Mama Mirajane-38
"Hey Grey, do you know where we're going?" Loki inquired of the icy nudist.
"Not a clue, but it looks like we're on one of the combat routes." Grey exclaimed as they reached a banister with the word, combat, written on it. "Looks like we'll be fighting one of the other teams."
"I think I see someone up ahead." Loki said.
Loki and Grey kept walking to where they spotted someone, and found it was Velvet sitting on the ground, picking flowers.
"Well it's about time the two of you got here." Velvet said without even looking at them. "I was wondering who we'd be fighting against. Looks like it's the ice stripper and the Celestial Spirit."
"Grey, I'm gonna have to take Velvet. Wendy is a Celestial Knight, which means unless she breaks the Celestial Knight code of honor, I can't actually fight her unless it's a sparring match." Loki exclaimed.
"I understand man." Grey said. "Now where could Wendy be?" Grey asked looking around.
"You're not gonna find her anywhere nearby. At least no anywhere your range of sight can currently reach." Velvet said, standing up. "I think I've given her enough time to set up."
"Set up?" Grey questioned, before he was hit by what felt like a rubber bullet. When he looked down at the ground to find it, he didn't see anything.
"You're not gonna find any bullets, rubber or led." Velvet smirked, turning to look at them. "Wendy's sniper rifle allows her to compress her sky slayer magic and send it out as fast and as hard as a regular bullet, but she's currently letting them condense enough to only equal the density of non-lethal rubber bullets."
"Damn, I forgot." Loki exclaimed.
"What exactly did you forget?" Grey asked as they both kept getting hit by air bullets.
"Wendy was trained for six months on the Celestial Armory's fifth level in sniping, by Lady Rin herself. We're dealing with a sniper of an Archer Class Servants Level." Loki said, before he was hit in the head by an air bullet.
"Explain to me, what that is later, right now we have to take her out." Grey said, creating an ice barrier to shield the both of them.
"What it basically means is, we're screwed if we can't locate her. But the shots aren't coming from outside the cave, there's nowhere for her to snipe from." Loki said, before he realized something. "She's behind us. She's using one of the stalactites to ricochet her shots to hit us."
Grey instantly turned around, sending an attack to the area behind them.
"Ice Make Buzz Saw." Grey shouted, sending the icy blade towards the location.
The icy blade hit the upper parts of the cave, causing several rocks to come falling down, but Wendy didn't come down with them.
"We figured you'd think that, which is why we went with a different type of strategy." Velvet said, slamming her fist and foot into Grey and Loki's faces.
"Oh yeah, well I do know one thing that will make her squeal." Grey smirked. "Ultimate secret art, eat a bunch of pickled plums." He shouted, pulling a jar of pickled plums from out of nowhere.
"EEEHHH." Wendy cried out, giving away her position.
"Seriously? You're a Celestial Knight, but you still get freaked out at the thought of pickled plums?" Velvet asked as before Loki K.O her with a single kick to the head. Grey used his magic to make an ice hammer and sent it flying to Wendy's position.
"I'm sorry Velvet, I just can't stand the taste or smell of pickled plums, not to mention the puckered lips that people make when they eat them." Wendy cried out, as she dodged the ice hammer.
"So she was hiding behind the pillar with camouflage." Loki said. "Grey now."
Grey popped several plums in his mouth, and his lips puckered from how sour they were.
"They're so sour that just the sight of them makes my lips start to pucker. This must be some sort of telepathy magic. I got to get out of here." Wendy said turning to run.
"The Zenith of Regulas." Loki cried out, using his Regulas on his own jar of pickled plumbs and pouring the whole jar straight into his mouth, causing his entire head to glow as his lips puckered.
"AAAHHHH." Wendy cried out, turning to run the other way, before she stopped with both Grey and Loki cornering her.
~Elfman and Evergreen's Battle~
"Hmhmhmhmhmhmhm." Mira chuckled, as she stood across the sandy beach area from Evergreen and Elfman. "Come and give me your best shot."
"You can't fight us if you can't move." Evergreen said.
"Nice try, but the last time you pulled that on me, Scythe made a charm that nullifies all the effects of all three of the Thunder Legions eye powers. Not to mention it's useless if I don't look into your eyes." Mirajane said, spreading her wings and jumping into the air.
