"Did you hear about the stunt that Gajeel pulled last night?" An obviously drunk man shouted to the others around the table.

"Huh? What happened this time?" One of them said, lifting his head from the table.

"He apparently punched a dozen holes through those stupid Fairies' Guild Hall!"

"Seriously?!" Someone from another table exclaimed. "Why didn't he bring any of us? If he did then there wouldn't be anything left of the rotten place!"

"Here, here!"

The sound of joyous jeers and cackling echoed across the open halls of Phantom Lord's base, it's many mages sitting around the tables within drinking and chatting loudly about their Ace's most recent adventure.

"I here that Gajeel finally took that pipsqueak along with him on the mission as well." One of the members, a tall man, at another table said to his friends.

"Ryos? I'm surprised the Master even let that weakling into the guild. All the kid can do is hide in our shadows, literally!" His friend replied.

"Apparently Lily is interested in the kid. Must of spoke up for him, the bleeding heart." The tall one said.

"Or he knows something we don't…" another muttered.

*BANG*BANG*BANG*

Suddenly, an incredibly loud knocking sound echoed across the hall, silencing the rambunctious guild almost instantly. It was as if a giant had wandered by and knocked upon their front door. No one dared move, but a moment later, an old and gravely voice spoke out from behind the great wooden doors.

"Excuse me, would you be able to let us in? I would like to meet with your Guild Master?" the voice asked kindly.

Everyone inside looked around at each other, not sure what to make of this bizarre visitor. Finally, one mage gathered his wits and slowly walked to the door. He cleared his throat and began to speak in a hoarse voice. "S-Sorry sir. I'm afraid Master Jose is a very busy man. Could you come back another time… P-Please?"

There was a great silence for a time, until a sigh could be heard outside.

"Alright, alright. I guess we'll just have to let ourselves in."

"That sounds great sir… Wait wha-?!"

The unfortunate mage was cut off by a fist the size of an elephant crashing through the door and launching him straight across the open hall into the opposite wall. The fist then swung to the side, breaking down the wall beside it and letting sunlight into the darkened hall. The members of Phantom Lord shielded their eyes from the bright light, and as they began to adjust a growing panic could be heard. Standing in the opening in the wall stood a group of angry men and women, all with the same marking on their body.

"It's Fairy Tail!" Someone shouted.

"You're damn right we are!" Natsu shouted as he rushed in and started swinging flaming fists at the nearest Phantom Lord mages. The rest of Fairy Tail quickly followed suit, and the Main Hall of Phantom Lord's building quickly turned into room wide brawl.

"Focus on their Master!" One of the braver Phantom Lord mages shouted, and a nearby group all turned to gang up on Makarov.

But before any of them could even reach the elderly man, a beam of light flew in out of nowhere like a comet, knocking into all of them and launching them away. The light then landed in front of Makarov and dissipated, revealing Jellal.

"Please go find Wendy. We'll take care of the small fry, Master." Jellal said while shooting a glare at any nearby mages, who halted in their advance.

"Oh crap! We have to fight the Rising Star?!" One of them cried out.

"Isn't he the second strongest in their guild next to Laxus? Why aren't the Elemental 4 fighting this guy instead of us?!" Another complained as he turned in fear.

Jellal couldn't help but let out a sigh at the reactions. "If you weren't looking for a fight, then you shouldn't have started one!" he shouted as he shot several trails of light from his hands.

Master Makarov simply kept walking forward, batting anyone stupid enough to approach him away with an oversized backhand. As he disappeared up the steps to the second floor, Natsu could be heard shouting as he punched out anyone nearby.

"Gajeel you bastard! Come out and fight me already!"

"Alright, if you insist!" A voice shouted from the rafters above.

Natsu went to look up at the voice but had to jump back to dodge an iron pillar being launched at him. A moment later the pillar retracted and 'Black Steel' Gajeel dropped down from above. "So, you're the 'Salamander' I've heard so much about. Maybe you'll put up a fight worthy of the title Dragon Slayer, unlike that kid-"

Natsu swung a flaming punch at Gajeel before he could finish. "If you've so much as laid a finger on Wendy, then you're as good as dead!"

Gajeel simply ducked the swing and threw his own iron punch forward, laughing at the redhead's rage. "Hahaha! Don't worry, I wouldn't waste my time on a weakling like her!"

The two of them then began to trade blows, sending tables and Phantom Lord mages flying with every swing. Some of the local mages nearby began to gawp at the fierce fight between two who claimed to be raised by dragons.

