A/N: And here we are again!

I don't own Fairy Tail!

I hope you enjoy the chapter.

Chapter 19: Colosseum Combat

July 29th, X784

"Oh my," Lulu mused as she looked around, seeing that the entire area around her and Spiculus had been replaced by a large colosseum, a roaring crowd seated in its stands, the roar of their cheers echoing throughout the arena. She could see the now ruined walls and ceiling of the church poking up just over the outer walls of the colosseum, a loud rumbling as the steeple on top of the building collapsed.

"No one shall interfere with our glorious battle here, Lucretzia of Phantom Hearts!" Spiculus bellowed over the noise of the crowd, "Here we shall offer up our blood and sweat to the gods and glory shall be bestowed upon us in equal measures!"

"May the Khala grant safety in this time of troubles," Lulu prayed, clasping her hands in front of her, bowing her head slightly as she continued her prayer.

"Yes! Offer your prayers up to your gods! But just to warn you, they cannot hear you here!" Spiculus boasted before erupting into laughter as the roar of the crowd grew louder, the walls of the colosseum growing seemingly brighter and more radiant.

"I was not praying for my safety, but for yours," Lulu stated as she reached out her right hand, as a red and black kabuto helmet appeared in her hand while she removed her cloth blindfold with her left hand, her maroon eyes staring Spiculus down, "I am merciful, but the General is not," she declared before being enveloped in a golden, magical aura that completely concealed her before dispersing to reveal a transformed Lulu that was now covered in the armor of a shogun while a set of extra arms had grown out of her sides, just below her original set of arms while her eyes were now a venomous green.

"Yes! A worthy opponent indeed!" Spiculus boasted as four butterfly swords suddenly appeared in Lulu's hands, prompting him to summon a trident and a large, round shield, "In the name of the gods, I offer up this glorious combat!" he roared before charging Lulu, thrusting his trident towards her as she sidestepped him, swinging two of her blades down just slow enough for Spiculus to twist and block the blows with his shield and catch the other two swords with his trident before Lulu quickly backed off, flourishing her blades before settling into a stance that had all four blades pointed directly at Spiculus.

"The crowd loves the battle so far," Spiculus stated as the roar of the crowd grew louder.

"Whether they enjoy the battle or not matters little," Lulu chuckled darkly, "You'll be crushed beneath my boot regardless."

"Oh but it does," Spiculus countered as his body began to glow dimly, "The more excited the crowd, the more powerful I become!" he roared before charging at Lulu again, faster than before as Lulu was forced to catch his trident with two of her blades before being bashed in the stomach by Spiculus' shield before he pushed her all the way back to the wall of the arena, "Every action that riles up the crowd, causes my power to rise! The more we fight, the stronger I become! I am unstoppable in the mighty colosseum!"

"Fool," Lulu grunted as she let go of the shield with her upper left hand, twisting her sword around in her hand before stabbing it downwards, straight into Spiculus' back before stabbing him again and again until he pulled away from her, bleeding profusely out of his back before falling back into raucous laughter.

"Mars Me Adiuvat!" he bellowed before suddenly twisting back around and smacking Lulu with his shield just as she pulled herself off the wall, sending her down to the ground before he jumped on top of her, punching her in the face again and again, laughing along with each and every blow until he was satisfied, and Lulu's face was left bruised and bloodied.

"I will return each and every drop of blood you spilt, tenfold, gladiator," Lulu growled as she stood back up, gritting her teeth as she watched the stab wounds on the man's back begin to heal.

"Oho! The battle is just getting started, Lucretzia of Phantom Hearts," Spiculus chuckled as the colosseum began to glow brighter, "My gods favor me and bestow me with blessings, what have yours done for you so far in this battle?"

"You'll see," Lulu muttered as she closed her eyes for a moment, nodding her head slightly before opening them again, "If the colosseum is the source of your power, then I will tear it down, brick by brick!" Lulu shouted before turning back to the wall grabbing onto one of the lose bricks before pulling it free and hoisting it above her head.

