~The Moment Galuna Island Disappeared~

On an island nearby to Galuna Island, standing up on a mountain, were two mysterious figures. They looked down at the bleached landscape of the nearby island with silent curiosity, neither sure what had happened.

One was a middle-aged man had black hair swept-back, and a scar down the left side of his face. He wore an armoured breastplate with the words 'ABSOLUTE ZERO' written into it and a white cape. The other was a younger man with crimson hair and a scar crossing horizontally under his nose. He wore no armor, but his garb was clearly designed for combat. He was the first to break the silence among them.

"Well, that certainly was surprising. I'm honestly surprised they managed to survive the night!" The redheaded one said with a laugh, watching the Mages paddle away in defeat.

"You say that Shura, yet you're the one who interfered by helping them escape from my Ice Wall." The older man said back.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Silver. I was simply going for a stroll and clearing up any trash in the way." Shura said with a shrug, before giving the other man a look. "Besides, you had no trouble joining in. Or am I to believe you simply misplaced that ice spear."

Silver brought a hand to his chin. "Hmm, did I do that? I guess I saw that demon and simply reacted on instinct."

The two fell into a silence again, giving each other evaluating looks. Despite the playful words, the tension on the peak could be cut with a knife.

"Are you two done acting like children?"

A wave of magenta ice and fire shot out at the direction of the new voice, engulfing the area in deadly magic. Shura and Silver both lowered their hands after a moment to try and find the body of whatever poor fool stumbled upon them, but none could be found.

"It seems I overestimated you two. Though I imagine those that slay demons don't have tempers much better than one." The voice said from above, soft but unimpressed.

The two looked up and finally spotted the newcomer. Floating there was a young child, likely a boy, no older than 12, dressed androgynously with a monochromic robe and mask. His face was hidden, but wavy blonde hair that went to his shoulders could be seen behind it. Most noticeable however was the guild mark on his robe over where his heart was.

The guild mark of Grimoire Heart.

"The hell? Who are you, brat?" Silver growled.

"I am the son of Hades, leader of Grimoire Heart. You may call me… Zagreus."

Shura raised an eyebrow at the declaration. "Grimoire Heart? What's your guild doing out here?"

"I could ask the same thing. It's not often that members of the Balam Alliance are seen together." The boy said. "Let's just say that we were looking for a certain object, and this little incident helped keep prying eyes away."

"Well good for you kid, but something tells me you didn't decide to pop by just so we could socialize. What do you want?" Silver asked.

The boy looked out at what had become of Galuna Island. It appeared covered in ash, and nothing remained on the island after the mysterious light that storm had brought about. Finally, he turned back to the two Demon Slayers to ask his question. "I was wondering if either of you knew what happened to the island?"

"You mean that freak storm? Honestly, when that light appeared, I thought we were goners. That wasn't… Etherion, was it?" Shura asked.

"No. Etherion is a magical blast that would have turned the island into a crater. There's no way those Mages would have survived it. In fact, it appears that the area has a lack of magic currently." Zagreus explained.

"Lack of magic? Could it have been… no. The results are similar, but the method is different." Silver muttered.

"It appears you two have no answers for me. That is troubling. Father doesn't like having unknowns in his plans." The boy said annoyed.

"Don't get so wound up over it. I'm sure things will become clear in time." Shura said as he began to walk off.

"Nah, I'm with the brat on this one. Explaining this one to my boss is going to be a pain." Silver moaned as he began walking in the opposite direction.

As the others walked down the mountain and left Zagreus alone, he turned his gaze from the bleached island to the Mages who had just left it.

"Fairy Tail, you may have avoided destruction today by some miracle, but you will not always be so lucky. Soon the time will come when Father orders me to drag you all down to hell!"


~At the Same Time, Elsewhere~

It was a peaceful night in Magnolia. Crickets could be heard, and a light breeze cooled those walking during the summer night. If anyone else was out at this time, they would see an odd group of individuals emerge from the Guild Hall of Fairy Tail.

"Thanks for helping me organize the Guild's library you guys. And sorry for keeping you all up so late, I got a bit carried away." Levy apologized.

"It's no big deal. I'm always happy to help!" Wendy assured, before letting out a yawn.

