Wendy had barely been able to keep her eyes open after Harry found her. She dropped off into a peaceful sleep just moments after their reunion and Harry just held her for awhile, overwhelmed by the fact that he had found her and that she was alive even if she was fairly beat up and magic deprived.
When Harry was finally able to pull himself back together it was to find that the man he had retrieved Wendy from was still there. He was off to the side obviously trying to give them a bit of space. He looked incredibly awkward. He was sitting on a rock and pointedly not looking at them like Harry's crying would become his problem if he acknowledged it.
Harry gently shifted Wendy until she was flat on the ground and moved Carla beside her. Neither had life threatening injuries, but that didn't mean they weren't severe. Because Carla's were simpler comparatively, he decided to start there. He'd just barely started reaching for the stress fracture in one of Carla's ribs when the man spoke up.
"What are you doing?"
Harry glanced up. He almost snapped at the man. His emotional bandwidth had been stretched to the absolute limit today. He supposed it did look a bit weird to just hover your hands over someone with your eyes closed though. "Healing them." He replied shortly, still not sure who the other was or if he should trust him enough to leave him unwatched while he focused on the two in front of him. He supposed if he had ill intentions he'd certainly had his pick of times to do something already. Harry had barely even noticed him while he'd clung to Wendy and cried tears of relief. Wendy hadn't seemed overtly distressed that the man was holding her when Harry arrived either, but she'd also only been half lucid then so Harry wasn't putting much weight on that acceptance.
Harry healed Carla's rib, helped progress the recovery on a mild concussion, and pushed a trickle of magical energy into the cat's body to help with her magic deficiency. Once he was satisfied that the worst that remained for Carla were scrapes, bruises, and what was sure to be a wicked headache he moved on to Wendy.
Wendy was in much worse shape.
"Are you her brother or something?"
Harry blinked open his eyes and glanced up, distracted by the question.
"You don't really look anything alike, but…"
"Then why would you ask that?" Harry cut off the rest of the sentence, irritation finally winning over. "Now would be a great time to be quiet so I can concentrate."
He couldn't heal AND answer the banal questions. The man seemed to get the message and snapped his mouth shut. Harry shifted his attention back to the girl in front of him.
Fractures were scattered throughout her body. A few of her ribs were fully broken like she'd taken a heavy hit directly to the chest or been pinned under something astronomically heavy. Either way Harry would like to get his hands on the person or thing responsible.
Healing the breaks and fractures took about half an hour or so, but was relatively simple. Like Carla, Wendy also sported a concussion which he did his best to help speed along the road to recovery. He was getting a lot of practice with that… actually he was getting a lot more practice than he was comfortable with dealing with Fairy Tail. He'd barely had to heal at all when he'd travelled around Fiore and he'd very rarely had to do it at all before going into the clock. It was a testament to how dangerous the lives of his guildmates were… or perhaps a testament to how reckless they were.
With the obvious stuff taken care of Harry turned his attention to the more concerning part of this picture. He'd noticed when he did a quick look earlier that Wendy seemed to have damage to her lungs and muscles. He prodded again now and Wendy squirmed under the inspection.
"Harry." Wendy's voice was weak and her hand faltered over his. "I'm fine. You don't have to…"
"You're not fine." Harry replied, his one opened eye squinting down at the girl and challenging her to deny the accusation. "How does one even burn their lungs?"
He pushed further and she gasped. He withdrew and gave her a critical look at what he'd felt.
"Did you breathe in magic?"
Wendy gave him a smile that was entirely unapologetic. He sighed.
"I'll see what I can do." He tried to push magic into her lungs slowly. It was magic that had caused the damage. He didn't want the two fighting each other and doing more harm than good. He soothed the inflamed tissue as gently as he could and was pleasantly surprised to find that the magic she'd inhaled didn't fight him. It willingly turned to aid him as he healed Wendy. The magic she'd inhaled was pure and completely unaltered. It was magic in its rawest form. "Fascinating." He murmured, and then he cracked an eye open to meet Wendy's again. She seemed more alert now. "Better?"
