As Mirajane served drinks in the hall, she looked at the mages gathered together, talking and drinking. Some of the guild members were away on missions or jobs of some kind. She hoped they would be alright. She thought specifically of the dual missions Makarov had sent the two groups on. But before she could get too deep in thought, she noticed Evergreen and Bickslow talking. It seemed like whenever they spoke these days it was usually tense. This time seemed to be no exception. They appeared to be arguing. Although at least they weren't yelling. Not yet anyway. Mirajane approached them.
"I just can't stand to see him like that anymore." Evergreen said.
"I believe in my heart he'll wake up soon." Bickslow said.
"You've been saying that for months…" Evergreen said.
"Everything okay?" Mirajane interjected. The two turned to face her.
"Yeah, everything's fine." Bickslow said. "In fact, I was just leaving." He turned and walked away without another word. Mirajane turned to Evergreen.
"Are you alright?" Mirajane said to Evergreen.
"Yes, I am. We just can't agree on this."
"I know his attitude is bad. But maybe it wouldn't hurt to visit Freed in the hospital."
Evergreen looked down. "It's just hard. Hard to be there in that room, with the silence. If only he'd wake up. Then everything would go back to normal."
"I'm sure he'll wake up soon." Mirajane said. She tried to sound upbeat, but she was doubtful that that actually would happen.
"How's the arm doing, Lucy?" Natsu said. He stood with Lisanna, as Lucy sat on the couch.
"Getting better." Lucy said. She tried moving it around, but winced a little. "Its still sore, but I think the bone is mostly healed. Thanks to Wendy. If it wasn't for her, I'd still have a cast on."
"Maybe you should still use a sling for today." Lisanna said.
"Maybe." Lucy said. "Just wish I had my own bed to sleep in."
"About that…" Lisanna said. "The master wants… you to take one of our rooms and Natsu and I to share. At least for now."
"Oh." Lucy said. She paused. She made a face, looking uncomfortable. "Um, I don't know. How do you guys feel about that?"
"I don't have a problem with it." Natsu said.
"We were talking about sharing a room, but…" Lisanna trailed off.
"You don't want to?" Lucy said. "Because I totally understand. It's a little awkward."
"Its just that we thought we might wait a while." Lisanna said. "But you need a bedroom."
A silence filled the room. The three of them reflected on this.
"Maybe if I take a bunch of jobs real fast, I can find a new place." Lucy said. She didn't sound sure though.
"We'll figure something out." Natsu said.
"Sure." Lucy and Lisanna both said.
The wind blew through tall, uncut grass. Tall trees around provided limited shade from the sun, which was high in the sky. There was a small dirt path in the middle of it all. It looked as though this area hadn't been maintained for some time. Walking on the path were three men: Gajeel, Wakaba, and Macao. They had walked out there from Fairy Tail, heading towards their destination at the end of the path. A building that had been long abandoned, but had supposedly been claimed recently by the magic council, and supposedly used for "strategic purposes".
They were just outside of Magnolia. It wasn't a long walk, although if they had had a vehicle then it would have only taken a few minutes. As it was, it had been about a half hour. So they walked along the path, Gajeel in front, their footsteps adding to the sounds of the wind and the summer insects.
"How much further?" Wakaba asked, smoking as usual.
"We should be there real soon." Macao said.
"I just can't wait to get this over with." Gajeel said. "The magic council probably just sent a bunch of underlings anyway. Doubt that any of the big guys will be there."
"Cheerful as usual, huh?" Macao said, catching up to Gajeel. Macao smiled a little, but Gajeel looked annoyed.
"I'm only here because the master didn't want to send Salamander. And you two are only here because my team is doing something else."
"Okay." Macao said. "You'd rather be with your team, and I'd rather team up with Natsu. I still respect him, even after everything that's happened. And my kid looks up to him. The whole thing with him and Lisanna is kind of weird though."
"Eh, Lisanna's a nice girl." Wakaba said.
"I'm not saying she isn't. But she's gone through some changes. She's different from before. Its just weird, is all."
"I guess coming back from the dead will do a number on you." Wakaba said.
"I'd be more worried about Natsu." Gajeel said. "I'm still half expecting him to pull something again." Before the others could respond, Gajeel pointed ahead. "That should be it, finally." Macao and Wakaba looked ahead, and saw a building in the distance. It didn't look that big, but did appear pretty sturdy.
"So that's it, huh?" Macao said. "I don't see anyone outside. Maybe it is a trap."
"They're probably watching from somewhere." Wakaba said.
"Someone is watching us." Gajeel said. He suddenly stopped. He sniffed the air.
"What is it?" Macao said.
"There's someone nearby." Gajeel said. He turned. "Very near. In the trees."
The others turned. They looked, but didn't see anything.
"Are you sure?" Wakaba said.
"Yeah. I've suspected we were being followed for a little while now, but now I'm sure of it." Gajeel took a step closer, and a bush moved.
"Alright, whoever's there, come out!" Macao said. He armed his flames, and looked around, on guard for any threats. The bush moved again, and someone stepped out into the open. When Macao saw who it was, his eyes widened, and he dropped his flames.
"Romeo? What are you doing here?" he asked. The young boy looked at his father, his expression a mixture of anxiousness and determination.
"I, I followed you." Romeo said. "I know you said I couldn't come, but I just wanted to watch you."
Macao glanced at Wakaba, and then walked up to Romeo. "You followed us this whole way, without us knowing? I'm actually impressed. Annoyed, but impressed."
"I knew." Gajeel muttered.
"Look Romeo, this could be dangerous, you shouldn't be here." Macao said. "If I tell you to stay home, you need to listen to me. I'm saying this for your own good."
