Remaining in my Mega Evolution, I kicked the double doors to Jose's room. There was going to be hell to pay.

"JOSE!" I bellowed. Jose smirked from his seat, which slowly formed into a maniacal, twisted smile, in which a hollow, sadistic cackle was emitted from.

"Well if it isn't Mr. Fedora. Look who was brave enough to defend his entire guild by himself, only to find it futile, for he hasn't come to the realization that he's fighting a-"

"Shut it, you old hag. I'm not doing this just for my guild. If I wasn't a part of my guild, I'd still go after you, and every single Dark Guild in all of Earthland. I don't care that you're a guild master. In fact, I couldn't care less. I have my reasons for going after you alone. I have some questions that I want you to answer, and you will answer them," I growled. I figured I'd test Jose to see if he would lie, since Sol did.

"Hmph. You should know how to treat your elders. Know your place, peasant!" he shot back at me, unleashing a dark purple stream of Magic Energy. At this point, my steel arm was my main form of defense, which I held up, blocking the incoming attack, flaming myself up for extra protection.

"! What's this? A Mage who cannot only deflect but nullify my attack entirely and use Fire Magic? Interesting. A worthy opponent, you will-"

"I said shut it! Frankly, who gives a shit about what my attack types are? I want you to answer my question, and if I think you're lying, I'll burn you to ashes." I knew the answer, but asked anyway, testing Jose. "Do you know the Great Charizard?"

For the briefest second, I swear that I could see a great, haunting fear behind his eyes, but this he hid with his usual, sadistic smirk.

"So you're a survivor of the Legion, I suppose? That filthy Legion of filthy dragons-"

"DO NOT CALL THE LEGION THAT MY FATHER DIED TO PROTECT FILTHY!" I bellowed.

"Ah, so your father was a part of the Legion, was he? Just another soldier, was he?"

"My father… is not… 'just another soldier'! My father was to be the next leader of the Legion itself… knowing how well known he was, I'll have you know… the Great Charizard was my father! I'm here to find out if you had any affiliation or any lead to his death."

"And what good will it do you, knowing who killed your father? Surely you can't beat me. I'm one of the Ten Wizard Saints!"

"I don't care who you are, how powerful you think you are or what titles you have. Everyone asks me the same question, 'what good will it do me, knowing who killed my father?'. You know what I'll do? I'll find the person who killed him, as well as anyone involved, and kill them all mercilessly, the exact same way they killed him."

"Hmph. And what was that? How did they kill him?" Jose said with a devilish grin, causing me to grit my teeth in frustration.

"... you're lying. No, you know. You know exactly who killed him, and how they did it," I growled menacingly.

"Well, that's something you'll never know, because why should I tell you?" he retorted, bending down into a battle stance. "That's classified information, isn't it?" With a snap, a sudden burst of fiery rage, I rushed forward towards Jose with a mighty cry, jumping at him with a Lightning spell ready.

"You bastard! I'LL FUCKING MURDER YOU!" I prepared to use my strongest Lightning Magic attack, Disaster Volt, but then I realized that I didn't have enough Magic Energy to cast it when I tried. That particular spell, being as strong as it was, used up quite a lot of Magic Energy. In the single moment that I missed, Jose unleashed a blind fury of punches and kicks, powerful enough to bring me to the ground, but like any other opponent, realized that he would have to damage me some other way without bringing harm to himself.

"And this is why I choose not to fight my opponents head-on..." muttered Jose, waving out his hand in pain.

"What're you muttering, you idiot?!" While on the ground, I shot a Flare Burst out of my hands at him, but thanks to his great reflexes, my attack was naught.

"Hmph. And that's all you have? Then it's my turn." With a wave of his hand, he summoned many black, ghastly Shades that went straight for me. I tried to dodge by rolling out of the way and running from them, but they pursued me still. Eventually, I had enough sense to destroy them with a single Mega Flame Ball, but Jose didn't let up and summoned more as if he had an endless supply of them. After several rounds of dodging, destroying, and constantly getting phased through by Shades, I realized that I had to attack Jose, otherwise the Shades would never stop coming.

"I could do this all day, you know. It's rather fun, watching you scramble like mad to avoid getting the life sucked out of you by my Shades."

"Why don't you fight me for real instead of getting your... imaginary friends to do your dirty work?" I rushed in to attack, but he dodged swiftly and sent a Shade through me quickly, causing me to drop down, sapped of yet more energy.

"I'm simply demonstrating a taste of my true power. This is only the beginning, fairy." With yet another Shade to dodge, I rushed in for another attack, but his quick reflexes caused me to miss once again, and the SHade from behind rushed through me, taking even more energy.

