The Phantom Lord
"Alright! We handled that S-Class request with no sweat!"
"Aye Sir!" Natsu and Happy cheered as the group made their way back to the guild. The group was back in Magnolia. Besides Natsu and Happy bounding about Lucy Gray and Erza, who was carrying all of her massive luggage, were walking calmly. Soler, on the other hand, was laying on the top of her luggage. Natsu and Happy's mood infected the others now as they all had smiles,
"We did rock back there!" Lucy added,
"Things would have been worse if I wasn't there. Natsu would have probably burned down have the island." Gray said which instantly got Natsu fired up to fight.
"What was that? It sounds like your trying to pick a fight with me!" Natsu shouted back. They didn't have the chance to brawl because of Erza who gave the both of them a strong glare, stopping any further altercations. With them settled Erza smiled,
"You all did fine but don't forget that you did break guild rules, so Master will still give judgment," she told them which brought down their moods.
"But because of how well you handled yourselves I might put in a word or two to lessen the blow," she said, instantly that got cheers from them. Soler just smiled hearing all things were back to normal as he rested with his eyes closed. Thought moods were high right now Soler couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. He opened his eyes and looked around to see that nothing looked out of the ordinary but, the people were acting weird. Besides them, everything else was strangely quiet, and he could now see that all of the people were looking directly at them and with sorrowful expressions. Soler quickly jumped off Erza's luggage startling everyone,
"Hey man, what's the-"
"Quiet Natsu." his serious voice quieted the dragonslayer. Soler looked to the closest person which was an average looking man,
"Hey, you. What's going on around here?" he asked. The man flinched at the question but he knew he shouldn't say so he just pointed towards the guild. That set everyone on alert,
"Erza leave the luggage we'll pick it up later, we need to get to the guild!" he shouted. There were no complaints as everyone took off into a sprint for the guild. As they got close, it became evident to them all that something was off about the guild building though they were too far to tell exactly what. When they reached the guild their eyes widened in shock. The four veterans shock quickly turned into rage but the shocked newcomer said exactly what they were all thinking,
"Who would something like this?" she asked quietly.
"It was Phantom Lord." They all looked to see Mira walking up to them. Soler lost his rage instantly at the site of her. He dashed up to her and gently grabbed her arms,
"Mira are you ok? You're not hurt are you?" he asked his voice full of worry. She gave him a weak smile and nodded,
"I'm fine Soler don't worry," she said that but it was easy to see the attack wasn't easy on her. Natsu came charging up to them,
"Mira, what happened here? Where's is everyone? Wheres gramps? Whats-" Natsu was going to ask more but Erza bumped him to the side which quieted him up,
"That's enough Natsu there's no need to flood her with questions. If the guild building has been attacked then I'm sure the others are in the basement and Master is probably with them." Erza answered. Mira nodded,
"She's right everyone is fine and downstairs. The master would like to know that you all are back so please follow me." The group followed her down into the makeshift guild space where the rest of the members were. The mood was at an all-time low in the guild and Soler hated that. Fairy Tail was supposed to be as lively as a carnival but instead, it's as dead as a funeral. Everyone was quietly talking amongst themselves, well everyone except the Master who was pissed drunk. Natsu was the first to charge up to him with fire behind his eyes,
"Hey, Gramps what the hell are we all doing sitting around here for? We know who trashed the guild so let's go return the favor!" he shouted. Makarov looked at the boy, head wobbling but had a dumb smile plastered on his face,
"Hey, Natsu! When did you get here?" he asked back. The rest of the group walked up with Erza leading,
"We just returned. Master is it true that Phantom did this?" At that, his faces scrunched up,
"Oh yeah, those wimps had the gall to attack this place while no one was here. Just ignore those cowards," he responded. Natsu lit a blaze at that answer,
"Just ignore this? Gramps, they trashed our guildhall and you just want to let this go?!" retorted Natsu. That got the drunk man angry,
"That's enough Natsu!" he went in for a slap but he ended up smacking Lucy on the butt. Whether it was an accident or not no one knows but he was intent with his patting. Mira fumed at him,
"Keep your hands to yourself, Master." Makarov retracted his hand from the blushing Lucy and began to laugh. His laughter stopped when the oh'so important urge to pee overtook him. Before anyone could say anything else the man quickly scurried away. Natsu punched to a wall to release some pen up anger,
"Why won't the Master let us attack? Does he not even care about the guild?" he questioned aloud.
