I hope you'll enjoy this. Sorry it's late.
"So he's talking with Master Makarov right now?" Lucy asked while stirring her ice cubes.
"Uh huh," Mirajane hummed. She wiped down the counter and turned back to Lucy to refill her water. "He's been in there for a long time now. They must be getting along well." Erza nodded in agreement.
Gray leaned back against the bar, "So he's actually gonna be one of us? That's gonna be weird when he comes back." Everyone knew who he was talking about. A deaf man would have known from the way they perked up and whirled to Gray.
"There's no telling how he's gonna react to Ifrit," Lucy added, "They could destroy everything." A look of horror grew on everyone's face. "…Or they could be good friends?"
Gray sighed, "Well, everything's been too quiet without Natsu."
"You're right," Lucy reserved herself with a loud exhale, "he's been gone for over a month now."
"Without saying goodbye or anything…"
"He'll be back," Mirajane encouraged.
"What a jerk."
Silence fell over the girls as their gazes fell to the ground. No one could respond to him properly. His words were cold, but still true. Things were bad then, very bad, but it wasn't a situation that was unresolvable.
Like something hidden in plain sight, Erza's voice came from the other side of the counter, "Natsu is still family." Everybody turned to her since it was the first time she spoke since Ifrit left over two hours ago.
"He didn't act very family-like when he walked out on us," Gray murmured away from her.
Lucy shook her head, "Neither did we, Gray."
He turned to her with an aggressive glare that slowly died when he took a second to understand her. He nodded and spun around to rest against the counter once again. "So, are we still on for tomorrow?"
Erza nodded once, "We'll group up here in the morning. Better sleep well, it's a long climb up that mountain."
Lucy had a sudden idea, "Should we bring Ifrit? He's a new member."
"The payout is barely decent split between us three," Gray argued.
"He could just come along for the experience!"
"I don't know, Lucy…"
"Oh come on, he's a fire user! Up in the mountains he'd be a great support."
The vein on his forehead began to throb as it scrunched into an agitated expression, "But the payout is-"
"Oh, come on, he could be a great-"
"Whatever! Ask Erza!" He snapped, putting her off a bit. "I'm going to sleep already." He threw a peace sign up and disappeared through the two large doors, leaving his heaped clothes behind.
Before Lucy had the chance, Erza responded to her impending question, "It's alright, I'll ask him when he comes out. You should go home as well."
Lucy looked down at her watch to find it was a quarter past eleven, "Huh?! I didn't know it was so late!"
"Have a nice night," Mirajane smiled.
"This'll be the worst night of sleep ever," she lamented, dragging her feet out of the guild.
Mirajane turned to Erza, "Would you like me to ask him so you can go home as well?"
Erza looked around to see that everyone had gone home early. It wasn't everyday that Mirajane had a chance to go home before midnight. "No, I can ask him."
Just then, a door creaked open upstairs.
"Sounds like they're done talking," Mirajane said.
Erza's attention turned upwards, "Good night, Mirajane."
She made her way up the stairs beside the bar and turned down the eastern hallway. The lights in the hall were turned off around nine to keep the majority of people in the lightened bar. At the end, she saw the bright yellow light gleaming from Makarov's ajar door. He stood in the center of the room with a furious expression and Ifrit had his back to her. They didn't seem to be getting along very well. Ifrit's hand was clutched to the door, and his eyes were staring off to the side. She remained a respectable distance away from the door to avoid the misunderstanding of eavesdropping but Ifrit was still surprised when he swung the door wide open to leave.
"Erza," Makarov began in a choked voice, "This is Ifrit, our new member. Please welcome him." Makarov shut the door behind him and left the two together in the dark hallway. It was unusual for Makarov to be in such a closed state.
She straightened her posture, sensing that something was going on. "Ifrit, is there something wrong?"
Her eyes didn't meet his as he walked past her, "Can you show me where the guest room is?"