Romeo looked down at the ground. "Sorry." He said. "I promise I didn't think you would see me."
"That doesn't make it better." Macao sighed.
"So uh, what do we do now?" Wakaba said. The three of them looked at the building ahead. Macao looked back the opposite way.
"I don't want to send Romeo back by himself. It could be dangerous." Macao said. "But I also don't want to leave you guys alone. You might need me."
"Are you saying we bring him in with us?" Gajeel said.
"Hell no." Macao said. "Look, I'll stay outside as back up in case you need me. You two can go on in."
"You sure?" Wakaba said.
"It's the only way." Macao said. "I'm not leaving my kid, and I'm not risking taking him inside until we know what kind of reception we're getting."
"Fine by me." Gajeel said. He started walking towards the building again. The others followed. After a few minutes more, they reached the building. It was moderately sized, and didn't look too old. There was a pair of double doors at the front.
"This is it." Gajeel said, while stretching as a precaution.
"If you're not out in ten minutes, I'm coming in." Macao said.
"What do you plan to do against the magic council?" Gajeel said.
"I'll figure it out. Maybe I can at least provide a distraction." Macao shrugged.
"At least we have a plan." Gajeel said, not entirely sincerely.
"Right, let's go." Wakaba said, more sincerely.
"I'll be right here." Macao said. "But no matter what happens you'll stay put." He added to his son. Macao led Romeo away to wait some place a little less conspicuous. Gajeel knocked on the front door, but there was no answer.
"Anyone in there?" Gajeel said. Again, no answer. He glanced at Wakaba, and then shrugged and opened the doors. He and Wakaba looked inside. They gazed into a moderately sized entrance area, with a big door at the other end. The area was dimly lit. There didn't appear to be anyone there.
"What do you think?" Wakaba said.
"I think you should keep your guard up." Gajeel said. He didn't know what to expect, but the fact that they hadn't seen anyone so far struck him as odd. The idea that they might be hiding so they could make a dramatic entrance crossed his mind. Which sounded silly, but he didn't rule it out. He stepped inside and looked around. There was nothing interesting he could see, just an unadorned room. Wakaba walked in and reached for the door on the other side. The door looked a little more ornate, and had big handles. It also looked like it had a few marks on it though. Possibly from magic, which made Gajeel wonder what the current owners were doing here. The door opened. It was even dimmer inside the next room. It was mostly in shadow.
"Hello?" Wakaba said, and walked in.
Gajeel smelled something. "Hold on." He said. Wakaba had already stepped inside. He was hit by something and knocked to the ground.
"Hey!" Gajeel said. He prepared his fist by turning it into a sword. Suddenly, the rooms got brighter. The door was shut behind him. Gajeel turned. He saw two large men in strange garments blocking the door. Where did they come from? Gajeel thought.
"So, this is it?" a voice behind him said. It was a rather deep and threatening sounding voice. Gajeel turned back again. He could now see into the newly lit room. There was a man in a raggedy robe holding a staff near the door. He had some strange markings/paint on him. But behind him was what really caught Gajeel's attention. People laying on the floor. Magic council members. They weren't sleeping though. Several of them were covered in blood. A few of them had big gory gashes in their bodies. They were scattered across the floor. The sudden violence and horror of the scene raised Gajeel's adrenaline. There were a few more men, dressed in primitive clothes, standing at the sides of the room. And in the back, sitting in a large chair, was a very large man. He was also dressed in primitive clothes, furred boots and gloves, with a loin cloth. He also had a blood red cloak and a skull mask with antlers, clearly made from an animal's skull. Gajeel could immediately tell he was the leader.
"What the hell is this?" was all he could think to say. He couldn't decide who to go after first, or if he should try to help Wakaba first instead. He had anticipated a trap by the magic council. But he did not expect this.
"The so-called magic council lapdogs were easy to slay." The savage leader said. "And I've been waiting some time for you. And the two of you were all Fairy Tail sent. Disappointing. My shaman even went to some trouble to conceal us. He thought it would be amusing."
"You're one of those shadow guys." Gajeel said, approaching. He was not at all amused. He could see Wakaba getting to his feet and muttering something. The henchmen appeared to have backed away for the moment. The large man made an indignant sound.
"I am King Arnok, lord of the broken steppes, and ruler of the five clans." Arnok stood up to his full height. He was towering, standing seven feet tall. He was also quite muscular. He held a large bronze axe over his shoulder.
"You've seen my shaman and warriors, but they won't bother you today." Arnok said.
"You could have said that before they hit me." Wakaba said, getting to his feet.
"I was expecting a dragon slayer." Arnok said in a somewhat annoyed tone.
"I am a dragon slayer." Gajeel said. "The Iron Dragon Slayer, Black Steel Gajeel." He clenched his fists.
"Are you?" Arnok said. "Then what about the other dragon slayer? I was expecting him."
"Other dragon slayer?" Gajeel said quietly. He must mean Natsu.
"At least I can kill one dragon slayer today." Arnok said. He took a step forward, stepping over a body.
"You can try." Gajeel said, taking a few steps into the room. The two men approached each other.
"Why did you do this?" Wakaba said. He was standing beside Gajeel now. "Why did you kill all these people?" Wakaba was visibly shaken by all the death around.
Arnok laughed. "Because they were in my way. And so are you."
"You call yourself a king, but you just seem like an overgrown thug to me." Gajeel said. He was trying to think of a strategy that didn't just involve rushing at Arnok, since he got the feeling that might not be wise.
Arnok turned his attention back to Gajeel. "Do you know how I became a king?" he said.
"I guess you're going to tell me." Gajeel said.
