Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail.
Fairy Tail—The Master and the Dragon
Chapter 18
"We have returned, Master Severo."
Severo looked down upon his kneeling servants from his throne. "Ah, Vanish and Stealth. Tell me, what did you see? What secrets of the fairies did you ascertain?"
Keeping his head bowed, Vanish spoke up. "I'm afraid we don't have much to report, Master."
"However," Stealth quickly spoke up before Severo could lose his temper, "we did find something very important."
Severo took a deep, slow breath. "This information had better be incredible. Otherwise, you will both be severely punished."
"Yes Master," the two responded, fear evident in their voices.
"Now tell me, what was this one piece of information that you were able to find?"
Vanish lifted his head to look at Severo. "While trying to gather intelligence on the members of Fairy Tail, we were discovered by one of their members who claimed that he was able to identify and track our scents."
Severo narrowed his eyes at Vanish. "That's impossible. No one can track our scents, not even a Dragon Slayer. I made sure of that."
"That's what we believed, Master," Stealth said. "However, this boy not only could track our scent, but he had non-magical dragon abilities."
Severo's eyes widened this time. "How is that possible?"
"I'm not sure, Master. All I know is that my Detection Magic did not pick up on his signature, but he called out moves such as 'Shadow Dragon Sword Swipe'."
Severo stood and began to pace. "A non-magical Dragon Slayer? I never knew such a thing existed. How did a guild as pathetic as Fairy Tail get their hands on something so incredible?"
"I'm not sure, Master. Would you like us to find out more about this boy?" Vanish asked.
Severo scratched his chin in contemplation. "I don't know enough about him to make a solid decision. Is there anything else that can you tell me about him?"
"He uses Shadow abilities for one," Stealth began. "In addition, we discovered that he was the one who slew Critik."
Severo turned to them, his mouth open. "So he's the one who brought down Critik? Did he do it alone?"
"We aren't sure, Master."
"I see. Well, this boy is for sure an interesting case. If possible, I would like to recruit him. Someone like that would make a fine addition to the guild and would be a suitable replacement for my right-hand man." Severo made his way back to his throne. He sat down and sipped at the wine that was on a table by the armrest. "Vanish! Stealth! Find this boy and gather more information. Stay out of sight, but if conversation is necessary, by all means converse. I need to know more about this boy before we make a move. Going in unprepared could spell disaster for our mission."
Both bowed low and said, "Yes Master Severo" before completely vanishing.
Severo continued to sip his wine while he thought out loud. "A non-magical Dragon Slayer. That's unheard of. I wonder if the Grand Lord knows anything about this boy."
"So tell me Freed; how was the mission?" Makarov asked as he sat on the bar counter drinking a beer.
Freed stared at the ground and didn't answer. For the whole day-long return journey he had been in a mood, completely ashamed that he had allowed retreat to be an option. He was afraid of what his guild mates would think, he was afraid of what Master Makarov would think, and, most of all, he was terrified of what Laxus would think.
Gray noticed Freed's blatant avoidance of a reply so he stepped forward. "We didn't find the base itself, Master, but we're fairly certain that we found the right area."
Makarov raised an eyebrow. "The right area? What does that mean?"
Levy stepped forward. "You see Master, we were about to turn back earlier than we had. The Bloody Moon guild found a way to disguise or divert their scents and Gajeel could only get us out of Magnolia with his nose before the scents branched off in various directions."
Makarov raised a hand to signal her to pause as he looked at Gajeel. "Is this true? You were unable to track the scent with 100% confidence?" Gajeel just looked away and grunted, but that told Makarov everything. "I see…so they are more skilled than I thought. My apologies, Levy. Please continue."
She nodded. "We ended up just picking a direction and running with it, but because of that, added to our lack of success and the possible threat back home, morale was running low. We had just decided to go back when we were attacked by one of Bloody Moon's goons. He told us that his Master's name was Severo and that we had wandered close to his home. After a brief conflict, we were able to escape. Unfortunately, Gajeel was injured in the process."
Makarov closed his eyes while he thought. "Very interesting. So we don't know the exact location, but we know the general area?"
Gray nodded. "Basically, yes."
"So tell me about this person you fought," Makarov said, his eyes still closed.
