Chapter 17: Phantom Lord
Magnolia
As they walk back to the guild with Erza dragging Natsu, they notice that the people are whispering themselves with worried looks.
"It's Fairy Tail wizards…"
"I guess they don't know yet."
"The poor things…"
"What's going on?" Sakura questions.
"We're drawing an unusual amount of attention." Gray says.
"I've got a bad feeling about this." Happy says.
"Frightened?" Erza says as she looks forward before stopping in her tracks and gasps in shock as the others notice this and look forwards as well. The six of them stop in their tracks and are horrified at the sight they see off in the distance. It was their guild but with an odd shape.
"What's this? The guild shouldn't look like that." Erza says.
"What in the world happened?" Lucy questions.
"We have to take a better look!" Sakura says as the group rushes and soon arrive at the front of the guild, seeing the full extent of the damage done to it.
"That's…" Gray says as everyone is staring up at the damage of their guild, gasping in completely shock at that they are seeing.
"What happened?" Erza questions.
"W-what?" Lucy says.
The iron pillars are coming out from the inside of the guild, causing the outside to be torn to pieces are both iron and wood protrude out from the building. At the top of Fairy Tail flag is barely hanging on.
Natsu takes a few steps forward, anger coursing through his veins as it could be seen on his face with his pupils become small and his eyebrows narrow down as his arms begins to shake. "Our… Our guild has been…"
"Is everyone okay?" Sakura hopes.
"What in the world happened?" Erza questions.
"Phantom…"
Sakura, Lucy, Happy, Erza, and Gray hear Mirajane's voice behind them and turn to see her with a saddened look on her face as she clenches her hand on her chest.
"What did you say?" Gray asks.
"Did you say Phantom?" Natsu asks turning his head to look at her with a dark shadow in his forehead as his angered look remain.
"I hate to say it, but they got us." Mirajane says.
Mirajane leads the group down the stairs to the guild's first level basement, arriving to see the rest of their friends already there as it appears now the storage room has been made into the temporarily beer hall. The rest of the guild are sitting down at the few makeshift tables were around.
"We've always been on bad terms with Phantom. Jet says as he and the rest of Team Shadow Gear sit at a table together.
"Maybe we should go and crush them." Dray says as he lies back against his chair with his eyes closed.
"I said stop that. We're up against Phantom… That Phantom…" Levy says to her teammates.
"Yo! Welcome back!" Makarov cheerfully greets to the returned group. His cheeks are completely pink as everyone could tell that he is completely drunk due to the beer mug in his hand.
"Huh?" Lucy says with a hand to her mouth, confusing by the Master's state.
Sakura has a worried look on her face, Gray with serious look on their face while Erza has her eyes closed and a hand on her hip, Natsu is still angry as he looks at Makarov.
"We have returned." Erza says.
"Gramps! What're you sittin' around here for?" Natsu questions.
"O-h right you are. Guys! How dare you go on an S-Class quest without permission!?" Makarov scolds them.
"Eh!?" Lucy says.
"Huh?!" Gray says.
"Punishment! I'll give you your punishment now! Prepare yourself!" Makarov continues.
"It's not the time for that now!" Natsu yells but shortly Makarov chops Natsu's head.
"Bad!" Makarov then chops on Gray's and Happy's head. "Bad! Bad!"
"Ow." Gray says.
"Aw…" Happy says.
"Bad! Bad!" Makarov says as he spanks Lucy's and Sakura's butt with a perverted face.
"Kya!" Lucy and Sakura scream.
"Master! Behave yourself." Mirajane tells the master as she puffs her cheeks and hands on her hips.
"Master! Do you understand our current situation!?" Erza says with a serious look on her face.
"The guild's been busted up!" Natsu says clenching his right fist up.
"Now, now… Calm down. It's not something to get so riled up about." Makarov says taking another drink from his mug as Natsu gasps in shock at his attitude.
"What?" Gray says in shock.
Makarov stops drinking but keeps the mug on his lips. "Phantom? That's all those half-wits got in 'em?" He says nonchalantly as he finally puts the mug down. "Attacking the guild when nobody was here? Who'd take pleasure in that?"
"Nobody was here?" Erza asks.