"Maybe so, but it's high time you get some sleep." Charla demanded as she floated beside Wendy.

"Oh, come on Charla. You've been saying that for hours now." Happy said unworried, flying around her fellow feline friend.

"And now it's midnight! I don't know what unreasonable hour you and Natsu stay up until, but this greatly exceeds Wendy's usual bedtime." Charla continued to complain.

Jet just sighed. "Jeez, between you and Erza it's a miracle the kid ever has any fun."

Charla whirled around at the speedy man's words. "Excuse me?"

Droy threw his hands up placatingly. "We're just saying that since her sis is out that maybe she should use the time to have some fun is all."

"With who exactly." Charla questioned. "As far as I can tell, the only thing people in this Guild do when not on missions is drink. I hope that's not what you're suggesting."

"Charla…" Wendy groaned in annoyance.

"Don't worry Charla, I'm sure that Wendy's bright enough to avoid approaching any bad influences." Levy assured.

"I bet she does!" A voice suddenly barked out mockingly from the darkness. "However, you all should know by now that at this hour, that the trouble usually comes to you."

"What the-? Who's there?!" Levy shouted, glancing around the shadowy streets in surprise.

"Up here, missy!" The voice shouted from above them. They all looked in the direction of the voice, and saw a man sitting on the roof of their guild. The moment he was spotted he jumped down and over them, landing in the light of a streetlamp.

If one had to describe the man's appearance in a single word, it would be punk. His clothes were black and rebellious, he had tattoos and piercings, and had a look on his face that screamed trouble. He shot the members of Fairy Tail a dangerous grin, before bowing mockingly.

"Allow me to introduce myself. My name is-"

"Gajeel?" Wendy interrupted suddenly, as if she was surprised to see the man.

"Oh? You've heard of me brat? That certainly speeds things up." Gajeel said happily.

"Wait, where do I know you from?" Wendy asked while holding a hand to her head.

"Hell if I know. How about you come with me and we can have a little chat about it!" Gajeel finished with a yell, lunging towards the confused girl before she could react. Right before Gajeel could get her hands on the Sky Dragon Slayer though, she disappeared in a flash.

"What?!" He shouted, looking around for the little girl. He looked behind him and saw Wendy in the arms of Jet. "Huh, kinda fast, aren't you?"

"Plant Magic: Constricting Vines!" Droy shouted while his opponent looked away. Large vines quickly sprouted out from the ground and ensnared Gajeel, preventing him from moving.

Jet then quickly set Wendy down and disappeared in a burst of speed. "Speed Magic: Mach Kick!" He shouted, suddenly sending a flying kick straight towards Gajeel's face. Gajeel responded simply by ripping an arm free from the vines with ease and blocking the kick with his bare arm. Jet jumped back towards the rest of his team with a wince. "Damn, it's like kicking a brick wall!"

"Then let's try something heavier!" Levy shouted with a wave of her hand. "Word Magic: Iron!"

The word 'IRON' appeared above Gajeel, made of the selfsame material. The oddly shaped block of ore was easily as big as the man himself. Gravity quickly took hold and slammed the metal down on him, producing a cloud of dust.

"Right on the mark!" Droy cheered.

"That's our Levy for you!" Jet praised.

But as the dust began to clear, the two men found themselves growing silent. Gajeel was still standing where he had been tied up, but the vines lay broken at his feet. His hands were currently holding up the iron block with little effort, and he was staring at it hungrily.

"I guess you idiots don't actually know who I am, if you thought this was going to work. Thanks for the snack though!" Gajeel said, before opening wide and biting a chunk out of the iron.

"W-What?!" Droy exclaimed, mouth agape as Gajeel continued to digest Levy's attack.

Levy smacked herself in the head. "Of course, he's that Gajeel! Why didn't I realize it sooner?"

"Realize what? Who is this guy, Levy?" Jet asked with worry.

"Let me finish my introduction from before," Gajeel said as he finished his meal and bowed mockingly once again. "I'm Black Steel Gajeel, of Phantom Lord."

"You're… a Dragon Slayer too?" Wendy asked in disbelief.

"Yep. Never thought I'd meet another one honestly. I always believed that talk about Fairy Tail having two Dragon Slayers was just some rumour you idiots came up with to one up us." Gajeel admitted with a shrug. "Oh well, just another thing to add to our little talk is all."