"No!" Spiculus roared as he began to charge her, only to have to dive out of the way as the brick went sailing past him and into the far wall, smashing it to pieces, Spiculus looking back at Lulu to see her already lifting the next brick above her head before throwing it at him, forcing him to lift his shield to defend against the blow, which sent him flying back as a loud snapping noise could be heard in the arena.

"Sounded like I just broke your arm just now," Lulu chuckled as she ripped another large, stone block from the wall while Spiculus struggled to get his horribly bent arm into the correct shape so it could heal, another snapping noise ringing out through the arena just before Lulu threw the next block, the gladiator barely managing to roll out of the way as his arm healed and the block flew past him and into the next wall, collapsing a large section of the stands, the magic crowd disappearing from that area as the light of the colosseum faded.

"How dare you damage my glorious arena!" Spiculus bellowed before a small jar appeared in his hand before throwing it towards Lulu, who quickly moved away from the wall as the jar impacted against it, erupting into an explosion of green fire as Lulu began to charge towards the warrior, her four swords once again appearing in her hands as Spiculus threw another jar at her, forcing her to sidestep and give Spiculus enough time to charge her again, the two warriors heading straight for one another in the center of the arena before Spiculus suddenly stopped and threw his trident, Lulu quickly falling into a slide to allow the weapon to sail over her head as a weighted net suddenly appeared in Spiculus' hands before he sent it flying at Lulu, catching her and tangling her up in the steel wires as she struggled to cut through it.

"I will enjoy hacking you into pieces for what you did to my colosseum," Spiculus growled as he drew a gladius from the scabbard on his left hip, slowly approaching Lulu before raising the sword above his head, "Now, die!" he roared as he began to swing the blade downward, Lulu closing her eyes as she braced for the blow.

"What?" Lulu muttered as she slowly opened her eyes after the blow never came, looking up to see Spiculus struggled to pull his sword through the air.

"Why can't I swing my sword?" Spiculus growled before the blade suddenly flew out of his hands, spiraling through the air before flying towards the gladiator, who scrambled out of the way of the blade as it cut through the satchel on the back of his waist, spilling the contents everywhere, "The shard of the demon!" the man gasped as he realized what happened, though he froze in place as he looked up, seeing a man floating in the air above the colosseum on a slab of metal.

"Raoul!" Lulu shouted.

"I see it!" her fellow S-Class shouted back as he held his hand out towards Lulu, the steel net untangling itself before flying into Spiculus as Lulu scrambled to her feet to grab the shard of Lullaby, scooping it up into one of her hands as Raoul assembled a metal staircase for her to run up to him with, Lulu returning to her normal form once she was safely atop the metal slab next to Raoul while the colosseum began to crumble as the two of them flew away from the wreckage.

"Guess I'm not the only one that found trouble, huh?" Raoul said while Lulu caught her breath.

"You too?"

"Yeah. No idea what Dark Guild this is though," Raoul admitted.

"That warrior referred to himself as a member of Banshee Claw before we fought," Lulu replied before falling silent, "The priest! There was a Zentopian Priest back there!"

"Shit," Raoul cursed, "We gotta go back for him, don't we?"

"I'm afraid so. We cannot leave an innocent to suffer at the hands of that warrior," Lulu stated as Raoul turned the metal slab around to fly back towards the church.

. : + : .

"So… You failed then," the priest stated as he stood over a tied-up Misaki, who could only stare down at the ground in shame.

"Yes. That mage was too strong for me," she admitted, daring to look up at the priest with her bright blue eyes.

"Phantom Hearts," the priest mused, "An interesting outcome of the dissolution of Phantom Lord. A threat to keep an eye on, surely," he stated as he reached down towards the young girl, undoing her binds before the two of them stood back up.

"Thank you, Master Cassius," Misaki said before taking a deep bow, "Once again I apologize deeply for my failure."

"It matters little in the end," Cassius said as he stepped away from her, "Tartarus may have very well not followed through on their end of the bargain and we can use this opportunity to get out from under their thumb."

