Titania and The Hunter
Chapter 31: No Turning Back
This is to commemorate the two-year anniversary. I can't believe that short little piece of writing I typed up for fun all that time ago has grown this big. I'm so proud. And so happy for all those reading this that have followed since the beginning or just started catching up.
Thank you for over 2000 Favorites and Followers. Thank you for over 600K views.
And thank you for inspiring me to keep doing this.
I knew Moffat liked to take a dark turns with some Doctor Who episodes but that finale...
Jesus Christ.
########Hunter########
Porlyusica was thinking while she took medicinal herbs and started rubbing them down into a gauze. She guessed that knowing her luck and the fact that blond idiot dropped by to leave her a little guest, the guild was off to do something stupid and dangerous. She didn't have to be a genius to figure that out.
Speaking of her uninvited guest, she was being much quieter than the old woman would expect her to be. She looked over her shoulder and scowled, "You know I never let anyone eat my apples, so me giving you one as a snack is a gift. The least you could do is stop sulking and try eating it."
Koyuki looked up from where she was silently looking down at the apple in her lap. She picked it up and took a small bite out of it before resuming her worried and concerned thinking.
Porlyusica sighed and continued on with her work. When Naruto came back to pick her up, she was going to have a few stern lectures ready to give him. Like how she wasn't a babysitter, and he couldn't drop off kids whenever he wanted just so he could go out and start a fight. She hated kids! Hell, she hated people in general! Especially the young and obnoxious ones that kept screaming for attention and always yelling.
Of course the young Senju wasn't doing anything like that at the moment, opting to instead sit silently on the bed in her little orange sundress and worry for everyone else.
Just a little while ago, Naruto came to the house deep in the forest and dropped the young girl off before heading back out, saying that she had to be somewhere far away and safe from what was about to happen.
Porlyusica didn't mind though. As long as it was quiet and she could get her work done then there was no harm in letting the little girl stay for now.
"Obaa-chan."
Of course. When she brought attention to the matter, it immediately started to happen. And the pink-haired women glared, making sure to smack Naruto for teaching the child to call her that. She continued her work, "What?"
"Is Onee-chan and Onii-chan and everyone gonna be okay? T-they'll be okay, right?"
"Probably not." Porlyusica immediately answered with zero hesitation, "They're going off to foolishly fight a battle against another guild that's just as strong as them. They're going to get hurt, most likely very badly injured, and in the end there won't be anything positive coming out of this fight-"
The medical advisor of Fairy Tail looked back to see the little chestnut-haired girl's shoulders shake as she tired not to cry. Well this was everyone she ever cared about as a family going off to fight a war with another guild...it was understandable that she would be frightened.
Porlyusica put down her project and walked over to the little girl before awkwardly patting her back. The little Senju rubbed away the tears forming in her eyes before she quickly hugged Prolyusica's stomach and dug herself into her cloak. The medical adviser was surprised but she swallowed her protest and just patted the little girl's head.
It was true. There was no point in lying about it at this point.
All they could do now was hope that this wouldn't go too far.
########Hunter########
Oak Town
On top the large hill in Oak Town was a massive guild hall belonging to the only guild that was located there. Home to the main branch of one of the largest and oldest guilds in Fiore.
Phantom Lord.
Inside of the guild hall, all of its present members were cackling and slandering their rival guild. They laughed, "Man, we got those shitty Fairies good, right?!"
"Hahaha! You said it! We showed those little bitches whose boss!"
"Fuck, I wish I coulda seen there faces when they saw their shabby ass guild wrecked to pieces!"
"That woulda been priceless!"
"Well I hear Gajeel went back to Magnolia and beat a few of the Fairies into the dirt! Just for fun!"
"I thought it was because of Master Jose and whoever that guy he's been talkin' to told him to."
"Who cares! I'm just glad he did it! I hate those annoying bastards!"
"No arguments there!" One of the members downed his drink before standing up and heading towards the door, "I'm off!"
"Where you headed?"
"Got a job working protection for some tiny business. They begged for someone to guard their store with such shitty pay, all I had to do was threaten them a little and they doubled the reward!"
"Only double? Pfft, you bitch. I coulda tripled it easy. Maybe even quadrupled!"
"Whatever. I'll be back." He opened the door and walked out while closing it behind him. The guild continued its celebration and cheering at their vandalism of the other famous guild until-
"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
The doors flew open and the Phantom Mage that had just walked out was blasted right back in. He bounced off the ground several times until he slammed into the back wall and passed out, a huge bruise on his cheek and blood from his mouth where he was missing several teeth.
The doors started to close again but before they shut a figure stepped into the guild. They all looked towards the front in silence as a red-headed woman in armor stepped into their territory, the sound of her boots being the only noise in the whole room.
She stopped in the center of the ground floor and her eyes slowly panned left and right, summing up the men around her. She closed her eyes before announcing, "I want all of you to remember something...we didn't start this fight...so whatever happens next, be it broken bones or waking up another day in pain, just remember..."
Her hair parted to reveal her blue and brown eyes full of barely contained rage, "This is your own fault."
The doors behind her exploded off their hinges in a wave of fire as they flew past her and into the group of Mages. The smoke faded to reveal an angry pink-haired man with flames coming off his arms, joined by several other people standing right behind him.
As the Phantom Mages stood up, a metallic fist pierced through the left wall before blowing it apart. They all jumped back in shock as a blond with whiskers dressed in black started making his way in with furrowed eyes, other Mages following behind him.
Finally, the right wall started to be encompassed by ice before crumbling to pieces. A man with black hair and bandages over his stomach started to step over the ice covered debris with another group behind him.
The three entrances were full with members from the attacking guild, the Phantom Mages looking around in shock at the sudden appearance. A short old man made his way past the front entrance and stopped before yelling, "FAIRY TAIL! ATTACK!"
All of the invading Mages yelled before they charged forward, preparing their magic for battle. The Phantom Mages panicked, "FAIRY TAIL'S ATTACKING!"
Natsu snarled his teeth and leaped up before rocketing back down with a flaming fists, "BASTARDS!"
A massive explosion blew several Phantom Mages off their feet and on their asses as Natsu roared violently. The Fairy Mages were charging all around and attacking the overwhelming number of the Phantom Mages that surrounded them.
Gray slammed his fist into his palm as a gust of cold air shot from his hands. He yelled, "Ice Make: Lance!" Several spears made of ice extended from his hands and slammed squarely into the chests of the charging Phantom Mages, blasting groups of them away before he started charging towards his next group of victims.
"WRRAHHHHHH!" Elfman's arms glowed brightly and they changed into his Beast Arm Take Over sets, the Black Bull and Iron Bull. He pounded them together with a resounding thud before he yelled and charged toward another group that started to pull out their weapons and magic. Before they could attack he started making large sweeps with his arms and blowing them all away with the force of his strikes. He shouted with a vein across his head, "NONE OF YOU ARE READY TO FACE THE WRATH OF A MAN FROM FAIRY TAIL!"
