply by creating it from ice and freezing it to the material. His magic would not be melted, and not even these guards would be capable of removing it, not when winter only answered to Invel's call.

Glancing towards the dragon slayer, Invel realized the only flaw in his plan. For this to work, he would be placing his life into the hands of these strangers. He did not trust them at all. In fact, they were destined to be his enemies, as these wizards were Fairy Tail and their allies. Still, currently, Eclipse was being stolen from his emperor. The current problem was far more urgent than thinking about the war to come, so he pushed aside his doubts and worries. "Sting…I do not think I can manage to allow you to use magic. However, there is one thing I can do with what energy I have left."

The dragon slayer glanced at him, frowning for a moment. Invel stood tall, lifting his hand and facing the gate just as Hisui closed her eyes, lifting her head towards the massive doorway. Taking a deep breath, Invel shot a blast of white ice towards Eclipse, already picturing the rune heavily used in nearly all of his ice magic spells in his mind. An ice based rune would destroy anything meant to relate to time. It was the only thing he could manage. Keeping his gaze steady, he watched the ice freeze onto the gate, taking form and creating an icy white rune in the center of the intricate surface engraved with magical runes to open the gate through time. Invel felt an odd flare of pain within his body this time, sucking in a sharp breath as he legs gave out from the sudden drop in energy. The world swayed around him, even as more soldiers charged towards him. A hand grabbed his shoulder, trying to haul him to his feet, but Invel could not even manage to keep his eyes open. Darkness filled his vision and he felt the hard stone of the ground hit his cheek, treating him to a final view of footsteps rushing towards his falling form likely to kill him for destroying their precious plans.

So, this is my first time...in longer than I can remember that I've tried writing a fight scene like this, without the usual spells of Fairy Tail wizards involved. I do hope it was descriptive enough to follow, and that it was a somewhat believable encounter. And ending it with a cliffhanger like this for a second time feels a bit cruel...but on the other side, I do plan on trying to update weekly for the rest of the summer at least, so you can look forward to that much! Please review and tell me what you think!