(Edited 18/11/18)

(Edited 01/01/21)

(Edited 10/06/22)

I do not own Fairy Tail Hiro Mashima does.

Demons and Phantoms

/Erza, Gray & Ur's POV/

Explosions rocked Galuna Island as Natsu and Deliora clashed blow after blow creating shockwaves that sent debris flying in all directions. Erza, Gray and Ur made their way back to the village in order to protect them from the chaos knowing full well that the villagers had no means of defending themselves from such a colossal threat.

"That boy possesses an extraordinary amount of magic; to be able to go blow to blow against that thing it's almost unreal!"

"Natsu isn't an ordinary mage; he is the son of a Dragon after all. Try not to worry about Natsu too much Ur, he hasn't even entered the Dragon Force yet, he won't lose," Erza replied confidently only for Gray to shake his head.

"That's all well and good for you to say Erza but we can't just sit around and let Natsu fight all our battles for us," Gray sighed in frustration as he watched the fight.

"Gray is right; the two of you will never grow stronger if you don't learn from experience. After the last time I saw Deliora, I wouldn't have said this, but I think the two of you should help that man."

"But what about the village, they're in the firing line right now," Erza asked concerned for the villagers wellbeing.

"I may have only just been revived but I still have enough magic power left to place up a shield if anything comes towards the village, go and help your friend."

"She's right Gray, we should help Natsu."

"Been waiting to hear the two of you say that, what better way to start off our team than beating this bastard," Natsu yelled as Erza and Gray rushed over to him.

"We'll support you Natsu but you're the powerhouse here," Gray said as he assumed his battle stance.

"Yeah yeah I got it, don't hold anything back. From what I can tell this thing is stronger than Lullaby was by a pretty wide margin, so use all your power!"

"Human, you mention one of my brethren," Deliora's voice boomed as the Island fell silent.

"Finally got you talking huh," Natsu replied smugly which elicited a growl from the massive Demon.

"You are no mere wizard," the Demon noted instantly. "Your power is unusually high for your kind, therefore you have proven worthy to hear my voice. Now explain your knowledge of Lullaby!"

"That's a long story pal, short version is he's nothing but ash now," Natsu replied, holding up one of his ignited fists as Deliora sniffed the air.

"The scent attached to you did smell familiar, I do not care for the death of one of my own however, only that you may prove to be a worthy opponent to crush."

"Look pal, you've destroyed enough lives so I'm ending you here; this hasn't got shit to do about having fun."

"You humans are, and always will be, foolish. I am one of the strongest Demons of the Books of Zeref, you ultimately stand no chance.

"Look, I've heard enough of your crap, Lullaby said the same thing and he's a pile of ash at the bottom of a chasm and as for you, you'll be no different," Natsu snapped as he charged Deliora.

"Requip – Armor of the Brilliant Flame!" Erza emerged from the light with her Sword of the Brilliant Flame which was glowing a crimson red.

"Guess the sword knows what we're in for, Ice Make – Freeze Lancer!"

Erza took to the skies and examined Deliora for any potential weak points, watching as Gray's attack smashed against the Demon to no effect.

"He's got none Erza; he was designed by Zeref to be perfect. But that doesn't mean we can't make one!"

"Any ideas then Natsu?"

"Fire Dragon King's Quaking Sword Horn!" Natsu head butted Deliora and knocked the Demon off its feet. "I've got a few, but we'll need to work together to drive it back!"

"Draconian Pyrestrike!" Erza slashed the demon across its stomach with her sword covered in crimson flames, causing a gash to appear.

"Foolish humans, it will take much more to defeat me," Deliora roared as it rose to its feet and threw a punch at Natsu who narrowly dodged it.

"Gray, use your ice to hold it in place," Natsu shouted as he baited Deliora into attacking him by peppering the Demon's torso with fireballs. "Come on, just try and take me out!"

"On it Natsu, Ice Make – Chains!" Gray used his ice make magic to cover Deliora's legs in dozens of chains which prevented the demon from walking. "Whatever you guys plan on doing, do it quick!"

"Erza, strike now!"

"Draconian Piercing Talon!" Erza rushed Deliora at full speed and aimed directly at the Demon's left knee, piercing through it cleanly and shattering its kneecap.

"Come on Natsu, finish it!"

Natsu appeared behind Deliora and began to charge power, a sphere of chaotic flame mixed with Crash Magic slowly beginning to form in-between his hands.

