Chapter 5 - A New Type of War
The Guild Hall
Upon arrival, Lucy told the group that what she knew was rather sensitive and would likely be a danger towards Arthur, Ventus and most likely Shirou. So she had to let Makarov know first since he might want to know this information first. Erza agreed to it thinking that if it did pose a danger to anyone, the guild master was likely the first person to tell. Gray was reluctant about it since he thought that as a team, they deserved to know, but was mature enough to wait.
Natsu and Happy voiced their opinions about it being unfair and that they shouldn't keep secrets from each other. Only for them to shut up the moment they thought Lucy's hair and eyes changed color. No matter how crazy or stupid they are, one should never awaken the dark maiden. For a woman's fury is just the beginning of their worst nightmare.
So upon arrival, Lucy introduced Arthur and Ventus before convincing him to have a meeting with them on the issue. Leaving Makarov suspicious as to what she has to say and if it involves her magic or mystery of her past.
Makarov's office
"Ok Lucy, what is it you wanted to talk about?" Makarov asked.
Lucy took a deep breath, "Ok first, these three boys including Shirou." she gestured to them. "They're all related to me by blood. Yes, I technically lied about not being related to Shirou and no, he's not technically me real brother." she blatantly said making Shirou gasp and have mixed feelings.
Ventus also felt confused as to the part about being related to Shirou and Arthur since he just met the two. Arthur already understood what was going on since he was the most aware about his situation. Although it did help that Lucy explained things earlier during their secret talks on the boat when Shirou and Ventus weren't in hearing range. However, he was worried about meeting Shirou as well as the other person who they have yet to meet.
"Lucy I'm afraid I don't understand." Makarov said.
"Maybe I should start from the beginning. When I was a child I found a book in my parent's library and decided to take a look at it. I was young and I didn't understand it at the time. But over the years since my mother's death, I started to get a grasp on it and learned about the author's magic as well the one her sister was attuned to. Which by for strange reason, I was able to use as well." Lucy started.
"Keep going." Makarov said.
"So years before I left on my own to be a mage, I learned about a secret passage of an unknown figure named Justeaze von Einzbern who lived before the era of the book's writer. You won't believe me, but... Justeaze came to me one day in some strange spiritual form calling me Stella. Claiming I was the reincarnation of a past mage from the era Ventus came from. Little by little, I had memories of that past life and by the time I left home. I had a good understanding of my magic and other abilities, but that's where I needed physical experience." Lucy continued.
Shirou quickly smiled, "And that's when she met me two years ago. I was alone and there was this fire where Lucy found me and saved my life!" he said excitedly as Lucy sat him on her lap.
"That's right, Shirou came into my life one day after a terrible fire. But what you don't know Shirou is... this might be even less believable." Lucy said nervously.
"Lucy you a society of people from an ancient era. Now you're saying your the reincarnation of a past wizard. I don't think there could be anything more weird than that." Makarov said. 'That and I doubt there's anything more crazy than the fact Porlyusica and Mystogan are from the same dimension outside of ours.' he thought.
Lucy bit her lip before saying it, "Shirou isn't from this timeline. He's technically from the future while Arthur is from an alternate one." she said.
Makarov's brain just shut down and rebooted hearing that, "Are you serious?" he asked. Lucy nodded and giggled nervously as Shirou started foaming from the mouth, "I am way too old to deal with this." Makarov said as he rubbed his temples.
"Wait big sis, you said Shirou and Arthur are technically from separate timelines, but they're also related to you. So how are they related?" Ventus asked the trillion Jewel question.
Lucy gave him a nervous smile, "Arthur and Shirou are... eh, they're my..." everyone was listening in while Arthur sighed as he waited for her to say it. "...they're both my first born sons from two separate timelines!" she said quickly making everyone minus Arthur pass out from shock.
Makarov was the first one to recover, "I'm sorry, I fail to understand how that worked. Or how you know for that matter Lucy." he said.
"Well that came with the random memories, which is rather difficult to explain. Since the experience was too much of a headache. It only makes things worse knowing there's one more of these little one running around." Lucy said.
"I HAVE THREE NEPHEWS!?" Ventus yelled.
"Well technically they're all separated by different times and sequence of events. So in turn, they're just three routes leading to one person. So I guess in a way, they're technically the same entity." Lucy said feeling confused as to what Arthur and Shirou are to each other.
"I doubt I'm technically his brother regardless of having the same mother." Arthur said.
"So if my big sis is actually my mom." Shirou started as he gave a weird look to Lucy. At least it explains why she kept him so close all the time in bed, "Then why do Arthur and I look completely different?" he asked as he was still a naive child.
"It means in those timelines, you and Arthur had different dads. Otherwise Arthur might be an older you, Shirou. Or you would be a younger Arthur." Ventus said as he started picking up what was going on.
Arthur sighed, "At least his dad isn't as bad as mine." he said with disappointment in his voice.
"At least you didn't get stuck being possibly impregnated by two people you can't stand. Why did it have to be those two?" Lucy asked crying anime tears.
"Wait who's my dad!?" Shirou asked.
"Lucy do you know their fathers by chance?" Makarov asked.
"I know two of the three, but I'm not sure if the third boy is as aware as Arthur. That was the real surprise actually. I thought I would end up with another little boy to raise like Shirou and Ventus." Lucy answered.
"Care to enlighten us?" Makarov asked.
"Yeah I want to know who stole my big sis!" Ventus said cracking his knuckles only to nurse the pain from having small hands.
"Good, maybe they can hurt your hands for you." Lucy said sarcastically. Giving another sigh she revealed more of the truth, "Shirou's father is... Natsu." Shirou fell onto the floor as his soul started coming out of his body.
"Something came out of him." Ventus said.
Lucy quickly revived Shirou and then he started crying, "Why me? Can't Gray be my dad instead? I'd rather be related to a stripper than a time bomb." he whined.
"Well that explains why he was able to use dragon slayer magic. Now what about him?" Makarov asked pointing at Arthur.
Arthur instead reached for something inside his armor and pulled out an old photo. He passed it to Makarov who took a look at it.
"He's not exactly a good guy in this point of time. So it makes me angry that this is the guy that gave birth to me before he got with Lucy." Arthur explained.
