Author's Note: Oof, it's only a month into the year, but it's been rough. Very, very rough. I'm going to try and post another chapter soon since I missed January, but now I'm also not sure how well I edited this... Welp, let me know if you see any major continuity issues.

Thanks for all your comments! They're truly heartwarming to read.

Branded by HawkofNavarre

Chapter 16

Confrontation

It only took seconds for them to react once they realized their Master had shrunk down to normal size again-and not by choice. The blindfolded Phantom Lord member, imposing with his towering figure even in the absence of magic, was standing behind Makarov with his hand stretched forward. Laxus was practically radiating electricity only steps away.

Gray could tell Juvia was slightly winded from controlling a wave that size, but she was already preparing her next attack. Scrambling to stop her, he created a dome of ice around her to buy some time. He needed to get closer to her while his guildmates were occupying the other members of the Element 4.

He flinched as a sword nearly came down and sliced him down the side, but Erza had his back. She appeared beside him to block the blow with her own blade. Laxus, who would be by far the most useful in a fight against Juvia, was engaged in a fight with the largest member of the Element 4 in protection of his grandfather and Cana was busy with that annoying guy with the accent. As he'd predicted, cracks began forming in the dome as quickly as he'd made it.

Gray slammed the side of his fist against his palm as he sprinted forward. Cracks had completely overtaken the ice now and it didn't take a genius to realize it wasn't going to last. Stopping abruptly, just before it burst, he pressed his hands on the ground to make a wall, which successfully redirected the rush of water. However, his one triumph didn't last long. A piercing jet of water sliced his wall clean in half, the top piece crashing into the ground after sliding off its perch.

His eyes met Juvia's, solid black cold and hard, lacking their usual warmth and desire for affection. They would fight until one or both of them couldn't get back up. He should have known this would be the outcome the moment they'd met.

He'd experienced enough of her magic to know that she had the upper hand physically (which had sort of a silver lining; he really didn't think he could stomach punching her in the face), but he had to try to match her somehow. With her body's properties, his usual strategy wasn't going to work.

Knowing that didn't do him any good when she was so quick to make her next move. Before he could even think about what he might want to do, jets of water were already headed his way and there was nowhere to run.

"Ice make: Shield!" Gray threw the magic forward just as hers reached him, but it had only cut the effectiveness of her attack in half. The water absolutely shredded the shield and he grunted as shallow lacerations formed all over his body.

Juvia really wasn't pulling any punches. She was already preparing another strike as his brain flew through strategies amongst the fog of stinging pain. If physical attacks weren't going to work, he was going to have to counter with magic. A twisted blast of water came at him and this time, he stood his ground. Maybe it was time to take something out of Natsu's playbook.

Her water could pierce his ice, so all he had to do was prevent that possibility. Gray braced himself as the blast reached his hands and froze it before it could hit him. He caught a glimpse of her face, her wide eyes indicating that he was definitely onto something here. As an S-class mage of a rather reputable guild, it was possible she'd never seen someone stop her attack before.

"You… You froze my water…?" Juvia's voice trembled in quiet disbelief. "No matter. Juvia will not allow it to happen a second time."

She might not allow it, but it was the only way he was going to beat her. The next water blast wasn't as easy to counter as the first, flinching as the spray scalded him when he faced it head on, but that just meant he needed to make it colder.

When the water shattered into thousands of cold, icy shards, Juvia looked livid. Wisps of steam rolled off her shoulders, curling away into the air. It was an aspect of her magic that he hadn't witnessed before. Her emotions were running wild and that was fueling the heat literally radiating from her body. It was impressive, really. The water she conjured had to be boiling temperature, but she managed to keep it from evaporating. She really was something else…

However, it certainly wasn't the right moment to be marveling at her talent as a mage. A failure to freeze her attack resulted in a burn on the side of his arm and he grimaced. It wasn't enough.

This wasn't just a fight for her, he realized. Juvia had been lied to so many times by both him and the man she thought she loved. Realistically, he knew it was kind of ridiculous that she didn't hate his guts right now, and given the state of the slave ship slowly washing its way out of the harbour as it took on water, Gray couldn't confidently say her (ex?) boyfriend had received quite the same fortune when it came to her. Before, she'd been putting her heart before her guild, but now things had changed. This battle was about her pride as a mage of Phantom Lord and proof of her strength. The truth had not torn her down and neither would he.

But the last thing Gray wanted to do was tear her down. Especially now, with their guilds at odds, all he wanted to do was get her to understand. Words were futile when she wouldn't listen. If he wanted to get through to her, he had to match her resolve.