"So… Will you not be engaging the legal mages then?" Misaki asked as the two of them began to walk away from the town.

"Not this day. But I'm certain a day shall come when we fight," Cassius answered, "Phantom Hearts is currently an anomaly. One that must be studied before we act against them," he continued before turning to look over his shoulder, looking up to see Raoul and Lulu flying back towards the now ruined church. Cassius sighed before extending his left hand, a black and red portal appearing in front of him, "Spiculus, come," he commanded before the gladiator stepped through the portal.

"Many apologies, Master," Spiculus said as he stepped out of the portal, kneeling down before the priest, "Without that interference, I would have surely won."

"I do not doubt it. Save your apologies and focus your rage so that this does not happen again, gladiator," Cassius ordered as the larger man stood back up, "We will be leaving Clover Town now."

"What about Grindor?" Misaki asked as another portal appeared in front of them as the first one closed, "Are we leaving her behind?"

"She will make her way back to us on her own. If she does not, she has no worth," Cassius stated harshly, "She is a difficult tool to wield and use accurately and this will be a suitable test of her loyalty and skill," he continued before stepping into the portal, Misaki and Spiculus following suit.

. : + : .

"Come out come out wherever you are!" Grindor roared as she sliced her sawblades through a few trees, "Don't worry, it's gonna hurt like hell, but at least you'll die quickly! Hahahaha!" the woman laughed as she sliced through a few more trees before stomping about.

"She's getting awfully close," Kord whispered harshly as he and Izzy hid behind a boulder not too far from the massive woman.

"Don't worry, I got this," Izzy replied, holding up one of her hands and peaking out from behind the boulder to watch Grindor chop down more and more trees, laughing maniacally the entire time, "She is really having the time of her life out there, isn't she?"

"Did I forget to mention she's a psychopath or something?" Kord growled.

"Nah. I kinda picked up on that from our first encounter," Izzy retorted, "Anyways, I'm gonna go take care of this mess. Or at least get her as far away from you as I can. Maybe I'll get lucky, run into Raoul and he can rip her apart with his magic."

"You're going out there?" Kord began to say before Izzy ran out from behind the boulder, refraining from yelling to not give himself away.

"Hey fuckface!" Izzy shouted, as Grindor turned around with a growl, "Yeah! You! Can you hear me? Or did all those loud machines make you go deaf!?"

"You little shit!" Grindor growled before stomping towards Izzy, "I'm gonna rip you to pieces! Slowly!"

"Gotta catch me first!" Izzy shouted before running away from the boulder, Grindor beginning to chase after her, cutting down any tree that got in her way while Izzy dipped and weaved around them before raising up an arm, "Snag Magic! Autumn Fall!" she announced before several leaves began to whither up and fall from the trees, leaving a trail of falling leaves in her wake as she ran.

"How cute, you can make leaves fall down," Grindor chuckled as she continued her chase, but stopping when she felt something cut her, before another cut and another and another, "The fuck?" she gasped as she realized the leaves where all cutting her as they fell past before quickly running through them and to the side to try and not follow Izzy directly so she could stay out of the falling leaves, "These little papercuts won't stop me! I'll catch you and rip you to pieces!"

"Then hurry up and do it!" Izzy shouted back, earning a roar from the massive woman chasing her before her arms transformed into a massive saw-like instrument that she slammed into the ground, tearing the ground in front of her to pieces and ripping the trees straight out of the ground as she continued her pursuit of Izzy.

"I'm gonna kill you! I'm gonna rip your skull out and use your ribs as toothpicks!" Grindor continued to roar as the chase suddenly led back out to the crater where Lullaby was defeated, the impact of Grindor breaking through the tree line sending Izzy hurtling down into the crater, the massive, light blue haired woman standing over the crater, chuckling darkly to herself as she stared down at Izzy, "No plants to save you now," she stated before she was suddenly tackled from behind.

"Kord!" Izzy gasped as she saw him on top of Grindor's back as they flew through the air, several crystals impaling the large woman's upper back as they impacted on the ground next to Izzy, Kord pushing the crystals in as deep as they would go.

