The Blue Pheasant Flies On

Chapter 17: The Beast

X782

The six Fairy Tail mages joked around as they made their way through the mountains to where the subject of their latest job was supposed to be found. All of them were going out to complete an S-Class job of Natsu's choosing to celebrate his promotion to S-Class. They had delayed their initial celebration because the newly minted 'Salamander' had immediately rushed off to solo a job after they had returned from vacation without so much as a note and had thrown off the rest of their schedules with his impatience. Gildarts's six wards had then spent the next few months trying to get their schedules to line up and find a job that would justify sending all of them out at once. Mira had finally noticed the job to take down the 'King of monsters' known only as The Beast the other day and knew that it would be right up Natsu's alley. The Dragon Slayer had been thrilled with the job and they all had cleared their schedules for the next week so that they'd be able to complete this mission as the first job for Team Mirajane! (name pending)

Natsu and Lisanna led the way with their noses in the air as they tried to catch a whiff of The Beast's scent—Natsu with the enhanced senses his Dragon Slayer Magic gave him and Lisanna in her favorite White Cat Partial Take Over. Happy flew above them and scanned the horizon for signs of the supposedly massive creature. He had originally tried to assist his parental figures with sniffing out their quarry but whatever evolution his species had gone through to learn speech and Aera Magic had apparently come at the cost of their senses. While his sense of smell was better than a normal human's, it couldn't compare to Natsu and Lisanna's magically enhanced noses. Lisanna had gently suggested he get a bird's eye view rather than let him discover that he wasn't contributing when they actually caught The Beast's scent.

Behind them trailed Elfman, Cana, and Mira. There wasn't really anything for them to do until they found The Beast so they were just chatting and taking in the scenery around them. "Ah! I can't wait to kick this beast's ass," Cana said while stretching out. "It's been a while since I've had to fight anything seriously and I want to show off these new guns!" The Card Mage flexed her arms to emphasize her point. They showed far more muscle definition than they had half a year ago.

"I see Neesan's training is really paying off," Elfman noted. He had changed out of his nicer clothes and had gone with a muscle shirt and loose pants that would be more appropriate for the job they were on. He was also in the middle of a very large growth spurt and was now tall enough to look down on all of his teammates. "Very manly."

"Thanks, but I'm not the only one benefiting I see," she said while lightly elbowing him in the ribs. I've seen you and Natsu without your shirts, you guys are filling out nice. Elfman preened at the compliment and slightly flexed to show off the muscles he had been working on. He didn't go around with an open vest like Natsu, but he still had a visibly manly build. Cana agreed as she ran her hands over his abs. "Look at these things, you can grind meat on them." She poked her own stomach in annoyance. She could feel the toned muscles underneath but couldn't see them. "Mira! When are you going to show me how to get abs like that?"

Mira raised an eyebrow at her "student" and rolled her eyes. "I didn't teach them how to do that. You don't see me walking around with a six pack, do you?" It was true. Mira was easily the strongest out of them all, but her body was more toned than muscular. Her muscles only stood out when she was flexing or using them and even then there weren't any signs of the six pack Cana wanted. And they would have been easy to see since all of Mira's clothes left her stomach exposed. "Gildarts must've taught them."

"Gildarts, that stingy bastard!" Cana rounded on Elfman, "When did he start teaching you guys how to work out?"

Elfman nervously scratched the back of his head. "Gildarts didn't teach us anything. Natsu and I have just been competing to see who can do the most workouts. You know, push-ups, sit-ups, those kinds of things." He shrugged, "This just kind of happened after a couple weeks of doing that."

"Dammit! I want to look strong like that too!"

Nope. Bad Cana. Mira was steering the conversation away from that train of thought. "Are you saying that my training's not good enough?"

Cana quickly shook her outstretched hands in denial. "No, no, no! Of course not! You're training's the best! It got me these!" she claimed while flexing again. "I wouldn't trade it for anything."

"Hmph. Good." Mira poked Cana in the stomach. "I bet your abs are too busy competing with your beer belly to show up. Maybe if you cut back they'd grown in."

Cana swatted Mira's finger away with one hand while the other clutched her hipflask. "Blasphemy! Don't listen to her. I'll never abandon you," she cooed to the flask. "I just need to do more crunches."

Mira's face stretched into a vicious smile. "In that case I'll up the rest of your exercises when we get back. Can't let you get uneven. How does seven-fifty sound?"

Cana moaned in pain as she felt her muscles burn at the thought of an extra two hundred fifty reps a day. She darted around Elfman's side and clutched his arm. "Your sister's a demon. Help me, Elfman, you're my only hope."

Elfman looked down at Cana impassively, he had long since grown use to her theatrics. A quick glance back to his sister's unamused face confirmed that taking Cana's side would be the wrong move. He gave Cana a reassuring pat on the shoulder then picked her up by the back of her shirt and deposited her back on his side next to his Mira. He knew which side his bread was buttered on and it was the side with his S-Class older sister whose magic was literally transforming into demons she had beaten the crap out of. He didn't care how many cards Cana threw at him; it was nowhere near as terrifying as Mira on a warpath.

"Traitor!" Cana accused with a pointed finger. She turned her nose up at the male Strauss. "Hmph. You'll regret this when Mira makes me super strong and I kick your ass during the S-Class Trials."

"We'll see about that, Cana. I've been training really hard and have a few tricks up my sleeves now," Elfman told her with the confidence of someone who knew an extremely juicy secret that no one else was privy to. Cana hated smirks like that. She was the only one allowed to smirk like that! Before she could demand that Elfman spilled what he knew, Natsu called back to the trio.

"I've got something!"

The joking mood around the three instantly vanished as they went into job-mode and walked forward to join up with their scouts. Natsu and Lisanna stood next to each other intensely sniffing the air. They discussed a bit and agreed on a direction. Happy floated back up into the air as they carefully made their way forward. After half an hour of carefully sneaking their way forward, Happy reported that he had spotted The Beast in a valley just ahead. All six of them became extra cautious and slowly made their way to the edge of the trees to peak over the cliff and get their first sight of the monster they had been hired to kill.

The Beast's description on the flyer didn't do it justice. It was an absolutely massive creature with exposed muscles on its chest while the rest of its body was covered in a thick layer of dark red fur. Its stood on a pair of bird-like legs that ended in razor sharp talons which tore up the ground when it walked. The rest of its body was built like an ape's, with a narrow waist that got progressively wider on the way up to its broad shoulders and thick neck. Long, heavily muscled arms ended in claws that looked even sharper than its talons. More of the red fur sprouted from its square head to form a mane around its face. Striped protrusions sprouted out of its elbows and shoulders and matched the horns growing out of a plate on its forehead which gave the vague impression of a crown that befitted the 'King of monsters.' It turned its head towards where the mages were hidden and sniffed the hair before pulling back its lips to show a mouthful of pointed teeth and let out a snarl. Its glowing purple eyes scanned the clifftop and they all could have sworn that they lingered on their hiding spot. None of the mages even dared to breath as they silently willed the creature to look away. After what seemed like an eternity but couldn't have been more than a few seconds, The Beast listened to their silent pleas and moved on.

