Operation: Trident Pt. I
"So, could you explain to me why this is called Operation: Trident again?" A confused Natsu asked Laxus as their Pelican soared through the darkening sky as the sun was beginning to set. "I think Operation: Point Break sounds better in my opinion."
"Really, again?" Laxus said tiredly as he thought at least Natsu would have grasped it the first time around. "It's called that because we're currently moving as a single unit until we reach Point Zero, we'll then split off into three separate teams to attack each bandit base at the same time. Just how a trident is a spear with a three-pronged tip, we'll attack the enemy all together to cause the most damage and not give them a chance to breathe."
"Okay, I'm getting it now." Natsu replied as he carefully dissected each part of the plan that they had to accomplish. "I still think Operation: Point Break sounds better and makes more sense."
"Fine, I'll bite." Laxus voiced as he knew the pink haired mage would try to bring it up as much as he could before the operation is executed. "Why does it make more sense?"
"Because Jura's just pointing us in the right direction and we're gonna break apart these bastards 'til there's nothing left." Natsu replied with a cheeky grin and the blonde couldn't help but roll his eyes, already expecting such a thing from the dragon slayer ahead of time.
"Just remember that you follow my orders to the letter. We're there to draw the enemy out, so control yourself out there until I say otherwise or I'll reel you in myself. Got it?" Laxus could clearly remember what he had done the first day they arrived into this world and the last thing he needed was for the bandits to shit themselves and run for their lives. "They have to come face us at all costs, so avoid having them run into any building that could lead towards the captives."
"Aye, Vice-Commander!" Natsu cheekily replied with a salute and Laxus had to trust that the message got through his thick skull, even if a part of blonde felt that he should keep a tight leash on him.
Laxus wasn't one to easily team up with people if he could do the job himself, but Erza and Gramps made it very apparent to him that whenever they weren't around, he had to watch Natsu. Normally he wouldn't care to do so, save for watching his back from time to time, but even he had agreed with them that Natsu has been different ever since Crocus. Under regular circumstances, the blonde wouldn't bat an eye since he'd just hop back to his usual annoying personality, but the slayer becomes a completely different beast when combat is involved in this world. He's far more aggressive, his usual head long charge into battle is opened up with more powerful attacks than his usual slow burn moves and ends up hyper focused on the next enemy he'll fight.
That behaviour would fly when he's under Erza's command for all he cared, but the pink head wasn't going to screw up Laxus' mission while he was in command. Amongst it all, his fellow dragon slayer's attitude was a stark contrast compared to the soldiers riding with them who looked far from collected. The blonde didn't need a hint to know why, this was their first battle without the rest of the army at their backs and their one ticket home will fly out of the combat zone without them. He could hear the various tapping of boots across the Pelican or the rigorous weapon checks some of them did to make sure everything was working fine, even if it was their third check. Laxus couldn't blame them for the anxiety since they'd all be facing down massive numbers of soldiers residing at the base, a sizable amount if compared to the current FEF forces.
'Alright, final call!" Laxus announced as all eyes turned to him. "You know your mission, so I won't bother repeating it for you. This is the real deal, we're on our own once boots are on the ground. The only people you can rely on are yourselves, each soldier around you and the Special Forces."
Laxus could see the nervousness all around him as most of the soldiers were used to fighting in larger units, save for the scouts but the blonde knew they were still worried since they'll be tasked with the rescue part of the mission. Although, unsurprisingly, Natsu was a ball of energy in his seat and a fire was burning within him to get into the midst of battle.
"We are not going home empty handed, so long as one captive remains or these scumbags are still breathing, we'll fight to the bitter end. You've got a deep taste of battle when we first got here so always think of those moments on the battlefield and how bad things could still get. Don't look for a beacon of help out there, we are the beacon and as soon as we drop, move fast and hit hard."
"If you're hoping someone's going to be looking out for you from up above, I'd be thanking the door gunners since those guys will be providing air support for your assess. Think of them as your guardian angels every step of the way since myself and Natsu will have our hands tied dealing with the bulk of soldiers. Now get ready, we're approaching the mission zone in five minutes time!"
