Here is the next chapter, I hope you'll enjoy it.

Foxfire573 - No hay problema en absoluto.

Tengo tantos trabajos como disfraces almacenados... Así que bastantes. Lo cual, teniendo en cuenta que me quedo con cinco OC muy destructivos, necesito todos esos trabajos para las facturas de mantenimiento [risas tristes]. De todos modos, Magpie será presentado a los otros OC al mismo tiempo que se une a la tripulación de Sombrero de Paja que, creo que dije, estaría en el capítulo siete. Solo quedan unos pocos más. Gracias por leer.

kira444 - I see what I can do. Thanks.

djinn - Thank you so much. I'm glad that you enjoyed it. Mira's performance was funny…makes me wonder how many times she's done that trick.

Mirajane: Just that time, Victor…and to fans who get a little too crazy when they stalk me…and one time when I had to get Elfman to the dishes a few years ago. But other then that, I never used it before. Well, actually there is that time…

R-right…I think she uses that trick quite a bit. Thank you for reading.

wellingtonlucas282- No problem, glad that you enjoyed it.

Guest - Yeah, you're right about that [shivers in horror]. Moving on, I'm glad you liked the chapter. Hope you'll enjoy the next one.

Grant10000 - No problem, I'm happy that I can help.

ikusatsunsgi - No problem, thank you for reading. Mavis…hmm. I definitely think about it and how it could be done. Wendy hasn't turned up just yet, but she will in the next arc. I hope you'll enjoy the next chapter.

Lelouch of Zero - I reckon that Night Terror is one of the strongest of the guild, definitely on the same level as Laxus, Erza and Mystogan. In fact he is the strongest out of all of my OCs (the order goes Night Terror; Magpie; Michael Timere; Edgar Cipher; Lewis Fleetwood and Charles Roberts). Night's entrance will be challenging for him and you will see why at the end. Thanks for reading.

Spedyalarm - Well, there's actually a simple reason why this is all possible [clears throat] …it's fictional.

Skull Flame - I'll see what I can do about the harem list, but good suggestions. Thanks for reading, I hope you'll enjoy this chapter.

GodsReader15 - Haha! I appreciate the enthusiasm!

Guest - Thanks so much, you're too kind. Yeah, I guess it can be annoying sometimes, but luckily Night Terror has got friends who will help him get better. Writing the little filler chapters are so much fun; it really allows my imagination to run rampant. Thanks so much for reading.

ShadowSsp - Thanks so much, I'm glad that you are enjoying it so far. I'll see what I can do for some Ezra x NT moments. I would love to devote an entire chapter to it. Thanks so much for reading.

MDM11 - Thanks so much. I unfortunately have plans for Erigor, but I do like the idea of Juvia vs Freed and Gajeel vs Laxus. I hope you'll enjoy the next chapter.

FanSuperAnime - Thank you so much! As for One Piece, I'm currently at chapter 689 so I'm nearing the end of the Punk Hazard arc; I really enjoyed it. I have to make a mental note to figure out a way for my OC to save Monet. Thanks for reading.

Thank you all for reviewing and I hope you'll enjoy the chapter :)


Chapter 29: Civil War

Fairy Tail Guild

As the battle raged on, a handful of Fairy Tail guild members were left behind along with the petrified women. Makarov, Natsu and Gajeel were unable to break through Freed's enchantment magic for some strange reason. The enchantment dictated that only members under a certain age could leave which made sense for the master, but what about the other two. They decided to not waste time thinking about what that meant and focus in ways of getting out. The enchantment had put the entire hall on lockdown, meaning going out the back door or through the roof. The only member who still remained who could leave was Happy; he stayed for two reasons, the first being that he wanted to stay with Natsu while the second is that he wanted to brag about how he was able to get through easily.

The situation was dire. Guild members were battling each other while members of the Thunder Legion picked them off easily. With the announcement of Grey out of the game and the other guilds aces unavailable to fight, they have become desperate…

… although, Makarov, Gajeel and Happy were not as desperate to do what Natsu was trying to do.

"Let me go! I'm going to melt the stone off her!" Natsu declared as he held a petrified Ezra in his arms, "This is the only way!"

"You can't Natsu!" Makarov yelled at him as he Gajeel and Happy held back his head to prevent him from breathing fire, "You're going to hurt her!"

"Also you can't melt stone with fire, you idiot!" Gajeel chimed in.

"Aye!" Happy agreed.

"Sure, you can! Ever heard of larvae!"

"It's larva! And there's no way your fire is hot enough!"

"I have to try!"

"NO YOU DON'T!" they yelled at him as the pulled him back.

CRACK!

The four blinked blankly at the loud sound as it rang out through the hall before they all looked down at Ezra who has slipped from Natsu's hands. The impact from when she fell had caused a severe crack to emerge along Erza's face, from her right eye to the left corner of her mouth. They stared at it for a few moments, trying to process what they had done, before realisation settled in.

"AAAAHHHHHHHHHH!" they screamed in panic.

"ERZA NOOOOOOO!" Makarov wept as he fell to his knees and slammed his fist against the floor, "WHAT HAVE WE DONE!?"

"AH! She'll be so mad at us!" Natsu yelled as he picked her up again and turned to Happy with fear in his eyes, "Quick Happy! Get the papier-mâché!"

"Aye!" he cried as he flew off as fast as he can.

Gajeel turned to him in confusion, "What the hell are you doing!?"

"We're going to cover her head in papier-mâché, draw a face on it and hope that nobody notices!"

"Of course, people will notice!"

Happy flew back to them, "How do you make papier-mâché again?"

"I think it's paper and glue!"

"Right," the cat said as he flew off again.

"We're not going to fix her face with papier-mâché!" Gajeel snarled as he raised his hand and made it turn into a metal pole, "We have to weld it shut!"

"THAT'S WORSE THAT NATSU'S IDEA!" Makarov shouted at them as tears steamed down his face.

Happy, suddenly, flew back with a bundle of newspaper and glue in his paws, "I only found super glue. Is that alright?"

"Can't hurt," Natsu shrugged, "I mean glue is glue, right?"

"YOU MORONS!"

CRACK! CRACK! CRRRRAAAACCCCCKKKKK!

They turned down and looked to see more and more cracks emerging on the stone's surface, making them yelp in fear. Finally, one final crack caused the entire stone to shatter into hundreds of pieces…and revealed Erza, alive and well. They were in disbelief; they genuinely thought that they had killed her for a few seconds, but it seemed as if Evergreen's magic had disappeared.

"Erza," Makarov sighed in relief, "Thank goodness you're alright."

"Thought we lost you for a second," Gejeel muttered.

"Aye!" Happy said, throwing away the newspaper and the glue to land by her side, "I'm so glad your safe."

Natsu grinned at her, "You're back. I knew something like this wouldn't stop you," he told her.

"… papier-mâché?"

"Eh?" he uttered, sweating as Erza looked up at him with a dark look; her eyes red with severing rage, "Oh…you heard that…"

"Papier…" she snarled as she reared back her fist and threw a punch at his face, "MÂCHÉ!?" she yelled as she smashed her fist against his cheek, throwing him across the guild hall and crashing into the far wall, "WAS THAT THE BEST THING YOU CAN COME UP WITH!?" she bellowed before she turned to others, "What the hell happened here?"