The mages silently exchanged glances and signaled to retreat. They backed away with even more care than their approach and kept at least two pairs of eyes on the cliffside with all six sets of ears straining to hear any hint that could imply that The Beast was getting closer. Once they were sure they were in the clear, all six simultaneously let out large sighs of relief and collapsed as the tension they were unconsciously holding vanished.

"Holy fuck!" Cana exclaimed, summing up their collective thoughts. "That thing's fucking huge! It looks like it punches mountains into rubble for fun."

"This is an S-Class mission. You should expect to face monsters such as that," Mira told her. But her bravado couldn't hide the way her hands were shaking. She was glad that they had waited until all six of them were free to tackle this job. If she had taken it with just her siblings, or even just herself and Natsu… she didn't want to think about what would happen. This was the first time since she had become an S-Class mage that she wished she had Gildarts for backup. But he was out on another of his job sprees on the coast (which just so happened to coincide with peak tourist/bikini season) so she was in charge.

"Alright. Let's talk strategy. Lisanna, Cana, I want you two to—"

"Mira," Natsu cut in. She turned to look at the Dragon Slayer and was met with an intense gaze. "This is my job."

Mira's first instinct was to dismiss Natsu's claims, they didn't have time to mess around. But the look in his eyes made her think twice. Natsu was an S-Class mage now. He had done a few solo jobs (not counting Happy's assistance) and nothing had gone wrong besides the usual collateral damage that came from Natsu's involvement in anything. She could see the tremors in his hands and noticed the way his pupils had narrowed into slits like they did when he was angry or afraid, but he wasn't leaving the planning to Mira anymore so he could just run ahead with flaming fists swinging. He was stepping up and taking responsibility.

Mira stepped down. "You're right. You are in charge, Natsu. Sorry," she apologized.

"No problem," Natsu grinned at her. He sketched out a rough depiction of the valley in the dirt. "He's big and strong, but there's a bunch of us so we're going to wear him down before going in for the kill. Just like fighting Gildarts, but without the part where we get our asses kicked. Lisanna, Mira, you two can fly so I want you up in the air drawing his attention. Be careful not to get hit. Mira, I want you to hit him with ranged attacks to distract him. I'll leave that to your discretion." The two white-haired teens nodded, then Natsu turned to the last Strauss. "Elfman, you're with me. We're going to hit him hard down on the ground to wear him down. Hit-and-run tactics only. You with me?"

"I'm your man!"

"Great."

"What do you want me to do, Natsu?" Cana asked.

The pink-haired mage turned to his pseudo-sister. "I need you and Happy to be our wildcard." She managed to suppress the urge to hit him for that pun with a herculean effort. Only the knowledge that it was unintentional stayed Cana's hand, but it was still touch-and-go for a moment. "You've still got your swapping cards, right? I need you to fly around and get us into position. If The Beast is targeting you in the air, switch with Mira so she can deal with it. If he's targeting you on the ground, switch with me so I can handle it. If he's not, get close to him and switch with Elfman or Lisanna so they can surprise him. If you can't get close, just hit him with a bunch of cards from a distance." Natsu turned to Happy. "You're in charge of keeping Cana safe, buddy. You got this?"

"Aye!"

Natsu high-fived the blue cat then turned to meet everyone's eyes. "There's a town not too far from here that is in The Beast's path. He's never bothered going around them before and if we don't take him down here then a lot of people are going to die. Everyone know the plan?" Nods all around. "Mira, is there anything you can think to add?"

Standing up to her, making an effective plan of attack, and then being humble enough to ask her for help? Natsu really had grown up from that hotheaded little pyromaniac that charged in headfirst. Seeing him like this reminded her that he had taken Gildarts's teachings to heart and used them to get disengage from a fight with Erza (something the redhead rarely let him indulge in) and clear the S-Class trial last year. She was so proud of him. "No. The plan sounds great, Natsu."

"Alright, let's do this."

Things went wrong almost immediately when the wind shifted while everyone was getting into position. The Beast's scent weakening was the only warning Natsu and Elfman had before the monster was upon them. They barely managed to dive out of the way of its fist before it created a crater in the ground. The Beast's purple eyes glared at them as it roared out in frustration at missing its target. Natsu shouted a quick, "He's here!" before yelling at the top of his lungs to draw The Beast's attention and roaring a stream of fire at it.

The Strauss sisters arrived in time for Lisanna to slash at the monster's face with her talons and Mira to hit it with an Evil Spark before it could send Natsu flying. Cana's cards made an appearance when they exploded in its face. The smoke bought them some breathing room, and the mages used it to reposition themselves and enact their strategy. Natsu darted between The Beast's legs like a fiery wasp with a series of Fire Dragon's Iron Fists that left it pockmarked with burns. Mira fired Evil Sparks and Demon Blasts from above that forced The Beast to protect its face with its arms instead of using them to swat at the pair below him. Meanwhile, Happy used his Max Speed to carry Cana around the battle so that she could fling her cards into the monster. At her direction, he'd rush in close to the monster only for Cana to cast her Reverse Draw and suddenly Elfman would be there to land several heavy blows with his Black Bullarm or Lisanna would slash it with her talons in her Bird Partial Take Over. Cana would then swap back and use Happy's superior speed and their momentum prior to the switch to fly out of The Beast's reach unharmed. The strategy seemed to be working when The Beast began to show signs of damage from their attacks, but then the monster started fighting smart.

Mira's spells were ignored in favor of The Beast swiping at Natsu to throw him off his rhythm by forcing him to jump into the air or be crushed against the monster's leg. Now exposed, The Beast kneed the Dragon Slayer upwards like a hacky sack so it could punch him with a massive roar that rattled all of its attackers. Natsu braced for impact by releasing a burst of flames to try and avoid the full brunt of the punch. Despite his best efforts, it only cushioned the blow and he still ended up painfully crashing into the cliff. He was temporarily out of the fight until he could pull himself out of the rock.

"Natsu!" the other mages cried out in surprise and concern at seeing the pink-haired teen getting hit by such a powerful attack. The shock of The Beast's new speed left them flat-footed long enough for the monster to rush forward with a speed far faster than it had previously shown and literally stomp Elfman into the dirt. The white-haired mage managed to throw up both arms and his magic flashed as he attempted to shift into a more defensive form before he disappeared under The Beast's talon.

With both their main melee fighters temporarily out of the fight, their plan quickly fell apart. Mira stopped spamming her magic and focused on punching The Beast as hard as she could while Cana gave her as much support as she could with her cards. Lisanna was sent to make sure Elfman and Natsu were okay while The Beast was preoccupied.

She checked on Elfman first and felt her heart leap into her throat when she saw him battered and unresponsive in one of The Beast's giant footprints. A quick check of his vitals reassured her that her brother was alive, just unconscious. She carried him to the edge of the battlefield and propped him against a tree so that he had a bit of cover before flying up to where Natsu had been launched. She found him groggily coming to in the mountainside with a groan.

"Ugh. Did Gildarts finally find out that I burned part of his porn stash?" Natsu muttered as he shook his head around.