Makarov narrowed his eyes as he looked at the worn out photo. In it he saw a young Arthur being held up by Lucy who was wearing more conservative clothing while she lied her head on the shoulders of a blond man with a lightning shaped scar over his eye. Makarov gasped at the sight.
"I know, first a an idiot that acts on impulse and destroys everything. Then a prideful man child." Lucy said as Makarov stared at Arthur with wide eyes.
"There's no sign of forgery or foreign magic around this photograph. Its aged, but genuine." Makarov said.
Lucy smiled sheepishly, "Guess who's a great grandpa!?" she said as the old man passed out again.
"I think you killed him big sis I mean... do I have to call you mom now?" asked a confused Shirou.
Lucy smiled as she hugged Shirou tighter, "You can call me whatever you want Shirou. I may not be the sister you expected, but I can be the family you wanted." she said.
Shirou smiled as he hugged back, "So do I have to call him uncle and... what about him?" he asked pointing at Arthur.
"I don't know, but if anyone outside the team asks, tell them Arthur and Ven are both your adoptive brothers. I don't want to explain how a 17 year old gave birth an 8 year old with different hair. I'm assuming the dragon slayer magic must have made it red rather than pink or blond." Lucy explained.
"I did not expect to be an uncle so soon. This version of my sister isn't even married. Big sis am I considered an adult? I think I need a stiff drink that all the adults are talking about." Ventus said only to receive a glare.
"Ventus compared to you, I may have been born yesterday, but you are technically still 12 years old. Yes, I am now recovering my memories of you so I know most of your quirks and attitude. So no, even though you have to be 18 here, you have to wait until 21 like back in the kingdom." Lucy explained making him sigh.
Makarov eventually woke up and adjusted himself, "Alright, that might be a lot to take in. You don't have any knowledge of the future do you?" he asked.
Arthur froze for a moment, "Holy crap, I don't think I remember much of anything outside my identity and family." he said shocking himself.
"I should probably check on that. Maybe there's some kind of sealing magic in your mind preventing you you from exposing your timeline. I understand Shirou, but then there's also my other son that's out there." Lucy spoke up.
"Regardless, Lucy I suggest you be careful as to who you tell. If word gets out to the council or any enemy of the guild, it could spell disaster especially anyone who would want to extract your power or knowledge." Makarov explained.
"Got it, come on boys. I'm sure Natsu and Gray are fighting while Erza is out." Lucy said.
"Good thing I took away their class cards." Ventus said glad he isn't the reason for destroying such a lovely guild hall.
A while Later
Natsu is scene being chased by a giant dinosaur ridden by Quetzalcoatl who was encouraging Natsu to run faster. That he needed the exercise so she could be her wrestling partner. Despite claiming herself to be a peaceful goddess that was like an elder sister figure, Quetzalcoatl wasn't exactly the type to hug things out and give head kisses and make cupcakes.
"That's right dragon boy! Get those legs running!" Quetzalcoatl yelled as the dinosaur almost chomped on Natsu.
"Stay away from you me you not job! And you, why are you doing this to me!? I'm the son of dragon! I thought reptiles were friends with each other!" Natsu yelled as he kept running.
"Pterodactyls may be reptiles, but they aren't dragons my pink haired friend." Quetzalcoatl said as the beast finally caught Natsu and took to the sky.
Meanwhile Natsu was avoiding being attack by Heracles axe.
"I get Natsu is being punished for coming along, but why me!? I got permission to join!" Gray yelled as he got punched into a wall despite making an ice shield.
"Because you were going to throw away your own life twice when there were more simple solutions Gray. It may not look like it, but everyone cares if you don't make it back. So man up and face the demigod!" Erza yelled in a commanding tone.
"RAAAGH!" Heracles yelled as he picked up Gray and tossed him around like a club.
Makarov sighed at the need for excessive punishment, but was grateful that Lucy agreed to cleaning up the mess once this was over. At least maybe, it would put Natsu out of commission for at least a day so he wouldn't go out and destroy anything. Then maybe Gray wouldn't join in any pointless fights as it looks like Heracles doesn't exactly want to go easy on the ice wizard. Just more motivation to keep the guild in order.
The next day
Before Natsu and Gray were sent to the infirmary, Lucy explained discreetly to her team about the origins of the boys minus the fact that Natsu was Shirou's father and Laxus was Arthur's. So it was a lot to take in and seemed unbelievable which to some extent still feels that way. So Lucy decided to drop the subject and was open to any questions they had that she was comfortable with.
They decided to save them and instead opted to wait until the next day when Gray and Natsu were out of the infirmary. Lucy soon found herself having to buy some futons for Ventus and Arthur seeing as they would have to live with her from now on since Shirou always sleeps with her in bed. The redhead kind of felt it embarrassing for some reason now he realizes that he's been cuddling with his mother. Lucy didn't understand how that was worse than with his sister since they weren't doing anything wrong.
The next morning came and Lucy lead the boys to guild to see whatever craziness there was today. However, when they arrived they were immediately devastated by the sight. Natsu, Gray and Erza all arrived as well to see many iron pillars had pierced the guild hall and essentially destroyed the upper portion along with most of the main hall.
When they looked inside, they found a sign leading to the basement where everyone was. They confronted Makarov about it seeing as this was likely a threat towards the guild. Instead the old man was plastered on alcohol and explained he can't do anything about it since it was a threat from another guild. If they retaliated, it would lead to a potential war and later issues with the council and it didn't help that their past with the council wasn't very good leaving Makarov with his hands tied.
Naturally Natsu was the most outraged and demanded to fight only to be shut up by Makarov. For the rest of the day, that left team disappointed as they weren't able to do anything. So all they could do was sit and move on with their lives as if nothing happened.
"Is this how wizard guilds are like big sis?" Ventus asked.
Lucy sighed, "No, usually things are calm and rely on a complex law enforcement system. I guess this is one of those specific moments where we can't do anything and just hopes it all blows over." she explained.
"I always wondered when wizards would form their own association. Except their much different from magi and old wizards." Ventus said catching some attention.
"Well how were they back then kid?" Natsu asked.
"Back in my day, wizards would never get involved with direct physical combat since they never trained their bodies to handle any play with weapons. So it confused me when I saw someone like Natsu fighting while using magic. Those kind were rare if you aren't a magi." Ventus answered getting some strange looks.
"Sounds like being a stay at home parent. I guess seeing her circumstances, Lucy isn't too different since she doesn't physically fight as much." Gray said earning a punch in the head from said girl.