"It seems the attack happened in the middle of the night." Mirajane says.
"So that's why no one is injured. I suppose it's one small thing to be thankful for." Erza says.
"Yeah." Sakura agrees.
"If they can manage a sneak-attack, we shouldn't even give those bastards the time of day. They aren't worthy of our time!" Makarov says.
Natsu however, wouldn't let go as he slams his fist into a nearby wooden crate, denting it and sending wood chips flying.
"This ain't right, man! I won't be satisfied until we go and crush these guys!" Natsu yells.
"This discussion is over. Until upstairs is repaired, we'll take work requests from here." Makarov says.
The scene draws attention as a few others are staring at them.
"This isn't time for doing jobs!" Natsu yells again.
"Natsu! I've had about enough out of you!" Makarov yells as he extends his right hand out and slaps Lucy's butt again as she looks away.
"Why is he hitting my butt?" She questions silently.
"Master, I'll get angry!" Mirajane points.
Makarov brings his hand back, stands up, and chuckles to himself before jumping off the table he was sitting on and running away with his arms out pretended to fly over the angered Natsu who looks at him with wide, blank eyes.
"Gramps!" Natsu calls out.
"Just a second… Gotta pee." Makarov says as Natsu straightens himself and follows the man with angered look again before looking to the ground.
"Why're you okay with this, Gramps?" Natsu questions.
"Natsu. This is just hard for the master you know. Be outright conflict between guilds is forbidden by the council." Mirajane says.
"Well they're the ones that attacked first!" Natsu shouts, complaining about the fact as he stomps up and down with his arms up.
"That's not the problem." Mirajane tells him.
"If that's how the master feels… there is nothing we can do." Erza says as she along with the others are looking down at the ground.
~Night~
Lucy pulls her suitcase along the canal towards her apartment with her spirit Plue in front of her.
"Things have really gotten complicated, haven't they?" Lucy questions with Plue replying with his usual sound.
"Hey Missy! Don't blame me if you fall in!" A man on a passing by boat call out to her.
"Phantom is famous for not getting with Fairy Tail. I actually fretted trying to decide which one I wanted to join. After all, their reputation is nearly as nuts as Fairy Tail's!" Lucy continues with her spirit from time to time agreeing as he wobbles forward down the street and the two eventually reach her apartment. "But I think I made the right decision joining here. Because, Fairy Tail is…" Lucy trails off as she opens the door to her apartment.
"Nice room you have here."
"Whassup?"
"Yo!"
"Welcome home!"
"Sorry, Lucy."
Erza, Gray, Natsu, Happy, and Sakura greet at the same time as they sit around her table with dishes of seafood on it with Happy already has a fish in his mouth.
"…the best?!" Lucy cries out in shock as her eyes bulge out and sweat down her head at seeing everyone in her apartment. "There's a lot of y'all!" She then throws her suitcase specifically at Natsu's face.
Erza and Gray stares at her like it was nothing.
"The incident with Phantom means that they've come to this town." Erza says lifting a cup of tea to her face.
"It's possible they've looked up where everyone lives." Gray says causing Lucy to cry out in fear as her eyes and pupils widen. "So it'll be safer if we stay in groups. That's what Mira-chan said."
"I see." Lucy says understanding the situation.
"Everyone is having sleepovers here and there today!" Happy says.
"You are a girl of a certain age, and even I would be a bit uncomfortable staying with just Natsu and Gray. That's why I have decided to keep you all company." Erza says.
"We're not here to relax!" Natsu yells out who is sitting on the ground the entire time with an annoyed look on his face.
"So Natsu and Gray staying with me already decided? And why my house? And why is Sakura here?" Lucy questions as Plue and Happy walk away to do something.
"Well, I was about to go the place where Mira-san told me, but Erza asked me to come with her to your house." Sakura replies.
Lucy then notices Plue about sticking a lollipop in his mouth while Happy is going through her laundry causing her to cry out in shock.
"Her laundry!" Happy says as Plue bites down on the lollipop.
"Hey cat over there! What are you… And Plue what are you doing?!" Lucy angrily questions.
"Ooh Plue! What's that you're eating?! Let me have some!" Natsu yells.
