AN: Hey all, time for another update! This is me wanting to write about an "arc" as they usually do in the Fairy Tail style of plot. Y'know how it is. Anyways, I'm really excited about how all this plays out, and I hope you guys are as well. As always, reviews, favorites, follows, etc. will be much appreciated. Enjoy!

Notice: I don't own Fairy Tail. Its characters, settings, etc, all belong to Hiro Mashima. However, this fic contains OC's, so those are mine. But nothing else. Yeah.

Chapter 15: The Liar's Vanguard

As the first rays of sun peeked out from beyond the horizon, Erza wondered if she had done enough. She was so exhausted from preparing the guild's defenses without getting any sleep, and she could tell her fellow guild members felt the same. She stood on the Fairy Tail guildhall's rooftop with the rest of the guild members, waiting for Hydra Claw's prophesized attack. She went over what Ezra had told her once more in her mind.

"I'm really sorry, Erza, but I'm going to be the one leading the invasion tomorrow. The attack is unnecessary and unprovoked, but I have to support my guildmaster's decision, whatever his motives might be. I just came to warn you, so you guys might have a fighting chance. We're going to arrive in a giant warship. I believe the situation will be similar to one you previously faced, when your guildhall was attacked by the Phantom Lord guild. Our warship will be similarly difficult to dismantle. It is composed of seven sources of power. Destroy those, and the whole system collapses. We will be forced to retreat. However, the entirety of the guild will be aboard the ship, prepared to stop all invaders. I myself will have to fight my hardest to prevent you from destroying the warship."

Erza had interrupted him then, "But Ezra, why do you have to do this? You know your master's decision is horribly unreasonable. Are you sure he wasn't drunk or something when he gave the order?"

Ezra's face was sad when he responded. "Even if he was, my dear, I would still have to obey. I would sooner die than betray the guild to which I owe not only my allegiance, but also my life. Believe me, I do hope we fail and the master reconsiders his decision. I wish you all luck tomorrow, but know that tomorrow I will be forced to kill you." And with that, he had left out the window as quickly as he came, without any sort of goodbye.

Erza couldn't believe Ezra would do something like that. Of course she understood the deep bond of loyalty Ezra felt to his guild, but how could he squander that guild's honor by attacking a friendly guild? How would she handle the situation if Makarov ordered to attack an innocent fellow guild?

Natsu and Lucy ran up to join her. "Sorry we're late," Natsu told her. "Lucy's creepy stalker guy went missing."

That snapped Erza right out of her thoughts. "What?" She hoped Lucy was okay.

Lucy was visibly distraught. "He was training with Loki when I fell asleep… When I woke up there was just a bunch of smashed rocks, and Sic was gone! What could have happened to him?"

Erza took the girl aside and soothed her. She knew all too well how Lucy felt. "It's okay, Lucy. I'm sure Sic's all right. He can take care of himself. The important thing is to focus on protecting the guild. I'm sure he just went for a walk or something."

Natsu's pink-haired face poked into their embrace. "Hey guys, sorry to interrupt, but, uh… I think they're here."

The guild's panicked voices of recognition from all around Erza confirmed Natsu's theory, and so did the giant warship coming over the horizon.

The flying warship was nothing if not magnificent, and just as terrifying. The hull was composed of interlocking green metal that looked like reptilian scales. They seemed to vibrate and move as the ship moved, as if the thing were breathing. Out of the ship's deck sprouted seven long towers, spiraling and coiling at least fifty feet into the air. At the top of each of these towers was positioned a giant snake's head, its mouth open to the depths of the tower.

"Laernus," Master Makarov breathed. "Hydra Claw's legendary warship."

"Man, I can't believe I gotta do this from the other side!" Gajeel complained. "How the hell did you guys beat us back then anyway, huh?"

The guild members were so distracted by the approaching warship that they didn't even respond to Gajeel's snide comment. "What did that double agent tell you about how to destroy that thing, Erza?" Gildarts inquired.

"The seven heads," Erza replied. "Destroy the hydra's seven heads, and the whole thing will come crashing down."

"Got it," Gildarts replied. "Leave this to the Master and I. We don't want any of you getting hurt."