She looked back once more at the Master's office light still visible under the door before leading him down the opposing hallway. At the very end, she indicated the room by standing in front of its door with crossed arms.
"What did you tell Makarov?"
He ignored her stern expression and opened the door behind of her. "Can you move?"
"Why is Master upset?" she asked, stepping out of his path.
He entered the room, throwing his black coat on one of the hooks in the wall, "ask him yourself," and slammed the door.
She starred hard at Ifrit's door, drilling an imaginary hole through it, before a small rumbling came from the Master's hallway. She slowly made her way down to the dim lit door. Standing before it, she began to contemplate how she should approach this. Should she bring up her mission first? Or maybe just be upfront, as usual? As she was about to knock, she heard soft sobbing coming from the other side. She tapped softly, and it stopped.
"Come in, Erza."
She dimmed open the door and peaked in. The room was in shambles. His paperwork was scattered across the floor, the painting that was hung beside the door was torn and sitting in the corner. The bookcase was empty and its contents were beside it. The walls were covered in scuffle marks and indentions where something must have crashed into it with a lot of force. Makarov was sitting on the end of his desk with his face in his hands.
Erza sat beside the short elder man, "Master?"
Makarov sniffled, "You have to be strong, Erza…" He pulled his face from his sleeves, eyes full of sorrow and brimming with tears.
"What's going on?" Her hands clenched to fists and heat grew in her cheeks
"I've… We've…" A tear rolled down his face, "Natsu's…"
Her heart nearly stopped at his name.
"Natsu's what?" she urged. Her stomach began to roll and twist uncomfortably.
"He's… gone."
She didn't quite understand, not being the best at picking up on hints, but she could feel this in her chest. The She turned forward, looking down at her hands that were shaking. Her voice trembled, "H-how?"
"Last night…" Makarov took a deep breath, "Ifrit found Natsu in critical condition just outside Magnolia. He was trying to make his way back but took shelter behind a boulder." Her memory flashed back to when she spoke with him. She had been there. Natsu was only inches away, and she left him unknowingly. "Ifrit was with him in his passing moments… but his body wasn't recovered."
Erza remained silent; head low with her hair over her face. She held her composure with strength she didn't know she had. There were no tears forming, or anything other than trembling hands. She turned to face her sobbing master, "When shall we prepare his funeral?"
Makarov was astonished by her response, "Hm- It is alright to cry for a fallen comrade, Erza."
"I know."
He looked at her for a moment. She wore the same-old serious 'Erza' expression with no sign of an emotional unbalance. Not even a frown was on her face. He shook his head, "You and the others are leaving tomorrow, correct?"
"Yes, in the early morning."
"It is better to keep this to ourselves until you return safely."
She nodded understandingly before walking to the door.
"Are you going to be alright, Erza?"
She half turned back to him with a half smile, "I'll be alright," and closed the door behind her.
She looked down the dark hallway; but it was an entirely different kind of dark now. It was empty, and lonesome. She took her first step that turned into a stumble, barely able to catch herself in time. Exhaling sharply, she shook it off and attempted another step that ended the same way, almost collapsing entirely. She rested her weight against the wall, moving alongside it to the staircase but it still felt as if something was weighing her down. In a flash, she rid herself of her heart kruz armor and requipped into her casual attire of blouse and skirt. It didn't help as she dropped to a knee at the top of the stairs. Her breaths came in heaves, and a drip of sweat ran off down her cheek. She sat on the top step, taking long, deep breaths. Her heart was beating so loudly in her ears that she thought it would have been audible to anyone nearby. Looking up, she saw the door at the end of the western corridor. Light peeked at her from under the frame. Why didn't he tell me?!
The next morning, Mirajane was standing behind the bar, greeting the busy guild members as they came and went when Erza entered drearily and sat at the barstool closest to the staircase.
"You look terrible, Erza." Mirajane leaned in towards Erza's face, feeling her forehead for a temperature.
Erza barely made it home last night, stumbling and tripping almost the entirely way there. Having only slept for an hour before heading back to the guild, she was just glad to be able to make it there without face planting.