"No one made me a king." Arnok said. He stood in the middle of the room at full height amidst all the dead bodies. "I wasn't born into it. I was a warrior from the time I could walk. I fought and killed other children for my place. And then I fought and killed men. Even my own father. I killed him and took his title. Then I killed the leaders of other clans. I became their king. Because I was the strongest. No one could defeat me in combat. No one."
Instead of being impressed, Gajeel and Wakaba were both disgusted. "You killed your own father just to be leader?" Gajeel said.
"I would kill anyone for anything." Arnok said bluntly.
Wakaba leaned closer to Gajeel. "I don't think we're going to talk this guy down." He whispered.
"I wasn't planning on it." Gajeel said. By this point, Arnok became visibly annoyed by their whispering.
"No more talking." Arnok said. He raised his axe and rushed at them. He was quicker than he looked for a man his size. Wakaba jumped out of the way. Arnok brought his axe down on Gajeel, but he put up one of his arms, now a sword, to block it. Gajeel was still knocked back a couple steps. Arnok quickly came at him again, swinging the axe with Gajeel dodging. Gajeel was looking for an opening, but Arnok's strength and speed didn't leave much room. Even if Arnok didn't have the axe, Gajeel's arm would likely be broken from the force of the blows, if it weren't currently metal. As Arnok raised his axe again, something struck him. A fist hit him in the face, knocking his helmet off. He otherwise seemed unfazed though. Arnok and Gajeel both turned to see Wakaba. He had used his smoke magic to launch a smoke fist at Arnok, as well as several other warriors in the room.
"Take that you big dumb ox." Wakaba said. "Actually, you kind of remind me of a vulcan." Arnok said nothing for a moment, and then turned to face Wakaba. The warriors who had been struck started advancing on him.
"Stop." Arnok said. He held his hand out, motioning them back. "I'll kill them both single handed. You don't need to do anything. Just watch."
This guy's pretty arrogant, Gajeel thought. But he decided to take advantage. He took a few steps back. While Arnok was talking, Gajeel began powering up an iron dragon roar. Just as Gajeel launched the attack, Arnok turned again to face him. The blast struck Arnok full force. For several long seconds, Gajeel blasted his magic to take Arnok down in one shot. Except Arnok was still standing afterward. In fact, it didn't look like he had really been hurt at all. The only noticeable difference was that his tattoos were now glowing.
"What?" Gajeel said. He belatedly felt like he'd heard something about this before.
"Not bad." Arnok said. He lifted his axe and swung it around. A burst of magic came forth from the axe. Not just any magic though. It looked strangely similar to the iron dragon roar attack that Gajeel himself had just used. Except Arnok was launching it from his axe, and in a wider berth. Gajeel was caught off guard, but quickly readied himself. The assault of metal flew at him. Fortunately, he was an iron dragon slayer, and so was able to reabsorb much of it.
"I don't know how you did that, but you can't beat me with my own iron attacks." Gajeel said.
"I'll remember that." Arnok said. He advanced towards Gajeel. Gajeel noticed that Wakaba had not been so lucky. He was laying on the ground, and had apparently been caught in the arc of the attack. He was also behind Arnok, so Gajeel couldn't easily go check on him. Instead Gajeel transformed his arm into a saw and adopted a defensive stance again. He felt he had the bones of a strategy. But his attention was once again broken by a loud sound behind him. After several thuds, the front door broke open. At the door was Macao, his fists burning with purple flames.
"Get him dad!" Romeo could be heard somewhere outside.
"I said stay back, Romeo." Macao said.
"I don't think it's been ten minutes yet." Gajeel said.
"From out there it sounded like you needed the help. You're welcome." Macao said. Just as he said, "you're welcome", Arnok came running at him full force. Macao quickly launched flames at him, but just like Gajeel's attack, they seemingly did no damage. Arnok smashed into Macao, knocking him back a few yards. Macao tumbled back outside into the daylight. Arnok stepped outside.
"Challenging me will be your last mistake." Arnok said, looking down at Macao. He raised his axe while Macao got to his feet, a little shaken. Macao raised his hand and launched a purple rain attack, hurling a salvo of flames at Arnok. Arnok stood still as he was pelted with the blasts. As before, he didn't react, except for his glowing tattoos.
"Your own magic will be your death." He said. He raised his axe again. "Die, weakling." Arnok said. Gajeel struck Arnok from behind with his iron club. This time, the tattoos didn't glow. Nonetheless, Arnok brought the axe down. But instead of swinging it at Macao, he turned mid-swing and sliced through the doorway, and swung it back at Gajeel. Gajeel jumped back in time. However, purple flames erupted from the axe and shot out at Gajeel, hitting him. Gajeel was knocked down to his knees. If he had been expecting that attack, he probably could have defended against it. But it caught him off guard. Our magic can't hurt him, but he can use it against us, Gajeel thought.
As he was recovering, Arnok swung his axe again and Gajeel barely got his club arm up to block it. Wakaba rushed over, having recovered by this point. Arnok ignored him, just as he had done for most of the fight. But Wakaba jumped at Arnok and grabbed him from behind. He wrapped his arms around the bigger man's neck, trying to choke him. While he was distracted, Gajeel changed his arm into a sword again. He thrust it at Arnok. The sword penetrated Arnok's leg. Arnok grunted loudly, and threw Wakaba off him forcefully. Gajeel wasn't sure why the sword worked when the earlier attacks didn't, but he didn't have time to question it. He got up and moved outside where he had more room. He considered changing his arm to an axe, fighting fire with fire so to speak.
"Macao, see if you can find a weapon to fight him with." Gajeel said.