"Soon you'll be nothing but a lifeless shell of a body! You say you want to defend your guild? And you want to defend your father's legacy? How sad. How weak and pathetic you are."

I smirked and dodged yet another Shade he threw at me. "Yeah? Well, you haven't witnessed my true power yet, either. This is only the beginning, ya old hag. Throw whatever you want at me, but not fighting me one-on-one makes you the pathetic one."

"You're not even worthy enough to see my power, you weakling. Get out of my sight!" Summoning ten more Shades with a wave of his hand, I shot through the Shades with a Flare Burst, which I thought would reach Jose. But he moved out of the way before the beam could reach him and continued to summon Shades. My Magic Energy was completely depleted at this point, so I couldn't use any spells, leaving me with my Fire/Steel Arts which were draining just as quickly, and my Pokémon... it was time for my Pokémon to take action once again.

"Go Pikachu." Summoning Pikachu's ball in a quick manner and tossing it out into battle, Pikachu appeared in a yellow flash, cheeks sparky and tail tough. I knew that Pikachu was lightning quick and possibly had quicker reflexes than Jose, so he was my best bet.

"Ah, so you lecture me about fighting one-on-one, but yet you get your own pets to fight for you? How hypocritical, I must say. I thought you were better than that."

"Since you won't fight me one-on-one, I thought I might as well do the same. Let you taste your own medicine, y'know? Yeah, whatever. Pikachu, home in on him and use Quick Attack." Pikachu obeyed, darting towards Jose at top speed and bashing into him before he had a chance to react.

"Great, follow it up with a Mega Kick!" Pikachu somersaulted in the air and slammed his foot down towards Jose, but then Jose grabbed Pikachu by the leg and slammed him to the ground instead. He then tried slamming his own foot down on Pikachu, but Pikachu was able to dodge, and while all this was happening, I dashed in to land a Flame Punch, but Jose was well aware of his surroundings and shot a Shade directly in my face so I punched it instead. I hoped for my punch to go through and hit Jose, but he had moved out of the way and was busy dealing with Pikachu.

"Use Thunder." I waved my hand at Pikachu, in which he leaped into the air and sent a bolt of electricity down onto Jose who couldn't dodge something traveling at the speed of light. Finally, we had gotten a hit in, but it was no time to celebrate, as I dashed in once again, but this time stopped short, faking Jose out, who appeared behind me, but a single moment of hesitation on his part was all I needed to swing my right arm around and slug him with a Flame Claw, Flat Style. However, I hadn't strategized any further than this, so I was starting to get a bit cocky and really let my guard down as I jumped up to land a Crushing Stomp onto Jose. However, he naturally rolled out of the way to dodge, but this time, he didn't summon a Shade. He turned to me with an angry look.

In fact, he didn't just look angry, he looked FUCKING PISSED.

"You... you dare attack me like that?! Now you shall see, the power...!" Suddenly, a dark pulse; a malevolent aura spread throughout the wide area. "So you want to see my true power, you maggot?! The last thing you shall ever see before you die is the great power of Phantom Lord! Dark Pulse!" With a wave of his hand and a flash, a great blast erupted from the floor, causing me to shield my eyes. The blast did nothing more than a strong gust of wind, but like a gust of wind, it blew off my fedora and singed it a bit. Grabbing it from the ground and dusting it off a bit, I emerged from the smoke practically unscathed.

"Your true power. Uh huh. You're telling me your 'true power' creates a little light show and an updraft that blows off my hat? Bravo, bravo," I mocked.

"You will be quiet, fairy, otherwise I will destroy you! Shadow Gauntlet!" Cloaking his hand in dark, purple energy, he threw a fist at me, making the shadows chase after me, tackling me to the ground.

"Ungh!" I hit the floor hard, and the dark shadowy energy continued to beat on me until I blasted it away with a Mega Flame Ball.

"Now to finish you! Shade Entangle!" The shadows coiled around my weakened body, lifting me high into the air, constricting me and causing me much pain as I cried out in helpless agony.

"Scream all you want, little fairy. No one will ever hear y-" At that moment, however, someone did hear me and burst through the door just as I had done. Someone with requipping armor and a mighty, darkness-repelling sword. That, who was none other than the fierce Erza Scarlet.

"This has gone on long enough, Jose Porla! You've done enough harm to the members of Fairy Tail! I've come to stop you," bellowed Erza.

"Erza... don't...! I can... handle him- AAUUURRGHH...!" Jose tightened the dark coils around me, making me scream even louder. Such an awfully embarrassing position to be in, helplessly hung in the air, practically immobilized by the wrath of my enemy! Me, immobilized by the enemy?! I didn't think so. "I can... handle this!"