"Do you want some coffee?" Mirajane held out a cup of black coffee that Erza's shaking hands gladly accepted. "You seem disturbed, is there something wrong?"
"N-no," Erza muttered, "I'm just tired…" She took a sip before resting her face in her hand. The image of Natsu's furious glower and his final dispute with her lingered in her mind. It was a mystery why Natsu would always try to be the strongest of the group. Always first to fight, first to argue, first to act. Was it because of her?
Mirajane pouted quietly, trying to figure out what was bothering Erza when Lucy and Gray entered.
"We're here, Errr- … Uhm, Erza? Are you okay?" Gray shook her shoulder. She jumped slightly.
"Huh?" she looked up, "I'm… I'll be alright…" she rose from her seat, making strong eye contact with each of them to assure them. Mirajane watched her with caring eyes as the others remained lost.
"Did Ifrit keep you up all night?" Lucy asked feeling guilty.
Erza shook her head, "No. It was just a long walk home…"
"Is he here?"
"Yes, I'll go wake him up." She began her ascension up the stairs as the others looked at each other.
"Did he sleep here?" Gray whispered.
"I don't see why not," Mirajane replied naturally.
Erza stood in front of his door with her hand dangling in midair, hesitating to knock. She closed her eyes and, harder than she intended, banged three times. A faint grunt announced his awakening.
"Ifrit! Get up!" she spat like venom before practically stomping back to the staircase.
"Erza! Is he coming?" Lucy called from the bottom of the staircase.
"He just got up," she replied angrily.
"Do you want to leave without him?"
She looked back at his door. There were things that she wanted to ask him sooner than later, "Hold on."
She slammed on the door two more times, "We have to go, Ifrit!" She heard a small crash, before turning and walking down to the others. "He'll be here soon," she said as she took her seat.
Gray sat in the barstool beside her, "looks like we're leaving later than planned."
Earlier...
A young man stood before him with a blank expression on his face. He didn't look lost, but rather confused. Ifrit looked down at his black coat, and then back up to him. He wore the same golden trimmed, black waistcoat that Mirajane gave him, and white pants. What caught his attention the most was the scarf around his neck. It was so familiar…
"That scarf…" Ifrit pointed at his chest. The white scarf was moving with the light breeze blowing from behind of him.
"This?" He motioned to it.
"Yeah… That's Erza's…"
"What? No way, it's mine."
His eyes shot open as he jerked to a sit. The room seemed colder than normal, but he was sweating out of control.
(KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK)
"Huh?"
"Ifrit! Get up!" Erza's voice yelled.
He scratched the back of his head, "Ifrit?"
A strong breeze blew in through the double windows, tossing the curtain into his face. He scrambled across the bed to close them but his hands froze as they grabbed the doors. He slowly retracted them and staring at them before flipping them over, again and again. He leapt out of the bed and in front of the full body mirror. His eyes went over himself, head to toe. Baggy black pants, open black coat, and waistcoat. He then stared at his face, touching his jawline and nose before running his hands through his pink hair.
"I'm back," he mumbled to himself while pulling his lips away and examining his overly sharp canine teeth.
(KNOCK KNOCK)
From behind the door, "We have to go, Ifrit!" Erza sounded extremely angry now.
He paced back and forth, scratching his head. "How'd I get here? Fell asleep talking to Ifrit… and…" He exhaled sharply, "Well, I'm here now." Then it dawned on him. He was here now, but no one else knew. Erza had just called Ifrit… but where was he then? Natsu searched the room once more before shaking his head. Ifrit was nowhere to be found, but he had left his coat on the dresser. With a loud flap, he whipped the coat on with the hood and threw open the door.
As he walked down the hall, he thought of what Katsugi had told him before he left him alone. But why was Ifrit at Fairy Tail? Nothing made sense anymore.
The morning light from blinded him from the top of the stairs. Below, he could make out the four familiar figures. As he descended, his heart raced in anticipation that they would recognize him.