"Like what?" Macao said. Before Gajeel could answer Arnok stepped out. This time Gajeel rushed to meet him, swinging his own axe. Arnok blocked. They traded blows a few times, before Arnok used his sheer strength to push Gajeel back again. Arnok stepped out into the open, his warriors watching from inside. Gajeel looked up and was struck with the broad side of Arnok's axe. Just then, Arnok was hit in the head with a rock. He turned, and saw Romeo standing there.
"Leave them alone." Romeo said.
"Romeo, no!" Macao said.
"You shouldn't have brought a child here." Arnok said. "I don't spare children." He raised his axe and advanced on Romeo. Romeo, realizing the danger, stepped back, but had no chance of outrunning Arnok. Macao came running over shooting flames at Arnok without thinking. Macao didn't even say anything, just screamed. Arnok stopped and tensed, although his tattoos still glowed. It looked like Macao's attack might have actually hurt him. Emboldened, Macao charged a bigger attack. Before he could fire it, Arnok suddenly swung his axe hard. He hadn't been hurt, just preparing his own attack. He swung the axe as Macao ran at him. Macao was in full charge, and didn't have time to stop. The axe swung through the air, and connected. A thud could be heard on the ground. A moment later, Macao's body followed.
Gajeel watched as it happened. Time stood still for a long moment. Macao was on the ground, blood staining the grass. His head was a few feet away, a pained expression remained. It felt as though all the wind in the trees had suddenly stopped. The sunlight, which had looked so nice a short time ago, now felt somehow hellish glaring down on Macao. After staring for what felt like a minute, Gajeel heard screaming. It was Romeo. His scream was blood curdling.
"Your father died fighting, but he was still too weak." Arnok said. Romeo still screamed. "It seems you're too weak too. You can join him then." Arnok again lifted his axe. Gajeel moved, but Wakaba got there first. He stood in front of Romeo.
"I'll kill you." Wakaba said.
"Hmph." Arnok said, hefting his axe. Gajeel charged at him from the side, forgetting to even use his iron magic. He just threw fists at Arnok, which had little effect.
"Pathetic." Arnok said. Wakaba joined in, again using his smoke magic to no avail. Arnok violently spread his arms out, knocking them back. He again turned toward Romeo. He seemed intent on killing the son along with the father. Wakaba grabbed Arnok. Arnok still advanced on the boy, Wakaba unable to stop him. Romeo just sat there, seemingly in shock. Gajeel looked at what was happening. He wanted to kill Arnok. But the boy was in danger, and had just watched his father die. Gajeel made a choice. He ran over to Romeo and picked him up.
"Wakaba, let's get out of here!" He said. "We need to get Romeo away." Wakaba hesitated.
"Running away?" Arnok said. "Coward." Arnok suddenly turned, noticing Wakaba coming towards him again. Wakaba stood defiantly.
"More brave than your friend?" Arnok said. Wakaba didn't answer, just stood and stared. Arnok shrugged, and swung his axe once more. The axe passed through Wakaba. The form wavered, and then dissipated into smoke. It was a decoy. Arnok turned, and saw Wakaba running after Gajeel and Romeo.
Gajeel held onto Romeo as he ran. He ran as fast as he could, which was pretty fast. He hated running from a fight, especially after seeing a guild mate killed right in front of him. If it were just him, he would have stayed and fought. And either him or Arnok would have been dead by the end. But the kid was in too much danger. Romeo needed to get out of there, both for his physical and mental well-being. So, Gajeel ran as fast as he could back to the guild, hoping that Wakaba would be able to keep up.
Gajeel looked back for just a second. He saw Wakaba running behind. However, he also saw Arnok running after them from further back. Arnok was fast, but his leg injury from Gajeel's attack slowed him down. After running for a few more minutes, Arnok slowed down, unable to keep up.
"Run, you cowards." He called out to them. Run they did, all the way back to Magnolia. By the time they reached the city limits, Romeo had become silent, looking shell shocked. Gajeel knew they had to get back to the guild and tell everyone what happened. This was going to be another dark day for Fairy Tail. Gajeel just hoped the team sent to Bosco would come back with good news. They desperately needed it.
After traveling by train and by foot, Wendy, Gray, and Elfman (along with Carla) had arrived at the Bosco border. It was the same location that team Lamia Scale had arrived at earlier. At least some of the team was supposed to meet them there. They approached the border outpost, seeing no one around. Standing a few yards from the border, Gray stepped forward, looking around.
"Anyone here?" Gray said cautiously.
"I don't see any guards anywhere." Wendy said.
"Maybe that's a good thing." Carla said. "It might be easier for us to get in."
"Yeah, but where is everyone?" Gray said. He looked around, seeing if he could spot anyone, but saw no sign.
"Do you think something happened?" Elfman said. He clenched his fists in anticipation of a fight.
"I don't know, but we should be careful." Gray said. The group stood there a moment, looking at the abandoned outpost.
"So, do we just go in?" Wendy asked.
"I guess we don't have a better plan." Carla said.
Together, they approached the entrance. Just as they were about to cross the border, someone appeared from the other side. This person was in the shade, and their face wasn't visible. Gray and the others stopped.
"Who are you?" Gray said. The figure ahead paused, appearing to consider them. Someone else stepped out of the shadows. Now two figures stood there. The Fairy Tail mages all assumed fighting stances.
"Look, you need to tell us who you are." Gray said.
"Yeah, you're not guards, are you?" Elfman said. The two figures stepped closer. It was now obvious who they were.
"Lyon." Gray said.
"And Sherry." Wendy added.
Lyon and Sherry stood there, side by side. Lyon was dressed in strange clothes, different from his usual attire. Sherry looked unusually serious.
"So, its just you two here?" Gray said. "Where are the others?'
"Yes, and for that matter, where are the guards?" Carla said.