"Natsu! Thank gods you're okay!" Lisanna cried out before realizing what he said. "Wait. Why did you burn Gildarts's porn stash?"

"It was either that or let Ur catch me with it."

"Smart," Lisanna complimented with a nod. "Wait. Why did you have Gildarts's porn stash in the first place?"

It was then that Natsu's grogginess (mostly) went away and he realized who he was talking to about his alleged misdeeds. He quickly changed the subject. "Not important. How are we doing?"

"Don't try to change the subject—" Lisanna began to lecture, very interested in what he had almost been about to admit, only for The Beast to roar out in rage and someone scream out in pain. "We'll finish this later. Right now, Mira-nee is fighting The Beast and I don't think she's doing that well. We need you back in the fight," she told him while wrapping her talons around Natsu's shoulders and pulling him out of the mountainside.

"That was Cana's scream," Natsu said with a seriousness he rarely showed. His eyes were focused on the giant form of The Beast in the distance. "Let's go."

Lisanna rapidly pumped her wings as she flew back towards the fight. "It's not as fast as Happy's Max Speed, but it'll have to be enough."

"I'll make it enough," Natsu declared before firing flames from his feet like an afterburner. The increased speed made the wind cut into their skin like knives but both mages ignored the discomfort in favor of helping their friends faster.

Mira knew that she was fucked when The Beast grabbed her right arm.

It was her own damn fault. She had gotten careless while attacking the monster after she saw what it did to her little brothers. She had abandoned any semblance of strategy or fighting style in favor of just wailing on it with reckless abandon to make it hurt. That wasn't something you did on an S-Class job, especially when the creature you were fighting had shown that it was extremely cunning and knew how to hide its own strength. While she now had a handle on how fast it was, the monster had apparently been playing up how much they were hurting it. After she landed a series of blows to its torso and hit it pointblank with a Soul Extinctor, The Beast had lashed out and grabbed her arm in a crushing grip. She could only stare in horror as the monster's lips peeled back in a horrible smile that bared all of its sharp yellow teeth. Smoke rose from its chest where her attack had hit and she could see that the skin was raw and bleeding, but it didn't care. The Beast had let her land that attack so that it could trap her like this. The pressure on her arm increased and Mira cursed herself for being so stupid as she bit back a cry of pain. She was the strongest of the six mages here and now she was going to be crippled in the fight because she couldn't keep her damn temper in check. She was supposed to be better than this.

Then the pressure on her arm suddenly vanished and Mira found herself falling. She quickly flung her wings out and stopped her descent before glancing around in confusion. Where was she? What happened to The Beast? There was no way anyone here was strong enough to release her from the monster's grip and free her so quickly without being noticed so how…?

Before Mira could ponder her turn of good fortune, Cana's pained scream rang out across the valley. Mira immediately took to the sky and located the brunette. She was dangling from The Beast's hand by her right arm, which was obviously broken, in the same position that Mira had been only seconds before. The white-haired teen screamed in rage at seeing another of her family brutalized by The Beast and surged forward while flinging orbs of Dark Magic at the monster. It dropped Cana in favor of shielding its face and Mira easily scooped her up in her arms and carried her to a safe distance.

"A princess carry? Mira, people are going to talk," Cana joked around winces and involuntary gasps of pain as Mira set her down. "I'm fine," she claimed while trying to climb to her feet. "It's just an arm. I can still walk."

"Not like that you can't," Mira replied. She spotted something in Cana's right hand and gently pulled the card from between her unresponsive fingers, making Cana hiss in pain. She looked at the devil-like figure with white hair depicted on the card and knew what she had done. "You dumbass. Why would you trade place with me like that? It was my fault I got caught."

Cana gave her a devil-may-care grin that really made her relation to Gildarts shine through. "Because you're the strongest we've got. You break your arm and we're fucked. Me on the other hand, I'm just throwing cards and switching people around. I can afford to lose an arm."

"You're worth more than that."

"That thing's kicking our collective asses and it can't use any magic. Right now, we need you and Natsu more than we need anyone else." Cana reached out with her good hand and clasped Mira's forearm. "Mira, I'll be fine; it's just an arm. It'll heal. If it's to take that thing down and save any of you then I'll gladly give up more than the use of my arm for a few weeks."

Before Mira could argue against Cana's self-sacrificing ways, Happy arrived in tears crying about Cana tricking him into dropping her followed by a concerned Natsu and Lisanna. While they were busy fretting over Cana, Mira glanced back at The Beast and watched it beat its chest (making sure to avoid the damaged areas) and roar out a challenge that was clearly directed at them. She stared into its glowing purple eyes and knew that if they didn't go out to meet its challenge it would come after them.

"Natsu, time to go."

The Dragon Slayer looked up from where he had been fussing over Cana and walked over to join Mira. He also matched The Beast's stare and pulled his lips back in a feral snarl. "We're going to have to go all out to beat this guy."

"Yep." Mira's body glowed with magic as she transformed into her Sitri form. "No more fucking around. We hit him hard and we don't stop until he does."

"What if he manages to outlast us?"

"He won't."

Natsu's snarl morphed into a predatory grin as he slammed his fist together in anticipation. He inhaled deeply and gathered the flames from where Mira's feet should be and swallowed them all. Flames burst out around him in the shape of a dragon with its wings spread as he declared, "I'm all fired up!"

The two S-Class mages let out a pair of war cries as they charged forward to do battle with the supposed 'King of monsters.'

Cana let out a hiss of protest when Happy set her down at the top of the cliff where they had originally spotted The Beast. While the monster was preoccupied with getting bounced between the two S-Classers there wasn't any threat of them being singled out and attacked. Thank the gods that the thing didn't have any ranged attacks. If it had been able to shoot a laser from its mouth like Deliora did in Gray's story then they would have been royally fucked. Lisanna set a recently revived Elfman down next to them before dropping her Take Over and joining them in watching the battle.

"Damn. So this is what it's like when those two go all out, huh?" Cana commented as she struggled to unscrew her flask with one hand. Happy helpfully did it for her and she took a swig while watching Natsu slam both fists into The Beast's leg, buckling it and forcing the "king" down on one knee. Mira followed it up with a rising uppercut that left a trail of flames on its chest and its mane on fire. "Guess we were holding them back."

"I don't think so," Lisanna argued only to be quickly countered by Cana.

"Lisanna, they're hitting way harder and throwing around enough fire to make Natsu's dragon dad sweat. Face it: when we were down there they were sandbagging so they didn't hurt us or draw all of The Beast's attention. Fat lot of good it did too."

Elfman grunted his agreement. Getting squished by that monster wasn't his finest moment. Very unmanly. "I thought with my new Chimera Mode I'd be able to contribute more, but I got knocked out before I could even try it."

"Your new what now?"

"Chimera Mode." Elfman held up both his arms and transformed one into a bear's arm and the other into a lizard's for few seconds before shifting back. "I finally figured out how to use both arms at once. I have to use two different beasts and it burns through my magic ridiculously fast, but I can do it. I can transform more than just one arm."

"That's awesome, Elf-niichan!"

"Aye!"

"Congratulations."

