Chapter 14: Cat and Mouse
A/N: El Derecho Fuerte!
Natsu: Iron Fist! (attacks collide and send both back and fight continues)
Lucy: Ummm seeing as they are still fighting I'll intro the new chapter. So yeah welcome to chapter 14! Shout-out to GrayBluedEyedBelle for the follow and review and to sashaXmafuyuFOREVER and brucie86 for their reviews! Thanks so much guys! Now…
Natsu: (Natsu comes flying and lands near Lucy) …
Lucy:… Hi…
Uh-oh Um enjoy the chapter!
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A week later (Master POV, Three weeks to the wedding)
Juvia is as stubborn as a mule mixed with a bull. My brat refuses to move her wedding date even though most of the women who will be in the ceremony are down and out right now. She keeps saying, 'Juvia will not anything come in between her and her Gray-sama's wedding! Not even death! So let them come, Juvia will have her wedding on time! Or else!' While it is admirable it is also foolish, the people attacking us are crazy good at hiding and we've been looking for a month already. Yet they keep disappearing and attacking guild members. They have attacked Elfman, Mira, Wendy, and now Erza. Oh poor Erza, first she was humiliated by Lucy in their spar and then she was attacked and her hair shaven off, it used, as we later found out, to knit tighter a faux armor that was actually life size. That poor child, her identity was partially, if not fully tied to that hair of hers, I mean her name is Erza SCARLET, her name matching her hair color. She was thoroughly broken emotionally when she woke up that she did not say a word for five whole days, she just sat and stared at the wall, petting her now thinly hair covered head. She also cried so much that her tear ducts dried up. THEY DRIED UP! She will be allowed to leave when Wendy does so she can participate in the wedding, but even though her body will heal, I don't know about her mind. She was already in a bad place mentally after her defeat, which was completely one-sided and shocking, and now this… she might lose all the confidence in herself that she once had. She might never be the same mage she was ever again and that would be a sad day for the world, as one of it's brightest lights and weapons against the darkness would be extinguished, for good.
There was a positive to this whole fiasco, however, and that was the knowledge of Lucy's progress, which was beyond anyone's wildest dreams. To think that in the five years since the exiling of Natsu, that Lucy would become the most likely to reach S-class and to be immediately in the running for guild Ace? Not me that much is for sure. I was against the whole spar from the beginning, I thought this was too much too soon, I suggested she fight Juvia but she was adamant saying, 'Trust me master, I'm ready for Erza.' And boy was she right, she not only beat Erza, but crushed and embarrassed her. The whole thing had me shocked and forced me to call the fight in fear of Erza getting seriously hurt. But what made me even more shocked was what happened next and hurt my heart. I watched as Erza was helped up and blatantly lied to Lucy's face, saying ""I'll be ok. But wow Lucy I was taking you at about half strength and you were going at even less and still crushed me. I'm impressed!" It was obvious to anyone who saw the fight that she was going way harder that 50%, I'd say at least 90%. AT LEAST. I think she may have gone all out and still lost. Poor Lucy, first Natsu assaulted her, then people began to treat her poorly , they coddled her and treated her like she was a damsel in distress. Erza and Gray and Lucy have not gone on a mission together since then, and they acted as if Lucy was no longer a strong or worthy member of any team they were on. I know they didn't think that way, but they seemed to forget that actions speak louder than words.
'When had the guild become like this? When did I lose the ability to have the brats understand the meaning of nakama? When did I lose my strength that once was revered throughout Fiore? When did the people of the guild lose the respect for me that they once had? Have I really grown that old that people no longer see me the way they once did, and can I still function properly as Master?' I wonder and realize the truth and grow even more depressed than I already was. I decide the best course of action, and call for Laxus to come upstairs.
"Hey Jiji what's up? You need help opening your arthritis again? I'm telling you just enlarge your hands and do it." He said as I sigh deeply and notices my mood and immediately sits down next to me and asks, "Oi Jiji what's wrong?"
I look up at him and say, "I have decided something very important. Please go and fetch Warrod and Gildarts." He looks at me and nods seeing my seriousness and runs downstairs, returning a few moments later, Warrod and Gildarts in tow. I look at the three and sigh deeply again, and tell them, "I have decided to retire. My last day will be the wedding day. I have grown too old to effectively run the guild and too old to reach the ears of the brats. I asked you come here so I may ask your opinion on something," They all look at me solemnly and I finish my question, "Who should I appoint as the next master?"
They look at me for a moment before Gildarts and Warrod both say in unison, "Laxus," and Gildarts finishes, "He is strong enough, understands enough about nakama now, and will have the respect of the guild."
I smile and nod my head saying, "Well Laxus, are you ready to be the seventh master of Fairy Tail? Come we have much to discuss. And I have something to show you."