"Damn, I've never seen someone actually fight against Gajeel when he's serious like that!" one of them exclaimed.

At the screams of another of Phantom Lord's being sent airborne, the mage next to him muttered under his breathe. "It would be nice if Gajeel tried not to hit us along with him though."

He's not the one you need to be worried about!" Ultear shouted as she summoned an array of icy vines, which preceded to entrap and knock away the distracted mages. She flipped her long hair to the side as she observed the surrounding fights. "This is too easy. None of these thugs can put up a real fight."

Erza walked up beside her friend with swords in hand, an apprehensive look on her face. "That's because none of their S-Class mages are here besides Gajeel. Jose must have known that we would come for Wendy, yet not one of the Element 4 are here to greet us? Something is wrong here, but I don't know what…"

"Take this, 'Fairy Princess'!" A voice yelled out as a fireball launched itself towards Erza. She simply tossed one of the swords in her hands through the fireball, dispersing it. The flying blade continued its track towards the member of Phantom Lord who hurled the attack, catching his sleeve and pinning him against the wall.

"God, I hate that nickname." Erza complained as she Requipped an identical sword into her empty hand. While she approached the next nearest opponent the entire Guild Hall began to shake violently sporadically, as if to the beat of a slow drum. Glancing up the stairs to the second floor, she couldn't help but let out a smirk. "It seems that the Master has finally shown his anger. He'll be sure to clean this up before things get any more out of control."


Makarov stomped down the halls of Phantom Lord towards the office of his opponent, letting loose stray blasts of magic with each step. The wooden doors in front of him were blown into slinters, and the stone walls crumbled and cracked into dust under the pressure of his rage. Away from his children, he let his anger show freely on his face, glaring ahead with a look that would kill a lesser man. But the mage currently in front of him was no ordinary man.

"Dear Makarov! When was the last time we got to meet face to face?" Jose Porla asked unflinchingly, ignoring the magic currently ravaging his office. "Ah, I do believe it was about ten years ago at the Wizard Saint Inauguration, when you stole away that woman from me!"

"Don't flatter yourself, Jose! A woman like Irene would never have joined you lowlifes." Makarov sneered.

Jose let out a laugh at the jab, ignoring the growing veins on the other master's forehead. He clearly enjoyed taunting the man. "But it seems your guild wasn't much better then, seeing as she went and left without saying a word."

"How dare you talk about her like that!" Makarov shouted, finally swinging one of his enlarged fists at Jose. The attack went right through him though while smashing the seat he was in into pieces. "What?! A Thought Projection? I thought you wanted a fight, you coward!"

Jose shook his head as the projection of him began to flicker from the dust kicked up. "I'm afraid a battle between us Wizard Saint's would cause a few too many issues. There are better ways to solve our issue's. For example…"

Jose waved a hand and another thought projection appeared, revealing an unconscious Lucy lying at his feat. Before Makarov could even speak, he pulled out a dagger with his other hand and raised it up, before plunging it downwards.

"No, don't!"

In that exact moment that Makarov cried out, he felt the air behind him suddenly shift. He began to turn his head and saw a tall man wearing a blindfold and top hat. Before Makarov could shift his attention fully to the man, the wind around him began to move and the man cried out.

"I'm… I'm… I'm so sad!" Aria of the Element 4 said through his tears.

With that, an invisible pressure began to push down on Makarov, launching him back. He tried to bring forth his magic to defend himself, but any power he brought up was blown away in the wind, along with the rest of the magic inside him.

"Graaaaaaah!" Makarov cried out as he was launched through a nearby wall and down into the hall he came.

"Don't worry, Makarov." Jose assured the man as he flew out rather violently. "I won't lay a hand on your dear Lucy. She's far too important, more than a fool like you can realize."

Makarov's weakened body quickly flew back through a railing on the second floor and down onto the ground floor with a crash. Everyone in the room turned to see the source of the noise, only to see the pathetic form of Makarov barely moving on the floor, gasping for air.

"Master!" Jellal exclaimed, barreling through the nearby Phantom Lord members with Comet to get by his side. He picked the Master up in his arms. "What happened to you?!"

"Master?!" Erza shouted as she ran over to the two. She knelt beside Jellal to check the Master as well, but when she placed a hand on him, she was overcome with an odd feeling like the one at Galuna Island. She didn't know where it came from, but she somehow understood exactly what it meant. "His magic, it's been sucked out of him!"