Erza met him at the bottom of the stairs with a fury in her eyes. "If you're gonna come with us, you do everything I say. Got it?"
Gray and Lucy stood back as Erza spat it out with 'Ifrit,' backing slowly into the street.
Their eyes met just under the hood, but she didn't seem to see Natsu's awestruck face. "Y-yeah. Sure…" He cowered backwards slightly.
Erza spun around to find the others gone and Mirajane hard at work stocking the shelves. Turning back to him her head lowered slightly with a frustrated expression.
"Why didn't you tell me last night?" she asked, lowering her face further.
"Tell you what?"
She erected herself with a sharp glare, "Don't pretend like you don't know about Natsu." She was whispering, not to get Mirajane's attention but her anger was evident in her tone.
"N-Natsu?" He was earnestly lost. Erza was concerned about something. Something Ifrit must have known. But it was more surprising to find her so upset over him. Whatever it was, it was something not to joke about. "He's…" he trailed off quickly.
Erza peered out the door; Gray and Lucy were outside the gates talking quietly.
She shot 'Ifrit' a venomous glare, "We're going to finish this." Leaving him in a dazed state, she walked out the doors and past the others.
"Hey Erza, hold up," Lucy called, chasing after her with Gray.
'Ifrit' followed a few paces back in silence as they moved down the road. Crowds gathered as they took notice of the fourth person tagging along with Erza's group.
As they approached the train station he got an uneasy feeling in his stomach. His motion sickness could blow his cover if they notice. Like it was even possible not to notice him nearly puking.
"We're not riding the train, are we?" 'Ifrit' asked.
"Yup," Lucy answered with a sympathetic look, "I heard you didn't like trains from Loneila."
"Yeah, I- Loneila?" His pace slowed to a stop as they others continued on to the gates, where they sat down on a bench lining the railings.
"Natsu used to get motion sickness if he even touched a moving object," Lucy recalled with a finger to her chin. Gray simply nodded. Erza's stoic features broke as she turned away from the group.
The train pulled in shortly after, screeching to a halt and opening with a loud chime.
"Let's go," Erza said. She rose from her seat and entered the middle car. The others followed her example, leaving their tagalong newbie outside the doors.
Gray spun back to pick up his discarded clothing when he noticed him standing there. "You coming?"
'Ifrit' shook his head, "I'll be in the next car over." He turned and disappeared towards the rear of the train.
"Fine. If you want to be alone for the next six hours…" Gray returned to his group while sliding his arms into his shirt.
Lucy looked at him curiously, "Where'd Ifrit go?"
"He's in the rear cab. Didn't want to stay together I guess…"
"Makes sense. It's a little awkward for him."
Erza cringed, "Don't trust him, he's a deceitful snake." A wave of uncomfortable energy crept over the others as she voiced out with near hatred.
"Whoa, where'd that come from?" Lucy was a little afraid.
"Just because he got up late isn't a reason to hate the guy," Gray said.
Erza's hands became fists; "You're right…" she got up, staring at the train's doors, still open. "I'm going to go speak with him."
"We'll come," Lucy said.
"No," Erza rejected, "I want to talk to him alone." She shot her a dead-serious look.
"Alright…" Lucy replied as she exited the doors.
Erza walked beside the train, passing several cars until arriving at the very rear. Inside, Ifrit was in the back row's corner chair staring out the window. Right as she entered the doors there was a chime and the doors slid to a close behind her.
"Great," she exasperated before walking to the back and taking a seat two-away from him.
He spun to her, "W-what're you doing here?!"
"We have to finish our conversation," she replied solemnly.
The train began to shift forward; slowly increasing it's speed when that tightening swirl in his stomach began. He curled down, wrapped around his waist and slumped against the window. She sat down unnoticing his distraught.
For a moment, she said nothing. Staring down into her lap with a hook in her brow. He peeked up from his pain to see her scrambling for words.
