The Scattered Faries

"I'm not a boy! I am a man!" Elfman roared, as he jumped at Zephyr, punching at him in the gut. (props to those who get that reference)

"That is not going to work," Zephyr said calmly as the fist connected. Elfman let out a grunt of pain, as he a massive amount of force struck him in the side, sending him careening away. Zephyr calmly walked over in his direction, as he dusted off his suit.

"Please refrain from dirtying the suit," he said, "Its quite expensive."

"Screw you! A real man doesn't focus so much on his outfit!" Elfman said, "Beast Arm: Stone Bull!" He punched at Zephyr again, only for the mercenary to vanish.

"Too slow, boy," he sneered, as he held up his hands, "Spatial Inferno!" Two glowing circles appeared around Elfman, before massive bursts of fire exploded out of them, blasting Elfman away. The Fairy Tail mage panted, as he got up weakly. He glanced over at the still frozen Natsu. He was trying to avoid fighting around him, since he knew that there was a chance Natsu could get shattered in his current state.

"Damn, what kind of magic is this?" he muttered.

"Space Magic, is it not obvious?" Zephyr answered, as he held up his hand, "I can transport anything I want, anywhere I want."

"It doesn't matter where you'll go, I'll get you!" Elfman declared, as he punched at Zephyr again. The space mage didn't dodge this time, as Elfman punched him in the face. However, the force struck Elfman in the stomach instead.

"Brute force is one of the absolute worse ways to fight me," Zephyr explained. He then held out a hand, summoning a rock into it. He then slammed the rock into his hand. Elfman let out a grunt as he felt a strike hit the side of his head.

"How are you doing that?" Elfman said as he stumbled slightly.

"Whenever you strike a person you inflict force, even a brute like you should know that," Zephyr explained, "All I'm doing is transferring said force onto you instead of me."

"That's fighting dirty!"

"Actually, its fighting efficiently. People who fight fairly are fools."

"A real man fights with his own power, not the power of others!" Elfman said, as he rose to his feet, as he entered full Beast Soul. He then punched down at Zephyr, who warped away. The Fairy Tail goer whirled around, to punch at Zephyr again.

"It won't work," Zephyr said, as he flicked his wrist. Portal appeared where Elfman's fist was, only to appear beside his head, sending his first into his face.

"Spatial Flood!" Two portals opened, spilling out massive torrents of water around Elfman, which disoriented him. In that moment of disorientation, Zephyr pulled a stiletto from his pocket, and jammed it into another portal. Elfman let out a pained roar, as he was stuck in the back of the leg.

"There are so many ways I could kill you," Zephyr explained from his new position on a rock, "I could teleport a piece of your body away, open a portal to a volcano and swallow your body in lava, or teleport several massive rocks over you. But that would be boring. If possible, I like to grant my opponents some proper entertainment if I can, since I'm a gentleman." He then cracked his neck.

"But I don't consider you a true enemy," he said, "You're more along the lines of a minor inconvenience. So maybe it would be more prudent to end you here and now. Sound good?" Elfman roared as he sprung at him, only for Zephyr to hold out his hand. Another portal appeared, as a massive burst of water exploded out. It struck Elfman head on, who managed to push through it. To counter, Zephyr released more blasts of water from another two portals, but even then, Elfman pushed through.

"I will save Lucy! And her kid!" Elfman roared. Zephyr cringed, as Elfman held up his fist, and had to jump out of the way. Elfman panted as he looked over, to see Zephyr standing there, glaring. He grinned.

"I think I just found out your weakness," Elfman said, "You can't open more than three portals at any given time. If you could, you would have turned that force on me again." Zephyr scowled.

"That's it, I'm ending this!" Zephyr said, as he held up his hands, only for Elfman to be atop of him. He wasn't in Beast Soul anymore. Elfman grabbed Zephyr by the shoulder, and slammed his fist into the Space Mage's mug. Zephyr let out a grunt of pain, as he was almost knocked back, but Elfman held onto him.

"Another weakness," Elfman said, "You can't transport things that aren't in direct contact you. I noticed that the knife you stabbed with me went into one of your portals. You weren't transferring the force, you were transferring my fists!" Before Zephyr could respond, he was punched in the face again, and again, and again.

Finally, Elfman let Zephyr go, as the Space Mage fell to the ground, his face bruised and swollen.

"Damn," Elfman said, "I should've made you tell me where the others are first."

(with Frieze)

Frieze liked to keep track of his lackeys, particularly the more powerful ones, such as the Tri-Blades. To that end, he used a form of Link magic, which let him keep track of his followers on a magical map. He tapped his finger on his arm as he noticed Zephyr disappear, indicated he had been defeated.