"What?! How dare they!" Jellal said in anger, looking up from where the Master Makarov had come. He handed the drained man to Erza before getting up and gathering his magic.

"Wait, what are you doing?" Erza said surprised.

"I'm going and beating Jose! I can't let them get away with going this to the Master!" Jellal shouted.

"No, it's too risky! We don't know what might happen if anyone else goes up there." Erza pointed out.

"But…"

Erza continued to talk her friend down. "Please. Everyone is already losing morale, and if something were to happen to you…"

Jellal continued to stare up towards Jose's office, but eventually his magic began to lower, and he closed his eyes in resignation. He then turned back towards the rest of his guild and began to shout out commands. "Everyone retreat! Regroup and head back to the guild!"

The other members of the Fairy Tail were surprised by the declaration, with many clearly displeased with the order.

"We can't stop now!" Gray yelled out.

"Yeah, I'm not finished with this guy!" Natsu shouted in agreement, not noticing Gajeel jump up to the rafters when he looked away. "Huh, where'd you go?!"

"Don't let them get away!" One of the Phantom Mage members shouted, rallying a group as they ran forward.

Him and the others were suddenly cut off though by a field of icy vines. At the source of these vines was Ur. "You heard the man! Get moving, or I'll throw you out myself!"

That quickly got everyone reluctantly retreating out the hole in the wall they entered in, not wishing to risk the wrath of Ur. Jellal gave her a look of appreciation. "Thank you."

Ur just laughed lightly. "No problem. These guys just take a little motivation to get moving!"

While the rest of Fairy Tail was leaving, Natsu continued to search for Gajeel. He continued to look around the chaos within the hall for the punk-looking Dragon Slayer, muttering under his breath. "Where the hell did that bastard go?"

"… So, did the others get that Lucy girl?"

"What?!" Natsu exclaimed at the sound of Gajeel's voice. Picking up the voice with his exceptional hearing, he looked up to the rafters above to see Gajeel standing on one of the beams next to Aria.

"She's been confined at the headquarters. How sad her tale is." Aria cried, tears spouting out from his blindfolds.

"Gajeel!"

"Huh?" Gajeel looked down at his name being called. When he saw who it was, he grinned while looking down cockily. "Sorry Salamander, looks like we'll have to have our proper fight later!"

With that Aria waved a cloaked hand out, and the air around the two S-Class mages shifted until they had vanished from sight. Natsu continued to stare up at the spot they'd been in, still processing what he had just heard.

"Hey Natsu, hurry up!" Gray shouted out to him. Natsu looked back down just in time to see some mage from Phantom Lord winding up a punch at him.

"We won't let you get away, Fairy Tai-aaaaah?!" The thug began as he swung, only to miss wildly and be grabbed by the back of his shirt. Natsu began to run out of the Guild Hall, dragging the man along with him. "W-What the hell man?! Let go of me!"

"Not until you tell me where Lucy is!" Natsu replied as he began to run down the streets towards the edge of town.

"What? I have no idea who that is!" the man complained. At his answer, the fist Natsu was using to hold onto him burst into flames, engulfing the man's head along with it. "Ahh! That's hot! AHHH!"

Natsu looked down at the Phantom Lord member with rage. "Look, it's been a long couple of days, and I'm tired of my friends getting kidnapped. So, if I find out that any more of them have been hurt, I'll burn you to ashes!"

That got the man's attention, and he quickly began sputtering whatever he could think of. "Eee! I really don't know you're talking about! But if you're looking for someone we took, they're probably in our Headquarters farther up the hill- Oof!"

Natsu immediately dropped the man and picked up the pace, running up the hill as fast as possible. He could feel his body lagging slightly though, and he just now realized that he had yet to rest since the events at Galuna. He didn't even get any sleep on the train, as he was too worried about Mira (and too motion sick). But he shook his head, fighting through the exhaustion. He couldn't let his friends down, no matter the circumstances.

"Don't worry Lucy, Wendy! I'll save you guys!"


"Hm? Why is it so cold? And why can't I reach my sheets?" Lucy mumbled in a half-asleep state. She continued to shift uncomfortably, until her consciousness returned enough for her to realize her current position. "This isn't my bed!"

Lucy immediately shot up, looking around and taking in her surroundings. She found herself in small room, full of crumbling stone walls adorned with cobwebs. She tried to reach for her keys, but quickly noticed two important things. One, that her hands were bound behind her, and two, that she no longer had the keys of her Celestial Spirits by her side. She quickly tried to jog her memory of whatever previous events had led to her predicament.

