Infinity War destoyed me emotionally
Anyway, it's been a while, eh? I got a cat in the meantime, and I passed my finals. My cats name is Magnus and he's around twelve, he's a tabby and a very good lap warmer when he's not biting the shit out of my hands. He likes to sit with one leg sticking out and he snores when he sleeps.
Otaku789, haha yesss! I plan to keep going, no worries!
Guest, baa baa black sheep, after this he'll need to sleep, have you any wool, he certainly is ever so cruel, yes sir yes sir, the lines between good and bad'll begin to blur, three bags full, maybe Lucy will summon a certain bull, one for my master, at least they didn't hit it with their blaster, and one for the dame, Jude's ambitions are rather lame, one for the little boy, this reviews fills me with joy, who lives down the lane, so long as you don't end up needing a cane! Ooh, those are some interesting ideas, thanks! Hmm, but how far back would we go? Rambunctious little kid? Angry but quiet kid? Defeated child? Ooh, maybe all of them.
Phoenix, yeah, a little bit eh? Hmm, perhaps not so much an accident… you'll see. Yeah, I would have loved to go. What a shame, haha. Oh yeah, I've seen Bungou but I haven't seen the other two, I'll check them out sometime! Ooh, those are some fantastic ideas! I can feel the inspiration coming! ;)
Otaku788(2), erk, Exams! Not A Fun Time. Thank you! I'd wish you good luck too but I'm a liiittle late. Just by a smidge.
Guest(2), Aw yeah summer vacation! Summer sure is great, isn't it! And hey, here's an update! Damn right it's Natsutime! Haha
Guest(3), who knows what Gajeels gonna do? Hmm... a real mystery, that guy. Yeah, honestly I can't believe there's actual real world people who will willingly do that to their children. Awful :( anyway it's really up to reader interpretation for any of the ships, as I'm not much of a romance writer, haha.
Phoenix(2), happy Canada day!
It was impressive how quickly the mages of Fairy Tail could swap targets, from the looming stone building to the purple wisps which funneled around them, chucking pieces of rubble and what might be spells.
Cana flipped three of her cards, and lances of electricity speared a line of wisps. Bisca and Alzac loaded their guns and took out more. Reedus painted weapons for those who's magic wouldn't reach upper targets, and Lavi created dozens of arrows.
It was a beautiful group effort. Makarov observed his children working together in such harmony for a few moment longer, before fully opening his eyes from the squint he had been holding. Mira immediately took up most of his view, as predicted, her worried face obstructing his line of sight.
"Master! We can't get Porlyusica, there's a barrier up around the town!" Makarov went to sit up, only to find himself pushed down to the ground again by her slim fingers.
"That's quite alright, Mira. Your old man has taken far worse beatings than this, I assure you."
Even so, she still hesitated, before helping him sit up and lean back against a chunk of stone, displaying the destruction that the Phantom Lord Guild Hall had wrought. Displaying the smattering of rocks and wood that made up Fairy Tail.
"Was anyone injured?"
"No, just you, Master."
"Laxus was injured too, by a man with the name Aria. He's a member of Phantom Lord."
Mira turned, and gave the unmoving Guild Hall a considering look. "They have someone that strong?" She paused, consideringly, and then turned her attention back to Makarov. "Don't worry, Master, we'll take care of it! You just make sure not to strain your injuries until we can reach Porlyusica."
It was then that a cry ripped through the air above them, and not one of the cries from the ghosts.
No, it was the cry of a warrior. The cry of the queen of the Fairies. The cry, of Titania.
A bright figure streaked through the sky, as she swapped from her Black Wing armour to her Heavens Wheel armour, smashing somewhere near the 'chest' of the Guild Hall, where a wave of blades carved a hole.
For a moment, there was silence, and then victorious cries echoed from those fighting the wisps.
But then the Guild Hall started moving again. A giant stonework fist crashed into the midst of the mages, and it might has squished a few of them if Elfman hadn't caught it at the last possible moment.
The muscular man strained, muscles bulging as they worked overtime to fight the weight of the Guild Halls fist. For a moment, pressure lifting for a moment before redoubling down. Those who were in the path of the fist had already scrambled out, but there was no opportunity for Elfman to escape. Mira could only watch as her brother was slowly crushed.
A few members did their best to ease the burden, wooden blocks rising from the ground, or swirls of fire and smoke trying to push, but most of the weight ultimately remained on Elfmans shoulders.
And then— and then. A miracle. The Guild Hall lifted its fist.
Mira got maybe half a step closer when the fist came back down, but not to crush this time. Or, not in the same way. Like a gambling might snatch a die, it grabbed Elfman, catching both of his beefy arms in one stone finger.
