AUTHOR NOTE: THANKS EVERYONE! That plagiarist on wattpad, HunterWater0...
THEIR PROFILE IS GONE!
Chapter 17: Phantom's Strike
Naruto was experiencing a very bizarre dream.
He sat cross-legged in a meditative position on the edge of a large fountain. Beside him sat a few of his clones who were also meditating. Huge toad statues surrounded him.
Suddenly, he felt his face swell up and a small old toad jumped up and whacked him on the head with a black rod. The swelling vanished and he felt him face return to normal before he could undergo a stone toad transformation. But the throbbing in his head where the toad had hit him hurt.
"Ouch! Man this is hard!" Naruto complained. He had been sitting still for hours now and being the hyperactive person that he was, it was torture.
"Focus, Naruto!" The old toad berated him. The small creature jumped up and whacked his clone whose face had bulged into a slightly transformed toad. As soon as the toad hit him, the clone dispersed. "You must learn to control the amount of Nature energy you absorb or else if you take in too much, you'll turn into a petrified frog statue. Now try again."
Sighing, Naruto took his meditative pose once again and tried to remain still. Not long after, the small toad once again jumped up and whacked him on the head as his face partially transformed into a toad.
The following morning, Naruto got off the train as he finally arrived back at Magnolia. He was glad to be back and he couldn't wait to see his new friends again, especially a certain red haired re-quip mage. He felt extremely optimistic. He placed a hand on his right pouch where he placed the potion Haruka gave him. Naruto didn't know when the potion would be ready to be drunk but he didn't care. All he had to do was to wait.
He left the train station and began to make his way back toward the guild hall at a leisurely pace. He was still thinking about his recent dream and what it meant.
Nature Energy...that term was very familiar. In his dream, the small toad was teaching him how to harness it. What he couldn't figure out however, was what he was able to do once he did. He would have to investigate later.
As he was walking, Naruto felt something very wrong. People were pointing and murmuring when he passed by. He only caught snippets of what they were saying.
"Oh no, isn't he one of them?"
"Does he know?"
"I feel bad for the rest of them."
"I hope they're alright."
He didn't know why, but dread started to crawl up his spine as he quickened his pace.
Erza sighed as she and Gray held back an angry Natsu from charging into Phantom's guild hall. She was furious as well but the master ordered them to restrain themselves from taking any action against Phantom Lord. She had no choice but to follow master Makarov's orders but that didn't mean she had to like it.
The members of Fairytail were all gathered in the basement with a sullen and depressed look on all of their faces. Erza and the others just got back from Galuna island after completing the S-class job when they found the guild hall nearly destroyed with gigantic metal poles smashed through the walls and ceiling. Fortunately, no one was around at the time and all of the members were unharmed.
Erza was starting to get annoyed. "Natsu, calm down! The master specifically told us to stay put and there's nothing we can do about it."
Natsu wouldn't listen and continued to struggle. "Let me go! I'll burn all of Phantom to a crisp! I'll make they pay for what they did to our guild hall!"
"Can it, you fire-breathing idiot! We're all angry and want payback but we can't go against the master." Gray said.
"Natsu, please," It was Lucy who spoke. "Just calm down,"
Eventually, the pink-haired dragonslayer stopped struggling and sat down on a wooden box grumbling. The other three just sat at the makeshift bar where Mira was preparing some food.
"I can't believe they would do such a thing." Mira said sadly. "We haven't done anything to upset them and yet they go and do something like this."
"What's done is done." Erza said although her fists were clenched. "We just have to bear with it for the time being."
The others didn't like it, but they nodded in agreement.
Then, they heard footsteps coming from the floor above them. Erza and the others tensed as they heard it coming closer. As a precaution, Erza summoned her sword and Natsu and Gray both stood, ready to attack anything hostile that came through the door. The door to the basement opened and Naruto appeared at the base of the stairs.
Everyone felt relieved as they saw him.
"What happened?" He asked no one in particular. Naruto's face frowned in worry as he scanned the faces of the people in the room.
Nobody answered. None of them could meet his eyes and the depression in the room seemed to increase. Naruto spotted Erza and walked toward her.
"Erza-chan, what happened here?" Naruto asked.
Erza cast her eyes downward. "Phantom Lord."
Naruto frowned in confusion. "What's that?"
"It's another guild that's said to rival Fairytail." Mira answered.
Naruto's eyes widened. "You mean a dark guild?"
Mira shook her head. "No, Phantom is an official guild like us. For the past few years, Fairytail and Phantom Lord have been competing for the position of top guild. But for some reason and without warning they attacked the guild hall when no one was around. Everyone was shocked by the sight of the nearly destroyed guildhall the next morning. We've decided to move anything we can salvage into the basement. Master refused to retaliate or take action against phantom lord. So for now, business will continue until we can pay to get the guild hall repaired."
