Disclaimer: Thought you could escape me for three full weeks but I STILL don't own Fairy Tail!
Spark
Gajeel walked with Wendy and Charla toward the Fairy Hills dormitory. The iron mage had something on his mind, and he figured Levy would be a good sounding board for his ideas.
Not that he needed an excuse to see Levy.
"You don't believe Master Mavis' theory, do you?" Lily asked from Gajeel's shoulder. The dragon slayer shrugged with the other shoulder.
"Can't say she's wrong," he said. "But what Salamander did is the kinda thing that sends a message"
The pierced wizard paused; he felt an immense magic power emanating from nearby that hadn't been there a moment earlier. He grabbed Wendy and shoved her away before diving in the opposite direction.
Cavern Dragon's Earth Destruction!
The black-haired mage watched the cobblestone street shred into crumbling blocks as the earth beneath it swelled like boiling water. He fell against the outer wall of a shop and the quakes caused the structure to collapse over him.
He bashed a hole in the roof and saw the source of the attack. Some tall guy with a scar across his face stood on top of a small cliff formed by the broken canal.
"Oh-oh," the stranger said, paying the slayer no mind. "One of them escaped."
Gajeel assumed he meant Wendy. The iron mage kicked his way out of the wreckage. He saw Lily charging him from behind in his battle form. Gajeel dubbed the scarred face 'Poser' for using dragon magic that didn't smell natural.
Poser caught Lily's Musica Sword between two fingers and pulled it out of the Exceed's hands. He swatted Lily in the jaw with the hilt without turning around.
"Lily!"
The black cat's body seized up in midair and he splashed into the canal. Poser dropped his blade in after him and turned toward Gajeel.
Iron Dragon's Scales!
The dragon slayer felt a fist in his gut a moment before his spell could protect his body. He doubled over, his feet shaking.
"I caught a fairy~," Poser trilled, opening his fist to grab Gajeel's coat. "Lucky me."
Gajeel gave the best glare he could from his position. He pulled back an inch to kick at Poser's face. He lifted an open palm to halt the blow and jabbed at Gajeel's armored calf. Even without using magic, Poser managed to hurt him.
"I could use your help," he said, speaking as though to a child. "Where is your nest?"
Gajeel snarled. Poser grabbed his outstretched leg. He lifted Gajeel into the air and swung him into the nearest intact building.
"I have leave to do whatever I please," Poser said, heaving Gajeel over his head and slamming the iron mage into concrete. "Except I can't destroy your guild hall."
The pierced dragon slayer coughed and hacked, trying to gather his breath for a roar. Poser cut his effort short by twisting his ankle hard in an unnatural direction.
"So," he said, leaning over Gajeel with an infuriating grin. "You tell me where it is, and I'll make sure you don't have to watch me ruin the rest of this town."
Gajeel hissed through clenched teeth. He summoned a succession of iron poles from the ground beneath Poser. The faux slayer sidestepped each one and sighed.
"I gave you a reasonable out," he said. Gajeel pushed up as his opponent's magic power spiked. "But surely you fairies can protect one building, right?"
Purgatory Dragon's Fiery Damnation!
Natsu paused midstride as a layer of flame appeared over Magnolia like a band of clouds. The fire mage focused magic power around his feet and rocketed up into the descending mass. He chomped and gobbled everything he could get his hands on; he wondered about his plan, how reliable his instincts were, and about what he was.
And then Natsu belched.
"Thank you for the meal." He murmured on his way back to the ground. He felt like he could burst with the overwhelming magic power he had in his belly.
"I'm all fired up."
God Serena watched with mild interest as his flames vanished into the gaping mouth of one of the fairies.
"Ah, a slayer," he said, pressing splayed fingers to his forehead. "So the fairies aren't completely helpless."
The iron wizard interrupted the former wizard saint's musings.
"Hell no." He said, slashing with an iron sword that used to be his arm. God Serena ducked and wove around each attack with ease.
"I figured out the message your boss was sendin' us," he said as he changed his other arm into a spear and launched a barrage of iron spearheads. "But the message ain't the worst part."