"Thanks," Elfman said with a satisfied grin. It was quickly replaced with a frown as he watched The Beast power through the fiery hell Mira and Natsu were raining down on it. "But fat lot of good it does now. Look at that. Neesan and Natsu are giving it their all to fight The Beast and it's still standing." They all watched as Natsu and Mira combined their magics to send a wave of fire into The Beast that left it roaring in agony and covered in burns. The monster then lashed out with a backhand that clipped Mira and send her spinning ass over teakettle through the air while Natsu had to start darting around its legs to avoid being stepped on like Elfman. "Two arms instead of one isn't going to help me keep up with that."

The girls' lips twisted in distaste, but they had to agree. Even with Mira's training and both her arms Cana didn't have enough power to really hurt The Beast. Lisanna was in a similar boat. Her fighting style was based on being faster than her opponent and avoiding getting hit. The Beast had already proven that if she tried that she'd be flattened in the blink of an eye. Even Elfman had only managed to walk away from The Beast's attack because he had brought his guard up in time and The Beast hadn't tried that hard to kill him. Add the damage they'd already taken and the magic they'd used up during the fight and there was definitely no way that they could take on The Beast.

It was still frustrating, though. Especially for Lisanna. She knew that she was the weakest of the five mages (sans Happy) but even with that in mind she felt that she hadn't contributed at all in this fight. A few scratches didn't really matter against a behemoth like The Beast. It was shaking off Natsu's punches and Mira's strongest Take Over. There was no way her Partial Take Over did more than irritate it. She wanted to do more but knew that she couldn't. All she could do was watch over Elfman and Cana. If The Beast decided to ignore the S-Class mages and attack them she'd have to grab Elfman and carry him to safety while Happy did the same with Cana. Fortunately, The Beast couldn't fly. As long as they stayed far enough above it there was nothing that it could do. It was how she got away when Cana was swapping places with her and her brother earlier. When it was her turn to attack she'd start flying higher until Cana swapped places with her. Then the momentum would make her talons cut deeper and she'd already be on her way out of The Beast's range. It eventually stopped watching her while she was in the air and focused on trying to hit Cana instead.

Remembering that gave her an idea and Lisanna jolted upwards in excitement. Then she ran into a problem and slumped back down in disappointment. It was no good. Even if The Beast would initially ignore her, she had no way to capitalize on a sneak attack. Lisanna perked back up when she got an even better idea. "Elf-niichan, I need your help."

"Okay. But with what?"

A devilish smirk spread across Lisanna's lips that made her look disturbingly like her older sister. "I know how we can fight The Beast."

"You're sure it won't notice us?"

"Positive. It never looked up after my first half dozen flybys."

Lisanna's words did little to reassure Elfman. He was currently dangling in the air from her talons as they positioned themselves over The Beast. His arms were stilling creaking from the last time The Beast hit him, so he wanted something a little more concrete than evidence from when it was sandbagging earlier. For all they knew this thing could breathe lasers that exploded. He was going to be plummeting through the air at the monster with no way to change his trajectory or pull out of the attack. His sisters were the ones with the wings, he just punched things really hard.

"We're right over its head. Ready Niichan?"

Speaking of punching things… Elfman didn't trust his voice, so he flashed Lisanna a thumbs up and shaky smile. That was enough for his little sister, and she dropped him into a freefall hundreds of feet in the air over an S-Class monster that was giving his older sister and the guild's Dragon Slayer, both S-Class mages, a tough time. Elfman noticed in hindsight that he may have allowed himself to be talked into this harebrained plan a little too easily.

There wasn't really time to be questioning his poor life choices now. Elfman steeled his nerves and focused on staying on target. The Beast was rapidly getting closer but still hadn't noticed his approach. He concentrated on bringing forth two spells at once and felt the muscles in his right arm swell, turn black, and start brimming in power while his left arm grew heavy, gray, and metallic. The Beast was seconds away and this was going to be his only shot. Either he landed this attack perfectly and transferred all of his force into The Beast's skull or he would miss and crash into the Earth at high speeds and possibly die. This was a really bad idea. Elfman raised both arms above his head and let out a totally manly battle cry that had no traces of fear in it to draw The Beast's attention. "Chimera Mode: Black Iron Bull Hammer!"

The Beast shook off his flaming attackers just in time to look up and take Elfman's attack right to the middle of its horns. The hardened keratin cracked under the blow and did little to impede it from striking the middle of the monster's forehead at full force. The Beast let out a cry of pain and fell to its knees. Elfman bounced away and hit the ground painfully but managed to turn it into a roll to bleed away some of the energy.

Everyone paused and held their breath as they watched The Beast's purple eyes flicker and dim. The creature's body swayed in place for a bit before ultimately crashing forward onto its face: defeated. The valley was quiet for several minutes before a ragged cheer went up from the six mages. They had done it! They had defeated The Beast! The so-called 'King of monsters!' Lisanna swooped down and dove into Natsu for a hug that the weary Dragon Slayer returned with a relieved laugh. Happy brought Cana down to join them and congratulations and back slaps were had all around. Mira approached Elfman and held out a hand to help him to his feet. He gratefully took it, but Mira didn't stop at pulling him up and instead lifted her brother's hand into the air despite being several inches shorter than him. "Let's hear it for Elfman! The man who beat The Beast while using Take Over Magic with both arms!"

Another cheer went up among the mages as they called out Elfman's name. The white-haired teen bashfully scratched the back of his head under all the praise. "Thank you, but I didn't do it on my own. Lisanna was the one who game up with the plan."

Natsu grabbed Lisanna's arm and thrust it into the air. "Three cheers for Lisanna, the one who planned The Beast's downfall!"

This continued for a while, the mages' collective relief over living through such a tumultuous battle making them giddy over their victory. Everyone got several rounds of cheers and the only one whose arm wasn't thrust into the air was Cana to avoid jostling her broken arm. After the adrenaline ran out, they got around to fixing their wounds. Natsu and Mira were the worse off since they did most of the serious fighting. They were covered in bruises and cuts but nothing too serious. They'd be feeling it for days and the pair could feel bones that were definitely bruised and possible cracked but were too happy to worry about that now. Cana was obviously the worse behind them with her shattered arm. They made a makeshift sling for her until they could get back to Porlyusica and have her put it in a cast. Elfman's injuries were mostly internal with the exception of his hands, which were heavily bruised and several of the tiny bones in them were probably broken after his final attack against The Beast. Lisanna and Happy had gotten off lightly with only superficial wounds. With their injuries taken care of there was only one thing left to do.

Elfman hesitantly approached The Beast's immobile form and took once final glance back at his family. They all gave him encouraging smiles.

"Go ahead, Elfman. You deserve it."

"I just made the plan, you're the one that beat it, Elf-niichan."

"Yeah! You kicked The Beast's ass with that last attack!"

"Very manly."

"Aye!"

His worries assured, Elfman walked up to where he had cracked The Beast's horns and placed his hand on the broken headplate. His magic surged outwards to cover The Beast and then everything went dark.

Elfman opened his eyes to find himself floating in an endless black void. He tried to examine his surroundings but found himself unable to move. Before he could begin figuring out where he was, an overwhelming magical power slammed into him. The power was suffocating. It took all that he had to hold it back with his own magic. Despite that, Elfman could feel the foreign magic gaining ground. His eyes widened in recognition. This feeling! It was the same feeling when a creature tried to resist being Taken Over!