"Dragon Slayer Secret Art: Quaking Crimson Lotus – Exploding Flame Blade!"

The attack immediately enveloped Deliora who began to roar. Loud explosions could be heard within the vortex of fire as the Demon was relentlessly hammered by both Crash and Fire Dragon Slayer magic.

Eventually, Deliora was knocked off its feet and was face down on the ground. Natsu landed next to the group, exhaling some smoke as Gray began to cheer.

"Holy crap we did it guys!"

"Indeed, it was quite the opponent," Erza replied with a sigh.

"No, it's not over yet," Natsu replied grimly as the other two looked over at the downed form of the Demon who was still in the process of being smashed by Natsu's last attack. "Not by a long shot."

"Huh, what are you talking about Natsu?"

"Gray, look! My magic's keeping him down but the moment the fires die he'll be right back up again."

"All that power and teamwork and it's still going, can this thing even be hurt," Erza asked in disbelief prompting Natsu to nod sharply.

"We've hurt it alright Erza, it can't stand as well as it could before thanks to that strike you did on its knee, that's our weakness."

"How do we kill it though?"

"I think I might have the attack for it but like I said earlier we need to drive it back. Can't do something as destructive as what I have in mind this close to the village, we need to lure it over there," Natsu said as he pointed towards the beach.

"Well, no time like the present, look who's decided to rejoin the fun."

"Human scum, I am Deliora!"

The Demon's roar caused the very ground to shake as Natsu, Gray and Erza quickly rushed back into battle.

"Ok we use powerful blows to push it back, Natsu you first," Erza barked as he launched himself into the air, coating his fist in another deadly combo of Fire Dragon Slayer Magic and Crash Magic.

"Fire Dragon King's Quaking Demolition Fist!"

"Gray, you're up!"

"Ice Make – Warhammer!"

"It's all on you Erza!"

"Draconian Crimson Sword Horn!"

Deliora began to lose ground as the three mages used brute force to push Deliora back until he was at the shoreline, the Demon digging its clawlike heels into the wet sand as it was further pushed back into the bay.

"This far enough Natsu!?"

"Yeah this should do it, when I give the word you guys need to run in the opposite direction as fast as you can!"

"Why?"

"Because this is going to be big," was all Natsu said as he became enveloped in a pillar of fire.

"What the hell's he doing!"

"Don't worry about that Gray; focus Deliora until Natsu gives us the word!"

"Get ready Deliora, you're the first opponent I've felt the need to use this form on since coming back to Fiore," Natsu growled as his appearance began to change.

Scales began to grow over his skin, his canines beginning to protrude from his mouth and his fingers becoming much longer along with his nails which in turn became pointer and sharper. Shedding his jacket just in time, a pair of crimson red wings emerged from his back that were covered in more of the same scales surrounding the rest of his body.

"Holy shit," Gray muttered under his breath as he looked at Natsu's rather horrifying new form. "Is that-?"

"This is the power Gildarts spoke of, the Dragon Force … unbelievable," Erza said under her breath as Deliora fully focused his attention on the monstrous magical energy source before him, no longer even counting Gray or Erza into the equasion.

"It's over for you now," Natsu said with a feral grin as he instantly appeared next to Erza and Gray.

"Holy shit Natsu, what the fuck even are you!?"

"The Son of a Dragon," Natsu grinned in response before passing his jacket to Erza. "Anyway … Erza, pick up Gray and take him to that village since it should be safe there."

"Ok, but what about you?"

"Relax I'll be fine, we've got him to the shore so he's done for now."

"Crisp him up extra good for me ya flame brain," Gray said with a grin.

Natsu grinned back as he gave Gray a thumbs up. "Go on I need to start creating the attack."

Erza nodded as she picked up Gray and the two began to disappear in the distance.

"Now it's just you and me you big bastard."

"You take me far too lightly human, my power is infinite!"

"That's where you're wrong. I've figured out your true weakness, one that you probably haven't even realised."

"You fool I have no weaknesses!"

"Being trapped within that ice all these years has done something to you, if I had fought you before you were frozen you most likely would have won however the ice you were trapped in has drained a great deal of your power as well as made your body much weaker."

"You speak utter nonsense," Deliora roared.

"Do I, surely you've begun to notice the cracks in your skin, the pain in your bones. You, Deliora, have been crippled beyond repair and THAT is how I will beat you."