The little iron fairy forced God Serena against the wall of a building.
"What pisses me off," he said, turning the sword into a long iron club and jabbing it toward God Serena. "Is that I actually believed it for a second."
"Very good," God Serena said, catching the blunt end of the club with one hand. "You almost made me forget that you've been immobilized."
The hybrid dragon slayer flipped the iron weapon upward to put the fairy off balance and closed the distance between them in an instant.
"Almost."
The former Ishgar wizard concentrated his fantastic magic into one palm. The iron fairy smirked.
"Gihi."
He ducked. The black man-cat swung his sword at God Serena. The hybrid slayer leapt back, escaping at the cost of a few stray hairs. Nonetheless, he grinned.
"Fairies," he said, renewing his magic into his hand. "Demons, dragons, even gods; it doesn't matter to me."
Sea King Dragon's Encircling Deluge!
With a flip of his wrist, God Serena summoned a torrent of water that blasted toward his targets.
"Because I"
A white light blinked in the middle of the water magic, followed by an explosion that dispersed it. The former wizard saint only caught the fist that came toward him with his forearm by a fraction of a second.
"Don't care."
Gildarts slammed his fist infused with his magic into God Serena's forearm and sent him backward. Fairy Tail's ace huffed and glowered.
"Real tired of punks coming and screwing with these kids," he said. The crash mage had a tenuous grasp on his self-restraint; he murmured in low tones.
"Warren," he said, watching God Serena's grin with mounting agitation. "What did Master say about property damage?"
Before the telepath could answer, God Serana's laugh broke Gildarts' focus. The dragon slayer held up the folds of his robe in a dramatic pose.
"You," he said, pointing at Gildarts with his other hand. "I can have some fun with."
The traitor to Ishgar snapped the fabric out sideways.
Cloak Dragon's Shadow: Release!
The air around Gildarts seemed to warp and ripple. As if from nowhere, thousands of imps popped into sight and advanced in a disorganized flood.
Warren felt a cold sweat developing on his brow as he watched the hostile blips on his Magic Radar multiply several times over.
"No, no, no!" He pleaded, clasping his hands to his head and digging fingers into his scalp. "We're not ready for this!"
He heard Gajeel's gruff voice in his mind.
"What's the big deal? Just a bunch of small fry."
One of the few downsides of telepathy magic was a lack of privacy.
"Who cares about the imps," Warren said. "Zeref's just reappeared with a ton of heavy reinforcements!"
A moment of blissful quiet allowed Warren time for the beginning of a freak out before the rest of the guild reacted at once; their voices echoed in his mind.
"Papa, is that the bad guy? Did he make the ground go boom?"
"I don't know, Asuka- stay with Levy, please."
"Warren, did you have to open the line to everyone?"
"Levy left, Papa."
"What?"
"Where's Romeo?"
"Right behind you, Dad."
"I couldn't stay there! She's with Wendy."
"And she'll be watched over by me."
"Charla"
"Where. Is. He?"
Warren felt a hand on his shoulder. Makarov's voice rose above the others.
"Everyone calm down. The more one of us distresses, the more it will affect all of us," he said. "Warren, you are the only one who can tell us what's happening and help us coordinate."
The telepathy mage took several steadying breaths. Some of the more confident guild members lent their support.
"Men do not panic!"
"This might work for the best," Erza said. "They've come to us; there's that much more energy we conserve not overthinking things."
"Warren," Natsu said, his voice low, rumbling and dangerous. "Where is he?"
"First," Mavis said. "Tell us what we're dealing with."
Warren sighed.
"Okay," he said. "There's God Serena in the town itself, and a load of imps near him moving toward the hall."
"Nothing to worry about." Gray said.
"There's at least one other hostile in town that's an actual threat; but they're blending in with the imps on radar," Warren continued. "The rest are approaching from outside. A huge cluster is coming from the southwest."
"All I see in that direction from here are storm clouds." Levy said.
"Those ain't clouds, Shrimp," Gajeel said. "That's the enemy."
Warren gulped, but pressed on before anyone got distracted.