She nodded. "I can breathe easier."
"Good." He focused back in on the rest of the damage. If that little bit had helped finishing would be best. After a while, he nodded to himself and took her arm. The damage to her muscles was far less severe, a bit worse than the equivalent of a particularly strenuous workout. He released her arm and gave her a small smile. "Not exactly a clean bill of health, but it'll do for now."
She sat up and offered him an inquisitive look. "For now?"
Harry nodded, eyes shifting to the distance.
"This isn't over yet." The man behind Wendy chimed in. His face was set in a frown.
"Doranbolt." Wendy seemed surprised as she turned his way, like she'd only just remembered the man existed. That sort of confirmed Harry's theory that she wasn't in the best place to make judgements of character earlier. She hesitated, like she was trying to remember something. "You saved Carla and me?"
The guy, Doranbolt nodded. His eyes flicked Harry's way briefly. Harry was trying to recall why the name Doranbolt sounded so familiar.
"Thank you." Wendy bowed a little.
The name clicked a second later. "Doranbolt." Harry repeated the name and the man's eyes flicked to his. "The Doranbolt who released the Oraceon Seis from prison?"
Wendy froze beside him and Doranbolt himself tensed a bit. Harry just stared at him dispassionately.
"I sent someone after them." Doranbolt deflected, he didn't look proud of the action, which won him at least a couple of points in Harry's book. "Who are you anyway?"
"This is Harry." Wendy gestured animatedly. Whether she was seeking to diffuse the tension or just genuinely enthusiastic about introducing him Harry was unsure. "He joined Fairy Tail after the Grand Magic Games."
Doranbolt gave him a skeptical look. "What does the Oraceon Seis have to do with you then?"
"Oh…" Wendy shot him a glance. She'd clearly remembered the connection Harry shared with the group and was unsure of what he'd want to say.
Harry shrugged. "Nothing now, hopefully." He rolled his shoulders. They were a bit fatigued from being tensed in a single position while he'd worked on healing Wendy. "They seem to have decided to follow Jellal."
Doranbolt seemed to catch his deliberate dodge of the question, but didn't push. He just watched Harry skeptically.
"What did you mean that this isn't over yet?" Wendy asked, concerned. She seemed to have taken the lull of silence between Harry and Doranbolt as an invitation.
"The Face you destroyed was just the start. Over two thousand have popped up since you finished."
Harry gave Wendy a sympathetic look as she paled and wavered a bit. It wasn't the easiest way to break the news to her. So he'd mark tact down as something Doranbolt apparently lacked. Harry had gotten the gist of everything going on from a very informative Mavis. He'd spotted the strange Face bombs on his way to Wendy. He knew she'd have to be informed of their situation, but there had to have been a kinder way of going about it.
"Wendy?" Carla stirred off to the side, sitting up.
"Carla!" Wendy whirled and pulled the cat into a tight hug.
Carla gave Harry a bewildered look over Wendy's shoulder. As soon as Wendy loosened her grip Carla's gaze returned to Harry. "You saved us?"
Harry shook his head. "Unfortunately, no. I was on my way to find you, but I would have been too late if the detonation was what you're talking about. I was still trying to narrow down your location. It seems Doranbolt has the honor of saving you both."
Doranbolt shifted behind him, but Harry didn't glance back to see what his expression was. Carla's eyes drifted over Harry's shoulder to alight on the other man… and immediately soured a bit. Harry tried valiantly not to laugh. It was comforting to know he at least stood ahead of this guy in Carla's mental scoreboard. Her reception had been almost warm.
"The other Faces." Wendy cut in, obviously trying to steer them back on track. "Are they also on a timer?"
Harry shrugged. He'd spotted the rising white towers, but in his haste to find Wendy he hadn't properly explored them and Mavis hadn't been able to give him much information on them either.
"The other Faces?" Carla's voice shook.
Wendy nodded morbidly back.