Laxus wasn't one for motivational speeches on the fly, he's had a few in the past but he wasn't much for words and said what mainly came to mind. The soldiers' morale could only go so far as the sheer number of enemies were what had been shaking them up. Though the blonde did pick up a conversation a group were trying to keep on the low from him, to no avail of course, the subject mattered little to him anyways since it was all bluster they said to each other to hide their fear. One conversation though centered around the wonderings of how Natsu and himself weren't gagging their souls out from being on a moving vehicle, which was a problem that was easily answered with medicinal capsules that contained traces of Troia. They only worked for a limited amount of time given the dosage so they worked for quick travel missions like this.
"Vice-Commander, communication for you." One of the pilots called out as Laxus made his way to the cockpit, pressing a few keys to receive the incoming message from the fighter escort.
"Vice-Commander Dreyar here, what do you have for me?"
"This is Sigma Four, Vice-Commander. Scans have picked up smaller outposts around the perimeter of the objective, what are your orders?"
"Relay message to the rest of Sigma Squadron; strafe run the outer walls to ensue chaos as planned until FEF soldiers are on the ground, then proceed with Search and Destroy of those outposts."
"Copy that, Vice-Commander. Sigma Four and Three engaging." Laxus watched as their fighter escort picked up speed and flew off into the distance.
Not ten seconds since they were out of sight did the flash of high charged magic rounds exploding was seen in the distance, the resounding echoes reaching the Pelican not far behind the flashes. The blonde turned to see the rest of the soldiers steeling themselves as this was it, the battle was already underway now that the Warhawks had engaged the outpost. The echoes grew louder now and it told the blonde that there was less than a minute before they were to get boots on the ground, Natsu already on his feet while he waited for the bay doors to open.
"Vice-Commander, we're directly above the CZ, hostile forces are unaware of our position." A pilot said as the Pelican hovered over the drop zone where the FEF would begin its assault.
"Open bay doors!" Laxus ordered as he stood in front of the right bay door as the gun crews got into position, outstretching the rappel mechanism as the Hammers were being loaded. "Natsu and I will drop first to secure the drop zone, start your descent in thirty seconds!"
Without another word from Laxus, Natsu immediately jumped out of the Pelican as he engulfed himself in flames like a fireball and straight down onto a group of bandits barely getting their armor on. Laxus rolled his eyes at his disregard for hearing half the things he said before jumping, but paid little mind to his complaints as he jumped after him and set off a thunder wave once he landed. The soldiers equipped their rappel lines onto their utility harnesses and one of the bay gunners counted them down as per Laxus' orders.
"3... 2... 1... time to fly the coop! Go, go, go!" The right-side gunner called as the first up was a regular who attached himself to the mechanism in seconds.
"Thank you!" The regular yelled as he took the plunge and rappelled down the line, watching a number of bandits scurrying about and none paying attention to him.
"Kid's got guts, so show me what you got!" The gunner taunted as the next regular copied the previous soldier, all the way down to his thanks as he rappelled down.
Both sides of bay doors were similar as the soldiers each dropped and gave their thanks, the door gunners watching the ramparts for any movements as the Fairy Tailers were starting to meet more prepared resistance now, if one could call haphazardly equipped armor prepared. The last pair finally dropped out of the Pelican in time for the right-side gunner to see a few bandits readying themselves with bows on the ramparts above his soldiers.
"I won't let you assholes touch them!" The gunner yelled as he opened fire, leading his shots as the bandits made a run for it after witnessing three of their own get pierced numerous times by blue light.
"Circling the outpost, good hunting you two." One of the pilots said to the gunners as the rappel mechanisms were retracted and the Pelican began its task of providing air support.
Back on the ground, the FEF vanguard moved as a solid unit as they made their way through the different buildings in order to gain a foothold within the outpost. They did their best not to attract too much attention away from the Fairies as they moved across, finding themselves within a barracks to hunker down in. The reported numbers were as told, it was like a small army was calling this outpost home as waves of soldiers began to pour inside what was the main courtyard from any available entry point. Burst Platoon soldiers quickly lined themselves against the windows providing covering fire for the Fairies in the courtyard, both mages fighting back to back with ease as bandits mounted their counter attack.
