Author's note

Ok, Chapter 29 is here and I'll probably be sending out Chapter 30 in a few hours.


The Greyhound Part 3: War of the Mind

Chapter 29

Kinzo breathed a sigh of relief when he watched Erza finally use the weapon he gave her. And that confused him. He'd left because it had nothing to do with him, why was he feeling so invested in their fight? Why did he feel like shit for not helping them?

It made no sense in his head to feel either of those things, and yet here he was stuck with the thoughts… No screw it, he wasn't gonna let himself feel bad about making what he considered to be the right call. He'd helped them enough already, the rest was on them.

And so as he looked back toward the battlefield beneath him he watched their plans unfold. It was interesting. On one side, flying toward the bay, were Natsu and Happy clearly aiming for the still charging cannon. And on the other side, there was what appeared to be a carriage with Lucy in the back heading for the heart of town.

"Smart." he thought to himself. Best to get the target away from the fighting, but at the same time, he knew that kind of plan could backfire in this situation.

Yes, Lucy would be away from the fighting, but she would be defenseless if the fighting came to her. All of Fairy Tail's heavy hitters were here, meaning if something went wrong they wouldn't be able to help her in time, while she's hiding halfway across town if Jose decided to ambush her.

Regardless he wouldn't worry too much about that, after all, it's not his problem. He'd already kept the girl safe once… it was hardly his responsibility to do it again.

Why was it so hard to convince himself that was true?

He pulled his eyes away from the wagon carrying her as it slipped behind a building and continued on its way. But they were brought right back to the same building when he saw someone leaping on rooftops, clearly following the caravan.

Talionis proved to him it was someone with an affinity for Light Magic, and they looked familiar. "Loke, the playboy?" Why would he be following Lucy? Well, I guess it doesn't really matter he was an ally, and him staying close by also meant he didn't need to worry so much about the girl.

"Why am I worrying at all though!?"

Ripping his mind away from the irritating thought he focused again on the battle below. He saw the Shades and how they attacked, they were certainly irritating enemies.

He followed one in particular as it shot toward a mage he didn't know, only to watch it dissipate as a magic card struck it.

Following the item's trajectory back to its source revealed a brunette doing her best to cover for the frontline fighters ahead of her.

Cana. He didn't know the girl well, only having spoken with her a couple of times, but she was friendly… in her own awkward way. She'd taken to his advice rather quickly and had shown a genuine interest in him as a person.

She didn't really know what kind of person he was though, she knew nothing about The Greyhound, even so, he appreciated her gestures of good faith.

"I hope you make it out of this kid."

Gray was his top priority. Even with all the shit, they'd been putting each other through that boy was still family. No matter what the ice-mage said to try and hurt him or claim otherwise. If it looked like Fairy Tail would fall, he would be getting his 'brother' out alive.

He wasn't sure if he would extend the same help to the fortune teller, but he did hope she escaped if nothing else.


"Natsu, where are we headed?" Happy asked.

"Head for the inside of the cannon," he said, with no humor or excitement in his voice.

Happy listened, but he was growing more and more worried about his partner "Natsu are you alright, you seem kinda-"

"I'm fine, Happy. Erza gave me a job to do, and I'm gonna do it." That was the only reply he would offer the feline.

The rest of the flight was silent, but the moment they were inside the cannon's barrel Natsu gave his order. "Happy Max Speed forward!" The cat obeyed without question, shooting off at a ludicrous speed toward the back of the weapon.

Within seconds the two could see a massive lacrima core pressed into the metal and a man with black and white hair standing in front of it. He was dressed in red and carrying a sword, appearing like the modern take on a samurai without armor.

"Ah, the infamous Salamander. A pleasure to meet you, my name is Toto-!"

"Fire Dragon's Roar!"

Fire spilled from the slayer's mouth flying toward the new adversary, while Happy landed on the metal ground.

The wannabe samurai flinched back as the attack was thrown but with time to spare he put a hand up, and the flames redirected themselves. Smashing into an adjacent wall causing it to smolder.

"Well, that was rude." the man complained.

Ignoring his adversary for now the dragon turned back to Happy "Okay little buddy fly back to Erza and see what she needs from you next."

That caught the winged cat off guard "But Natsu what about you?" He couldn't just leave the boy here.