"Good thing that's not the only spell I've got up my sleeve." Evergreen said spreading her own wings. "Fairy Machine Gun, Leprechaun." She called out, sending hundreds of tiny bullets at Mirajane.
Mira countered the attack, by throwing a darkness ball at the chestnut brunet, knocking her back into a large rock formation.
"No, Evergreen." Elfman called to her, before turning to his elder sister, who just stood there and looked at him without any emotions in her eyes. "C'mon Mira, do I really have to fight you?" He asked.
"Would you rather fight Scythe instead?" Mira asked.
"Good point, at least with you, I have a fighting chance of passing." Elfman said entering his Beast Soul Full Body Takeover. "I really didn't want it to come to this, Full Body Takeover, Beast Soul."
As Elfman threw his punch at his sister, Mira caught it with ease, keeping him at bay and in place with her strength, and her menacing glare. Throwing his arm down, Mira performed a front kick with a backflip, hitting Elfman twice, once with her foot, and the other with her tail, sending him into the same rock structure that Evergreen had hit against, but the green clad woman wasn't there anymore.
"It's over now." Mira said, raising her hand, and preparing to strike him down with an energy blast.
"No wait." Evergreen said, standing in front of Elfman with her left arm out. "You think you're going to stop me? I'll blow you both away."
"Before you do, there's something you should know." Evergreen said, with a confident smile, gaining an intrigued look from Mira.
~Back in the caves~
"Oh my head, what happened?" Velvet asked, as she woke up.
"You okay Velvet?" Wendy asked.
"Yeah, I'll be fine. Just need a few pain killers is all." Velvet said. "Anyways, what happened to us?"
"We got our butts handed to us on a silver platter by Grey and Loki." Wendy exclaimed. "After you passed out, they took advantage of my weakness for hating pickled plums, and kept tormenting me until I gave in and basically handed them the victory."
"Hey it's okay, don't feel bad about it." Velvet smiled.
"You wouldn't have lost if I had been your partner."
Wendy and Velvet looked over to see Mest walking towards them, hands in his pockets, and a confident smile on his face.
"What the hell are you doing here? You're not part of the trials, so you're not supposed to be on the island." Velvet said, picking herself up.
"I came because I had to see the trials playout for myself." Mest exclaimed.
"Says the guy with memory manipulation magic." Velvet stated.
"So you've noticed that huh?" Mest asked.
"I've only been a member of the guild for a few months now, and I had memories of spending years of time with you at the guild. That was a clear giveaway you're with the council, infiltrating the Guild. An' since Scythe is the next in line to be the Guild Master, and under King Toma's protection, that puts the entire guild under the king's protection. Do you know what that spells out?" Velvet asked.
"It means that if the King himself were to find out about this infiltration, then the Council members who agreed to this plan, would be forced to step down from their positions, and would be replaced with other members that would be hand chosen by the King himself, and Gran Doma would be arrested for abuse of power, even though it really isn't." Mest said, his eyes widening at the realization of the predicament the council made for themselves.
"Exactly. Going after someone under the Kings protection, is a declaration of treason and war against the Kingdom itself. Any and all who actively participated in this little charade would be put under surveillance and house arrest." Velvet said. "During my years of travel, I became quite knowledgeable in how the affairs of the kingdom work. So you might wanna call off the fleet of ships heading to the island to arrest us just for holding the S-Class trials."
~Second Round Meet Up Location~
"Grey, Loki." Lucy called out as the two stepped out through the exit of the caves. "I'm kind of surprised you guys made it through the first round. I mean, you were up against a Celestial Knight, and Exceed Martial Artist after all."
"Nice work, congratulations." Cana smiled.
"Thanks, but how'd you know we were up against Wendy and Velvet?" Grey asked.
"Cana and I went up one of the combat routes." Lucy said.
"Gajeel and Levy went through the serenity route." Cana added.
"Happy said he and Natsu fought one of the S-Classers. Juvia and Lisanna must have as well, but lost, since none of them are here yet. An' Elfman and Evergreen are probably at the campsite licking their wounds like Juvia and Lisanna." Lucy finished. "So, by process of elimination, we figured you two were up against Scythe's wife, and his Exceed partner."