"You speak as if the battle is decided. I am the Demon of Destruction you stupid human, there is no one I can't kill!"

"Maybe once that was true but as you are now your power is dropping rapidly, pretty soon I could push you and you could break. But I'll be fair and kill you in combat."

The Demon stared at Natsu in silence, pondering the humans' words as he began to slowly realise the situation.

"Are you prepared to die, Demon? Are you prepared to join all your Demonic siblings in hell? When you get there, tell them Natsu said hi."

"Cocky brat," Deliora roared as he threw a punch at Natsu.

"Fire Dragon King's Seismic Flame Elbow! Natsu didn't move as he allowed his elbow to make contact with Deliora's fist, causing the Demon to clutch its arm in pain.

"I-impossible … How can one human possess such strength!?"

"See what I mean, with one powerful blow I just shattered your arm. I won't torture you any longer though, this form makes me pretty tired but it's the only form I can use this technique in."

Deliora simply roared back at Natsu like a wounded animal, releasing a pulse of Dark Magic in his direction which prompted Natsu to take off into the sky. Once he'd reached a good enough height, Natsu began to form a spherical attack above his head.

"You Demons of Zeref always go on about how we humans are lesser beings, that we are less than the scum beneath your very claws! Tell me, Deliora … Tell me what you feel as you stare into the face of the scum that shall be your executioner!?"

"You … I will NOT be talked down to by some mortal brat," Deliora roared as he began charging a purple-coloured attack in his maw. "I will rip right through whatever pathetic attack you produce and prove that Demon kind are the superior species!"

"Just try it," Natsu growled as the now massive sphere began to emit small red pulses before beginning to shrink down. Eventually, the sphere shrunk to the size of Natsu's palm which led him to cock his arm back. "You ready?"

"DIE," Deliora roared as he fired a massive magical blast at Natsu's position only for the Dragon Slayer to vanish at the last moment. "WHAT-!?"

"The flames of a Fire Dragon burn hotter than even the deepest pits of hell," Natsu's voice cut in as Deliora's eyes suddenly registered the Dragon Slayer right in front of his face. "My Father is he who stands at the precipice of ALL Fire Dragons as its King, and this is his advent-!"

"This … cannot be," Deliora muttered as Natsu punched the Demon right in the centre of his face.

"Fire Dragon King's Secret Art: Seismic Nova Fist!"

The attack set off a mammoth sized explosion that engulfed the Demon almost instantly. Deliora roared but quickly found his body being ripped apart, the Crash Magic far stronger than the one used earlier to engulf him.

"So … this is how it ends," the Demon rumbled as it found itself blasted back into the sea, body crumbling away until only part of its head remained. "Lord Zeref …"

Natsu sighed as he reverted to his original form. It had been quite some time since he'd used it and was thankful he'd had time to recover since the Eisenwald incident. Had he been forced to fight a mage such as Bluenote before this, the Demon likely would've nearly killed him with Dragon Force being off the table.

With an audible groan, he fell onto his back and looked up at the night sky, eyes narrowing on the purple tinge to it. He now knew that the light was indeed unnatural, but what was the best way to go about dismantling it …

"Better destroy that soon, or else this island is gonna be permanently warped by its effects," he sighed audibly before rising into a sitting position.

"Natsu!"

Looking over in the direction of the voice, Natsu smiled tiredly as Erza sprinted toward him with concern clearly evident on her face.

"Hey."

"Seriously," Erza panted as she skidded to a stop next to him. "After all that, the best response you can come up with is 'Hey' instead of something to reassure me you're alright!?"

"Relax Erza, I'm not dying or anything. Dragon Force just makes me a little tired is all."

Erza stared down at Natsu with a warm smile. "Well I have to say I was quite impressed with that last attack Natsu, you completely vaporised Deliora. I can see why you wanted him away from the village too, the blast radius of that was massive!"

"Yeah Natsu, it was like the sun was out it was so bright," Gray said as he arrived with Ur.

"Yeah well it wasn't anything too special," Natsu sighed as rose to his feet.

"Tell me, you used Crash Magic in some of your attacks right," Ur asked as she approached Natsu.

"Yeah, I'm pretty good at Crash Magic. Why?

"The way you used it screams of that dick Gildarts."

"What's wrong with Gildarts?"

"What isn't wrong with that man," was her reply as Natsu, Erza and Gray could only nod their heads in agreement.