'What the hell happened to me? The last thing I remember was running to Porlyusica's, taking some back alley short cut and… that woman in blue! She trapped me in a bubble of water before I could even get her name. She kidnapped me, along with that guy with the monocle that came out of the earth. Didn't they say they were from Phantom Lord?'

There was rattle at the door, and Lucy turned her attention away from her thoughts towards it and saw a face through the iron bars. A moment later there was a click, and the door slowly swung open with a creak, revealing the figure behind the door. He was dressed rather flamboyantly in a dark purple, with a long, drooping wizards' hat and a bat wing on one side.

"Ah! Miss Heartfilia, I'm glad to se you are awake. I do hope you are feeling better and must apologize for my subordinate's harsh methods. I am Jose Porla, Guild Master of Phantom Lord." The man introduced himself in a sincere voice and with a flamboyant bow. "I must also apologize for your current surroundings and restraints, but we have very special orders not to hurt you, and so precautions had to be taken to prevent you from doing something we all might regret."

"Apologies?! You can shove your apologies!" Lucy sneered after realizing who she was speaking to. "Do you really think your guild can get away with kidnapping us like this? If you so much as lay a hand on Wendy or me, Master Makarov and the others will skin you alive!"

"How uncouth!" Jose mockingly gasped. "Even I wouldn't lay a hand on a child as precious as her. And rest assured you will receive the same treatment, so long as we can come to an agreement. Besides, Makarov won't be helping anyone anytime soon…" he finished with a sinister grin.

Lucy felt a chill go down her spine, and she couldn't help but shift backwards slightly. "W-Why are you even doing any of this. Why are you so intent on attacking Fairy Tail? Surely you know the trouble you'll get in with the Council for attacking us!"

"A slight correction, it was Gajeel who made a little mess of your Guild Hall. He's known for being a troublemaker, but I suppose I'll have to finally let him take responsibility for his actions for once. And I doubt Fairy Tail will fair much better in the Councils eyes with their 'disproportionate retribution'." Jose explained to her, a confident grin on his face.

Lucy couldn't believe what she was hearing, eyes widening in shock. The man in front of him was willing to let those under him take the blame, just to settle his grudge with Fairy Tail.

"That said, Fairy Tail was nothing more than a side effect to our true objective, the retrieval of a certain important someone residing there." Jose revealed.

"Is that why you took Wendy? I didn't think Phantom Lord would resort to kidnapping."

Jose shook his head in disappointment. "You certainly are dimwitted. Who else would we be after but you, Lucy Heartfilia, Heiress to the Heartfilia Konzern!"

"Oh, you know about that?" Lucy realized, disappointment creeping into her voice. "Well, I hate to disappoint you, but my father doesn't give a crap about me, so you can forget about the ransom now and let me go."

"Please, my dear, we both know that isn't true. Why else would he have hired us to retrieve you?" Jose revealed, a wicked grin on his face.

"What?! N-No, that can't be true. Why would he care about what happens to me?" Lucy said, more to herself than Jose. "It doesn't matter either way. Even if he does care, I'm not going back there!"

Jose shrugged at her response. "I was hoping you would be cooperative, but if that's how you feel then I fear we must keep you in here then." He said, gesturing to the run-down cell they were in as he backed away towards the door.

Lucy suddenly shot up from her knees, looking worried as she squirmed uncomfortably.

"Well, that is certainly a shame. If you were cooperative, I could have moved you out of this old cell. But oh well…" Jose shrugged, slowly backing towards the cell door he had came in through.

"Wait!" Lucy shouted, suddenly standing up and squirming awkwardly. "Umm, can I at least go to the bathroom first?"

"Don't worry, we already prepared such accommodations." Jose replied, pointing to a corner of the room with a rusted bucket in it.

"…"

Jose let out an amused chuckle at his captives horrified look. "Did you think I would take you out of the cell? I'm afraid I won't fall for such a cliché-"

"Well, if I must…" Lucy sighed, already leaning over the bucket.

"What?! You… I… ugh!" Jose stuttered in disgust, before finally averting his gaze. "How uncouth! To think you're a lady of the upper cla-GUH?!"

Lucy quickly took the opportunity of distraction to strike the Guild Master, landing a swift kick below the belt. Jose easily crumpled to his knees as he squeaked in pain.

"Sorry, but as a writer, I'm rather good with cliches!" Lucy said cheerfully, skipping towards the open cell door. Her cheerfulness quickly faded once she reached the threshold, however. "What is this!"