Lyon gazed at them without saying anything. Sherry eyed them all.
"I'm sorry." Sherry said. "I was actually hoping you wouldn't come."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Gray said. Lyon stepped closer. Gray could see there was something different about him. Lyon's skin was discolored, and his eyes looked black and red.
"Gray…" Lyon said. It sounded like he had difficulty talking. "I'm supposed to… stop you. I need… to kill you."
"What the hell are you on about?" Gray said.
"It sounds like he's gone nuts." Elfman said.
"He looks like one of those… undead things." Wendy said. Gray shook his head.
"No." he said. "Not Lyon."
"I'm sorry." Sherry said. She stood there, hands folded, looking down at the ground. "I had no choice."
"What did you do?" Gray said, becoming angry.
"What I had to." Sherry said. "I had to make a deal with them."
"You made a deal with them?" Gray said. "And turned Lyon into a monster?" Before Sherry could respond, Gray began running towards them. Lyon shot an ice blast at Gray, causing hm to pause.
"Out of my way, Lyon." Gray said. Lyon shook his head. He appeared somewhat unfocused, but still aware. He eyed Gray. He summoned an ice sword in his hand.
"If that's the way you want it." Gray said, summoning an ice sword of his own. He wasted no time. They both began attacking at the same time. Gray was more focused, but Lyon's attacks were more vicious. They traded blows a few times until Gray got a cut on Lyon's side. Lyon stepped back, dropped his sword, and screamed.
"Sounds like you really got him." Elfman said. Lyon's eyes began to glow, and he shook violently. Sherry rushed to his side.
"It's too soon, he's in no shape to fight." Sherry said.
"I didn't start this." Gray said. "And besides, you did this to him."
"You don't understand." Sherry said.
"I don't need to." Gray said. He still had his sword, and moved closer. A flying object hit him. Gray turned and swiped at it. It was one of Sherry's dolls. While Gray was distracted, Sherry lead Lyon back into the woods to regroup. Gray swung his sword and knocked the doll down. He smashed it on the ground. He then turned to look back the direction they went.
"Come back here!" Gray said. He began chasing after them, heading into the forest.
"Gray, wait!" Wendy said. Gray ignored her and disappeared into the woods.
"We should follow him." Elfman said. He ran off after Gray.
"I guess we're going too." Carla said. Carla and Wendy both ran into the woods as well, although they couldn't be sure exactly which direction Gray went. They both ran, Carla deciding to sprout her wings and fly, since she couldn't run very fast. Wendy ran beside Carla for a stretch, but then Carla turned. Wendy tried to match her and turn too, but ended up stepping wrong and tripping, landing face first on the ground. After a moment Wendy got up, wiping the dirt and leaves off of herself. She looked around, but didn't see Carla, or any of her team for that matter.
"Hello?" Wendy said. No answer. Wendy looked around. She called out for Carla, but didn't see or hear her cat companion. Wendy wondered if she could even find the way back out. She hadn't gone that far, but the area was unfamiliar, and it can be easy to get lost in the woods. She walked a little ways, not sure if she was going in the right direction. She came to a log on the ground in the middle of some trees. She looked around again. There didn't seem to be any distinctive landmarks besides the log. She walked over to it to sit down. Wendy then heard some rustling behind her, and turned. She saw someone standing several feet away. Wendy recognized the other person.
"You're…" Wendy said.
"Wendy Marvell." Seraiisa said. "I mean, you're Wendy Marvell, I'm Seraiisa. Obviously."
"Yeah…" Wendy said.
"I've been waiting here for you." Seraiisa said. "I was wondering when you and Gray would show up. You had to bring Elfman though…"
"You… knew all that?" Wendy said. Seraiisa nodded. That's probably not good, Wendy thought.
"I'm actually looking for my friends." Wendy said.
"I'm sure they're nearby." Seraiisa said. She casually walked over to the log and sat down. She looked up at the sky and seemed to be enjoying being outside in the pastoral scenery.
"Do you know where they are?" Wendy said.
"Nope." Seraiisa said.
"Then, can you at least tell me which way is out of here?"
Seraiisa considered this. "You know, we are supposed to be enemies."
"I know." Wendy said awkwardly.
"But I'd like it if we could be friends instead." Seraiisa said. "Tell you what, if you sit and talk with me for a minute, then maybe I can help you out."
"Really?" Wendy said.
"I'm sure your friends can take care of themselves for a minute or two." Seraiisa said.
"Well…" Wendy said. She knew that Gray and Elfman were pretty capable, and were both better fighters than her. But they might still need her help. And she was worried about Carla too.
"Just for a minute." Wendy said. She sat down on the log next to Seraiisa. For a long moment they said nothing, just sat there.
"So, how do you like Fairy Tail?" Seraiisa said.
Wendy shrugged. "It's good. I like it there."
"Are you sure?" Seraiisa said. "Whenever I see you, you don't seem that happy."
"We've had to deal with a lot." Wendy said. "What about you? Are you happy? You seem kind of… lonely."
Seraiisa just sat there a moment. Wendy wondered if she was offended.
"Sometimes I am." Seraiisa sighed. "You know I don't have friends my age. I don't actually know what girls my age are interested in these days."
"Well, I guess I'm in the same boat." Wendy said. "Fairy Tail doesn't have anyone else my age. And most of the friends I had before I came to Fairy Tail were imaginary."
"Oh." Seraiisa said.
"Wait, that's not what it sounds like. They weren't real, but I didn't imagine them, a ghost did."
Seraiisa raised an eyebrow at Wendy. "Huh." She said.
"Look, never mind. Anyway, maybe it's time we-"
"How would you like to join up with us, Wendy?" Seraiisa said.