"Don't worry Happy I'll be fine, I just don't want you too close when things start," he reassured. "Now head on back, I'm sure Erza would appreciate the help." flashing a quick smile at his partner before steeling his features again and looking toward the Phantom Mage.

"Okay, Natsu… if you say so." The cat agreed with uncertainty before hopping off of the ground to fly away.

...

Both mages waited for the feline to be out of sight before speaking.

"Sending your friend away was foolish. But I understand, you simply know how strong I am. For I am the great Toto- !"

"Fire Dragon's Brilliant Flame!"

"Again!?" the man hollered before raising a hand and changing the fireball's path to once again collide with a nearby wall. The sizzling sound coming off of the metal was a bit unsettling though.

"Why do my attacks keep missing!?" Natsu shouted.

And a smug smirk played out on the other man's face. "That is my doing, I have complete control over all fire, for I am the incredible Toto-"

BOOM!

The room practically exploded with heat.

Fire, a mass of rapidly shifting fire surrounded the dragon slayer as he marched closer and closer to the man. The flames extended several meters off of his body in every direction and took up a good portion of the room as a whole.

Even so, the fire itself didn't even come close to the intensity of the young Dragneel's glare.

"Listen 'buddy' I don't care who you are, I'm not here for you. I'm here because Jose has a gun pointed at my house, and I intend to break it. So either get out of my way or be ready to burn with the rest of this place!"

"RaaaauUGH!" the Dragon roared. And as he did his flames expanded rapidly until there was nothing left of the space they'd stood in before. He'd pushed everything away.

As his flames calmed and the heat subsided, Natsu did a quick once over of the now charred room and was happy with what he found.

The man was gone and his path was clear.

So nothing stood in his way as he moved to stand next to the Lacrima, and nothing could stop him as he reeled back an arm and smashed down to crush the gem.

The Jupiter Cannon's power source was no more.


*Beep* *Beep* *Warning Magical Convergent Cannon: Jupiter is no longer operational.*

*Beep* *Beep* *Warning Mag...*

"Ahhhhh! What did those damn Fairies do this time!" Jose screeched from his office.

"Heh, they really are pesky aren't they." Gajeel chimed in.

"Errr! Gajeel… Go find that Heartfilia girl, I've decided we're at least going to get paid for all this. We'll need the jewel to repair that weapon system."

"Hahaha! Got it." the Iron mage responded still carefree as always.

"What's your game plan in the meantime?" he asked his master.

"I'm going to use the Mk 2." came Porla's angry response.

Redfox whistled as he left the room, nearly laughing to himself about how much trouble these fairy flies were causing. Oh well, even if they made things difficult they would still lose in the end. That much was already set in stone.

*Warning preparing for the shift to Super Mage Giant Phantom Mk II*

*Warning prepar...*


A heavy sigh escaped Natsu's lips as he reigned in his magic, and caused the flames to disperse.

When he did his handy work was evident. The lacrima core and all its connecting pieces were shattered on the floor, and the room itself had started to melt from the heat of his magic. Smoke escaped from every piece of metal and especially from the cannon's core. It seemed like nothing was left in the space at al-

"Kugh! Cuh!" The sound of coughing brought his gaze to one of the room's corners, where the wall looked untouched. It was like his flames hadn't been able to reach it, and something else they hadn't reached was the Phantom mage who'd been here earlier.

The guy was hacking up a lung sure, probably from all the smoke, but his actual body looked completely fine.

"Hah! Hah! Salamander, you- Hah! - Bastard! I told you, your flames can't touch me! And for the stunt you just pulled I promise, you will fall by my hand, by the hand of Toto-"

"Man you just don't know when to quit do you?" The pinkett asked cutting the man off yet again. And wasting no time in closing the distance. Another Iron fist ready to fly.

But then the ground started to shake.

*Warning preparing for shift to Super Mage Giant Phantom Mk II*

As the alarm bells sounded, the ground beneath his feet started to move. That was all it took for his strength to leave him, and his lunch to try and escape.

"What the hell, this thing is transportation?" Yes Natsu, yes it is. You watched it crawl all the way here on metal legs. Why wouldn't it count as transportation?

Regardless he fell to his knees, and tried to keep his stomach on the inside of his body.

The samurai could only watch in disbelief before laughing.

