Disclaimer: Fairy Tail is owned by Hiro Mashima and its respective companies, I do not own anything except my OCs

Chapter 17

Oak Town

Located in the northeast corner of Fiore.

An old castle town filled with many ancient building and turrets

Having once been used as a military base with strategic importance during the Second Trade War, it was used as part of the defense force for the guilds and allied merchants of the time.

Nowadays, it's used as the base of operations of the Phantom Lord Guild.

The outside was rather imposing as it was built from a surrounding fortress with most of the exterior stone walls topped with railings and ending at the guilds entrance. The details are not important however, simply due to the fact that it's their home turf, where they can relax and enjoy their lives to the fullest.

At least…that's how it should have been.

...

Little did they know that those inside this building, including its members and Master…

...

Will soon meet an unfortunate fate.


Phantom Lord Branch Building

BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOM!

"AHHHHHH"

"AHHHHHH"

"What the hell?"

"Who did the fuck did that?"

"Get out here and fight dammit!"

As explosions rang out in front of the Phantom Lord branch in Oak Town, the members started cursing and wanted to know what the hell just happened.

Soon a voice rang out that answered all their questions.

"FAIRY TAIL HAS COME CALLING!"

OOOOOOOOHHHHHHHH!

As Master Makarov announces everyone yells along with him, since he brought everyone from the Guild along with him.

Natsu was the one who busted down the door, though standing next to Gray and Cana was Shawn.

"Time to start making it up to them" he thought as he brought out a magic circle.

Phantom members were quick to react they soon tried to assault everyone, but one Fire Dragon Wing Attack sent the early birds roasting.

"Alright, who wants to play with fire!" as Natsu roars out, both sides collided head on.

Soon it was pandemonium in Phantom Lord's hall, with magic circles and explosions occurring left and right.

It was total chaos.

Shawn soon found himself surrounded by Phantom Lord members, armed with either swords, magic guns, or their own type of magic.

Not that it mattered to him in the least, in his eyes they're nothing more than punching bags to vent his anger and frustration upon.

"Armament" as he called out a blood red magic circle enveloped him head to toe in its aura.

BOOM!

BOOM!

Some of them fired their magic just as he finished coating himself, as explosions rang out some of them even bragged about taking one of the Fairy Tail members out.

"Pathetic"

As a voice sounded off, the smoke cleared revealing Shawn still covered in his aura, but there wasn't a single injury on him from their attacks.

"My turn" as he took his fighting stance, before charging at the nearest goon and grabbed him by the shoulder, before easily lifting him up and tossing him into a cluster of them with incredible force.

They weren't expecting that and soon found themselves being pummeled by one of their one.

He didn't stop there, he approached another three, he landed a solid punch to the stomach on the first one, effectively knocking him out, as the second one tried to hit him with a fist infused with magic, Shawn ducked down and swept his legs, before placing his hands on the floor and stretching out his left foot, landing a clean hit at the second bastards face.

The last one of the bunch couldn't even react as he quickly got back on his feet and approached his chest.

"Aura Impact" he yelled out loudly, sending a densely covered fist at the poor sob's chest, sounds of bones snapping could be heard from the guys chest.

BOOM!

AHHHHHH!

As the guy yelled out in pain he was sent flying across the room, along with taking a few of their guildmates in the process as their sounds of agony wailed out.

"Now I've got you" as Shawn heard a voice behind him he turned around to see a seven foot, two hundred pound man about to swing his huge axe at Shawn.

"Ice Make: Hammer" as a familiar voice rang out, the giant was sent flying by a huge hammer and into a few of his allies who didn't see him till it was too late.

"Thanks Gray, guess you've repaid me back a bit" as Shawn gave his thanks "Shut up,don't let your guard down, in case you forgot were in enemy territory " Gray warned him that this wasn't a joke.

"Will do" as he said before charging in and a clustered group of Phantom thugs and used Aura Impact on the ground, sending a shockwave along with the poor saps inside its area of effect towards the walls of the guildhall, with one even crashing through a window.