"I told you. We were lucky to get the Serenity Route." Levy smiled, looking at Gajeel.
"Lucky? But I didn't get to beat up a single person." Gajeel stated.
"Wow we were the only ones who were able to clear the first round?" Grey asked.
"Hmm, where's Natsu?" Loki inquired.
"He's sitting right over there." Happy said, motioning to where Natsu was seating himself.
"He seems kinda down." Grey said.
"What happened to him?" Loki asked.
"It's a long story." Happy said.
"All right, I believe all our winners are here now." Makarov said.
"Oh yeah." Lucy smiled.
"Well, in that case these are the results thus far. Cana and Lucy defeat Freed and Bixlow in combat." Makarov announced. "Nicely done ladies."
"They beat Freed? How?" Grey shouted.
"Natsu and Happy surmounted the obstacle known as Gildarts, good job."
"No way, those two?" Grey shouted.
"Yeah, but I didn't really do much of anything." Happy stated.
"Levy and Gajeel chose the Serenity Route, well aren't you lucky?"
"Well I think it's sucky." Gajeel said while Levy held up a peace sign.
"Grey and Loki defeated Wendy and Velvet in combat. Way to go boys." Makarov said.
"Juvia didn't even make it through the first round?" Grey asked before reacting to a creepy look Makarov made with his face. "What's with the creepy look on your face Gramps?"
"Unfortunately luck was not on Juvia and Lisanna's side today. Their route led to, she who knows no mercy." Makarov said.
"Aw, that sucks." Grey said, understanding who they were talking about.
"So by process of elimination, the only other route would mean… they ran into Mira." Cana said.
"May they rest in peace." Lucy said, half-jokingly.
"I feel sorry for them." Levy stated.
"I could take her, but those two had no chance." Gajeel smirked.
"Don't count us out yet." Elfman's voice called out from the foliage of the trees. A minute later, the duo came through, with Evergreen supporting Elfman with one of his arms around her shoulders. "Didn't think we could beat my big sis, did ya?"
"Guess who's moving on to round two?" Evergreen added.
"My word." Makarov said, shocked that they had passed.
"How the heck did you beat Mira?" Happy asked.
"A real man doesn't, brag about his wins." Elfman said, after a moment of silence.
"Let's just say we took full advantage of catching her off guard." Evergreen stated.
'What's that supposed to mean?' Lucy questioned.
"Ahem, back to the trial." Makarov exclaimed. "As it stands, there are five teams left. Natsu and Happy, Grey and Loki, Levi and Gajeel, Cana and Lucy, and Elfman and Evergreen. Congratulations on passing the first round. Now that everyone's here, let's move on to the second round."
Happy walked over to his partner, who looked like he was contemplating a few things.
"Natsu, I hate to see you so down in the dumps." Happy said.
"I'm not. I'm just doing some thinking." Natsu said.
"You're thinking?" Happy shouted in shock. "You never do that. Be careful you might hurt yourself."
"Geeze, how little do you think of him Happy?" Lucy questioned.
"I'm gonna do my best, you'll see." Natsu said, a smile gracing his lips, before he stood up. "Grey, Cana, Levy, Elfman, only one of us is gonna be an S-Class Sorcerer, and that's me." Natsu said, with his signature smirk.
"Yeah right, there's no way I'm losing to you." Grey countered.
"Not gonna happen." Levy said, while Cana just smiled.
"Challenge accepted, 'cause I'm a real man, baby." Elfman smirked.
"Aw yeah, I'm all fired up now." Natsu smirked, igniting his fists with fire.
"Aye sir." Happy said, jumping to be eye level with him.
"I'm gonna do whatever it takes to make you an S-Class Sorceress Cana." Lucy said.
"Better hope you won't have to fight me, because I won't go easy on ya." Loki smiled.
"Hehe. Big talk for a bunch of wimps." Gajeel smirked, standing back to back with Levy.
"What the heck did you call me?" Elfman cried before feeling his spine crack with pain.
"Come on Elfman pull yourself together." Evergreen said, before the same thing happened to her.
"Well we know who's not gonna make S-Class." Grey smirked.