"Hahaha! Oh, that's right, despite being one of Fairy Tail's strongest mages you still couldn't beat a train in a fight." His mad cackles continued for a moment longer before he collected himself.

"Oh that is too good. A pity we couldn't fight for real Salamander, but at least this way I'll still be keeping my promise. You will fall by my hand, By the hand of Totomaru of the Element 4!"

"Yes my name is Totomaru, hear it and tremble! Ahahahahaha- !" His hysterical laughter was cut short by a cold hand being placed on his shoulder.

"Okay buddy, cool it." a voice behind him said, before his entire body was trapped in ice. That alone would have been enough to keep him out of the fight, but it didn't stop there. Someone else used their right hand to grip his ice cocoon, cracking pieces of it in the process, before lifting him off the ground and smashing him into a nearby wall.

Poor guy, he never had a chance.

Slowly the ground stopped shaking, and all returned to normal… though the room's structure seemed to change a bit.

But that was no concern to Natsu who raised his head shakily only to find both Gray and Elfman grinning back at him. Along with a worried-looking Happy flying overhead.

"What the hell are you two doin here?" The fire mage asked.

"Heh, Erza got worried when Happy came back alone so she sent us to back you up." Gray chuckled, maybe mocking him, maybe not.

"Whatever ice cube, I was handling it."

"You weren't handling crap, you were on yer damn knees when we got here." Elfman reminded, enjoying the light-hearted banter.

"Oi, I was doin just fine before this stupid guild hall started movin on it's own!"

The other two just laughed at him.

"Don't worry Natsu, I believe you. And look, the Jupiter Cannon is toast now, good job!" Happy cheered.

"Thanks buddy, I knew I could count on you." The two beamed at each other before a question popped into the Dragon Slayer's mind.

"Wait, does anyone know what that alarm was for? Some super mega giant thingy I think it said."

His three companions all grew just a little more serious at his question.

"Ya when Happy was flying us over here Phantom's guildhall started to transform. The thing looks like a giant mech suit now. Not really sure what they're planning but something isn't righ-"

"CONGRATULATIONS FAIRY SCUM, YOU'VE SUCCEEDED IN PISSING ME OFF! YOU COULDN'T JUST DIE QUIETLY NO YOU HAD TO MAKE THINGS DIFFICULT."

Jose's voice cut in on the conversation, the sound of the building's loudspeakers reaching their ears without issue.

"WELL SINCE THE JUPITER CANNON IS NO LONGER AN OPTION I'VE DECIDED TO INTRODUCE YOU TO THE MARK 2. THIS GOLIATH IS MORE THAN CAPABLE OF DESTROYING YOUR ENTIRE TOWN!"

"TREMBLE INSECTS FOR YOUR DEATHS ARE NEAR, BUT TAKE PRIDE AS WELL FOR PUSHING ME TO THIS POINT."

"PLAYTIME IS OVER, I'LL BE USING THE ABYSS BREAK SPELL TO TURN THIS WRETCHED PLACE TO DUST!"

"YOU WON'T BE ABLE TO STOP IT. THE SPELL IS POWERED BY MY ELITE MAGES THE ELEMENT 4 AND YOU PUNY FAIRIES COULD NEVER HOPE OF BEATING THEM!"

*Warning* *Warning* *Mark II Abyss Break is now at 75% power.*

"WHAT!? HOW IN- ! THEY ALREADY BEAT TOTOMARU!? DAMN YO-"

...

As the transmission cut out Gray couldn't help but smirk. "I'm not sure if we should be intimidated or laugh."

"Intimidated," was Elfman's reply. "The Abyss Break is no joke. If we aren't careful, that spell really could destroy all of Magnolia, not just us."

"Well then we should start taking down these Element 4 guys!" Natsu barked.

"Do we know anything about them?" The Strauss asked.

Gray was ready to reply "Ya apparently Kinzo had a run-in with a couple of them earlier today. A rain woman whose body is made of water and some dude who can phase in and out of walls."

"Hmm? That's good to know."

"Wait Kinzo fought them? Hey where is Kinzo anyway?" Natsu asked just now, realizing the boy hadn't been with them at the raid either. Only seeing him back at the guild where he helped them heal.

"... He said he didn't want to fight with people who only wanted him around when it was convenient for them, or… something like that. I think he's still pissed about last night," Gray said somewhat vaguely, so Elfman wouldn't catch on to what they meant.