"He called himself Juggernaut," Levy said. "He had inhuman strength and his skin was heavily calloused or something because it was extremely rough and tough. He also told us that he has a type of magic for the unlikely event that his skin can be pierced. He called it Clotted Blood Magic. Even if we wounded him, he would just fully heal in less than a second."
"I see. So Bloody Moon truly can't be taken lightly. First that Critik fellow and now this Juggernaut; their guild members are serious fighters. Who knows what other talents they have hidden away?"
Levy nodded. "There's no doubt about it, Master. Had Freed not made the call to retreat, we would have easily been crushed."
Makarov opened his eyes and looked at the depressed Freed. "Freed, you made the right call, so stop worrying about it. The safety of you all takes priority."
Freed didn't raise his head. "But we gave up."
"You were in unfamiliar territory and facing a foe with strange abilities. There is absolutely nothing to be ashamed of."
Freed slowly raised his head, but still looked very unhappy. "If you say so, Master."
Makarov shook his head. "I do say so. And stop looking so depressed." He cleared his throat. "Everyone gather around!"
Everyone rose from their seats and walked over to the bar. Kinana stopped washing dishes and stepped out from behind the bar. All were curious as to what Makarov would say, although they were fairly certain of the subject.
Makarov scanned the room. "Gracie, where is Nikolias? I'd like him present for this."
Gracie shrugged. "I haven't seen him since yesterday. I know he came back last night because I heard him go to his room, but he was gone when I woke up. I'm sure it was for training, but he should have been back by now."
Makarov sighed. "Very well. Someone will just have to fill him in later."
Erza stepped forward. "Master Makarov, is this about the Bloody Moon guild?"
He nodded. "Yes it is. Thanks to the scouting party, we know the general location of the Bloody Moon guild."
"That's great!" Natsu exclaimed as he thrust his fist into the air. "When do we go beat the hell out of 'em?"
Makarov crossed his arms. "We don't. At least not yet."
"Why not, Master?" Erza asked.
"Based on the information gathered by our scouting party, I don't wish to launch a direct assault until I know more about them. They have too many strong and unusual mages and it's far too risky to attack now. That's why I wanted Nikolias here."
"Why's that?" Gracie asked.
"I wanted him to fly over where the guild would be and launch a counterattack."
"You want him to go alone?" Mira exclaimed. "Master, why would you ask him to do something so dangerous?"
"Because it's the safest option we have. He can fly above them and attack from the sky."
"Master, it's insane!" Mira said.
"I'm not asking him to fight a battle on his own, Mira. I'm just asking him to attack from a distance. Think of it as a hit and run."
Gracie put a hand on Mira's shoulder. "It's okay, Mira. Niky can do it no problem. There's absolutely nothing to worry about. Besides, I'll be with him. Remember?"
"Still…," Mira began, but couldn't bring herself to continue.
Gracie smiled at her before turning to Makarov. "I'm 99% sure that Niky will do what you ask. I would say plan accordingly."
Makarov nodded. "Well that's good to hear. Alright everyone, here's the plan. Nikolias will fly overhead with Gracie and launch a counterattack while at the same time gathering any information they can that could benefit us in the future. After the counterattack, we will formulate another plan based on what Nikolias and Gracie tell us. Any objections?"
"No!" everyone shouted. Mira was the only one who said nothing.
"Alright then. When Nikolias returns, we'll ask him to launch a counterattack," Makarov said. "You may all return to what you were doing."
Everyone disbanded and returned to their seats to continue their conversations, drinks, and meals. Kinana walked back behind the bar. Mira walked over to an empty table and sat down.
Gracie walked over to where Mira was sitting. "Mira, it's really okay. We totally have this. Please don't worry."
"I can't help it, Gracie. I'm worried about you and Nikolias' safety," Mira said quietly.
"That's really sweet, Mira," Gracie said with a smile, "but this is something only Niky and I can do. It minimizes the risk posed to the group. Besides, I know for a fact that Niky wouldn't want to see you worried."
"Why not?" Mira asked.
"Because he cares for you."
Mira gave a small smile. "I care for him, too. That's why I'm worried."
"It'll be alright."
Suddenly, the doors of the guild burst open. Everyone turned and saw a fuming Nikolias marching in and making his way to the bar.
"Niky?" Gracie said. "What the hell is eating him?"
Nikolias sat down at the bar. His entire body was tense and his teeth and fists were clenched tight.
Kinana looked at Nikolias. "Everything okay?"