Determined to get on the offensive, he channeled his magic into his fingertips as he advanced. Juvia challenged him every step of the way. Bullets of water were transformed into harmless flakes of ice until he was standing barely an arm's length before her. He was close now and she was all too aware of that. He spotted his opening and went for it.

Gray knew she didn't have to lift a finger to use her magic effectively, so when she held her hand forward, it meant she was serious about ending this. He gritted his teeth as he took her attack head on, pressing on even when the impact knocked the wind out of him. It was harder than any punch he'd ever sustained and he was almost certain he felt a couple of his ribs break, but he found his target in his grasp and held on tight with both hands.

After all this time, it was the first time he'd ever touched her. Her hands were in his own and the contact was different from anything he'd ever experienced with another person. Gray could feel the magic thrumming at the surface of her skin and through every vein and muscle of her body. He had known that her water magic was a part of her, but to actually feel it himself was something else entirely. His magic was drawn to hers like a magnet. Ice was enveloping her hands and arms and he could feel her trying to pull away, but his freezing her seemed to be disrupting her ability to phase. The need to make her understand surpassed his desire not to hurt her and he pressed on, freezing every last bit of magic he could feel in her.

And then her magic spiked, shattering the ice and his hold on her. Juvia shoved him away with every last bit of strength she had and stumbled back. Her legs trembled for a second before they gave out, hands and knees hitting the ground. The pain of his broken ribs wouldn't allow Gray to stay upright either, but even on his ass, he readied himself to cast something in self-defense. It didn't take long for him to realize that there would be no retaliation.

Magic was complex and he could hardly claim to know the ins and outs of every mage's powers, especially when it was combined for the first time with someone else's, but as he observed Juvia's ragged breathing and shaking body, it became clear that her desperate move to break away from him had also been extremely costly. Ending the attack in the exact same way he would've had resulted in the direct blow she'd been trying to avoid in the first place. Juvia cradled her arms, sitting up with her legs tucked to the side.

"I...lost…?" she asked, but it didn't seem to be directed at anyone in particular.

"For your guild, maybe," Gray said sympathetically, wincing as he tried to maneuver into a more comfortable position. "You might not understand it yet, but this is for the best."

"If Gray-san can be believed? Juvia doesn't know," she replied. "But I believe Gray-san is doing what he thinks is best. I only hope it's the truth."

He let himself have a moment as he closed his eyes in relief. She understood. With Erza already having dismantled her opponent nearby, Laxus getting sufficient revenge for his grandfather (regardless of how much he pretended not to care), and Cana closing up her own fight, Phantom Lord was no longer a threat to them over here.

A thought hit him as he held his abdomen. "Hey… Why isn't it raining? Did you do that?"

Juvia smiled wearily. "Yes."

He smirked a little. It was all he could've hoped for when it came to her. As for Lucy? That was up to Natsu.

He crashed through the roof of the car in a blaze with Happy and Yukino right behind him, ready to fight whoever was in his way. Thanks to Max, who was still up top to sneak over to the other cart, he and Yukino had managed to catch up to the ones that had been separated. He only had a vague idea of what Lucy looked like based on her own description of herself, but the fact that someone cared enough to keep this car going practically guaranteed she was on here. His eyes landed on long black hair and a sharp visage that only confirmed this belief. He knew right away that this was a fight waiting to happen.

The floor rumbled beneath his feet as Natsu took a deep whiff of his surroundings. Just as he recognized the man in front of him had the same scent as the person who'd assaulted Team Shadow Gear, his stomach churned.

"You Fairies just don't learn," the Phantom Lord mage said as he cracked his knuckles.

Beside him, Yukino was ready to engage, but his mind had shifted away from the battle. Everything was moving too much. His head was spinning and the pounding of his heart that had previously been from adrenaline was now manifesting itself as a result of nausea. His breakfast was quickly coming back up and he needed to get to a washroom right now. Was there even a washroom in here? He didn't know, but there was a window behind the scary-faced guy which would work just as well.

"Oh no," Happy commented as he tugged at Natsu's ankle, likely thinking the same thing about where he should go.

Natsu held his stomach and waddled toward his destination, ignoring the dumbfounded stare of his opponent as he approached. He didn't have time to deal with this guy when everything was getting worse. The sweating, the sick feeling, the bile rising in his throat… Hitting the obstacle in front of him, he knew he wasn't going to make it.

The Phantom Lord mage was still in a combat stance when he looked down at Natsu who had stilled after smacking into his chest. "What the fuck is this…?"

Inevitably, it all came to a head.