"It took… everything we had to destroy just one. What hope…"
"That's enough Carla." Wendy cut in, voice sharper than Harry had ever heard it. He glanced her way, concerned. Were the two still on edge with each other? He'd noticed them spending less time around each other over the last few weeks. Wendy just looked determined though. "I won't let myself fall into despair again. We can't whine or cry. It won't solve anything. Everyone else is still fighting. We have to keep going as well."
It was reassuring to see the timid girl growing into herself. It was also reassuring to see the nod from Carla in response. Harry had no idea what he would have done if the two were still fighting. Carla was just barely starting to accept him. He didn't think she'd take him trying to arbitrate between the two very well.
"You're not alone this time either." He offered Carla a reassuring smile and if cats could blush she certainly was. Maybe she'd forgotten he was there. He certainly wouldn't be sitting back and letting them take this on by themselves.
"What are we going to do though?" Doranbolt chimed in sounding a bit defeated already. "No offense or anything but Wendy and Carla are beat to hell and probably really low on magic after what they just did. So, what are two magic drained kids, a healing mage, and a teleporting mage supposed to do in this situation."
Harry blinked.
"Wendy told me that healing takes a lot of power too. So, I'm assuming you're nearly tapped out as well."
Another beat of silence. Doranbolt looked at Harry's blank face, then at Carla and Wendy who Harry could see failing to repress amusement. Wendy let out a round of laughter after a long moment of awkwardness. She looked about ready to explain that Harry wasn't as useless as Doranbolt had just implied, but Carla cut her off.
"We should try to let everyone know so they can try to help fight." Carla supplied. "This isn't just Fairy Tail's fight. It affects everyone on the continent."
Doranbolt looked confused by her sudden change of topic.
"So, we visit guilds and let them know?" Wendy reigned her laughter in to ask.
"That would take all night." Doranbolt shook his head. "And I don't know if I would even have the magic reserves to move us that often."
Another beat of silence. Harry sighed. Not having everyone on the same page was sort of annoying. He was used to people just sort of knowing his backstory by now. Stopping to explain seemed a waste of time though. Time was crucial and the man was unlikely to just accept the story without a million questions. "He has half a point." Harry offered. "Isn't there a guild capable of communicating with the other guilds? Hitting a single destination and letting them relay the message for us would simplify the situation."
"That's a good idea." Doranbolt admitted, though he looked like he wanted to argue about how Harry had brought it up.
"Blue Pegasus has an archive… mage…" Carla trailed off, looking up at Harry. Carla hadn't been there for the heated exchange between Harry and the very mage she was suggesting they locate, but word had spread through the guild after their return from the trials. A lot of Fairy Tail members had been sporting a grudge on his behalf even though he'd insisted they shouldn't. Carla obviously wasn't sure where the subject stood.
"He would be the best option." Wendy admitted reluctantly, but she met Harry's eyes. "We can find another way though."
Harry shook his head. His own pride wasn't worth travelling somewhere else. People's lives were at stake. He nearly choked on a laugh when he caught the absolutely lost look on Doranbolt's face. "We'll go to Blue Pegasus. It's fine." He added the second sentence when Wendy opened her mouth to object again. She nodded after a second.
"I can get us there in about half an hour." Doranbolt offered, standing.
Wendy glanced between the two of them. "Harry?"
"About five seconds." He shrugged. "I know where their guild is after all. That helps."
"Five…" Doranbolt spluttered. "You know teleportation magic too? Is that how you got behind us after I found them."
Harry offered the man a mischievous smile as Wendy and Carla stepped in close, latching onto Harry. Harry held out a hand. "I think you're going to learn a lot today."
"Attention Tartaros, the Alegria spell has put an end to our noisy invaders. We'll be proceeding with the Face plan."
The words made Lucy feel sick. Hadn't Wendy stopped the Face bomb? And she knew the voice meant her friends when it said invaders. What had it done to Fairy Tail?
"However, it seems one human has escaped Alegria's clutches. Whoever kills them will receive a reward."