"Anyway, Deliora's dead guys so we can cross that job off the list."

"So it's finally over then," Gray said with a sigh.

"I understand this must be a big moment for you Gray, what with all the things Deliora took from you."

"It is, although we managed to get you back Ur so at least something good came out of all this."

"Yeah and we can leave once I've dealt with that crap in the sky. I noticed that there's a slight purple tinge to the sky, one powerful strike should crack whatever it is."

"We should probably deal with that before we go back to the village," Erza said with a sigh.

"Ok ok I get it I'll break it ok. Fire Dragon King's Roar!"

Firing the breath attack, it shot up toward the moon before crashing into something as cracks began to form all throughout the sky. Eventually, the cracks gave way as the purple tinge shattered, leaving nothing but a regular clear night sky in its place.

"That did it."

"You said it Gray, now let's get back to the village and get some food, I'm starving," Natsu said as the group began to laugh.

The group arrived back in the village as Natsu immediately dived for the food that was being prepared.

"Don't mind him, all the fighting made him quite hungry," Erza sighed.

"That is quite alright after all you all helped break the curse over this island, if there is ever anything you might need us for just say the word even if it means hurling out island at a Godlike entity, we will support you!"

"Like that'll ever happen," Natsu scoffed as he continued to chow down.

"There's still one thing I'm confused about though," Erza cut in. "You guys said that you were cursed to look like Demons, why do you still look like them now?"

"Oh, well the answers quite simple really, we are actually Demons. Our memory must have been affected by the curse; fooling us into thinking we were human."

"Well … I'm glad we were able to help out, sorry about the beach though."

"A small sacrifice to ensure the survival of our people, besides I'm sure you tried your hardest to keep the damage to a minimum."

"Anyway, we will need to return to our guild shortly so we must decline your offer for a feast," Erza said to Natsu's disappointment.

"That reminds me what are you gonna do now Ur, you've been gone a long time and things are a bit different."

"What are you talking about Gray she can just come back to Fairy Tail with us," Natsu said.

"I don't know, I've never been one for guilds, although since Gray was able to fit in maybe it could work."

"Well you can come back with us until you can decide on what you're gonna do, it's your choice."

"I have to say I'm glad Gray found some great friends like the two of you."

"Well he has plenty more friends back at the guild, also Gildarts is there," Natsu said with a grin.

"Let's get going," Ur said as she began to drag Gray with her.

"She must really be mad at Gildarts for some reason."

"Oh yeah, I can't wait to see this when we get back," Natsu replied with a mischievous grin.

"You know, I love seeing you have fun sometimes."

"Yeah, it's hard having to act serious all the time."

"Well you can relax when we're at home all you want because I don't plan on having either of us going on a job once the reward money for this comes through.

"Thanks Erza," Natsu said as the two followed Gray and Ur to the boat and made their way back to Hargeon with Natsu eager to see what ill fate awaited Gildarts back in Magnolia.

/Magnolia – The Next Morning/

The group arrived back in Magnolia after a long trip, making idle conversation between one another as they disembarked from the train. Gray was currently selling Ur the typical sales pitch to try and get her to join the guild when everyone noticed Natsu had stopped moving.

"What's wrong Natsu," Erza asked as she held his hand.

"Something's wrong with the Guild Hall, look."

"What the hell are those things sticking out of the building," Gray asked confused.

"The guild better not have trashed the hall again," Erza said annoyed.

"Again, your guild sounds like fun," Ur said with a smile.

Come on, let's get a closer look."

Once the group arrived Natsu, Gray and Erza were frozen in place. The entire building was completely trashed with dozens of massive metal spikes having ripped through the place rendering it far too dangerous to even risk going inside.

"Who would do something like this," Erza asked in disbelief.

"Phantom Lord got us good you guys," a voice said at the top of the steps.

"Mira, what happened?"

"Well, some guy from Phantom Lord attacked the Guild Hall last night; luckily no one was here at the time so no one got hurt."

"So where is everyone?"

"We've set up in the basement for now until Master decides what we're going to do," Mira sighed with a shake of her head. "Basically, we're probably going to need to come up with enough money to rebuild the place and Master has no clue where to start."

"Is gramps in there now," Natsu asked, earning a slight nod from the barmaid.

"Yeah, he's there. Though he's been drinking since he turned up to the guild this morning."

