A small explosion came from the deep end of the forest. "Natsu!" Lucy yelled out to the fighting Dragon Slayer. Natsu was on the trees, hopping from branch to branch as multiple Shadow Dragon Roars fired off at him in rapid succession. Natsu placed his hands on the bottom of the branch, swinging off like a monkey as he aimed a flaming fist at his opponent, Takeru. Takeru pulled his own fist back, shadows covering it as he swung it at Natsu's, the two meeting and causing a loud shockwave to boom throughout the area. Both Dragon Slayers jumped back, glaring at each other. "Natsu!" Lucy repeated. "We don't have time for this!"
"I can't help it if he wants another beat down!" Natsu roared, charging Takeru recklessly once again, aiming a combination of punches and kicks. Takeru went on the offensive as well, aiming punches and kicks at Natsu. Both fighters' hits were getting through as they hit each other, causing a grunt of pain. They then jumped back, panting slightly.
"Hmph!" Takeru morphed into a shadow, traveling towards Natsu in a zig zag pattern to confuse him, which worked. Natsu's eyes could not keep up, and he was left open as Takeru appeared behind him aiming a high kick to Natsu's head, causing the Fire Dragon Slayer to tumble forward before rolling onto his feet, glaring.
"Natsu, calm down!" Happy flailed his arms around. "We need to get looking for those dark mages!"
"I wouldn't be surprised if he was one of them!" Natsu growled, facing Takeru.
"You're one to talk," Takeru replied, panting just slightly from the fight.
"WHAT WAS THAT!?" Natsu replied, flames instantly covering his body.
"Uggggh…" Lucy brought a hand to her forehead as she groaned. "I can't believe we'd run into a White Eclipse member here of all places…"
"Oooh! Dragon Slayers!" A male with brown shaggy hair and a red trench coat walked forward between Takeru and Natsu. "I love fighting Dragon Slayers!"
"Who are you?" Takeru asked, using his shadows to cover any open wounds.
"I'm Brent, one of those mages I bet you're looking for!" Brent replied with a smirk. "And I can't believe I came across Dragon Slayers. My lucky day!"
"He's mine!" Natsu and Takeru shouted in unison, pulling their fist back and swung it forward, however, Brent stuck his hands out, catching both of their fist.
"This'll be fun!" Brent then tossed Natsu and Takeru down a hill, and then jumped down after them.
"Natsu!" Happy quickly spread his wings and flew down the cliff after them.
"Natsu, Happy, wait up!" Lucy was about to slide down the hill when she heard an audible growling sound behind her, causing her to turn around slowly. To her surprise, a giant black wolf was staring her down, licking its lips. "WAAAAH!" Lucy ran off to the left, distancing herself from the large wolf. "WHAT IS THAT THING!?" Lucy shook her head, dismissing the thought as she pulled out a key. "Gate of the Lion, I open thee! Loke!" A bright gold magic circle appeared and Lucy's most trusted spirit appeared, Loke.
"Hey there, Lucy," Loke grinned at his owner, then turned at the giant wolf. "A wolf vs. a lion? Should be interesting." Loke said as he adjusted his sleeves, smirking. "These dark mages have all kinda pets, don't they?"
Natsu and Takeru were throwing punches at Brent, who was blocking them with relative ease. Natsu then threw a kick to his side, which Brent caught after it connected, giving a smirk. Takeru then rolled forward with a punch to Brent's face, causing him to stumble back and rub his face, grunting. Natsu charged forward once again with a flaming fist pulled back, only to be stomped by Brent's large foot, causing the male to let out a laugh. "HA!" An iron pole rammed into Brent's stomach, causing him to stumble back. "Gah!"
Natsu hopped up, looking at Gajeel who was smirking from the sidelines. "I HAD THAT!"
"No you didn't," Gajeel replied quickly as Patherlily and Happy flew in.
"Oh, more of you…great…" Takeru rolled his eyes as he regained his composure.
Loke rushed forward towards Brent's pet Wolf, using his Regulas to amplify the power of the punches he aimed to the Wolf's face. The wolf whimpered, as it was hit, then used its paw to backhand Loke onto the ground. Then raised its paw to step on him, but Lucy wrapped her whip around the wolf's paw, pulling its arm back, causing the wolf to fall onto its side. "I got your back, Loke, don't worry!" Lucy gave a grin as Loke stood up, dusting himself off. She then heard a faint shout, causing her to look around. "Uh…"
"Watch out!" Luke finally finished his roll down the hill and slammed into Lucy, causing her to fall into a tree. "Ouch!" Luke sat up, rubbing his head. "Watch where you're goi-…WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!"
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!" Lucy shouted, rubbing her head as she sat up, glaring at Luke.
"I'm on a mission, thank you!" Luke replied, standing up and dusting himself off.
"Did that mission include rolling down a hill and slamming into me!?" Lucy shouted in reply, fixing her hair as she stood up, huffing.
"No, but it would've been funny if you happened to get injured," Luke smirked, shrugging.
The Three Dragon Slayers looked up at Brent, deciding they should work together just this one time. They all sucked in a breath, firing off their respective roars right after, creating a huge funnel of flames, metal, and shadows that merged together, literally taking out half the forest. When the smoke cleared, Brent was in KO, and his wolf had been hit, also falling in KO, much to Lucy and Luke's surprise.
"Tak?" Luke looked down the hill, spotting his teammate next to Natsu and Gajeel. "Guess you guys are good for something…"
"YAH!" Without warning, Lucy tackled Luke down the hill.