Natsu just looked at Gray with a blank expression "Gee I wonder why?"

Pretty sure anyone would still be upset if you accused them of something like that.

"The sarcasm isn't helping flame brain! … Haah we got into it again before he left too, and I said something I probably shouldn't have. So I wouldn't expect any backup from him." The ice mage was holding his head in frustration at his own and the Metal Make mage's actions.

"What did you say?" Elfman cut in. He'd only had one little talk with Kinzo while he was being patched up but he seemed like a decent guy. Not particularly friendly though.

"Ah… I-" The boy just kept opening and closing his mouth not wanting to tell them what he'd said.

"Haah, I told him our master made a mistake taking him in."

For a while it was silent, the others just looking at him with disproving faces.

"You know for people who claim to be 'brothers' you two don't act like it." Was all Natsu had to say. Before heading for the door.

Gray could only sigh again as his rival left. He couldn't find it in himself to disagree with that statement. But a hand clamped down on his shoulder in a reassuring way.

"You can worry about your personal issues later, we need to focus on stopping the Abyss Break first."

Elfman was right they needed to focus.

"There are 4 people powering the spell and by the way their master was talking, the samurai guy we just trashed was one of the 4. So only 3 to go."

That was right, they needed to focus. "Alright let's split up, Happy Hunting."


Erza was staring in slight awe of the massive humanoid mecha the Phantom Lord guildhall had just transformed into. And while she admired the design she couldn't suppress the worry she had for the three boys she'd sent in there. Gray, Natsu, and Elfman were all tough. She trusted them with the likes of the Element 4 and even Gajeel, but Jose was in there too.

Her worry really was getting to her though as a Shade had managed to sneak up behind the girl. It was only thanks to a burst of magic, sending the thing to oblivion, that stopped it from attacking. Looking over she found Cana with a fist outstretched and a focused expression on her face.

What had she just used? It didn't look like any kind of Card Magic she'd ever seen… It looked like Crash Magic. But since when did Cana use Crash Magic?

"Erza I can keep things running smoothly out here, they need you up there!" the brunette ordered.

The Knight was hesitant, but "Erza go! If you guys can't stop that Abyss Break it's all over, GO!"

Titania was impressed, she really didn't think Cana had this level of leadership ability. That was a great quality and something Master always considered for S-cla-

"Erza move!" A second later she was doing just that, finally coming out of her daydream.

"Re-Quip: Black Wing Armor!"


"Reedus you have to let me go and stop all of this!" Screamed Lucy while tied up and sitting in an old abandoned warehouse.

"I'm sorry Lucy but I can't do that… Mira scares me way more than you do."

"Reedus Plea-!"

"Gihihi!"

The sound of a deranged chuckle silenced her, and as they both scoured the area. They were unable to find the source which only added to their unease. Unease that multiplied when they saw the ceiling start to bend.

The roof warped, and then it split open. From the sky dropped Gajeel Redfox. "Gihihi, it was smart to run girly, but you can't hide from me."

He'd found his target without issue but the dragon slayer was intrigued by something. "My my what do we have here. Hahaha, she's already tied up!" Well, that makes this even easier.

Sensing movement to his right he jumped over what looked like a hand-drawn missile that detonated when it struck the wall behind him. And looking over he saw Reedus holding a paintbrush.

"Now I know you didn't just try to hit me, did you Fatty?" the Phantom mage growled.

The artist could only cower away before a cruel man struck him down. Again and again and again.

"Reedus!" Lucy cried as he continued to beat the man.

"Oh don't worry blondie, you'll get yours." Turning his hand into a metal club he clocked her. And with a sickening thud, her head shot to the side.

Lucy was reeling from the strike. She hadn't quite lost consciousness but everything looked fuzzy. One thing she could make out though was the terrifying man who'd found her coming closer.

Gajeel had her slung over his shoulder in seconds and a moment later they were back on the roof dashing across town.

Redfox was already congratulating himself on a job well done. The target over his shoulder, no adversaries in his way, and -

"Ring Magic: Twister!"

- a damn tornado heading straight for him.

A blast of gale-force wind nearly pushed him over the edge, but he managed to right himself before it happened.

Turning quickly he spotted what appeared to be a redheaded man with glasses staring him down on the adjacent rooftop.