"Did Natsu say anything before he…" Erza's voice broke off. She swallowed hard. Her mind flashed back to how he held her under the moonlight after rescuing her from the Tower of Heaven. Her hands trembled as they clenched onto her skirt.
"Er-za…" his voice cried out. The way he said her name made her thoughts come to a crashing halt.
"Yes?" it finally dawned on her that 'Ifrit' was keeling over in his seat. "Are you sick?"
"N-no… I'm just…" The train slowed and sped up again, scrambling his insides. His face became a shade of green, turning his hood over his face to hide from her.
She took a firm grasp on his shoulder, pulling him to face her.
"Natsu had the same problem." Her eyes closed as remembered doing this a multitude of times.
"Huh?"
A swift punch to the gut was all it took for him to let out a large exhale and collapse forward into her lap. Although he was a stranger to her that withheld her friend's untimely fate, she didn't move him. If that wasn't enough, she found herself wanting to pull off his hood and stroke his hair.
She stayed put the entire ride, not moving an inch else she wake him. Her eyes fell down to his hood continuously. After fighting with herself for what felt like an eternity, the train came steadily into an outdoor train post where it came to a stop. At that moment, 'Ifrit' sprung to his feet.
"Alright! Let's go!" He gazed out the window. He was completely lost. The ground and all the trees lining the tracks were covered in a thick layer of thick white powder. He spun around to Erza with confusion plainly placed over his face.
She stared at him wide-eyed. "That was a quick recovery."
He froze for a moment unable to respond. Without waiting for his response, she stood up and went to wait at the doors. He joined her in silence for a few seconds before the doors slid apart. A large gust of chilling wind met them, throwing her scarlet hair into his face. He couldn't believe how good Erza smelt! Her strawberry scent nearly incapacitated him. She remained oblivious to his state and exited into the frozen atmosphere. Along the train post, she saw Gray and Lucy exit a few cars down.
"Erza's down there," she heard Lucy say as she and Gray came towards them.
"We thought you were gone," Gray said while sliding on his jacket.
"He couldn't stop striping in the middle of everyone!" Lucy's face became red, "Everybody kept was staring at us."
"So what're doin' here?" 'Ifrit' chimed in from behind of Erza.
Both Lucy and Gray were stunned when they remembered Ifrit had came along.
Erza's stoic appearance returned, "We've got to investigate why hikers have been going missing up in the snowcaps. Only three out of fifty six people have returned. Along the way, we need to look for a little brunette girl with blue eyes."
"A little girl?" Lucy's hands closed on each other.
"She went missing two days ago with her uncle."
"So what are we waiting for?" 'Ifrit' had a toothy grin on his face and a raised fist, "I'm all fired- I-I mean - ready." The others stared at him as his heart began racing, I'm so busted, crap, crap, crap!
A smirk flashed across Gray's face, "Hmph, me too. Let's go."
Erza spun around, "Alright, follow me." The group followed close behind down a flight of stairs and across the train tracks to a narrow trail that was barely visible through the twig brushes. "This will lead us to the peak in four-to-five hours if we hurry."
'Ifrit's fist met his palm with a loud smack, "I think we can do better than that." He dashed forward, around the bend, and was gone from plain sight. He really just wanted to get away for a bit to rethink his objective.
"He's certainly enthusiastic," Lucy commented.
"He's nothing like how he was when we first met him," Gray added, nodding with crossed arms. The group, now short one man, began to travel along the path. Along the way, they watched Ifrit's tracks and assumed he was still running from the width of his stride.
A few hours later, his stride remained the same even uphill on a steep incline. It seemed to be taking years as they circled the corner of the mountain where the snowfall began to increase. At this point, Lucy had already retreated into her clock spirit, Horologium, Gray had lost nearly all articles of clothing, and Erza switched into warmer clothing. Pretty much the same Heart Kruz armor with a large fur coat attached.
"Man, that guy is gone," Gray sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "I wonder if he's at the top yet."