Nikolias took a deep breath. "No," he said, trying his very best to hide his frustration. He didn't do a very good job of it.
"Nikolias?" Makarov said as he walked over with everyone close behind. "What's wrong?"
Nikolias looked at Kinana. "Can I have something to drink? Something really strong?" Kinana nodded and went to fetch his drink. Once she had left, Nikolias turned to Makarov. "I caught some Bloody Moon bastards spying on the guild, but they got away."
"They got away from you?" Gracie asked. "How?"
"They used something called Spatial Walk Magic. Basically, they can transport themselves over unknown distances. Plus, I think they're really fast to begin with."
"Wow really?" Gracie asked.
Nikolias slammed his fists on the bar. "I looked everywhere for those little fuckers, but they were gone."
"Couldn't you track the scent, Niky?" Gracie asked.
Gajeel scoffed. "No way could he track it. They found a way to block the scent so it can't be tracked."
Kinana gave Nikolias his drink and he gulped it down in three big swallows. Once he finished, he put the glass down and closed his eyes in an attempt to calm himself. "No, I could track it."
Gajeel growled. "How can you track it? That's bullshit."
"I'm not a Dragon Slayer. I'm a Half-Dragon. Our noses are stronger," Nikolias answered.
"Nikolias, if you could track the scent, why didn't you follow it?" Erza asked.
He opened his eyes. "Because the scent left Magnolia. I wasn't going to go to God-knows-where when no one knew where I had been for the past few hours. Besides," he paused to look at Mira, "I've already left Magnolia once during this whole issue and I almost regretted it."
Mira smiled at him. 'Nikolias…'
"Nikolias, I have a question for you," Makarov began. "Would you be willing to fly over the Bloody Moon guild with Gracie to launch a counterattack?"
Everyone was sure that Nikolias would jump up and yell his agreement with enthusiasm. However, all were surprised to see him sit still and say nothing.
"Nikolias?" Erza asked. "What is your answer?"
Nikolias looked at Gracie. She could read it in his face; he was unsure. Her heart broke for him since she knew why he was so torn; he was afraid that his leaving would endanger everyone. She gave him the best smile she could. "It's alright, Niky. Everyone will be fine, so don't worry about it. We'll just do what we do best and get back here fast!"
Nikolias then turned his gaze to Mira. She locked eyes with him and could see that he was looking for her opinion. She wanted more than anything to tell him not to go, that it was too dangerous. But she didn't. She knew that preventing him from doing this would only make things worse. She gave a small smile and a slight nod.
Nikolias returned the smile and stood from his seat. He lifted his fist and allowed shadows to dance around it. He gave a toothy grin, revealing pointed dragon teeth. "Master Makarov, it would give me great pleasure to burn those fuckers up."
Makarov nodded. "Good. You two can leave whenever you wish."
Nikolias nodded. "We'll leave tonight then. We'll use the cover of darkness." He then turned to Gracie. "Can I talk to you for a sec?"
She nodded and followed him to his room. Once there, she sat on his bed. "What's up, Niky?"
He sat beside her. "Gracie, promise me nothing will happen while we're away."
Gracie took his hand with her left so that she was slightly facing him. "I can't promise that nothing will happen. Those Bloody Moon bastards could attack again. I will say this, though. Everyone will fight with all of their might to make sure that no one gets hurt."
Nikolias sighed. "I want to stay and help protect everyone. I couldn't do that last time."
"Niky, there was no way for you to know there was going to be an attack."
"Yes I should have."
"How?"
"Because it's my curse."
Gracie wrapped her right arm around his shoulders. "Niky…"
"It's a pattern, Gracie. Whenever I get close to people, they're always in danger."
"Niky, you can't think like that."
"How can I not?"
Gracie stood up and slapped Nikolias across the face as hard as she could. "I won't have you thinking like that. Everyone here loves you, Niky. And they can take care of themselves. You don't have to be by their side 24/7. Besides, this is the best thing we can do for them."
Nikolias looked up at Gracie. "Yeah, you're right. Thanks, Gracie."
She gave him a sweet smile. "Of course! It's what family does."
Nikolias stood as well. "Alright then. As soon as the sun sets, we'll head out from the front of the guild. Sound like a plan?"
"Sounds like a plan."