As if summoned by his thoughts to confirm his suspicions, Elfman felt a large presence loom over him from behind. He managed to turn around to see the shadowy outline of The Beast towering over him as its purple eyes radiated hatred and smug satisfaction. Elfman realized that they had been tricked. The Beast had never been defeated by his attack, it had used it as an opportunity to play dead and wait for their guards to be down before attack.

Elfman tried to break his way out of the Take Over, but The Beast was too strong. Who could have known that it would have such immense magical power? It had given no indication of being magically inclined during their fight, using nothing but physical abilities. Elfman could feel himself being overwhelmed and knew that if he didn't do anything soon then The Beast would Take Over his body and launch a surprise attack on his family. With a last surge of will, Elfman focused his magic and managed to seize control of his own body long enough to yell one thing.

"RUN!"

Why?

Why had everything gone so wrong?

It wasn't fair. They had won. Her plan had worked. Elf-niichan had landed the final blow against The Beast that Mira-nee and Natsu had been wearing down while protecting the four of them that weren't strong enough to stand up against the monster. They had celebrated, licked their wounds, and were getting ready to leave. The town had been saved, the monster vanquished, so why?

Why was Elf-niichan glowing with magic that wasn't his own and yelling for them to run?

Why had he disappeared in a flash of light while The Beast had climbed to its feet looking hale and hearty with its mane turned white like her brother's hair?

Why did The Beast have enough magic to counter her brother's—an S-Class candidate of Fairy Tail—Take Over?

Lisanna didn't get an answer to any of these questions because they all had to switch right back to fighting immediately. It didn't matter though. The Beast was using Elfman's magic to recover from its injuries while they were all exhausted from the earlier fight. The first thing The Beast did was smack Natsu into the dirt then send him flying off into the distance. Lisanna ordered Happy to go find him while she grabbed Cana and flew her out of the danger zone. Mira went Satan Soul but was quickly overpowered. The Beast was just too tough for Satan Soul to handle by itself, Mira was too drained from her extended use of her Sitri Soul earlier, and the knowledge that anything they did to The Beast like this would also be inflicted on Elfman made her hold back.

Lisanna watched Mira bounce across the ground in horror and couldn't hold back a gasp of shock when her older sister was forced to drop her Satan Soul. The Beast roared out in triumph and began to stalk forward to finish the job. Lisanna started to rush out of cover to help her sister only to be held back by a strong grip on her shoulder.

"What do you think you're doing?" Cana hissed at her while tightening her grip. Even with her nondominant hand her grip was a vice. Lisanna wouldn't be going anywhere like this.

"I have to help."

"What are you going to do? That thing just kicked the Satan Soul out of Mira and launched Natsu like a skipping stone. If you go out there you're going to die."

"Elfman's in there, I know it! I just have to talk to him. I'm sure I can reach him!"

Lisanna tried to break free, but Cana adjusted her grip and put her into a loose chokehold. "How?! That's not Elfman, it's The Beast taking Elfman's body for a joyride."

"We can't just leave them like this! He'll kill her!"

"What are you going to do? There's no way for you to go out there, rescue Mira, and get back in time. You're not fast enough. And you don't have the strength to put The Beast down. None of us do."

"I have to try! We can't abandon them!"

"You think I want to this happen?!" Cana yelled at Lisanna. The younger girl broke out of her grip and whipped around to see tears streaming down the brunette's face. "You can't do anything, Lisanna. If you run out there you're going to die, and neither Mira or Elfman would ever want that."

Tears began to stream down Lisanna's face. She knew that. Gods, did she know that, but she still had to try. "I can't lose them both, Cana. I can't lose Elfman and Mira. They're my family. I can't lose them too. Not like this."

Cana pulled her into a hug. "I know, Lisanna. They're my family too."

It wasn't the same though. They had all accepted each other as a family under Gildarts, but Mira and Elfman were Lisanna's family through blood. She barely remembered her parents and the memories got fuzzier every day, but she remembered the pain of losing them. Of being alone in the world. Before Fairy Tail it was just them against the world. Mira had been the rock that had supported them and Elfman had been the gentle soul that had calmed her down and let her know that everything was okay. She loved Natsu and Cana, but they couldn't replace that. No one could.

"Look."

Lisanna brought her head up from Cana's shoulder and followed where she was pointing. Mira had climbed to her feet and was staring down The Beast as it approached her. Her gaze shifted to them and when Lisanna met her eyes and saw the sad smile Mira gave her she wanted to cry even harder. Mira looked to Cana and mouthed "protect her." She then turned back to Lisanna and mouthed "I love you."

That was what broke her. The fact that Mira had accepted her own death. That she had accepted that Elfman was lost to them. She acknowledged that she wasn't strong enough to save him. That they all weren't strong enough to save him. Mira had only told Cana to protect "her," not "them." Her last words to Lisanna were that she loved her. That sharply brought to mind another white-haired woman telling her that she loved her before closing her eyes forever. Lisanna couldn't remember the face clearly and the voice was too faint to make out, but the sentiment was the same. She broke down and feel to her knees as the memory of her mother's passing overlapped with her sister's upcoming demise.

"Stand tall, kid. That's what your sister is doing."

Lisanna looked up at Cana to see the older girl with tears streaming down her face but her eyes locked on Mira's small figure standing up to The Beast's giant one as it lumbered closer. The youngest Strauss wiped her eyes with the back of her hands and joined Cana. If this was her sister's final moment, then she wasn't going to miss a thing. She'd burn this event into her mind so that it would never fade away like her mother and father's passing had.

She heard a pop and looked over to see Cana taking a several swigs from her flask. "Sorry. I need this right now."

"I understand," Lisanna said without tearing her eyes away from Mira. She didn't approve of it at the moment, but she knew that it was how Cana coped with… everything. "Neesan would understand too."

"Doubt it. I think she's going to be pissed as all hell with me."

Lisanna thought that was a strange thing for Cana to say, but before she could ask what the Card Mage meant, the strong smell of alcohol distracted her. "Hang on to that for me, will ya? I'm going to want it back later."

Lisanna took the flask that had been thrust into her face, but her brow had narrowed in concern. Cana was acting and talking strangely. She wanted to ask her what was wrong, but The Beast was now within striking distance of Mira. She watched her sister lift her arm and raise one finger as a final act of defiance as the monster reared back its arm to strike her.

Suddenly, there was a surge of magic power to her left and Lisanna glanced over to see Cana holding up a card with a stylized demon on it. She gave her a sad look when she saw comprehension dawn on her face. "You're not losing your sister today. Tell her that I'm not sorry for saving her ass twice and I'd do it again a third time if I could."

"Cana!"

Then the brunette was gone with a twist of her good hand and Mira was standing in her place.

"—fuck you," Mira finished saying before realizing that she wasn't standing before The Beast. She glanced around in confusion and her eyes widened in surprise when she saw her sister standing next to her. "…Lisanna?" was all she managed to get out before a sickeningly loud smack echoed throughout the valley. Mira turned woodenly to look back to where she should have been just in time to catch sight of the orangish-brown blur shoot through the air. She screamed out in horror when she realized what had happened.