"The more you struggle, little fairy, the more pain you will receive!" Another binding of the shadowy vines caused me to struggle and groan in distress.

"That's enough! Let him go!" shouted Erza, leaping up and slashing her sword at Jose, who naturally dodged her attack, but at the same time let me go. Seeing the opportunity, I ran to Erza's side and raised my arm to prepare a fire attack.

"Vincent! What were you thinking, going after Jose like that?" scolded Erza.

"He lied. I was testing him to see if he would act like he didn't know," I angrily muttered, unleashing Flare Burst out of my hands, which I followed up with a whole array of other fire attacks.

"What do you mean? Have you gone mad? You could've died, acting so rashly like that! You must learn to control your anger!"

"I understand that, but he..." I swiftly dodged an incoming barrage of attacks from Jose, who looked like he had had enough. "He... was a cause of my father's death!" Erza had nothing really to say to this statement. She opened her mouth a couple of times but just decided to stay quiet. Then after a few more minutes of running around and dodging, finally getting to attack Jose now that two of us were teaming up against him, she had thought of something to say that was carefully thought through.

"You've been through a lot, haven't you? Well, so have I, but I try to forget..." she trailed off. "But either way, although we all have people we have a grudge against, people we want to go after, that still doesn't change the situation we're in right now. I understand fully what you mean, but..."

"No... you could never understand... I never even saw my father, let alone know him, but it's not just our lost bond... never mind, I don't want to talk about it. I can't be made to think about it. I..." I trailed off as well, forcing myself to think of something else. but in forcing myself to think otherwise, I realized what I had been doing was selfish. I had been selfish and rash; stupid, even. I hadn't cared for anyone but myself and my father. This war had been raging around me, but my blinders had been on and closed because I was being stupid and acting childlike. There's a distinction between fury and indignation. Fury can be described as uncontrolled savagery, while indignation is more of anger with a purpose. The thing was, I had no purpose or meaning behind my motives. I mean, save for the fact that I wanted my father's killer dead and all, but beyond that, I had no power behind my actions, nothing to fuel my intent. I was lost and alone in this darkness with nothing but a flame. That which could be interpreted as a hot rage or a burning passion with no clear objective. I didn't know how to interpret it, because I didn't understand much of anything. I was like a child in a grown-up's body.

But I had realized what was at stake now. I wasn't fighting this war for my own selfish gain. One doesn't fight a war for their own personal gain. They're on a side, and they fight for their side, their people. What I was really fighting for... were the people of Fairy Tail.

And yet, this I realized while one of my fellow guildmates were actually in trouble.

As I came back to reality, I realized that Erza had been taken up by the similar shadowy coils that had previously tortured me.

"Ahh! Vincent, come back to your senses! Help... augh...!" screamed Erza as she struggled to break free from the grasp of Jose.

"Not another move, otherwise I'll squeeze the life out of your fellow guild member. Not like I won't do it anyway! Hahahaha!" Jose cackled as he tightened the ropes, bringing yet more pain to Erza. But this time, I felt something different. No longer was I feeling the intense rage of my father's killer, as hard as it was, but rather, I felt the surge and energy of the moment, and how I'd resolve my current problem as opposed to my ultimate goal.

"No. You will not," I spoke at last. I knew I was taking another risk with the amount of energy I had at the moment, but this was my trump card, and I would use it. With another burst of energy, I evolved once more into my Giga Evolution and immediately noticed; the pressure was much less than before.

"You will let her go if only to constrain me in her place. Let her go this instant or I will kill you. I've already spared you long enough, but I dot appreciate liars. You won't get away with this, Jose."

"Oh? And who determines that? Your dead father? Your mother?" A burst of rage shot through me, but I realized that he was deliberately trying to enrage me, so I averted my focus to the task at hand. And thinking about it, this was clearly more important than my own selfish goals.

"I can't believe you're trying to use my parents as a reason to make me move, just to kill my fellow guildmate. You're disgusting, you know that? I speak from not just my thoughts, but rather from everyone in Fairy Tail. You disgust me, you putrid, black-hearted son of a bitch. How dare you use my parents against me. I'll kill you, but not for that reason." It was extremely difficult not to say it, but I managed to squeeze it out and not add "not just for that reason", for it would contradict every previous thought. "I say this on my and my entire guild's behalf. You may have incapacitated out master, but if you ever mess with us, ever again, then it doesn't matter how big of an army you may have. We will defeat you, and then I'll seek you out personally and kill you without regret or a second thought. Now let Erza go this instant..." Then I held out my palm and a ball of flame erupted from my palm. "... or your head will be where this Flame Ball sits when I'm done with you."

