Alright! Here's Chapter Eight of Extinction, and this story is now up over 500 views, so YAY! Anyways, I put up a new story on my profile. It's called What Will It Take, and it follows the gang through college, including my OC from this story, Erin. If you want to go check it out, go ahead, and leave a review telling me what you think! Anyways, let's get into this chapter. Hope you guys don't hate me for it! Storm Out!
Western Desert of Fiore
"Sir, it would appear we found them." The grunt knelt in front of him, head bowed in fear. "Where, Ericson? Where is that infernal guild located?" The man leaned forward, a manic glint in his one good eye. "They are hiding out in a cave near the peak of Mount Hakobe, sir." "Mount Hakobe, huh? Excellent work Ericson, you are dismissed. Tell Jenkins to send as many men as he thinks are necessary, to capture as many as possible. I want them brought before me." "Yes, sir." As Ericson left, the man looked in the mirror located across from him. His once handsome face was marred by a great scar that ran down the right side of his face. His purple hair was slicked back into a ponytail, and his goatee just added to the evil look on his face. 'Yes.' He thought, a grin appearing on half of his face. 'With that ignorant geezer Makarov out of the way, they cannot face me.' Chuckling to himself, he leaned back in his winged chair.
It was time for the Phantom Lord to reveal himself.
Mount Hakobe, midday
"It'll be fine, Levy." Gajeel said, rolling his eyes at his mate's worried expression. "We're just going to town for supplies, and we'll be back before nightfall." "I know, it's just…" Levy turned away, unable to keep the worry out of her eyes. Gajeel sighed, then took Levy off to the side. "Listen, Shrimp. It'll be a cinch. Me, Cyclone, Salamander, and Laxus are gonna go to a village at the base of the mountain to get food and blankets, and that won't take long, but then we've got to hike back up the mountain, and that will take a while. But still, yer only gonna be without me until nightfall at the very latest." "I just don't like it!" Levy exclaimed, almost tackling Gajeel in a hug. "I've got a really bad feeling that something's gonna happen." Gajeel crushed her in his arms, wrapping her in a steel cage of protection. "I don't like it any more than you do, Shrimp, but we need those supplies if we're gonna survive." Gajeel said, burying his face in her hair. "I promise that I'll hurry back to you." "You'd better." Levy warned, with about as much intimidation as an angered teddy bear. Gajeel laughed. "Alright, shorty. We'd better get going."
As the group set off down the mountain, Erin approached Gajeel. "Hey, Gaj, can I talk to you?" "What's up, Erin?" Gajeel turned and face the taller wizard, who had a look of worry on his visage. "You have a dragon's natural instincts, right?" "Yeah, so?" "Okay, because I have something like that, because of the storm magic, and it's going crazy right now." "I know," Gajeel said with a frown, "but we need this stuff to live." "Yeah, you're right. But did we have to leave the girls back at the cave?" "Not my call, man, not my call." Erin nodded, and that was the end of the conversation. But neither wizard could get rid of the feeling of dread that hung over the group.
Levy kicked a rock she found around her and Gajeel's portion of the cave. She was sick and tired of sitting around while Gajeel and the others saved the guild. Glancing over, she saw Mira, Erza, Cana, and Evergreen waiting by the table in the center of the room. Hurrying over to them, she opened her mouth to speak, only to be cut off by a dark chuckle. Spinning around she came face to face with a giant man in a cloak, rivaling Erin in height, but outweighing him by a good two hundred pounds. But the cackle had come from a skinny man who was sitting…on the ceiling. "Who are you? Answer me, or face the wrath of Fairy Tail." Erza demanded, authority in every syllable. "Oh, we're no one special." The skinny man sighed as he lumped off the ceiling, landing cat-like on the floor of the cave. "Just a pair of mercenaries hired by Lord Phantom to capture as many as we could. Toboyashi, if you would." Hearing his name, the giant took action. He strode forward, and before any of them could react, he slammed the hammer that he wielded into the floor. Faster than any of the girls could follow, vines shot out from the ground and attempted to ensnare them. Levy and Cana were caught immediately, while Evergreen and Mira took off to avoid them, only to be smashed by Toboyashi's hammer. Erza requipped into her flight armor, launching past the vines in an attempt to escape. "Ah, ah, ah, sweetie. We can't have that." Looking around, Erza spied the skinny merc pop out of a pillar, and cast a spell before she could dodge. "Distortion Magic: Sleep Zone!" Unable to dodge she closed her eyes, willing Erin and the others not to come after them.
"Alright," Laxus whispered to the group, "we're here. Keep contact to a minimum, and only get essentials. Understood?" everyone nodded, and they set off to conduct their business. Everyone stayed hushed as they bought enough food from the villagers to last through two months. Half an hour later, they met up at the north edge of the village. "Okay, everyone, let's get back. Don't want to keep anyone waiting."
"Hey! Where is everybody?" Natsu yelled as they got back to the cave. Gajeel approached the entrance to the cave, dreading what he would see when he reached the entrance. Peering inside, he saw something that inspired fear in the deepest part of his heart. It was clear that magicians had found their hideout, as the signs of a struggle were evident. Vines littered the stone floor of the cave, and the table in the center was broken clean in half. Gajeel turned and walked towards the center of the cave "Shrimp?" He called out, hoping beyond hope that he would get an answer besides the silence that pressed heavily on his ears. "Someone must have found them." Laxus growled. "They launched a sneak attack when they knew we were gone." Gajeel bowed his head, and then stood and strode towards a pillar as something caught his attention out of the corner of his eye. Reaching it, he pulled the object out, and then walked towards the others. "Well, at least we have something to go on." He showed them what he had found, the card shimmering in the light and wet with blood. Natsu leaned in and sniffed at the card, then drew back, his nose working overtime. Suddenly, his eyes snapped open. "I've got then scent! Let's go!"
Told ya you would hate me! Go ahead and leave a review for the climax of the story. I'm predicting that we're gonna have about five to seven more chapters, then an epilogue(?) if those do well. See ya! Storm Out!