As Eflman grabbed two men by their shoulders and slammed them into the ground, Lisanna leapt over him and used Animal Soul: Cat to give herself sharp claws on her hands and feet. She landed swiftly before charging forward and slicing guys across the chest with her claws. She yelled, "We'll never forgive you guys! Never!"
"Take this!"
Several of the Phantom Mages started firing powerful blasts of Fire magic at the youngest Strauss sibling when they saw an opportunity. As the large balls of fire started careening towards her, Natsu slid in front of her before taking in a deep breath and sucking in all of the fire instantly. The Phantom Mages just looked at him in shock before he absentmindedly burped and wiped his mouth, "You guys are gonna need a helluva lot more than that to hurt us!"
Erza and Naruto swiped their swords against their opponents before jumping back and placing their backs against each other. They looked around at the numerous Mages that were surrounding them and planning to attack. Naruto saw a bright light shine directly behind him and ducked as Erza sent a wave of swords flying around her in a circle while in her Heaven's Wheel Armor.
While the Phantom Mages were blown back by the force of her swords, Naruto gathered magic into his fist as the shimmering light of Armor covered his arm. He slammed his foot into the ground before throwing a punch towards a large group of opposing Mages and blasting them away, "Flying Gauntlet!"
Immediately after blasting them away with magic he gathered chakra into his hand and molded it into wind. He punched the ground with a roar and a massive torrent of wind caused all the remaining Phantom Mages that surrounded them to be thrown back by the sheer force.
Macao and Wakaba stood besides each other and beat numerous Mages with their Purple Flame and Smoke magic as Cana slid in besides them. She pulled out several cards and threw them on the ground as powerful blasts of water started breaking everything apart around her, "The Prayer's Fountain!"
Loke gripped his fist and his rings shined brightly before sending a blast of light around with a loud roar.
Natsu and Gray jumped besides each other and started gathering their respective elements before swiping their arms out to attack the Phantom Mages.
Naruto and Elfman started working in tandem to defeat their enemies while Lisanna circled around Erza to defeat any stragglers.
Even Happy was flying over everyone's heads and dropping heavy objects on top of Phantoms.
It was pandemonium on the battlefield as Fairy Tail took out their anger on the ones that had attacked their guild and friends.
Some Phantom Mages started to recover and push themselves off the ground before they looked over to see Makarov hadn't taken a single step since the charge started. One of them yelled, "Master Makarov hasn't moved yet! Take the old man down and the guild will follow!"
They all charged towards the short old man as he continued glaring forward. And with a simple wave of his arm, he slammed all the Phantom Mages into the wall with his Titan arm and grabbed one of them before he could pass out. He held the beaten Phantom Mage directly in front of him and spoke threateningly, "Where. Is. Jose?"
The Phantom Mage had some tears start welling up in his eyes from fear before he slowly looked back towards a set of stairs leading to another level. Makarov dropped the frightened Mage to the ground before returning his arm to its normal size and marching towards the other guild master's chamber.
He made his way up the steps before he noticed more Mages start to come down from the higher levels and pointing at him. One of them yelled, "It's Master Makarov! Get him!"
They came charging at the short man and the Wizard Saint prepared to attack. But Naruto came jumping in from behind and sent a spinning kick into each of the Mages' faces before they could reach the old man. As they collided into the ground, Naruto landed in a crouch and Makarov spared him a look before continuing forward.
Naruto stood back up and ran over to his master's side before looking down at the old man, "Please tell me you have a plan."
"Of course I have one." Makarov narrowed his eyes further, "I plan to beat that rotten bastard Jose into the ground for telling his men to do something like this. And once I'm done beating him black and blue I'll tell him to never mess with our guild again."
Naruto groaned, "As much as I would love to see that happen, I think you should really take a moment and think about how you're gonna handle this."
Makarov continued on, "I really don't think you're one to talk about thinking ahead in a fight. Considering you chose to fight against a Dark Guild all by yourself and nearly get yourself killed."
"Yeah, but I wasn't gonna fight a Wizard Saint when I was angry."
"Do you think I can't take him?"
"No! We all know you're strong enough to beat that bastard into a smudge on the ground! And we want you to teach that fucking asshole a lesson!" Naruto looked down at the short man in suspicion, "But I bet Jose knows that too. Which means he'll be ready to fight you somehow to make up for that strength."
Makarov continued marching forward without any change in ferocity before he looked up at Naruto, "What do you think we should do then?"
The whiskered Mage narrowed his eyes, "Let me fight him first. I'll fight, he'll use up all his tricks and stuff on me, and then you can come in and-"
"No." Makarov answered sternly without any room for argument, "I'm sorry Naruto, but I'd rather none of you have to try and fight him. He's twisted. Not only that, I don't think you're ready to fight a Wizard Saint on equal footing."
"I'm not talking about fighting on equal footing. I'm talking about me getting in the first few shots and you coming in to finish him."
Makarov shook his head, "Thanks for the offer Naruto but no. I'm gonna handle this bastard myself. I need to know why he started showing hostility to us now of all times before I take action."
Naruto groaned and glared forward, "Well what should the rest of us be doing then?"
Makarov looked up at him, "Stay together and keep each other safe. No matter what happens as long as you're all safe, then-"
Makarov's mouth continued to move but no words were coming out. Naruto blinked in surprise before he raised an eyebrow, "Jiji? Are you playing a prank or something?"
Makarov's eyes widened in confusion when he saw Naruto talk without sound. He stood there and started to yell but there was still no sound. Naruto faced him, "What the hell? Jiji, what-"
Naruto stopped talking when he felt a subtle intent to attack spread over the area. Naruto slowly raised his hand and reached forward until his palm was touching an invisible wall made of thick, concentrated air. He narrowed his eyes and looked back the way they came as he saw a figure start to fade into existence from nowhere.
Forming out of something like a vortex was an extremely large man in a dark green coat, a long scarf with intricate designs over it and his face hidden by a hat. He had a large chin with very tan skin and he had both palms pressed together almost like he was praying. He slowly lifted his head to reveal his eyes were covered by a blindfold.
Naruto narrowed his eyes at the large man before he looked down at Makarov as they shared a look. Naruto turned towards the large man and started walking towards him as his guild master continued down the long hallway towards the next set of stairs. Naruto continued walking until he was a few feet away from the much taller man, his black cloak swaying in the soft wind around them before he spoke lowly, "Okay big guy, what are you doing here and how did you separate us?"
The man stood there silently before his shoulders started to shake and his lip started to quiver. He sobbed, "I-it's so sorrowful..."
Naruto kept his eyes on the man as he continued to shake.
Tears started streaming down his face from underneath his blindfold and he cried, "It's so sorrowful that master and follower must be separated, but only Master Makarov is allowed beyond this point! So I must step up and defeat you myself! That you would have such a terrible fate is so sorrowful! So sorrowful indeed!"
As the air around him started to swirl and gather around the large man, Naruto just narrowed his eyes as he realized who he was facing.
One of the Elemental Four, the best Mages of Phantom Lord.
'Aria of the Heavens.'
########Hunter########
Lucy was making her way through the streets of Magnolia with groceries in her arms and a disheartened expression on her face. She had promised the others that she would stay back here in Magnolia with Mirajane to watch over the guild and the injured.