Jose chuckled from his pitiful position on the floor. "Did you really think I wouldn't have precautions in place in case you attempted an escape? You leaving was never an option!"

Lucy continued to look outside the doorway in surprise. Instead of leading into another room or hallway, there was nothing but the open sky. Her cell was quite a few stories up whatever building she was in, and there seemed to be no natural way to reach it. Even with her keys, she couldn't envision a way out of her predicament. Just before she could give up though, she spotted something off in the distance.

"Is that…?" Lucy pondered, before she recognized the approaching object. After a moment of deliberation, she took a deep breath and calmed he nerves. Turning back to Jose, she could see him slowly beginning to stand. "Well then, I guess this is my stop."

Jose raised an eyebrow in confusion, but immediately balked once she began to take a step back. "AH?! What the hell are you doing you crazy woman!" he cried, hobbling towards her.

She slowly shuffled her feet back until she felt them reach the edge of the room, waiting until Jose got as close as possible. After sparing one final glance towards the horizon, she shut her eyes and leaned back and felt the pull of gravity drag her down. 'Oh god I really hope my eyes weren't playing tricks on me!' She felt her heartbeat faster with each second she plummeted, but she simply stretched out her hands and believed.

"- Got you!"

Lucy finally opened her eyes as she felt something inhuman grip her forearms and halt her descent. Holding onto them were a set of bird talons. She looked up above them and saw who they belonged to, confirming what she had seen out of her cell just moments ago.

"Are you okay!?" Lisanna shouted in worry, flapping her transformed wings frantically. All her limbs were in avian form, but she had a nose like a dog.

"Yeah, now that you're here!" Lucy said, smiling in relief.

"T-That's great…" Lisanna stuttered as her face proceeded to redden. Her arms began to glow suddenly, and the two women began to stagger in the air. "Crap, I used too much magic rushing here!"

"Um, we're still a bit high up!" Lucy shouted as they began erratically falling again. She could tell Lisanna was trying to make a controlled landing, but it was quickly becoming clear that it would be anything but a soft one considering the hard rocks surrounding the prison tower. Lucy began thinking quickly. "You wouldn't happen to have my keys on you?"

"No, I left them with Elfman after getting enough of a sniff to track you." Lisanna huffed out between flaps. "Not my best idea in hindsight h-AH!"

The claws holding onto Lucy suddenly turned back into normal legs, and the wings likewise vanished back into human arms, magic finally running out. As the two of them quickly began to fall the rest of the way down however, another voice shouted out below them.

"Lisanna! Lucy!"

They both glanced in the direction to see Natsu of all people almost directly below them. He began to build up flames in his legs, before launching up at them akin to a living rocket. Lisanna quickly grabbed Lucy and hugged her close, allowing for an easier target for the man to catch. The two crashed into Natsu roughly, and he let out a gasp as he began falling with them. Despite managing to slow down their momentum at the final stretch, they all landed on the ground in a violent plume of dust. As the dust began to fall, Natsu let out a groan. "Are you two okay?"

"I think so. I don't think I broke anything, at least." Lucy said as she slowly got off their savior, checking herself over.

"Likewise." Lisanna said as she did the same.

"That's good." Natsu nodded as he began to push himself up. Lisanna and Lucy both reached out a hand and he took them, allowing himself to be pulled to his feet. "But seriously, I ran all the way here because Gajeel slipped that they had kidnapped you, Lucy. I wasn't expecting Lisanna to be here too. Shouldn't you still be at Porlyusica's?"

"I was, but when Lucy took so long coming back from the guild, me and Elfman went looking for her and found her keys. We figured something was suspicious, so I went looking and wound up here." Lisanna explained.

Natsu shrugged. "Heh, sounds like something I'd do. Speaking of here, I bet they've got Wendy locked up in this old place too. Let's go get her-"

"Natsu we can't!" Lucy exclaimed.

Natsu looked over at her in surprise. "Wha-, why not? She's right here, I know it!"

"I know, but we wouldn't be able to help. I don't have my keys and Lisanna is completely out of energy. We don't know how many other Phantom Lord members are in there, not to mention its only a matter until Jose himself get's himself together from the… injury I gave him. I'm sorry Natsu, but we should come back with the rest of the guild." Lucy pleaded.

Natsu was about to complain, but when he looked back at the tower he noticed what appeared to be a great number of spirits flowing from the hole Lucy had jumped out of. Through the shadowy wisps they left behind, the looming figure of Jose could be seen leaning against the doorframe. "Grrr, Damn it all. Lets go!"