"Finally, I can let loose" as Shawn felt some of my pent up anger and frustration finally being released, but knew that he shouldn't let it consume him completely.

It isn't about him or the mistakes he's made.

"This is for Levy and the others!" he yelled out as he picked up two others before smashing them through one of the guild's tables, knocking both of them out.

OHHHHHHH!

Apparently some of the guild members heard him and started screaming along with him, as if boosting their morale and started fighting even harder than before.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Master Makarov use his magic and made himself huge, soon followed by striking them with his giant sized fist, crushing dozens of Phantom members with ease while some started calling him a monster.

"AND YOU DARE TO LAY YOUR HANDS ON THIS MONSTERS CHILDREN? ARE YOU FOOLISH ENOUGH TO BELIEVE HUMAN LAWS WILL PROTECT YOU FROM MY RAGE?"

"So powerful"

"Their numbers are strong too"

"Yeah their totally nuts"

"I didn't know Fairy Tail was like this"

He soon saw Erza cutting her way through waves of them with ease.

As he looked on in awe of his guildmates strength in person he couldn't help smiling despite his anger "these guys are amazing, but unfortunately for you guys you're gonna have to pay the price for messing with Fairy Tail"

Not wanting to be outdone by them he uses Burst a few times and quickly arrives in front of another crowd of people, he reeled his fist back with the other held out in front of him as if to stop someone.

"Burst Impact Annihilation"

As it landed on the unfortunate idiot who decided to take the charge from this group, the moment his fist made contact with his gut, the guy immediately bended like a lawn chair before all the wind was forced out of his body.

"Gahhhhh!"

As he almost felt like throwing up, the victim was then sent flying backwards, crashing into his buddies at high speed.

The force was so great in fact that it took over a dozen of them with him, before finally leaving a huge crater against the wall, almost looking like it was on the verge of collapsing.

He was stuck there for a moment, before slowly detaching himself from his own body weight and gravity.

PLOP!

Him, along with several others, lay down on the floor and wouldn't be regaining consciousness anytime soon.

"Alright, that's how a real man should fight" as he looked to his right and saw Elfman yelling and clobbered a few of the Phantom bastards with his right arm covered in stone.

"JOSE, SHOW YOURSELF!" as Master Makarov yelled in his giant amplified voice, though he didn't receive a response.

"Haaa" as he looked over towards Erza while kicking one of their goons upside the head, she used Requip to change herself into her Flame Empress armor and immediately cut another dozen enemies down to size.

"Tell me, where can I find Gajeel and the Element Four?" she demands, though none of them had time to answer and just started to attack her again.

Of course they don't stand a chance against Erza.

THUD!

"Hahaha, you fool" as he felt something hit the back of his head, followed by someone's laughing.

Shawn slowly turned himself around, still covered in his blood red aura.

"Ohh?" as he looked at the ugly bastard who hit him with an iron hammer with venom laced in his voice.

"Ummm-"

Bang!

"AHHHH" before he could answer Shawn sent him flying with Aura Impact breaking through a pair of tables and a chair before fainting from the pain.

Some of the wizards in the back began casting magic spells, resulting in a huge explosion of fire, some of our members were unfortunately caught in the blast.

Though thankfully the damage was kept to a minimum courtesy of our resident Dragon Slayer eating it all at once, before using the magic power to hit them back twice as hard with a Fire Dragon Roar.

The others weren't so keen on being outdone though, as everyone kicked it up into overdrive including Gray, Bisca, Erza, and of course Shawn.

As he unsheathed Aine he began firing a series of Burst Wave Ignition's at the bastards, before long though everyone soon found themselves bunched into groups.

Natsu, Gray, and Shawn found themselves in one group.

"Not too bad you two, but I've got the higher count" said Shawn as he fired off one more shot resulting in an explosion sending them flying about.

"Since when are we competing against you?" smiled Gray

"If we are I know I've got more than Snowman here" retorted Natsu.

"Like hell you do Pyro"

"I'll show you"

As they soon started arguing again while fighting but that wasn't what he focused on as Shawn looked over at Master Makarov.