"She's back," Makarov, Gajeel and Happy said at the same time


Forest Near Akane

Night Terror slammed two Nobodys into the ground with his shadows before twisting around and knocking three more of them with a swing of his claw. One of the Nobodys tried to attack him from above, but, sensing the incoming danger, Night Terror conjured a large pillar of shadows from his cloak which struck it away and flying somewhere into the forest. He then made the shadows bend downwards and slam into four incoming Nobodys that were about to hit him.

It had been a while since the battle had begun and it felt like it will never end. Dozens, hundreds and possibly thousands of Nobodys come pouring out of the trees and attack him at every side. Night Terror did wonder why they were coming in groups of twos, three and sometimes fours instead of rushing him at the same time, but he assumed that Capricorn's magic only worked on a few at a time. At first, he had difficulty trying to catch up with their speed and their power, but he gradually learned that they attacked in several patterns; some attacked from the side, some attacked from above while some attacked from the front as a distraction so the real attacker comes from behind. Once he understood this, fighting them had become more more predictable and he was starting to regain his advantage.

Capricorn watched from atop of his perch with a steely look; observing every single movement and attack coming from the Phobos. He frowned in intrigue as Night Terror was able to knock four Nobodys out with his shadows before he nodded firmly.

"I see," he said before he snapped his fingers.

As Night Terror swiped at the last Nobody to attack him and turned around to find another; he soon realised that the wave had stopped. He frowned unsurely looking around the tree line, over the defeated Nobodys, for any sight of an enemy…but there was not one.

He turned to Capricorn suspiciously, "What now? Surely you have not given up so easily."

The Celestial Spirit hummed thoughtfully, "We are merely moving onto the next phase."

"What next phase?" he demanded before he felt the ground shake beneath him.

The ground shook again followed by the sounds of wood splintering and shattering as they toppled over. Like the other Nobodys, Night Terror could not sense was coming towards the clearing, but he definitely knew that it was coming quickly behind him. He turned around in time to see two oak trees fall to the ground, kicked over by a large black boots that were just as tall as him.

He stepped back as he took in the behemoth before him; it was about twenty five feet high and half that amount wide; it had bulky arms that hung at its side connected to a round body and a small dome-shaped head poking at the top of it; its large legs looked like balloons with patches on it that bulged and pulsated with every step it took. It was dressed like a Nobody; with a black uniform, round red eyes and a metal grill like mouth which spurted a black gas ever so often. It looked unusual and moved unnaturally, peering down at him with its blank eyes as if it spotted its next victim.

"This is called a Misery" Capricorn explained from his perch with a causal wave of his hand, "Misery is also here to kill you, but I think you might find that it is…a bit more dangerous than the Nobodys."

'Misery?' Night Terror thought strangely as he glared up at the monstrosity before him. He studied it for a few seconds before his eyes landed on its grill-like mouth, 'A possible weakness. If I attack that spot I may disable it. Judging by its size and shape, it is clearly not built for speed. Therefore I may have the advantage.'

Night Terror used his shadows to launch himself at the Misery as fast as he possible could. His theory had proven right about its speed, since it had not flinched or made no attempt to stop him. He reared back his claws hand, aimed at its grill-mouth before he swiped at it…

…only for him to hit nothing but air.

'What!?' Night Terror thought in shock; his eyes widened in disbelief. Then out of the corner of his vision, he suddenly saw a giant fist coming right at him from his side, but was too late to dodge, 'So…fast!' he thought as the fist slammed into him.

Night Terror was sent hurtling over the forest, smashing through several trees before coming to a stop as he hit the ground. He groaned in pain, his entire body was racked with sheer agony just by being punched by thing. He hissed in anger as he sat up, only to gasp when he saw the Misery standing over him; appearing out of thin air.

He sunk into the shadows in time before the Misery punched the ground he was laying on, creating a wide, deep crater where he just been and tearing up a few trees in the process. The speed of it was so great that, if he hadn't got out of the way in time, he would have surely been dead.

He stumbled out of the shadow of a nearby oak tree and watched the giant from a safe distance with a concerned look.

"That thing…is an abomination," he whispered to himself, "It was never meant to exist. It is too powerful," he said as the Misery's dome-head turned as it searched from him.


Backstreets Of Magnolia

Flare stood against the older mage defiantly as Bickslow grinned manically down at her. She was nervous; this was her first proper battle and it was against a professional mage who won't hold back because she's a young girl. She knew there was a slim chance (or no chance, in fact) that she'll be able to beat him, but that won't stop her from trying her best.

Taking a deep breath, she extended her long red hair to above her head and shot it towards him, "Take this!" However, Bickslow nearly tilted his head to the side, allowing the hair to fly past him and grabbed a hold of it, "Oh…you took it," she gulped.

Bickslow laughed as he yanked the stand of hair forwards. Flare yelped as she was pulled of her feet, landing face first onto the street.

"You need to try better than that, little missy," Bickslow cackled as he commanded the mannequins to pile up on each other in one tall line, "Pole Formation!" he yelled as he ordered the mannequins to slam down on top of Flare.

Her eyes widened at the sight and she rolled to the side; just in time for it to smash into the street, making dust and debris fly into the air. Flare turned to look at the destruction caused by the mannequins in worry before she frowned and reached her hair out and pinned all of them to the ground, making sure that they couldn't move. She then focused her sights on Bickslow and sent another strand of her hair at him.

She thought it would have got a hit in, but suddenly the mannequins began to shake and then shoot up into the sky, taking her with them. She yelped as she hung two meters in the air by her own hair; her legs dangling uselessly beneath her.

"Ha! You're so weak!" Bickslow mocked as he ordered his dolls to fly down the street, taking her with them.

She shrieked in pain as she was carried al the way through the backstreets. Seeing that the mannequins were heading straight into a brick wall and planning on smashing her against it, she was forced to let go and fall to the ground. She fell on the brick lane hard; crying out as her shoulder and her side collided with the ground; she rolled for a few feet before coming to a stop she she hit a wall. She groaned wearily and used her arms to push her off up in time to see Bickslow riding on top of one of the mannequins. She stumbled to her feet and ran down an alleyway as fast as she could, causing the mage to laugh cruelly.

"You're not getting away that easily, little missy," he cackled, sticking his tongue out as he quickly perused her.

Flare darted down the alleyways, cautiously looking over her shoulder to see if Bickslow was following her, 'I can't attack him head on,' she thought to herself as she rounded a corner and ran down the lane, 'I could find a way to trap the dolls just like Grey, but I need to attack quickly before he could transfer his magic into something else,' she decided before she skidded to a halt as the sight of a construction scaffold clinging on to the side of the building next to her, 'That could work.'

Meanwhile, Bickslow rode through the back streets on one of the mannequins like a surfboard, lazily looking for Flare with a bored yawn.

"Come on out, little missy!" he called out, "You could at least say your sorry or something if your scared! I might even kick your ass a little less harder if you do!"