The sun was close to disappearing beyond the horizon, bathing the landscape in a romantic orange glow. There was only one hour remaining before Gracie and Nikolias were scheduled to fly off to launch a counterattack against the Bloody Moon guild and Mira decided to spend that time sitting on a cliff overlooking the ocean. She listened to the sound of the waves crashing against the rock face. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, enjoying the scent of the water and the feel of the breeze on her face. She liked coming here when she had a lot on her mind. It relaxed her and helped her to erase some of her worry and she sure needed that today.
"Ah, there you are, Mira."
Mira turned her head to see Makarov walking over to her with a smile on his face. "Oh hello, Master."
Makarov stopped by her side and sat down next to her. "I haven't seen you out here like this in quite some time. In fact, the last time may have been when we thought we had lost Lisanna forever. So what has you down this time?"
Mira looked out over the ocean. "I'm worried for Gracie and Nikolias. This is dangerous and they're going in alone."
Makarov sighed. "I understand that you feel this way, but you've seen with your own eyes what those two are capable of. They're incredibly strong and more than capable of handling this easily."
"It's not that I doubt their abilities…," Mira began.
However, Makarov interrupted. "Then what, my dear?"
"I…I'm just…," she tried to speak, but couldn't find the words.
"I know that Gracie has become a close friend to you and I can also see how close you and Nikolias have become, but the best thing you can do for them is to place your faith in them."
"I do have faith in them," Mira assured. "But that won't stop me from worrying for their safety."
Makarov gently placed a hand on her knee. "I won't tell you that worrying is wrong and I won't ask you to stop. However, I will ask that you do your best to not seem worried in front of Nikolias. I fear that seeing you concerned or afraid will cause him to want to stay put."
"How is that a bad thing?" Mira asked without really thinking.
"We need him, Mira. He wants to help out the guild and this family, but it appears that his priorities will always be Gracie and you, the two people he feels closest to. Please don't take away his opportunity."
Mira sighed. "I'll do my best not to worry in front of him, Master."
"Thank you, Mira." He rose to his feet. "They should be taking off in about 30 minutes. If you wish to see them off, plan accordingly." With that, he walked back to the guild.
Mira turned back towards the ocean. 'Nikolias is really good at reading people. How am I supposed to act like I'm okay with this in front of him?'
The time finally came for Nikolias and Gracie to take off as the sun had officially gone down and the moon was not yet high in the sky. Everyone was present and wishing them the best of luck.
"Kick their asses, Nikolias! But try to save some for us," Natsu cheered.
"Be careful out there," Lucy said.
"We're counting on you two," Erza said with a smile.
"Make 'em hurt!" Gray shouted.
Everyone gave their own personal send offs. Some were inspiring while others simply made Gracie laugh and Nikolias feel uncomfortable (especially Cana's).
"Don't you guys worry," Gracie assured. "Niky and I can take down armies. We have this in the bag."
"Yeah," Nikolias said as his eyes found Mira, "don't worry about us at all."
Makarov nodded. "I'm not worried in the slightest. Good luck you two and be careful!"
The two nodded and Gracie turned to Nikolias. "Take it away, Niky!"
Nikolias gave a toothy grin as shadows danced around him. "Yup, here we go!" Suddenly, Nikolias dropped to the ground on all fours as his dragon features began to appear. The shadows began to intensify, expand, and thicken, causing all of the Fairy Tail mages to lose sight of him. After a few seconds the shadows vanished and before them stood a massive black dragon. Nikolias stretched his wings out and released a small roar as he flapped.
Gracie giggled. "Looks like you're feeling good, Niky."
"Hells yeah I feel good! Damn, it's been way too long since I've taken this form by choice."
"Yeah, I guess it's been a couple years now," Gracie said with a smile. She then hopped up onto his back and clapped her hands together. A golden aura began to envelop her as she closed her eyes and held her arms out to the sides. "Come forth, broad sword!" A shape began to form in Gracie's right hand and, after a few seconds, the shape solidified to reveal a rather large broad sword that was slightly shorter than Gracie in length, so about 5 and a half feet. It was plain with no significant details, but it certainly looked like a lethal blade. Gracie looked at the sword in her hands. "Hello beautiful. It's been a while, huh? You haven't gotten to chop up any assholes, have you? Well let's change that," Gracie said in baby talk. She then looked down at all of her friends and saluted. "We shall return with victory!"
Everyone saluted in return with big smiles on their faces.