"Idiot, Lucy is a proud..." Happy stopped himself for a moment to think. "Lucy is a proud big sister!" he said.
"Thank you Happy." Lucy said tossing him a fish.
"You keep fish with you?" Erza asked.
"It keeps the cat quiet." Lucy answered.
That's when Levy and the boys arrived, "Hi Lucy, how's the writing?" she asked.
"Hi Levy, things have been slow since Ventus and Arthur arrived and my last mission was pretty hectic. Although I think the next book will be ready in three months." Lucy answered.
"You wouldn't mind letting me take a look at it when it's ready would you?" Levy asked.
"I don't see why not." Lucy said cheerfully.
"You write books big sis?" Ventus asked.
"I sure do, I have one right here." Lucy answered handing him a small paperback book.
An Elegy For Eve: By A Maiden's Voice
"Lucy you shouldn't pull that specific story out. Jet and Droy get emotional around that one." Levy warned.
Everyone turned to see Jet and Droy's water works, "She deserved better!" Droy said.
Ventus looked closely at the book and studied it. He saw a red haired woman with a pink hue wearing a white dress reaching out to a brightly colored flower in the middle of a raining field.
"Isn't this Frankenstien's monster?" Ventus asked.
"I just call her Franny. I wanted to call her Ella for a while, but that got confusing. So Franny is how she prefers being called." Lucy replied thinking that monster or being named by the name of her abusive creator.
"So you've been making interpretations of the stories of the heroic spirits?" Ventus asked.
"Yeah she has, I think the last one was about Leonidas." Shirou answered.
"No Shirou, I'm planning on writing his story then Karna. The last one was Medusa." Lucy said.
"Oi! When am I getting my own story Lucy? Who doesn't want to read about a gentle goddess who preserves the peace and enjoys wrestling?" Quetzalcoatl asked.
Lucy groaned, "Something wrong?" Levy asked.
"One of my heroic spirits is on about wanting her own book." Lucy answered.
Natsu quickly began to cower and covered his head as if it was raining, "Please don't let it be the minotaur guy! Ah! I said his name wrong!" he panicked.
"Please don't let it be the scary samurai man! I promise I won't go on the second floor again!" Happy cried as he went into a feedle position.
"What did you two do?" Erza demanded as they both turned pale.
"Lucy make the scary red haired lady go away! Use one of those command thingies on her!" Happy cried.
"Erza isn't a heroic spirit... yet for all I know. Ask again a century when she passes away." Lucy said.
"That's the scary part Lucy. Erza will never die." Natsu whispered.
"Didn't you say that each spirit was assigned to one of seven people at one point?" Levy asked.
"Yeah, I still have the power to do it, but I would need to temporarily sever the bond. So I can either release the stone where I found them or temporarily grant you a command seal along with them." Lucy explained.
"Can you try it now?" Jet asked.
"I guess, I always wanted to see how someone without mana utilizes a servant." Lucy said as she gestured for both groups to follow her.
Outside
As promised, Lucy found a spot in the west forest to avoid giving Makarov some heart ache. Besides, it would take her a while before she fixes the guild hall. Putting aside the fact she has become a charity for Makarov's case because she doesn't want to see an elderly man die of a heart attack.
"Ok, who wants to volunteer?" Lucy asked looking at her abdomen.
"Lucy what are you..." Erza was interrupted by a small ball of light appearing in her hands.
"Are you sure you don't mind hanging outside of my body for at least a day?" Lucy asked it only for the orb to turn into a gemstone. "I guess she's ok with it." she said as she placed it down on the ground.
"So how is that rock going to make someone as awesome Gilgamesh or Mordred?" Natsu asked.
"You have to make it answer your call." Shirou answered.
"Me first!" Natsu said only to be pulled back by his scarf by Erza.
"No, the last thing I need is you running around with someone equally destructive." Erza said sternly.
"I think I'll go first." Levy volunteered stepping up.
"Ok, first you need your command spells." Lucy said holding Levy's hand and transferring three of them into the shape of the guild symbol. "Now reach your hand out. Normally this would require the use of a circle and chant, but seeing as there is no Grail War anymore, it's completely unnecessary." she explained.
Levy did as she was instructed and reached for the gemstone as her command seal started to glow. Before anyone realized it, the gemstone began to shake and glow as well before creating a blinding light. When everyone's eyesight recovered, Medusa stood tall staring emotionlessly despite not being able tell completely seeing as her eyes were covered.
"Hello?" Levy asked nervously.
Medusa approached her and stared at Levy, "I am assigned to a child?" she asked.
"Hey I'm not a kid!" Levy responded feeling offended.
"Dwarf then." Medusa said making a vein pop on Levy's forehead.
"That's enough Medusa, this is Levy. She may not look like it but she's a capable wizard like a lot of people in the guild." Lucy said stopping anymore unintentional insults.
Medusa nodded, "Very well then, what shall happen to me should Levy run out of mana or her magical energy as you call it is not enough to sustain me?" she asked.
"You'll be sent back to me in spiritual form and return to the throne of heroes like an exhausted servant." Lucy answered.
"Very well." Medusa said as she accepted the terms and put a hand around her petite master.
"Ok, so what about you two?" Lucy asked looking at Jet and Droy.
The two looked at each other before smiling, "We want one too!" they said.
Later that night
"So basically, Master Makarov doesn't want to retaliate, but he doesn't want us to separate because Phantom Lord might attack us?" Lucy asked.
"That's pretty much it Lucy. Even though I prefer if it doesn't happen, Phantom Lord will be digging their own grave if they attack our own. Vandalism is one thing, but assault is when the courts get involved." Gray explained his hypothesis.
Lucy sighed, "So I'm guessing you guys want to crash at my apartment?" she asked.
"Yes." they all said.
"Why me? Well try to settle in. I have two sons and one brother. Like with Master Makarov, I'm no charity case so don't take my kindness for granted." Lucy said.
"About that, are you afraid that one or both of the boys end up like their dads?" Gray asked having mixed feelings about Shirou lately.
"Don't remind me Gray. I don't like the idea that I breathe fire and I doubt big brother Arthur likes his dad either." Shirou said crying anime tears.
"What's wrong with your Shirou?" Natsu asked curiously.