She felt so powerless knowing all of her friends had gone off fighting and she was left behind. She probably would have just gotten in the way if she had followed them into the fight but still...
She wanted to do something to make up for Levy's and the others pain.
But all she could do was buy groceries and wait for their return.
Lucy felt a drop of rain fall on her head and looked up at the dark clouds hanging over her. A heavy downpour of rain started pelting her as the streets and roofs were nearly instantly filled with runoff.
She sighed and hung her head sadly. This was appropriate. She felt like a dark cloud was floating over her head all day.
...
But where did the clouds come from? It was clear and sunny just a minute ago.
"Drip. Drip. Drip."
Lucy's eyes widened and she looked back up as a figure started approaching her from across the street. Through the heavy rain she could see a slender figure slowly walk towards her while carrying an umbrella with a very large top.
The figure came into view as a young woman that was about the same height as Lucy. She had a very pale complexion and long blue hair that was done up in curls around her head. She was wearing a heavy blue rain coat with a rain-warding doll fastened around the collar. And her eerie blue eyes stared forward as she spoke in a monotone that carried over the street, "Drip. Drip. Drip."
The strange woman continued to walk up to Lucy as the new Fairy Mage grew suspicious. She slowly lowered her hand to her hip just in case she had to grab one of her keys as the woman walked closer, "The rain clouds continue to pour down on us. And though they may wash away the dirt, they will never be able to wash away the thoughts that cloud us."
The strange woman stood besides Lucy and looked towards her for a moment before giving a slight nod, "Good day."
And she just kept walking.
Lucy stood there with a confused expression and looked back at the woman as she left. This town. What was with it having all the weirdos and freaks?
Lucy just stood there confused until she decided to just ignore the strange behavior and-
"Non non non non non, that is pas bon, Madame Juvia. We cannot just walk by the objectif like that."
Lucy's eyes widened and she looked back to see the pavement by the woman's feet start to stretch and warp itself. The pavement started to raise above its base and turn into the form of a lanky man in a fancy brown suit with a pencil-thin mustache and a monocle. The young lady looked at him in mild realization, "Oh, Monsieur Sol, Juvia is sorry. Juvia was so distracted by the rain that Juvia forgot what we came here for."
"It's quite all right my dear, but it will be unfortunate for us if Monsieur Jose finds out we didn't grab our target."
Lucy eyes widened before she glared at them and faced them with anger in her voice, "Jose?! Phantom Lord's master?! T-that means you're members of the guild, right?!"
The lanky man spun on his feet before giving a deep bow towards the busty blonde, "Oui Oui, we are envoys of the Phantom Lord guild. Two members of the Elemental Four, Sol and Madame Juvia, at your service."
Lucy held the bag closer to her chest and narrowed her eyes at the two strange enemies. She yelled, "Are you gonna attack the guild?! Even if everyone else is away, I will protect our guild no matter what!"
Sol let out a hearty laugh at Lucy's determination while Juvia continued to look at her. The Earth Mage smiled, "Non non non, you misunderstand our intentions. Our guild never wanted to fight your guild out of jealousy. We just needed to get all of you separated from each other."
Lucy raised an eyebrow, "What are you talking about?"
"We are not interested in a guild war, we are only interested in you...Mademoiselle Lucy Heartfila."
Lucy's eyes widened in horror and she dropped the bag of groceries before reaching for her keys. But before she could even grab one of her golden keys, a ball of water wrapped around her head and cut off her supply of oxygen. She held her breath and tried to pull the ball of water off her head but it was futile as her fingers just slipped through the water. She tried to keep holding her breath as long as possible but she reached her limit and opened her mouth as a stream of bubbles started coming out of her mouth.
Sol stood and watched as Juvia kept the ball of water around her head long enough for her to lose her air supply and start blacking out. Just a little more and then they will have had their target.
"Lucy~? Lucy, where are you? It just started pouring and I was worried you were caught in it~!" Mira's voice carried over the street as she walked around the corner with an umbrella over her head. She kept calling, Lucy~? Lu-"
Mira stopped and looked in horror as she saw two strange people standing in front of a Lucy that was slowly losing all of her air. She dropped her umbrella and ran over, "LUCY!"
"Ohhhh, that's pas bon." Sol raised his hand and the ground started to bend before exploding and knocking Mira back with a yelp of pain.
As their attention was on the barmaid, Lucy finally pulled out a golden key and aimed it towards her two assailants before it started glowing. A bright light started to illuminate the entire area and the two Phantom Mages had to cover their eyes.
"Mooooooooooo~!"
A golden axe tore through their bodies horizontally and they collapsed into rock and water. The giant cowman Celestial Spirit, Taurus, yelled, "I'll take down anyone that tries to harm Lucy-San and her fabulous body!"
When the two Mages were attacked, the ball around Lucy's head collapsed and she gasped for air. She fell backwards and started coughing up water as Mira pulled herself back up and ran over to her side, "Lucy!"
The Strauss woman helped Lucy sit up and started examining her before asking, "A-are you all right?! Did they hurt you?! What were they trying to do?!"
Lucy continued coughing as a few small tears started gathering in her eyes. She held her throat and looked at the spot the two Mages once stood as the rain finally stopped.
She knew. She knew why they were doing this.
And it was all her fault.
########Hunter########
The Fairy Mages continued laying waste to the Phantom Lord guild and all of its members. With each attack they made, a large chunk of Phantom Mages would get taken out and knocked around. But as the fighting went on, the Fairy Mages were losing steam while the near immeasurably amount of Phantom Mages kept pulling themselves back up to get in an extra shot.
"Ah!" A blast of magic impacted against Lisanna's body and she stumbled back.
"Lisanna!" Cana caught her white-haired friend before she stumbled over and helped her back to her feet as Elfman roared angrily and started beating up her attackers. The bikini wearing woman asked, "Are you okay?"
"Y-yeah, I'm fine. Thanks Cana." Lisanna said with a strained expression before standing back up and preparing to attack with her claws again. She stood besides her friend and looked at the people that surrounded them, "There are too many of them."
"Yeah. They just keep coming." Cana pulled out a few more cards and made sure she was focused, "Some of us are already hurt fighting and the rest aren't doing that much better."
"Where's Master?"
"I think he already made his way to fight Master Jose!"
Erza kept swinging her blades before yelling out for all of her comrades to hear, "We have to hold them off long enough for him to finish up there and-"
While everyone was fighting, a shadow started descending on the lower level with a constant yell echoing through the walls. Everyone looked up to see a man with black hair and a crazed look in his red eyes jump off the banisters and fall towards the lower level.
He grinned and punched towards the ground, "AHAHHAHAHAAAAA!"
His fist and arm morphed into an iron pole that rocketed towards the ground and landed squarely on Nab's back. He screamed in pain as he was planted into the ground and dragged along the pavement before slamming into the wall, knocking a dozen Phantom Mages out in the process.
The man landed on the ground floor and retracted the pole before it changed back into his arm. He looked off and flashed a toothy and crazed grin at the Fairies that had invaded his guild.
The Iron Dragon Slayer. 'Black Steel Gajeel.'