The courtyard was the main attraction as the number of bandits continued to grow in order to fight just two people, but FEF soldiers knew that they couldn't keep themselves in the shadows for much longer. Their gut feelings came to pass when a large band of bandits stormed the barracks, the Burst Platoon couldn't move from their positions as bandits began to rush headlong in their direction. Though surrounded, they weren't the least worried as Hugo's forces were well renowned for being one of the best melee combatants within the Magic Council's forces. Hugo's men held strong against the enemy; they were no match for their skills but the bandits kept them on their toes through their numbers alone.
The barracks were simply one massive clusterfuck as bandits stormed the building, blades clanged against shields and blood splattered about as Hugo's forces cut down every last enemy that dared to fight them. They kept their heads against the onslaught, but they desperately needed breathing room as the Fairies were preoccupied with far more soldiers than they were dealing with.
"The area isn't secure anymore, were getting out of here!" One of Hugo's captains ordered as he threw a bandit body out of one of the Burst Platoons' windows. "You lot move for the ramparts, we'll cover you!"
"You heard him; I want a firing line set up ten feet in front of our current position and move ourselves to the ramparts in teams of three!" A lieutenant ordered as two regulars and a cadet moved into position, the first group running their way into what seemed to be the mess hall and providing covering firing.
The first defenders took the chance to switch out and make their way towards the mess hall, while the first trio of soldiers made the final stretch for the ramparts. This process continued until the Platoon's lieutenant was the last one left with two others, turning to check on Hugo's captain to see them being pushed back. The lieutenant's group set up the defensive line to assist the melee soldiers, but as one soldier left, their defense was that much weaker. Only two soldiers were left inside now, but the bandits had caught on to their escape plan and blocked their exit, even with the Burst Platoon trying to create an opening for them.
"Get out of the damn building, now!" Laxus ordered from his position and in a last ditch effort, the captain cleaved his blade in a wide berth to get some breathing room, grabbing the last soldier and jumping out of the nearest window.
Once the blonde had seen the two clear the building, he called upon his magic and sent a powerful lighting strike towards the barracks, causing the building to explode from all the raw power he used. He knew that they were doing fine as is, but the soldiers were having a few too many close calls for his liking, so against his better judgement, it was high time for them to go all out. Calling about the available ethernano in the air, Laxus brought forth the depth of his powers as he launched a thunderclap at one of the entrances the bandits were coming out of. The very force of it alone knocked down and dazed a number of them, while the destructive energy of the wave itself caused the entrance to collapse on itself. Both blocking an entry point and killing any bandits that were still trying to get in, many of which remained unfazed by the display of power.
"There's not a lot that can be done at this rate, no need to hold back now Natsu. Use everything you've got!" Laxus ordered as he charged his fists with lighting and blitzed a group of bandits with surges of electricity, one of his kicks caving the helmet of a soldier as he flew straight into a wall.
"Finally! I was getting bored!" Natsu exclaimed as he channeled the ethernano around him at his core and when the time was right, he unleashed the stored energy into a flaming blast of magic power around him.
Everything in a ten foot radius was lit ablaze from the intensity of his flames, be it the grass or bodies, nothing was spared until the dome of fire was dispersed. Natsu crouched into a sprint position before launching himself like a cannon into what he believed to be their armory, killing anyone that dared to get in his way. An ingenious idea forming in his head once he had made his way inside, originally coming inside to destroy their weapons, but decided to use the bandits' own tools against them.
Natsu quickly gathered as many swords as he could and began to super heat the blades, melting them down into molten pieces and dripping it into his mouth. He did something similar years ago, but only used enough force to pelt his enemy so this time he'd try to launch them as hard as he could. Kicking down an adjacent wall, the dragon slayer caught a number of bandits unawares and smirked dangerously as he reared back and began blasting sharp pieces of metal at them. Using enough force to pierce their armor and firing as many rounds as he could in a single breath, Natsu defeated a number of bandits within seconds and was satisfied with himself. After observing the JSDF's rifles in live use, he felt proud to have found a way to recreate them in his own way. As the last pieces of metal left his mouth and some spittle followed after, Natsu took a brief moment to look at his handiwork before launching himself back into the fray when some of Hugo's soldiers were getting surrounded.