"His tracks," Erza pointed. His steps seemed to end suddenly in the middle of a slope. "The snowfall has covered them almost entirely. There's no finding him now…"
Horologium stopped behind of Gray, "'Same goes for the hikers then.' Lucy said."
"Wait…" Erza's pacing stopped. Then they heard it, the soft crunching noise like footsteps. One, maybe two people she assumed. "Someone's approaching from the rear."
The three spun around defensively, as a figure appeared some ways away as a white shadow.
"Hi there," he called, "what's up?"
Gray took a few steps forward until he could see the man entirely. He had long blue hair pulled into a ponytail and wore a chain-link necklace on top of his cloak.
"What's up yourself?" Gray retorted.
The man looked closer at Gray's chest, identifying the Fairy Tail crest.
"Perfect," he purred, "I found you guys."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Never mind that, where's Ifrit?" The man scowled at them. All his cheerfulness and comity vanished.
The others looked at each other, "Ifrit? What do you want with him?"
"He disappeared without a single warning when we need him at the moment."
Horologium began to narrate for Lucy again, "She says, 'If he left, then he shouldn't have to return.'"
He observed the talking clock closely before replying. "He's a favorite to the Master," the man practically scoffed at his own words.
"Well that's too bad," Gray spat. There was a stare down as he scanned each of them for their abilities and attributes.
He stuffed his hands in his pockets and chuckled, "This should be fun."
"Wait," Erza walked in front of Gray, "the day he left was the day after your little prisoner escape problem, wasn't it?"
"It was. How do you know that?" The man began to eye her out.
Gray and Lucy couldn't believe their ears.
"How do you know that Erza?" Gray asked, a little stunned but still in a defensive stance.
Erza glimpsed over her shoulder to him before turning back to the stranger, "That prisoner… What was his name?"
An evil grin appeared on his face. He whipped his a strand of hair from his face, "Could ya' guess?"
The wind blew wildly in and the snowfall began to increase. They could barely see each other now. Slicing through the howling wind, the sound of Erza's sword rung as she drew it from her sheath.
Erza said with gritted teeth, "I'll kill you."
The blade cut through the air, just above the man's head as he ducked. He jumped back.
"Hahaha, That was pathetic! You're so slow now, it must be the cold." He stuck out his tongue, catching a few snowflakes.
He was right though, her teeth were already chattering from standing still for so long. She would switch armor, but the majority covered less than what she wore now. It would be pointless.
"The Great Titania giving up so soon? I heard you destroyed an entire lacrima tower single handedly, but now I'm beginning to doubt you."
A large ice spike launched out from the ground beneath him. A blast of orange light beamed from the sidelines, destroying the frozen structure before touching him.
"That was a good try," the man said.
Gray trudged to Erza's side, "What's going on? What're you not telling us?"
Seven more figures appeared behind of the stranger, all of which wearing different colored cloaks.
"Tell him, Erza," the man hissed. "Tell him or I will."
Gray watched Erza's glare change into a pained expression.
She hesitated for a moment, remembering the Master telling her not to say anything. But this was different. They were going to find out either way. "That prisoner-" she began.
"You know what, I don't really care anymore." Gray interrupted. Erza spun around to him. "She doesn't have to tell me anything."
She smiled contently at him, "Thank you, Gray."
He nodded to her before smirking, "Wanna tell me whose ass I'll be kicking today?"
The stranger stepped away from his posse, "Lucas."
"Lucas,… I'll be sure to leave you in a block of ice." Gray prepared to use his ice-make.
"Tell me this first, when was the last time you've seen your dear friend Natsu?"
Horologium shuffled forward hearing Natsu's name.
"Natsu?" Gray's ice stigma disappeared as his hands separated.
Erza's face turned into a sad portrait of bad news, "Stop it!" They looked at their fearless leader curiously. She spoke softly, "Please, don't-"
"He's dead." Lucas broke in with a grin. "That's why Ifrit originally came to Fairy Tail, isn't it? Reports say that Ifrit killed him and I would believe that story with Ifrit's background, but Natsu was already doomed when he escaped." If it were possible, his grin grew even wider, "Natsu was dead from the beginning."