Levy realized what that meant, yelling out loud to her friends. "Charla, Happy, get Wendy out of here, now!"

"Aye, sir!" Happy affirmed.

"Don't need to tell me twice!" Charla agreed.

"I don't think so! Cat!" Gajeel ordered with a snap. A black blur suddenly shot through the night sky and grabbed both flying felines, dragging them off into the night.

"Charla!" Wendy shouted in worry as Charla disappeared over the line of houses and into the shadows.

"Sorry, but I came prepared. Can't have any interruptions with our plan." Gajeel said with another scary grin. "Now, let's see if anyone in your worthless Guild can put up a challenge!"


Somewhere else in Magnolia, Happy and Charla struggled against the grip of their mysterious assailant as they flew above the town away from Wendy and Team Shadow Gear.

"Let go of us you jerk!" Happy shouted.

"This is incredibly rude, you brute!" Charla chimed in.

The hold on them was suddenly released, and they both tumbled through the air for a moment before they stabilized themselves with their wings.

Happy immediately raised his front paws, ready for a fight. "I hope your ready for a beating! I may not look it, but I train with Natsu! Time for a pounding you… you…" he found himself trailing off though when he got a look at their adversary.

Charla appeared equally flabbergasted at the being in front of them. "I don't believe it. You're… like us!"

In front of them was a short, black, catlike creature, floating in the air on wings just like the two of them. They had an air of seriousness about them, and a scar on their face.

"I suppose this reaction was to be expected. Our kind aren't exactly common in these parts, are they?" He replied in a deep voice. "The name is Panther Lily. Before we go any further, I thought you should know I don't agree with my friend's actions, but nevertheless I refuse to let him act alone."

"Is that supposed to make us feel better?" Charla asked in annoyance.

"No, but I felt that you should know either way, as well as the fact that he agreed not to harm Wendy herself." He responded back.

"If you don't want to do this then just get out of our way!" Happy shouted, flying back towards Wendy. He was suddenly kicked in the back however.

"Sorry, can't let you do that." Lily said sadly.

"Grrr. Charla, lets teach this guy a lesson!" Happy said determined.

"If we must." Charla sighed, before she flew at Lily with Happy.

The three began to fight in the night sky, flying around each other like planes in a dogfight trying to land a blow. While Charla and Happy had the numerical advantage, Lily was clearly far more experienced when it came to combat. They disengaged, and the three began to catch their breath.

"Not bad flying." Lily complimented sincerely.

"Hehe, I fight with Natsu. The crazy stunts I've had to pull during our fights would make your head spin!" Happy said proudly.

"If they're anything like the ones Gajeel has, then I have no doubt." Lily smirked. "But unfortunately, there's more to a fight then maneuverability."

"You trying to tell us something?" Charla asked, realizing what their opponent was implying.

"You two fight by helping others land the blows. It's noble of you, but you're also holding yourself back by doing so." Lily answered.

"Holding back?" Charla said in confusion. "In case you haven't noticed, we're not exactly the toughest cats around. I've seen Happy lose fights with seven-year-olds."

"Ahh, Charla! You promised you wouldn't bring that up again!" Happy shouted, as a terrified look crossed his eyes. "I didn't know people so small could throw so far…"

"… Right." Lily said as he side-eyed Happy. "It may be tough to improve, but it's possible. You have magic, and you can use it for more than your natural-born gifts." He declared, before striking a pose. "Allow me to show you what an Exceed is truly capable of!"

Happy didn't seem to notice what Lily had said, but Charla picked up on a certain fact he had revealed in his cry for improvement. 'Exceed? Is that what our species is called?' Charla wondered.

Before she could ask about it though, Lily began to grow larger. From the same size as the other two, he began to bulk up until he was almost as big as Elfman.

"Now come, let's see if learning through experience can help improve your abilities!" The now enlarged Lily shouted, before beginning their fight again.

To say it lasted much longer however would be a lie, unfortunately.


"Is that all you three got? I knew this would be disappointing, but you guys could have at least landed a single hit." Gajeel complained.

Lying around him were the members of Team Shadow Gear, beaten down and out. Jet and Droy were unconscious, while Levy struggled to even get to her feet.