The buzzing in Lucy's head cut off suddenly and she felt her pulse picking up. She was in real danger. Not only did they know she was here alone somehow, they would all be actively hunting for her. She needed a plan, but what exactly was she going to do? She ran away from where she'd ended up. She took quick turns down hallways leading her further and further from where she'd gotten separated from Natsu, or at least she hoped so. She was hopelessly lost in the identical corridors. Her idea was to put space between herself and where she'd been. If they knew she was still here and not trapped in whatever disgusting spell had claimed the rest of her friends then she had to assume they knew where she was.
Her attempt at misdirection didn't do much good. Within minutes she was being pursued by soldiers. She took most out with relative ease. She'd been working on her hand to hand and weapon combat. The S class trials had forced her to realize that she would've been woefully unprepared if she'd had to assist Cana in the final round. Even if Harry, who Lucy would certainly not deem a hand-to-hand combat specialist, had taken Lucy on in a battle with no magic she'd have been laid out flat easily. All of Cana's other competitors could easily be called more skilled than Harry in that aspect of combat too. The only person less prepared to fight one on one with the other competitors had been Happy, and that stung in a way Lucy would never vocalize.
As well as her new found training was supporting her Lucy was still forced to summon her first spirit as a strange woman came spinning into the hallway toward her. Sagittarius tried his best to keep her at a distance, but his arrows bounced off of her. Lucy had to recall him, lamenting the little bit of extra magic that summoning an ill-fitting spirit had forced her to expend. She called Virgo instead who seemed a bit better equipped for the fight.
Before Lucy could really do any damage she was being pelted on another side by a huge demon. She narrowly avoided a swing from it with Virgo's warning. She had Loke out a second later for the additional fight. She felt the draw on her magic power more noticeably now. Keeping two gold gates open was hard work. She hoped she wouldn't need to do it for a very long time.
Lucy tried her best to focus on supplying the magic the two spirits needed as they fought hard on her behalf. She'd have to thank them properly later. She pushed herself up, shifting her weight to stand. That was when she spotted the third opponent. It was the demon that had tried to kill Michello. She hadn't taken him on personally, but she knew it took a combination of Wendy's and Natsu's skills to bring him down the first time. If she let him touch her she was toast. She could feel the panic rising. Her spirits must have been able to feel it too.
"Lucy!" Loke called as he tried to dive to her side, but he was diverted by the massive demon he was already fighting.
Lucy was alone in this fight and she couldn't summon any more spirits. Two gold keys was her limit. She grabbed her whip and pulled it in front of her like a shield. She grit her teeth and stared down the demon. "What happened to my friends?!" she yelled as she struck.
"Tch, forgot about my power?" he asked and her eyes flew wide. She immediately let go of the whip as it detonated. She tumbled backward with a gasp, rolling until she fell into some source of water. She pushed herself from the surface to meet the gaze of the demon who'd tried to blow up her friends.
"The other two kids must be dead. Which means I'll have to take my frustration out on you. Don't die too quickly, okay?"
Dead? No, they couldn't be dead. Lucy refused to believe they were dead. She gritted her teeth and something in her began to burn almost in response to her desperation. The feeling in her chest intensified as she pushed herself up the rest of the way.
"What's wrong with your eyes?" the demon asked before latching onto her arm and pulling her closer to him. She gasped at his blistering grip. She felt unfocused, but part of her knew that him touching her meant she'd gone from a bad situation to one that was nearly unwinnable. He had the power to detonate her as a bomb any moment he chose.
"Lucy!" Loke called, there was panic in his voice. She heard a noise that was definitely at least one spirit's gate closing, but it felt distant. She grit her teeth against the burning which had swelled to an almost painful level in her chest just as a voice whispered in the back of her mind.
'Bombarda Maxima'. An instruction.
"Bombarda Maxima!" she cried. The three opponents were riddled with explosions similar to the ones the demon had just been throwing around. The two in the background dropped. The woman was missing part of her chest and the large demon was suddenly headless. It was a macabre sight, but she didn't have the ability to focus on it right that moment. Her gaze was pulled to the third opponent whose hand had been ripped from her bicep by the spell.
"I use explosions! You really think that's gonna work on me?" The demon had been pushed back but was circling back in with a manic grin splitting his face. His hand reached for her throat this time.