"BASTARD!"
Gajeel looked back just in time to see Elfman pounce on him with his fist pulled back. Gajeel dodged and flipped to the side as the Strauss man's fist dug into the floor before he immediately started chasing after him with a barrage of fists. He yelled with a righteous anger, "IT WAS YOU THAT ATTACKED OUR GUILD AND OUR FRIENDS! GRIT YOUR TEETH AND TAKE YOUR PUNISHMENT LIKE A MAN!"
Gajeel cackled while swiftly evading the larger man's fists, "Shit, you bastards are raring to go! Now you're makin' this fun!"
Gajeel continued to just barely evade the attacks before he backed up into a partially destroyed table. Elfman saw the opportunity and aimed directly for the man's face before he saw a grin stretch over Gajeel's face. Gajeel jumped back and held himself up on the broken table before kicking out and turning his legs into metal poles. Elfman guarded against the attack as it pushed him back and across the ground. He struggled to keep the metal attack against the back of his arms before he glared at Gajeel, "Is that all you got?"
"As a matter of fact!"
Multiple bumps started appearing along the length of the metal poles before dozens of smaller bats started shooting out and nearly striking against Elfman's skull. The white-haired man had to dodge constantly as a flurry of metal spires nearly took off his head as they kept coming out faster and faster. One finally landed against his jaw and he flew backwards, "AH!"
Lisanna yelled out, "Elf-niichan!"
Gajeel smirked as he watched the large man stumble back. But his smile faded when he saw someone leap over Elfman and fly towards him with a fiery anger in his eyes.
Natsu landed a punch against Gajeel's face and sent him flying back, "WRAHHHHHH!" The Iron Dragon Slayer bounced off the ground and slammed into the wall as Natsu gathered flames and swung his arms towards the downed man, "FIRE DRAGON'S WING ATTACK!"
A wave of fire spread out along the ground floor and bounced off the wall Gajeel was imbedded in while also taking out a few remaining Phantom Mages. The surrounding debris was lit on fire and Natsu started at the spot Gajeel was lying in before he spoke over his shoulder, "Elfman, I'm taking this fight! No arguments!"
Elfman rubbed his injured chin before grumbling, "Can't believe you would be taking a man's fight so selfishly. If you're doing this then you can't lose."
Natsu just gave a silent nod as he saw a figure start to move through the wall of flames. The fire wavered as Gajeel jumped through it and landed in a crouch. He kept himself low to the ground before standing back up and smiling menacingly, only a slight bruise on his cheek from the attack he just took.
He laughed, "I guess we can finally get back to business...Salamander."
########Hunter########
Naruto had slight scuff marks over his body as he stood silently in the destroyed hallway. Smoke and rubble surrounded him everywhere as his eyes darted back and forth to try and find the man that continued to disappear and reappear to attack him. Naruto was not happy that he was always just an inch away from landing a hit he knew would make the large man cry in pain.
Aria appeared floating above him and held his hands out as the air distorted into balls and rocketed towards the blond, "Zetsu!"
Naruto looked up before stepping aside as a ball of highly compressed air fell where he once stood. He then started to speed up and dash across the hallway and along the walls as the balls of air started pelting everything in sight and reducing it to rubble.
Naruto jumped up against the wall and launched himself towards the large man while pulling out his black blade. He was prepared to cut through the Air Mage but Aria faded away before he could reach him. Naruto spun through the air and skid against the ground before looking around angrily, "Asshole! Stop being a cowardly bitch and face me!"
Naruto was scowling and grumbling, angered that this guy could turn invisible in the air and disappear from his senses. This guy controlled Air and it was similar to wind, so did that mean that he could turn invisible too if he could manipulate his Wind in a certain way?
No. Not the time for that. Focus on trying to find the big bastard.
"Uhuhuhuhuhuuuu!" Aria's sobs echoed through the hallway and could not be distinguished where he was hiding. He continued crying, "It is so sorrowful that our two guilds had to come to such a violent confrontation like this! Truly a terrible twist of circumstance and fate!"
"Fate had nothing to do with it!" Naruto yelled out to wherever the Elemental Four member was hiding while snarling his teeth, "This happened because you guys chose to fuck with our guild and hurt our friends!"
"We did not mean to instigate a fight with your guild!"
"Bullshit!" Naruto responded with venom in his voice, "All your guild ever does is pick fights with us! You've been angry and jealous towards us for years now! If you wanted a fight then I would have happily taken you up on that offer! Instead you chose to hurt our friends when they least expected it! And now you have to pay for what you did!"
"You misunderstand. We were not doing it just to antagonize you."
"Then why?!"
"To tear your guild apart."
Naruto's eyes widened when he heard the voice directly behind his ears and looked back to see the massive man floating over him. Aria waved his hands around and a cage of solid air formed around Naruto. The inside of the cage started spinning and Naruto held his throat as he felt the air slowly evacuate his lungs.
Aria continued to cry as Naruto stumbled on his feet inside the cage suffocating. He wept, "It is so sorrowful that you will not get to see the end of your guild come with your own eyes! So sorrowful indeed!"
*Schwip*
Aria stopped crying when he felt a gust of wind pass over his body and looked down to see Naruto had swung the black blade and destroyed his cage. The whiskered blond kept his arm outstretched and his eyes were out of view before he looked up at the Air Mage with ferocity burning in them.
Aria jumped back and contorted the air around him to run away before Naruto could make a move, but a massive surge of wind countered and destroyed his magic before it could solidify.
The blond in black appeared directly in front of Aria's face before turning in the air and planting his metal fist in the large man's face. Aria's whole body was lifted off the ground before he was sent flying across the massive hallway and into the wall on the other side before breaking through most of it from the extra force. Aria's cheek was bruised black and blood was streaming down his chin before he was barley able to lift himself up.
"I thought you and I had similar powers but I was wrong. Your air thing is weak and timid so it works better for a coward like you to hide. My wind thrashes around wildly like a storm and you have no chance of stopping it." Naruto spoke with a low growl in his voice as he stood a few feet away from the man he had so easily tossed aside, "And if you think something like this is enough to destroy our guild, then you are stupider than I thought."
Aria gritted his teeth and started to lift himself up before reaching for the blindfold over his eyes. Naruto narrowed his eyes and gripped his sword tightly in anticipation of another round.
But before Aria could grab the cloth he flinched like he had felt something pass over him. He lowered his hands before tears started going down his cheeks again, "So unfortunate...so sorrowful...I'm sorry Hunter, I truly wish to take the time and show you your inferiority before the might of Phantom...but I am needed elsewhere."
He put his hands together and the air around him started to swirl, "It is so unfortunate...that you and your friends must now walk this perilous journey alone."
Naruto's eyes widened and he dashed forward while swinging his sword but cut through thin air as Aria vanished.
Naruto landed on the ground and looked around desperately to locate the large Mage. But the nagging feeling of being watched and the possibility of being attacked had disappeared from his senses.
Aria was gone.
########Hunter########
In the chamber room atop the highest point in the Phantom Lord guild, there was a massive wooden door that led into a mostly empty room except for a large throne directly across from the door.