"Well let's go talk to him about this mess then," Erza sighed in an annoyed tone. "Figures something like this would happen when we're away …"

Mira led the group to the basement where the majority of the guild was seated; the usual spirit of the guild was notably absent with many of its key members simply nursing their mugs, a defeated atmosphere present throughout the room.

"Oho Natsu, Erza and Gray! You're all back! Oh, and who's this?"

"Hello my name is Ur, I was Gray's Master before I had to sacrifice myself to save him."

"It's a long story gramps," Gray sighed as he took a seat.

"Well, I'm always glad to meet someone who helped one of my children out. Just know that you'll be welcome here anytime should you wish to join."

"Thank you Sir, I'll consider that offer but in the meantime I'm looking for a closet perv called Gildarts Clive. Natsu here said he was part of this guild and I want to have a few …. select words with him."

"Oh my God this is going to be great," Natsu whispered to Erza as she struggled to suppress a giggle.

"So you know Gildarts too then, well you just missed him since he left for a job yesterday. He will be back soon though if you want to wait for him."

"I think I will," Ur replied with a hint of annoyance in her voice.

"Anyway gramps, I wanna talk to you about this mess with Phantom."

"Natsu there's nothing we can do about it, some punk kids came in here and trashed the place when no one was here. Tell me what does that say about them?"

"That they're not worth it," Natsu sighed as Gray piped up.

"Are you kidding me, these bastards trash our Guild Hall and we just lie down and take it!"

"Gray, the hall can be rebuilt; there isn't any reason to pursue the matter further."

"The hell there isn't, these guys need to pay for what they've done."

"I forbid it Gray, end of discussion," Makarov said firmly as he finished the rest of his drink.

"Well its late and we're gonna have a lot of work ahead of us in the morning, better rest up while you all can because anyone who isn't going on a job will be helping fix the Guild Hall."

"Gramps about the Galuna job," Natsu said as Makarov walked over.

"Ah, of course I take it the job was a success then."

"Yeah we killed the Demon, but between us I need to let you know something."

"What is it my boy?"

"Ur, this involves you too, so you may as well listen in."

"I assume this involves how I went from being ice to a human?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

"Well this should be good," Makarov sighed as he pulled up a chair.

"Basically while Gray and Erza were fighting the people trying to revive Deliora I went to try and take it out before it was revived but someone was there waiting for me."

"I take it from your tone you know this person."

"Yeah, it was Ultear Milkovich, one of the members of the Magic Council," Natsu replied, not noticing Ur stiffen up slightly in response to the name.

"Seriously, what the bloody hell is wrong with that Council!"

"Beats me, but she uses a Lost Magic called Arc of Time and she was able to reverse the spell Ur placed on Deliora to seal it away forever in a never melting ice prison."

"To be fair, my spell was never designed to deal with people who could manipulate time."

"Ur, your spell was never designed to deal with people who would want to revive a Demon in the first place," Erza said as Mira handed her a slice of strawberry cake.

"All these things aside the recent discoveries we've made about the Council are becoming harder to overlook."

"Gramps there's one more thing, Ultear mentioned someone who she was working for. Apparently the guy's name is Jellal and-."

"Erza nearly choked on her cake as Natsu mentioned the man's name, the trio looking over at her with varying responses.

"Hey Erza, are you ok," Natsu asked as he patted her on the back.

"Sorry. It's just I know who Jellal is, the man is evil," she said with a look of sadness and disgust.

"So who is he?"

"Well, this will only further damage the Council's standing but he's Siegrain's twin Brother."

"You've got to be kidding," Makarov said in disbelief.

"Unfortunately I'm not."

Makarov sighed as he thought about the situation. "Thankfully the lot of you brought this to my attention; we'll discuss this further once the guild is up and running again."

"Of course Master," Erza said as she stood up.

"Make sure the two of you get some rest, tomorrow will be a busy day. Also I'll send a message to the Council that the job has been completed."

"Thanks gramps."

"Ur do you have a place to stay," Erza asked the Ice Make Mage."

"Well I don't have a Jewel to my name so no," she sighed.

"Well guess you're staying with us," Natsu said as he walked past the two.

"Oh no I couldn't possibly intrude …"

"When you see our house you'll realise you're not intruding," Erza said with a smile.

"Well if you're sure I guess it beats sleeping on a bench."

"Done that enough times," Natsu sighed as he rubbed his back in remembrance. "And the smell … man!"