"Erza look! I found some sexy underwear!" Happy yells out. All of the sudden, Gray is half-naked on Lucy's bed, Natsu is into a box fill of candy along with Happy and Plue and Erza is blushing heavily with wide eyes looking at Lucy's underwear that Happy pointed out.
"Wow! You actually wear this?" Erza questions.
"I'm hittin' the hay so pipe down okay?" Gray says.
"I'm glad you're enjoying the change of pace in someone's home…" Lucy sarcastically says with her eyes closed. "I'm just glad Sakura is nice enough to respect my privacy." Lucy says looking at her who is setting up her sleeping back on the floor.
"You're welcome, Lucy." Sakura says.
"Anyway… you all smell like sweat. We're sleeping in the same room so at least take a bath." Erza says looking at the boys in the room.
"Don't wanna! Wait a pain…" Natsu says.
"But I'm sleepy…" Gray whines.
Erza then grabs Natsu and Gray with closed eyes and stars sparkling beside her head.
"I suppose I must. Shall we take a bath together like we used to long ago?" Erza asks causing Natsu and Gray to sweat a lot with embarrassment.
"What kind of relationship do you guys have?!" Lucy cries out.
"We're the strongest team!" Happy yells.
"That's not the kind of strength it means!"
Eventually Erza took her bath and now covered in a pink towel with one wrapped around her head. It's Lucy's turn who just finished as she exits the bathroom fully dressed in her pajamas.
"Okay Sakura, you can use it next." Lucy says.
"Okay." Sakura says and walks towards the bathroom.
"What about you, Natsu?" Lucy asks him who seems to be passed out on her table with Happy eating another fish. "Gray?" Lucy calls after not getting a response from Natsu, but unknown to Lucy, Gray is reading her story.
"That was a nice bath." Erza says with a relaxing sigh.
"Erza even… They've all made themselves way too much at hole." Lucy says.
"Oh, pardon me." Erza apologizes and stands up as she then requips out of the towel and into her purple with purple crosses pajamas. "Nothing wrong with this, yes?"
"You even requip to change clothes?" Lucy asks and takes a seat next to Natsu at the table as Erza also sits back down on the bed. "I wonder why Phantom suddenly attacked?"
"Who knows. We've had a lot of smaller skirmishes before this, but never such a direct attack." Erza says.
"If Gramps weren't such a scardy-cat we could just destroy the punks!" Natsu annoyingly says as he looks at Lucy who sweatdrops.
"You're awake?" Lucy asks.
"Gramps isn't scared. He's one of the Ten Wizard Saints, you know." Gray says.
"What do you think you're reading so nonchalantly?!" Lucy questions finally realizing what was in his hand and grabs it away from him.
"Hey! I wanna know what happens next!" Gray complains and reaches out for it, but Lucy hugs it protectively.
"No! Levy-chan is going to be my first reader. It's already been decided." Lucy says. Just then, Erza holds out her hand wanting to read it completely ignoring what Lucy just said. "And what's with that hand for, huh?!" She cries out in shock. "Anyway, you mentioned Ten Wizard Saints?"
"It's a title bestowed upon by the Chairman of Magic Council to the greatest ten wizards on the continent." Erza explains.
"Oh, wow!" Lucy says.
"The master of Phantom, Jose, is also one of them." Happy says.
Out of nowhere Natsu slams his hand down on the table, now standing up with an angry look on his face.
"He is scared! The only thing Phantom got are numbers!" Natsu says.
"Please calm down…" Lucy worriedly says with sweat flying from her head.
"That's not true, you know. Master and Mira-chan want to avoid a fight because they know the consequences of two guilds battling each other. It's to help preserve the peace of the entire world of magic!" Gray says.
"Is Phantom really that amazing?" Lucy asks.
"Those guys ain't nothing!" Natsu says grinning confidently.
"No… If it comes to blows, mutual destruction is ensured. Our offense powers are about equal. Master Makarov is said to be on par with Master Jose, also one of the ten wizard saints. Then, there are the Element 4, their S-Class level wizards. Our biggest worry is 'Black Steel' Gajeel. He's the one I believe is responsible for the attack on the guild. The Iron Dragon Slayer." Erza says.