A low humming could be heard before a massive blast blew the doors of their hinges and blasted them across the room and into the wall. Makarov slowly walked in while his massive magical power flared around his whole body and his eyes were white with rage. He yelled with flared teeth, "Jose! It's time for you to pay for your crimes!"
The man being threatened by the short guild master was comfortably sitting in the throne across from Makarov. He was dressed in a strange and ostentatious wizard outfit with a large purple hat to match the rest of his clothes and a pair of massive bat wings on his back. He was a slim, middle-aged man with long black hair and black lipstick over his subtle smile.
The guild master of Phantom Lord and one of the Ten Wizard Saints, Jose Porla.
His eyes poked out from underneath his hat and looked at the short, wrinkled man that flooded the entire area with his staggering magic power. He spoke with a calm tone in his voice, "Hello again, Makarov-San. It's a pleasure to finally see you again after all these years. When was the last time you and I met face-to-face like this, do you remember?"
"No small talk Jose." Makarov seethed, "Only punishment."
"My my, you're so reckless Makarov-San. You usually have such a calm and composed aura about you but now it feels like I'm looking a monster directly in the eye. Like the center of a storm." He smiled, "It's truly terrifying."
"I haven't even begun to show you terrifying, Jose." Makarov flared his magic again, "I don't know why you chose to attack our guild, but all that matters is that you did. You destroyed our guild. And more importantly, you've hurt my children. And no amount of begging or forgiveness will be able to protect you from that sin!"
"Well there's no reason to be so jumpy anymore Makarov-San." Jose stood out of his throne and looked to his side, "Because we already have what we wanted."
The image of Lucy kneeling on the ground with a bubble of water over her head and drowning appeared right besides Jose. Makarov's eyes widened and he jumped towards his captured child, "LUCY!"
As Makarov jumped, the form of a massive man in a long green coat appeared over him. Makarov's eyes slowly opened and he turned in midair to see the air around his hands start to contort and twist around the short man.
Makarov felt the strange air start to cover him, 'Shit!'
########Hunter########
*BOOM*
The fighting on the ground level came to a screeching halt as they heard a massive explosion blow out the roof over their heads. Naruto ran to the edge of the blown out wall of the hallway and looked up as he was a small figure fall through the air and careen towards the ground. He felt a cold chill run over his back before he jumped off the side and caught the small figure before they landed on the floor and cracked the ground.
The other Fairy members looked at the blond S-Class as he stood out of the small crater with a sickly and pale Makarov in his arms, gasping for air as his eyes started to roll back into his head.
Erza saw the horrible sight, "M-Master! MASTER!"
The Fairies started to swarm around the sick man in Naruto's arms as they all panicked, "What happened to him?!"
"Why does he look so pale?!"
"W-wait, where's his magic?!"
"You're right! I-I can't sense any magic from him!"
"How the hell did that happen?!"
Naruto looked over the gasping man in his arms with a panicked expression before he sensed the magic signature over his body. He gulped, "Aria. The Elemental Four Mage. He did this!"
Gray looked at him, "What?"
"He took Jiji's magic somehow! I don't know how but he did!"
While the Mages from Fairy Tail panicked with their guild master incapacitated, the Phantom Mages slowly started to advance forward with evil grins.
Natsu was sent crashing into the ground and slid through the pavement until he reached everyone else crowded around Makarov. Natsu wiped his bloody cheek before he looked back and was horrified at the sight of the old man in pain, "JII-CHAN! Shit, what happened?!"
"Your sorry ass excuse for a master got his magic blown away." Most of the Fairy Mages looked over as Gajeel stepped out from the horde of Phantom Mages with a slightly bloody grin, evidence from his quick skirmish with Natsu. He spit some blood off to the side before smiling, "Looks like you losers are alone now without the big boss to guide you. So whatcha gonna do now?"
Natsu snarled his teeth in anger while pushing himself back on his feet. The remaining Phantom Mages started smiling as they got their second wind while the Fairy Mages were concerned about the well-being of their master. They kept the stalemate going for a few more moments...
"We have to retreat."
The Fairies looked back at Erza in shock as she spoke with a reluctant choice, "Master is incapacitated and we have injured. We need to regroup and return to the guild."
They looked at the scarlet-haired Mage like she had grown a second head. They questioned, "W-what are you talking about Erza?"
"We can't leave!"
"We have to."
"Bullshit!" Natsu yelled while standing up to her, "These guys hurt Levy, Jet, and Droy! They wrecked our guild! They insulted Fairy Tail! WE CAN'T JUST RUN!"
"AND WE CAN'T KEEP DROPPING LIKE FLIES TRYING TO FIGHT THEM!" Erza yelled back at Natsu, her left eye watering slightly at the status of their master and having to run from the fight. She steeled herself, "We won't get anywhere if we leave the injured to suffer and not think our next move through! They're going to pay for what they did...but we can't do it today."
The Fairies all looked at Erza in shock before they slowly realized she was right. Makarov was down and suffering, a few of their own were injured, and Phantom had the home field advantage with their larger numbers in their base. They were gonna defeat this guild...but they couldn't do it now.
Naruto started walking past Erza with Makarov in his arms and looked back at all of them, "There's a time to fight, and a time to run. And right now we can't risk a fight. She's right. It's time to go."
The Fairies all looked at each other before they started heading out through the holes they had made earlier. Natsu was standing there seething in anger as Happy landed on his shoulder, "Natsu..."
Gray's hand grabbed Natsu's shoulder and he looked back at the Maker Mage as he shook his head, "C'mon man. Jii-San needs us."
Natsu gritted his teeth and looked back at Gajeel as the rest of Phantom Lord started chasing after them while taunting them. The two Dragon Slayers shared a look before the pink-haired man reluctantly turned around and followed the rest of his friends back to their guild.
As the Phantom Lord guild cheered and helped their beaten friends up, Gajeel just stood there with a disappointed glare and frowned. He clicked his teeth, "Shit...there goes all the fun."
########Hunter########
Alzack and Bisca stood at the side of the room inside Porlyusica's treehouse as she examined their resting master. She was silently looking over him and contemplating his status as the two gunners looked between each other. Bisca spoke up, "Um-Porlyusica-San, is he going to be all right? What wrong with him?"
The old woman stood back up and sighed before facing the two young Mages, "The damn fool has gone and lost all his magic."
"What(x2)?!" The two gunners yelled in shock.
"Stop yelling!" She replied, causing them to jump back in fright at what she might do to them in anger. She grumbled and stood back up before walking over to her work station.
Alzack recovered first and asked, "H-how did something like this happen?"
"Some very powerful magic. All of his magic was evacuated out of his body and scattered into the air, leaving him a hollow shell. Using up all of your magical power usually leaves someone exhausted but when it is all dispersed from your body in a matter of seconds, especially the ridiculous amount of power this buffoon has, and it leaves you weak and incapable of moving."
Bisca and Alzack looked at their master in worry as he slept peacefully in the bed. Bisca asked, "Will he be okay?"
"His magical power will return to him but since it was forced out like that then it will take longer than usual. He won't be moving for some time. He can stay here while I try to help the process along but I can't promise he'll be awake anytime soon."