Wendy was caught off guard by the sudden question. She shifted on the log a little. "Join up with you? You mean, you and your family?"
"My family, the Shadow Kings, the followers. All of us." Seraiisa smiled, appearing to get a little excited by the idea. "Then we could be friends, and there would be a bunch of kids our age you could talk to too. I can't, but I'm sure you could."
Wendy sat there for a moment, hands on her knees. She looked down at the ground. "You're asking me to leave Fairy Tail. My friends. And I would just stand by as you attack them. Maybe you'd even want me to fight them too."
"I wouldn't ask that." Seraiisa said.
"What about your mom?" Wendy said. Seraiisa was silent.
"I won't fight them." Wendy said.
"Wendy, what does Fairy Tail fight for?" Seraiisa said.
Wendy blinked. Another unexpected question. "Well, lots of things. We help people. Sometimes with little things, sometimes big things. And we help each other too. As best we can."
"Hmm." Seraiisa said. "So, you're saying you're a guild of heroes?"
"Well, I don't know if I'd say that." Wendy said. "We also party, and fight, and drink. Well, I don't do most of that stuff, but others do. But we do a lot of good too."
Seraiisa smiled and nodded. "My mom wants to save the world. Not just help some people. Help the entire world. End death. End war. Make the world a better place."
Wendy frowned a little. "But you… I mean, your group, has hurt so many people. You've attacked towns and villages. Killed people."
"Its not like Fairy Tail never caused collateral damage." Seraiisa said. "We're just doing things on a bigger scale."
"We never killed innocent people." Wendy said.
"A lot of the people that were killed can eventually be brought back. And they will be. My mom can do that. You've seen her bring people back."
Wendy shook her head. "They come back wrong."
"It's a work in progress." Seraiisa said. "And it's getting better. Just look at Lisanna. Soon they'll all be like her, or even better."
"You mean after Boudica becomes a god?" Wendy said.
Seraiisa paused, but just for a second. She then shrugged and said, "That's right. Your guild figured that out, huh? Or did somebody snitch? Whatever. She'll be more powerful than any mortal person. She'll be able to do miracles. Not that she can't already. You'll see. It'll be awesome."
"No, it won't." Wendy stood up now. "I'm sorry Seraiisa, but your mom is not a good person, and I wouldn't want someone like her as a god."
"You don't know what you're talking about." Seraiisa said.
"I know enough. Maybe I am lonely, but I still trust Fairy Tail. I don't trust the Shadow Kings. Any of them. If you could understand why, see them for what they are, then I'd like to be your friend. Otherwise, we're going to have to be enemies. Now, it's definitely been more than a minute. Where are my friends?"
Seraiisa sat there for a moment in silence. She slowly stood up. "Is that your final answer?" she said quietly.
"Yes, it is." Wendy said.
Seraiisa nodded. "Okay. That's too bad. First Mirajane, now you. I was really hoping we could be friends, Wendy." Seraiisa turned and took a few steps. She then raised her hand and snapped her fingers. Wendy was confused. She heard a rustle to her side, and turned to see someone approaching. It was a man. It was in fact Cobra, with his snake Cubellios following behind.
"I didn't want it to be this way, Wendy." Seraiisa said. "But my mom said that any Fairy Tail mages that come here need to die. Especially dragon slayers."
Wendy was suddenly alarmed, and aware of how alone she was out there.
"Okay kid, you tried your way, now its time for me to handle things." Cobra said.
"Just make it quick. Please." Seraiisa said, walking away.
"Seraiisa…" Wendy said. She turned as Cobra took a step towards her.
"You should keep your eyes on me." Cobra said. "Now, I'm not one to attack little girls. But I've got a job to do. Nothing personal. So, I'll tell you what: you stay still and don't put up a fight, and I'll make this quick. I can't let you leave here alive, after all."
Wendy tensed, and was now in a fighting stance.
"I know what you're thinking." Cobra said. "Don't try it."
Wendy ran to the side and launched a sky dragon wing attack. The attack hurled toward Cobra, but he put up a poison dragon shield to block it. This was quickly followed by a poison twin fang attack launched at Wendy. Wendy jumped, but part of the attack got her legs. Wendy screamed as she hit the ground.
"Too easy." Cobra said.
Wendy lay on the ground, bruised and cut. Her legs burned. She struggled to her feet.
"That was a low dose of poison, but it will still kill you eventually." Cobra said. "That would be a slow and painful way to die, and we want to make this quick, right? So, stay still." He ran at Wendy. She moved to dodge as he threw a punch, which barely missed. She tried to regroup but Cobra kicked her in the stomach, knocking her back. She coughed as she fell back.
"Okay, now I actually feel a little bad." He said. "Its not much fun beating up a twelve year old girl. Tell you what, I'll let Cubellios handle this. She'll end you quickly. But for the last time, don't struggle. You'll only make it worse." Cobra stepped back and signaled for his snake to take over. The giant reptile started moving towards Wendy. Seeing the monster heading towards her gave Wendy a second wind. She quickly got up and backed away from it. Wendy started to prepare a sky dragon roar, but it charged at her before she could complete it. Wendy fell backwards, the snake coming within inches of her. As it flew over her, Wendy got up and started running, if only to get some distance. But Cubellios quickly turned around and started chasing her.
Wendy felt her heartbeat quicken. The snake was huge, and vicious. It bared its fangs as it reared up, chasing her. Wendy tried hiding behind some trees, but the snake broke through the trees with its sheer size and strength. Wood splintered all around, a huge log falling to the ground in front of Wendy. She ran off to the side instead. She turned and launched another dual wind attack. It connected, but Cubellios only seemed to become more determined, rather than deterred. It charged at Wendy on the ground. She jumped over it, but tumbled onto the ground. Cubellios charged into a tree, cracking it. Like the other trees, it fell. Except this one was falling right toward Wendy. She noticed it and knew what was coming, but with too little time to act. It fell.
