Natsu:
Natsu eyed the canopy of trees above him suspiciously, bringing his hand up to his chin and squinting his eyes against the harsh rays of sun that broke through.
"Hey, Happy," he called, looking over his shoulder at the exceed. "Remember how the island was shaped again?"
A mischievous grin crossed his face and the two yelled together, "THERE'S A WHOLE OTHER ISLAND ON TOP!"
"Good thing I chose you as my partner, Happy! No one else is gonna be able to get up there."
Happy smiled at Natsu over his shoulder as the two soared up into the sky.
Sophia:
"Plue, I think we're lost…"
"Pun."
"It isn't my fault!"
"Pun, pun."
Sophia leaned down so she was at face level with the white dog and stuck her tongue out. They had wandered into a clearing, a giant tree trunk to Sophia's back. She turned around to face it and peered up, her eyes following the calloused surface of the ancient bark until it disappeared up into the clouds.
"I think this is the Tenrou tree…" she muttered to no one in particular. Plue had wandered off and was attempting to communicate with a bee through one of his newly perfected dances, but it wasn't really going anywhere. Sophia chuckled and took a deep breath, inhaling the earthy scent of the tree. It relaxed her, soothed her anxiety, put her mind at ease. That is, until another smell mingled with the scent of the wood. The smell of death: rotten, old, decaying, decrepit. It crawled up her nose and stung like a corpse was clawing at her face.
"Plue!" she called, whirling around to press her back against the immense trunk. The stellar spirit looked up and began to bound back towards her, through the field of daisies that separated them, when a dark figure approached from the forest surrounding them.
"I didn't think there would be people here…" the man whispered to himself. His eyes were to the ground. He had yet to look up at Sophia.
"Who are you?" she called, making sure her voice was strong and commanding. She stepped away from the trunk, her fists balled at her sides.
"Plue...stay back," she mumbled to the spirit, who had wrapped himself around one of her calves and was shaking inconsolably.
The man suddenly looked up and Sophia felt as if time had been stopped. The leaves on the trees fell in slow motion as she stared deep into his dark, onyx colored eyes, eyes that sucked her in like a black hole. They widened as he looked into her own, emerald green eyes, as if he recognized her.
"You…" he started, a tear threatening to tumble from his left eye, a smile spread across his face. "Sophia..it's you."
His eyes suddenly widened again, but this time concern flashed across his face. "If you're here...then Natsu is here," he muttered, looking down at the ground once more. His eyes flashed with anger and Sophia watched as the grass around him withered and died, turning a dark, bitter brown wherever he stepped. Sophia's own expression darkened, her mood souring and the surprise leaving her, to be replaced by anger.
"You're not from Fairy Tail."
He looked up, back into her eyes.
"Oh... I guess this island is administered by a guild…" he whispered to himself once more, though Sophia had no issue hearing it loud and clear. She took a step forward and yelled, "HEY, YOU-" before she was interrupted by the man.
"NO. DON'T COME NEAR ME," he said forcefully and loudly, his arm stretched out in front of him.
Sophia's steps faltered, confusion taking the place of anger.
"What are you talking about?!" she yelled. Crazy fucking asshole, what the hell.
"Fine, I'll leave," the man announced. "Just, please, don't come near me."
He looked at Sophia pleadingly.
"What?! No! You're not gonna just waltz out of here without a fight!" she retorted. Suddenly the man dropped to his knees, and she rushed forwards, only to elicit loud screams of "BACK! GET BACK!" from the man. She stopped about a foot away from him and watched in horror as he began to shake his head and scream, "N...no! It's coming. The death preying...it's coming!"
A black orb appeared around his shaking form, expanding outwards slowly, causing Sophia to step back. As she did, it gained speed and a shrill whirring noise like something storing energy began to grate against her ears. The orb grew to be 8 feet around when it suddenly exploded, an unstoppable black wall of magic rushing straight towards Sophia's face.
Elfman:
Elfman glanced over his shoulder at the giant, green monster chasing him. He caught sight of Evergreen and slowed his pace slightly so she could catch up, and as she sped in front of him, screeching all the while, he grabbed her hand and surged forward with a new burst of energy.
"HURRY THE HELL UP!" he howled at the pretty woman.
"DON'T THINK YOU CAN ORDER ME AROUND!" she screeched back, but nonetheless her pace quickened to match the takeover mage's. Elfman glanced back once more and his eyes widened in terror as he saw the beast raise a clawed foot into the air. He grabbed Evergreen around the waist and made a mad dash to the side, jumping out of the way and into a clearing just in time. Before he could figure out what was happening, someone had pinned him to the ground and Sophia had appeared next to him in the grass, pinned by the same person. Ever was underneath him, screaming obscenities.
Elfman glanced up and over his shoulder in an attempt to see who had trapped him against the ground. Ever beat him to it.
"NATSU DRAGNEEL GET THE HELL OFF OF US!" she screeched. Natsu paid the woman no attention, his eyes clearly fixed on a dark figure crouched on the ground about 10 feet away from them. Elfman followed his gaze. The man on the ground had hair as dark as the night sky and eyes that matched. He was looking straight at Natsu as he stood and began to cry.