"You're quite amusing Natsu," Ur giggled in response as Natsu grabbed onto Natsu's hand.

"Come on, let's go back to the house Natsu so we can get Ur settled in."

"Wait right there Natsu Dragneel, you promised to tell me all about how you and Erza got together," Mira's voice echoed across the basement hall.

"Ah shit …"

"What's Mira talking about Natsu?"

"Hey, this is your fault Erza, if you hadn't of kissed me on your way out, she wouldn't have gotten the idea."

Erza sighed as she shook her head. "Mira, I'll tell you all of it over coffee tomorrow ok."

"Sounds like fun," Mira replied cheerfully as Natsu, Erza and Ur made their way back home.

The group arrived at Natsu and Erza's home and the moment Ur saw their house her jaw nearly dropped.

"This is your house, it's a mansion!"

"Yeah, that was pretty much my reaction too," Natsu said with a smile as he unlocked the front gate.

"I really want to work on that garden some more."

"Eventually Erza, one thing at a time."

"Ah yes that's right, you still haven't done any of the housework I asked you to do have you?"

"Nope," Natsu replied with a cheeky grin as he opened the front door."

"Welcome to our home," Erza said proudly as she gestured to the still somewhat barren entrance. "We're still trying to fill it."

"You can have free run of the place while you're staying here Ur, since you did practically raise Gray and all we can't not trust you," Natsu added prompting Ur to smile and bow slightly to them both.

"Thank you, the both of you. Um, where will I be sleeping exactly though?"

"We have several rooms upstairs you can choose from, though some may not have beds in them yet since we're still working on buying things."

"Yeah also I think Erza took several of the rooms and filled them with her armor sets so you probably don't want to sleep in any of those."

"That reminds me I need to check on those," Erza said as she rushed upstairs.

"Ok now that Erza's gone I can show you the one thing you must never touch."

Natsu motioned Ur over to the fridge and opened it.

"Any strawberry cake you see in here, never touch it ok. If you do, we will all die."

"You're kidding right," Ur asked confused.

"I said that to her face and she tried to cleave it off," Natsu said with a slight shudder.

"Oh … well … uh … that's nice. Thanks for the warning I guess."

Natsu grabbed a beer out of the fridge and sat down in the living room, a more serious look on his face as he motioned for her to take a seat opposite.

"I need to talk to you about your other student that you had."

"Wait, you know Lyon too?"

"I don't really know how to put this but Lyon was basically the one responsible for Deliora's revival."

Ur looked at Natsu and studied his expression for any hint of sarcasm of which she found none. Taking a deep breath, she sighed and ran a hand through her hair. Natsu couldn't help but empathise with her as he watched her try and block out the pain she no doubt felt from what could clearly be perceived as a betrayal.

"Why would he do such a thing?"

"Well from what I understand, he had this weird idea of avenging you by freeing Deliora and fighting it. If he had of succeeded in melting the ice then he would probably be dead right now."

"So where is he now?"

"Well, from what Gray said he's basically gone off to find himself. He knows you're back but said he refuses to see you until he believes he has made up for what he did."

"That's Lyon all right, stubborn as usual. Thank you for telling me this Natsu, hopefully Lyon finds what he's looking for."

"Yeah. When I spoke to him, he didn't really seem like he knew what he wanted so hopefully it all works out for him."

"Anyway, I think I'm going to find a bed and get some sleep. Being an ice block for over a decade can really take it out of you."

Natsu could only laugh as Ur began to walk up the stairs. "Hey Ur, just wanted to say I hope you do consider being a part of the guild, you'd fit right in," Natsu said with a smile.

Ur could only smile at the comment before continuing upstairs.

"Guess I should probably get to bed or Erza will have my head," Natsu sighed as he made his way upstairs to get some well earned rest.

Several hours later Natsu was forcefully awoken by a screaming Erza. With a start, his eyes shot open to find the Requip Mage forcefully shaking him.

"Natsu wake up!"

"Erza … what's wrong, are you alright!?"

"You need to get up and come with me, right now," Erza said in a no-nonsense tone that had him on his feet almost straight away.

"What's going on?"

"There's no time, just follow me," she replied, taking his hand and dragging him out of the house.

"Where are we going?"

"Magnolia Park."

"Why?"

Erza remained silent as the two ran towards the park making Natsu realize that whatever it was she was showing him wasn't going to be good. Normally she would at least tell him what the situation was, for her to opt not to meant that something really bad had happened.