The dark lord looked over at Lucy, who was now visibly showing. It would still be a few hours before the ritual would be complete, and the child would be born. All that needed to be done was for the Fairy Tail mages to be stalled. The Tri-Blades were supposed to be some of the stronger mercenary groups in the kingdom, though Frieze was intelligent enough to take that with a few grains of salt. Fairy Tail mages were also quite ample in a fight, and chances were they could be more than a match for Frieze's warriors.

As for Frieze himself, he was far stronger than any of them, and everyone new it. There was a point where he fought on par with Brain of Oracion Seis, losing mostly because of Brain's strategizing.

"How much longer will this take?"

"A couple hours, my lord," one of the practitioners answered.

"Make it less," Frieze said. The practitioner opened his mouth, but upon seeing his lord's glare, he remained silent.

"That's what I thought."

(with Wendy)

Wendy looked around. She was in some kind of hallway, probably some where random in the lair.

"What's the plan?" Happy asked.

"I don't see how we have any other option but to go straight," Carla said.

"She's right," Wendy said, "We need to keep going if we want to save Lucy."

"Do you agree, Erza?" Happy asked the staff. Erza flashed for "yes". The group then started to walk down the hall.

"I was wondering," Happy said, "Erza's now a magic staff, right?"

"Don't state the obvious," Carla said.

"Well, maybe someone can use her to fight?" Happy suggested. Erza flashed "no" without missing a beat.

"Well, its not too bad idea," Wendy said, "I mean, you're really strong when normal, but imagine how strong you are as a magic tool!" Erza flashed "no" again.

"This is probably damaging to her pride," Carla said, "If I was suddenly turned into an item, I would be rather embarrassed myself."

"I'd imagine as much." The group looked around, but didn't see anybody.

"Imagine what I thought when I saw Titania on the train. I couldn't believe my luck. One of the strongest mages in Fairy Tail with her guard almost completely down."

"Show yourself, coward!" Carla demanded.

"Aye! You aren't afraid of a few cats, are you?" Happy yelled.

"Me, afraid of cats? The notion is too ridiculous to even entertain." Suddenly, standing on a rock, was Trak. Erza's eyes glowed angrily.

"You were the one who cursed Erza?" Wendy asked.

"Well, insofar as me giving her the Furari Potentia was 'cursing' her," Trak answered, "My name is Trak, I'm one of Lord Frieze's lieutenants."

"What's your game!" Happy demanded.

"None of your business, that's what," Trak answered, as he jumped down to their level, "But I'm afraid I can't let you go on."

"I'm going to save Lucy!" Wendy said, as she turned to face Trak.

"I'd say good luck, but you won't need luck when you're going to lose."

(with Cana)

"Damn it," Cana muttered as she rubbed the back of her head. She was in a room with a series of interconnected pools, with a waterfall emptying out of the wall into one of them.

"Where's a drink when you need one?"

"Alcoholism is not becoming a lady, especially a mage." Cana then saw a man in an orange robe, with a shaved head, sitting under the waterfall, his eyes closed.

"How did you…," Cana muttered.

"I have my ways," the man answered, as he continued to sit under the waterfall, his eyes still closed, "I presume you are one of the people I was hired to protect this place from?"

"Not entirely accurate," Cana answered, as she drew her cards, "I'm the one here to save Lucy!"

"So that's the girl's name?" the man said as he finally opened his eyes. He then jumped out of the waterfall to face Cana. He was perfectly dry.

"How are you not soaked to the bone?"

"I was bending the water away from me," the man explained, "But that's not important. I'll confess, I don't really approve of Lord Frieze's plan, but it is not my place to ask questions."

"Well that's a bunch of bullshit," Cana grumbled.

"Alcoholic and foul mouthed?" the man asked, "You must do Fairy Tail a true disservice."

"Don't you tell me how to live my life, whoever you are!"

"My name is XingLong," the man said, "I am one of the Tri-Blades."

"I don't give a damn who you are," Cana said, "What I do give a damn about is saving my pregnant friend!"

"I would like to surrender and let you pass, but my honor as a warrior prevents me," XingLong said, as he took a fighting pose.

"That's also a bunch of bullshit."

(with Levy)

Levy had no idea what to do. Fighting was, in all honesty, not her strong suit. She was a thinker, not a fighter. True, her Solid Script was pretty good, but in a fight, she may not have the power that some of her guild mates had. It was that reason Levy was seriously starting to consider accepting Gajeel's requests to join Shadow Gear. No disrespect to Jet and Droy, but…. yeah.