Shirou gave him a weird look, "Apparently he's simple minded, lacks an attention span, picks fights with other people and causes needles destruction." he answered sadly.
Natsu stopped and placed a hand on Shirou's shoulder, "I'm sorry I asked Shirou. I didn't know your dad was a bad man." he said with remorse in his voice.
"Wow Natsu I never expected you too..." Gray was about to finish his compliment until Natsu spoke again.
"I'll be your new dad!" Natsu said cheerfully which made Shirou cry on Lucy's chest. "Aw he's so happy to have a new dad!" he said.
"I think those are the same tears I make when someone cooks my fish." Happy said.
"Natsu never say anything that offensive to Shirou again. Do you hear me?" Erza asked in a threatening tone.
"Aye!" Natsu answered.
"At least Lucy isn't mad." Happy said seeing that she was too busy comforting the younger boy.
The group arrived to find Asterios playing cards with Sasaki right outside the apartment. Since it was transparent, no one could physically see the barrier protecting the building.
"Ahh! Bull/Samurai man!" Happy and Natsu yelled.
"What is this?" Erza asked.
"Gray broke into my apartment once and that was the last time." Lucy said glaring at the already shirtless boy. "So I decided to add a security measure and had Asterios bound to the apartment whenever I'm in town and not in a mission. I decided to leave Sasaki to give him some company." she explained.
"Hey its the cat that tried taking the S class missions." Sasaki said looking away from his cards.
"Dragon boy." Asterios muttered.
Both cat and boy paled as they remembered their beatings, "While you may be my teammates, I expect you all to be on your best behavior." Lucy said as the guards let them into the apartment.
Meanwhile with Shadow Gear
"Shouldn't you stay with Laki and the others at the girls' dorm?" Droy asked.
"It's fine. I don't want to split up our team. The three of us can face anything together." Levy said optimistically.
The boys swooned hearing that from their childhood crush. All the while unaware of the red eyed man with long black hair watching them from afar. Sadly for him, he wasn't aware of the three heroic spirits who were also watching them from a distance as well. It was about ten minutes ago that they noticed his rather large magical signature. Like shooting a whale in a barrel instead of a normal fish.
One of them jumped down maintaining their cloak to stop Levy and the boys. The man watching them raised a brow as they stared at the open space.
"There is a man who's been tailing you three. He seems to have hostile intentions. Would you like us to engage?" Medusa asked.
Levy looked perplexed as to what to do, "Just wait until he strikes, that's if he does." she answered.
"Very well, but I will stay right by your side." Medusa said.
"Don't worry Levy, I'll always protect you." Jet said.
"No I will!" Droy argued unaware that their stalker lunged at them.
"He's here!" Medusa warned shoving Levy out of the way and wrapped the stranger's arm with a chain.
"What the hell?" he asked only to be lifted by said chains and sent into a wall.
"You seem strong yet reckless. Like Natsu on Lucy's team." Medusa said impassively as she revealed herself.
"Heh, like you could handle me. "Black Steel" Gajeel." he said arrogantly.
"Steel? Carbon or stainless?" Medusa asked.
"I don't know, just steel from what I know!" Gajeel yelled launching a steel pillar at Medusa who avoided it.
(Fate/Stay Night UBW OST - Souls To Fight)
Medusa smiled, "Franny now!" she called out.
Suddenly a powerful streak of lightning hit Gajeel's steel arm making him cry out in pain, "Steel conduct metal." said a voice revealing Franny on a rooftop as her mace started emitting electricity.
"Crap I didn't know you were hiring." Gajeel said nursing his arm. "But I guess it's just more of an excuse for me to get beat up more Fairy Tail guild members." he said with a feral grin.
As Gajeel ran up to Franny, she sidestepped and Gajeel took the long edge of a lance to the face then a kick sending him back to the ground. Looking back up, he could see Cu chulainn standing by Franny with his lance over his shoulder. Gajeel growled and charged at the pair with steel pillars ready only for the agile pair to avoid the attacks and Medusa to wrap a chain around his neck and stab him the shoulder as well twisting an arm behind him.
"So you like violence. Let's see how well you can handle it without shedding a tear." Medusa whispered before letting go as the steel dragon slayer slammed his hand down.
That gave Franny another chance to electrocute the man. Gajeel started getting frustrated and wanted to direct all his hate against Cu chulainn who was the closest. Only he didn't know that lancers are best known for being agile and slippery like fish. So it didn't help that he would land a hit on the dragon slayer every time he got too close.
"Please don't hurt me." Cu Chulainn said sarcastically. "No seriously don't." he said avoiding another steel pillar strike. "Let me rephrase that, don't try to hurt me. Keyword is try. You'll hurt yourself." he taunted before kicking the man in the face. Gajeel finally landed a hit and picked up the lancer by the face before slamming him down, "Wow, you got me. Bet you can't hit her!" he said pointing at Franny who hit him from behind.
Sadly it also cooked Cu Chulainn a little bit too but stunned Gajeel long enough enough for Medusa to strangle him. Gajeel tried to resist only to constantly keep taking electric attacks which kept him in place until the gorgon knocked him unconscious. Franny saw Gajeel panting as he tried to stay awake, which somehow gave her the idea to kick him a few times until he was knocked out.
Then they saw their lancer partner.
Cu Chulainn Luck: Rank E
At least they beat the dragon slayer.
Gajeel Redfox Luck: Rank E-
Shadow Gear managed to meet up with the trio and saw the knocked out member of Phantom Lord. Then they saw their lancer who looked like a piece of burned bacon wearing blue tights.
"Aw come on! Why did you guys have to cook my lancer? What am I going to tell Lucy?" Jet asked trying to revive him.
"I think we have to deal with the dragon on the ground first." Levy said making him quickly turn back to her.
"Yes, this man says he's Gajeel Redfox. I am not aware of anyone with that name." Medusa said.
"I think we have to let Master Makarov know about this." Levy said wondering what to do about another guild's dragon slayer attacking them.
The next morning
Makarov was beyond furious, sure Levy and the rest of Shadow Gear was fine and unharmed. However that didn't make things any better seeing as Jose was clear dedicated to harming the guild. Property was one thing, he can bother Lucy or a professional carpenter at any time to fix the guild, but attacking someone else. Specifically anyone from his guild who he sees as his children, that is when the line is crossed.