"CANA!"

Mira's scream drew The Beast's attention for a brief moment before a roar grabbed it back. It turned its head only to be sent snapping backwards by a fiery missile that slammed into its jaw. Natsu roared again as he unleashed a barrage of flaming punches against The Beast's face that sent the monster stumbling back. It was a sound of pure grief mixed with overwhelming rage. Mira and Lisanna could feel the temperature skyrocketing from where they were standing. Natsu had seemingly forgotten that it was still Elfman's body he was wailing on, but they had more important things to worry about at the moment.

"Cana!" Mira repeated as she took off for where Cana's body had disappeared to, Lisanna hot on her heels. They were quickly joined by Happy (whose fur was singed from his close proximity to Natsu, something the Dragon Slayer had never let happen before) and the trio searched for their guildmate. Mira let out a cry when she found her and rushed over to Cana's body. "Cana! Cana say something!" she demanded while cradling the Card Mage's head. Lisanna and Happy crowded around her and nervously looked on as she stayed unresponsive.

After an eternity, they finally heard something, "…Mira?"

All three let out cries of joy and Mira clutched the brunette to her chest before just as quickly releasing her when she groaned in pain. "What hurts?" Mira frantically asked as she ran her hands over Cana's body without actually touching her. She wanted to do something but was afraid that anything she'd touch would just make it worse.

"…everything."

Mira huffed in annoyance. Ask a stupid question… "What hurts the most?"

"…my arm."

That made sense. Her left arm would have been the first thing The Beast would have hit. They started to gingerly examine it only for Cana to speak up. "The other one…"

"Of course. I'm sure it got fucked up when you went flying. Just give me a minute too—" Mira began only to be interrupted when Cana's good hand darted out and grabbed Mira by the front of her collar and pulled her in close.

"He… pulled the punch. Elfman's… still in there. He pulled… the punch… That should've... killed me… even with… your training… but it didn't!"

"He's still fighting!" Lisanna realized in elation.

Another roar tore through the clearing and the temperature rose even higher. Sweat began to pour down their faces as Natsu's fight against The Beast grew more intense.

"Not for long if we don't do something about that," Mira muttered. Natsu thought The Beast had just killed Cana and had gone berserk. She reached out to pull Cana into a hug since she was already so close and whispered in her ear, "Thank you for saving me, but I'm going to beat whatever's left of your ass after Gildarts and Porlyusica are through with you."

"Heh… promise?"

And with that, Cana passed out. Mira gently laid her down and turned to Lisanna. "Take care of her."

"I will. Go save Elfman."

Mira climbed to her feet and ignored the protests from her aching body. She still had enough magic left in the tank to do something incredibly reckless and stupid that Makarov had forbidden her from using. So, the usual Plan B. "Happy! Take me to Elfman."

"Aye, sir!"

Mira pursed her lips in concern as they approached the battle. Natsu's flames were burning out of control among the foliage and the pink-haired teen wasn't much better himself. Mira watched him get smacked away by The Beast only to claw his way back to his feet and launch himself back at the monster. It was incredibly reckless, even for Natsu.

Mira had to stop this.

"Happy, get me as close to them as you can."

The flying cat did as ordered and banked towards the giant monster. Mira held her breath as she focused on both not passing out from the heat and timing this perfectly. Once Natsu was knocked back again, she took her shot.

"Now!"

Happy released Mira and let the thermals carrying him away from the battle. For her part, Mira focused her magic and activated the one spell she had been forbidden from using by both Makarov and Gildarts. "Halphas Soul." Blue scales covered her arms and legs as a matching tail grew from her tailbone and a pair of large wings burst from her back. More scales grew around her eyes and went back to the horns that had sprouted from the side of her head. A blue one-piece with an exposed stomach, cleavage, and upper back replaced her tattered clothes and a large collar connected to spiked shoulders wrapped around her neck. This was her strongest and most unstable Take Over. Mira could only focus it for a few seconds before losing control and the demon's more violent nature would cause her to lash out and destroy everything around her, but a few seconds was all she needed.

With a silent apology to Elfman, Mira slammed her fists down on its head. As soon as she touched the ground she shot upwards at dizzying speeds that left a massive crater at her takeoff point and raked her claws across The Beast's face, going from its chin all the way up through its right eye; destroying it in the process. It howled out in anger and brought both hands up to clutch at its face and protect it from further attacks. That didn't matter to Mira because it had left one crucial area exposed. The part of its head usually protected by its horns that Elfman had broken earlier. Mira brought both fists up and created a Cosmic Beam between them that she unleashed at full power right into The Beast's weak spot. There would be no faking its defeat this time.

The Beast was sent flying backwards and collapsed to the ground. Mira watched with bated breath that she let out in a relieved sigh when it quickly began to revert back into Elfman. Relief flooded through Mira, but it was quickly quashed when she felt an intense heat source approaching her from behind. She turned around and came face-to-face with a white-eyed Natsu that was exuding fire from every pore. The flames weren't even forming the shape of a dragon around him like they normally did, instead being a formless mass of fire. She reached through the flames and noticed that she could feel them despite using Halphas Soul. "Natsu, it's over. We won."

Those sightless eyes turned to her again and Mira saw that she hadn't gotten through to him. She knew that Natsu's magic was powered by his emotions, but she had never seen them this strong before. She had also never seen the Dragon Slayer this furious before as well. He was like a mindless beast with only the desire to burn everything around him. He began to inhale, and her eyes widened in surprise when she saw his chest begin to expand with the telltale sign of a dragon's roar forming. She needed to snap him out of this.

"Cana's alive!"

Natsu paused before he exhaled and stared at her. The temperature began to decrease to a more suitable level for a sauna.

"She's alive and okay. Elfman managed to restrain The Beast's power. She's hurt, but she's alive." Tears began to run down Mira's face as the significance of her words hit her. "Everyone's alive."

Natsu's eyes returned to normal and he blearily stared at Mira in disbelief tinged with hesitant hope. "Really?"

"Yes!" And then she was hugging him, and he was hugging her, and they were both crying but it didn't matter because they were all alive and that was the most important thing.

After making sure that Elfman wasn't in critical condition, Natsu and Mira made their way back to Cana and Lisanna. Mira had dropped out of Halphas in exhaustion and Natsu was feeling the pain from fighting The Beast single-handedly and so recklessly now that the adrenaline had worn off. They figured that they'd bring the two back to Elfman and camp there for the night since neither had the strength to carry the larger teen. Cana would be a much more manageable burden.

Lisanna looked up from her vigil over Cana's unconscious body and visibly sagged in relief at the sight of them stumbling into the clearing while supporting each other and Happy resting in a makeshift sling Natsu had made out of his scarf. She jumped to her feet and ran forward to envelope all three of them in a hug. "Thank gods. I saw Elf-niichan turn back to normal, but I didn't know…" She squeezed them even tighter. "I'm so glad you're all okay." When a quick look behind them didn't reveal Elfman trailing behind, all of the tension reentered Lisanna and she fearfully asked, "Where's Elf-niichan?"