"Listen, I'm about to give instructions for the second part." Makarov said. "The next stage of the S-Class trial starts now."
After making sure they were all quiet and paying attention, Makarov began explaining what was needed to happen.
"To pass the next round, you must search the island for the grave of Fairy Tail's founder. Mavis Vermillion." Makarov said.
"I forgot she was buried here." Lucy said.
"An' we've got to find where that is." Cana added.
"Come on gramps, that's almost too easy." Natsu smirked.
"No joke." Happy chimed in.
"You have six hours to find it or you fail." Makarov said. "No excuses, is that challenging enough? Very well, Scythe and I will be waiting for you at Mavis's grave."
"Wait, why Scythe?" Elfman asked.
"Because the final challenge, will be to land a single hit, on either myself, or your future Guild Master." Makarov said, with a sinister looking smile.
"You ready? Let's go." Natsu cheered as he ran off.
"Aye sir." Happy shouted, following him closely behind.
~Cliffside overlooking the sea~
"Oh my, these flowers look really beautiful." Wendy smiled, kneeling down on the grass and picking some, while Velvet was watching over her. "An' it's so pretty up here."
"Careful Wendy, we don't want you falling off the cliffs and leaving Scythe as a Widower." Velvet called out. 'She might be a Celestial Knight, but she's still as clumsy as the day I met her.' Velvet smiled, before it vanished as Mest came back to them, putting a portable communications lacrima away.
"All right, I've spoken with Lahar. When the fleet get here, their excuse for docking at the island, is they're here for a rest stop during an open sea training drill, before finishing it back on the way back to the island. I've also spoken with Gran Doma. He was furious that Fairy Tail is basically untouchable now since the next Guild Master is under the Royal Family's protection, but he accepted it, knowing it would be more trouble than it is worth to fight the King on this matter, since he's the actual Monarch of the Kingdom, and Gran Doma is just in charge of magical affairs amongst the guilds." Mest exclaimed. "As agreed upon, this incident just stays between us, right?"
"You have my word." Velvet said. "Though I can't say the same for Scythe, since you targeted his wife as a means to an end."
~Fairy Tail Island Campsite~
"No way. Elfman and Evergreen said that they're getting married?" Erza asked, stirring a pot of food.
"Yep, it totally caught me off guard and it gave them an opening to attack." Mira said, rubbing her cheek, before Scythe handed her a piece of his Godslayer ice, with a towel wrapped around it.
"I told you they'd try using that trick to beat you if they teamed up and fought you during the trials. Did you listen to me? No. An' look what happened." Scythe sighed, untying the black apron he was wearing. "I said that they'd team up, and that they'd tell you they were going to get married to try and get past you. So far everything I predicted came to light. Honestly, you're supposed to be the parent here."
"How did you know all that anyway?" Lisanna asked.
"Well I might as well tell you." Scythe sighed, pulling a deck of Gothic Tarot cards from his pocket, all wrapped in a rubber band. "As a wedding gift, Cana gave me these Gothic Tarot cards made by Anne Stokes, and an instruction manual on how to use them properly, for fortune telling and reading the future. So far all I've been able to read of the future is to where Evergreen and Elfman beating mom with that cheap tactic."
"You could have warned me about that." Mira said.
"I did, but you chose not to listen. You've even seen me using these cards at the apartment in Death City a few times." Scythe exclaimed.
"I guess you're right." Mira sighed in defeat.
"Well, I hate to tell and run, but I've got to meet Master Makarov at First Master Mavis's grave." Scythe said, hanging up his apron. "I'll see you after the trials end."
"You know, now that I think about it, Elfman and Evergreen would make a cute couple." Lisanna said.
'Does everyone in my family love playing cupid? Might as well say hi to grandma and grandpa while I'm waiting.' Scythe asked before disappearing in a flash of light before he could hear any more of their conversation, entering the Celestial Armory. "Now let's see, where could they be?" Scythe asked.
"Ah Scythe, perfect timing." Rin said, startling him from behind.
"Gah, grandma, don't sneak up on me like that." Scythe said, calming down. "So, perfect timing for what?"
"We have a guest who wants to talk with you about something personal." Rin said.