"Erza, I'll leave the rabble to you" as he gave his orders Master Makarov ascended the stairs to the second floor, what soon followed was a huge explosion further in, most likely breaking down the door and moving in deeper.

"Yes sir" she replied back

As Erza looked on at Master Makarov Shawn could hear her say "Please, be careful" before resuming the fight in her Blackwing Armor.

As for Shawn as he blocked and counterattacked against another member of a seemingly limitless supply of Phantom Lord members "By now Lucy should have been kidnapped by Juvia and the Frenchie, Sol. When we retreat I should make sure we get away safely and follow Natsu. Another option is to kidnap one of the Phantom Lord's guys and force him to reveal the way to their headquarters. Whichever works for me"


Thirty Minutes Later

After pounding another member of Phantom Lord into the dirt, he looked around and saw no end in sight to the fighting.

"I didn't think the fighting would last this long. Goes to show you the difference between the anime and the real thing" as he saw everyone still fighting with just as much energy as when they started.

They had been fighting for over half an hour with neither side giving in, of course we had wounded but were able to move them out safely by other members of the guild. Also since none of the Element Four have shown up yet things have been going well in our favor.

But that might change soon enough.

BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOM!

As Shawn looked above the ceiling while kicking an incoming enemy in the stomach he felt the entire place shaking, most likely by Master Makarov making his way up while dealing with Phantom's lackeys getting in his way towards Jose.

"Ring Magic, Twister" as Loke called out a huge twister appeared and sucked in dozens of Phantom members into it, before spitting them back out at high speeds, the force from it knocking them all out.

"Come on, man up. Don't you wanna be, like me?" as Shawn looked behind him and saw Elfman transforming his right arm and sending just as many flying into chairs and tables which have somehow survived the carnage.

"Jeez, these guys really don't hold anything back huh?" dodging an enemy's attack using Burst before elbowing him in the gut, then chucking him towards another group, knocking them all down.

"Strike!" called out Shawn with a smile on his face, as an idea quickly popped into his head, before he started chuckling.

"What the hell are you laughing at?" called out one of the random goons of Phantom.

"Nothing, just found a new way to make this fight more entertaining"

"What are yo- baggh" as the one from earlier tried to speak his face was grabbed by Shawn, before seeing nothing but Shawn's seemingly innocent smile sent chills down the poor sob's spine.

"What do you say we make it two for two?"

As he saw him shaking his head in disagreement, not that he really had a say in it before he hurled the poor sob into another group.

WHOOSH

BANG!

"That's two, now let's make it three" he says with glee before looking around for his next human bowling ball.

This went on to going into his third strike, making it a Turkey.

It wasn't long before a pattern formed.

He'd knock out a random member of Phantom Lord, grab him by the head, before breaking into a running start then throw (whatever unlucky fellow was picked next) into groups of ten.

And it didn't seem like he was planning on stopping anytime soon.

Fourth…

Fifth…

Eighth…

Tenth…

As the sounds of heads bashing and people flying filled the area around him along with their cries of pain, Shawn could swear he heard the people hurled as human bowling balls into their companions making sounds like they were bowling pins toppling over.

"Lucky you, let's see if we can make this a perfect game" as he held onto lucky ( or rather unlucky?) victim number twelve, he first took a nice, deep breath.

As he made eye contact with the group he was aiming for, they also realized what he was planning on doing, though some were frozen in fear, a few were trying to run away.

They didn't get far…...

As Shawn ran a magic circle appeared at his feet, followed by a blood red aura coating his whole body.

"Run away"

"Move it"

"Don't do it"

"He's a monster"

"A Demon"

"A blood red Demon"

"Help me"

As he heard several cries from those around him, he thought "Demon? Really? Well when you consider my appearance I guess that would make the most sense. But if that's the case-"

As he quickly hurled the poor sob into the crowd.

WHOOSH

BANG!

AHHHHH

AAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

as the voices of the Phantom members cried out and a huge explosion of dust covered the area.