"Be careful!" Mira called out.
Nikolias leaned his head in slightly. "Of course I'll be careful. You just focus on not worrying about us."
"No promises," Mira said, giving the best smile she could.
Nikolias pulled back. "We'll be back before you know it."
Gracie nodded. "That's right! We'll be back in no time! Now, to the skies, steed!"
Nikolias huffed as he expanded his wings. "What have I told you about calling me that?"
"Silence, steed! To the skies!"
"Jackass." Nikolias then leapt off the ground and into the sky, flapping his wings and climbing higher and higher. He could hear the cheers from below as he leveled off and began flying towards the scent of the Bloody Moon guild.
"Let's bring back a win, Niky!" Gracie exclaimed.
"Hell yeah!" he said with a roar.
Vanish and Stealth watched in awe as a massive black dragon appeared before them right where the object of their surveillance once stood. They watched as it flew into the sky with a young girl riding its back. They watched as the members of Fairy Tail walked inside of the guild hall, talking excitedly amongst themselves. Once the area was clear, they looked at each other.
"We must report this to Master Severo at once," Vanish said.
"Yes, he must know that this boy has incredible power and is most likely headed his way," Stealth added.
The two then vanished, rushing off to inform their Master of the incoming threat.
Thirty minutes had passed since Nikolias and Gracie had left the guild. Nikolias made sure to fly high in the sky and underneath the clouds, especially when they were about halfway to their destination. The last thing he wanted was for the moon's light to cast his shadow on the ground below, alerting their enemies and frightening citizens. Fortunately, stealth was a major strength of Shadow Dragons. Even the overly talkative Gracie knew when she needed to keep quiet. She was always professional when the need arose and this was one of those times. Because Gracie remained silent for the whole trip, the two just flew quietly through the night sky with no conversation.
Gracie lightly tapped Nikolias' scales with two fingers twice, a sign that they had decided would mean that they were almost there. Nikolias nodded his head in response and began scanning the area with his eyes.
After a few seconds, a small clearing appeared in a forest. Inside the clearing, Nikolias could see the trees in the area had been manipulated and stripped to the bare bark to give the small dark building they were surrounding an even darker feel. At the front of the small building sat a black iron gate with strange designs on the tips of all the posts. Nikolias huffed quietly. 'Geez, could this place be any more of a cliché? All that it's missing are the cawing crows and the constant lightning storms,' he thought. He then opened his mind up to Gracie. "Hey Gracie, looks like the base is up ahead. I hope you're ready." He got one tap with the two fingers, which he understood as 'hell yeah'. "Good. Then let's give these guys a nice thank you gift."
However, as soon as Nikolias flew a little closer, the ground began to glow with bright red lights all throughout the forest.
"What the hell is that?" Gracie whispered.
Nikolias sniffed the air and growled softly. "Shit…"
"What is it?"
He didn't need to answer. Just then, all of the red lights on the ground quickly shot into the air and towards Nikolias and Gracie. Gracie hung on for dear life as Nikolias did everything he could to maneuver through the storm. "Gracie, they knew we were coming."
"But how is that possible?" Gracie shouted, no longer concerned about keeping her voice down. "We only just recently decided to go."
Nikolias growled as he continued to swerve through the projectiles. "I'd bet you anything that those little shits that got away from me had something to do with this. They probably went back to spying, found out our plans, and then reported it to their Master, giving him enough time to prepare counter measures."
"That's insane! How fast are those guys?"
"Fast, but I'm sure a lot of it had to do with their Spatial Walk Magic."
Gracie pressed her front against Nikolias' back. "What do we do, Niky?"
"We do as much as we can before falling back. We can't leave here without doing some damage. What kind of message does that send about Fairy Tail?"
"I'm not really concerned about pride right now."
"It's not about pride. It's about payback."
"That's true. Alright then, Niky. Let's do this!"
Nikolias let out a roar and began his descent. "Gracie, hop off and do what you can in secret on the ground. I'll distract them in the air."
"You got it!" Gracie said. She waited for Nikolias to swoop down closer to one of the projectile cannons. She waited until he wrapped his talons around it and pulled it upwards and then made her move. She quietly leapt from his back and hid behind a nearby tree as she watched Nikolias fly back into the air and throw the cannon at another one of the cannons. The resulting explosion shook the ground and Gracie could feel the heat from the blast from where she stood. 'Wow, those are some high-powered cannons. I have to take them out quickly.' She then made her move, dashing through the tree line towards the first cannon.