"I'd like to see you try, little fairy. I'm not intimidated by you, nor Titania Erza, or anyone in your guild, not even your guild master. As a matter of fact, I'm not even intimidated by the Council. Not even the lord of the land. Not even the gods above intimidate me. I should be the king in that sense. I should be the king of the world and then I'll really show you all who's boss. And when all's said and done, I wouldn't ever give you mercy, all because of Mr. Mighty Fedora here. I hope you realized what you've done for your guild. Then they'll all turn against you, realizing that you were the one who doomed them all. You-"

"That's enough! Enough with that! That which you speak is false." This time, Erza spoke out. "We would never turn against our own members! What you'd never understand due to the fact that you care not for your own guild members is that you are heartless! Fairy Tail and Phantom May be equals in strength, but what really defines us... is that we as Fairy Tail are like an entire family! You wouldn't ever understand that because you don't treat your guild members as a family, but rather your slaves!" In this time that Erza was speaking to Jose, I rushed forward and unleashed my greatest possible Flame Ball, Monster Flame Ball, causing Jose to lose his grip on the energy and smacking him away.

"You... will bring no more harm... to Erza Scarlet!" I yelled, stepping in front of Erza, defending her as if she was a sister. And at the moment, she was my sister. For extra caution, I put up my Fire Shield and watched over Erza carefully. It felt weird, watching over my superior. But I couldn't let any of my friends be harmed any more. I couldn't, and anyone who did... I'd kill them.

"Game's over, Jose. Enough of-" I couldn't explain the feeling I felt next. It felt as if my stomach was churning, or maybe I got socked in the gut. And that the fist passed through my organs and out through the other side.

"Vincent...! Are you alright?! Curse you Jose...!" cried Erza as she crawled over to me. I could not breathe, or really feel anything but pain in my abdomen.

"That's it. I will spare you no longer, fairy," growled Jose, towering over Erza and I. I felt like I was about to pass out again, so I loosened the strain by de-Evolving back into my regular form. The excruciating pain only continued to grow, but the feeling of passing out was much less. I wasn't about to pass out once again like a wimp. I had already been incapacitated three times that day, and I wasn't about to end it by passing out. It would not be the end of me, I decided. Slowly, I rose up.

"You... will not... kill me...! I refuse... I refuse to die...!"

"Refuse all you want, but-" Then with a mighty slice, Erza slashed at Jose, but with his great reflexes he was able to dodge all of her incoming attacks. I knew that she was buying me some time, though I could hardly stand. But nevertheless, I struggled to my feet, for the guild, for my father's legacy, for anyone really, I didn't care. I just wanted Jose dead. I just wanted Phantom to fall by our hands. I just wished that the pain would go away. Everything started to fade slowly as I trudged weakly towards Jose and Erza, but I fought the pain and prepared a fire attack.

But luckily, our lives were saved by a figure that smashed through the window, seeming to hover off the ground. It was short and looked like a certain old man, one that both Erza and I knew well.

"Master!"

"M-Makarov...!"

Makarov stepped down with a menacing look in his eye, marching slowly towards Erza and Jose.

"The blood of my children have been spilled, and that is unforgivable. I worry not about the destruction of our guild, but the moment our members are harmed, by your hands especially, then I will stand by no longer while more of my children are harmed. This war has gone on long enough, Jose. It's time to end this, here and now!" bellowed Makarov in the mightiest of voices. "Children, you must leave. Erza, take Vincent with you. And get him medical attention right away. Those are some nasty wounds. You too, Erza. You need medical attention as well."

"Master..."

"No... Makarov... he... Jose... he did... unforgivable... I must... kill him..."

"You will do nothing of the sort! I know what he did. And I'm sorry for you, Vincent, but you must leave."

"If that's what the master desires, then we must follow his orders. Let's go, Vincent."

But I didn't want to leave just yet. I didn't believe Makarov was talking about my father, but at the same time, there was a part of me that didn't want to doubt him.

"Wait... Makarov..."

"Leave! Now!" he yelled. At the sound of this, Erza grabbed my arm and led me out of the smashed window.

"Do you have your bird with you?" she asked impatiently.

"I always have him... with me..." I replied weakly as I Summoned Fearow and climbed onto him. Erza climbed on behind me and held on tight as Fearow dove down towards the guild. But I'm not even sure if it was our guild anymore because now it sat in ruins.

As Fearow landed, Erza climbed off and then I practically slid off like a rag doll and called him back. With all the strain I was putting on myself to stay awake, I was able to release it all. I was still unsatisfied by my not being able to defeat Jose myself, but as a godly light shone from the enemy guild, I thought to myself, That'll do for now. Then I passed out from exhaustion.