Naruto nodded but he couldn't get rid of the worried look on his face. "Was anyone hurt?"
Mira shook her head. "No. Everyone's safe and sound."
Naruto sighed in relief. "Thank goodness."
Makarov came out of the bathroom and looked a lot less intoxicated than he was earlier. Trying to down his worries with booze and beer was apparently ineffective. He was still plenty worried and angry. He was furious to think that Jose would stoop to attacking them like this unprovoked. Luckily, no one was harmed and that was the only thing keeping Makarov from storming the Phantom Lord's guild hall along with his children.
The small guild master spotted the familiar face and gave a greeting. "Welcome back, Naruto. The job was a success I take it?"
Naruto turned toward Makarov and nodded. "It was…trickier to accomplish. In fact, there's some things I'd like to discuss with you, master."
Makarov was silent for a moment. "Very well, follow me."
The master of Fairytail headed for the stairs and Naruto followed. Erza was a bit curious as to what Naruto wanted to converse with the master but shrugged instead. If he wanted to tell her, then he would tell her when he was ready. She then focused on her current predicament: Trying to calm Natsu down yet again.
Meanwhile, Makarov led Naruto to the back of the partly demolished guild hall. The two stood outside, staring at the gentle waves crashing on the beach.
"What's on your mind, Naruto?" Makarov inquired. He was curious.
Naruto didn't answer immediately and continued to stare at the crashing waves.
"Master…How many Dark guilds exist?" Naruto asked in an emotionless tone.
Makarov frowned and his demeanor turned serious. "Hmm. To be honest my boy, I've lost count. The magic council sees them as nothing but a nuisance and while those fools bicker and argue, the number of dark guilds grows with each passing day. The other guild masters and I believe that there are three dark guilds that have created an alliance and are now the most powerful among them."
"Is one of them Tartaros?" Naruto asked.
Makarov raised his eyebrows and glanced at the young man beside him. "Yes, we believe that one of them is Tartaros and the remaining two are Oracion Seis and Grimoire Heart. What brought this up Naruto?"
The blonde kept his face blank. "I encountered three of their mages recently…and well...you're not going to like this, but, the village I helped in dealing with the dark guild mages had sent a letter regarding the change in the job request seven months ago. The request was changed to S-rank due to the current situation they were in..."
Makarov listened carefully as Naruto began to recount the events that have transpired on the job he took. It was troubling and it worried him greatly that Tartaros, one of the most elusive members of the Baram alliance, was already making their move. That meant that the other two guilds aren't far behind and are preparing to mobilize as well. This was not good.
"I need to convene with the council again soon." Makarov stated. "If what you say is true, then that means nothing but trouble in the near future. I have to convince the council to move against them before the dark guilds try anything again, and that this whole thing with being uninformed of the shifts in situation...that's especially worring. But right now, we have other problems to deal with. Of all the times for us to get attacked, we sure do have rotten luck."
The two shared a grim chuckle.
"Don't worry, you made the right choice by not responding in kind." Naruto assured. "War is never the answer and nothing good comes out of it."
It was then that Makarov once again caught the faraway look in the young man's eyes. They held so much pain, sadness, and worry. The boy had been through a lot, he could tell. His words come from experience and his wisdom was beyond his years. But through his intense pain, Makarov could see something else hidden within Naruto: kindness and unyielding determination.
"Yes, I couldn't have said it better myself." Makarov managed a small smile before frowning again. "Although, If one of my children was attacked, I'm not sure I will be able to restrain myself from marching on Jose's front door and make him regret harming one of the guild members."
Naruto nodded. "It can't be helped. If that happens, I call first crack at the bastard who did this to our guild hall."
Makarov smirked and grunted. "Get in line. Natsu's been itching to beat up the dragonslayer of Phantom Lord. They call him Gajeel Redfox, the Iron Dragonslayer."
They stood in companionable silence for a while before another topic came to his mind.
"Hey, gramps, have you ever heard of something called Nature Energy?" Naruto asked.
"I can't say I have my boy." Makarov said shaking his head slightly.
"Okay, never mind." Naruto felt a little disappointed. He had hoped that someone like Makarov would be able shed some light about it or maybe a clue to what it was. His recent dream didn't seem to elaborate much but it felt like it could be useful to him. And he had a feeling that he might need it soon.
"We should probably head back inside now." Makarov suggested. "There are some things we need to tell the other members about and we have to be cautious."
"Wait...Master, I still have something to tell you. Is there someone named Mavis in the guild?"
Makarov tensed. "...Why do you ask, my boy...?"
"Was asked to give her the regards of someone. Never got their name, but said they "still remember that day in August fondly", and they were under some curse that made it so it was hard to be social, whatever that means."
At that, the old master went quit for a while, "...I see..." he sighed at last, suddenly looking like something was troubling him even worse than before at that.