As it settled you could see Shawn standing there with his aura still covering his body.

"A Demon you say…. not a bad nickname"

As he clenched his fist and pulled out Aine and Celeste, causing both of them to be coated as well.

"How about instead we go with…." as another magic circle appeared on both blades, causing the aura to be turned an even deeper shade of blood.

….

….

….

"Asura… Fairy Tail's Asura, Shawn Chambers, will be your guide… on a one way ticket to HELL~!"

As he called out and jumped once more into the fray, sending several more members flying as he made sure not to lose to Natsu and the others.


Ten Minutes Later

BANG!

CRACK!

As everyone heard the sound of something falling from above, the entire hall turned silent.

Shawn, who held two of Phantom's members and was about to "bump" their heads together looked towards the center of the guild, just above the huge sign with 'Phantom Lord' written on it was cracked down the middle.

Though he was more focused on the one sitting on top.

"So you finally showed up, took you long enough" as he finally felt like the plot was moving forward.

"Is that?"

"Gasp~, it's gotta be"

As Shawn looked to the side, he saw Erza's eyes narrow "It's the Iron Dragon Slayer"

Sitting on top of it was a tall and muscular man.

He had long, spiky black hair slicked back which revealed his forehead. He sported red eyes with slitted dark pupils and no eyebrows. Instead he had three studs above each of his eyes, two on each side of his nose, and two on his chin just below his mouth. His ears each had a set of five earrings on either side. With his Phantom Lord mark on top of his right shoulder.

He also wore a black shabby, sleeveless tunic with studded edges, a studded belt around his waist, beige pants tucked inside studded black boots, and a pair of brown gloves paired with similarly studded wristbands. Lastly, he sports a distinctive wing-like ornament made out of feathers which jutted upwards over his right shoulder,which was attached to his tunic by a large stud.

Gajeel Redfox

A.K.A. Black Steel Gajeel and Iron Dragon Slayer

"You attacked Levy, hahhh" as Nab came out of nowhere and tried to attack Gajeel.

Only to be easily sent flying by Gajeel's Iron Dragon Club and into several of his own men as well.

"Oh man" whispers Loke

"What the...he just knocked out his own guildmates with that attack" yelled Gray as his face looked like he couldn't believe what he just saw.

"Hah, show me what you got, unless you scum are too scared to face the great Iron Dragon Slayer" as Shawn heard him speak for the first time, he's not surprised his voice sounds as rough as it did in the English version of the anime.

"Just hope Jose's voice isn't as annoying as it sounded back then" as he prayed that it wouldn't be the case.

"Too scared? Real men have no fear" as Elfman launched himself at Gajeel while using Take Over Magic and changed his arm to stone.

Though that was easily blocked by Gajeel who transformed his arm into an iron club with ease.

"Your Elfman right?" he asked before launching several more strikes at him before Elfman got used to his speed and caught his transformed leg with his stone arm.

"Ahhh, not bad, big guy" as he praised Elfman for his strength.

"Well, that's because I'm a real man"

"Yeah? Then let's see how a real man handles this" as he called out several smaller ones sprouted from it and attacked in all directions.

Most of them even hitting Phantom's members.

Knowing it would distract Elfman he soon launched another Iron Dragon Club which landed right on Elfman's face and sent him flying.

Then out of nowhere, Natsu came and used Elfman's gut as a springboard and headed straight for Gajeel.

As he used Fire Dragon Iron Fist he landed one on Gajeel.

BOOM!

As the recoil sent him through the air and straight into the guild's bar.

"Whoa, that kid sent him flying"

"Nobody's ever done that before"

As the smoke cleared Gajeel didn't seem fazed as he looked at Natsu who had already lit his fist and looked at him with a pretty pissed off look.

"Allow me to introduce myself, I'm Fairy Tail's Dragon Slayer" as Natsu announced himself,Gajeel proceeded to get back on his feet with no problem and just smiled back.

"Elfman, leave this guy to me"

"Come on, first you use me as a springboard, and now you want to steal my man to man fight?"