"Dragon Slayer?! There are more besides Natsu? So does that mean he like… eats iron and stuff?" Lucy asks.
Suddenly, they hear Sakura groaning in pain and looks at her seeing Sakura holding her head as she crouches down.
"Again…" Sakura manage to say.
"Sakura!" Lucy calls out and walks towards her. "What's wrong?"
"It's the same thing with Galuna Island…"
"Eh?" Lucy says and sees Sakura's eyes are glowing blue.
"What do you mean by that?" Erza asks and one of her poke balls snaps open by itself as Latias appears next to her with a worried expression.
Sakura then sees a blurry vision of Natsu fighting a man, a really pale Master Makarov, and a white dragon with dark-blue plate-like protrusions runs down on its back and large wings that resembles hands.
"Sakura!" Natsu calls.
"Oi, Sakura!" Gray calls.
"Lucy, have you seen this happened?" Erza asks.
"No. This is the first time she acts like this." Lucy tells her.
"Don't worry, I'm fine." Sakura says as she lifts her head without her eyes glowing. "I'm sorry I made you worried like that."
"Are you really okay, Sakura?" Lucy asks.
"Yeah." Sakura replies and hears Latias voice calling for her with a worried tone. "I'm fine, Latias." Even though Sakura said that, Latias is still worried. "You worried too much. I'm a lot stronger than that and besides, I still have you guys."
Latias looks up at her and smiles before nuzzles against Sakura's face.
"Hey, Latias! Stop that! It tickles!" Sakura tries to tell her but Latias continues to nuzzle her as Sakura laughs.
~The next day~
Magnolia Southgate Park
A large crowd has gathered in the center on the park around a giant tree. All of them are looking up at the tree with terrified looks etched on their faces mumbling in fear at what it was they are seeing.
"Please, let us through. We're from the guild." Erza says as her along with the rest of Team Natsu made their way through the crowd wondering what all the commotion is about when they see it.
The group gasp in complete horror at what they see on the tree. Natsu clenches his teeth as his eyes widen with complete anger.
"Somebody get them down from there!"
"But…"
"Look at the mark!"
"We'd better steer clear…"
Hanging on the trunk on the tree are Levy, Jet, and Droy. All three of them seriously beaten up as their skin was bruised all over and their clothes are torn apart in some places. Iron clamps hold their arms against the tree and on Levy's stomach is the symbol of the Phantom Lord guild.
"Levy-chan!" Lucy cries out.
"Jet! Droy!" Gray yells.
"This is too horrible." Sakura says.
"Phantom?!" Natsu growls.
Just then, the crowd moves aside and gasp in awe, moving through the crowd is Master Makarov now wearing a fur jacket with the symbol of the Ten Wizard Saints on the back of it as he stops behind the others.
"Master…" Erza calls and Makarov steps in front of the group.
"I can stand being reduce to a run-down beer hall… But no parent can stand idle while the blood of his children is spilled!" Makarov states clenching his fist so tight that he breaks his staff. Never having seen him like this before causes Lucy and Sakura to be frightened as Lucy whimpers in fright.
Now Makarov is glowing with bright golden light surrounding him from his surging magical power as his face is completely angered. "To war!"
~Later~
Magnolia Hospital.
Lucy and Aiko sit in the room with three beds that housed, Levy, Jet, and Droy. Lucy takes a seat next to Levy's bed while Aiko is sitting next to her.
Droy… Jet… Levy-chan… How could Phantom do this to you?" Lucy questions she then remembers how she befriended Levy and her team as she and Lucy promise that Levy will be the first one to read her novel once she completes it. However, because she is hospitalized from what Phantom did, it made Lucy to clench her fists on her knees and begins to tear up.
"They'll pay!" Lucy says.
She then feels Aiko rubbing her head against her legs and looks down.
"Aiko…" Lucy calls and Aiko looks up.
"Phia." Aiko says.
"That's right. Natsu and the rest will beat them up."
"Phia!"
Oak Town
Oak Town, a town located in the Northeastern section of Fiore. Located in the center of the town, towering above the old castle town was a branch of the Phantom Lord Guild.
"DAHA! This is great! Those Fairy Butts are all busted up!"