"Come on Natsu you know that's not the case at all." Natsu looked at Soler, "Master is just as if not even more upset about all this then you. But he knows that us going to war with Phantom would end badly for both sides." he explained.
"How would it end so bad? I've read that Phantom is a popular guild but they don't seem as strong as Fairy Tail." Lucy chimed in.
"Wellin terms of power we have that advantage but they have the greater numbers of wizards. Plus they do have a few powerhouses such as the Element Four who are comparable to our S-Class and the also have Gajeel the Iron Dragon Slayer. And let's not forget about their Master, Jose who is also a Ten-Wizard Saint like Makarov." he added. Lucy looked rather concerned now,
"They have numbers and a Ten-Wizard Saint as a master? Phantom sounds kinda scary," she said quietly. Natsu punched his fist together,
"Nah they ain't got nothing compared to us. We'd blow them out the water no problem!" he said in triumph. Soler then slung an arm around him,
"See and that's exactly why Master is letting this slide. He knows we'd beat them no matter what but the council might like it and stuff. Also, do you really think it's worth wasting our magic on a bunch of cowards who couldn't even face up directly? Hell no and you know why? Because we're Fairy Tail and we'd never let a bunch of cowards beat us!" he shouted getting Natsu fired up and shouting with him,
"Damn straight we wouldn't!" roared Natsu. Soler satisfied with Natsu turned his attention to the rest of the members who were already looking his way,
"Come on you sad sacks get it together. We ain't gonna let Phantom keep our moods down, are we? So what they destroyed the guild. Let'em cause it's the guild that makes Fairy Tail but its all of us. So let me hear that Fairy Tail pride!" Soler got a massive roar of cheers back in response and with it, the guild felt almost back to normal. Soler felt a hand land on his shoulder and it was a smiling Erza,
"Well done getting the mood back."
"Eh, it was no problem. These prideful guys just needed a reminder on who Fairy tail was is all. Now with everyone effectively back in a good mood, I think I might go out and train. There's this move I've been thinking on for a while now." he said. Erza nodded,
"Alright then. Do you want to me come with to help practice?" she asked. He shook his head,
"Nah it's cool I should be able to handle it." Soler was about to walk out the now rowdy guild but stopped when he got the stairs,
"Oh, Mira do you think you could come with me for a sec. There something I want to talk to you about." his request surprised booth Mira, Erza and even Lucy was still close enough to listen,
"Of course," she responded and quickly followed behind him leaving Erza wondering what it was he wanted to talk to her about, with this itching feeling in her chest. Soler and Mira walked out in front of the guild with Mira's brain buzzing with ideas. He stopped a few feet in front of her making her stop as well staring at the guild symbol on his back,
"What was it you wanted to talk about?" she asked. Soler didn't respond but instead turned to face her and quicker than she could react he wrapped her into a tight embrace.
"I'm so glad you're safe Mira," he told her. The sudden contact instantly made her blush but his words melted her heart. She wrapped her arms around him and a sweet simple spread across her face,
"That's sweet Soler, thank you. But you know how strong I am so I could handle myself," she responded. Soler broke the hug but held both her hands,
"Yeah, I know how strong you are and how outta practice you are too. I'm not saying you couldn't handle things but I'm just glad you weren't forced fight while out of fighting shape. You know my offer still stands." Mira shook her head,
"Sorry but you know that fighting life is behind me, but thank you." Soler only smiled warmly at her and she smiled back. That same urge came back full force now that she was alone and was standing right before him. Soler could see that it looked like she was contemplating something,
"Mira something on your mind?" he asked. The girl just stared back at him her heart beat rising rapidly. But as quickly as it started she eased herself with a smile,
"Oh, nothing important. But don't you got some training to do mister?" she questioned. Soler smacked his head,
"Duh, I forgot so quickly. Thanks, Mira, if something comes up Erza knows where to find me." with that Soler dashed off to his place to train. Mira watched him leave with a melancholy smile on her face.