Lucy felt herself waver for a second but the burning returned with renewed vigor. It hurt a little less. It almost felt warm and comforting instead of searing and painful.
'Now, Aqua Eructo. Go for the heart.' That was Harry's voice. She was certain.
"Aqua Eructo!" A jet of water swirled from the water source she was standing in and lanced forward. It moved with her thought and gesture of her hand, straight through the demon's chest.
'With everything you have Lucy, Ad Finem Incantatem.'
Lucy could feel her vision swimming. She couldn't go down, not yet. Natsu… Erza… They always saved her. Today they needed help. She had to save them. She couldn't let them down. She pulled every ounce of energy she could muster, every wish to help, every desperate plea for her friends not to be dead. Please, oh god, don't be dead. "AD FINEM INCANTATEM!" the scream ripped from her throat like a visceral war cry.
The ground shook. Gentle hands caught her before she could hit the ground, but Lucy couldn't even make herself look up to see who it was. Her last conscious thought was a wish for it to be Natsu.
Erza took in a sharp breath and stumbled to the left into a wall. Behind her Lisanna slid to the wall as well. The building was shaking around them. Erza was certain that just a moment ago she'd been surrounded by soldiers and was being sucked into some spell. Now she was alone in the stairwell with Lisanna who was breathing shallowly and hadn't woken even as the world shifted around them.
Erza wasn't sure what had unfrozen her, or where the soldiers could possibly have gone. Both were to her benefit though so she wasn't about to start complaining about it. She shifted around and carefully lifted the take over mage into her arms. If she had an opening then she needed to get Lisanna out of this building and to a healer. She started to descend the stairs carefully.
Shoes clacked on stone. The steps were heading down the stairs at a pace Erza wouldn't be able to outrun while loaded down with Lisanna. Erza whirled around the turn in the staircase and quickly put Lisanna in the corner. She moved in front of the unconscious girl and requipped into a defensive armor. Minerva came hurtling down the stairs and froze as she made eye contact with Erza.
They stood there for a long minute until Minerva spotted Lisanna behind Erza. Something in the woman's face shifted and the tension leaked out of her stance. Erza eyed her skeptically.
"You should leave quickly." Minerva said, her tone carefully empty. "Kyoka was heading in this direction."
Erza felt her gut clench uncomfortably at the mention of the demon that had recently been torturing her. "Why are you here, Minerva?"
Erza lowered her sword just a fraction. Minerva had been hostile the last time they'd met, but something seemed off now. The tone and expression of derision were gone. She seemed uncertain.
Minerva's eyes shifted. "Tartaros wiped out Succubus Eye." She said finally. "Kyoka thought I'd make a good fit for Tartaros' demon army."
The words weren't said with pride or mocking as Erza would have expected. Minerva seemed cowed, as if the decision disappointed her somehow but she'd been unable to say so.
"Come with us." Erza said, sword dropping the rest of the way. She held out a hand to the woman. Minerva looked thoughtfully at the outstretched hand.
"How disappointing."
Erza felt a shock of ice run up her spine. Kyoka stood at the top of the stairs looking down at them.
"This one had thought you full of rage." The demon said, eyes on Minerva. "The perfect candidate for a demon. It seems this one was mistaken. How pathetic humans are. To be undone in that face of your adversary at the uttering of a few kind words."
Minerva's face pulled into a scowl and she was staring at the ground like a scolded child.
"What would you know of humanity?" Erza shot back. "Our kindness and friendships do not make us weaker."
Kyoka smiled, all teeth. "Don't they?" Her eyes gleamed with malicious delight. "Would you still be here cowering in a stairwell if your friend weren't injured?"
Erza's back stiffened and she shifted just slightly more in front of Lisanna. She didn't like the demon's eyes on her.
"Would you even have known this one's mercies if you had renounced Jellal?" Kyoka raised a hand like she was offering Erza salvation behind her cruel smile and pointed words. "It proved quite fruitless in the end, you know? The wards still fell. Face is already within our control."