"Hmm?" Scythe was curious about who this guest was as he followed Rin to the study, finding a surprising sight. "Touko?" He asked, recognizing the girl from his first mission as a Celestial Knight.
"Um, hey Scythe." Touko said, looking a bit nervous and upset at the same time.
"What's up? Is something wrong?" Scythe asked. "How are you even here?"
"She contacted us." Shirou said.
"Izzy called the Celestial Armory with the crystal thing your grandpa left the military during his last visit to my world." Touko exclaimed. "But what I'm wanting to ask you is kinda personal. If it's not too much trouble, could I live in Fiore with you and Wendy?"
"You're wanting to move to Earthland? But what about Seigi? Didn't you two become a thing after Wendy and I left?" Scythe asked.
"We did, but it didn't last very long. We actually broke up, and not long after, he went for one of Princess Aryabhata's sisters." Touko said.
"How long did this happen after your breakup?" Scythe asked.
"The next day." Touko exclaimed.
"Ouch." Rin said.
"So, please let me live with you and Wendy. The thought of living in a world of magic thrills me, and I can't stop thinking about all the adventures I could have with you and Wendy." Touko said.
"Well, if you're going to be living in Fiore, then you're gonna need to learn magic. I know a certain Ice-Queen who owes me a favor or three thanks to what happened at the MMA Battle Royal with Wendy and Adam." Scythe exclaimed. "But right now, we're in the middle of our S-Class trials, so you're gonna have to wait until after the trials are done. You can wait at the campsite with my mom and the others."
"Sounds good." Touko said. "An' don't worry about any family missing me, my parents couldn't care less even if I died in a ditch."
"Remind me to send Jack to her world to pay her parents a visit." Shirou whispered to Rin, who nodded in agreement. "Why don't you go to where you're supposed to be right now Scythe? I'll have Iskandar bring Touko to the campsite."
"All right." Scythe said, before disappearing in a flash of light.
Reappearing in the area where Master Mavis's grave was, Scythe saw Master Makarov sitting there in front of the grave stone, waiting.
"There you are my boy. It's about time you go here." Makarov said.
"Sorry I got held up with something important and…" Scythe stopped in his tracks, when he felt a deathly presence wash over part of the island. It wasn't a big part of the island, and it was on the other side of where they were, but he could still feel its massive energy from there. 'I've felt this strange presence before. But it's more menacing than it was when I first felt it.'
"So you felt it to I take it?" Makarov asked.
"I did." Scythe nodded.
"That's the second one to happen within minutes of following the first." Makarov said. "I'm afraid if this keeps up, we'll have to postpone the S-Class trials."
"Delaying that isn't an option. This presence isn't just the work of some Dark Guild looking to try and take the island for themselves." Scythe exclaimed, remembering where he felt that presence before, as images of the night he was rescued from the depths of the ocean came to the forefront of his mind, and the man in black with them.
"Then who are we dealing with my boy?" Makarov asked.
"The Black Wizard Zeref." Scythe exclaimed. "He's here on the island. I recognize that magic anywhere."
"Then we must postpone the trials immediately." Makarov said.
~Wendy and Velvet's Cliffside~
"You felt that too right?" Mest asked Velvet.
"I did. Wendy doesn't seem to be paying too much attention to it though." Velvet said. "It seems that there's another outsider on Fairy Tail's sacred ground. An' given the dark nature of that magic pulse, it just might be who I'm thinking it is."
"If it is, I should report it. Fairy Tail won't be held responsible for harboring him, if I explain to Lahar that he's an unwelcomed guest on Tenrou Island." Mest explained.
"We don't have any definitive proof yet, let's just wait and see until we're completely sure." Velvet said.
~Gajeel and Levy's Location~
ROAR…
"Think you can scare me?" Gajeel shouted, beating up the giant island creature that was in his and Levy's way. "You got another thing coming."
"Come on Gajeel, you've beaten the poor thing up enough, let's just get going." Levy said as they left.
"I don't understand the point of this stupid trial, how does picking a route, or finding a grave prove your strength to anyone?" Gajeel questioned.
"Would you shut up?" Levy shouted at him.
"I only came to this island so I could, have a chance to beat up Erza or Salamander. Walking through caves, and fighting over sized lizards is not my idea of time well spent." Gajeel grumped.