As she got close, she saw that the cannons were actually being manned. She studied the user before noticing that he was hooked up to the cannon by some sort of tube. She then thought back to the fight with Critik. 'I guess they're called Bloody Moon for a reason. Most of what they do involves using one's own blood to attack and defend. These cannons are somehow connected to the blood of the user. This is some bat-shit crazy magic.' She quietly left her hiding spot and dashed towards the cannon user. He didn't even hear her coming as she brought down her broad sword and cleaved him in two. Gracie then turned her attention to the cannon and saw her suspicions confirmed. Sure enough, the cannon was powering down. 'One down.' She then looked into the sky and saw Nikolias continue to dodge blast after blast. Occasionally, he would find an opening to let loose a jet of fire upon a cannon, destroying it and its user instantly. However, those opportunities were few and far between, so most of his time was spent dodging. 'Gotta keep moving,' she thought as she made her way to the next closest cannon.
Gracie continued to plow through the unsuspecting cannon users. None of them knew Gracie was even in the area for all of their attention was on the massive black dragon that was setting the area ablaze whenever it could. As more cannons fell to Gracie, Nikolias found more opportunities to not only destroy a cannon but to also set the small guild hall on fire. Slowly but surely, the Bloody Moon guild began to crumble before finally collapsing with a mighty crash.
Once the guild hall fell, all of the cannon users suddenly decided to call it quits and flee. Gracie was able to slay a few that passed her by and Nikolias was able to scoop up a few and drop them from the sky, but some still managed to escape.
Gracie began to scan the area while she waited for Nikolias to land and walk over to her. Countless trees had been burned away completely, making the clearing much larger and even creating numerous other clearings. The ground was still ablaze with black fire in places. Corpses were strewn about everywhere. Gracie released a heavy sigh before turning her attention to the wreckage of the guild hall. She used her broad sword to push away the larger pieces of debris as she began sifting through the ruins. She was hoping to find evidence that the Master had fallen, but the more she searched, the more she realized that there were no bodies in the pile of rubble.
It was then that her sword caught in a crack. She lifted it back out and pushed aside the debris, revealing a wide trap door. She cursed under her breath. "No wonder it was such a small building. They probably ran most of their operations underground. All of the really important people were probably underground and escaped while we were attacking." She then began looking around. "Where the hell is Niky?"
She then heard footsteps to her left. She turned slightly to see Nikolias walking over to her. She flashed him a smile, but it quickly faded as he got closer.
Nikolias had blood running from his mouth and he was clutching his abdomen with a bloodied hand. The bottom half of his shirt was stained a dark red and he was clearly struggling to take each step.
"NIKY!" she shouted as she ran over to him. "What happened?"
He coughed a little and sent out droplets of blood, but still smiled at her. "I got hit early on, but it's nothing serious. I'll live. I probably can't fly, though."
Gracie scanned his body, a look of pure worry on her face. "Niky, I'm sorry. I should have been by your side."
Nikolias shook his head. "No, you were better suited on the ground. I would have probably been hit multiple times if you hadn't taken out so many."
Gracie sighed. "You need treatment and fast. Let's start heading back."
"Heading back? What about Bloody Moon?"
Gracie shook her head as she walked. "It's as you said; they knew we were coming. All of the heavy hitters as well as the Master were in the underground portion of the guild hall and escaped probably before we even showed up."
"Underground? Goddamn it!" Nikolias shouted, but the action caused him to cough up more blood.
"Take it easy, Niky. We'll go back to the guild and report to Master Makarov." She looked at the collapsed guild hall again. "Unfortunately, our job is done. I'd like to pursue them underground, but for one thing, you're in no condition to chase. And for another thing, we were only ordered to fly overhead and attack before falling back."
Nikolias nodded. "You're right about the second half at least. We'll head back."
"Need me to carry you?" Gracie joked.
Nikolias let out a small laugh. "Please, I can still walk. I'm not dead."
"You sure you're okay?"
"I've dealt with worse."
"Okay, but let's get back as quickly as possible so that Wendy can heal you up."
"Right."
The two moved as quickly as they could back towards Magnolia and Fairy Tail, both disappointed that they couldn't end things right then and there.