And Mira-Jane?
She screamed. She screamed for her brother who was starting to go limp, screamed for the home she had just seen crushed, screamed for the masters injuries, and as she screamed a dark magic circle spun out from under her feet.
As time returned to normal for Gray, it was hard not to notice the giant Guild Hall looming over Fairy Tail, looming over where Fairy Tail used to be.
The screaming he heard was followed by a violently bright purple glow, and even thought it have been years Gray recognized it.
Mira. For her to lose her cool like this, especially after so long, something had to be seriously wrong.
He was moving almost before he realized it, staggering into a run where only force of will prevented him from falling between one step and the next.
It just so happened that he made it at the same time as the Thunder Legion.
Mira stood apart from the crowd, the pure force of her magical power levitating rocks and wood, crumbling them as easily as one might crumple a piece of paper.
That same destructive power wrapped itself around her limbs, cloaking her in its energies until the only sign of their Mira-Jane they had left was her snow-white hair, and then that too was covered.
A second later, a demon stood in front of them, a tail lashing angrily, hair lifted by some unseen breeze, and a crack down her porcelain features.
It was sight enough to give even Bixlow pause.
Phantom Lord made plenty of mistakes that day. The most prominent one is they pissed off the fairies.
Lucy was a strong runner. She was no Jet, and Gray could outpace her on a good day, but she could keep a steady pace for longer than even Erza. Maybe that was why she managed to find Loke so quickly, or maybe it was the bond they shared as members of Fairy Tail.
Even so, she found him on the rise of a hill, hand pressed flat to the magic barrier that kept them in Magnolia, an odd look in his eyes as he watched a distant grave.
"I guess you're not giving up easily, huh."
"…"
"…her name was Karen Lilica. She was a member of Blue Pegasus."
"She was the one who-"
"I killed her. I wish I could bring her back, the only way I can make things right is if—" a sharp gasp of pain cut him off, as him image blurred for a moment, like double vision before snapping back into one place as he collapsed.
"Loke!" Breaking into a sprint, the celestial spirit mage skidded to her knees, just managing to catch him before he hit the ground.
"Guess it's my time to go…"
"What are you talking about?! Loke!"
"Leo."
"What?"
"Leo the Lion."
Lucy inhaled sharply as it clicked, just as he began to fade from view. Strange, shimmering purple magic covered him as he became opaque, revealing her skimmed knees. "W-what's going on?"
"I can't remain in your world any longer, Lucy. I've already pushed myself to my limit…"
"There must be something I can do! This isn't fair!"
"Of course… it's fair. It's only what I deserve…"
"Nobody deserves to die!"
"…you're a good mage. They're happy with you. I can tell,"
"Oh! Do you have a key? I can return you to-"
"No, Lucy. I broke one of the cardinal rules, there's no way I can return."
What even happened? I can't believe you'd kill someone!"
"She was going to force Aries to stay out, I could let her do that… I was just trying to teach her a lesson, I never thought…"
"You never thought what?"
"I never thought she'd try to go on a job without us…"
"That's not your fault at all!" One of her hands, one with a bright pink stamp on the back, slid out from under his head, fingers brushing the cool metal at her side.
"I should have been less stubborn… heh, guess this is my payment…" another pained groan escaped him as his figure blurred again, and for a moment Lucy's hand slipped through his shoulder.
"No. This isn't fair." Taking a deep breath, the celestial spirit mage set her shoulders.
"Huh? Lucy what are you-"
"Open! Gate of the Golden Bull! Open, gate of the Water Bearer! Open, gate of the Maiden!"
"Lucy! Stop, you're going to-"
"Open, gate of the Great Crab!"
"-kill yourself!"
"I don't care! Open, gate of Canis Minor!" Panting weakly, she fumbled for the next key, the drain on her magic making her see double. With a cry of frustration, she gripped the leftover keys on her belt.
"Open! Gates of the Celestial Spirits!"
And just like that, time stopped.
Lucy was aware that by this point she should be borderline comatose, with all of her spirits out at once. Instead she felt refreshed, like she had just finished a long nights sleep in her bed, or she had just stepped into Fairy Tail after a long job.
The huge shadow looming over them slightly dampened that feeling.
"You're… the Celestial Spirit King…"
"That I am, young mage. Tell me, why go so far for one such as him?"
Lucy paused to study the young man in her lap. They had never really talked before, with his avoidance of her and her disinterest. But there was still things she knew about him.