Lucy was actually the most shocked. Sure she was happy and very grateful that her servants were loyal to Shadow Gear despite being used a loan. But that didn't mean she expected them to be utilized immediately for combat, let alone an ambush. They were able to get a good idea of Gajeel's plans even though the man quickly retreated back to his guild.
"I can take out headquarters being reduced to rubble. But I will not let harm come to my children without taking revenge!" Makarov exclaimed as he shattered his wooden staff with a single hand. "We have no choice, but to go to war." he said as golden magic flared around his body.
A while later, Phantom Lord guild hall
Everyone was boasting about how pathetic and weak Fairy Tail was and how they were no match for Phantom Lord. They were all expecting Gajeel to return any minute now, assuming he must have gotten caught up with something while he was out. They were all wishing how they could all go out and start attacking the enemy guild members. So the can "pluck out" their wings.
Jose was the most happy to hear this seeing as the guild realized their true strength. His arrogance was clearly clouded as Gajeel suddenly burst through doors with a limp. Either he nailed himself a woman and went too hard on himself, or he got his ass handed to him.
"Holy crap, what the hell happened to you Gajeel?" asked a random guild member.
"Shut the hell up and get me some metal. I'm starving." Gajeel said as he continued making his way inside.
As he sat, he was given a large junk pile of the metal and immediately started devouring the pile. All the while everyone wondered what the hell happened to him.
"So how many wings did you pluck?" asked an excited guild member.
"I don't wanna talk about it." Gajeel said when suddenly the doorway blew up.
As the smoke cleared, everyone could see Fairy Tail had arrived, "Fairy Tail has come calling." Makarov announced.
Everyone yelled as they began to attack the invading guild only for Natsu to burn a bunch of them. Every one of the members of Fairy Tail guild proceeded to knock everyone that stood out of the way. Using their various team based attacks like Macao's purple net with Wakaba's smoke crush and Alzack using his guns magic and Bisca sniping over him with Homing Shot.
However it was Makarov that proved how powerful a guild master/Wizard Saint is as he grew exponentially. As he grew, he gave a powerful demonic roar as his eyes were glowing. This kind elderly man had no patience for dealing with juvenile delinquents who wanted to assault his children.
"He's a monster!" yelled a guild member.
"And you dared to lay your hands on this monster's children! Were you foolish enough to believe human laws can protect you from my rage!?" Makarov yelled in his demonic voice.
The Phantom Guild panicked as Fairy Tail proved to be rather powerful. That included Happy too who was beating everyone up with a bunch of fish and other foods.
"You got a problem with cats?" Happy asked holding up a watermelon over his head.
"Of course not, sir." said a member of Phantom Lord who had an assortment of seafood in his mouth.
"Jose! Show yourself!" Makarov ordered.
Erza entered her phoenix empress armor and sliced through more of Jose's men, "Tell me, where can I find Gajeel and the element 4." she asked mid attack.
Meanwhile Gajeel was on a support beam smirking at the sight of Erza, "Titania Erza, I guess Laxus and Mystogan are too scared to play or do they not care? Either way, Master Jose knew exactly how this was going to go down. Pretty good fighters for a bunch of scumbags." he said to himself.
With Lucy
"Oh man, they took off without us." Shirou whined as he carried groceries with Lucy and Ventus.
"I know, but even Levy isn't up to fighting either and Jet and Droy decided to go in her place." Lucy said.
"Didn't the old man say fighting would make things worse?" Ventus asked still feeling confused as to what was going on?
"Yes, but I guess it's up to us to hold down the fort." Lucy said before it started to rain out of nowhere.
"You guys have weird weather here. Why is it raining when the sun is still up?" Ventus asked.
"It's not supposed to do that." Lucy said.
"Drip, drip, drop. Juvia is the rain woman. It's always with me." says a stranger named Juvia.
"Who's that?" Shirou asked.
"And what sort of woman are you, pray tell?" Juvia asks.
"The kind you don't want to be." Lucy muttered.
"Drip, drip, drop. Pleasure to meet you. I will be going now." Juvia said as she pulled out her umbrella.
"Well, take the rain with you!" Shirou barked.
"No, no, no. No, no, no. No, no, no." said a disembodied voice as strange shape started to form from the street.
The shape grew tall and revealed a man with green hair and a monocle, "I bid you bonjour, Mademoiselle."
"Great another weirdo. Even worse, he can't speak french good." Shirou said.
"He is correct, you don't say "I bid you bonjour", that's like saying "I like the le la mayonnaise on my sandwich." I doubt this man knows any real french." Jeanne said from inside.
"Juvia, ma petite amie..."
"Your his girlfriend?" Lucy asked Juvia.
Juvia made a shocked expression, "What!? No! He's a creep!" she said.
"I didn't say that. Now Juvia, you mustn't shy...
"Oh god his grammar is worst, is musn't even a word?" Ventus asked.
At this point the man was getting annoyed, "You must not shy away from the task at hand." he said.
"No monsieur Sol." Juvia said.
"My monocle whispers to me many things, mon cheri. It tells me this belle dame before us is our sought after cible." Sol said.
"Does it? So she is the one." Juvia said.
"He called you a target Lucy. Those two are threats." Jeanne analyzed.
"Ah, pardonnez-moi. I haven't told you my name." Sol said.
"You two are Juvia and Sol of the Element 4. I remember you guys from the books and rumors when I was out on the road with big sis." Shirou pointed out.
"Corriger mon jungen." Sol said.
"Hey that last word was German! Not French!" Shirou pointed out making the man sweat although the rain blocked it.
"Regardless, you two are with Phantom!" Lucy said.
"Correct, we've been sent here to collect you and bring you back to the guild with us at once." Sol said.
"You're the ones who attacked the guild!" Lucy accused as she reached was about to transform.
Only for Juvia to trap her in a ball of water, "Oh contraire, a reasonable guess, but we are not the ones to blame. That honor and renovation of your guild hall was the work of monsieur Gajeel." Sol replied.
"Let big sis go!" Ventus demanded as Shirou tried to break it open with his sword.
"My water shell cannot be broken." Juvia said as Lucy started losing consciousness.
"Be careful mademoiselle, we need her alive." Sol said.
"I'll make you two pay for hurting my sister!" Ventus said as he charged at Juvia with a keyblade only to be knocked away by Sol.
Shirou summoned several blades and fired them at Juvia who turned into water and made them go through her. Then suddenly a loud sound went off.