Gajeel seemed to notice her struggle and let out a grin, one surprisingly more earnest than the previous one. "You still got some kick in you? Not bad! You have spirit at least, I'll give you that." He said, before getting serious again. "But without the strength to back it up, it means nothing. That's the difference between you chumps in Fairy Tail and us in Phantom Lord." He began to walk towards Levy, ready to continue his one-sided fight when a voice cried out behind him.

"Enough!" Wendy cried, eyes tearing up. "Please stop hurting my friends!"

"Sorry, but as long as they try and stop me from taking you with me, I'll have to keep fighting back." Gajeel said, his nonchalant body language betraying his sad tone.

"T-Then I'll come with you! Just stop fighting!" Wendy said.

"No, Wendy… don't…." Levy pleaded between breaths.

"I'm sorry you guys, but I don't want you getting hurt for me." Wendy apologies.

Gajeel smirked at her words. "I was wondering when you'd see sense." He snapped his fingers and called out to the darkness again. "Hey Ryos, take the pipsqueak back to the Guild. I've still got some finishing touches to put on tonight's fun!"

At the Dragon Slayer's command, his shadow began to move. Someone slowly rose out of it, revealing a boy about Wendy's age in robed gear. "Is that really necessary?" Ryos asked disappointed.

Gajeel shot the boy a look. "You're the one who wanted to tag along with me for jobs. Just do it, alright?"

The hooded child sighed as he walked over and grabbing Wendy by the arm. "Come on, let's go." He said quietly, as they melted into the shadows and disappeared.

Glancing at his feet, Gajeel could see that the blue haired woman who he was fighting had finally joined her companions in unconsciousness. He turned to the Guild Hall ready for some fun,

Just then, Panther Lily flew back down from above, back in his miniature form. Gajeel looked pleased at his appearance. "Hey Lily, where's the two you grabbed? Don't tell me you really beat them black and blue?" He asked with a laugh.

Lily just rolled his eyes at his partners enthusiasm for violence. "I merely tired them out. They won't be flying for a while though, so we have plenty of time to retreat."

"Yeah, yeah, I'll get to it. Just got one last thing to do." Gajeel said as he waved his hand dismissively, walking towards the Guild Hall.

Lily gave him a disappointed look. "Gajeel…"

"Oh, don't you get on my ass about it too! I got enough sass from the brat." Gajeel complained. "Besides, it's an order from the Guild Master himself. If you have a problem, take it up with him."

Lily shook his head, before beginning to fly away. "Just don't take too long."

As Lily disappeared back into the night, Gajeel couldn't help but let out a bark of laughter as he wound up a fist. "Sorry Lily, but I've been waiting to do this for a while now. You'll have to forgive me if I get a bit distracted!"

Gajeel launched his fist forward, and a beam of iron shot out of it and into the Guild Hall. It flew through the structure and burst out the other end violently. He continued to throw punches one after the other, until Fairy Tail's headquarters had iron sticking out of it at every angle. He then walked off into the darkness like his guildmates, laughing as he thought about those weaklings' reaction to his handiwork.


~Back in the Present~

The Mages of Fairy Tail crammed themselves into the basement of their ruined Guild Hall as noon arrived. Many were murmuring loudly about recent events, speculating wildly about what happened and what will happen.

In the center of the room, the recently arrived Erza's team were giving their debrief of the events on Galuna Island, after Levy and the others had explained what had happened in town. Erza did most of the talking, while Natsu and Gray were uncharacteristically silent. Lucy and Elfman were also silent, but that was to not bring attention to themselves, hoping the Master will forget about them joining the mission without permission.

"… And then we dropped off Mira and Lisanna at Porlyusica's and came back here." Erza finished. "I'm afraid that we can't call this mission a success, but thankfully everyone made it back in one piece."

"Hmm." Master Makarov hummed thoughtfully. "It appears I was right to send you three to find Mira then. I'm glad you all are fine, and hope Mira recovers shortly."

"I wish I could have been there to help as well." Ultear said sadly, standing next to the Master alongside the other S-Class Mages currently in attendance. "I remember how rough Deliora was the first time we saw it…"

"Ah, don't worry about it!" Ur said casually, putting a hand on her daughter's shoulder. "They managed to deal with that beast just fine. You got nothing to worry about!"