He dated Samantha for three months and cried when they broke up. He managed to outdrink Cana once, when he first joined, and didn't show up to the guild for the entire next week because of his hangover. He was a genuinely good guy, womanizing ways aside.
"Because he's my friend."
A wide grin slowly spread over the Spirit Kings face. "Right answer, little mage. Now tell me, why should I spare him?"
Again Lucy paused to take in what he was saying, shock very prominent. That such a powerful entity would change his mind on her behalf…
She didn't have the full story of what happened between him and Karen, and maybe she never would. The general unfairness of the situation might work, but her gut told her to try something else.
So she took a deep breath. Squared her jaw, squared her shoulders. Met the Celestial Spirit Kings gaze evenly.
"Because he is my friend."
Time resumed with a snap, and with a jolt Lucy realized Loke was gone from her arms. Instead, clutched in one hand, was a beautifully ornate golden key.
Clutching it to her chest, she took a shuddering breath before affixing it on her belt with all her others.
Brushing the dirt off her knees and hissing when she found new scrapes, the blonde jogged back into Magnolia, speeding up as the sound of screaming and crashes came from the direction of the guild hall.
What she arrived to could be described briefly as complete and utter carnage. The chest piece of Phantom Lord had been utterly caved in, smoke rising from the ruined mechanics. One of the arms had been completely torn off, the head was tipped back on a dangerous angle. As she watched a large double headed axe swung out from the top, and there was a mans shriek as it sliced through more support.
There were a few purple wisps moving in a hurried clump, as if it was trying to avoid spells that were no longer being thrown. There was a dome of ice that most of the Guild was huddled under which had clearly taken some damage from falling rubble, Gray repairing it even as it broke.
A large bald man with tears streaming down his face was being held down and beaten by the Thunder Legion, but no one really turned to look at that.
"Open, Gate of the Golden Bull!" She joined the fray with a giant axe of her own, this one slinging through the air from the hands of a flirtatious cow to smash through the remaining wisps.
Even with their guild hall ground into dust, Fairy Tail still stood strong.
After what could have been an hour or a minute, Erza dropped from the head of the Phantom Lord Guild Hall, or what was left of it, the Master unconscious, or maybe dead.
The last of the rubble fell, and everyone spread out from under the icy shield Gray had spun, a few going to pull the furious Thunder Legion members from the well and truly unconscious Aria.
Mira flew back to join them as Erza dropped Jóse, immediately joining her brothers side and checking him for injuries. Freed lowered the barrier over the city, and Jet took off to finally get Porlyusica.
All in all, things were calming down. The Guild Hall could always be rebuilt, after all, and injuries would heal in time.
Lucy ignored the sway of exhaustion that hit her as Taurus vanished back into his realm with a final flirty remark, picking her way over the gravel to join Gray.
"We made it through… I'm so relived."
"Yeah… hey, have you seen Natsu anywhere?"
"No, not since he first took off. He must still be around here somewhere…?"
Erza slammed a heavily armoured hand on Lucy's shoulder, still in her Heavens Wheel armour.
"He was taken by Phantom Lord. I failed in protecting him…"
"W-what do you mean he was taken!" Lucy screeched, turning to look at the Guild Hall that was slowly toppling backwards into the ocean.
"They took him outside of Freeds barrier." Said green haired mage jerked his head up at the mention of his name from where he had been berating himself for failing Laxus.
"This Natsu, he is a member of Fairy Tail, yes?" The frowned thoughtfully. "It shouldn't be possible to take him through the barrier. I wrote it so no one with Fairy Tails Guild mark could get through… unless I overlooked something?"
Erza removed her bruising grip on Lucy's shoulder in favour of hitting her fist on an open palm. "That reminds me! He," she pointed at Aria, who despite being unconscious was starting to look as if he'd rather be elsewhere, "did something to it."
"Hm. From what I saw, his magic lets him drain the magic of others," Makarov contributed.
Mira-Jane gasped from where she had been not so subtly listening in. "The guild stamp applies itself with magic, if that magic is tampered with in any way it'll disappear."
"Then that means… they removed his Guild Mark."
There was silence as the guild took this in, as the Phantom Lord Guild Hall finally tipped backwards into the sea.
"What does it matter if they removed his Guild Mark? He is still a member of Fairy Tail." Makarov said.
"Of course he is!" Lucy agreed, "there's no way we could just leave him like that! He's our friend."
Ah, oops, there goes Phantom Lord. Splaaaash. Let's just say this, Erza was fuckin pissed. So was about… hmmm… everybody. Anyway, next chapter we'll be checking in with Natsu! I wonder how he's been getting along with Gajeel… ~ShadeShadow