Creeeeaaaakkkk!

"Huh?" Bickslow said at the strange sound.

He turned around and his eyes widened as he saw the scaffold he was passing tilting over towards him. His eyes darted around and spotted several tendrils of red hair slithering around like snakes; undoing the clamps and loosening the bolts that was holding the scaffold in place before they pushed it over towards him. Metal poles clanged and wood snapped as they fell on itself; heading straight for the mage's head.

"X-formation!" he commanded, ordering the three mannequins floating around him to form an X over him, protecting him from the debris at the last moment.

Bickslow cackled as he watched his dolls protect him when he suddenly felt something wrap around his wrists. He looked down and saw two locks of red hair wrapped around him before they suddenly yanked him off the mannequin he was standing on and pull him down the lane. The hair twisted him around to show Flare down on the ground. She held him up while she ordered two more locks of her hair at her side; the ends of the hair began to knot themselves until they turned into human-like fists, poised and ready to strike.

"This is my chance," she told herself as she shot her hair fists towards Bickslow and ordered them to batter his face, delivering punch after punch after punch to either side of his face, "That's it! Almost there!" she shouted, thinking that she had won.

However, the smiled dropped from her face when she heard Bickslow cruel laughter echo through the alleyway. Whilst still getting punched, he raised his head and grinned at her her.

"Ha! You call these punches! You hit like a little girl!" he laughed, making Flare growl in anger, "Oh wait! You are one!"

She snarled and retracted her hair fists before she took a deep breath and focused all her magic into her hair, "You want to see how a little girl punches!" she shouted as her entire hair, apart from the locks holding Bickslow up, rose up and stretched higher and higher into the air. The ends of the hair knotted and weaved together to form one giant fist that towered over Bickslow, "I'll show you how a little girl punches!" she yelled as she threw the fist down towards his head.

Flare grinned as the giant hair fist hurtled down at him, ready to smash him into the ground…

…when suddenly…

Flare screamed in pain as she felt something hit her shoulder; it was a hot, sharp pain that spread across her body and made her knees buckle and tears form in her eyes. Her shoulder felt as if it was on fire; like she had been pierced by a red hot poker. She fell to her hands and knees and unintentionally dispelled her hold on her hair, making the giant fist fall to pieces and Bickslow to pull himself free. Flare gripped her aching shoulder and glared up in time to see one of the mages's dolls fly from and hover around his head.

"First rule of battle, little missy," Bickslow sneered, "Never lose your temper."

"Lose your temper! Lose your temper!" the doll repeated mockingly, making Flare grit her teeth in pain.


Fairy Tail Guild

Makarov, Natsu, Happy and Gajeel turned at the sound of a startled gasp and saw, to their surprise, that the petrified women have turned back to normal. Lucy, Ur, Juvia, Mirajane, Lisanna, Cana, Levy and Bisca looked around the hall from the stage in confusion as they tried to figure out what had happened.

"Huh?" Lucy uttered with a small frown, "Where's everybody?"

"Juvia is confused," Juvia hummed.

Cana rubbed the back of her head, "What happened to us?"

A grin spread across Natsu's face as he ran up to the stage, "You're back to normal!"

Happy flew over and hugged Lucy around the neck as tears rolled down his fuzzy blue cheeks, "Lucy! You're back!"

"I…didn't know I was gone, to be honest," Lucy said as she hugged him back, "It's weird. One moment I was walking off stage and the next moment I'm here.

"Master Makarov," Ur said as she walked to the edge of the stage and peered down at the shorter man, "What's going on?"

The elderly man hummed and smiled proudly, "It seems that Erza has won her battle against Evergreen," he said, streaking his thoughtfully, "Probably threatened her to release her petrification spell on all of you. Well done, my child," he whispered to himself, "However, to answer your question Ur, Laxus and the Thunder Legion has taken over Magnolia."

"Laxus?" Mirajane muttered, "What do you mean?"

"Laxus and Thunder Legion had gone mad," Happy explained, his ears dropping sadly, "Evergreen turned you into stone and used you guys as hostages and made the others battle each other."

"He's turned Magnolia into a total battlefield," Natsu added, "He said he would only make it stop if gramps give him the title of guild master."

The women were shocked by this.

"What!?" Lisanna yelled.

"The hell? What's he playing at?" Ur muttered.

Juvia nodded her head, "This is quite disturbing. What has Night have to say about this."

"Night Terror is not here. He was called away to something before we left this morning," Lucy hummed, "Perhaps Laxus has something to do with it.

"Quite possibly," Makarov solemnly said as he lowered his head to the ground, "Laxus has always known how powerful Night Terror is and has been asking him to join the Thunder Legion for years now. However, Night always turned his offer down; preferring to work alone on jobs. If he wins and becomes master of Fairy Tail then Night will have to oblige or else he leaves for good. Laxus doesn't just want the guild title… he also wants the power of the Phobos with him," he glanced over at the doorway, "I, nor anybody over he age of eighty, are unable to leave due to Freed's enchantment and, for some reason, neither can Natsu or Gajeel. Otherwise, I would have gone out and gave him a peace of my mind."

"The two dragon slayers, huh?" Levy hummed, looking over at the two curiously.

Ur looked around the guild hall with a concern frown, "If Night's not here then who's looking after Flare?"

"Grey was supposed to take her to the border…but we haven't heard back from either of them," Happy told her with a shrug.

The Ice mage hummed in worry before she headed to the door, "I'm going to look for them while you guys work out a way to contact Night or get to Laxus."

Gajeel snorted as he crossed his arms across his chest, "Good luck passing the enchantment then," he muttered to himself humorously.

Ur stopped and snapped her head to him with cold, deadly eyes, "And why exactly would the age enchantment effect me?" she hissed dangerously, "Maybe I should kick your ass first, you eyebrow-less bastard!"

Gajeel, whilst still keeping his cool, broody façade, began to sweat nervously, "Err…"

That was all about he said before she kicked him square in the jaw, knocking him off his feet and part of his face covered in ice.

"That's what I thought," Ur grumbled as she strutted out of the hall, leaving the dragon slayer lying on the wooden floor.


Night Terror darted through the trees as fast as he could with the Misery hot on his tail. The giant monster crashed, flattened and tore through the thick forest as if it was nothing; it kicked up dirt and rocks into the air; animals and birds flew away in a panic and old trees fell in its path. It seemed unstoppable; a force of nature made to wreck havoc on all living things and to tear down the heavens. The Phobos was convinced that it could even take on some of the monsters he fought in the past easily.

The main problem was that it was quick. Impossibly quick for something so large. One moment it was couple hundred meters away and, in a blink of an eye, it was right beside you. Besides that, nothing seemed to make it stop. Night Terror has sent all his shadows at it in an attempt to restrain its arms or legs so it could topple over, but it ripped the shadows apart as if they were nothing. He had as much luck with his Fear magic. It seemed to feed of the magic, much like the Nobodys from earlier; to whom, at this point, was starting to miss tremendously. All he could figure out about the Misery was their were traces of Fear magic billowing from its grate mouth in the form of the black smoke. If he had time to investigate further, then he would start there. However, he didn't and since it is the only potential weakness he could identify, then he needed to break the grate.