If looks could kill, Erza would have mutilated him at that moment. Her sword gripped in hand and a fist in the other. A tear rolled down her face but she made no sound. Just hatred emanating from her.
Gray and Lucy were blanked out in shock. Lucy began sobbing into her hands and for the first time in a long while, Gray felt a cold shiver run up his spine. He couldn't speak. Every word he tried became a choke.
Reality began to crash in on them.
"Alright, I'll ask again. Where is my friend Ifrit?" Lucas waited a moment but nobody responded. "It's a shame, yes, but more of you will die until we find him."
FWOOSH!
A tall wall of fire blasted between the two parties. Erza and the others couldn't see past it but on Lucas's side, there stood 'Ifrit.'
"Lucas," Flames burned around his fists. "You've hurt my friends for the last time!"
Lucas's grin reappeared, "It's time to stop playing this little game of y–"
'Ifrit's fist dug deep into his stomach. Lucas twirled backwards, rolling on the ground until he slid on one knee and dashed back. He ducked under Lucas's punch but was nailed by his knee. 'Ifrit' recovered and took a deep breath.
"Fire Dragon: Roar!" The flamethrower seemed to have a direct hit on Lucas but he held it for as long as he could. Stopping to breath, there stood Lucas unharmed. The only difference was that he now wore a red cloak and charcoal necklace. "What the hell?"
"Confused?" Lucas stepped to the side, exposing his 'posse.' It was him. All seven of them were Lucas, just different colored cloaks and necklaces.
"WHA-?" 'Ifrit's jaw dropped.
A kick landed across his face. Whilst in midair, Green Lucas leapt above him. With a single hand motion, a great wooden post shot him into the ground. Scrambling to his feet he noticed a yellow blur before it uppercut him. It grabbed him by the throat and crashed him into the ground. He was laid out, without a single twitch.
Lucas shook his head before turning to his counterparts.
"Green, get him."
Green Lucas strolled up to Natsu. As he reached down, he froze.
"What's wrong?"
"It's.. He's… This isn't-"
The snow beside Natsu became an ice rod and shot into Green's face. It sent him flying toward a tree where he crumpled into it's base. The snow on its branches fell and covered him entirely.
Gray had created a hole in the wall by simply kicking the snow onto it. Luckily, he was just in time to use his ice-make.
"Eight-on-One isn't very fair," Gray stepped through the wall with Erza and Lucy, "How about we add three more players?"
"Stay out of this!" Lucas's temper grew, "You don't want to lose another comrade."
Images of Gray's fights with Natsu flashed through his memory.
"I'm gonna avenge him by picking you off one-by-one," Gray growled.
"Enough talk! Shadow Magic: Shadow Pull!" The Shadow Hand launched after Gray. It followed him as he sprinted sideways and leapt into the air.
"Ice-make: Lance!" Gray summoned lances that fired directly at the closet cloak, which in his case was the red cloak. His retaliation melted all of them with a small burst of fire.
Barely visible, Yellow sprung up and kicked Gray down beside Lucy. As he began to chuckle, Erza's purgatory sword smacked him out of the air like a fly. Yellow crashed down, carving a path with his face. Before she knew it, Green and Black had surrounded her on both sides.
"Wood-make: Closing walls!"
"Stone-make: Closing walls!"
Erza shattered the walls effortlessly, cutting her way to Green. As she was about to take down yet another she came to a screeching stop.
"HAH! Gotcha!" Lucas laughed, unbelieving that he managed to snag her with his shadow magic. The Hand slammed her into the ground with a horrendous crash.
Lucy was pulling Gray up when they heard the crash.
"Erza!" Lucy screamed.
The Hand lifted her into the air. All that could be seen was her arm dangling from the large fist. It ruthlessly came crashing back into the ground.