Alzack and Bisca looked down in shame at their inability to assist the old man in his hour of need. They looked over at the bed and watched as Koyuki was standing on her tiptoes to look over the bed at the exhausted old man. Tears started swelling up in her eyes as she gripped the bed and whimpered, "O-Ojii-chan, wake up."
This was it. They were all alone in this fight.
########Hunter########
"DAMMIT!" Elfman slammed his fists down on a table and broke it into pieces after a crestfallen Lucy had told them the news. He was seething, "They came here and attacked while we were away! No man should ever do something so cowardly!"
"Calm down Eflman!" Loke said defensively while trying to calm the large Take Over Mage down, "Just calm down."
"We can't!" Natsu yelled in agreement with Elfman's ferocity as he started spitting fire, "We were this close to destroying those bastards! And then we had to run away! What the hell was Erza thinkin'?! We could have stayed and finished the job! I woulda handled it all while you guys got Jii-chan to safety-"
"Shut up you idiot!" Gray yelled while facing the pink-haired Mage, "None of us are happy about retreating, especially not Erza! But Jii-San was hurt, we were all injured, and you were just knocking skulls with that other Dragon Slayer! We got anxious and we ran in there unprepared. Next time we get them we'll be ready but for now that was the right choice. We needed to run."
Natsu was panting in anger before he took a deep breath and started to calm down. Loke and Elfman looked between each other before they started to calm themselves to think clearly. They were all walking around silently before Loke asked, "They came here even when they knew the rest of us were gonna attack their guild. What were they trying to do here?"
"Who cares!" Natsu answered while shaking his head, "Maybe they were gonna try and ambush us or something or-"
"It was me."
The four men looked at Lucy as the girl hung her head in shame. She spoke with a defeated and empty tone, "It was me. They came after me. I was all they wanted."
Gray looked at her in confusion, "What are you talking about?"
"The people that came here...said they were coming to take me back for a job. They destroyed our guild and hurt Levy-chan and the others to get our attention. They were paid to come take me back. The only person that would go to such means like this to get what he wanted...is my father...I ran away from home...and he wants me back...so he asked Phantom to come take me back to him..."
Lucy pulled her legs up on her seat and wrapped her arms around her knees while her sobs mixed with her words, "I'm sorry. I-it's all my fault. The guild. Levy-chan. Master. They're all hurt because of me. If I didn't come to Fairy Tail-if I didn't run away from home-none of this would have happened." Her voice started to crack as her tears filled up her eyes, "I-"
She felt a hand land on her head and gently pat her hair. She lifted herself out of her knees and looked up at Natsu with tear-filled eyes. He shook his head, "It doesn't matter why they did this. All that matters is that we make them pay for this. And none of this is your fault, got it? So don't you ever say you wish you didn't come to this guild. Because you would be the only one who would ever even think that."
"You're our friend till the end Lucy. Our family. So don't you forget it."
Lucy looked up at Natsu in surprise before looking at the others around her who nodded in agreement. She felt another wave of tears started to fill up her eyes before she wiped them away and nodded with a sob, "Okay."
########Hunter########
"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! You're shitting me, right?! The old geezer went and got himself K.O.'d by Phantom! That's fucking priceless!"
Cana and Lisanna glared angrily at the holographic image of Laxus projected inside the Communication Lacirma. Mira continued the conference call, "Laxus, the guild is in danger. We need you to-"
"O-oh wait, tell me what he looked like when he was beat! I bet it was priceless!"
"Laxus, stop laughing and come to the guild as fast as you can!" Lisanna said defensively while yelling at the Lacrima, "Your grandfather is hurt and we all need your help!"
Laxus' smile faded and turned into a small glare before a cocky grin filled its place, "What did the cripple do while the shit hit the fan? Or how about Erza? How about Mystogan? Did he finally come out of that hole he was hiding in? Did the little babies finally step out from the old man's shadow and try to take charge? I bet that worked out perfectly for all of you."
"Dammit Laxus you stupid basted we need you!" Cana yelled furiously while facing the S-Class Mage through the hologram, "Lucy's being targeted by Phantom and we're desperate for help since we're forced to call you for help! Just get over here already!"
"Lucy? Who the fuck is Lucy?" Laxus thought for a minute until realization crossed his face, "Oh, you mean the newbie, right? Why the hell are you guys even bothering trying to help out someone who's barely a part of the guild. That's your problem. You get attached way too easily. It's shit like this that makes Phantom think they can come and attack whenever they want. You losers are weak. And until you can actually learn to stand on your own two feet, I'll take my sweet time coming-"
*CRACK*
The Lacrima was knocked off its pedestal and shattered against the ground after Mira had suddenly knocked it off, ending the call abruptly. Cana and Lisanna looked between each other before staring at the barmaid's shaking shoulders, "Mira?"
"How?! How can he say something like that?!" Mira cried with pain and sadness filling her voice, "He's a part of our guild! Our friend! He should understand what we're going through but he's just sitting back and watching us suffer! And we can't do anything about its! Master is hurt because we couldn't help him! We're all suffering and we can't do anything about it!" Mira's voice started to crack as she lowered her head, "I-I can't do anything. O-our guild is-is-"
Lisanna reached out and held Mira's shoulder before she turned around and faced her little sister, her big blue eyes filled with tears and her whole body shaking in fear. Lisanna felt a tear come to her eye as well and embraced her big sister, "It's all right Mira-Nee...don't cry."
Mira leaned into Lisanna's hug and cried into her sister's shoulder as the weight of their current situation started to bear down on them. Cana sat back in her seat at the table and looked down at the cards she was using in a futile attempt to locate Mystogan. She groaned and swiped them all off the table before covering her face with her hands and screaming into them.
########Hunter########
Erza closed her eyes and felt the warm water of the shower wash over her and shed away all the sweat and dirt from her body. But even under the warm spread of water, she couldn't find the calm serenity she had hoped for.
Her mind continued to drift to the sight of Makarov's defeated expression and all of her comrades faces as they saw the state he was in.
Erza lowered her head and let her hair fall around her face and block her sight. She placed a hand against the wall for support as she started to grind her teeth. She blamed herself. For running away from the fight. For not being able to help Master when he needed it the most. She felt useless.
"You okay in there?"
Erza opened her eyes again when she heard her lover's voice echo over the sound of running water in the shower room. She stood back up, "Naruto? Where are you?"
His hand popped up from behind the door of the stall she was using, "Right here. I know you usually like to take a shower after a fight so I thought you might be here. Probably could have used the company."
Erza closed her eyes and ran her hands through her hair, "If you're asking, no, I'm not inviting you in here to join me."
Naruto laughed, "Damn. You always know how to dash my hopes so fast like that."
She actually had to smile at his attempt to make her laugh.
He leaned back against the stall door and crossed his arms while she continued to shower. He added, "I thought you'd still be mad at me after last night and didn't want to talk to me."
"I am still mad actually." Erza answered while pulling her hair back, "But we wouldn't solve anything if we didn't talk to each other. That's just stupid. But since we're currently fighting with another guild, I thought we should put that off until we were done."