Night Terror stopped and used his shadows to rip an oak tree from the ground and threw it at the Misery's mouth. However, he grimaced when he witnessed the Misery dodged it easily and leapt up high into the air and crashed right in front of him. As quick as a flash, the Phobos produced a wall of shadows in front of him to block a barrage of punches from the Misery. Each one becoming stronger and faster than the last. He gritted his teeth and pushed back as hard as he can, but its giant fist broke through and slammed into him. He slammed right through a tree and fell unceremoniously to the dirty ground. Night Terror grunted in pain and leapt back onto his feet; he took a deep breath, reached out to the shadows surrounding them and took control of them.

"HUNDRED HANDS OF THE ABYSS!" he chanted as hundreds of shadowy tendrils emerged all around them and wrapped around the Misery like snakes trapping their pray. They wrapped arounds its legs, its arms, its round body and even around its head, restraining it from moving, 'I just need to hold it still for a few seconds and then I can get to its mouth,' he thought as he sped towards the monster.

The Misery struggled in the binds coiled around it and the Phobos was having trouble keeping it still. It was approaching the early afternoon and the sun was high in the sky, meaning he was much weaker in these conditions. He had only got to his foot when, with a tremendous roar, the Misery tore the shadows away from its body, making Night Terror hiss and collapse to the ground at having its magic ripped apart.

The Misery then leapt high into the air, much higher than he was expecting, performed an acrobatic forward roll before falling to the ground feet first. Night Terror had just managed to disappeared into the shadows before it crashed into the ground. A mighty explosion rang out through the forest at the impact; the ground burst and erupted into the air, sending trees, boulders and chunks of the earth flying up into the air before they all fell back into the crater. Around the impact zone, cracks began to form in the ground and split open as if it was hit by a devastating earthquake and more of the forest collapsed on itself. It was so powerful that all the windows and the glass in Akane, a few miles away, shattered and broke, much to the distress of the citizens. The Phobos emerged from the shadows at the outskirts of the wasteland and gasped at the scene. What used to be green, luscious forest was now nothing but ruin and desolation as far as they eye could see. All of it was caused by one monster in only a few seconds.

Night Terror gripped his fists together and glared at the Misery in rage, 'It is too dangerous to live. I will have to exterminate it now before anymore harm can be caused by its hand. I must destroy it before it destorys everything,' he thought in determination before he sank into the shadows once again.


Backstreets

Flare cried out as she was slammed against a brick wall and collapsed to the ground roughly; she gritted her teeth in anger and embarrassment as Bickslow and his recently retrieved dolls laughed mockingly down at her. She wiped away a bit of blood from her mouth and growled furiously.

'Damn it! There's no way I can beat this freak,' she muttered to herself as she held her injured shoulder, 'I was not even close!'

Bickslow hummed as he bowed down to her height, "What's wrong!? You tried already, little missy! Bah! You were hardly worth the effort! How pathetic!" he proclaimed as his dolls cackled gleefully, "You want to call it quits now or do I have to beat it out ya!?"

Flare scrunched up her face in anger and shakily got to her feet, "Never!" she told him, "I finally found my home…where I finally get to fit in…and you're destroying it…I'll never give up!"

The older mage sighed and rolled his eyes, "Fine. Have it your way, little missy," he clicked his fingers and made his dolls surround her, "it's your funeral."

The young girl frowned desperately, glancing at the dolls that were circling around her, going faster and faster. She closed her eyes and tried to ignore them for now; instead she focused on her magic that was flowing to her hair; taking control of every single strand and making it move as if it was another limb.

Bickslow raised an eyebrow as he saw her do…something. Her hair began to grow longer and longer until it stretched out in front of her. The ends began to tangle and knot together into an elaborate shape, getting bigger and more complex by the second.

"In a way…Night's Shadow magic is the same as my Hair magic," Flare said with her eyes closed, "like him, I make my magic a part of me; make it less of a fool and more of a limb that I can move instinctively. Because of that, he's taught me a lot of what I can do with my own magic and make it a part of my arsenal," her eyes opened and she gave him a serious glare that surprised him a little, "I saw what he can do; using his shadows to creat a giant serpent that was able to take out that dark mage in one shot and then create a dragon what destroy an entire tower. And so, what I'm thinking, is that what's stopping me from creating my own to take you down!" by now the ends of her hair began to tighten and form into something animal-like that stood against Bickslow. It stood on four clawed paws; had a row of sharp teeth in a large maw and had pointed ears, deadly eyes and large bushy tail that stuck straight up. It growled threateningly at the mage; a growl so fierce that it would chill the bravest to the core. Flare grinned excitedly at her creation before she pointed defiantly at Bickslow, "Hair Magic! WOLF FANG!"

The hair wolf snarled dangerously at his enemy, ready to snap his terrible jaws around the mage and defeat him where he stood…

… there was just one small problem…

…the hair wolf only a foot tall.

Bickslow blinked down at the tiny hair wolf as it yipped and barked up at him and sweat dropped; it barely came up to his knee and looked more adorable then threatening. Flare, on the other hand, hung her head in defeat; tears flowing down her cheeks as she slumped forward.

'Well…this is embarrassing,' she thought miserably.

"What is that? A puppy?"

"It's a wolf!" she shouted at him.

"A wolf puppy?"

"A normal wolf!"

"…You know how big wolves are, right?"

"Of course, I do," she sighed and slouched forwards even further, "It's just so complex to make that I'm using all my energy. But it's still a wolf!"

Bickslow glanced down at it and scratched the back of his head, "Damn… this is so sad that I don't even know if it's worth laughing at it…HA! What am I saying!? This is hilarious!" he declared before he pointed and laughed at the very small hair wolf, "HaHaHaHaHa! Is this really the best you can- OW!" he yelled as the hair wolf leapt up and bit his fingers, "Ah! That hurts! You stupid mutt!" he yelled as he tried to shake it off. He tore the hair wolf off him and threw it to the ground, dispelling it almost immediately, much to Flare's horror, "That's it! Babies! Show this brat the real power of a S Class Mage!"

"Roger! Roger!" the dolls squeaked back before they started to glow and fired their magical beams at Flare point blank.

Flare raised her arms, turned her head away and shut her eyes tight as the magic beams were about to hit her. She prepared to feel their searing light slicing through her body…but instead she felt a cold chill flow over her, followed by the sound of explosions. She flinched in surprise before she felt brave enough to open her eyes; she suddenly gasped.

"Ur!?" Flare cried, "You're free!?"

Ur stood in front of her with her hand outstretched before her which had been used to conjure a shield wall made entirely made of ice, protecting both of them from the magic beams. The elder woman glared straight ahead as she waved her hand and brought down the shield, revealing an astonished Bickslow. She narrowed her eyes at him warningly before she turned around and smiled warmly down at Flare.

"Hey kid," greeted Ur, "Nice work with the hair. Cute puppy."

"It was a wolf! Not a puppy!" Flare yelled crossly before she flinched in pain and held her shoulder.