"I still can't tell him. How pathetic is your big sister huh Lisanna."
Soler breathed heavily and he was in rough shape. It was nearing nightfall and Soler had been working all day on his new technique but he was just a few steps off from mastering it. He was in his clearing with the stump and a few of his spears were laid about.
"Ugh, I'm almost there I can feel it." Soler took a breath and focused his energy. He moved his fingertips ever so slightly and the few spears that were around moved just a bit. He could feel the resistance from his weapons and then began to flex his fingers to figure out which finger was attached to which spear. It took a moment but he found his index on his right hand was attached to the spear behind the stump. He focused on the one for this run but he then dashed at the stump and when he as few feet from it he pulled on his that finger and the spear shot up from the ground and went spinning right at him at high speeds. Within the second he reached the stump the spear was meeting up with him. In one swift motion, he caught the spear and slashed the spear across the stump causing it to stay in place. He slid behind it and then threw another spear right at the one the set and when it made contact it glowed bright white and the spear detached itself in a slashing motion planting itself in the ground a few feet away. He exhaled and smiled at his work,
"Alright I'm on the right track at least, but I still got a ways to go." He had his hands on his hips and a passing wind blew up a horrid smell. He smelled his armpit and that's was sure enough where it was coming from.
"And it's time for a shower. It is getting dark so might as well call it a night." Soler eased his energy and the remaining spears in the ground all dissipated as he walked back to his home. A few minutes later Soler walked out of his restroom wearing a black tee and white shorts still wiping his hair with a towel. When he heard a set of knocks at his door he stopped his wiping and looked at it curiously. He left the towel hanging around his neck as he made his way towards the door,
Who the hell could be here at this time? The thought passed by that it could be some Phantom punk whos still lingering around the town. He got a bit more defensive as he made it to the door and from the other side he could hear several voices,
So a group of them. This could be fun. Soler slowly opened the door and then it got kicked open wide sending him to the ground. In walked Erza, Natsu, Gray, Lucy and Happy with a surprised Soler looking at them. He got up and closed the door quickly,
"What the heck are you guys doing here?"
"The Master said that we should pair up for the night since some the one who attacked the guild could still be around. And your place is more spacious than Lucy's." Erza answered. Besides her, the others were busy looking around his house. Lucy was more than admiring his living room and skimming over the books he had on his shelves. Gray had booted up his lacrima television and was going through stations and somehow he was already in his boxers but he didn't mind. Natsu and Happy we're busy raiding the kitchen for what food Soler had. He was glad he had stocked up earlier this week but with Natsu's stomach, he could easily force him to have to restock. Happy came floating over to him with a sad expression,
"Soler do you have any fish?" he asked cutely. Soler sighed but nodded,
"Yeah but it's frozen so you'll have to cook it," he explained.
"Dinner does sound lovely. Gray, Lucy how does dinner sound to you?" Erza asked.
"Wait I never said anything about-"
"I could go for some grub," answered Gray.
"Some food does sound good." Responded Lucy. Erza smiled,
"Alright, it's settled then. Soler if you would be so kind as to prep a meal for you're guest that would be splendid." Soler looked at them with an annoyed expression. But he knew how Erza worked and it's not like he really cared, since a lot more times than not his food would go to waste because he can't eat as much as he buys.
"Fine then if its a meal you want it's a meal you'll get," he grumbled as he made his way to the kitchen. Within a few moments of entering Natsu was sent flying out.
A while passed and now everyone was sitting around a table with an assortment of dishes from meats to veggies. The others looked over the spread in slight awe,
"Wow Soler I didn't know you could cook." gasped Lucy.