As the pink haired dragon slayer came to their aid, Laxus had kept an eye on his actions and was both impressed with his ingenuity and cautious about his behavior. The dragon slayer was erratic with his attacks, but was aware of his movements since he made sure the damage was limited to a few feet in front of him. The blonde could tell that the pink haired slayer was far from tired, but the mission came first and they've managed to thin the numbers to continue onwards to phase two. Launching a lightning burst into the sky, Laxus signaled the Pelican they came in to fly overhead to draw attention to the sky while the second one came down into position behind the predetermined wall to unload the infiltration team.
Once on the ground, a pair of the Burst Platoon made their way on the ramparts to help secure the team's grappling lines as the second squad that came with them secured the area around the landed Pelican. As soon as the teams had scaled the wall, the pair of riflemen pointed them towards the underground entry point, where bandits were no longer emerging from after the initial moments of the battle. The scouts stealthily made their way around the battleground, weapons at the ready if intercepted and quickly filed in the doorway as they kept an eye at the battle unfolding. The Burst Platoon taking control of the high ground while the vanguard moved the battle away from them, seeing the Special Forces fighting with ease while the Field Commander's forces stood fast with their shields and attacked swiftly with their blades. Once the infiltration team had all made their way inside, a lieutenant leading the squad of scouts relayed their success in entering the facility where she advised an available rifleman to arm the lacrima charge onto their escape wall.
Once she received confirmation that the charge was set, the lieutenant led the team down further the underground portion of the outpost. The combat happening above ground was a perfect distraction and helped conceal their movements if any bandits were still left to guard the area and luckily so, for the team had come across a room filled with arguing bandits. No one was sure what exactly they were arguing about and no one cared to find out as the lieutenant ordered the team to get into position to clear the room. By the looks of thee room, it was likely being used as storage by the various crates and materials that were stacked or lying about which made for excellent cover for the team's ambush. When each scout was ready, one of them fired off a magical flash attack that dazed the bandits with a brilliant light and a high pitch whine. Not seconds after the magic dissipated did they make their move and cut them all down with precise blade strikes to vital areas.
The team quickly examined the room and found nothing of worth until someone located an adjoining room with a number of documents littering a few tables. It was thusly agreed that three people would stay behind to take whichever documents looked important while the others continued on deeper. Traversing the lower level was rather tricky as it seemed that there was still plenty of bandits hanging about, but the advantage was theirs in terms of ambushes and sneak attacks that left little time for retaliation. The body count rose as they methodically cleared their way towards the holding cells, the nervous calls of worry echoing around them. The lieutenant halted the team's movement when she caught sight of movement before her, the group remaining in the shadows as two bandits came out of a room ahead of them. Each one with fistfuls of hair, dragging away three women calling for help in a familiar language. The entire scout team's eyes widened as they called out in Fiorean and without a second to waste, they descended upon the men with righteous fury and silenced their lives for eternity.
The lieutenant ordered two of her men to stay with them as the rest prepared to breach the room the women had come from. Carefully opening the door, she could spot a handful of bandits still inside eyeing the women while others kept blades pointed to another cell filled with prisoners. A few of the men stood before their captors in defiance as they protected the children, drawing away the bandits' attention as the scout team slunk their way inside. The disorganization of the enemy would be their downfall as materials were once again laid about haphazardly around the room, providing enough cover to slip by unnoticed.
The lieutenant did her best to signal any of the prisoners to her presence and was lucky that a few prisoners had caught sight of her, doing their best not to expose their saviors once they saw the Magic Council insignia upon her. The scout leader quickly made a hand gesture to cover their eyes and as soon as one began another would follow until the prisoners all caught on. This of course drew confusion amongst the bandits, but they'd have little time to dwell on it as an unbearable bright flash overcame their senses. In mere seconds, the room was cleared of what remained of the bandits as the scouts cleaned away the blood from their weapons and dispelled their magic. The room was silent before a few quiet sobs and cheers rang around the scout team, a number of thanks and gratitude thrown their way as they destroyed the locks on the cells.