Ur instantly turned around and placed a hand in the injured shoulder and covered it in a thin layer of ice, "There. That should stop the burning," she told her as crouched down to her height, "You okay? Are you hurt any where else?"

"Hey!" Bickslow cried out from down the alleyway, "We're in the middle of a fig-"

"I'll get to you in a minute," Ur interrupted in a stern tone, "Wait your turn like a good little boy, okay?"

Bickslow growled at her remark and tightened his fists together.

Flare shook her head, "No…I'm fine," she told her, "I wish I was stronger. That way I won't get injured as much."

Ur gave a motherly giggle and patted her head, "You did a great job, alright. There are mages out there who don't last five seconds against a S-Class. You're definitely getting there."

Flare blinked in surprise before a small smile graced her lips, "Really? Thanks Ur."

The Ice mage chuckled at that before she sighed wearily as she looked down at the young girl. She felt an ache ebb in her heart as she looked down at her smiling face; remembering a conversation she had with Night Terror only a week before.


-One Week Ago-


Fairy Tail Guild

Away from the laughter and drinking down below, Night Terror and Ur sat in the Phobos' private booth on the first floor of the guild. The Ice mage had asked to talk to him privately and so he invited her to sit with him and talk over tea; however; Ur's cup was left untouched as she tried her best to explain what was wrong.

"I… am haven't been sleeping well," Ur admitted with her head in her hands, "It started on the night since I first got here and I thought they would go away eventually…but clearly not. Sometimes it so bad that I can't even force myself to go out on jobs because I'm so tired."

Night Terror sat his cup of tea on the table and frowned slightly in concern, "I see. I am sorry to hear that miss Ur. Are you perhaps experiencing nightmares from when you were trapped within the ice?"

She shook her head, "No…they're not nightmares. I don't think so anyway. I feel like…they're memories."

"Memories?"

"Yeah," she sighed and rubbed her head as if she was suffering a migraine, "What I remember of my life before I was trapped has been…spotty. I remember Grey and Leon and Delioria, but nothing really before that. Just bits and pieces that emerge ever so often. It's…exhausting trying to gather them all together into something that makes sense," she looked up at him with a hopeful look, "Night, if there's anyway you can use your Fear magic to bring these memories back to me…I would be so grateful. Please, this is my life. I need to know. I want to know who so was."

The Phobos hummed thoughtfully and leaned back in his chair slightly, "That is quite unfortunate, miss Ur. However, there is really no remedy that I can suggest. Forcing your memories to surface will take a great amount of strain on your mental health which I cannot allow you to do. It's painful to experience something like that," he told her, making her frown in disappointment, "There is no other way, they will have to emerge naturally."

"I can't wait," she urgently said, "What if there's something important that-"

"Miss Ur. I cannot do that. You are my friend and I do not want to put you through any pain if I can help it,"

"I can take it!"

"I still cannot."

"Please!"

"Miss Ur-"

"JUST DO IT!" she suddenly yelled, slamming her fist on the table in anger and covering it with a patch of frost, "YOU HAVE TO DO IT SO I KNOW WHERE SHE IS!"

Silence fell heavily between them. Night Terror looked down at her in surprise while Ur glared up at him with a snarl. Eventually, after a few seconds, Ur bowed her head and placed her hands over her face. She sniffed sadly as she felt teardrops start to form in her eyes and run down her hands. She fought back a sob as her body began to shake.

"I…I'm sorry…I'm sorry," she apologised tearfully while the Phobos looked down at her sadly.

"Miss Ur…would you like to tell me who from your past you are trying to look for," he softly asked her.

After a few seconds of silence, Ur raised her head with tears flowing down her red cheeks, "I…I think…I think a have a daughter, Night," she wiped the tears away from her eyes, "I don't know how…but I dream of this young girl every night. I-I can't remember what she looks like. I never do when I wake up, but I recognise her. I recognise who she is…but I…" a sob escaped her lips as Moreno tears appeared in her eyes, "…But I can't remember who she is. I don't know if it was the ice itself or being trapped in there for so long, but, what ever happened, it made me forget who she was. I don't know how to explain it, but I just know she's my daughter. I don't know what she looks like or where she is or even her own name. W-why did I leave her, Night? Why would I do that? What happened to her? Was it my fault? Is she out there hating me or is she dead? I…just want to know where my child is, Night? That's all I want. Please…can you help me?"

Night Terror stared down at her in thoughtful silence; trying to process everything she had said to him. After a few second, he gave a sad, mournful sigh.

"I am sorry, Miss Ur…but I just cannot," he told her as she looked down with a crestfallen expression, "memories and dreams are difficult to manage. Once small mishap with my magic and…well, I have no idea what will happen. Perhaps if I was a Nightmare instead then I might be able to help more, but I an not specialised in that sort of magic."

Ur looked down at the floor with a gloomy expression, "I see," she wiped her tears once more, "I guess I was asking too much from you. I'll just go."

She tried to get up and leave but Night Terror reached out and touched her hand gently, keeping her from going.

"However, I will do everything I can in helping you find your daughter," he reassured her confidently, "everything from investigating, questioning witnesses to even giving you enough for rent at Fairy Hills while you search for her. I promise to all my deities, that we will find her Miss Ur," he told her, making a small smile appear on her face, "You can rely on me. Although…I cannot say how your daughter will react when you find her."

Ur sniffed and wiped away her tears again, "I don't care," he told him, "Hell, she can hate me for the rest of her life for all I care. I just want to see her one last time and that will be good enough for me."


-Present-


Backstreet

"Ur? Ur? Ur!?"

The Ice mage snapped out of her daze at Flare's cries and realised where she was. The young girl gave her a concerned look as she titled her head to the side.

"Are you alright? You kind of zoned out for a moment."

Ur blinked blankly before she cleared her throat and smile, "Sorry. I don't know what happened there," she told him before thinking, 'I wonder if my child was her age back then. Maybe younger?'

"Hey, lady! You done yet?" Bickslow called impatiently, "I don't care who I beat up; I just want to get this over with."

Ur's face became stern as she glared back at him, "Damn freak," she spat as she stood to her full height, "you're dead meat for attacking Flare. Hope you know a good surgeon, because you're going to need one to remove my foot from your ass."

"Haha! Damn! That look you're giving me is getting me all riled up. Too bad I ain't into old women otherwise I'll make you mine."

"The idea of any woman attracted to you is both sickening and disturbing. Now stick your tongue back in your mouth and hit me with your best shot, scumbag."

Bickslow pointed at Ur and grinned sadistically, "Alright babies! New target!"

"Roger!" the dolls replied before they shot several magical beams at her.

Ur pushed Flare to behind her without thinking before she made an ice shield which the beams hit, sending chunks of ice and snow flying. She then calmly took down the shield, waved her hand and produced hundreds of ice sculptures shaped like roses out of the ground, pointing directly at Bickslow.

"Rose Garden!" she proclaimed coldly as the ice roses shot out of the ground towards him.

Bickslow leapt back out of the way before he was hit by the attack, but two of his dolls weren't as lucky. As soon as they were hit, they were encased in a solid block of ice. They fell onto to the hard road uselessly, making the mage growl in anger.