Ultear couldn't help but unsubtly glance down at her mothers' prosthetic leg that she had lost to the said beast at her comment, before giving her close friend a worried look.

"Like I said, we came back in one piece. You know how tough Mira and I are." Erza assured Ultear.

"It's not Deliora that I'm worried about, but what came after." Jellal said ominously, finally deciding to speak. "Are you sure that you, Natsu, and Mira were all hit by… that light?"

Erza nodded. "Yeah. It felt weird, but it didn't cause any damage to us. I'm not sure how the three of us were fine, while everything else disappeared. I thought maybe it only affected demons, but then the people in the Dark Guild would have been there as well." She said, bringing a hand to her chin in thought. "I don't get it, what's so different about us?"

"What indeed…" Jellal muttered, looking at Erza oddly. Realizing that he was staring, he shook his head and turned to the Guild Master. "Anyways, we've discussed this enough. I think we have more important matters to focus on."

"Yeah!" Natsu shouted. "We gotta go teach those Phantom Lord mages a lesson!"

"Hold your horses you hotheaded oaf. We can't just turn up and start bashing heads." Gray huffed in annoyance.

Natsu turned in disbelief, continuing his yelling. "What?! Are you just going to let them get away with kidnapping Wendy?!"

"Of course not, you dumbass!" Gray finally shouted back, before taking a deep breath. "But if we just ran off and picked a fight with someone as big as them, we'd just be causing more problems for people."

"Grrr…" Natsu couldn't help but let out a growl in frustration, clearly unsatisfied with the answer. He held a napping Happy in his hands, still bruised from his recent brawl. Charla meanwhile was sitting on the table, awake but clearly not faring much better. He turned to Erza, who was standing silently in the corner. "You're with me on this, right Erza? We should go there right now and-"

"Enough Natsu!" She commanded loudly. Natsu quickly shut his mouth, recognizing the tone immediately. After he had finally quieted down, Erza sighed deeply. "Of course I want to go save my sister, and give those thugs a lesson in humility. But this is bigger than us. What we should do is report this to the Council. There's no way this action wouldn't be interpreted as an attack on a fellow Guild."

"But the Council will take forever to do anything about this, if they even bother to listen to us. I've dealt with them long enough to know that a report would likely result in us being investigated more than Phantom Lord." Jellal countered. "While we should at least try report this, leaving it in Council hands alone isn't good enough. We should at least try and get Wendy back."

Plenty nodded in acknowledgment of Jellal's words. Many were quick to follow his example, likely due to his experience or prowess as an S-Class Mage. However, in the end, everyone knew who would make the final call on what to do. And so, as the discussions died down again, everyone turned to Master Makarov. He sat on one of the many dusty tables, eye's closed and looking deep in thought. The old man cracked a single eye open, scanning it across the room. He closed it again, nodded, and slowly stood up.

"Team Shadow Gear, I need you three to go to the Council Building in Crocus and explain what has happened here." Makarov finally spoke. His eyes then grew serious as he turned to everyone else present. "As for the rest of you, I think we need to go pay Phantom Lord a visit."

Everyone in the Guild roared in agreement. As they began to file out of the cramped basement and towards the train station, the Guild Masters voice rang out again. "Lucy, Elfman, I have something I need you two to do."

Lucy quickly turned around and grabbed Elfman by the collar, preventing him from getting swept away in the crowd of righteous guildmates. After weaving around them for a moment, it was just them and the Master. "Ah, yes sir. What do you need?"

"I want you to stay here." Makarov ordered.

"What, why? We want to help get back Wendy as well!" Lucy said, before pausing. "Is this some sort of-"

The Master held up his hand, preventing her from questioning any further. "I know how much you two care for Wendy, but she already has enough friends coming to her rescue. But there is another in the Guild who needs our support right now and seeing as you two already disobeyed orders to help them, it seems appropriate that you stay by their side."

"Ah, Mira!" Elfman realized. "Of course, it wouldn't be very manly to leave my sister in her time of need. Thank you Master, we'll be by her side as soon as possible!"

"I'll head over there right away. You should probably grab some stuff for her and Lisanna, considering they might be staying at Porlyusica's for a while." Lucy agreed.