*BANG BANG BANG*
Sol avoided two shots before accidentally sending one into Juvia who gasped. The water mage started panting as she returned to her human form. Said blue haired girl fell on her back and clutched her hip as she saw a small hole penetrating her flesh. She applied pressure and felt something lodged in.
"How... how did it... pierce me? I... I was made of... water!" Juvia said as the pain made it difficult to speak.
"Mademoiselle I am so sorry!" Sol cried only to be punched in the side of the head.
The attacker was a long haired man in a black outfit wearing a red cape and red bandanna.
"Vincent!" Ventus called out.
"Did he kill that Juvia lady?" Shirou asked watching as she started bleeding heavily.
"No, I used an origin bullet. Although they can cripple a magi, but most of the stronger wizards I've fought have survived and managed to regain their magic." Vincent answered as he tossed a bandage and pocket knife to Juvia. "I don't like killing without a reason. So patch yourself up or find someone that can." he said as Juvia nodded fearfully.
"Then you should have hit wished it hit me first!" Sol said grabbing Vincent from behind and entering his mind.
Lucy was freed of the water shell and coughed heavily before noticing Vincent. Which was too late as Sol entered the man's mind hoping to cripple the man's mind. Instead, Vincent was quick enough to stab him in the side with a knife before kicking the creepy fake french man in the face. So much for an elite group, Vincent was some complete stranger that came in and was able to defeat the two in a mere few minutes.
Vincent rubbed his shoulders and reloaded his gun before turning to the three, "It's good to see you're in the modern world Ventus." he said.
"Yay big brother is here!" Ventus said hugging Vincent's leg.
"Who's this guy?" Shirou asked manifesting a sword by his side.
"He's Vincent, he's like my big brother and was the bodyguard of my big sis." Ventus answered as Vincent ruffled his hair. "Wait, does that mean you were frozen too?" he asked.
"I'll explain later, but first we need to get Stella out of here first." Vincent said lifting the teenage girl onto his back.
"We can talk in the apartment." Shirou said leading the way.
'That kid, he's a strange one. His mana is the same structure as a heroic spirit, but I can tell he's a normal human. Why does his signature feel similar to Stella?' Vincent wondered as he studied Shirou.
Back at Phantom Lord, a while later
The assault on the enemy guild was going perfectly as everyone in Fairy Tail was able to defeat a good portion of the guild. However, that was just until Gajeel regained some of his strength and jumped down to join the fight. The moment he revealed himself, Nab declared that he would get vengeance for Levy only to be punched by a steel pillar fist.
Elfman was the next one to challenge him with his partial body takeover being able to match Gajeel's power for a brief while. Only for the steel dragon slayer to attack his own allies just to distract Elfman long enough to hit the Strauss man. Natsu jumped in immediately after and punched Gajeel into a bar area. Natsu claimed that he could handle fighting his fellow dragon slayer on his own.
Despite winning some hits on Gajeel, Natsu was pushed back as the former decided to get serious despite his prior injury.
"You better start stepping up your game!" Natsu yelled.
"That actually burns a little. Is that all you got?" Gajeel taunted.
"You ain't seen nothing yet." Natsu replied as both met each other with their element based punches.
Meanwhile, Makarov was making his way up to meet Jose who looked pretty tranquil on his throne on the top floor. Makarov was less than pleased to meet the man as he shattered the environment around him.
"Jose!" Makarov spat.
"Look what the cat dragged in." Jose said nonchalantly.
"Why are you attack Fairy Tail? Tell me!" Makarov demanded.
"I haven't seen you in quite a while Makarov. Sis years ago at a guild masters conference. I was a complete mess that day." Jose said only to be met with a fist that destroyed where he once sat.
"I didn't come here for small talk. I want answers Jose." Makarov said only for the man to laugh revealing that he wasn't there at all. "Projection? You coward. I should have known you'd flee." he said in disappointment.
"It's not cowardice. It's simply I'm simply trying to avoid a fight between two of the wizard saints. I prefer a victory without much of a commotion." Jose said arrogantly.
"Why are you hiding?" Makarov asked.
Suddenly a projection appeared revealing an injured Juvia and unconscious Sol.
"I don't know those people." Makarov said noticing Jose looking shocked.
Then suddenly a blindfolded man appeared right behind Makarov, "It's so sad!" he cried.
Then suddenly a bright light blinded Makarov and sent him falling back to ground level. On the ground, everyone saw Makarov gasping as his skin suddenly turned green. The elderly man felt all his magic going away and leaving his body.
"What was that you idiots!?" Jose demanded looking at the defeated pair.
"Master Jose, we ran into heavy resistance. To be short, we were defeated and I was close to death." Juvia answered as she revealed her bleeding wound through her bandages.
Back on the ground level, the Phantom Lord guild felt inspired seeing a member of the Element 4 and Gajeel and overran Fairy Tail. Fairy Tail kept trying to push them back only be hit by subsequent attacks and felt a loss in morale seeing their guild master down for the count. Erza ordered for an immediate retreat forcing everyone to run back.
All the while many members of Phantom Lord started to chase them. All the while Aria broke the news to Gajeel that the mission was a failure and that Lucy got away while Juvia and Sol were badly beaten. Gajeel was disappointed, but didn't care seeing as Fairy Tail was already humiliated. ALthough things seemed hopeless, Fairy Tail continued to run only to see a familiar red haired man with a great big smile.
"Hey I remember you! You're one of Lucy's spirits." Gray pointed out.
"I am Iskander, King of conquerors! Lucy said you would be in trouble and sent me!" Iskander said cheerfully as the enemy approached them.
"Couldn't Lucy send someone much stronger?" Happy asked.
"You give me little credit. I am just as strong as the King of Heroes." Iskander said as the wind started to pick up and blow behind him.
"It's just one guy!" said a phantom guild member.
"We can take him!" said another.
"I'm plucking some wings tonight!" said one more.
(Fate/Zero OST - Army Of The King)
That when suddenly a bright flash engulfed the whole area. Before anyone realized it, they were in a desert that was completely different from Shirou's.
"This is a noble phantasm!" Erza said with surprise.
"I don't see any swords or magic." Gray said.
The Phantom members didn't feel scared or threatened, "It's just an illusion, we can still get them!" said one of them.