Inside the guild, all the members in the building are celebrating the recent attacks over Fairy Tail.
"And I hear that Gajeel went and did in three more of them!"
Three members of this branch are making their way towards the entrance with smug looks on their faces.
"So, let's go do some work!" One of them says.
"And on our way back, we'll pluck off a few Fairy wings!" Another says.
As they are about to reach the door, an explosion rockets from the doorway, destroying it and sending the three flying back into the sign that hangs over their bar. Their charred bodies falling right back to the ground as the rest of the Phantom Lord wizards go on full alert to what just happened.
After the smoke clears…
"Fairy Tail!" Makarov declares as he, Natsu, Sakura, and the rest of the guild stand at the destroyed entrance ready for battle as they all let out a cheer.
The Phantom Lord mages immediately charge at the arrived Fairy Tail, a large group of them jumps at Natsu who easily sends them flying with a blast of fire from his hands.
"I don't care who… bring it on!" Natsu yells.
The two sides charge towards each other.
"Finish them off!" Gray yells as the two sides collide, Fairy Tail somehow manage to best them far more easily as teams like Cana and Loke, and Elfman and Vijeeter sending large group of them flying.
"Purple Net!" Macao yells summoning a purple magic circle in front of him which sends out purple flames that ensnared many Phantom Lord mages in front of him. "Wakaba!"
"Gotcha! Smoke Crush!" Wakaba says sending out sink smoke which breaks apart and flies towards all the Phantom mages as the end transform into fists as they collide into their faces of the Phantom Lord mages.
Guns Magic! Spark Shot!" Alzack yells firing a barrage of magic bullets from his magic revolver as the shots impact into a bunch of Phantom mages in front of him. Electrifying them as they crumble to the ground surging full of magic. Alzack gasps as he notices a Phantom manages to sneak up and jumps at him from behind.
"Eat this!" However, the Phantom found himself shot down before he could do anything.
"Nice shot, Bisca!" Alzack thanks his partner as she is on top of a nearby ledge with a Magic Sniper Rifle in hand.
"You're getting rusty, Al." Bisca tells him. She then aims down the scope of her rifle and then a green magic circle appears at the end of the scope. "Target Lock On! Homing Shot!" She yells, targeting the Phantom mages through her scope and fires a single magic bullet which zig-zags through the air until impacting into the middle of a group of Phantom and explodes sending them flying.
A large group of Phantom made mistake of attacking Makarov as he calmly stands his ground with his eyes closed. Opening them as they glow, the whole ground begins to shake and with it, the master uses his Titan Magic to start growing, stopping all the Phantoms in their tracks as they look up at him with terrified looks on their faces. Makarov yells out as he slams his hand onto a group of Phantom mages while the shockwave also sends many others flying.
"He's a monster!" One of the Phantom mages trapped under his hand mutter in fear.
"You laid hands on this monster's children! Don't think any human laws will protect you!" Makarov says with his voice echoing throughout.
The rest of the Phantoms are now complete terrified to even think about engaging.
"He's strong…"
"And the rank-and-file ain't bad either!"
"These guys are nuts!"
"So these are Fairy Tail wizards?!"
Erza slashes away sending flying with two swords in her hands. A group of Phantom mages charge Reedus who draws a variety of color, furry boars on his stomach with his paintbrush.
Pict Magic! Nature run wild!" Reedus yells as the boars come to like and charge through the Phantoms sending them flying.
Laki puts her hands together like Gray does when he uses his magic.
"Wood Make: The Dam of Shy Love!" She yells putting her hands on the ground and summoning an assortment of tools made of wood from the ground, sending many Phantoms flying.
What the hell is that supposed to mean?!" A nearby Phantom mage questions in shock.
"I found a cat!"
"Finally someone we can beat!"
A group of Phantom mages yell as they charge at Happy who looks up at them with a dark look on his face.
"Aye." Happy says suddenly taking off with his summoned wings causing the Phantoms to collide into each other. "I'm a… wizard too!" Happy yells pulling out two gigantic fishes from nowhere and swings them around knocking some Phantom mages away. Now, Happy is on a pile of them holding a massive watermelon with glowing evil eyes as all the mages for some reason have seafood stuffed into their mouths and knocked out. "So what if I'm a cat?"