"Yeah well when you live alone and hate to always go to some restaurant, cooking is essential," he responded. Erza nodded proudly,
"Yes, Soler's cooking is something to behold indeed especially his baking. He makes some of the best cakes. Speaking of which-" a plate of greens were placed in front of Erza much to her confusion. She looked up to Soler who was staring right back at her,
"I've noticed you haven't eaten a lot of greens lately, so no cake for you tonight," he told her. She wanted to argue but the glare he gave silenced anything retort she might have had. Seeing the strong woman silenced was surprising for Lucy,
"Wow I've never seen some do that Erza," she said.
"Solers been doing that for as long as I could remember. He's taken the task of making sure she and Natsu keep a balanced diet." Gray commented as she ate his place. Natsu was about to dig into a slab of meat but the plate he had vanished and in its plate was a plate of greens,
"That goes for you to Natsu. You might not eat as many sweets as Erza but you eat just as little greens." Soler told the pouting dragon slayer. Lucy giggled seeing this and she couldn't help but get a family vibe from them all and how they acted and it warmed her heart. Soler took his seat and watched them eat with a satisfied smile on his face. Though they were a surprise he was glad to have some company. But speaking of his company,
"So now that you guys are getting fed mind giving me the full story on why you all are here." Lucy swallowed her food before answering,
"Master wanted everyone to pair up for tonight in cause Phantom tries to attack a guild member. When he told us you were the only one not there so Erza decided it would be best that we all come here since I see now that you have the space," she answered. Soler mulled over the reasoning, it was sound but Master knows he could handle any Phantom punk. But who was he to argue with him,
"Well, I guess so. It's nice to have some company over at least." Soler instantly eyed up Natsu who was about to dig in on that slab of meat from earlier. Soler paused the plate he was reaching for much to his surprise,
"Natsu did you finish your first plate?" he asked. Natsu nodded quickly,
"Yeah, yeah I did I swear," he responded. Soler looked at him for another long minute before letting the plate go so Natsu could dig in.
"I don't see why Gray gets special treatment," Natsu grumbled,
"Gray actually pays attention to what he eats unlike you two." Soler retorted in the ice mages defense. Speaking of the mage he got up from his seat and yawned.
"Welp I'm going to hit the sack. I call the couch," he said.
"Gray I do got some guest rooms, man. There down the hall just pick whichever one ya want." Soler said.
"You have guest rooms? How big is this place?" Lucy asked.
"Well I got a master bedroom, three spare bedrooms, a personal bathroom and a public bathroom, living room, kitchen, and a downstairs mage space where my spell related items are," he told her.
"How much did this all cost?"
"It was all free actually. This was a gift from a group of guys a helped as a kid," he answered. Gray yawned once more,
"Either way I'm going to bed." the mage was just about out the kitchen,
"Gray have you bathed today?" the question come from Erza and it stopped the mage in his tracks,
"Well, I uhh-"
"That also goes for you Natsu. I refuse to sleep in a house with smelly men." she declared. Natsu groaned at the idea of a bath,
"Man I don't want to. I'm so full of food I just want to sleep. Right Happy?" he complained. A sleepy 'Aye Sir' Soler could tell where Erza was going and quickly intervened,
"Don't worry Erza it's fine for one night. How about you take the first bath and test the waters for them next time?" he offered. Erza wanted to protest but even she was tired from today so she agreed and went off to bath while the other boys went off to their rooms to sleep. This left Soler and Lucy with a lot of dishes to clean. Soler sighed and stood up grabbing a few,
"Welp time to do the dishes." and went and started to clean. Lucy felt bad coming into his home and being but not helping with anything so she decided to help him with the dishes. Plus this could also be a time to learn a bit more about him. The blonde squeezed up right next to him. He looked down to her to see her smile,
"I wanted to help in some way. It'd be rude not to," she said and started wiping of dishes. Soler didn't argue so he just continued his cleaning with his partner drying. As they worked Lucy couldn't help but gaze up at Soler every now and then to take in just being in his presences. She's read so much about him from Sorcerer's Weekly so she built a mental image of him, but now that she here standing not but one foot from him he seemed completely different. SHe watched him clean and could help but notice his emerald eyes and how they always drew you into looking at his face and she had to admit he was quite handsome. His eyes mixed with his wild white hair and the lazy smile he always wore it was easy to see how he's in the top five of most eligible wizards bachelor list. Plus his personality was so relaxed yet she's been told he can be very passionate when it comes to his guildmates. The real Soler was way different than what she imagined that's for sure. Soler, on the other hand, couldn't help but notice his beauty of a dishwashing partner study him for a bit,
"So Lucy besides you admiring my face. I gotta to ask what's your story? I know almost nothing about ya besides that you're a celestial mage, you're very attractive, and have incredible patience." his rapid-fire complements made her blush easily,
"W-Well I umm." Lucy was stuck stuttering and him looking directly at her didn't help much, "Umm thanks but I'm nothing special." she finally responded.