"Not again," he muttered as he allowed his magic to find another host to take over. He finally found two children's toys, a blur robot and doll with red hair, from a house nearby and took control of them. He forced them to come crashing through the window of the house they were in and come flying in front of him, "Ha! You see old hag! I can- AH!"

He suddenly cried out when he saw Ur coming at him and raised the dolls into an X-formation in front of him which successfully blocked a high kick from Ur. He gritted his teeth and the force of the kick made him stumble back a little, surprised by her strength.

"Less talk, more fighting," Ur snarled before she began to barrage his X-formation with sharp kicks, not allowing him to recover to counter her.

"Damn it! You're pretty strong for an old hag!"

"And you're pretty weak for a S-Class mage," she quipped as she swung around and kicked him with the heel of foot.

Bickslow was sent skidding back by the impact before he ordered two of his dolls to fire two magical beams at her. Ur leapt back before they could hit her; she sensed one doll flanking her and stamped her foot, producing a spear of ice to come out of the ground and swat it out of the air. She glared at Bickslow before she slammed her other foot on the ground, covering it in a thin layer of ice.

"Ice Geyser!" she cried as several spikes of ice shot out of the ground.

Bickslow, followed by his dolls, leapt away just in time and pushed himself off a nearby wall and onto a windowsill several meters up. He growled in frustration while Ur smirked up at him.

"What's wrong? Tired yet, freak?" Ur cooly questioned.

He pointed down at her, "That's it! Alright babies, used Baryon Formation on that hag and wiped that smirk from her face!"

The dolls, floating in mid-air, formed a circle and began to spin round and round; faster and faster; until a bright whirlwind began to form within the circle. With a loud explosion, the whirlwind shot out down towards them in a powerful beam of light. Ur instinctively created a thick ice wall between her and Flare behind her and met the Baryon beam with a cool smile on her face. The magic beam hit with a powerful boom, lighting the area with a bright light; kicking up dust and debris from the street. Flare, from behind her shield, held her hands over her ears and shut her eyes tight at the magic beams impact. Once the explosion subsided and the light dimmed down, the entire back alleyway was almost destroyed; part of the bricked lane was torn up and burnt and there was dust clouds hung in the air. Bickslow smirked as he saw the destruction down below, but it soon dropped when he noticed that his target was no longer there; except for an ice sculpture of Ur where she had previously stood.

His eyes widened in shock before he heard somebody whistle from behind him. He turned around and his eye widened in shock as he saw an fist covered in ice coming towards him, ready to him square in the face.

"Too slow," Ur said as she slammed her fist into his face, knocking him (and a couple of teeth) off his perch and towards the ground.

As they both fell to the street, Ur flipped forwards and slammed the heel of her foot into his stomach, sending him straight into the cobblestones with a mighty crash. Ur landed in a crouching position next to the mage and looked down at him as his unconscious body began to be covered in ice. She smiled, got onto her feet and walked over him towards Flare.

"Don't call me hag, bastard," she muttered, leaving him battered and bloodied in the middle of the street.

She waved her hand and brought down the ice wall, revealing Flare who looked relieved to see her safe.

"Hey kiddo," Ur said with a friendly wave, "Sorry for the wait. I-"

But that was all about she said before Flare ran and hugged her around her waist, taking her by surprise. She looked down at the red haired girl and blinked blankly; for a briefest of seconds, she didn't know how to react.

"I'm so glad that you're alright," Flare said, her voice muffled as she pressed her face into her stomach, "Thank you, Ur, for saving me."

The Ice mage hesitated for a few seconds as the young girl embraced her, but she eventually leaned down and hugged her back with a content smile.

"Don't worry about me, kiddo. It'll take more than that to take me down. Now why don't we get you to somewhere safe, okay," she softly said, before she thought to herself, 'this is…nice. I wonder if I ever hugged my daughter like this.'

Flare pulled away and smiled up at her, "Right," she said with a nod before she glared down at an unconscious Bickslow, "That's what you get, asshole! Next time we battle I'll- OW! OW! OW!"

"What was that, young lady!?" Ur sharply scolded, as she pulled her ear, "Who taught you to use that language!? Huh!?" her mothering instincts taking over.

"Ow! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Ow! Ow!" she cried as tears flowed from her eyes, waving her arms around madly, "Natsu and Grey swear when they fight!"

"If Natsu and Grey jumped off a cliff- which is probably something they would do -would you jump off with them!?"

"…no, I guess not."

"Wait until I fell Night about this. He'll be very disappointed."

"No, please, not Night!" Flare exclaimed in panic.


Forest

He had retreated it to as far as he could.

It had been a long hour of him of running, dodging attacks and avoiding falling debris, but he finally made it to the edge of a cliff. The cliff overlooked a valley deep in the heart of Fiore; it was as far away from any town, city or village as possible at the moment, meaning that there was little chance of them injuring or killing innocent bystanders with the Misery's rampage.

On the subject of the Misery, Night Terror had noticed that it had grown much weaker since he first encountered it. It had shrunk by a quarter of its original size and its movement and attacks have become far less effective as time passed by. He had no proper conclusion of what could have been the cause of it; perhaps it had something to do with the amount of smoke billowing out of its mouth or that it had used almost all its strength up chasing after him. Whatever the reason, he knew that it definitely had a weakness...but that didn't mean it wasn't still powerful. It still tore up trees and cracked rocks as if they were nothing but mere toys and it was fast that it would even make S-Class mages struggle.

Night Terror stood on the edge of the cliff and watched as the Misery lumbered out of the tree line. He tensed when he saw it raise its giant foot and slammed it down on the ground.

CRACK! BOOM!

The ground split open at its power and it shook so hard that Night Terror struggled to keep his footing.

Suddenly, he felt the cliff edge give way beneath him and he started to fall along with the rubble. He reached out and stuck his claws into the cliff face before he fall any further and held on tightly. The Phobos grunted as he tried claw his way back up the cliff only to see the Misery looming over him. The monster rose its mighty hand and slammed it towards him at breakneck speeds. Night Terror leapt out of the way before he could be crushed on the rock like a fly and used his shadows pull himself up and onto solid ground.

As the Misery turned his dome-like head towards him, Night Terror took a deep breath and focused on his magic; feeling every single fragment shade and darkness in the area and taking control of them. The Misery rose up and stomped towards him, but he paid little attention to it; he needed to focus on himself.

"Monster," he growled in a dark voice, waves of shadows begging to form at his feet, "Your mere existence is an abomination to nature itself. I have to destroy you here and now," the shadows began to grow and morph around him. It grew taller and taller; extending further and further into the air until it rivalled the Misery in height. The great shadow began to transform, grew scales, formed a giant maw with four sharp teeth with a forked tongue and two reptilian eyes that glowered down at the Misery, "SSSSSSHADOW MAGIC! BÌDEADH NATHAIR!" the shadow serpent roared and hissed.

The serpent coiled around the Misery from its feet around its body arms and up to his head. It tightened its black body around the Misery, restraining it from moving before it sunk its teeth into its shoulder. If the Misery felt pain, then it didn't show it. It turned its head towards the serpents head before it thought against him, pushing its arms against the serpent's grip.