"Ma'am, quick headcount has come to a total of forty-three people within this room alone. The others have located five more after we rescued the three before entering this room." A Regular informed the lieutenant as the total would come to fifty-one people at this base alone.
"This is barbaric, caged and confined in such a tight space like animals." The lieutenant couldn't help a sneer don her face as she looked down on one of the dead bandits. "The Vice-Commander was right, there wasn't going to be any room left on the Pelicans for the rest of us."
"What are your orders, Ma'am?"
"We'll notify the escape team that we've rescued the captives and try our best to get at least half of them on one Pelican. One whole trip is the goal here, too dangerous to have this many people in a combat zone." She replied as her scouts broke off into pairs to secure the rest of area while she tried to reach anyone above ground from her comlac, a distorted image coming through as the prisoners looked on.
"Vice-Commander, this is Lieutenant Danva reporting that the captives have been secured and we are ready to commence the final phase of the operation."
"Good work, make your way to the surface and signal the Burst Platoon. They'll provide covering fire and open a way for your escape." Laxus replied while he fired lightning bolts off view with his free hand, magic rifles firing in the background followed by incoherent screams.
"Sir, we have a number of captives with us. We can't escort them through that battlefield, we'll draw too much attention."
"Then move them in smaller groups if you have to, they're going home one way or another! You worry about getting them to the breach, let us deal with the marauders stupid enough to attack you." Laxus ordered as the crackling of his lightning began to distort the image once again, cutting off the communication then and there.
"Fairy Tail mages are near impossible." The lieutenant muttered to herself as whispers moved about once people recognized the blonde man being a member of Fairy Tail, many a spirit being lifted at the sight of Fairy Tail at the forefront of their rescue.
"We've cleared the rest of the underground base of hostiles, Ma'am. What's our next move?"
"We'll be moving the captives ten at a time once at the surface towards the Pelicans, keep your focus and be prepared for anything. Their nightmare ends here and now." Danva ordered as the prisoners followed after a scout towards the entrance they came in. "Anyone heavily wounded will be carried out first and the more able bodied will be escorted out last!"
A few of the women had been harshly beaten, more so for the five that her team found further away from the prisoner holding pen. This was going to be a lot more difficult with children in the mix as five of her people would carry the wounded women while also trying to get the kids out as well. Once the first of the prisoners had reached the main doorway the scouts had entered, the lieutenant took the lead and scoped out the battle before them.
The Burst Platoon had established themselves in a fortified position as they laid down a hail of magic shots, while the Field Commander's forces stood strong against the onslaught of the remaining enemy forces. As for the Special Forces, the powerful bursts of lighting and fiery explosions told her that they were well off being the center of attention during the battle. The area was heavily populated by carnage, but the surroundings mattered little as the lieutenant pulled out the signal flare and fired it off high into the air. It was only seconds that the flare had lit the air that the Burst Platoon redeployed to another area of the ramparts and defense wall, then that very wall they defended earlier exploded into rubble. More troops poured through the opening as the Field Commander Hammer's forces made their way to defend the space between Lieutenant Danva and the breach.
"Everyone's in position, you two take the lead." Danva ordered towards two of her squad mates as they took covering positions to keep overwatch. "Alright, women and children first."
The five wounded women carried by the lieutenant's regulars stood at the forefront of the group as two cadets flanked the rest of the children that'll make the first cross. Danva knew that she ordered ten at a time, but she felt a budding unease to have this many children around so she thought it best to send the nine captive children along with the first group. This was a dangerous plan for her to do as it left her the last scout actually with the captives since the rest of her squad was either carrying or protecting the journey to the breach.
The large group moved as fast as they could, the children stumbling because of the rubble, though Danva's concerns lessened as the rest of the strike team moved closer on the defense once they had caught sight of the children running by. A regular stationed at the opening of the breach filed everyone through and ran to pick up one of the children that had tripped along the way. The seven scouts who went quickly returned back to the captives with Danva ordering four to stay behind while she took the lead this time with herself and three others carrying the last wounded woman and men who couldn't make the journey on their own.