"Nah if someone could handle Natsu for as long as you can then you're most definitely someone special trusts me. What's your last name if I could ask." that question brought her out of her stammering some which Soler took note of,
"Oh well, a girl's got to keep her secrets ya know. My last name isn't something I like I talk about so sorry." her voice was low and it sounded like she wasn't even fully present at that moment. He watched her and even though she held a smile her eyes spoke for how far way that statement took her. But just as quickly as the look came it instantly switched back to her bubbly self,
"Ah well let's forget about my name what about yours? Everyone only calls you Soler but I'm sure you have a last name too." Soler actually took a moment to think on that,
"Ya know, I don't actually have a last name now that I think about it. The only thing that pops up in my memory is just Soler," he admitted. Lucy looked appalled,
"You don't have one? The white blur doesn't have a last name. Now that just doesn't sit right." she said. Soler chuckled at her enthusiasm,
"Well now if you just can't let that stand then you give me one." the blonde froze in place as the words left his mouth. Soler for once wondered if he said something wrong because she hadn't made a peep in last few seconds. Just when he was about to poke her the girl squealed in delight, then a fire he's never seen from her ignited around her,
"Soler just asked me to give him a last name. I have to take this serious!" Soler just watched the girl mumble to herself, going through several names at rapid fire. It took her a few moments of names before she lit up at the perfect name,
"Stratus!" she said. Soler looked to her confused,
"Stratus?" Lucy turned to him with a confident expression,
"Yes, Stratus! Think about it your name is Soler which is a play on the sun and Stratus is playing off of the stratosphere," she explained. Soler took a second to think on the name,
"Stratus. Soler Stratus. Hmm its close to the Strauss but I think I'll keep it. Soler Stratus, it is then. Thanks, Lucy." he held up his hand for a high-five and Lucy happily slapped it back. Though the two were enjoying their moment the cute yawn Lucy gave signified it was time to sleep.
"Cute yawn there Luc. So how about you head on to bed. We got the dishes done so you go and take a bath if you want and head on to sleep." She wanted to reply but only another yawn came out so she just nodded instead,
"Oh and Lucy." she stopped and looked to him,"Thanks for the name and if you ever need to talk my doors always open." Lucy smiled and waved him goodnight, leaving him smiling.
Soler gave a long sigh as he plopped down on his bed. He was only a bit tired from the training but after having to cook and house guests he's gotten exhausted. Soler turned off the light and tucked himself in, but he instantly felt something was off when he could feel another body in the bed with him. He sat back up and turned on the light and looked to see someone tucked up in his bed. He knew the options but never the less he flicked off the covers to reveal Erza wearing her purple pajamas snoozing soundly. He watched the beautiful red sleep for a few confused moments as he wondered why she was here. Well, no better way to find out than by asking so her lightly shook Erza until she began to stir awake. She awoke slowly and obviously groggy as she looked at him,
"Why did you wake me?" she asked her voice was unquestionably cuter than normal but Soler kept that to himself.