'Damn!' the serpent thought as he felt its grip loosen, 'It is ssssstill sssssstrong even now,' the serpent's eyes turned to the cliff and narrowed in determination, 'Jusssst a little more!'

It opened its jaws and bit into its shoulder again before, using what little strength hit had left, began to push it towards the cliff face. The Misery fought back, but as more of the black smoke escaped from the grate-like mouth, the less of a fight it had left. It was a test of endurance between the two monsters.

The serpent sunk its teeth harder into the shoulder and dragged it closer to the edge. Ever inch closer was a struggle.

Closer and closer to the cliff they went.

Harder and harder they fought.

That was until they were just on the edge and the drop was mere seconds from happening. The serpent roared as it reared its head back and threw it forwards to strike the Misery one last time…

…but its jaws were caught before he could bite into it again.

The Misery had managed to slip its arm out of the serpent's bind and stopped it before it could strike. The serpent grunted in pain as it felt the Misery push him back, finally taking control of their struggle after everything. The monster pushed and pushed the serpent's head back, hoping to overwhelm him for the last time and finally defeat the Phobos…

…when suddenly…

"MARBHAIDH MI A NIS THU!" Night Terror roared as he shot out of the serpent with a broadsword made of darkness in his metal claws. He flew towards the Misery as the serpent disappeared back to where the shadows had come from, catching the monster off guard. He landed on the Misery's head and stabbed the sword into the grate-like mouth and used his remaining strength to pry it open, "RACH A DH'IFRINN!" he bellowed.

CLANG! BOOM!

As soon as the grate mouth came off its face, a jet of black smoke, several feet wide, shot out at such a speed that Night Terror was knocked off the giant monster. The Misery tried to cover its open mouth with his hands, but it was too late; he had began to deflate. Its head sunk into its body, its arms fell limp at its side and its body began to shrink quickly. It limp legs gave way and it began to stumble back off the cliff edge, falling hundreds down into the valley.

Night Terror took long deep breaths as he watched the Misery deflate into nothingness down below him; what was left of the behemoth was no more than a large piece of leather and metal which was strewn across the ground the forest like a giant carpet. He climbed onto his feet, wincing at the injuries had sustained, and stared at the defeated foe before a voice called out to him from behind him.

"Congratulations," he turned and saw Capricorn standing at the tree line with his hands behind his back casually, "that was quite a sight to behold."

Night Terror frowned at him, "Are you my next challenge, mister Capricorn?"

"Hardly," he sighed, "I should be more worried about your guild if I were you."

"What are you talking about?"

Capricorn hummed, "Well, you must have wondered the meaning I brought you out here. I was hired by your fellow guild member. Laxus, I believe his name was," he told him, making him flinch at his name, "I care little for his plans, but, by the sound of things, it is rather deserving of your concern. So either we continue our fight…or you can see what is happening back in Magnolia. Your choice?"

Night Terror took a step back in disbelief. There was not a single tone of deceit in his tone, but would Laxus really do something that would threat the Fairy Tail guild? A few years ago, he would have doubted it…but he has changed over the years. Grown more bitter and desperate by the day. The Phobos sighed reluctantly before he sank in to the shadows and disappeared in an instant.

Capricorn smirked and walked back into the forest in satisfaction; he brought out the communication lacrima from his pocket and put it to his mouth, "The experiment is over. Night Terror has left."

"And the experiment is complete," Faceless One drawled from the other end of the lacrima, "With interesting results. They will be a crucial asset in my research and development. You may leave now. And don't worry about the master, I'll deal with him at our next meeting. Until then, I'll be sending a cleaning crew to cleanse the area of the failed experiments."

"Understood. I will-"

Suddenly, something wrapped around his neck and tightened around his throat before it lifted him off his feet. Something else restrained his arms and legs, preventing him from moving. Through his sunglasses, Capricorn watched as Night Terror exited the shadows and stepped in front of him. He used his metal claw to pluck the lacrima from his have and turned away, leaving him restrained by his shadows.

He raised the lacrima to his mask, "Hello Muireall. It has been a while, has it not," he greeted in a cold voice.

There was dead silence on the other end.

"Did I catch you unawares?" he continued, "I assume that you hoped that I would leave; go and help the guild from whatever trouble there is and you can continue whatever you are doing; all without raising my suspicion on your presence. It sounds like a plan you would come up. Everything perfect and well organised right down to an iota; like a piece of clockwork that you have created, but you always miss a crucial part. People are not cogs in a machine. They are unpredictable, make mistakes, are unique; simply put, people are human…something you seem to be lacking in," he coldly said, "My guild will do just fine for now. They are strong on their own. I have more trust in them then I ever had for you," he gripped the lacrima tightly in his claw and held it closer to his mouth, "Now listen here. Whatever your plans are, I can only tell you to stop before it is too late. Otherwise, do what you want. I will not come after you. Because no matter what you do…it will not work. I will defeat you no matter how many soldiers you create and no matter how many plans you think of. I will not make the same mistake like I did when we were younger. Do you understand?" once again there was silence on the other side, "Good. I wish you luck," he said before he crushed the lacrima in his grasp.

He looked back at the restrained Capricorn and, with a wave of his claw, released him. The Celestial Spirit fell to the ground and rubbed his sore throat as he glared up at the Phobos through his shades.

"Now for you," Night Terror slowly said, "I have a preposition for you. Not for the Celestial Spirit, but for the parasite that resides within," he growled, "I have defeated your soldiers, I have defeated your monstrosity and now, since I am in no rush to return, I have a chance to defeat you. So, either you run away now…or we can fight. Your choice?"

Capricorn grimaced at the thought. He may have been injured and weakened by the previous battle, but he had no intention of stirring up anymore trouble then necessary. Besides, the way the Phobos was glowering down at him made him uneasy; the Fear magic that was radiating off of him chilled him to the bone. Seeing no choice, Capricorn shot onto his feet and retreated into the woods, disappear among the thickets in an instant.

Night Terror watched him leave before he sighed to himself, "Something is approaching. Something wicked."


Faceless One's Lair

Faceless One sat at her desk and stared straight ahead across her dimly lit laboratory; she had forgotten about the quill she had in one hand and the disconnected communication lacrima in the other and allowed them to drop onto the ground. Her eyes twitched and teeth were grit together; the dark veins across her face pulsated and throbbed disgustingly as if responding to her mood. She placed her hands on her desk and dug her fingernails into the hard wood as if restraining herself from releasing her rage.

Night's voice was unexpected. So unexpected that she had no idea how to react or think or do anything. And what he boldly said only made the wrath inside her build to it spoiling point.

In her head, she recalled what they said when they were children. Her mother had beaten her again and thrown her out of the house for coming home late. She had ran off to a nearby woods and cried beside her favourite tree; that's when he found her. He always came when she was upset.

'I don't want to live in this world,' she had said to him through bitter tears, 'I hate it! I hate it! I hate it! I want to live somewhere else where I'm safe. Where everything should be in its place. Where everything makes sense! I want to go somewhere far away where I won't be bothered or where I can't bother anybody!'