"Iron Dragon Club"

Gajeel then attacked Natsu with a club made of Iron that extended and pushed him back at least ten feet.

"Natsu" cried Erza in worry.

"He's fine Erza, focus on what's in front of you" as Shawn called out and used Burst Wave Ignition and took out a Phantom member about to attack her while she was open.

Natsu was holding Gajeel's Iron Club in his grip "you destroyed our guildhall… and you attacked Levy and her team… I'll MAKE YOU PAY!" as he yelled in rage he then threw Gajeel into the air, though that didn't affect him much and just used the wooden beams as a springboard and launched himself at Natsu, beginning the start of their fight.

"Alright, that's enough distractions, time to get back to work" as he soon returned to making Phantom wail in agony and regret for provoking Fairy Tail.

While he was crushing their bones and making mincemeat out of Phantom everyone else soon followed Natsu's lead and proceeded to fight once more.

As Fairy Tail pushed the offensive while Phantom was running out of members to throw at them.

"Seems like everything is going well so far, but if I know Gaia as well as I think I do then-

RUMBLE!

RUMBLE!

RUMBLE!

As we soon felt the entire place shaking once more, just a lot more violently then before.

"Everything's shaking"

"I guess they're going at it"

Wakaba and Macao freaked out a bit but didn't stop fighting.

"I don't like the sound of that" muttered Gray.

"What's going on?"

"This is what happens when Master Makarov's angry" Cana smiled in delight for Master's rampage through the building.

"It's called a Giant's Wrath" muttered Loke though he kept a reasonable distance from Shawn throughout the whole fight as you know for his own personal reasons. Nab on the other hand smiled as he clutched his arm in pain "No one will be able to stop him now"

"When he gets angry, the Master's even manlier" praised Elfman.

As Shawn punched another members lights out "so close, just a little bit more" as he made sure not to let up his assault and get back as many as he could before time runs out.

Erza swung her sword "prepare to fight, we cannot lose so long as Master Makarov is with us" and raised everyone's morale.

"Sorry Erza, fate is about to prove your statement right" as he looked up and saw Natsu's fight becoming even more intense.

Both sides weren't giving an inch and were doing everything they could to overpower the other.

Though obviously one of them wasn't actually fighting fair, Gajeel was using all sorts of dirty tricks to try and pummel Natsu into the ground, that included attacking his own guildmates when he used his Dragon Slayer Magic.

Blowing away several Phantom members trying to make an opening, using them as shields, and everything in between.

Just as they were about to start anew.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

Something fell from above and crashed hard into the ground next to the staircase kicking up a small dust cloud that obscured what happened.

"What the?"

"Something fell from the raptors"

Everyone stopped fighting for a moment to look at what it could possibly be.

As the dust settles what it was soon came to light.

Much to Fairy Tail's shock.

….Master Makarov…. pale white (or green)... and without a trace of Magic Power in him.

Natsu, Gray, and Erza all look in shock as they speak up

"It's gramps"

"Is he okay?"

"Master"

As for Shawn

"Definitely Aria's work, guess it's about time" as he looks at Master Makarov, all he can do is make sure he pays for what he's done.

"That trick only works once, and trust me, you won't get away with this" as he swears in his mind to be the one to take him down.

Erza then rushes over and picks up Master Makarov in her arms, Shawn and the others make their way over to her and get a better look at him, though his condition is worsening by the second.

"My...power is….. My…. Magic Power is-"

"Master, calm down" Erza gently pleads.

"What happened to him?" as Cana follows up.

"I don't know, but I don't sense any magic energy coming from him at all"

"Gray, are you saying he's just an ordinary old man now?" while Elfman is probably trying to deny the words that are coming out of his own mouth.

"Unfortunately, that seems to be the case, even I don't want to believe it" he says while looking up to where Gajeel and Master Makarov fell from.

"There Master's been defeated"

"For real?"

"You guys, we can beat e'm"

"They're not half as strong without their Master"

"We've got Gajeel and the Element Four on our side"

These are only some of the things that the members of Phantom Lord are saying and trying to psyche themselves back up, while Fairy Tail's morale started plummeting.