"Gramps...?"
"Oh...sorry, this was just reminding me to see an old friend once everything is settled, Naruto. Let's go."
With that being said, the two began to make their way back into the partly destroyed guild hall.
"I can't take it anymore!" Natsu shouted in frustration. "I can't just sit here and do nothing while those sneaky bastards think they can do this to our home and think they can get away with it! I'll burn them to a crisp!"
"Just shut up you idiot!" Gray said, irritated by his friend's behavior. "Can't you see no one wants to hear your crap right now?"
Natsu clenched his fists. "This is exactly why we need to make them pay!"
"That is enough, Natsu!" Makarov commanded as everyone turned to see him and Naruto arriving at the base of the stairs.
"But, master-," Makarov raised a silencing hand.
"We shall discuss this matter no more." Makarov said with an air of finality to it and took his place on top of the makeshift bar.
Natsu didn't like it but he kept his mouth shut and stared at the floor.
"There are times when you have to stay your sword Natsu." Naruto told him as he drew closer. The pink haired boy looked up to see him standing in front of him with a sad expression on his face. "I know that this is difficult to accept and you feel as if you can't let the matter go unsettled, but you have to."
Natsu opened his mouth to say something but Naruto placed a hand on his shoulder to stop him. "The Fairytail guildhall might be destroyed Natsu but Fairytail is still very much alive. I know, because I'm standing in the same room as them."
Erza smiled and she could see that almost everyone had been listening to Naruto's words and they felt their spirits lift ever so slightly.
Natsu nodded in understanding and the blonde let go of his shoulder.
"Well...since I just got a really huge paycheck recently, drinks are on me today!" Naruto exclaimed loudly. The guild members cheered. "Mira, one huge bowl of ramen please!"
Mira shook her head and couldn't help but smile. "Oh dear, looks like our stocks of ramen will get emptied again."
Everyone chuckled at the pouting face Naruto was making.
Naruto sat next to Erza and the redhead stared at the blonde enigma. She was amazed by how he quickly lifted everyone's spirits in a matter of seconds. The guild was back to their loud and boisterous selves, although it was a bit subdued. Gray and Natsu were bickering again and Lucy sighed at her teammates' antics. Mira was rushing from table to table, serving people drinks and food that were all paid by Naruto. Macao and Wakaba were sharing jokes again and Romeo was playing with Happy. Elfman made the mistake to challenge Cana in a drinking contest to prove how "manly" he was. Sad to say, he passed out after five rounds while Cana was easily chugging down a barrel of alcohol with no sweat.
"How do you do it?" Erza asked.
Naruto gave her a confused look. "Do what?"
The red-haired mage just gestured at everything around her. "You have a way with people."
"Well, I don't know about that." Naruto said while rubbing the back of his head. "What I do know is the best way to deal with sadness is to pick your self up and move forward."
Erza nodded and the two sat in comfortable silence for a while before Mira served Naruto his bowl of ramen. The blonde inhaled his noodles in record time and sipped the remaining broth straight from the bowl. When he set the bowl back down, Erza let out a small laugh as a stray noodle dangled on his upper lip.
"What's so funny?"
That night, everyone decided that it would be safer to travel back home in groups or with partners as a precaution. Erza insisted that Naruto join her and Gray to make sure they all got home safely. He agreed and Natsu was left to partner with Lucy and Happy. All of the guild members left that night, each heading toward their respective homes.
They arrived at Gray's apartment after a long and silent walk. None of the three really felt like starting a conversation.
"Seriously, I don't need you guys to look after me." Gray complained. "I can take care of myself."
Erza shook her head. "We can't take that chance, Gray. We have to stay together, at least until this ordeal with Phantom settles down."
Gray sighed as he dug out his keys and unlocked the door to his apartment. Erza was about to follow him as he stepped inside but looked back to see Naruto casting a hard look into the distance.
"What's wrong, Naruto?" Erza asked.
He was still frowning when he answered. "I…felt something."
She didn't know what he meant by that, but she didn't press him and went inside the apartment. Naruto followed a little while later, looking a bit troubled. They made arrangements for Erza to take the bedroom and the two boys would take the couches. Erza bid them good night and closed the door to the bedroom.
Erza changed into her night clothes and climbed onto the bed.
The red-haired mage lay in bed staring at the ceiling, unable to get any real sleep. Too many things were occupying her thoughts at the moment, mostly about Phantom Lord.
Why? Erza thought. It was the question that Erza wanted answered. It was true that the two guilds have never been on the best of terms and that they were considered rivals but what could have possibly pushed them to do something like this? It was at that moment that sleep overcame her and left her questions unanswered.
Meanwhile, Naruto quietly slipped out of the apartment through the window and began to speedily make his way among the rooftops, heading toward a specific location. The uneasy feeling kept bothering him and he finally decided to investigate.