The tree fell on Wendy. It did not crush her. Her small size and the way the tree landed helped her. But it did trap her. The tree fell on her legs. She struggled but could not escape. She looked down, wondering if her legs were broken, though she felt no pain. Wendy looked around her, becoming desperate.
"Carla!" She called. "Gray?" She heard no one else. She only heard the ground rumble as the huge snake moved towards her. Wendy looked up and saw Cubellios towering above, a true monster. It hovered over her, blocking out the sunlight. It looked down at her for a moment, and then opened its mouth. It moved its head down. Fangs bared. Wendy's eyes widened as she realized that the snake was going to eat her. She struggled to free herself. She could almost move her legs. If she had a few minutes, she might be able to get out on her own. But she didn't have a few minutes. The fangs came down, the tongue flicking. Wendy grimaced. It was so dark she couldn't see anything.
"I can't die here." She said quietly. She felt her heart beating in her chest as she saw her death approaching. She tried to summon s sky dragon roar, but somehow couldn't draw it in. Maybe it was the poison affecting her. Wendy closed her eyes. She heard the slow slithering of the snake. Felt its hot breath. She also heard several other sounds all around her. Sudden silence. Wendy opened her eyes. Cubellios was still above her, but had turned its head, distracted by something. There was suddenly a flash of light, almost blinding. There was a huge beam of light coming from the ground, enveloping the snake, except its head above Wendy. The snake made noises indicating its pain. After several seconds the beam of light dissipated, and the snake recoiled back a few yards. Wendy saw the snake turn, and face someone nearby. Wendy couldn't see who it was.
Cubellios fired venom at the figure, but it seemingly disappeared. But Wendy realized this person had actually turned into mist, and passed through the poison.
"Mystogan." Wendy said. Her vision began to blur as she lay there.
Mystogan, in mist form, passed through the venom attack, and then passed through the snake itself. He reappeared behind it. He had already hurt the snake with his sacred song attack. But he knew that wasn't enough.
He had followed the group for a while, but then Gray ran off, and Wendy got separated. He lost sight of her briefly, but found her again as the snake was chasing her.
Cubellios turned toward Mystogan. Mystogan was already preparing another spell. Cubellios launched a poison attack, but Mystogan predicted this and used the mirror water spell to reflect the attack. The poison was reflected back at the big snake. Cubellios was splashed with its own poison. It was immune to its own poisonous effects, but it still burned nonetheless. The snake thrashed in response. Mystogan prepared another spell to finish it off. As he prepared the spell, he heard something off to the side. Someone else casting a magic attack. He turned, and saw Cobra launching a poison dragon roar right at him. Mystogan didn't have time to change the spell. Instead, he broke the spell and ducked behind a log as Cobra fired the attack. A wave of poison passed over. After it passed, Mystogan stood, but felt pain in his arm. He had been hit after all, at least partially. He may have been poisoned, like Wendy.
As he stood, Cobra faced him from afar. "You shouldn't have hurt my friend." Cobra said.
"Your friend hurt my friend." Mystogan said.
"I don't care." Cobra said. Cubellios crawled over towards Cobra. Cobra put his hand on his friend. "We'll show 'em." He said. Mystogan reached for his staves again.
"Try it." Cobra said. Mystogan tensed.
"There you are." A third voice said. Everyone turned. Elfman, in his takeover form, was hovering above the ground, held by Carla. "I was chasing Gray, but lost him. But it looks like there's something going on here too." He explained.
"I'm sorry Wendy, we got separated." Carla said. Carla let Elfman down, and then flew off to join Wendy.
"I'll take you both on." Cobra said. Cobra stepped up onto Cubellios, and they rushed toward Elfman. The snake opened its mouth, but Elfman caught it, holding its mouth open. Cobra jumped off and kicked Elfman hard, knocking him back a little. Elfman's takeover form protected him somewhat, otherwise he would have been hurt worse. But Cobra quickly followed up with more strikes. Elfman tried to fight back, but Cobra could predict his moves. Cobra uppercutted Elfman, finally knocking him down. Mystogan launched another sacred song attack at Cobra while he was distracted. It almost worked, but at the last second Cobra noticed, and jumped out of the way. Cobra smirked. Elfman grabbed at his leg, but Cobra just kicked him.
Mystogan launched another attack. "This is starting to get annoying." Cobra said. He dodged that too.
"Elfman, go help Wendy, she's trapped under a tree." Mystogan said.
Elfman got up, and started looking for Wendy. He spotted her, and started running towards her.
Cobra was too busy dodging Mystogan's attack to stop Elfman. As Cobra recovered, he said to Cubellios, "Go after him." The snake obeyed, and quickly moved to intercept Elfman. Elfman, still in beast form, turned to face the creature. He once again put up his arms to catch it, but this time the snake pivoted and side swiped with its large head. Elfman still managed to block it somewhat, but was knocked back. It lunged at Elfman and they struggled on the ground with Wendy nearby.
Mystogan was momentarily distracted by this, and Cobra ran over to him and punched him. Mystogan backed up, but Cobra kept up the assault. He launched a flurry of fists. Mystogan didn't have time to counterattack. As Cobra attacked again, Mystogan suddenly disappeared. He reappeared several yards away. Cobra watched him. As powerful as Mystogan's magic was, Cobra still had the advantage. Cobra smirked again, and took a step forward. Just as he did, something unexpected happened; the ground opened up. Right next to Cobra, a large hole appeared in the ground. Cobra was caught totally off guard by this. He turned, and looked into the hole, and saw a face.