"I think the better question is why are you sleeping in my bed?" he asked back. Erza sat up and yawned which helped her wake up just a bit more,
"Natsu and Gray had already taken two of the rooms. If I took the last one then Lucy would have to sleep on the couch. So I made the choice to sleep in your bed so she could get the room and because I know if it was me you wouldn't mind." she answered. He had to admit that her logic was sound,
"Well alright then. You're right like normal but at least ask me next time before you just designate my bed as you're resting place." Erza only nodded and let out another cute yawn,
"Fine now can we sleep now? Your bed is incredibly comfortable." she didn't wait for him to respond and got the covers and tucked herself back in. Soler shook his head but followed her lead and turned off the light and tucked up next to her and quickly drifted off to sleep.
The sun shined brightly on this morning and its light shot through Soler window and into his eyes, effectively stirring him awake. Soler slowly started to try and get up but he felt a weight on his arm. He looked over to see Erza had effectively pinned his arm in her grip and it looked like he wouldn't be moving too much. He sighed and just relaxed himself waiting for her to wake. Though it didn't help that during her slumber the top buttons of her shirt had come undone letting him got a good look at her rather large bust. Also, it didn't help that his arm is securely nestled in between them. The contact made him realize just how much Erza had grown over the years. Of course, since she wore that breastplate most of the time he never truly noticed, but now that was a different story. In fact, the more he looked at her he could truly appreciate how beautiful she had grown to be. He always thought she was pretty but seeing her laying so still and looking so peaceful it helped him take in better. He was to compare then he would say that she and Mira were on the same level in beauty, though Mira showed it more than the sleeping red. While Soler was doing his thinking he didn't notice that he had moved closer to Erza now there faces were mear inches apart and he could feel her breathing. It was steady and calm. He felt completely at ease being in this position and being here with Erza. He closed his eyes as a few silent moments passed with Erza's soft breathing being the only thing he focused on and it was actually causing him start to drift to sleep but when the grip on his arm loosened and he opened his eyes to see Erza stirring awake.
He watched as the sunlight finally reached her face and she scrunched up very cutely. She slowly opened her eyes to look at Soler who was smiling softly at her.
"Finally awake huh." Erza let go of his arm and proceed to sit up and stretch some of her sleep away. She gave a content sigh at the end followed by a smile,
"That was the most relaxed sleep I've had in a while," she said with a smile.
"Well I'm glad you had a good night's rest but sadly we have to get up for the day," he said. Erza laid back down next to him with her face directly in front of his,
"Well, we could stay here for just a while longer. I don't see any harm in it," she responded back. He could the hidden agenda behind her words but just couldn't figure out what it was. Either way, the moment ended with a set of knocks on his door. Soler sat up,
"Come in!" Lucy popped her head in, to the site of the two and her mind couldn't help but wonder. But she shook the thoughts away for later and focused on the problem at hand,
"Um Soler, Natsu is back in the kitchen and is basically having a second of trying to clear it of food," she said. Soler jumped up out of bed at that,
"Dammit Natsu, how do you wake up hungry. Alright, thanks Lucy I'll kick him out and make some breakfast so we can head out. Soler quickly jumped out of bed and followed Lucy to kick out the dragonslayer. Erza listened with a warm smile as Soler reclaimed his kitchen. Though the sunlight shined right in her eyes forcing her to block it and look out the window.
This might all be well but something else has happened. I just hope we're prepared for whatever lies ahead.
"Ow, did ya have to kick me so hard?" complained Natsu as he rubbed his face.
"Well, you were trying to run me dry so yeah I did. Be lucky that I even decided to give you some breakfast." Soler answered. After breakfast, the group dressed and left for the guild hall. As they made their way through Magnolia something felt extremely off as no one they passed would even look at them. They could feel the hushed whispers which didn't help any. The whole group began to feel on edge and was ready to ask someone what was up but as they passed near the park they noticed a mass group of people by the big tree. They would have thought nothing of it but they could see the tufts of white from the Strauss siblings meaning the rest of the gild was there which wasn't a good sign.