Team Shadow Gear, which consisted of Levy, Jet and Droy, were slowly walking through the nearly deserted streets of Magnolia. It was pretty late and the street they were walking on was completely deserted. Jet and Droy have made several attempts to cheer up their depressed teammate but have been unsuccessful so far.
"Don't worry Levy." Jet said. "Mira says that the guild hall would be fixed in a couple of days and everything will be back to normal."
"Yeah and maybe tomorrow, we can go on a job. You pick this time." Droy said.
Levy forced a small smile. "Thanks guys. I appreciate the effort but I just can't put myself at ease."
"We're all still on edge." Jet admitted dejectedly.
Droy balled up his fists. "I swear if one of those Phantom mages shows me their face, I'll kick their ass!"
"Is that so?" A low and menacing voice said at that.
Team Shadow Gear whirled around to see a man with long spiky black hair and piercings standing behind them. He grinned evilly at them and Levy didn't like the look in his eyes. He was looking at them as if he'd found his next target and he was eager to let loose.
"Who are you?" Jet demanded. He and Droy protectively stood in front of Levy.
The man chuckled. "That's funny. For a moment there, you actually thought you had a chance to beat me in a fight."
"Listen, I don't know who you are but-," Whatever Droy was about to say was cut off as a metal column slammed painfully into his gut and sent him flying backward. Before Jet could even yell his name, another column smashed into his chest and was also sent flying back.
"JET! DROY!" Levy shouted in distress. She rushed over to check on them. Thankfully, they were only unconscious but their breathing was shallow and she could see that Jet had broken a few ribs.
"That was pathetic!" The assailant grunted in disgust. "And here I thought I might actually have some fun tonight. I guess you fairytail wizards are just trash after all."
"Please, stop this!" Levy pleaded with tears in her eyes. "Why are you doing this?"
The assailant just bared his teeth in a wicked smile. "I figured that I'd teach you weaklings a new lesson. It seems that wrecking your guild hall wasn't enough so I decided to take it up a notch."
"Wait, you mean you're…" Levy trailed off as meaning sunk in.
"That's right. I'm Phantom's Iron Dragonslayer, Gajeel Redfox!"
Horror froze Levy in place as she stared at the man in front of her. There was no way she could beat him in a straight fight. Maybe if Erza, Gray, or Natsu were here, then they might have stood a chance. Now she was helpless and alone. She was scared. She wanted to scream for help but was afraid of what Gajeel might do.
Gajeel cocked his right fist backwards and Levy knew that there wasn't anything she could do. She crossed her arms protectively in front of her and closed her eyes as she knelt next to her fallen teammates and waited for the blow.
"Iron Dragon's Club!"
Levy waited for the attack to connect. She felt something whiz past her and she flinched as she heard the sound of impact, but she was perfectly fine.
She opened her eyes and gasped.
"Are you okay, Levy?"
Naruto stood in front of her with his hand extended forward, holding the metal club that was aimed for her in place. Naruto had a hard and fierce look in his eyes that scared her even more than Gajeel. The dragonslayer retracted the club back and it transformed back into his arm.
"So, another weakling decides to come out and play." Gajeel smirked. "That's just great, more for me!"
Naruto glared at the man. "You're going to regret showing you face here tonight. When I'm through with you, I'll send you back to your guild in a body bag."
It wasn't the words that scared Levy, but the calm and cold fury behind the words. Even Gajeel showed a slight twinge of nervousness.
Naruto spoke to the blue-haired girl without taking his eyes off Gajeel. "Levy, I want you to take Jet and Droy to the closest guild member's house you know. My clones will help you carry them. Call for back-up as soon as you get those tow someplace safe, got it?"
Levy nodded and Naruto summoned two shadow clones. Each clone hoisted the two injured members onto their backs.
"What about you?" Levy asked nervously. She didn't want to leave him to fight the Dragonslayer alone, but she knew that she'll only be in his way.
Naruto turned his head to look at her and gave her a confident smile. "Don't worry about me. Just get somewhere safe and make sure Jet and Droy are alright. I don't want anymore of my friends to get hurt."
Levy hesitated for a moment.
"Go on. I just have garbage I need to dispose of." Naruto turned his head again to face Gajeel, who was cracking his knuckles eagerly in anticipation.
She didn't like it but she turned and ran from the street and rounded the next corner with Naruto's clones at her heels.
When they disappeared around the corner, Naruto focused all of his attention at the man who caused his friends' distress. In spite of himself, Naruto grinned.
"What are you smiling about?" Gajeel demanded.
Naruto shrugged. "Nothing, I was just thinking about what you're going to look like when I'm through with you. Because I guarantee that you'll be sorry that you ever decided to mess with my guild."
The blonde got into a fighting stance and Gajeel grunted as he cocked his fist backwards. "Iron Dragon's Club!"