Normally Erza would have protested, but oddly, she felt a little relieved. She still vividly remembered her duel with Ezra. If someone with that kind of power was only one member on the opposing side, did they really have the strength to defeat the enemy? Perhaps it would be better if she just let Makarov and Gildarts destroy the ship before anyone could get hurt.

A plank slid out from the prow of the warship, and two figures walked out onto it. Erza recognized one of them: Ezra Mathin. Ezra did not look happy, but he stood there purposefully nevertheless. On his left stood a tall, thin boy about sixteen. He didn't look very formidable: he wore a plain white T-shirt and cargo shorts, with messy ear-length chocolate-brown hair enveloping his head. He looked like just any regular non-wizard teenager.

Ezra's voice boomed out through a megaphone. It was melancholy, and full of hesitation. "Fairy Tail, surrender at once and we promise to make your deaths merciful. Should you attempt to resist, the entire town of Magnolia will be wiped out along with your guildhall."

Makarov's form glowed, and he grew to twenty times his usual size. Gildarts began giving off a staggering amount of magic power through his glowing white aura.

"You bastards don't really think you can just waltz in and destroy our home without a fight, do you?" Gildarts roared.

"Whoever threatens my children will not live to see another sunrise!" boomed the voice of Makarov.

With a single, primal roar, the two mighty wizards unleashed one devastating blast of magic power. One by one, the hydra's seven heads were wiped out, obliterated. The guild's cheers died down when the warship did not collapse.

"Hey, what's going on?" Wakaba shouted. "I thought that was supposed to-"

Suddenly Gildarts and Makarov both doubled over in pain. Erza registered with alarm that they both had arcs of powerful electricity surging through their bodies.

The boyish voice of Ezra's companion boomed through another megaphone. "In each of the heads was placed a Blitzer lacrima. Supercharged versions of Thunder Palace lacrima. Incredibly devastating to those who destroy them. One of Sparky's specialties."

Sparky?

Before anyone could react, the boy had jumped down onto the guild's rooftop. He pulled a crystal from his pocket. "And here's a teleportation lacrima. Another one of Sparky's specialties." He slammed it onto the ground next to Gildarts and Makarov's collapsed forms, and in an instant, all three of them had disappeared.

The ensuing outcry was silenced by Ezra's megaphone. "Thank you, Erza, for your cooperation. Now that that's out of the way, I believe it's time to proceed with the destruction of your guildhall."

Erza was too dumbstruck to notice the equally dumbstruck faces all staring at her openmouthed. What did he say? Did he just lie to me to get Makarov and Gildarts out of the way? Does he even care about me at all? Or was that all just a big lie?

Ezra Mathin was going to pay for this.

Makarov and Gildarts began to regain their senses as the paralysis wore off. Being powerful mages, they were able to recover fairy quickly despite the lacrima's effects being potent enough to kill a lesser wizard. Gildarts quickly scanned their surroundings.

They stood in what appeared to be some kind of cell they might have in an insane asylum, albeit one the size of the guildhall. The room was huge and empty, with no windows or doors of any kind. About twenty feet away stood the boy that had been with Ezra earlier, arms folded over his chest, a serious look on his face. "Oh good, you're up already. I was starting to think I'd have to kill you while you were still down."

Makarov stood up next to Gildarts. "Where are we? Where are my children? Who do you think you are to challenge the two strongest Fairy Tail mages, boy?"

The boy's expression shifted to a cocky smirk. "We are in a silver coliseum, another one of Sparky's inventions. You cannot destroy it. It exists inside an alternate dimension. Its occupants can only leave when one side is defeated in battle. As for your 'children,' if they're not already dead, they're back at the guildhall having the fight of their lives."

Gildarts' fists tightened. "Oh, so all we have to do is beat you? I was going to do that anyway."

Makarov put a restraining hand on Gildarts' shoulder- or, well, actually, his thigh, because that was as high as Makarov could reach. "Wait. You didn't answer my third question."

The boy actually shrugged and burst out laughing. "I am Masud of the Hydra Claw guild, and I assure you that I will prove to be unbeatable."

This guy is a badass, in case you were wondering. Anyhoo, hope you guys liked it! Let me know what you think. As always, I will see you guys next time! Hope you have a nice day.