"Alright that's not good guys, let's go," Natsu said and everyone quickly ran after him. They quickly made it to the rest of the guild and their haunting expressions weren't a good sign as they made their way to the front. The gasp from Lucy was the only noise since the rest were fuming with rage. Before them crucified to the tree was team Shadow Gear who were beaten, battered, and unconscious but the written on Levy's stomach was the symbol for Phantom Lord. Natsu was blazing in anger,
"Phantom!" he fumed in rage. Erza felt the same way much like she knew everyone else was, but the dark aura that was coming off of Soler was troubling. She felt it before and it was the last time they both went up to the magic council. But when she felt an even stronger power approaching she knew it was the master and with his appearance, the dark aura Soler gave off vanished. The small man looked up at his children,
"I was fine with my guildhall being destroyed. We can always rebuild, but when I see my children in such a manner-" the man broke the staff he held and his magic began to flair with rage, "-this means war!"
We turn to a different guild who at the moment was partying up because of recent events dealing with the downfall of Fairy Tail. Yes the Phantom Lord guild was at an all-time high. Crushing those fairies was always a long time goal of theirs and the fact they fell without ever fighting back only proved how they were far superior to them. Hell even now a small group of them were on their way out to go and try to take down some of them, but the moment they reached the entrance a massive fiery explosion went off and now a gaping hole is where the door used to be. The Phantom wizards looked in awe as standing in the rubble with a fiery fist was Natsu and behind him the entire Fairy Tail guild. Master Makarov walked forward,
"Fairy Tail has come knocking!" with his shout the battle between guilds commenced and it was all out warfare. Spells were being thrown left and right much like bodies being flung into the air. The Phantom wizards had the number for sure but the Fairies were strong by far so the battle was pretty much at a standstill. Of course, the powerhouses of the guild were helping tip the odds. Natsu was blasting away mages with his fire magic blazing, Gray conjuring his ice creation with rapidness and ease, Elfman was switching his beast arm takeovers, and then there was Erza who was doing the most damage out of them all. She was on a warpath searching for Gajeel while the Master went up to deal with Jose. But it was the white-haired teen who wasn't causing mass destruction like the rest that was most dangerous. He was effectively knocking out certain wizards who failed to answer his one question. The next unfortunate soul was a mage who shot a series of fireballs at him. They all explode on contact and the mage celebrated, well he would have if Soler didn't appear in front of him a moment later giving him a silent look of rage. The mage tried to attack but Soler slapped his staff away and grabbed him by his collar lifting him up,
"Where is Gajeel?" his question sounded routine, while his voice was calm you could feel the hidden wraith behind every word he spoke. The mage though scared put on a mock face of cockiness,
"Gajeel? You don't have a chance again-" his words stopped from Soler gutting the man into unconsciousness. He flung the man to the ground,
"This is getting me nowhere." he was ready to rampage like Erza at this point to find the man but he eased himself to try and sense him. Given a few moments he felt a signature similar to Natsu high above the battle going on. He stared up at the wooden beams and teleported to meet him.
Up above a man watched the battle with a twisted smile,
"Man these Faries are moving just like Master predicted. What a bunch of chumps." he laughed watching the battle. When he felt the presence of someone else he only slowed his laughing to see Soler giving him a death glare,
"Man if looks could kill I'd be six feet under by now. But for the White Blur himself to come and greet me, well I feel almost honored." the man stood and gave a mock bow. Soler didn't respond as he just eyed up the dragon slayer. Now that he was standing Soler could see he was around his height and slightly more muscular than him but that didn't matter much. He wore a black tunic with a pop-up collar and an exposed chest. The tunic meshed flowed under his belt till it resembled Natus half skirt yet his was worn and tattered. He also wore beige pants and black bolted boots. In fact, bolts seemed to be his fashion style since most of his clothes had bolts lining his garments. But that wasn't the only place that had these his face even had them along his nose and where his eyebrows would be. Along with those was his long black spiky hair, his piercing red eyes and a wing ornament on his shoulder. All in all, if a lesser wizard were standing against him they would easily be intimidated by the man, but in Soler case, he felt something different.