"No arguments here."
Erza continued to wash herself as Naruto stood against the door in silence. The quiet moment sustained until Erza spoke again, "I should have gone with him."
"Huh?"
"Master. I should have gone with him. Maybe if I did I could have stopped him from losing his magic. Or at least I could've been the one that was drained instead of him."
"Well if you're gonna bother blaming yourself then you should be blaming me." Naruto leaned back into the door with a frown, "I was right by his side before I started facing that Aria guy. And then just when I had that bastard on the ground he disappeared and ran away. I don't know how he coulda caught Jiji off guard like that but if I wasn't so careless, this wouldn't have happened. This is my fault."
Erza stopped washing herself for a moment and looked at the door she knew Naruto was standing against on the other side. She reached out and touched the door, "Would you have gone and fought Master Jose if you followed him?"
"Yeah. But Jiji didn't want me to get involved with the fight. He told me to stay out of it. Said that even if I was strong I wasn't ready to fight a Wizard Saint yet."
Erza looked down in thought before she stepped forward and leaned back into the stall door as well, "If Master said that then he was probably worried for your safety. He didn't want any of us getting into a fight we weren't ready for."
"I don't care if he was stronger. I still woulda fought him as much as possible if that meant I could at least give Jiji an opening to hit."
Erza closed her eyes and shook her head, "And that's why he asked you to stay back. He didn't even imagine the idea of letting you jump in and hurt yourself to help the fight." Erza looked down at the water rushing along her feet, "That's not the kind of person he is."
Naruto stared forward after hearing Erza agree with what Makarov had said. He sighed and rubbed the back of his head, "Lately it feels like everyone else knows the right thing to do except me...like I'm missing something important."
"You're wrong then. We don't know the right thing to do. None of us do." Erza's voice carried concern and worry as she closed her eyes, "I don't know what to do now. With Master out of the fight...I don't know what to do. How can I protect everyone? Make sure they won't get hurt? I...I feel lost."
"Don't worry." Naruto's voice brightened up as he tried to cheer her up, "You're the toughest person I know. We're all just scared but Jiji will get back up in no time. Until then we gotta hold down the fort."
Erza leaned back into the door, "Do you think we can?"
Naruto leaned back as well, "Jiji trusted us to. He knew we could."
Erza looked up at the ceiling, "Can we make it through this?"
Naruto looked up and nodded, "We have to."
...
The quiet moment between the two of them was shattered when a massive earthquake shook the entire guild. Erza stumbled inside the shower as Naruto nearly tripped and held onto the wall for support. The rumble of another earthquake followed immediately after as the entire guild started to shake from the force. Naruto looked out the window to try and figure out what was going on...
When he saw the figure making its way towards them through the water, his heart sank. He shook his head, "No way."
Erza slammed the door open with a towel in her hand before she ran up to his side to look out the window. Her eyes widened, "Oh my god."
Erza wrapped the towel around her body as they both dashed out the door towards the patch of land behind the guild. As they ran up the stairs, they saw everyone else was running outside to see what the commotion was all about. But when they ran outside...a sense of horror and hopelessness enveloped them.
Walking through the giant lake behind Magnolia was the entire guild hall of Phantom Lord, supported on some kind of spider-leg mechanism that carried them over the water. With each step it took, it shook the entire town and everyone in it.
Finally, reaching close to the shore, the colossal structure stopped its sporadic trek to Magnolia and parked right behind the Fairy Tail guild.
The Fairies were looking up at the mobile guild in shock and horror as they tried to comprehend how tenacious the Phantom guild was at continuing the fight as quickly as possible. Gray shook his head, "T-that thing could move."
Elfman was shaking, "A mobile guild."
Tears were filling up in Lucy's eyes, "T-that's not possible."
Mira covered her mouth and Cana took a step back in fright.
Erza was gritting her teeth, "They would go this far to destroy us."
Naruto was just silent at the sight of the massive moving building.
A ring echoed from the moving guild and a voice spoke through the speaker, ("Hello young and esteemed members of Fairy Tail. I am the guild master of Phantom Lord, Jose Porla. Earlier today many of you came all the way to Oak Town to wreck havoc on our guild and ambush our members. And while I must commend you for your efforts and tenacity, as many of you have already noticed we are not confined to just one guild hall. Now this whole silly feud was only a method we decided to take in an effort to find and return one Lucy Heartfilia to her dear worried father. And in an attempt to end all this silly fighting, I wish to offer you all an ultimatum. Forfeit Lucy Heartfilia to us...and I promise this little 'war' can come to a stop.")
Lucy eyes widened in horror after Jose finished stating his terms. Her mind started to race and she realized this was her chance to stop the fighting. To stop anyone else from getting hurt because of her. She hesitantly took a step forward, "I-I-"
"NEVER!" Natsu yelled at the top of his lungs in anger while pointing at the giant moving guild, "WE'LL NEVER GIVE LUCY TO YOU BASTARDS!"
"FUCK YEAH!"
"THAT'S RIGHT!"
"SHE'S OUR FAMILY THROUGH AND THROUGH!"
"WE'D RATHER DIE THAN HAND HER OVER TO BOTTOM FEEDING FILTH LIKE YOU!"
Lucy watched and listened as everyone denied his offer and defended her. Tears started welling up in her eyes and she covered her mouth in a futile attempt to stop the sobs.
The speaker rang out, ("Very well then. I suppose we must take more drastic measures from here.")
The guild started to let out a loud mechanical whirring as a gate started to open on the front. A long, massive cannon slowly started to slide out of it and aim for the shore, the guild, and everyone in front of it.
("This, as I am sure many of you have already guessed, is the Jupiter Cannon. A very powerful and very destructive magic weapon we spent a lot of money to buy. Now I would hate to have to actually use this on all of you...but I promised I would bring that girl back to her father. And I am a man of my word.")
The magic started gathering at the barrel of the cannon, ("Three.")
"ARE YOU CRAZY?! YOU'LL HIT THE TOWN TOO!"
("Two.")
The Fairy Mages realized that Phantom Lord was only using this job opportunity to finally take Fairy Tail down once and for all. They didn't care about any job. They didn't care about bringing Lucy back to her father.
Because they were willing to risk killing her along with part of the town just to destroy their guild and their members.
Erza swiped her arm back at everyone in the guild, "RUN!"
They followed her command and started retreating towards the guild to try and escape from the incoming blast. A few of them stopped and yelled at the red-head as she charged forward while her whole body glowed, "ERZA! NO! YOU'LL DIE!"
Naruto was frozen in place. He just stared up at the Jupiter Cannon as it nearly reached its breaking point and prepared to fire its ammo. He stood there silently as everyone else retreated back around him and yelled at Erza to come back. He watched as a man crazy with power was prepared to kill everyone he cared about and destroy part of the town just to get his way.
Naruto finally came back to reality and watched as Erza kept running forward while she equipped her Adamantine Armor over herself. She screamed as she prepared to take the full blast by herself and save everyone from danger.
("One.")
Erza charged forward while screaming. She ignored the warnings from everyone else and prepared for the blast that she was about to take. She kept sprinting forward with her sturdiest armor over her body...