'Why can't you?' he had asked her, to her surprise.

'What do you mean?' she had asked him as she wiped the tears from her eyes.

She remembered that he smiled sweetly at her, 'Let's create a different world. If that is what you want then I'll help you. That way we can live together forever and you can stop crying. If that's what it takes to make you happy, then I'll help you achieve your dream.'

She remembered how fascinated she was when he said that. Him and her living in their own world where they can live peacefully forever…she had never wanted anything more in her life.

But now that memory was tainted.

"You…are…lying," she whispered to herself, "you…are…LYING!" she bellowed as she ripped the desk in two with her bare hands. Her began to breath deeply, her teeth clenched so tightly that they were on the verge of shattering and a single teardrop rolled down her cheek, "Fine…I will just have to work harder, make more soldiers, conduct more experiments, become stronger! My plan will succeed! And if you don't accept it…then I'll just have to break you."


Kardia Cathedral

"What do you mean he's on his way back!" Laxus shouted furiously into the communication lacrima in his tight grip, his usual confident smirk pulled back into a snarl, "You've got to be kidding me!"

"I'm sorry, Mr Laxus," the stoic voice of Capricorn said through the lacrima, "The agreement was for me to keep him away as long as possible. I have kept my side of the bargain."

"WHAT THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN DOING FOR ALL THIS TIME!? SAT DOWN AND HAD A PICNIC WITH HIM!? I NEED HIM OUT OF MAGNOLIA FOR MUCH LONGER THAN THAT! GET HIM BACK! ! DRAG HIM BACK IF YOU NEED TO!" Laxus roared, making Freed, who had been watching all this time, to flinch in fear.

As the battle raged on throughout the town, Laxus had been waiting in his base of operations which happened to be Kardia Cathedral. The cathedral was located in the middle of Magnolia, meaning he had a perfect vantage point to watch his plan unfurled…but things weren't turning out as they should.

Laxus sat on the alter step and gritted his teeth together in seething rage. Capricorn was supposed to keep Night Terror occupied for at least three hours; long enough for him to take ownership of the guild from his grandfather. But he wasn't ready for the Phobos to return just yet; he needed more time.

"I can't do that," Capricorn said, unfazed by Laxus' anger, "The Phobos is already on his way back and I have other business to attend to. Please don't contact me again. Farewell and good luck," the Celestial Spirit said before the connection was cut off.

Laxus roared and threw the lacrima across the hall, making it smash against a nearby wall, "BASTARDS! BASTARDS THE LOT OF THEM!"

Freed sighed and shook his head, "This is becoming dire, Laxus. First the female guild members are back to normal, then Evergreen is taken out, then Bickslow and now Night Terror we'll be here at any minute, There's no way we can continue with this. Perhaps we should-"

"We're not giving up!" Laxus yelled at him, making the green haired mage step back with a small gulp, "We've come this far…and we're so close," he sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose, "I'm not scared of Night Terror. I can take him on along with the other little shits in the guild. What's bad is that their moral hasn't broken. With Night Terror, the return of the female members and two members of my team defeated; those morons think they still have a chance in taking me on. Which means that gramps won't give up his title which is why we're doing this in the first place," he sighed, his dark eyes glaring down at the stone floor in thought, "There's no choice. We have to use our last resort. Is it set up Freed?"

Freed frowned in concern, "…It is, Laxus. But are you sure about this? If it goes wrong then the entire town would…"

"It won't go wrong. This will show him that we still have the upper hand in all of this. This will show him that we are not defeated yet. This will finally let him give up on his title and pass it on to me and I can finally become guild master," he snarled before a maniacal grin spread across his face, "Time to deploy the Thunder Palace."


Outskirts of Magnolia

At the tree line of the Magnolia forest, Night Terror appeared from the shadows and stumbled into the light. He grunted in pain and used his claw to keep himself against a nearby tree; taking deep breaths as he tried to focus.

"Must…get to…Magnolia," he uttered tiredly, "Have to…stop…Mister Laxus…"

He pushed himself off and limped down the path that led to the town, groaning and grunting in agony with every step he took. However, before he could get and further, he sensed a strong magical presence appearing, making him turn his head up to the sky. His eyes widened in shock at what he saw.

"What!?" he uttered as he took a step back.

Appearing out of thin air were dozens of bright yellow, round lacrima crystals. They hung in sky hundreds of feet up and surrounded the entire town in one large circle. They crackled and sparked furiously, every single one of them filled to the brim with magical power that could knock out even the strongest of mages. Nght Terror focused on what sort of magic was held in the lacrima; as soon as he discovered what they were, his eyes narrowed in anger.

Appearing out of thin air were dozens of bright yellow, round lacrima crystals. They hung in sky hundreds of feet up and surrounded the entire town in one large circle. They crackled and sparked furiously, every single one of them filled to the brim with magical power that could knock out even the strongest of mages. Night Terror focused on what sort of magic was held in the lacrima; as soon as he discovered what they were, his eyes narrowed in anger. They were bombs ready to explode; if one goes off then the others follow in its place until nothing but ashes and dust remained.

"Lightning," Night Terror spat, "Damn it, mister Laxus! What the hell do you think you are doing! You're putting everyone in danger," he limped faster down the path, but stopped short as a magical wall appeared in front of him, making him growl as he recognised it, "Mister Freed's Enchantment magic. What ever the conditions, I will surpass them."

He saw the words start appear on the barrier before him; its message making him take a step away in shock. It read:

'For those who possess Phobian Fear magic, if you enter Magnolia's boundaries, then the Thunder Palace will be released without delay. The entire town and all its inhabitants will be annihilated by the power of lightning…'

Night Terror glared up at the menacing balls of lacrima hanging over the town, threatening everyone with its destruction. However, before he could think of what to do, more words appeared on the barrier.

'…however, if the Fear magic user declares his allegiance to the Thunder Legion, then the Thunder Palace will not be released.

Join the Thunder Legion or destroy Magnolia.'

"No…" Night Terror uttered, "…I can't…"

But he then began to think of what was at stake. The hundreds of residents of Magnolia, the Fairy Tail guild, Makarov, Lucy, Natsu, Grey, Erza, Mirajane, Flare…everybody. His friends, his home, everything that he has built up for all these years…it will be all gone in mere seconds. There was too much risk. There was no way off destroying the lacrimas, no way of getting to Laxus, no way of helping his guild.

Either he'll set off the Thunder Palace or he'll be Laxus' puppet. What a cruel thing to place on anybody.

He bowed his head and sighed wearily, 'I…I cannot join the Thunder Legion. I cannot allow Laxus to win over me after so long…but what of the others. They will perish if I go in, but I can't just stay away,' he fell to his hands and knees as his injuries worsened, his teeth were bared and his eyes were shut tight as he dug his claw hands into the ground beneath him, "I…have no other choice…I am sorry everybody…but I have to join the Thunder Legion."


That's it for now, I hope you enjoyed it.

Sorry for the late update, but I hope this made up for it. See you next time.

Thanks for reading :)