"Oh, so it wasn't to help me get S-Class?" Levy inquired.
"Huh? Why are you getting all bent out of shape, short stuff?" Gajeel questioned.
"You just said, the only reason you're here, is so you can beat up our friends, you don't seem to care about me at all." Levy exclaimed. "I'm right aren't I?"
"Aw, is someone feeling left out?" Gajeel asked. "So you wanna get my attention, is that it half-pint? In that case all you gotta do is get strong enough to actually be a challenge for me." Gajeel said, patting her on the head like she was some grumpy child.
"What you're saying is I'll never be up to the task, because I'm too weak." Levy said, sounding hurt.
"Not that this ain't fun, but you've got more important things to do than get all GAAAHHH…" Gajeel cried out as Levy smacked him in the face with her book bag and ran off.
"Fine who needs you, you iron hearted jerk?" Levy shouted.
"What just happened?" Gajeel asked falling to the ground.
"You just got your ass handed to you by Levy." Scythe said, appearing in front of the iron eater in a flash of light.
"Scythe, what are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be at the grave?" Gajeel asked.
"I came to relay some bad news. The Black Wizard Zeref has been detected on the island, so the trials are to be postponed." Scythe said, helping him up. "I'm going to all the other teams to alert them of the situation. You were the closest so I figured I'd tell you first."
"Thanks. I'll be sure to run after half-pint and let her know." Gajeel said.
"Oh, and one more thing." Scythe said. "Apologize to Levy, and stop calling her half-pint, she likes you, and I'm pretty sure you feel the same about her." Scythe smiled, before disappearing, narrowly avoiding a punch from a flustered Gajeel.
"Oh that little punk, I'll get him back for…"
"AAAHHH."
Gajeel's head snapped to where the scream came from and found it was coming from the direction Levy ran off in.
"I'm coming hold on." Gajeel cried out as he went running as fast as he could.
Arriving to the area, Gajeel instinctively blocked a sword strike from a humanoid goat in Samurai armor, by turning his arm into iron, while also slamming an Iron Dragon's Club, in the face of a humanoid chicken holding Levy down.
"It's tough to keep track of ya if you run off on your own kid." Gajeel said a serious look on his face. "Seriously, don't leave my side again. So, who are your new pals?"
"They aren't any friends of mine." Levy said.
Gajeel gave the goat man a good look, and his eyes shrank in anger when he recognized the crest on his chest plate. Levy's reaction was a mix of fear and anger when she saw the emblem on the chicken man's feathers.
"Grimoire Heart?" She questioned. "I don't understand why anyone from a dark guild would be here."
"Grimoire Heart." Gajeel growled, his hair standing on end, as his pupils were so tiny they were practically non-existent. "You are the bastards, who enslaved Scythe and Miia, and experimented on them. My little bro, and little sis."
Levy looked at Gajeel, and saw his body becoming covered in iron dragon scales as his fangs were practically growing sharper.
"Gajeel." She said shocked.
"I'm gonna make you bastards pay for that. I swear it on my very life." Gajeel shouted, lunging at the goat.
The goat man wasn't even able to react before Gajeel chomped down on his blade, and shattered it, before his armor was grabbed and he was thrown into his companion. The iron Dragonslayer was on a rampage for blood, and he was gonna get it. Meanwhile, Levy was watching from the sidelines as her partner was having a field day.
'Gajeel… you really do care about Scythe and Miia don't you? You actually see them as your family, as your little brother and sister.' Levy thought, seeing the tears streaming down his face. 'Those tears aren't for you, they're for Scythe and Miia, and all the pain they were forced to endure while enslaved by Grimoire Heart. You're crying for them.'
"YOU BASTARDS ARE GONNA BURN IN HELL." Gajeel shouted taking a roaring stance. "IRON DRAGON: ROAR."
Gajeel's attack was filled with all his rage, and malice. His hatred for Grimoire Heart was fueling his body at that moment, which also increased his magical abilities temporarily, as he let out the biggest roar he's ever unleashed. Upon impact, the chicken and the goat were downed for good, as steam was rising from Gajeel's body as his iron scales retracted into his skin. The dust from the attack cleared to reveal a gruesome sight to horrifying for words.