Erza seems to notice as well, but before she can give out an order Phantom starts to kick us while we're down.

""Don't you start getting cocky!"" as both me and Natsu call out and start pushing them back.

Soon Macao, Nab, and many others are getting injured faster than we can dish out.

"Goddammit, this is bad, we have to get out of here" as Shawn kicks a table and sends it straight towards Phantom members trying to attack Macao and Cana while they're down.

Shawn decides to switch from offensive to a support role: helping out others, moving the injured out of the way, or just trying to raise their morale, but even that doesn't seem to help our situation much.

Then from behind him as he's dragging another member out from the frontlines...

"We must retreat, everyone, back to the guild at once" as Erza calls out, much to Natsu's and the others disbelief.

They try to say that they can still fight. Erza soon makes it a point that they don't stand a chance against Jose.

With none able to go against her sound logic, soon everyone starts to retreat back through the front entrance, either running or carrying some of the injured.

"I'll cover us as we retreat, get moving you guys" as Shawn unsheathes Celeste and uses Icy Paradise to freeze the floor.

"Hurry up, that won't hold them for long" yelling at them Gray also chips in and creates several walls of ice between the two groups while also pummeling any that get too close, though it's clear he's only doing this for revenge.

Shawn turned his attention to Gajeel while knocking out another goon underneath his foot and used Armament to boost his sight and hearing.

"They're they go, I knew it wouldn't be long before those gutless cowards gave up and started running for their lives"

"They're retreating with sorrow in their hearts" says a man sitting on top of the beam Gajeel is hanging from.

He's extremely tall and quite big from what he could tell while also having tanned skin. No visible hair, a rectangular face. His eyes are hidden away by a blindfold which Shawn knew was for restraining his powers. However, his limbs were quite small in contrast to his large body with only his hand being well proportioned. Wearing a large, loose green coat with white edges closed around his neck sporting a wide collar except open in the front. There's also a top hat sitting on his head which matches his coat along with other accessories that are too many to count.

Aria

Airspace Wizard and Leader of the Element Four

"Aria, I see that you're just as creepy as ever. I got to commend you on taking out that Fairy Tail geezer" as Gajeel lands on top of the beam and gives out a rare compliment to him.

"I just followed Master Jose's orders, but… THANK YOU!" as he soon starts crying which he knows is just part of his character and doesn't pay it much heed.

Then, Gajeel finally gets to what Shawn's been waiting to hear from all this time

"So, what happened to that Lucy girl?"

"Hurry it up already" as he looks on with anticipation.

"She's been captured, the poor wretch is being held in a gloomy cell at headquarters" he replies without a care in his voice.

"Okay asshole, you owe me one for what you did to Makarov, and another for calling her a wretch" as a tick mark spouted on Shawn's forehead in anger.

"So much for giving her a warm welcome, huh" while Gajeel doesn't care either.

"That makes it three for you Gajeel!" as he soon felt even his patience running thin, as if what he'd just done earlier didn't help him at all.

"Gajeel!"

As Natsu yells out in fury.

Gajeel crosses his arms and looks down on Natsu "we'll finish this someday, Salamander"

Aria then stretches out his hand, before both of them vanish the next moment.

"Those jerks, kidnap Lucy!" "Hahhh?" as Natsu reveals Happy recoils back in shock.

"Which means we have to go and get her back, right Natsu?" while Shawn walks over to him and returns Celeste to its sheath.

"Yeah... were not letting them hurt her... or any one else from our guild~" as that last part was laced with anger, not even Shawn wanted to get between him when he's like this.

"Then let's go, we should bring along one or two of their men with us and force them to tell us" as Shawn offers him advice.

He seemed to agree with him and they both headed out, grabbing a Phantom member along the way.

"I'm coming Lucy… I had hoped they didn't get to you, but I swear I'll get you back no matter what"

With this… the first round between Fairy Tail and Phantom… ended in our loss…...