"Sorry 'bout that…" A Phantom says fearfully with his mouth full of seafood.
"Jose! Show yourself!" Makarov yells out.
Erza cries out as she flies forward, requipping into her Flame Empress Armor and swinging her sword forward producing flames from it that sends more Phantom mages flying. "Where are they?! Where are Gajeel and the Element 4?!"
As the battle rage below, high up on the rafters, the Iron Dragon Slayer Gajeel watches the fight chuckling to himself.
"So that's Titania Erza. Laxus and Mystogan are sitting things out, huh? Cocky bastards… But things are going pretty much according to Master Jose's plan. They rage pretty good for trash…" Gajeel says with a smirk on his face. Just then, something catches his attention.
A Phantom mage found himself knocking into one of his comrades, another mage swings his sword down on Sakura, who already has the fist plate on her glove, ducks down and sweeps her legs at the mage, tripping him. Sakura stands up and make a fighting stance.
"How is it hard to beat just one girl?!" A mage questions.
"Sorry, but I'm not an ordinary girl." Sakura says and charges at the group of Phantom mages. "Close Combat." She whispers and begins repeatedly punches and kicks the mages at a fast speed before she stops and the mages collapse from all the punching and kicking. Breathing out, three Phantoms jumps at her from behind with their swords raised.
"Wide open!"
Sakura quickly changes plate from fist to flame plate before pointing her gloved hand at the Phantoms. "Fire Blast!" She releases a 大-shaped blast from her hand at the three mages, charred them.
"Then how 'bout some of this?!"
Sakura notices for wizards firing different colored flames from magic circles in front of their weapons or hands at her. Sakura jumps out of the way in time and the fire blasts impact behind her, propelling her and a few other Fairy Tail mages away as they manage to survive it. Then the flames are being suck into Natsu's mouth.
"Natsu!" Sakura cheers.
"Now that I've eaten, I'm all revved up!" Natsu says with a massive smirk on his face.
"What's with this guy?!" A Phantom question as all of them are taken a back and terrified by the sight of Natsu eating fire.
"He ate the fire!"
"Could it me? He's…"
"I'll blow you away! Fire Dragon's Roar!" Natsu yells sending a massive blast of fire from his mouth at the Phantom, causing a massive explosion which consumes all of them and sends them flying into the air crying out in pain.
"Ice Make: Lance!" Gray yell taking out more Phantoms with his attack.
Erza in her Black Wing Armor slices her way through more of them with a single blow.
"Wood Make: The Distance Between the Two is Forever!" Laki yells summoning massive wooden feet from the ground that kicks away more Phantom.
Yup, no clue!" The terrified Phantom from before cries out.
"Guns Magic! Mud Shot!" Alzack yells firing a bullet that explodes into mud entrapping a group of Phantoms in it.
Bisca runs towards a group of Phantoms. "Requip! Magic Shotgun! Wide Shot!" Bisca yells firing a very massive wide spread shot from her magic shotgun taking out a lot more Phantoms.
"Twister!" Sakura yells now using the Drago plate as an orb of wind appears in front of her gloved hand and a tornado is released from the orb and hit the Phantoms.
Natsu and Gray take out even more Phantoms with their respective fire/ice magic attacks before jumping backwards and finding themselves back-to-back of each other.
"Not bad, droopy eyes!" Natsu says.
"Pretty good yourself, Squinty eyes!" Gray retorts.
Erza, Macao, Wakaba, Loke, and Cana find themselves backing up into each other in a group looking at the Phantom still surrounded them.
"They're ours now!" Wakaba says.
"Let's go!" Macao says.
"Erza!" Erza hears Makarov call out to her as she looks up at the nearby stairs to see him calmly walking up to it, blasting away any Phantom that attacks him with ease. I'll leave the rest here to your guys!"
"Master!" Erza calls out but he continues. "Please be careful…" She quietly says.
Makarov blasts away the door, up on the rafters Gajeel grins widely. "Gihi." He chuckles as he watches Makarov walks through the doorway.
"Now that the biggest threat is gone, maybe I should mix it up a bit?" Gajeel questions as he finally decides to join the fight, leaping from the rafters crackling maniacally.