Iskander smiled, "I can make this world as real, as real can ever be. Because it exists deep within our hearts." he said as a massive group of figures started marching behind them. "Behold my endless armies! Their bodies utterly destroyed and their souls offered to the current world as heroic spirits of old. And still, these legendary heroes pledge their loyalty to me!" Iskander said proudly as they came closer.
"Um these guys are illusions too right?" asked a nervous member of the Phantom guild.
"Yeah, sure they are I think." said a less confidant member.
"My bond with them is my greatest treasure. My path to kingship. The ultimate noble phantasm I posses!" Iskander said with his arms extended. "Ionioi Hetairoi!" he yelled as the armies behind him started to charge at the Phantom guild.
The enemy guild in return charged at them as Iskander jumped onto his horse with his sword out, "I'll deal with them! You all run! There's an exit by the end of the desert that Lucy installed!" he yelled as he almost stabbed some poor sap with broken sunglasses.
Everyone nodded as Phantom was forced back.
"If we can't beat them! Then take as many of them with us!" yelled one of them.
A few minutes later, "We aren't taking any of them with us!" yelled someone else.
The next day
Lucy was able to catch up with Vincent who explained that he was in a coffin that kept him in suspended animation until he sense Lucy awaken to her powers four years back. He was aware of Ventus being frozen as well along with the gemstones that encased the heroic spirits. Lucy in return explained her travels and her reincarnation along with everything she was able to remember up until now. Which led to another long conversation with her guildmates about Vincent.
Naturally Vincent requested an interview to join the guild in hopes of continuing his eternal mission. To protect Lucy and Ventus from Mateus or whoever is in his place in this modern era. The guild agreed seeing that Lucy trusts him and the fact they needed more hands. Especially since Mystogan is missing and Laxus is too arrogant to help. Apparently he would be ok with the guild burning if they denied him the chance to be the new guild master or at least prove that he was the strongest.
With all the wounded from the last fight and Iskander's intervention, they were able to make it out alive and prevent anymore injury. All discussions were interrupted as they heard loud tremors outside of the guild. Once outside, they were met with the Phantom Lord guild hall walking on mechanical legs like a spider towards theirs. The ginormous structure towered over their own menacingly.
That's when the giant mechanical monstrosity revealed a canon and prepared to fire.
"Run! Get out of here now!" Erza ordered as the canon was ready to launch.
"Achilles I need you now more than ever!" Lucy commanded as her body started to glow revealing the armored man.
"Lucy, I can block the blast!" Erza insisted only to be restrained by Vincent.
"I'm guessing I need to block that?" Achilles asked keeping his shield up.
(Fate/Apocrypha OST - Confronting)
"That's right! Can you do it?" Lucy asked desperately.
"Pssh, you want a thimble for handling string while you're at it? I can handle this." Achilles answered.
That's when the cannon fired and was about to hit everyone dead on. Erza screamed for Vincent to let her go only for him to keep a tighter grip around her. Achilles smirked as he raised his shield.
"Akhilleus Kosmos!" he yelled.
Suddenly his shield became gigantic and green before an entire city came outside of it as it took on the blast. The threatening looking attack was reduced to nothing as the city was turned into an orb and absorbed everything as if nothing happened.
"How? How did you do that?" Erza asked with shock.
"My shield has special properties. If you oppose my shield, your basically opposing the world. I can keep that up so long as I have mana." Achilles said what felt arrogant although true.
"He really stopped it." Macao said.
"I guess Lucy is the manliest one in the guild with her servants." Elfman said as Vincent let her go.
"Makarov has fallen yet you still resist!? No matter, surrender Lucy Heartfilia or face annihilation." Jose threatened.
"We would never surrender her to you!" Bisca said.
"Lucy's stay put." Macao said as everyone agreed with him.
Lucy felt conflicted and terrible thinking that she was responsible. Vincent placed a comforting hand on her shoulder while Ventus and Shirou hugged her tightly while Arthur gave her a look of determination.
"We would never betray one of our own! You'd have to kill us first!" Erza threatened.
"So help me... I WILL BURN YOU INSIDE THAT PATHETIC EXCUSE OF A CASTLE YOU FECKLESS MAGGOT!" Vincent yelled the loudest.
"You can stop asking now! We're taking everyone one of you jerks down!" Natsu proclaimed as Lucy was getting emotional.
"Well you have 15 minutes to ponder the folly of your actions!" Jose threatened.
"Come at me old man! You think you're the first wannabe master I fought!?" Achilles yelled as he hit his shield a few times.
"Hopefully Achilles has the patience to wait that long." Shirou said.
Then some kind of ghost like creatures came out of the guild hall.
"Come on Happy! We have 15 minutes to take that thing out!" Natsu said.
"Aye sir!" Happy said.
"Okay Elfman, we're gonna storm the place too." Gray said as he followed them.
"Oh yeah!" Elfman agreed.
"Vincent come with me! This is my fault and I need help fixing my mistakes." Lucy said extending her wings.
"I'll follow you to the ends of the world." Vincent said as he was picked up by Lucy.
"Big sis, take some of these! You never know if your friends need help!" Ventus said handing her some of his class cards.
"Arthur, look after the boys while I'm gone." Lucy said as she took the cards and left.
"Right, Shirou stay close and Ventus can you fight?" Arthur asked.
"I can use my keyblades and I know some elemental magic." Ventus answered.
"Don't forget about us and Achilles." everyone turned to see Cu Chulainn standing with Medusa and Franny.
"That's right, our awesome servants are as willing to help as us!" Levy said with Jet and Droy right behind her.
"Good, we need all the help we can get." Cana said drawing her cards.
With Natsu
After realizing that punching the cannon wouldn't work, Natsu and Happy went through it to find a giant lacrima crystal in the center of the control room. Happy deduced that someone has likely been using elemental magic and that the cannon requires the lacrima to be powered up in order for the jupiter cannon to work. Natsu failed to understood that and only deduced that the lacrima had to be destroyed.
Just as he attacked with a fist full of fire, he ended up hitting himself instead.
"Natsu why are you hitting yourself?" Happy asked.
That's when a man with black and white hair appeared, "I can't allow you to destroy that." he said
"Like I care what you think!" Natsu said trying to punch the man only to be punched by his own fist.
"Seven minutes until jupiter fires." said the voice.
"Just forget about this guy!" Happy said thinking Achilles can't keep recharging his noble phantasm every 15 minutes.