"If Grimoire Heart is here, then they must be after Zeref and Scythe." Gajeel said, taking a knee to catch his breath.
"Zeref? What does he have to do with them being here? Scythe I get, because he was experimented on to be Grimoire Heart's ultimate weapon, but why Zeref?" Levy asked, coming to his side.
"After you ran off, Scythe came to me, telling me that that trials were postponed due to Zeref being detected on the island." Gajeel exclaimed.
"That's not good." Levy exclaimed.
"Gajeel, Levy."
The duo looked up to see Erza and Juvia running towards them, concerned looks on their faces.
"Juvia, Erza." Levy cried out.
"Scythe told us about the trials postponing. We came out looking for Velvet and Wendy since they never made it to the campsite." Erza exclaimed. "What happened here?"
"It's Grimoire Heart." Gajeel said. "They're on the island. Most likely looking for Zeref."
"Not good." Erza said, reequipping a flare. "We must prepare for a greater attack. If those two are here, then it's most likely they are just scouts."
"If they're the scouts, then it's most likely the Seven Kin of Purgatory are on their way to. Remember what Scythe told us about them? Each one symbolizes the seven mortal sins. An' if that's the case, Mirajane is gonna have to remove that seal on Scythe's power she put on it before the MMA Battle Royal." Gajeel exclaimed, as Levy helped him to stand up.
"If Scythe is seeing the flare, then it he's probably already looking for Wendy and Velvet. That leaves us to look for Grey, Loki, Cana, and Lucy. If they're following the rules, they're most likely heading for the emergency rendezvous campsite." Erza exclaimed reequipping into her normal armor.
"What do you want us to do?" Levy asked.
"I want you and Gajeel to head to our base camp. Mirajane and Lisanna are there waiting for everyone to come by." Erza said.
"Got it." Gajeel said. "Also, if you should run into Scythe again, let him know Grimoire Heart is here, and they're looking for a fight."
"I will." Erza stated.
~Wendy and Velvet's Location~
"Hey what is that?" Wendy asked, looking at the red signal flare in the sky. "Do you know what that red signal is supposed to mean?"
"No it can't be…" Velvet said, in disbelief. "It means there's an enemy attack."
"Wendy."
Wendy and Velvet looked over their shoulders to see Pantherlilly and Carla flying towards them.
"About time you two got here." Velvet said as the two other Exceeds landed on the ground.
"Uh what's going on?" Mest asked, before he was pushed back against a giant rock, with Lilly punching it, having returned to his Edolas form, standing two feet taller than Velvet.
"Whoa, easy big guy." Velvet said, trying to keep her inner feelings down. 'OMG Pantherlilly is so hot in his Edolas musclebound form.' She squealed internally. "He's a member of the magic council, I've already taken care of things."
Mest's eyes widen as he feels the presence of someone there, and about to use a strong attack, aimed at Wendy. Using his magic, Mest vanishes from Pantherlilly's presence and reappears in front of Wendy, grabbing her and jumping out of the way.
"Get down now." Mest cries out, before a large explosion went off.
Mest makes his way through the smoke, and disappears with Wendy, in his arms, while Lily and Velvet jump into the air, spreading their wings, with Carla wrapped in Lilly's arms.
"An attack?" Pantherlilly questioned.
"Over there." Velvet called to him, spotting where Mest and Wendy were located.
"What's going on here?" Lily questioned, before a string of explosions separated the Exceeds from the humans, creating a trench not that wide, but plenty deep.
"Who are you? Show yourself." Mest cried out in anger, while still holding Wendy.
The trench lead all the way to a tree that was standing on the Cliffside. There was a moment of silence before the form of a man's face started to push itself out of the bark, and looked at the five of them.
"Impressive. Your senses are quite sharp." The man in the tree complimented.
"The tree attacked us?" Carla asked.
"Out. Come and face us." Lily exclaimed.
"I'm from Grimoire Heart, name's Azuma. I'm one of the Seven Kin of Purgatory."
"Azuma?" Wendy questioned.
"You know him Wendy?" Lily asked.
"No, but Scythe does. He would use Scythe for target practice whenever he was bored, during Scythe's time enslaved by Grimoire Heart. He warned me about all seven of that guilds top fighters, and he's one of them." Wendy explained.