(POV Change to Max)
I hold in my gasp of surprise, and clutch my beloved broom tightly. I sneak away quietly and reached the stairs, reaching them I sprint down to where Warren is and tell him, "I need you to set up a secure channel so we can talk, the usual guys." He nods as he saw me come down as he was acting as my watch dog so no one would disturb me. I had decided to sneak upstairs and see what was going on when Laxus, Warrod, and Gildarts were called upstairs, and boy did I hear a lot. Then I feel Warren enter my mind as do the others, Nab, Jet, Droy, Macao, and Wakaba. While others might believe this to be strange, but it's not seeing as we share something in common. We are all overlooked as guild members and kind of looked down at us, yes we may not be as strong but we have feelings too, you know. I hold my broom closely and ask, "You guys wanna know a secret?" I ask mentally.
"Yes!" They all say in unison and I can feel the anticipation of wanting to know what I knew and I smirk outwardly.
"Master is retiring finally, his last day is gonna be the day of the wedding." I say quickly.
"Wow, so it's finally happening huh?" asks Droy.
"Its been a long time coming, he can hardly open his arthritis medication nowadays, let alone run a guild like he used to." Says Wakaba.
"Yeah but it still is kinda sad, I mean he did help raise most of us here in the guild." Jet adds.
"Yeah and he really is like a second father to almost all of us, it truly will be a sad day when he finally does it for real." Nab chips in.
"Yeah, but it really is necessary, the guild is going to shit, people can't even go home safely anymore and people like Lucy feel like they no longer belong. This place used to be a home for anyone but ever since Natsu went off the edge, people in here have lost that sincerity they once had." Warrens says sadly as we all mentally murmur our approval."
"Well since he's retiring I should probably tell him that I'm ok with running the guild again, seeing as I was the fourth master." Macao says and we all groan at him.
"Please not again, you were awful as master and let us go to absolute shit. No offense, but no one would want you as guild master again, no one." I say and I hear the murmurs of agreement from everyone, as I say, "Anyways they already decided, Laxus is gonna be the next master."
At this everyone groans and Jet says, "Aw man, not him, he's way too obsessed with power and hasn't shown me anything that he has changed. He attacked Levy all those years ago when he started his little revolution and I still haven't forgiven him. No way I'll vote for him."
"Vote? HA! There's no voting, only the master gets to pick the next one. Gives everyone a real fair chance to put their voice in for the decision." Macao says.
Jet and Droy protest mentally, and I have to agree with them. Its not really fair that us as full guild members don't get a say in this yet we must listen to him with no questions asked and trust him wholeheartedly. It's not really fair and the people like us, who may not be as strong are left to just sit there and become cannon fodder whenever there is a big fight. I sigh at the thought and begin to wonder if the life of a mage is really what I want anymore.
As if hearing my thoughts Nab says, "Guys, Droy and I have been thinking, and we have decided to retire from being mages, we'll still be around and all but we are getting too old and our magic is not what was five years ago."
Everyone except those two are completely floored, until Wakaba says, "I'm with them, I'm way too old to make a living like this anymore. I think I would do better now as a magic teacher."
"Same here, I've been discussing it with my wife and we both think it's for the best. I'll probably do the same as Wakaba. Jet, Max, Warren, what about you guys?" Macao adds as the three of us are left speechless. Just up and quitting? Can it really be that easy? I clutch my beloved broom even tighter waiting for one of the other two to respond first.
Jet as always wins the race and says, "I-I-I… count me in. I can't do this without ya Droy and while Levy may be sad, it's the best thing for us to do. Warren, Max?"
"I'm in about retiring from fighting, but I'll stay on as guild communicator and battle information relay. Who knows, maybe I'll get payed for it." Warren ask as I feel the pressure building up inside of me and around me as they all look at me expectantly.
What should I do? Should I quit being a mage? It's all I've done in terms of work, but I no longer feel like the life is for me. I could always become a travelling merchant. Yeah, me and my broom, travelling around or even staying here, but me as a merchant will be and is the best thing I can do right now. I look at them and sigh deeply and say, "Count me in too, this life is no longer what I want. So when should we go and tell master?"
"I'd say as soon as possible, but not today, today he's gonna be busy. Not we should definitely not wait too long, don't want one of us being attacked." Wakaba says and we all agree.
I look around the guild the sadness of my decision hitting me and I think to myself, 'Today is my last day as a mage. And my last as a Fairy Tail Mage.' With that I get up and leave, not wanting the sad reminder of how this place used to make me happy and proud to last as I feel no remorse for the decision, in fact I feel happy as if a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. I walk out and say mentally 'Good-bye Fairy Tail. And good riddance.'
(POV Change to Laxus)
The four of us walk out of the basement, the other three calm and collected, while I'm in a bit awe and shock. We had that in the basement the whole time? No wonder masters can only see that, it was freaky as shit. I'm still not sure what that even was.