"What's wrong blur? Now that you're standing against me have you lost your nerve?" he cackled. Soler only sighed,
"First I hate that nickname and need to remember to talk to Jason about that. Second no I haven't lost any nerve. In fact, I'm more underwhelmed than anything now that I'm actually standing against you." Gajeels eye twitched at that his pride being stung,
"Underwhelmed huh?" his voice was still trying to hold its cool but slowly slipping
"Yes underwhelmed. I figured the guys who had the guts to destroy our guild hall and crucify our friends would be powerful enough to at least give me a challenge. But yo find that their dragon slayer is only about on par with ours it's saddening really. Well, Natsu could probably beat you without too much problem because he actually fights for something. Unlike you who just fights to torture others or increase your own gain." Soler said. Gajeel didn't take that lightly and in a fit of rage lashed out at him by forming his iron club and crushing Soler into the beam behind him. He laughed at how easy it was to hit the blur,
"Damn for all that talk you sure couldn't-" A powerful kick to the side of his head stopped his banter and sent him flying through two other beams and finally crashing on the third stopping. Soler stood with his foot extended and covered in his energy, though his facial expression hadn't changed,
"Like I said you're on par with Natsu but I can beat Natsu and then there someone else who could beat me. So you don't even compare to the strongest of our guild." Gajeel got himself back up though it wasn't too fast and he glared at Soler. He saw how calm he was and that put him on edge that this mage was this strong and it felt he was holding himself back,
"Alright, so you have a bit of a bark. That'll make crushing you just even better!" Soler watched as the dragon slayers arm became a massive sword. Soler signed not even forming spears but he did coat his other foot with his energy and was reading to fight. But before they could clash they bother felt several rumbles coming from above them and soon something shot down from the ceiling and crashed into the middle of the battle below effectively pausing the fight. Soler looked down to see something small and green laying in the crater and he jumped down to it. Soler's heart dropped when he saw Master looking drained of life and his skin was a sickly green but he was muttering something about losing his magic. He picked up the fallen Master and he heard footsteps to see Erza running up to him. The moment she saw the Master he saw her face defaulter for just a moment and in that moment Soler saw a scared little girl. But as quickly as it came she hardened herself,
"What happened?" she asked her strong tone sounding forced,
"I don't know. I was battling when he fell through the ceiling and I found him like this. We need to get to Porlyusica quickly." he responded. Erza grimaced and took a look around the battle to see that they were fighting hard but because of the lack of numbers, the damage they were taking was hitting harder than what they were dishing out.
"We have to retreat," she said to herself quietly. The in one breath she shouted over the mayhem, "Fairy Tail retreat!" the guild members were all confused but they noticed their downed Master in Soler's arms. They wanted to keep fighting but knew Erza was right and soon enough the members started to retreat. A few lagers tried to stay and fight like Gray but Erza's plea got to him and he began to run back with the others. Now the Fairy Tail wizards were in full retreat against the Phantom wizards who were in pursuit. Soler was busy carrying the Master the blast from the wizard bombed against them but he noticed Erza running ahead but her hair blocked his view. He ran over to her,
"Erza what are we gonna do about-" he stopped when he noticed that tears were falling as she ran. He didn't ask but instead proceed to move over to Elfman and hand over the master to him,
"Take care of him I'm going to stop those blast." Elfman couldn't ask him a question for Soler had ran off, but he did notice that there were tears that trailed behind the exiting teen. Soler dashed off through his friends and quickly made it to the back of the group and in front of the charging wizards. The group saw the sole man standing before them and continued without much care and even focused their attacks on him. Soler formed a spear and threw it above the group and teleported to it before the attack hit. Once mid-air he launched his spear into the middle of the front group and teleported to it again this time he pulsed his energy out knocking away a group of them. Now in the middle of the charging group, he started to cause mayhem in the ranking by taking down each and every wizard he saw in quick succession. He even stopped any members that tried to escape effectively holding off the entire group. Soler fought them until his guild was out of sight and once they were he stopped his fighting dashed off after them leaving Phantom behind.
This one is done. So to tell you guys the truth I was thinking of doing the entire Phantom Arc in this one chapter which I honestly could have because I was on a roll but I decided not to. Man, I got some plans for this story and don't worry you guys will get a Soler fight where he goes full force in a bit so don't sweat it. Anywho I got some stories to work on so this has been Solerwolf...later!