Erza felt cold. Kyoka had divulged some of the secrets to her in her torture sessions. Tartaros had been seeking council members to bring down the wards on Face. Jellal had been the last key. She'd heard over Warren's telepathy that Wendy had gone to stop Face. She'd heard Harry had gone radio silent once he'd gone in pursuit of Jellal. Were both now dead? That's what Kyoka was implying wasn't it? That at least Jellal was dead, and Harry wouldn't have let Jellal fall in his presence. So either he hadn't made it… or she'd lost two friends today.
Erza's fists tightened on her sword. She wouldn't lose three.
Kyoka locked eyes with Erza again, hand still raised. "Allow this one to liberate you from those bonds." Spear like projectiles raced from Kyoka's fingers directly at Lisanna. Erza deflected the spears with a grunt. The demon took a swipe at Minerva as well and the woman ducked the hit.
There was a flurry of movement as Kyoka struck with reckless abandon against two opponents and both Erza and Minerva silently agreed they were on the same side for this one. Kyoka let loose with her magic and Erza barely kept herself upright as a wave of pure agony rolled through her. Lisanna gasped behind her and Erza steeled herself against the feeling through sheer willpower. Her legs shook with the effort.
"This one has increased the sensitivity of your nerves." Kyoka kicked a frozen Minerva who hit the wall with a wail of pain as she slid to the floor. "Does this bring you back, Erza?"
A talon pierced her shoulder and Erza's will crumbled as she cried out in pain, eyesight going hazy. Talons wrapped around her before she could shake it off and she found herself slammed backwards into the ground. Her whole world felt like pain, but she gritted her teeth and pushed to lift herself back up. She had to protect… Lisanna.
Kyoka had lifted the girl from where she'd been in the corner. Lisanna was awake again and struggling weakly against the hold. Erza had heard her get hit with the pain amplification curse earlier too. On top of her former injury Erza was certain the girl was in anguish.
"Shall we test…" Kyoka trailed off, a distant look trailing over her face. Erza didn't wait for an invitation. She charged forward and decked the demon in the face. Lisanna dropped, but weirdly Minerva caught her before she could hit the floor. It seemed that she'd decided a team up against Tartaros was in her best interest after all. Erza put herself between Kyoka and the two of them.
Kyoka lifted herself from the floor looking mildly peeved. "It seems our fight must be put on hold Erza." Kyoka offered a cocky smile. She must've received orders via telepathy magic. "Worry not. This one shall find time to teach you the true depths of your despair once we've achieved our goal."
"Toy not with our foes, Kyoka." A darker voice joined hers and a skeletal figure drew up at the end of the staircase. "We have a job to do."
Kyoka whipped a leg out with quick precision and Erza caught it with the blunt of her blade. Erza skidded backward. Kyoka has only been making room for herself though. She quickly disappeared up the stairs with the other demon.
"What do you suppose they're off to do?" Minerva asked, shifting Lisanna who gave her a pained grimace.
"Nothing good." Erza frowned. Whatever they were planning would likely end poorly for Fairy Tail if they didn't stop it, but she had an obligation to get Lisanna to a healer.
"Erza…" Lisanna's voice was quiet, but stronger than she'd managed earlier. "You have to go after them."
"Lisanna, no. You're injured."
Lisanna pushed herself out of Minerva's arms. Minerva just let her with a baffled expression.
"This is… more important than just me." Lisanna forced herself up on wobbly legs. "I'll find my way down to… the others." Lisanna winced, hand coming to her chest instinctually.
"I can go with her." Minerva offered after a moment. "I hate to admit it, but you stand a better chance against Kyoka than I do."
"There are two opponents." Lisanna argued.
"And you're incapable of fighting at all." Minerva bit out. "If I go with Erza you'll be dead before you make it to your little Fairy Tail camp. You can barely stand."
As if to prove Minerva's point Lisanna's legs wobbled and threatened to collapse on her.
"We'll split up for now." Erza confirmed. It was the only way she could make sure Lisanna made it back to help while simultaneously making sure she didn't allow Kyoka and the other demon to do whatever they were planning unchecked.