I break out of my reverie as I see a woman dressed in a blue full-body cloak standing in the room taking photos of papers with a lacrima. She sees us and curses before putting her hands to her mouth and yells, "Pistola de Aceite!" Oil shoots at us as I quickly realize it's the woman Gajeel fought with before. She bursts through the window as the oil nearly hits me but I dodge and turn into lightening and follow after her. Damn was she quick and sneaky, she had already put down traps all round and I almost fall into one. I barely avoid falling and quickly regain my balance and chase after her. I see her heading to the west and chase after her. I begin to gain ground only for her to turn around when I was close enough and yell, "Casa de Tierra!" Suddenly walls of dirt appear and surround me, but aren't enough as I break through and continue chasing after her. However she had already gained a lot of ground and was way ahead of me, so to close the gap I turned into a lightening bolt and shot after her. I get close and reach out to grab her, but as I do another person comes flying down and land on top of me while yelling "No la toques! Entierro de la Tierra!"
Suddenly it feels as if the earth begins to swallow me whole and I look up and see them arguing, the woman yelling, "Cabron! I had him!" as they begin to argue even more, I once again turn into lightening and escape somehow. They see me but realize I'm tired as turning into my element is tiresome and I now that I have to finish it quick.
I gather the last of my energy but am stopped as the woman yells with her hands out in front of her, "Tierra!" Earth shoots out at me and the male yells, "Jaula!" and the earth takes shape around me, creating a cage that negates my magic.
"DAMMNIT!" I yell as the two know I can't move anymore nor fight back and continue fighting, but turn away and leave me thoroughly embarrassed and stuck in the cage like a zoo animal. I groan and wait for some one to catch up to me and free me. Sitting down and waiting, I immediately get back up and try to pry the bars open so I can leave the cage but am unable to. 'Damn, and that guy must have been the guy Lucy chased after. Damn I was so close too.' As I move away from the bars the others arrive and break out laughing at my predicament. "SHADDUP! Get me out of here!" I yell indignantly and wait for someone to get me out. Warrod steps forward and causes the soil in the earth to come to him leaving the rock there. Then Gildarts uses his magic to break the rocks and I am finally free.
"It was the guys who have been attacking the guild. The woman and the man met up and stopped me in my tracks as you saw." I said as I turned towards the guild and say, "We need to get back and tell everyone what I found out, their magic is elemental magic."
The Next Day (Max POV)
Our group strides into the guild and walk over to the stairs. I walk over to Mira and ask, "Is master in his office?" She nods and looks at me concerned, I smile and say, "Don't worry about it, just need to tell him something." With that I back to the group and nod. We walk upstairs and I begin to feel the eyes of the guild on us. The attention is noted but does not deter us as we make our way to the office. We arrive and I knock and ask, "Master may we come in?"
"Yes my brats, come in, come in." We walk in and stand side by side as best we can, luckily the office that was built after Elfman blew up the guild seven years ago was bigger than before. He looks at us and asks, "What can I do for you, my brats?"
I take a deep breath and tell him, "Master we as a group have come to a decision. Now we each came to this decision on our own and do not make it lightly," I pause and grip my broom tighter as I see his brow furrow in concern, I take a calming breath and say, "we have decided to retire from being mages. We will not all leave working here as Warren has decided to stay and has to discuss his request with you. We wish to thank you for helping raise us and helping us during our dark times. We will never forget what you have done for us and will be eternally grateful." I say and relax my grip on my beloved broom.
"Are you sure this is want you really want?" He asks us.
"Yes." We all say in unison, and the master nods sadly at us. "Then come forward and allow me to recite the rules all those who leave Fairy Tail must follow: One, you must never reveal sensitive information about Fairy Tail to others for as long as you live. Two, you must never use former contacts met through your being in the guild for personal gain. Three, though our paths may have diverged, you must continue to live out your life with all your might, you must never consider your own life to be something insignificant, and you must never forget about your friends for as long as you live." He looks at us and we nod our thanks at him as everyone but Warren leaves and make our way to the door.
I look to my guild mark's spot and see a light coming from there as the mark fades away, and everyone in the guild understands what just happened. They look on in shock as we leave, Romeo running up to his dad and asking him why. I walk out holding my head high, my beloved broom in hand. I look back and make the sign of Fairy Tail that everyone makes when one leaves. I turn back and continue down the new path of my life, my shoulders feeling lighter than they ever have before.
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A/N: (I watch in shock as Natsu and Lucy threaten to start having sex right in front of me) Oi! Get a room or you know get back in my brain dumbasses!
(They pull away from each other and look at each other before nodding and disappearing) Finally! They were making out since Makarov started talking about Erza. Geez they moan loudly! Well That's it for today, hope you enjoyed it and liked the chase scene. And that might be the last time we see that group in this story so yeah… READ AND REVIEW! PLEASE REVIEW! ADIOS!