As Danva and her group of ten captives made the cross, she could hear the magic shots wiz overhead, callouts from every which way on enemy movements and the sounds of blades clashing ever so close. Worst of all though was when someone shouted for everyone to take cover as a hail of arrows were descending on them. Danva felt her heart drop as her group had no visible cover at their current position and their hands were tied to cast defensive magic in time, especially as the outlines of the arrows were visible against the light of the flames.
"Lightning Dragon's Shock Field!" Danva watched as the Vice-Commander swung his arm in an arc, casting a lightning made fence that destroyed the arrows as they made contact. "Get your ass in gear, Lieutenant!"
His booming voice snapped her back into the moment and ordered everyone to double time for the breach with the lightning fence dissipating once they had enough cover. Danva was about to search the area for the arches before bolts of lightning rained down at an area that was being suppressed by magic shots. She didn't bother with the pained cries that came after and made her way towards the Pelican as the last of the recent group began to board.
"We've got room for a few more on board, are there any of our wounded that need to be taken back to base?" The door gunner asked as his crewmates tended to the wounded women and tried to seat the children.
"The troops are still combat efficient, what I need is for this Pelican to head back to base now." Danva said as she stepped off and gave the pilot an all clear signal, giving a thumbs up in acknowledgment as the bay doors started to close and the craft began to rise off the ground.
The lieutenant watched on as it flew higher into the air and off into the distance, the familiar sounds of a Warhawk's engines zooming by to follow it. Though a heavy burden was weighing on her to secure the last of the captives, a large chunk of it was lifted as she watched all those children leave this terrible place behind. Reloading her flare gun, Danva signaled for the other Pelican to land now that they were already halfway through. She watched as it gave aerial support fire from both mounted guns before landing in the same place as the last Pelican, the door gunner wiping away the sweat from his brow as his crewmates went to work rearming and cooling the guns. Danva was about to head off with her team to grab the next group of captives before the door gunner called out to her.
"Sorry Lieutenant, we should've seen those archers way before they even got an arrow out of their quivers!"
"The Vice-Commander was prepared and we didn't suffer a casualty, hold onto the apologies until after the captives are brought home. We have people to save and a battle to win." Danva replied curtly as she rushed back into the fray and towards the captives.
Natsu kicked another helmet in as he used a bandit as a springboard to soar over a group of them, slamming his fists into the ground in a fiery explosion. It enveloped all his opponents in a super-heated blast that launched them either away or into the air. He let out a snarl as he caught an arrow aimed at his head, burning it to ash as he searched for the dead man who shot at him only to find him being bombarded by lightning. The dragon slayer decided to let Laxus have that kill since it saved him the trouble of getting to the foolish bandit, turning away to face off against anyone else with a death wish.
A part of the dragon slayer knew that there was an absurd number of bandits at this outpost, which were barely a threat to him or Laxus, though he could care less for what reason they were around. A burning rage fueled him when the battle first began, his memories kindling the flames of revenge he was ready to dish out before it simmered down for a brief moment. It happened when he caught a group of bandits unawares and tore through them like paper, until he got the last one who began to plead for his mercy. Some part of Natsu stopped him from going through with ending the sorry excuse of a human, before he caught sight of the group of children running away with the scouts. His simmering rage turned into a blazing inferno as he picked up the pleading bandit by the neck and slammed him back into the ground as hard as he could.
After that, the dragon slayer paid no mind to the number of enemies there were or where they kept coming from. It was a matter of making them suffer and saving the innocent that didn't deserve any of this, especially those kids who were stripped from their parents. He heard Laxus call to him, but didn't bother trying to focus on it as the sounds of armor shattering, bones breaking and pained screams were far more prominent in his ears. Natsu's battle focus was interrupted when he heard someone curse in Fiorean, finding one of Hugo's regulars had been struck in the shoulder by an arrow. The dragon slayer rushed over to see what happened and found that the arrow had managed to find a way past the regular's pauldron, luckily it wasn't lodged in so deep that it would be dangerous for the Fairy Tail mage to pull it out. Two other regulars came to look him over while Natsu scanned the area to find out where that shot came from, the massive damage they've done to the place thinning any possible hiding place..