"Alright. By the way, be sure to tell Lisanna she will be joining you in this duty when you run into her." Makarov said as they ran off. He couldn't help but chuckle at their enthusiasm in helping friend and family. Truly, they understood the spirit of Fairy Tail. He turned only to see a sleeping Happy and tired Charla sitting on the table. "Perhaps you two should join them. A checkup with Porlyusica for you two likely wouldn't hurt either."

"… Yes sir. I'll wake him up in a minute." Charla answered quietly, her voice sounding defeated.

"Don't worry Charla, we'll have Wendy back home in no time." Makarov assured, hopping off the table and walking up the stairs. He couldn't help his face from twisting in anger as soon as his guildmates were all out of sight.

'You've gone to far this time, Jose. I'll be ending this silly feud of ours once and for all today before I let you hurt anymore of my family.'


"Hey Sis, I'm back!" Elfman shouted as he flung the door to Porlyusica's literal tree house wide open with a kick, swinging and cracking loudly against the wall. The reason for which was clear, as both his arms were occupied with rather large suitcases. "Sorry I took so long. I wasn't sure how long you were staying here so I grabbed a few things and-"

"Quiet you big oaf! I've got a sleeping patient in here!" The aged healer shouted back, ignoring the irony of such a statement. None present would dare to point it out to her anyways. "And careful with the house! I'll likely keel over before I can grow a new one."

"R-right, sorry Ma'am…" Elfman muttered, slowly setting the suitcases down and closing the door behind him.

"Finally, I was starting to get worried. Did something happen at the Guild?" Lisanna asked from one of the beds, sitting on the side of it. She was looking directly at him, the light in her eyes having returned.

"I see that Porlyusica has fixed your eyes?" Elfman noticed.

"Yes, fixing them was rather simple. Just had to circulate some new magical energy into them to get everything in working order. I'm afraid I can't do anything about the illusion though, as the only one who knows how that works is taking up space in one of my beds." Porlyusica sighed, glancing across the room to where Mira slept. The two siblings turned to stare towards their unconscious older sister as well in worry.

"How is she?" Elfman asked.

"Don't worry, she'll live. In fact, she appears to be entirely uninjured." Porlyusica huffed. "She's likely drained of her physical and magical energies by whatever happened to her, but with a bit of rest she'll be up and out of my hair."

"That's good to hear. Thank you so much." Elfman said in relief, spreading his burly arms out and moving towards Porlyusica for a hug. A nearby broom suddenly found itself in the old woman's hands and was promptly thrust into his gut, preventing his approach as he wheezed for breath.

"Don't touch me." Porlyusica stated blankly.

Lisanna shook her head in disappointment. "Oh brother, you know that hugging is against the rules around here." She giggled at Elfman's antics, before her eye's suddenly shot open. "And speaking of rules, what happened at the Guild. I assume the Master didn't kick us out, but did he punish us somehow? I'd hate for you and Lucy to get in trouble because of me…"

"Of course he didn't, you know the Master isn't like that!" Elfman assured. "In fact, he gave an assignment to us to keep Mira safe, so the Lucy and I will be hanging out here with you."

"Is that so? Does Makarov think I run some sort of babysitting service? I swear the next time I see that buffoon…" Porlyusica muttered threateningly under her breath.

"Speaking of Lucy, where is she? Didn't she come with you?" Lisanna asked.

"What? No, Lucy said that she was heading straight here. Has she not turned up yet?" Elfman asked back.

"… Did either of you idiots actually tell this girl where I live?" Porlyusica finally asked. The two bug-eyed looks she received told her all she needed to know.

"I'll go find her!" Elfman suddenly said, bolting for the door.

"I'll help too!" Lisanna exclaimed, jumping off the bed and following close behind him.

"Hey, I never said you were okay to leave yet!" Porlyusica shouted at her head-strong patient, who was out the door before she had even finished. She let out a deep sigh. "Damn kids these days. Always causing me more trouble than they solve."

The two Strauss siblings meanwhile were on their way to Magnolia to find Lucy, ignoring the sudden downpour of rain that appeared as if out of nowhere. Neither knew however that their friend was no longer there, and all they would find was a set of celestial keys near a suspiciously soaked alleyway.

Next Chapter: Bait & Switch