Outskirts of Phantom Lord's Branch Building

As Shawn, Natsu, Happy, and one of the men from Phantom that Natsu was dragging along by the shirt were heading out for a craggy outcrop.

"So, what are we gonna do now?" asks Happy as he fly's net to Natsu.

"Isn't it obvious,we're gonna go save Lucy" was his answer "Alright pal, where is she? Tell me!"

"And don't say you don't know, otherwise my friend here is going to burn you to cinders before long" as Shawn looked at the poor sob with cold eyes, as if not even looking at the guy as less than human.

"How the hell should I kno-"
"Wrong answer buddy"

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Before he could finish Shawn interrupted him before signaling Natsu, who then lit him on fire, yet somehow manages to keep his clothes from burning away, doesn't mean he can't feel the pain.

As he soon proceeds to scream in total agony.

Shawn walks behind Natsu as he looks at the human torch once more "now then, let's try this again shall we?" as he gave him a friendly smile.

Unfortunately, it was anything but reassuring to the man.

He soon started to cry and scream "I already told you guys, I don't know nothing, I'm serious dude now PUT OUT THE FIRE!"

"If you Phantom guys hurt another one of my friends, I swear I'll burn every single one of you into a pile of ashes!"

"And I'll make sure that no one, and I mean… no one…. will find your body"

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

As the screams echo out once more in this barren wasteland.

It seems like that finally broke him and he began explaining that Lucy is most likely in their headquarters up ahead.

He also gave out how it has several traps around to keep intruders out, but since he apparently visited it a few times to deliver some reports as a grunt before, which is good news for us since that means he knows how to get around them.

Yet another Distortion that he wasn't aware of before, Shawn didn't know if Natsu was just lucky in picking him out from the lot or if it's something else.

As we walk forward towards what matters most right now, Lucy.


A Few Minutes Later

Shawn's POV

Were walking through the path our new friend (hostage) is guiding us through.

"So far everything is going along with canon, but that's not reassuring. I can't predict things will go like this for long"

As I wonder if all this is really worth it, letting things play out as they should.

Letting Levy and the others get hurt just to start the war with Phantom, allowing Lucy to be kidnapped without so much as a warning.

I could have prevented that… but I didn't.

I feel as if I'm walking on a tightrope…

Between the line that pushes for change…

….or for keeping the status quo…

I seriously began questioning about my actions and how they've managed to affect this world.

Since back on Galuna….

When I somehow managed to bring Ur back from the Iced Shell, even if I wasn't aware of it at the time.

"I've already managed to save someone's life"

As I think back to Galuna, being able to see Gray and Leon smile like that, would have never been possible had I not brought Ur back. But whether that's good or not, I can't say for certain.

It can also hold them back.

As I think back to that moment.

The only thing that comes to mind...

"The smile on her face, at being able to see her two students again, makes it feel as if I've done the right thing"

Then there's the possibility of having saved Makarov from Aria had I'd been able to reach him, or at the very least warned him. Maybe that would have settled the conflict sooner.

And that's just the beginning:

Tower of Heaven…

Jellal...

Oracion Seis….

Ultear….

Tenrou Island…...

Grimoire Heart…..

Precht…...

Tartaros...

Acnologia…..

.. And Zeref

There are far more powerful enemies up ahead, difficult choices I'll have to make in the future, and some of them may not always be for the better. This isn't just some child's story where the heroes vanquish evil, the people celebrate, and everything ends happily ever after.

As Natsu would put it...

"We're talking about lives here"

I'm playing a very, very dangerous game.

And if I don't play my hand right, many people can wind up losing their lives in the process.

That… is by far the thing I fear most.

All sorts of possibilities and "what if's" are popping up left and right, and I'm not sure which one I should pick.

"Sigh~ why does life have to be so complicated?" as I grasp the bridge of my nose in frustration for thinking like that and at a time like this.

"Hey!"

"Huhhh? What? An enemy?" as I brought out Aine and held it out while looking for any signs of enemies "Shawn? You okay?" "You seemed a little out of it"

As I turn my head to the right I can see Natsu had a confused look on his face while Happy seemed to look at me with worry.