The three of them quickly began to flee back from the way Natsu had come, and the specters began to fade away. Jose watched them disappear into the distance with a grimace on his face. "Damn brats. They'll regret crossing me, all of them will!" He cried, still struggling to stand straight. As he tried to regain his posture, a shadow slipped through a crack in the wall and rose from the ground revealing the small form of Ryos.

"A-are you okay sir?" the cloaked boy asked timidly.

"What are you doing! I thought I told you to keep an eye on the girl." Jose growled, turning his scowl upon the child.

"I'm sorry sir!" Ryos cried, looking at the ground in fear. "I just heard you shouting a-and…"

"It was nothing, got it! Now go find a communicator lacrima, I have more important guild members to lecture than you. Seriously, what is Gajeel doing, letting that red-headed nuisance get here…" he ranted. Jose glanced over at Ryos and waved a hand at him at his inaction. "I said get moving already!"

"S-sorry sir!" Ryos said, disappearing into the shadows and through the crack in the wall he appeared from.

"Useless brat. What does Gajeel even see in the child…" Jose muttered under his breath. "No matter, its not like this changes the plan greatly. We will march on Fairy Tail with all our might, and then we'll see how tough the number one guild is without their precious Master!"


"So… What do we do now?"

The members of Fairy Tail had found themselves back in the basement of the guild. While some had elected to remain above to clean up the wreckage and nurse their wounds from the recent guild fight, the remaining circled the middle table worryingly. Without Makarov, the group was far more nervous and rowdier than the mornings meeting. The voices around the room had grown louder and louder until everyone was shouting over each other.

"ENOUGH!" A voice shouted out. Everyone immediately silenced themselves and turned towards the voice to see Jellal standing tall, putting on a strong face. "The Master would be disappointed to see us all bickering like children."

"Um, how is Gramps doing anyways? He was looking a little green when we brought him to Porlyusica." Natsu asked.

Erza and Jellal shared a look. "It appears that he's had all the magic sucked out of him. Likely from Aria of the Elemental Four." Erza explained, before furling her fists at her side. "If we had Wendy with us, she would likely be able to easily fix him. It's likely why they started all this by kidnapping her."

"Well then let's go back and get her!" Natsu shouted. "She's gotta be where I found Lucy, so let's get going already!"

"Speaking of, I get why they took Wendy. But why did they bother kidnapping you. Can you help the Master too somehow?" Grey asked Lucy, who was sitting on a barrel next to her.

Lucy looked down at her feet. "I'm sorry, this whole thing is my fault. My father hired Phantom Lord to… return me to him. They wouldn't have hurt everyone if I had just listened to him. Maybe I should just leave…"

"Don't even think about it." Ultear said. "Phantom Lord has been looking for an excuse to kick us into the dirt for as long as they existed. Turning yourself over wouldn't stop them from picking a fight."

Erza nodded in agreement. "Ultear's right. The only one to blame for this is Jose. Jellal, do you think we can take him without the Master? He's a Wizard Saint after all."

Jellal pondered for a moment, observing the current S-Class Mages. Himself, Erza, Ultear, and Ur. Mystogan was off doing his own thing as usual, Laxus couldn't care less about the current state of the guild, and Gildarts hadn't been reachable for almost a year now.

"I'm sure we can." He responded confidently.

Natsu slammed his fists together, flames sparking out. "Alright then! Let's get back out there and kick their ass!"

"I think you'll get your wish sooner than you think."

"Huh?" Natsu and the rest turned to see Macao at the base of the stairs, sweat dripping down his head. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Before Macao could answer, the ground shook slightly for a moment, then again, and again. Everyone quickly ran out of the basement and outside the ruined guild building, looking off to the horizon over the cliffs of Magnolia. In the distance, a figure began to grow, moving closer with each shake of the earth. Eventually, it grew close enough for everyone to recognize as a giant castle with the flag of Phantom Lord raised atop it.

"You gotta be kidding me…" Lisanna gasped.

"Those bastards brought their whole guild headquarters here?!" Natsu shouted.

Within the tallest tower on the approaching building stood Jose, looking down at the members of Fairy Tail like ants. As a giant cannon barrel rolled out the front of his guild building, he couldn't help but grin widely.

"Now then, time to finally put these pests down. Fire the Jupiter Cannon!"

Next Chapter: Attack on Four Fronts