Instead Natsu went after the man again only to be smacked away, "I am Totomaru, and I have complete control over the element of fire. I can control magic and natural fire." he introduced himself.
"Two minutes until Jupiter fires."
The room started to fill up with electricity, "Hurry Natsu!" Happy said.
"Fire Dragon..."
"I told you, as the element of fire, I can control any flame!" Totomaru interrupted as he readied his magic circle.
"...spit." Natsu said as he started spitting on Totomaru's face.
"Do you think this is a game? Orange Fire!" Totomaru cried out as Natsu ate the flames and almost vomited.
"Nasty! It's nasty! That was a dirty trick!" Natsu accused.
"Oh and a face full of spit isn't?" Totomaru asked rhetorically.
"One minute until jupiter fires."
"Come on! Hurry up Natsu!" Happy pleaded.
Then suddenly a wall collapsed revealing Lucy and Vincent flying in the air, "Happy! Natsu! What's going on!?" she yelled.
"The cannon is about to fire Lucy!" Happy yelled in fear.
"And this guy can control flames." Natsu said.
Lucy dropped Vincent as she flew over Totomaru who tried to burn her with a wave of fire. The Holy Maiden avoided the attack and surrounded him in a perfect cube. Now disabled that gave Natsu the chance to destroy the lacrima powering the jupiter cannon causing it to combust and make the cannon collapse. Once finished, everyone found themselves in a giant wreckage before the whole guild hall started shaking.
"What's going on?" Vincent asked.
"Master Jose must be transforming the hall into the giant." Totomaru said.
Natsu fell on his stomach feeling motion sickness. Totomaru saw this weakness and broke free of the perfect cube as Lucy let go of the connection. Instead, the arrogant mage realized his power was gone. That gave Natsu time to recover and realize that Lucy did him a favor.
"Lets see you control my fist!" Natsu said before sending the poor man flying into the sky.
"Totomaru is blasting off again!" he said as he was beyond anyone's sight.
Elfman and Gray arrived just in time to see the action and informed them of the giant creating a magic circle. That only gave the group more motivation to continue their mission. Lucy decided to take over as leader and decided to split into groups with her going Natsu while Vincent helped Elfman and Gray went to scout ahead.
With Elfman and Vincent
The two men dashed down the halls of the guild until running Sol who appeared from the ground. The man taunted Elfman as he kicked the larger man around. Elfman was about to land a killing blow until he stopped him with a statue of Lisanna Strauss, Elfman and Mirajane's younger deceased sister. Vincent was about to step in until he was stopped by statues of his deceased colleagues.
"No, no, no. It is rude to ignore visitors including your comrades. Let Elfman wallow in his pain and faults. He killed his sister and you killed your comrades." Sol taunted while Vincent was surrounded by copies of his former comrades from the Turks.
"Big brother Elf. It was all your fault. How could you forget? I thought you loved me!" the Lisanna clones said.
"Vincent, you were our comrade! Our brother! One of us! How could you turn your back on us!" said the dead Turks.
"You shouldn't attempt anything you aren't capable of." Sol said.
"You're nothing but a coward." Elfman spat.
"You are nothing, but the monster who murdered his little sister. And you murdered your comrades." Sol said looking at Vincent who closed his eyes and stood still.
Sol fired a stone punch at Elfman making him crash through a wall to find Mirajane trapped in some metal trap.
"Mademoiselle will be punished for defying master Jose. It won't be long until she's crushed to death." Sol said.
"Imposter, you are using your manly image as a facade for your weakness. You will become part of the earth and relive your painful memories over and over and over." Sol said as he placed some sealing magic on Elfman.
The man was tortured to watch his past starting from his pushing Lisanna away after his parakeet died. Then the time he declined Natsu's offer to come and help them on his first S class mission with his sisters. Next was when he was using the full body takeover and lost control making kill Lisanna with a single blow in his beast form. Then finally, when he grieved over his younger sister's grave and blamed himself for her death.
However, then he remembered that Mirajane told him to keep fighting and moving on as to never forget Lisanna.
"I'll never forget." Elfman said as e woke up from his stone prison.
Sol turned to see Vincent killing and smashing the clones, "I don't care how many died. So long as Stella and Ventus are safe, I'll do it all over it again!" he yelled.
Then Sol saw Elfman exploding with raw magic energy, "Who made you cry Mira!?" Elfman demanded.
"Imbeciles, you're not strong enough to... mon dieu." Sol was surprised to see Elfman in a beast soul.
Meanwhile Vincent got his origin bullets ready and pointed Cerberus at Sol's temple, "Please don't hurt me. I thought by putting you through that trial might help you get over your painful memories. Excuse mon faux pas." Sol pleaded to the both of them.
Vincent decided to shoot him in the leg so he wouldn't escape. Sol attempted some earth magic only to be shot again and left on the ground for Elfman to pummel. Sol's soul attempted to escape only for Elfman to shove it back inside to hurt him more.
"Elfman!" Mirajane cried out.
"Hey kid! He's had enough! I'll toss the garbage, you have a sister to save don't you?" Vincent asked making Elfman regain some of his humanity.
Elfman nodded and ran outside to help Mirajane out while Vincent decided to hurt Sol some more before tossing him aside.
"Mon dieu!" Sol cried as he didn't like the fact his body was practically paralyzed from the loss of his magic.
"I promised to never use the full body takeover after what happened to Lisanna. But I didn't have any other choice. I knew that this was the only way I could protect you and the rest of Fairy Tail." Elfman said as he held his sister.
"That wasn't your fault. You were trying to protect us." Mirajane reasoned.
"But I failed, I killed my little sister." Elfman argued.
"But your big sister's still alive. We said we'd remember our lives for her, remember? So we'd keep her memory alive." Mirajane said reminding him of the promise.
"Big sis, I'm so glad you're okay!" Elfman cried tears of joy.
Vincent jumped down, "Let it out. You're only human. How about you recover before moving on? I'll catch up with Lucy." he said.
That left Elfman and Mirajane alone to think about the fact the magic circle had slowed down. Mirajane deduced it was because Sol and Totomaru was defeated since their namesake was based on their elemental magic. It was most likely powering up the circle and it was up to them to help beat the Element 4 and stop them from unleashing Abyss Break onto the town.
TO BE CONTINUED...