Mira reached up to bring her back into their embraces, "Don't worry. He's fine. We're just too weak to carry him right now." Lisanna slackened again and melted into their embraces. They stayed that way for a few moments, Lisanna basking in the arms of her sister and the boy she loved with the knowledge that everyone was alive, Mira and Natsu leaning on the younger teen while they rested their exhausted bodies, and Happy drifting off to sleep. But all good things had to end, and Mira ended it by straightening upright and saying, "Alright, enough standing around. Let's grab Cana and take her back to Elfman."

They broke up and Lisanna volunteered to carry Cana herself since Natsu and Mira looked like they'd be knocked over by a stiff breeze. The pair put up some weak protests but quickly acquiesced to Lisanna's unimpressed glare. Before they could do anything, a strange magic power appeared above them out of nowhere. The winds began to pick up and when they looked up they could see dark clouds spiraling around an empty space in the sky. Mira and Lisanna began to feel their magic being drawn into the void but quickly regained control of it and shrugged off the effect.

"What the hell is this thing?!" Natsu yelled.

"I don't know!" Mira shouted back. Gods, it was just one disaster after another today. They beat The Beast, twice! They deserved a break goddammit!

Lisanna got their attention and pointed over to where Cana's body was beginning to glow with a golden light. "Guys! Cana!"

"Fuck!"

The trio rushed over to Cana's rapidly disappearing body and tried to grab ahold of her but there wasn't anything substantial left. "No, no, no, no! Not like this! We can't lose her like this! Not after all that bullshit we went through! That she went through! She saved me twice goddammit!" Tears were rolling down Mira's face as she desperately tried to grab hold of Cana. She just wanted to touch her, to feel her, to hold her and never let go. She whispered out her last words as Cana became more and more insubstantial, "Don't go… Please don't go…"

Lisanna could only watch frozen in horror with both hands over her mouth as Natsu and her sister futilely tried to stop whatever was happening to Cana. Natsu was especially desperate. "Dammit, dammit, dammit, dammit!" he swore while swinging his hands through Cana's shimmering form, but all he was managing to do was claw at the dirt beneath her. "You can't leave. I can't lose you too, Cana! Not you too!" Hot tears streamed down his face and blurred his vision as he slammed his fist into the ground. "I don't want to lose someone again. Especially not you."

But for all that they tried, none of the Fairy Tail mages could stop the mysterious magic that turned Cana's unconscious body into particles of light that were sucked up into the void in the clouds. Almost as quickly as the portal had appeared it vanished, and the sky returned to its normal blue. The clearing was quiet except for the sounds of the weeping mages. After their earlier confrontations they had thought that all of their tears had been used up, but this tragedy proved that they still had more to cry.

Natsu suddenly stopped as he sensed something. His nose twitched, and then he was on his feet and inhaling deeply. A growl emerged from his throat as he turned to the top of the cliff. "Someone's here."

Mira and Lisanna quickly wiped away their tears and joined Natsu at staring at the clifftop. "Who's here, Natsu?"

"I don't know," the Dragon Slayer admitted. Steam began to rise from his body, and he took an unsteady step forward. "But they've got to be the guy that did that to Cana. I'm going to kick his ass until he brings her back!"

But for all his bravado, Natsu's body wouldn't allow him to make good on his promise. His legs gave out after another two steps and it was only Lisanna's quick reflexes that saved him from faceplanting into the dirt. "Natsu! Take it easy. You're still hurt from fighting The Beast."

"He took Cana, Lisanna. We've got to save her!"

"We aren't going to do anything. You and Mira-nee can barely stand." Natsu growled again at the reminded that his stupid body wasn't listening to him. "I'm going to go get her back."

"But—"

"Natsu." The pink-haired mage closed his mouth at the steel in Lisanna's voice. "I want her back too. You've done enough fighting. Let me do this." She smiled at him, "I'm a Fairy Tail mage too. I can do this."

"…I want to help you and save her."

"I know. But you can't, so let me do this instead. That's what partners do."

"Okay."

Satisfied that she had made it through Natsu's thick skull, Lisanna set him down and turned back to Mira. No words were exchanged between the sisters. Mira knew that Lisanna needed to do this. She hadn't contributed much during the fight against The Beast and Cana had technically disappeared under her watch. She needed to prove herself, even if it was only to herself. Besides, Mira was too magically drained to help or stop her. Lisanna was the only one left that could do this. The eldest Strauss gave the youngest a nod, which was returned. Lisanna transformed into an owl and flew up the cliff while Mira sat down heavily. Natsu crawled over to her and the two slung an arm around each other and waited.

At the clifftop, Lisanna used her Full-Body Take Over to turn into her favorite white cat and snuck her way through the underbrush while following the scent of her mystery target. This was her specialty. The others were very flashy fighters, even Cana's cards could draw attention with some of their effects. Lisanna's specialty lied more in the realm of speed and stealth. She didn't get to use it a lot on their missions because Mira, Elfman, and especially Natsu liked to do things very loudly, but on her own, Lisanna got her jobs done quickly and quietly. There was a reason her favorite Take Over was a cat after all.

As she snuck her way through the woods, Lisanna focused her anger on getting her job done. She wasn't prone to expressing anger like Mira or Natsu, but despite what others might think she did experience it. There was more to her than just a kind little girl that helped her teammates out but didn't really do anything else. And right now, that anger was burning through her.

When she made her way to the edge of the forest and saw a blue-haired teen holding up a wooden staff that ended in a hoop while seeming to direct the last of the magic back into the hole in the sky it took everything she had to not act on that anger and maul him right here and now. Instead, she took a deep breath and transformed into a snake and started slithering closer to her target. As she watched the teen slump forward in exhaustion after having cast that spell, Lisanna regretted that she couldn't use a more painful venom on the teen for all the pain he had caused her family. She'd have to stick to the paralysis one for now.

Seeing her chance, Lisanna struck out and sank her fangs into the teen's calf. He cried out in pain and tried to hit her with his staff, but she had already withdrawn and slunk back into the tall grass. "Who's there?! Show yourself!" the teen demanded while frantically glancing around with his staff extended and another hand on his bite wound. There was no point in revealing herself, so Lisanna just silently waited for the venom to do its work.

Soon, the teen's movements started to slow, and he finally collapsed. It was only then that Lisanna reverted back to normal and approached him. His eyes were still able to move, and they looked at her with a mixture of fear and disbelief. The venom would keep him that way for several hours, more than long enough for her to transform into something large enough to carry everyone back home. Rest could wait, they needed to get the adults involved as soon as possible. But, just to be sure, Lisanna drove her fist into his temple to knock him out like Gildarts had taught her. She hatefully stared down at the teen's tattooed face.

"That was for Cana, fucker."