"What, another Fairy here to try and save their cash cow?" He mocked.

Honestly, the girl didn't even have any money to offer them right now. Why were they fighting so hard for her?

"Don't talk about Lucy like that, hand her over!" came the new arrivals demand.

"I don't think so 'Romeo', you're gonna have to earn your keep just like everybody else."

The conversation was clearly over, and with a growl, Loke jumped into the fray.

Hand to hand was the only option, If the playboy tried to use any wide-reaching magic attacks it might hit Lucy too. And that wasn't an option.

"Come on now 'Noble Prince', you better start trying harder if you wanna save the princess! Gihihi!"

"Shut it!" He yelled, sending a series of jabs toward the man's face. But the dragon was nimble, and his movements swift.

"Hahaha! I'm sure master Jose would prefer I come straight back but I can spare some time to play with you." And that's exactly what happened, Gajeel toyed with him.

Nothing connected, nothing hit, he couldn't do anything! This bastard had Lucy, she was right there but he couldn't save her!

"Hahaha! Tired already Wonder Boy? Don't worry if you're okay with giving up, I'll just take my prize and go." He said while patting Lucy's back.

Finally, at that moment Loke actually took the time to look at the girl. And their eyes met.

She was unfocused, but he knew she could still see him.

"Lo-ke… help." she forced out, and he snapped.

Screw it he'd had a good life, better than he deserved, if this killed him so be it. He would risk himself if it meant saving her.

So with a heavy breath "Regulus-" Light began to form around his fist, and he shot forward at twice the speed he'd used before. Aiming square for this guy's jaw "-Impact!"

His light-covered fist flew forward, and his aim was true.

But Gajeel was faster than he'd thought.

The dragon slayer didn't dodge, he didn't step out of the way, he didn't even counterattack. He just shifted his body so Lucy was in the way.

Loke had put all the power he could into this strike, and now he was using as much strength as he could to halt its advance. This scumbag, how could he use Lucy as a meat shield. Then again what should he expect from Phantom Lord.

With fear in his eyes he managed to redirect the blow passing harmlessly to the side of Lucy's form, and as he watched the power fizzle away he released a heavy sigh. That is before an iron club launched him to the street below.

"Gah!" he cried as the brick road cracked around him.

He tried to get up, but it was hopeless. His body was already bruising and his strength was failing from using a Regulus attack.

He'd lost.

Even so his eyes still wandered up to the roof he'd been on moments before only to find Gajeel staring down at him curiously. "You're a strange one." he said "You don't smell like a human at all?"

Even with that said Gajeel had apparently lost interest as he started jumping rooftops again. Heading back toward the war-torn Fairy Tail.

So Loke sat in his misery, knowing he'd failed. Yet even in this state he only had one wish.

"Someone save her, please."


Author's note

Hope that was enjoyable, but feel free to let me know if you think I'm rushing any particular scenes. When I'm done with basic training and have access to a computer again one of the first things I'm gonna do before posting new chapters is re-read and fix any issues I see. So if you have a complaint, let me know. It will probably take some time but I'll try to correct it.


Magic

1) Metal-Make Magic like ice make... but with metal

2) Speed Magic (Potential energy magic- p.s. I made this up so you won't find it on a wiki... I think.) so any time you see Conversion Leap (speed boost) or Kinetic Decay (stealing something else's speed and trapping it in place)

3) Telekinesis lifting things with one's mind etc.

4) Re-Quip no armor just items/weapons

Tools

1) His Revolver- Iron Maiden (two types of ammo revealed. Puncture rounds and Flashbang rounds)

2) The rings his mother gave him - can be molded into other objects and when spun together replay a recorded message.

3) The magic absorbing metal - He can choose to make his weapons out of this or other kinds of normal metal (iron, steel, etc.)

4) The Eye of Talionis - replacing his right eye, it allows the user to see magic (Ethernano)

5) Isacc Colt's journals - three journals belonging to his father

6) metal woven into his hair - this will not play a major role for most of the story but I may as well mention it so people don't forget.

Abilities

(1) Enhanced strength, speed, and senses. - under normal circumstances, Kinzo can act like a normal human in terms of strength and senses, but when he focuses on a particular trait it can increase its effectiveness. I.E. by focusing on his sense of Sight, he can see more clearly at much farther distances.