"What the…" he said. He was so caught off guard that he noticed too late the staves around him. Mystogan once more used his sacred song attack, this time catching Cobra inside the magic blast. Cobra fell to his knees, weakened. Suddenly, someone came up from the hole and grabbed Cobra. It was Toby from the Lamia Scale guild. He grabbed onto Cobra, preventing him from getting back up.
"Let go of me you freak!" Cobra said.
"I got him!" Toby said. "He's not on our side, right?"
Someone else climbed out of the hole. It was Yuka, also of Lamia Scale. "No, he's not." Yuka said.
"For once, someone made a surprise entrance on me." Mystogan said.
"We'll explain later." Yuka said.
"I got the big snake!" Elfman said. Cubellios was on the ground, and not moving.
"Cubellios!" Cobra said. He struggled in Toby's grasp. He was starting to break free. Toby extended his nails.
"Stop moving." Tony said.
Cobra ignored Toby and fired a poison dragon roar. He was aiming for Elfman, but Yuka got in the way. Yuka took the blast. But he seemed unaffected.
"My magic nullifies other magic." Yuka explained. This only made Cobra struggle more. As he broke free, Toby's claws scratched him. Cobra ignored it as he got up. But then a surge of electricity jolted Cobra's whole body. He spasmed, and then fell to the ground, paralyzed. Mystogan exchanged glances with the others.
"Now what?" Yuka said.
"Restrain him, quickly." Mystogan said. "And then explain what happened."
Afterwards, Mystogan helped restrain Cobra with some rope he was carrying. Nobody asked why he was carrying rope. Cubellios was naturally harder to restrain, but Elfman managed to rip off some tree branches and vines and tie it up. Wendy was freed, but was badly hurt. She was also poisoned.
"I'll need to get her to a doctor." Mystogan said.
"Am I going to die?" Wendy said weakly.
"No." Mystogan said. "I'll help you."
While Mystogan was tending to Wendy, Yuka and Toby did their best to explain what happened. They lost track of Sherry and Lyon. But, while near the border, they managed to find an opening in the ground behind some boulders. The opening led to a tunnel. The tunnel led into Bosco. It was apparently soundproof, since they couldn't really hear outside, and it seemed like no one could hear them either. They didn't know how far the tunnel extended, or if there were others like it closer to Magnolia. But it was a good start, and might be the solution they needed. Mystogan pointed out that it might explain how their enemies were sometimes able to pass the border undetected.
"We can't let them know we know about this though." Mystogan said.
Gray finally showed up as they were talking. He came out of the trees, walking into the scene of the Fairy Tail and Lamia Scale mages gathered with their captives.
"I finally found you." Gray said. "What's Mystogan doing here?"
"The better question is, where were you?" Elfman said. "I know you wanted Lyon and Sherry, but we couldn't abandon Wendy like that. After a few minutes I went back to look for her."
"Sorry, but I had to find them, it was important." Gray said.
"Right." Elfman said. "But you didn't." Gray said nothing. There was a silence between them for a long moment. Then, Mystogan spoke.
"I need to help Wendy. I have to go immediately. I can travel faster on my own." He picked Wendy up and readied a stave. "Be sure to tell the others at the guild about the tunnel though. I'll meet you all back at Fairy Tail." With that, Mystogan vanished, taking Wendy with him. It was quiet again.
"So, do we just head back now?" Elfman said.
"We probably can't do much more right now." Yuka said.
"But we'll be back." Elfman said.
"The next time needs to be the last time." Gray said.
Makarov once again sat at his desk with Mirajane nearby. He sat deep in thought. He had been sitting like that for a few minutes. First, Gajeel and Wakaba had returned with Romeo, telling everyone what had happened. They were going to have to hold a funeral for Macao, although going back to retrieve the body might be too risky. Then, Mystogan had returned with an injured but recovering Wendy. Now, they were just waiting for Gray's team to come back. And they apparently have prisoners with them. It was a lot to take in. However, there was a bigger issue at the moment that Makarov was forced to think about. Something that he had hoped he wouldn't have to consider.
It was late at night, and quiet. Makarov was tired. Mirajane was too. But he had something to tell her. Something he wasn't sure he should tell anyone else yet. He looked up at her.
"I've been thinking about everything that's happened." He said. Mirajane looked at him, but didn't respond. She knew he had more to say.
"First Levy was attacked at the library." Makarov said. "And then Lucy was attacked in her home. That sort of thing was always a possibility. Lucy's home isn't a secret, and they might have found Levy by chance. Sherry and Lyon were also intercepted in Bosco, and now they've turned. But that's not all. They slaughtered the magic council representatives before we could get there. And they were expecting Natsu. And finally, they knew Gray and Wendy were coming to Bosco. Keep in mind, we didn't tell Sherry exactly who we would be sending. Now, a few of these things could potentially be explained away. They did have those machines spying for them. However, we have taken precautions. And the fact that so many of these things have all happened in such a short time…"
"Maybe their spies are greater than we thought." Mirajane said.
"And yet they didn't expect Gajeel to show up." Makarov said. "If they were constantly spying with those machines, they would have known he was coming. So, there must be another explanation. No, I… I hate to say it, but at this point I believe there is only one explanation for all of this." Makarov hung his head and closed his eyes. After a long pause, Mirajane spoke.
"What is the explanation?" She said.
Makarov opened his eyes and looked up at her. "I've come to the conclusion that there is a traitor amongst us. There is a mole in Fairy Tail."
End Notes: Yes, Macao is really dead. No, he is not coming back. I just wanted to make it clear that this is not one of those situations where a character dies only to be brought back later.