Gildarts was wearing a bright shirt with a starfish pattern that was left unbuttoned and sipping a margarita on his hotel balcony. It was rare that he got the chance to relax like this during a job, but the hotel owners had been so grateful with how quickly he had handled the sea monster that had been ruining their beachfront hotels that they had offered him three free days and nights at their fanciest hotel. Seeing that he had been on a roll with how quickly he had been completing the jobs he had brought with him, Gildarts figured that he could use a little vacation. The view certainly helped. He smiled dumbly to himself as he peered through his binoculars at all the of wonderful, barely covered, sights that could be found on the beach during the summer. He was especially invested in the beach volleyball game that a group of attractive young ladies were playing. He wouldn't have been able to tell you the score if you held a gun to his head, but he was enjoying it regardless.

His observations were interrupted by the small Communication Lacrima chiming at him from his pocket. Gildarts pulled it out in confusion. This Lacrima was only linked to the big one in Fairy Tail's basement and Master had started making everyone that left the guild for extended periods of time carry one in case they needed to contact them for an emergency. This was the first time that they had ever used it as far as Gildarts knew. He answered it with more than a little trepidation.

Kuzan's face appeared in the Lacrima and Gildarts enthusiastically called out his name, "Kuzan! It's been far too long. You never call or write. I was beginning to think that you had forgotten about little ol' me. Quick, guess what I'm wearing."

"It's the kids."

Those three words froze Gildarts's blood cold and he felt the icy hand of fear grip his heart. This was his worst-case scenario. A million bad thoughts ran through Gildarts's mind as he choked out, "What happened?"

"They were on a job and things went wrong. The monster proved to be more difficult than expected and they all got knocked around pretty badly. They're all alive though."

Gildarts felt the grip around his heart loosen. They were alive, that was the most important thing. "I want details, Kuzan. How is everyone?"

He watched Gildarts bring a scrap of paper up to his face and begin reading off of it. "Natsu and Mira both have severe magical exhaustion and a smorgasbord of bruised, fractured, and broken bones. Porlyusica's looking at them right now and between all her bitching she said that all they needed was to take it easy and a lot of bedrest. Lisanna has minor injuries and didn't exhaust herself magically, but she did carry all of them back here herself and is physically exhausted along with having several strained muscles. Happy and Elfman have less severe magical exhaustion, but Mira's last attack on The Beast hurt him as well and he has a deep cut over his eye." Kuzan removed the paper to stare Gildarts in the eyes the best he could over a crystal. "He lost the eye and Porlyusica says that it will definitely leave a scar, and a nasty one at that."

Gildarts let out the breath he had been holding. That was better than he had been expecting. Elfman losing an eye was pretty bad, but eyes could be replaced. With how grave Kuzan was being he was expecting something more debilitating than that—a limb or two at least. But then Gildarts noticed someone had been left out of the medical report.

"Kuzan," Gildarts said with a deceptively calm voice that hid how hard and fast his heart was pounding in his chest, "what about Cana?"

The older man didn't change expression as he woodenly delivered the news that Gildarts really didn't want to hear and he really didn't want to say. "She's gone."

The balcony exploded.

The Lacrima cracked in his grip as Gildarts brought it up to eye level and started screaming. "What the fuck do you mean she's gone?! You just said that they were all alive!"

"According to Jellal, she's been transported to another world."

"WHAT?!" Gildarts roared out. Anyone that had been brave enough to approach him after he had casually fallen down from the destroyed balcony quickly retreated as Gildarts's control on his magic went to hell. Anything within ten feet of him was crushed into dust as his magic ran wild. "What the fuck do you mean another world?! And who the fuck is Jellal?"

"We don't know all the details. Lisanna brought him in with the rest of your kids. He claims he's from another world, the same place that Happy is supposedly from."

"How the fuck is Happy involved in this?! And are you actually buying this kid's shit?"

"I don't know," Kuzan answered in exasperation. This explanation would be so much easier if Gildarts didn't interrupt him every sentence. "And Master seemed to have an idea of what he was talking about. Jellal claims that Cana got sucked into some portal called an Anima that leads to a place without magic known as Edolas."

"How does he know all this?"

"Supposedly, he's been traveling around Earth Land to track these portals down and close them. They suck in anything magical without a strong enough resistance and since Cana was exhausted, injured, and unconscious at the time, she was easily sucked in."

Gildarts had already jumped back to his room and begun throwing his things into his bag. "Wait, hurt?! How badly was she hurt?"

"Not sure," Kuzan lied. No need to make Gildarts burst a blood vessel yet. There would be plenty of time for that after he had time to process it and Porlyusica was within shouting range. "Lisanna says that The Beast punched her before they were able to free Elfman, but Cana claimed that he had pulled the punch."

Gildarts threw the last of his things into his bag and headed outside. "What else has this Jellal said?"

"No idea." Kuzan slumped down in the picture and Gildarts figured he must have pulled up a chair. "As soon as he entered the guild, Erza freaked the fuck out and tried to stab him. Master shuffled him into his office while Ur is comforting the kids and I called you as soon as we knew anything."

"Fine," Gildarts grit out. It was less than he wanted to know but it was enough for now. He was only a few days from Magnolia Town as the crow flew so he figured that he could be there before dark if he hustled. "Kuzan, make sure that kid doesn't do a runner before I get there. I have several questions I personally want to see him react to."

"Can do."

"Also, apologize to Master for me." The ground beneath Gildarts cracked as he unleashed his magic and bolted straight ahead, crashing through several buildings in the process and destroying the Lacrima in his hand. "I'm about to cause some collateral damage."

Kuzan didn't know what he was supposed to be apologizing to Makarov for, but with Gildarts it was probably something destructive. He turned the Lacrima off since it was giving him nothing but static and headed upstairs to see how the kids were doing. They were all huddling together around the infirmary as Ur moved between them to offer what help she could. The other guild members were hovering around as well, but Wakaba and Macao were doing their best to hold back the crowd. Kuzan nodded his thanks to them and mentally made a note to buy them a drink or two later.

He waited in the doorway to catch Ur's eye. When she had the chance, she made her way over to him and asked, "How's Gildarts doing?"

"As well as expected."

Ur's lips pursed in concern. "I guess we'll just have to wait for him to get close enough to sense to know how long he'll be."

Kuzan grunted in agreement. "How're the kids?"

"Bad. This is the first time they've seen anyone this bad since they've joined Fairy Tail. And with Cana missing combined with Erza's lack of leadership and reaction they're scared. I'm doing my best, but there's only so much that I can do. Answers and time to process this is what they need and, unfortunately, we can't give them the former."

"You're doing great, Ur," Kuzan told her with a reassuring hand on her shoulder. His gaze swung over to where Erza had curled up in a corner with her arm around her knees and the other with a death grip on the sword Kuzan had given her. She was wearing her strongest armor despite the blade in her hand and Kuzan could see her shaking from here. "I'll go talk to Erza and see what I can do."

"I'll try to keep the rest of the kids calm. Not much more we can do until Makarov gets some more answers out of that Jellal kid or Gildarts gets back."

"Hopefully that's enough."

With a grim looked shared between them, Kuzan and Ur split up to do their best to run damage control among their now broken family.

A/N: Well, that went long. I'm splitting the chapter and adding the second half of this chapter to the nextchapter so that I'm still on track to reach canon after next chapter—which might be a little long too. You'll see the reactions and consequences of this modified version of "The Beast Incident" then. Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and all that. Later.