When the two arrived at the park, a large crowd was gathered around the central tree with many sporting horrified expressions. Natsu couldn't quite discern what they were gathered around in his still semi-asleep state however Erza was already on the case.

"Everyone, out of the way," Erza said sharply as the various guild members and onlookers made way for the two S Class Mages.

"Alright whats the big-."

Natsu looked at the tree and his eyes widened in horror. Team Shadow Gear were bloodied and beaten, having restrained to the tree with the Phantom Lord's guild emblem painted on them.

Natsu felt his tiredness ebb away, rage slowly beginning to replace it as he began to look around to the various people gathered in the park. He grit his teeth when, upon a second gaze, he noticed there were other guild members present.

"Why the fuck have any of you got them down yet," Natsu barked as he released some of his magical power, frightening the citizens and shaking the guild members out of their stupors. "Macao! Wakaba! You two are veteran mages, why are you just standing there gaping at them like a pair of fish!?"

"Alright, calm down Natsu," Makarov sighed as everyone made way for the Guild Master. "what seems to be the-."

Makarov, who had just arrived, was just as stunned as Natsu. His eyes were wide as he eyed three of his precious children in such a horrific state. Clenching his fists, the old man struggled to reign in his own magic before looking back at Team Shadow Gear once more.

"I must second what Natsu just said," Makarov growled as a tear rolled down his cheek.

"Gramps, I know you don't want to start a fight with Phantom Lord, but we can't let them get away with this," Natsu hissed as Erza stepped up with a dark look in her eyes.

"I agree with Natsu, Master. Phantom Lord have gone too far this time, we cannot overlook such an attack on three of our own."

"I can take the insults, the bad publicity and even the destruction of our property. Things such as those can be regained. However, once you harm one of my children, that is another story. YOU WANT A WAR JOSE, I'LL GIVE YOU A WAR BY THE LIKES OF WHICH YOU'VE NEVER EXPERIENCED BEFORE," Makarov roared as Natsu knelt down and placed a hand on the old man's shoulder.

"Don't worry gramps; they won't get away with this, not after what they did to Levy, Jet and Droy."

"You heard the Master! Prepare to fight, we're going to take the fight to Phantom," Erza cried as the Fairy Tail mages ran to the Guild Hall to gather the rest of the guild.

"Hey, I want some people to look after Levy, Jet and Droy while we're gone ok," Natsu said to some of the mages who quickly went to assist Team Shadow Gear, getting the wounded team down as gently as they could. "Take them straight to Magnolia General, I'll cover the costs."

"Natsu, thank you," Makarov muttered as Natsu simply squeezed on the old man's shoulder in a reassuring manner. "I will make sure once everything picks up that you are compensated for this-."

"It's fine, I don't want anything in return," Natsu replied only for his eyes to change to those of his Dragon Force form. "Aside from Phantom crushed beneath my boot."

"They will be my boy," Makarov replied through grit teeth. "For now, we plan. Come sunrise, we take the fight to Jose."

"Natsu, I just heard what happened, we taking the fight to Phantom," Gray shouted as he sprinted into the park. "When are we heading out!?"

"Yep, we're gathering everyone to let them know what's gone down," Natsu replied as he rose to his feet. "Those of us who are S Class have to plan the attack with gramps so we'll likely be leaving later on this morning once the sun comes up."

"Natsu, Erza," Makarov said sharply as both S Class Mages stood to attention. "We have a battle to plan for."

"Might be a good idea to grab Elise for this, is she here," Natsu asked prompting Makarov to shake his head.

"She took several jobs right after you three left on the Galuna job. A shame, being practically raised by a War God and part of the Rune Knights, her insight would've been valuable."

"No use crying over it," Natsu sighed with a shake of his head. "You still have my knowledge at your disposal."

"That I do Natsu," Makarov replied with a slight frown. "That I do."

"Let's go back to our place Master," Erza suggested as the old man nodded approvingly. "We can discuss this in greater detail there."

The trio departed from the park, thoughts of battle on their mind as they began to strategize for their impending battle with their arch rivals, Phantom Lord. After all, they were a powerful guild in their own right and charging in blindly simply wouldn't work out in their favour.

Unfortunately, none of them could have planned for what would come.

(Edited 18/11/18)

(Edited 01/01/21)

(Edited 10/06/22)