He scanned the battleground before a brief figure moved out of sight from the corner of his eye, he quickly turned in the direction that he saw it move and found that it came from one of the larger guard towers attached to the wall. Without a second to spare, Natsu made a mad dash for the building and made his own entrance as he burst through the wall with little effort. Those on the inside had fallen onto their asses as the wall caved in from his entrance, while the dragon slayer noticed how they barricaded both doorways with everything available. Natsu sprang for the closest bandit, lifting him up by the ankle and slamming him against one of his allies, then swinging him at another on the dragon slayer's right and finally throwing him into the last one in the room.
In mere seconds he cleared the room, but none of them were the shooter so he looked around for the staircase leading the second floor although he decided against that once he found them. Instead he crouched down and focused his strength into his legs, building up his strength until he launched himself straight through the ceiling. Natsu found three more people inside, cowering from the sudden surprise of someone bursting through the floor, but the dragon slayer only gave a terrifying smirk as all eyes landed on him.
"End of the line assholes!" Natsu cried as magical energy pooled at his core, a burning ball of pure power forming before the pink haired slayer finally released it.
To the others watching outside on the battlegrounds, they witness a bright and fiery explosion that consumed the northern guard tower as it collapsed on top of itself. Against the blast, though, was a figure launching into the air that came down just as strong as the blast wave once he landed. Natsu stood tall, unaffected by the explosion he created and watched what remained of the bandit forces as they took a momentary step back against the monster before them. With a sinister grin on his face, the dragon slayer lit his fist in anticipation for the fight to come but he never got the chance. A hail of magic shots was fired overhead as the Burst Platoon laid waste to the stunned bandits, with more firepower than before as Natsu had noticed the increase of soldiers firing their magic rifles.
He turned to see every last ranged combatant on their side firing together, the Burst Platoon and ranged scouts working together to suppress the enemy without giving so much as a second to think of their next move, let alone their next step. Natsu then turned his gaze to the sky and watched the Pelican they came on flying away with a Warhawk escort, now realizing that the captives had all been rescued and they were left behind to clean up. Natsu cracked his knuckles in preparation, but a large hand fell upon his shoulder and the pink haired slayer turned to see that it was the blonde. Laxus thought otherwise for him to continue and stopped him from taking another step without saying another word, blocking every attempt Natsu made to get around him.
"What's the big deal, Laxus!?" Natsu questioned as he tried to force his way past only to have the towering blonde push him back. "I can't help clear out these bastards with you getting in my way!"
"There's no need for you to help." Laxus replied evenly, raising his hand into the air which signaled for everyone to stop firing.
Natsu was curious about his actions as Hugo's men began to make their way over to the bandits, none of them brandishing their weapons as they passed the pair. The pink haired slayer felt aggravated that they were going at them without drawing their weapons, even if they had ranged support at their backs. He was waiting for the sounds of blades clashing and men yelling battle cries, but all he heard was silence with the sounds of greaves walking evenly away from them. They were in the midst of combat not a few seconds ago and now everything was becoming eerily quiet, no sense of urgency in anyone of the FEF forces at all. Natsu looked back up at Laxus for answers who only sighed and turned his body to show the dragon slayer what was happening.
"You don't need to help because we're done here." Laxus finally said as Hugo's men began to pick through the dead in search of those still alive. "What you were looking at was the last of the bandits."
"What?" Natsu couldn't believe it, there was no way that that group was all that was left to finish off. "There were hundreds still left to deal with last I checked."
"Hey, moron, what are you on about?" Laxus rhetorically asked as even he didn't want to fathom what Natsu just said. "There were hundreds when we started, you just went off the rails when I said you could use more of your power."
"But, I could've sworn we were surrounded for the whole fight. You were busy holding them off from Hugo's guys if too many got too close."
"Surrounded? Barely. Hugo's men held their own pretty well for the most part and I can clear a number of targets with a single strike." Laxus was never worried during the course of the battle, his only concern came from the captives getting attacked by a barrage of arrows before he intervened.