"So that's what the flare was. Someone must have run into more of these freaks." Mest exclaimed.
"Hmhmhm. A bit late to be worrying about your friends." Azuma chuckled.
"How dare you. What exactly is going on here?" Lily questioned.
"I thought if I was gonna find any dirt on the Fairy Tail guild, the most logical place would be to start here." Mest exclaimed. "It's sacred burial ground." That earned him a growl from Lily. "But to find Zeref and Grimoire Heart as well, talk about hitting the jackpot. Must be my lucky day."
"Zeref?" Wendy questioned.
"Just who are you?" Carla questioned.
"He works for the magic council. He infiltrated our ranks to gather intel that'll bring Fairy Tail down for good. His name is Doranbolt, and given his tone. I'd say he's planning on reporting to his superiors, and falsely accuse us of aligning ourselves with Grimoire Heart and Zeref, just so he can line his pocket with a promotion, and a higher pay out." Velvet stated.
"Very interesting." Azuma smiled.
"But I've caught a much bigger fish now. To think the ever illusive Grimoire Heart would just fall into my lap out of nowhere." Doranbolt exclaimed with a laugh. "If I take them out, my career is as good as made."
"I'm assuming the council's custody enforcements unit's battleships are already nearing the beaches of our sacred ground?" Velvet questioned.
"Once the Dark Guild makes landfall it'll be game over for them." Doranbolt finished. "This is a crackdown, today the devil's heart stops beating for good."
"Those battleships. They look so fragile from here." Azuma said, now standing out of the tree up to his knees.
There was a massive explosion as all the battle ships were hit with Azuma's attack, without him even looking.
"No, all of those people." Wendy gasped.
"The ships…" Doranbolt said in disbelief as the light of the explosion cleared showing most of the ships were sunk.
"But how?" Lily asked.
"If you're done talking, I'd like to get to work destroying everyone here." Azuma said, pulling himself out of the tree fully. "Right now."
"Everyone stand back." Lily said, getting in front of the others.
"No Lily."
Everyone turned their heads to see Scythe was walking up to them, his eyes covered by the shadow of his bangs, as he cracked his neck.
"I'll take him on. I have a personal score to settle with all of Grimoire Heart's Seven Kin of Purgatory." Scythe said. "I originally came here to tell you all about the trials being postponed, but after seeing that flare, I knew I had to hurry."
"Oh, if it isn't my favorite moving target." Azuma smirked with a chuckle. "Have you decided to return to Grimoire Heart, and become our weapon like you were meant to be?"
"Scythe wait…"
"Don't Lily." Velvet said, stopping him from interfering with Scythe as the Etherion Godslayer walked past him. "He needs this. He's been holding his anger for Grimoire Heart in for months now. He's got a past with the entire Dark Guild, one he needs to deal with, on his own. So unless he asks for help, we can't intervene."
"Velvet I can't just…"
"It'll be fine Lily." Scythe said. "I don't plan on losing to them. I plan on obliterating them once and for all, OFF THE FACE OF THIS PLANET." Scythe shouted throwing a punch, which hit Azuma in the stomach, causing him to bend over from the force.
'His strength… it's off the charts… I didn't even see his attack coming. He wasn't this powerful when he was in our custody… where did this strength come from?' Azuma questioned as he stepped back from Scythe's hit.
"He's not using any of his magic. But why?" Carla asked.
"Isn't it obvious?" Doranbolt inquired. "He won't use what Grimoire Heart gave him, unless it's needed. He's only going to use his Celestial Strength and Speed to take down Grimoire Heart, for as long as he can."
"You… little brat… that was a cheap shot." Azuma growled as he glared at Scythe.
"Four hundred thousand, five hundred and seventy five." Scythe said, confusing the others. "That's how many people, you alone have killed since joining Grimoire Heart, Azuma. I know the exact amount of people that each of the Seven Kin have slaughtered, mercilessly, and without an ounce of remorse. Your reign of terror ends here." He said, taking a battle stance.
"Bring it on you pathetic little waste of space." Azuma cried out. "I'll make you regret turning Grimoire Heart into you enemy."