"You need to restrain her again!" Kord shouted as he struggled to keep Grindor pinned, Izzy quickly nodding before several old, wilted roots burst through the ground at Izzy's command before wrapping around Grindor and hardening as they petrified, Izzy and Kord running as quickly as they could to climb up and out of the crater, though they could hear Grindor breaking free as soon as they reached the top.

"That won't work on me this time!" the woman roared as she began to chase after them again, stopping as a four-armed figured landed in the crater, cutting her off before sending her flying with a powerful punch before drawing four butterfly swords.

"Lulu!" Izzy shouted as Lulu flourished her blades.

"One more won't make any difference!" Grindor growled as her arm transformed into a chainsaw, only to feel the mechanisms inside it refuse to move as she was suddenly lifted up into the air by her arm before being tossed by an invisible force.

"Raoul!" Kord called out as Raoul descended on the slab of metal.

"You got the shard of Lullaby?" Raoul asked, keeping his eyes locked on Grindor.

"Right here," Kord answered, pulling out the shard of Lullaby he had encased in crystal.

"Good," Raoul replied as he watched Grindor roar before a large meat grinder grew out of her chest while her arms transformed into chainsaws again.

"I'll kill every last one of you!" the madwoman roared before she felt herself being stopped by the invisible force again, Raoul holding her back with his Magnet Magic before twisting and crushing the metal, earing screams of pain from Grindor.

"Counter-offer," Raoul began as he slowly closed his fist, crushing the metal in Grindor's chest as she struggled against him, causing him to tremble slightly as she fought against his magic, "You take this one opportunity I'm giving you to get the hell out of here before I rip all this metal out of your chest and kill you," he stated before throwing her across the crater with his magic, watching her carefully before she turned tail and ran, Raoul waiting until she was out of sight before collapsing to his knees.

"Raoul!" Izzy shouted as her and Kord quickly rushed to the Raoul's side, his brow covered in sweat as he panted deeply.

"I've only had one person break out of my magic like that before," he gasped, "Gajeel. That woman was insane in way more ways than one," he admitted while Izzy helped him back up to his feet, Lulu returned back to normal before putting her blindfold back on and approaching him.

"What's important is that we're all safe now and we have all the shards, right?" she said as they pulled out the shards of Lullaby they had recovered.

"Right, can't wait to stuff these in that bastard Siegrain's face," Izzy said happily, "Show him for ruining my garden."

"What's more important is that the guild won't be going away anytime soon because of what we did here tonight," Raoul stated as he took the pieces from Lulu and Kord before sticking them into his satchel with his own piece.

"It's too bad we couldn't find that priest though," Lulu stated, her head drooping as she frowned a bit.

"Yeah, no idea where that Dark Mage I tied up went to either. There also wasn't any sign of that Spiculus guy you were fighting," Raoul sighed as the three of them began to walk back to Clover Town.

"I do hope he's alright. I hope he's just hiding from all the fighting that happened in his church," Lulu said, hoping and praying that the man was okay.

"I'm sure he's fine if you were there to protect him when the fighting was going on, Lulu," Izzy chimed in.

"And like I said, I didn't see any priests around when I found you fighting," Raoul added.

"True, he must be doing well then," Lulu said happily, blissfully unaware of the man's true nature.

Credits:

Cassius Dunstan – Dreadburner94

A/N: And there we are! Chapter 19! I hope you enjoyed it. Also, today marks the 1 Year Anniversary of the story, so I had to make sure I posted a chapter today to celebrate it. But, we've also just finished up the story's first S-Rank Mission with this chapter, so that's an exciting first milestone for the story.

Beyond that though, I did dip my toes into Eden Zero and start a story up for that series a couple of weeks ago. Still some spots left for anyone interested in it.

Anyways, I'd like to thank Grimnack, Elements08, Benthino and MyDearWatson for the reviews. They are appreciated as always.

That's all for now.

Your host,

Dreadburner94.