"Then what happened to the others? I know I got through a lot of them, but there was still plenty left to finish off." The outpost was fairly large in of itself, easily capable of holding the large number of bandits that was reported.
"I finished them off, long before I let you go." Laxus replied as he scanned the area, many a body piled upon one another. "It was far faster my way."
"When did you do that?" He was always aware of Laxus' power, but Natsu couldn't recall him ever exerting so much as to clear out a large portion of the hostile force around them with a single attack.
"When I blew up the barracks, I did an orbital strike around the area. Not just a single strike." The blonde continued to keep watch as Hugo's men began plucking out those that survived the onslaught and those who were alive, but wounded.
"Alright, so why didn't you just let me finish these guys off and save everyone the ammo?" It would have been far simpler for Natsu to clear them out with a single attack instead of expending hundreds of magic shots.
"I was given orders to eliminate all threats posted here, but Jura felt it best to leave a handful of survivors to give as prisoners to Princess Pina. Hand them over in good faith for her people to judge them of their crimes and help establish a more...cooperative stance with her."
"And we're just going along with it!? Her dad is the person who ordered these assholes to attack us in the first place!" Natsu couldn't understand what was going through Jura's bald head, but he still couldn't stand the idea of having to play nice with the Empire of all things.
"From what has been gathered, she's willing to talk peace and so is Queen Hisui. You go against the Queen and even I will have to put you in your place, got it?" Laxus warned, full knowing the dragon slayer wouldn't want to back down the first time around. "You resist and I won't be the only one who has to stop you; Erza, Gajeel, Rogue and even Gray will do the same. Do you really want to be beaten by Gray?"
"Hell no!" Natsu vehemently denied, the blonde knowing full well that Natsu's pride would get the better of him when it involved Gray and for how ever strong Natsu was, he wouldn't be a match for all of them at once.
"Then shut up and deal with it, we've got a job to do and your petty feelings matter little to what's at stake here." Laxus said as he pointed to where their prisoners should be grouped up at, the scouts moving about and searching the bodies on the ramparts as per his orders.
"Yeah, but..."
"What else do you have to bitch about?" The blonde couldn't believe that the pink haired slayer had so much to be against after a battle, as if there wasn't anything to please him or at least shut him up.
"This huge battle we had to save our people ends just like that?"
"You've got to be fucking kidding me." Laxus couldn't believe that he was complaining about how anticlimactic the fight ended. "Do you know why you feel like that?"
"No..."
"It's because you have tunnel vision, you went from one fight to the next and ended up getting blinded to how difficult this really was for everyone else. Just because you can take on an army by yourself doesn't mean everyone else can keep up." A short and fast victory was far more preferred for the Burst Platoon and Hugo's men than a prolonged one they were doing for the mission, something Laxus knew the pink haired slayer completely overlooked.
"I guess I wasn't really paying attention, huh?" Natsu joked although his laugh was a bit forced since he was still a tad upset for not finishing the fight the way he wanted to.
"Whatever," Laxus sighed, "hopefully the other teams have managed to complete the mission as well." He left it at that and continued to instruct everyone on what tasks had to be completed next.
Their conversation ended there and Natsu stalked off, but the truth of the matter was that there was much more to what happened to Natsu than what Laxus had initially explained. Though the blonde found it best to hold off telling Natsu the exact reason in favor of informing the others first, so he had more people backing him up. The prominent point that he didn't mention for Natsu's tunnel vision was that he was actually blinded by his emotions, Laxus specifically seeing that it was the pink haired slayer's own rage. The blonde could tell that he was so engrossed with his own anger and even bloodlust that Natsu somehow convinced himself that their enemy's numbers matched those that attacked Italica, everything driving him to continue a battle long past its final legs.
Such things seemed to be something completely out of character for him since hardly anyone can associate those emotions with the happy-go-lucky dragon slayer. Something wasn't right and Laxus began to understand the personal concerns Erza had about Natsu's demeanor in the Special Region. The question was why this was affecting him so much and why no one else seemed to exhibit something similar or even to an extent?
These were questions that Laxus had to keep a mindful eye on, watching as Natsu sulked away to sit atop a crate as dawn began to break across the horizon.