As I tried to think of something to say I shook my head and rid myself of those thoughts for the moment "sorry you guys, was just thinking about some personal things. I know this isn't exactly the best time to get distracted" while smiling to reassure them

"Are you sure you're okay?" Natsu didn't seem like he was buying it, flinching in response as I forget that Natsu may seem like a complete idiot most of the time, but when it comes to his friends he becomes surprisingly sharp.

"What the hell, might as well try"

As we continue walking I ask "Natsu, let me ask you, what if you could prevent something terrible from happening, but didn't act on it because you were afraid of things changing from what you know, but then also living with the fact that if you had done something back then could have ended things differently, perhaps even for the better. What would be the right choice to make?"

….

….

"Dunno"

"Yeah, sounds like a total pain in the butt"

BANG!

BANG!

BANG!

BANG!

They're responses didn't even take me by surprise, I then started banging my head against a nearby rock as I blame myself for even thinking of asking him in the first place.

As I continued to bang my head in shame, I heard Natsu's voice calling out behind me.

"Shawn, you sound like you think way too much, just go with what your heart knows is right"

...What?

My heart?

Stopping myself, I turn back and look at Natsu as if he just said something unbelievable.

Just stop thinking?

You mean go with the flow?

…..Isn't that a little too cliche?

"Are you being serious?" while wondering what is going on inside that head of his.

"Aye, deadly serious" as Happy chimes in, Natsu then nods as if it was only natural.

….. I don't believe it….

… Have I been overthinking it?

Could the answer really be that simple?

.

..

….

….

"...ha...ha...haha...hahaha….. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

I soon started laughing like a maniac, and I couldn't stop myself.

"Uhhh Natsu, I think you may have broken him" says Happy.

"What did I do?" Natsu points to Happy and accuses him before they start fighting amongst themselves again.

About a minute later I get up from the ground, still trying to laugh.

"I think Natsu's starting to rub off on me" as I try to breathe in and out to recover.

Seeing that I stop laughing both of them look towards me "Natsu, you're an idiot"

"Hey, what the hell man, you trying to pick a fight with me?" as Natsu had tick marks appear on his forehead.

"But…"

"Huh?"

I feel as if something has lifted this burden,even if only a tiny bit.

"Thanks to you, I think I've found my answer" as I placed my hand on his shoulder and patted it in joy.

"He's right, guess he wasn't the protagonist of the series for nothing" as I thought about how stupid I was earlier.

Thinking about it wasn't getting me anywhere.

It's my actions that will.

That's what brought me to this world in the first place.

So why should I care about hypotheticals?

I've already affected this world permanently.

Why should I care if things change? Distortions?

Changes were already set in motion a long time ago.

That's what let me meet everyone in Fairy Tail

It's how I managed to save Ur when no one else could.

...And, it's how I met them

"Come on, let's go save Lucy… and put a stop to Phantom" as I started running on ahead, not even listening to Natsu or Happy.

I'll deal with things as they come along and just try to do the best I can.

That's all we can do.

And this time… I won't hesitate.

"LUCCCCCYYYYYYYY!"


Author's Note: Hi everyone, Ashbel Dusk here with a new chapter of Fairy Tail: Guildmate from Another World.

First off I want to apologize to you all for being gone for so long, but as you know the world is still suffering from the COVID epidemic and so many of us have been stricken by its effects.

Even I haven't had much time to write or post new chapters since I've been busy helping my family as well.

But I assure you this won't be the last chapter or anything like that, because after so many months I finally have a little breathing room to do this.

Also since this is my first set of chapters in a while, I might be a bit rusty when it comes to certain things like in my wording or proper spelling so please go easy on me.

Lastly,

I hope you guys continue to support me and may our prayers all go out to those who need it.

Together we can whether the storms.

The same message will appear on Chapter 12 of in DxD with Naruto System


Next Time: The battle with Phantom continues, what will Shawn and the others do from now on? Tune in to find out.

Till Next Time!