"Natsu…"
The dragon slayer stood, a furious look on his tan face.
"Who the hell are you?"
Elfman saw Evergreen's outraged face soften into concern as she realized something serious was going on.
"Natsu...where'd you come from?" she asked tentatively.
Elfman added, "Yeah, don't surprise me like that…"
The white haired take over mage glanced over at Sophia, remembering she was there when a flash of her bright red hair caught his eye. Her mouth was pressed into the fresh dirt, but he could faintly make out the slur of obscentities she was yelling into the earth, her eyes mirroring her mouth's hostility. Suddenly, Natsu was no longer pressing Elfman into the ground, but was in front of him, with the female dragon slayer's foot on the back of his head, his face being pushed into the ground. Evergreen sat up and dusted herself off, muttering about how unlady like Sophia was behaving. Happy burst through the canopy of leaves above, yelling for Natsu.
"What happened to going to the top!?"
Sophia glanced up at the blue furball and reluctantly removed her foot from Natsu's head so that he could reply. The male dragon slayer sat up and spat dirt out at Sophia before turning to Happy, a bead of sweat rolling down the side of his head, and replying, "I don't know what's going on but...I suddenly got a really creepy feeling."
Happy began to more closely inspect the clearing, and suddenly realized that all the plant life had died, leaving a dead, brown ring around the four mages.
"What! What is this!" he squeaked, huddling closer to Sophia's legs.
Evergreen shuddered as she added, "All the trees in this area have withered…"
Happy glanced up at the dark mage standing across the clearing from them, who was still engaged in a serious staring contest with Natsu.
"Was it his magic that did this?"
Evergreen nodded and said, "He doesn't seem to be your run of the mill mage."
Sophia nodded solemnly and scooped Happy up and placed him on her head, then she picked up Plue and cradled him in her arms. Happy looked down at the scene with jealousy clearly evident in his eyes. She took a bold step forward and yelled, "I don't know who you are, but this is our guild's island!"
Natsu followed suit and agreed, crossing his arms and shouting, "And don't get in the way of our exam!"
The dark mage smiled at the two of them, more tears streaming down his cheeks as he muttered, "My...you've really grown."
Natsu grit his teeth.
"I've been wanting to see the two of you...especially you, Natsu."
Natsu's eyes widened to the size of saucers, and before Elfman knew what was going on, Natsu had rushed forward and punched the man square in the jaw, sending him flying backwards into the ground. He glanced over to see an evil glint in Sophia's eyes as she jumped up and down, egging him on. Elfman muttered, "She's more than a real man...a man's man."
Evergreen grimaced.
The man regained his composure right before he crashed into the Earth, a big grin still spread across his face.
"I don't know you!" Natsu yelled, pointing his index finger at the intruder. "What's your name?!"
The man's smile faded as more tears streamed down his soft face. He looked down, a pout spread across his face instead.
A bead of sweat rolled down Happy's face as he whispered, "He's crying?"
Sophia nodded and retorted, "He's been doing that since I got here."
Evergreen shivered and muttered, "What a creepozoid."
The man suddenly clutched the sides of his head as if in searing pain and screamed, "RUN!"
Sophia's eyes widened and she stepped in front of the rest of the group, swinging her arm out to her side horizontally and yelled over the man's screams, "THE BLACK WAVE THING IS MAGIC THAT TAKES AWAY LIFE! EVERYONE GET AWAY FROM HERE!"
The man let out a final yell as the black aura erupted from him once more. Elfman and Evergreen dove to the side, dragging a screaming Happy along with them, as Sophia blocked Natsu from stepping in front of her while he yelled her name. Almost as quickly as it had come on, the aura disappeared, leaving the clearing even more dead and destroyed.
Sophia stood in front of Natsu, his scarf wrapped around her neck, as he clutched onto her arm in a last ditch effort to drag her away from the blast zone. Happy whizzed over to the two of them as fast as his wings could carry him. The two dragon slayers looked into each other's eyes, bewildered.
"We're completely fine, don't worry Happy!" Natsu called to his feline friend. Sophia nodded and added, "More importantly...he disappeared?"
"What the hell!" Elfman grunted as Evergreen looked around wildly, as if she was expecting him to rematerialize in front of her.
"Natsu!" Happy exclaimed, "your scarf!"
Sophia and Natsu glanced down at the scarf around her neck.
"ITS BLACK?!" they screeched in unison.
"YOUR BRACELET TOO!" Happy added, pointing at the dragon tooth bracelet Sophia wore on her upper left arm, underneath her bright red guildmark. The teeth were normally an old yellow color, but they were now a jetblack that matched the intruder's hair and eyes. Natsu's eyes narrowed in anger and he reached out and pinched the scarf between his thumb and forefinger, growling.
"IGNEEL GAVE ME THIS SCARF! YOU BASTARD!" he yelled as he raised his other fist into the air and shook it.