"Erza." Lisanna gave her a wobbly smile. "Be careful."
Erza gave her a single nod before turning and running full speed up the stairs in pursuit of the demon she least wanted to see.
Convincing Blue Pegasus to spread word about the Face bombs turned out to be relatively simple. They'd already noticed the pale towers reaching toward the sky and begun investigations into their meaning. Wendy and Doranbolt went through a brief explanation that fully caught Harry up to speed on the situation as well. He'd been with Jellal when the initial discoveries were being made, and Mavis had only given him the abridged version and thus he was a bit out of the loop.
Wendy explained that Tartaros was trying to remove magic from the world to revive some ancient demon called END. She explained that the Fairy Tail guild hall was completely levelled but that all their guild mates were alive and fighting against the last guild of the Balam Alliance.
Blue Pegasus had taken that message and promised to spread word to every guild they could reach to begin attacking the bombs in an attempt to destroy them. Wendy had explained that simply knocking them over might not be enough. Carla had given a weird sequence of changes she'd made to the one they'd exploded, but she'd warned that it wasn't an option if it was close to a settlement. The bomb had blown a mile wide crater into Fiore's landscape. It would devastate a town.
Ichiya, surprisingly restrained in his mannerisms, had assured them they would find a solution. Wendy and Doranbolt had drifted back toward the exit, but the strange man had caught Harry's wrist as he turned to leave. When Harry had turned back Ichiya had offered him a personal apology and assured him that Blue Pegasus did not consider him a threat to either their own guild's safety or Fairy Tail's. No one had said anything to Harry after the incident so Harry supposed this was the guild's official 'we don't condone what Hibiki said' statement. Why it was coming from Ichiya though, Harry was unsure. Why Ichiya was still holding his wrist and looking at him so intensely was another matter entirely. Ichiya's nostrils twitched.
Harry liberated his hand and assured the strange man it was in the past with a nervous laugh. He backed his way to the door and joined the other two. Wendy gave him a sympathetic look and patted his arm. Doranbolt just looked confused, but Harry didn't take the time to explain it. He just latched on to everyone and apparated back to the outskirts of Magnolia, which was looking a lot rougher than it had earlier when he'd passed through.
Doranbolt took a step away and tried not to lose his lunch again while Harry, Wendy, and Carla surveyed the destruction before them. Parts of the town were smoking and crumbling to the ground. People were running everywhere like scattering ants. In the distance, just visible in the now setting sun, Harry could spot the ruins of a massive structure that didn't belong. He'd grown familiar with Magnolia's skyline in the months he'd lived there.
"Is that the cube?" Wendy asked, in awe.
"I'm certain you're right." Carla answered.
Wendy had briefly explained that Tartaros had been on a giant floating cube when she'd flown off with Carla. Apparently, that had crashed into the ground not terribly far from Magnolia. How Harry had failed to notice the thing floating in the sky he was unsure, but he had been rather focused on the demolished guild hall.
Harry cast a quick point me spell for Cana. It landed in the direction of the settling ruins in the distance.
"They're in there." Harry frowned. "We should hurry."
Wendy nodded and took his hand again. All three Fairy Tail members gave Doranbolt an expectant look. He was still looking a little green.
"All due respect." He said standing up a bit straighter. "I'll meet you over there."
Harry shrugged. He focused in on where the point me spell was indicating and pointed it out for Doranbolt as well before he apparated. Doranbolt showed up a few seconds later looking far more comfortable with his own method of travel. Harry recast his spell and they travelled in jumps as they narrowed the space between themselves and Fairy Tail enough that Harry knew they must be close by.
Ruined walls decorated the courtyard they'd found themselves in. Harry let the point me spell guide them through the debris until quite suddenly it began to spin rapidly as if confused. He raised an eyebrow. They were standing at the edge of a raised wall, stairs to a mostly demolished building rested in front of them. Realization flooded through him. He hopped off the raised wall. Immediately a fist flew at his nose and Harry knocked it off course having half expected the response. They'd been standing just above Cana and what seemed to be a makeshift infirmary.