But she realized she suddenly couldn't take another step forward.
She looked back just in time to see Naruto had appeared behind her and grabbed the collar of her armor to stop her. She suddenly felt herself being lifted off her feet and tossed several meters back as Naruto continued to charge forward in her place.
She landed in the sand and watched in horror as Naruto charged forward while pulling the black sword out from its place at his side. She pulled herself back up and screamed, "NARUTOOOOOOOO!"
("Fire.)
The Jupiter Cannon fired its blast and a massive concentration of magical power started soaring towards the shore to blast away the guild. Naruto gripped Kokuryū with both hands before he roared while swinging his blade, "WRAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
The blast from Jupiter impacted against the black blade as a massive blast of wind flooded the entire area. The Fairy Mages were nearly blown back by the force of the clash as the water started to ripple and make waves from the resulting crash. Everyone watched as Naruto planted his feet in the ground against the massive blast of magical power pushing against his blade. Naruto didn't move but he was being forced back by the superior power of the magical attack.
He could feel his whole body crying out in pain as he blocked the Jupiter's attack. His legs were close to falling out underneath him. The muscles in his arms were ripping and tearing. But he couldn't afford to let the Jupiter blast get by him.
He gritted his teeth and stepped forward, pushing the attack back just a little bit as he started making space against it. Everyone watched in disbelief as Naruto blocked against the cannon attack by himself and protected them from danger.
Until...
The black blade flew out of his hands.
The Fairies Mages were watching in horror as the nigh indestructible sword was pushed out of Naruto's hands and sent flying over their heads. But Naruto's grip didn't weaken at all during the conflict against the magical attack. In fact, Naruto was strengthening his grip and making it as tight and unmovable as possible to push back the Jupiter blast.
However the two opposing forces were so equal that something had to break first, and what broke this time was the grip of the sword ripping and tearing off all the skin and some muscle from Naruto's palm.
Naruto was left defenseless as time came to a screeching halt around him. He couldn't hear the sound of the blast reforming and heading towards him again. He couldn't hear the screams and cries of his friends to get out of the way. He couldn't even hear himself as he yelled and planted his feet firmly in the ground again to attack.
All he heard was the sound of cracking metal as he punched the massive magical blast with his prosthetic arm and the resulting flashing light that enveloped him.
*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM*
The explosion blew everyone back into the ground, blasted all the water away from the shore, and even caused the backlash of the blast to incinerate the Jupiter Cannon's barrel. The explosion started to subside and the ringing disappeared from their ears. The flare and light started to die down as well as time passed.
The Fairy Mages were pulling themselves back up and looking at the large scorched area that covered part of the shore and beach as the waves came crashing back down. While their hearts were still pounding after what happened, they heard the sound of crashing metal and looked down to see Naruto's black blade had finally come back down from its fall.
The Fairies stood up and we're looking around desperately for any sign of their friend after his heroic act of sacrifice.
Erza stood back up and changed into her base armor before slowly turning around to look at the guild hall. There was a massive hole in the back of the structure and it was still settling after the blast had blown something through it. Her eyes widened before she made a mad dash towards the hole, "NARUTO!"
The members of he guild all looked in the same direction as Erza dashed through the crowd and towards the guild. Mira gasped in shock before she started following and Lisanna came not long after.
Erza ran through the hole in their guild and looked in horror at Naruto's severely injured form. He had gruesome burns and lacerations over all the visible parts of his body, smoke still coming off of him from the blast. Most of his clothes were nothing more than tattered cloth at this point, his cloak and boots blasted away, his pants burnt up to the knee, and most of his shirt missing to show his damaged chest. His eyes had rolled into the back of his head to just show the whites. And there were several large deforming cracks along the Reformation Metal of his prosthetic.
Erza kneeled down to his side and just looked at him in horror as Mira and Lisanna arrived a second later. Mira gasped in shock as tears filled her eyes and Lisanna kneeled by his side. She leaned down and placed her ears against his chest to try and find a sign of life.
Her eyes widened before she placed her hands against his chest and started pumping, "One, two, three, four." She leaned down and started giving him mouth-to-mouth in an effort to resuscitate him. She went back to giving him compressions, "One, two, three, four."
The Fairy Mages watched from their spots on the shore as Lisanna continued giving the unresponsive Naruto CPR. Some of them started shaking there heads and tears even started forming in their eyes as they expected the worse was going to happen.
Tears started filling Lisanna's eyes but she kept trying as she started compressions again, "O-one, two, three, four." She leaned down and started giving mouth-to-mouth again-
"*GAK*!"
Naruto spit up some blood into Lisanna's mouth before he started coughing violently with more blood covering his mouth. After a moment his head fell back again unconscious but his chest started rising and falling at a steady interval.
They all watched in unbelievable relief as their friend was revived from his moment of crisis. Erza looked up at Lisanna with unbelievable joy as the youngest Strauss girl coughed and started wiping her mouth. Mira enveloped her little sister in a tight hug, so glad she had saved their friend from the imminent danger.
("I must be honest, I did not expect one of you to sacrifice yourselves like that. And it to be 'Fairy Tail's Hunter' no less, the stories about him are just as terrifying as I've heard. He was even able to damage the Jupiter Cannon in the process so we can't attack with it again. However, we do have other means to proceed with this fight.")
Massive magic circles started covering the mobile guild and black specters started flying out. The Fairy Mages faced towards the Phantom Lord guild as Jose's voice rang out once more, ("One last chance...surrender Lucy Heartfilia...or die.")
Erza lowered her head over Naruto as she had almost just lost the man she loved. Her guild was more than destroyed now. Her friends were nearly killed. Naruto nearly died saving them. Their master was out of commission. And this man still wanted Lucy...
He thought...he could just walk away...from all of this?
Erza raised her head with a furious, maddening rage burning in her eyes. She sprinted off the ground, ran through the crowd, and picked up Naruto's black sword before she emerged in front of the rest of her guild. She gritted her teeth, gripped the sword in her hand, and yelled while aiming it towards Phantom Lord-
"ATTACK!"
"UWOOHHHHHHHHHHH!"
The Fairies charged.
There was no more room for hesitation.
They didn't care whether Phantom had larger weapons or that some of them were still injured. What they had done had gone too far.
Their rage had built up until its breaking point.
No matter what happened to them, Phantom Lord would fall on this day.
But while the two guilds fought their war, neither side noticed the threat that was slowly breaking out of its confinement. Not even Lisanna or Mirajane noticed the danger occurring right by their side.
Even while Naruto was unconscious, his prosthetic arm started to twitch and jerk. And the cracks along it slowly started to spread wider.
As the malevolent force put to rest many years ago finally started to stir awake once more.
########Hunter########
Done
I hate to say it, I really do, but I won't be able to fulfill my promise when I said I was gone finish Part 3 by the end of the year.
If I wanted to fulfill that quota, I would've had to have wrote and published this chapter weeks earlier.
But I will be writing as much as possible to finish Part 3 as quickly as I can.
I hope you guys can stick with me until then.
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Thank You and Bye