"Alright," she muttered, as she pulled out her notebook and pen, "Maybe if I can draw a map…"

"It won't help," a woman's voice called. Levy then looked up, and saw a woman with green hair standing there.

"Who are you?" Levy demanded.

"My name is Netja. I'm the personal aide to Lord Frieze."

"So that means you know where Lucy is!" Levy said.

"Well, I should, I was the one who kidnapped her," Netja answered.

"You kidnapped Lucy!"

"Did I stutter or something?"

"You're real lucky Natsu isn't here," Levy said, "There wouldn't even be ashes left when he was done."

"Well the Salamander isn't here, now is he?" Netja said, "You are." Levy cringed. She doubted her capability to beat this woman, but she knew she didn't have a choice.

"I'm going to save Lucy!" Levy declared.

(with Juvia)

Juvia wasn't in a much better place. Aside from the fact that she was away from her beloved Gray, she also had no idea where the heck she was. She had actually been spat in what looked like the sleeping quarters of the lair. There was only way out, so that at least left her with a clear way to go.

The water mage was distracted when she heard what sounded like wings. Juvia looked up, and saw a dark figure circling overhead. Not missing a beat, Juvia held up her finger.

"Water Sniper!" A thin blast of water shot out of the tip, as it jetted at the thing in the sky, which managed to dodge it, before swooping down on her. Juvia melted down to avoid the strike. After reforming, she saw that the thing was a man, a very ugly man, who could only be described as vulture-like. He was bald, save for sparse strands of hair, with a long hooked nose that resembled a beak. He was hunched over, with a black cloak that resembled feathers coating his body.

"Who are you?!" Juvia demanded.

"Geier the Vulture," the man answered, "I am the leader of the Tri-Blades."

"Never heard of you," Juvia answered, as she glared at him.

"Most of the people I interact with are either my clients, or my targets," Geier explained, "My client's contact consists of silence, and my targets are all dead, naturally."

"So I'm your target?" Juvia asked.

"Not necessarily," Geier answered, as he held up one hand. Juvia cringed at the sight of his gnarled hands, with long, razor sharp nails.

"I'm not here to kill you," the Vulture further explained, "That wasn't my assignment. My assignment is to prevent you from interfering with Frieze's ploy. I don't go beyond what my contract details. Be thankful for that, you won't need to fear being killed."

"Juvia has to save Lucy!" Juvia declared, as she got ready to fight.

"Is that the name of Frieze's 'golden girl'?" Grier asked, "Ah well, I guess it doesn't matter. He'll probably dispose of her when the ritual is done."

"What ritual?"

"What does it matter? You won't be finding out about it."

(with Gray)

Of all the people who actually had it rather easy, Gray was the one who had it as such. He had been spat into a place where several of the mooks happened to be sitting. After beating a lot of them up, Gray turned his attention to getting information. After a couple of tries, he eventually got the information he needed, but before he could head out, he saw a short figure in the tunnel.

"Ah great, let me guess I have to beat you to pass?" Gray said.

"Am I standing in your way?"

"That's I yes I presume?" The man smiled.

"Hopefully our interaction will span more than just the two of us exchanging smartass comments to each other," he said, "I suppose I'll be the first to talk about it. My name is Agora, I am the head of Lord Frieze's ritual projects."

"I don't really care who you are," Gray said, as he put his hands together, "Not unless you can tell me where Lucy is."

"Simple, she's in the center," Agora answered. Gray paused in surprise.

"Why did you tell me that?"

"Because even if by some miracle you could defeat me, there is no chance you can defeat Lord Frieze," Agora explained, "Why do you think he controls so many separate dark guilds?"

"Again, I don't care who he is," Gray said, "He's the one who took Lucy while she was pregnant, so he needs to get his ass kicked."

"My lord is the most powerful of the dark lords in the continent," Agora said, "You think you or anyone else can fight him?"

"Its either that or Natsu," Gray said, "And I don't want to give Natsu the satisfaction of beating him."

(with Natsu and Elfman)

Elfman looked over Natsu, noting that there weren't any cracks or signs of damage on him. He was still melting, but it was slow, and there was no telling how long it would take from him to fully recover. In the mean time, he would stay here, and make nothing happened to the Salamander.

Natsu, who was unconscious in the ice, could do nothing but hear, and hear one thing. It was the sound of Lucy crying.

Note: I'm hope you enjoyed this, since there wasn't really much to this chapter aside from Elfman's fight. I decided to reuse the Tri-Blades, since I thought it could make some interesting fights. I've done the pair off, and as you can guess, the next few chapters will probably consist of the group fighting their enemies.

Natsu will be sitting this out for a time, since he's frozen.

Be sure to review.