"Harry?!" Elfman withdrew his arm and stared down at Harry like he was an alien.
The ground crunched as his companions landed behind him.
"Wendy and Carla too." Mira's voice sounded tired. She was seated just behind where Elfman had struck out from. "I'm glad you're all alright."
"You idiot!" Cana voice cut in. She was marching through the injured with her eyes ablaze. "Why didn't you call me! What happened?"
Harry blinked. He was really trying not to cry again. In front of Wendy it had been one thing. In front of this many guild members he was certain he'd never let himself live it down. "I'm glad you're alive too." Was his shaky response.
Cana put one hand on either of his shoulders and looked to be visibly restraining herself from shaking him. Her face was lowered to the ground and she didn't speak for a very long minute. Eventually she let out a huge sigh and looked up, meeting his eyes. "We thought you were dead. Jellal was the last seal, and when it fell…"
"Oh…" Harry shifted awkwardly. So, they'd been as concerned about him as he'd been about them. "Jellal has the card. If he didn't contact you then I'm sure he's fine. I left him with more than enough bodyguards."
Cana shook her head and pushed him back after a second. "Idiot." She muttered. "Warren have you got the telepathic link back up yet?"
"No luck." A man who looked reasonably familiar shook his head. Harry had definitely seen him around the guild hall, but he didn't think he'd ever actually talked to him outside of a 'good morning' or 'hello' in passing. "It looks like Tartaros is interfering somehow."
"Great." Cana bit out. "Last we heard Erza was pinned down and had an injured Lisanna with her. We need to get someone to her immediately."
Harry nodded. "I can find both of them easily enough if they're here."
"No need." Someone near the front of the small encampment said and Harry glanced out to see two approaching figures. He'd thought Erza had somehow escorted Lisanna outside of the castle, but Erza wasn't the second figure. It was the woman who'd tried to fight them at the Sun Village. She was taking most of Lisanna's weight and they shifted forward together awkwardly.
"Lisanna!" Elfman cried out, surging forward. As soon as he'd reached the two he gingerly scooped his sister up and moved back their way. That left the woman to follow at a more sedate place.
"Why's she here?" Cana sounded as confused as Harry felt, but Harry moved forward to intercept Elfman. Wendy stepped in before he could and swatted his hands away with a stubborn look.
"Porlyusica and I can handle things here. You have to go find Erza." Wendy looked like she didn't want to say those words. "I… I don't think I can fight anymore today, but I know I can help here. If Erza needs help then you're the only one who can find her."
Harry only hesitated a moment before he allowed himself to nod. He didn't want to leave Wendy, but here she'd be surrounded by their friends. This many eyes watching her back in a relatively safe space had to be better than only him trying to watch out for her on an active battlefield.
"Hate to admit it, but you're kinda our trump card right now." Cana seemed to be scowling at a crack in the stone near his feet. "Master disappeared back to the guild. Half of us here are injured and the other half aren't really great at combat."
He gave Cana a skeptical glance as she trailed off.
"We'll make sure Wendy stays safe." Carla added, stepping up beside Wendy and placing a hand on Harry's knee reassuringly. It was the kindest she'd ever been to Harry. It was a little off putting, like watching someone be kind to someone on their deathbed. Wendy stood for a second from where she'd knelt beside Lisanna. She pulled Harry down and into a hug so tight he could feel his lungs compress uncomfortably. Damn, Wendy was deceptively strong. He didn't complain though. He hugged her back for a second before they both pulled back.
"If we all work together there's no way we can lose." She said, eyes shining in a challenging way. "Be safe."
He offered her a return smile. "You too, kiddo." He ruffled her hair and apparated in the direction he'd seen Lisanna and the woman stumble in from.
Hello everyone! Hope you all had a good Halloween.
I've already got my Christmas tree up. I waste no time, like Mariah Carey.
My treatments are going well, but I'm dead tired. At least classes are nearly over for the semester. I need a break.
Two chapters til the end!
Brace for a very long chapter next week. It came in over 10k.
I'm so excited for you guys to get to the short stories. See you next week!
~Kanathia