"Zeref himself," he said. "Has a considerable force coming this way from the north. He's about a league from here."
Silence. Well, there were a couple growls from one or two slayers, but verbal communication ceased otherwise.
"All right," Mavis said. "Here's how we'll respond."
"I'm goin' after Zeref." Natsu said, interjecting before Fairy Tail's founder could speak further. A few voices rose to chide him, but Mavis quelled them; she kept on as though it were natural.
"Lucy, Gray and Erza will accompany him," she said. "They'll need a fifth."
"I can do my best to fill in for miss Marvell." Loke said.
Mavis hummed approval.
"We'll head out with the method we used to return from the mountains, Gray." Erza said. No one responded; the requip mage's tone left no room for discussion.
"Salamander!" Gajeel yelled. "You give Zeref a message! Real simple, just two words! F"
Warren's ears burned from the hot blood in the iron mage's voice. Mavis whispered.
"I hope you weren't relaying to Asuka just now," she said.
"Um."
Before the telepath could come up with a defense, Gajeel's voice barked again.
"Lily! Let's go!"
A few short moments later, Warren could feel the dragon slayer and his Exceed flying out of the range of his magic.
"They're rushing toward the southwest group." He said.
"Mira, would you and Elfman accompany him?" Mavis asked.
"Gladly," Mira chimed.
"MANLY!" Elfman shouted.
"Juvia, Cana, Levy," Mavis said. "You'll be in charge of finding the other threat in Magnolia. The rest of you that aren't part of the plan, keep the imps under control."
No one brought up any complaints.
"Oh, and Gildarts," Makarov said. "Property damage is fine."
Half a second later an eruption resounded in Magnolia; the foundation of the guildhall shuddered.
Erza ushered everyone into the carriage of the magic vehicle.
"You sure this is the fastest way?" Natsu asked. She grunted as she shut the door after Lucy.
"Yes," she said, turning around. She'd anticipated his hesitation. "You'll have to"
Titania stopped midsentence with her mouth slightly ajar. Natsu had climbed up front and strapped the SE-plug to his right arm.
"Then let's go." He said, staring Erza in the eye.
The redhead mage noticed the fine line between desperation and determination in Natsu's gaze. She realized she must have looked much the same during the Tower of Heaven incident; no regard for her own physical or mental state.
No wonder her friends had been so worried about her.
She recalled how insistent Natsu had been that she needed to cherish her own life; she pondered that as she stepped up to take the driver's seat.
"Natsu," she said. "I will be very disappointed in you if you turn out to be a hypocrite."
The wheels screeched against the pavement from a surge of magic power and the vehicle shot forward. Erza got the feeling the dragon slayer hadn't been listening; she thought about smacking him, but given his role in their departure, decided against it.
Bisca almost enjoyed herself while blowing tiny demons away with her guns magic. It brought on a nostalgic feeling.
She'd gotten separated from most of the other guild members, but the commotion told her that Alzack wasn't far from her.
Something moved toward her from within the waves of imps. A short, pale, black-haired man in fancy robes strode forward amid the horde. His red eyes seemed to look through the sharpshooter. Bisca felt her blood run cold.
"Warren," she said, trying to keep her arm steady and still her shivering hands. "I think I found the other one."
A/N: I had a lot to put here, but as usual, I end up with electronic stage fright or some such.
Why did Erza act like a butler for second there instead of driving like the maniac we know her to be? Because it fits the scene.
Anyway! I'm very much more pleased with this chapter than I thought I would be and we're getting close to the renewed action that will be the showdown! (Maybe~)
Oh yeah, for those who don't know- which might have only been me until recently- a league is the distance of an hour's walking. I'm sure my readers knew that already though.
If you liked this chapter, leave a review! If not, tell me my character foibles in as neat and concise a manner as possible!
To The Reviewers:
0FairyTail0: I'm flattered! Thank you very much for continuing to read and review! Here's hoping the story keeps up with your expectations! Enjoy the chapter and all that come after!
The Age of Awesomeness: Ah, life. The mortal enemy of free time. I understand. Thanks for your reading and reviewing loyalty! It empowers me! Have a chapter!