Gray broke off from Lucy, ready to spring in after her when Red launched a massive fireball towards Lucy. He hooked back just in time, tackling Lucy to the ground. It glazed over them, blowing a large hold in the mountain.
"Watch out!" she pointed into the sky. His eyes shot upwards when he saw the second fireball hurling towards them.
"Ice-make: shield!" Though it didn't break through, the fireball eradicated his defense. "Damn it!" One shield, two, three, four… he didn't stop as didn't the fireballs. Soon, the other cloaked wizards joined in.
Gray was expending too much magic, Erza was continuously being slammed into the ground, Ifrit was unconscious, and Lucy was too slow to act. Everything was going wrong. Gray was on his final shields when Lucas called.
"Think about it guys! They want to be trapped!"
The four elemental cloaks grinned as they began to create shells of different elements around them. Fire, ice, wood, and stone. Inside of it, Gray was panting from exhaustion and Lucy was pressed against the walls.
"What's going on out there?" Gray asked, trying to catch his breath.
"I'm not sure," she responded in the pitch black. "We need to help them!"
"Good." Lucas stopped them with a wave. His shadow hand slammed Erza down once more with the same appalling crash.
"Stop it!"
"Hm?" Lucas turned to see Ifrit standing there. Steam circled around him, tipping the ends of his clothes upwards.
"Nobody… NOBODY MESSES WITH FAIRY TAIL!" At that moment, the snow around him disappeared. Fire shot out and engulfed his entirety.
Lucas shook his head, "Ifrit, you're not one of them."
He threw back the hood, exposing his pink hair and golden glare.
"No fucking way…" Lucas took a step backwards.
Natsu began trotting his way directly towards him.
"Easy there, you little undead walker. Lookie at what I have." Lucas motioned with a thumb.
It was in the corner of his eye that he turned to. Erza's body hung in the shadow's grasp, swaying with the wind. Her armor was in shambles below her.
"You bastard!"
"Tell me now, where is Ifrit?!"
"I DON'T KNOW! NOW GIVE ME HER!"
Lucas smirked, "Fine." The Shadow tilted back towards Natsu.
He reached out to grab her hand.
The Shadow Hand whipped up, releasing her into the air. Erza twirled off the mountain, soaring into the clouds.
"I wonder, can the Great Titania survive if she's chucked off a mountain top?" Lucas mocked.
Sweat dripped off of Natsu's eyebrow, spinning around and inhaling deeply. "Fire Dragon: Roar!" Natsu blasted off into the horizon after Erza.
"Back to square one," Lucas said to himself as the other colors warped into his body.
A short distance away, Natsu saw her. She was now descending into the frozen wasteland below. Using his fire magic he blasted himself up to her, pulling her face into his chest.
"I've got you," his other hand wrapped around her mid-back. He was now going head first towards a frozen lake.
"Fire Dragon: Roar!" The flames brushed the ice's surface right as he broke through with his forehead and into the freezing water. The two dove deep into the water, nearly touching the bottom. There was no sensation or tingling in his limbs, but it was Erza he was worried about. He kicked to the surface, pushing her first out of the water and immediately began searching for shelter. He picked her up into his arms and began sprinting towards an abandoned cabin beside the lake. The water on her body began to become tiny icicles, driving him to run even faster. He kicked open the door and laid her in front of the fireplace. It was a shabby, crap-hole of a home. There was just a single cot, and a stove. The only admirable thing there was the stone fireplace and chimney. Lighting the fire was taken care of instantly with a snap of the wrist. He closed the door and dropped down beside her with a worried look in his eyes as blood ran down his face.
"Please don't kill me, Erza," he pled as he tore open his coat.
He undressed her without looking and pressed her cold body into his. As much as he tried, he couldn't get the sensation of her body against his out of his head. He held her peacefully, rocking her gently beside the fire as the sun began to go down.
So tell me, what'd you think?
I apologize if I scared anyone. ;)