There was vomit, and there was lots of it. Whatever he hadn't thrown up earlier landed all over the man he was supposed to be beating up and there was a moment he was heaving with relief before his stomach seemed to groan again. The second wave hit with much more force, but the degree of relief wasn't interrupted this time. While he still felt horrible, there was nothing left in his stomach to expel. Next was air. He needed air.

He stumbled the rest of the way to the window and hung his head out, basking in the feel of the wind. The train felt like it was slowing down, but the movement was persistent nonetheless.

"What the fuck is this?"

Right, right, he had to fight this guy. Natsu retracted his head and slowly turned around as he wiped his mouth on his arm. The Phantom Lord mage's chest was dripping with barf and both the sight and smell were not helping Natsu's motion sickness. Happy had climbed onto one of the seats and was rubbing soothing circles on his back.

"It's okay, Natsu-nii. I can handle this," Yukino assured him from nearby.

The man had a bewildered look on his face. "First you puke on me and now you send a little girl to fight me?"

Though the question had been directed at Natsu, Yukino was the one who answered. "I'm more than enough to defeat you."

"He's…" Natsu croaked, "...Levy…"

A brief look of realization crossed her face, head swiveling between Natsu and the other man rapidly. "So you're the one who hurt Levy-san, Jet-san, and Droy-san. Gajeel Redfox, the Iron Dragon Slayer."

"Guessing the message wasn't well-received," Gajeel snorted as he discarded his soiled top. "Fine, kid. If you wanna get involved, you won't be much better off than your friends."

True to his reputation, he didn't seem to care that Yukino was only a child-a full-fledged mage, of course, but she was a child, nonetheless. As Gajeel flew at her, she moved with a self-assured grace. She ducked under a swipe of his arm, which had essentially turned into a sword, and slid a ways behind him, then held the key in her hand forward.

"Open, Gate of the Lion, Leo!" Her commanding voice rang out through the train car, almost as if she were calling on the Gods themselves. As she turned her wrist, a palpable energy filled the air. A small, swirling cloud formed in front of Yukino and grew like a brewing storm.

Natsu tried to shout a warning as Gajeel decided he wasn't going to wait around to find out what Yukino had done, but just barely managed to swallow another bout of bile. Instead, he had to watch their enemy charge back at her with his mouth firmly shut. Luckily, Yukino wasn't to be underestimated and Gajeel was held back by the new figure that appeared.

Celestial spirit-turned-member-of-Fairy-Tail Loke stood in front of Yukino, bracing the dragon slayer by the forearms. Natsu was still getting used to his friend's appearance as a spirit, his orange hair longer and clothing classy and formal. The main change, however, was Loke's strength. Ever since he'd returned to the Spirit Realm, the right energy had allowed his power to flourish.

"You won't harm my princess," Loke growled as he pushed the other man back.

Gajeel grinned, evidently eager to have the challenge of a new opponent. "Finally someone who's actually gonna put up a fight?"

"I'll gladly give you what you're asking for, though you could've at least done me the courtesy of showering first," the spirit replied. He placed a hand on the bicep of his other arm, glancing at Yukino from his periphery. She nodded and he began to glow, eyes back on Gajeel. "Let's go."

Gajeel made the first move, but Loke easily dodged his blow. It quickly became clear that the Iron Dragon Slayer had the advantage when it came to brute strength as Loke was being pushed back. He seemed to recognize this and his glow intensified, a burst of energy suddenly allowing him to surge forward and land a hit on Gajeel's chest. If it hurt, it didn't show on his face. In fact, the man was grinning.

Things only got more heated, but it was horrible for Natsu. Every time someone slammed into a wall or missed and hit it, the car viciously rocked and sent him hurtling back into a fit of nausea. A quick glance out the window told him they were slowing down, but he was helpless to watch from the sidelines until he didn't feel like he was going to throw up every five seconds. He looked around through hazy vision, spotting Yukino preparing a spell.

She was chanting quietly to herself with her eyes closed, Loke shielding her from all harm. When they opened, power surged around her. She gathered her hands forward and several small circular portals began to form around Gajeel. "Meteorum Leonid!"

He was almost instantly pelted with large meteors, but managed to impressively rip one the benches from the ground to block the worst of the spell. Unfortunately, as intuitive as Yukino was, she hadn't thought through the idea of using some of her most destructive magic in a tiny train car and the whole thing went careening sideways. In the haze of his sickness, Natsu saw her eyes widen in realization just as Loke wrapped her in the safety of his body. He was momentarily relieved until he spotted someone else in the train car.

The sickness was put on hold and his stomach dropped for a different reason entirely.

Lucy…?

The clarity he felt in that moment came abruptly. She was curled up behind one of the benches, sliding into view as their surroundings shifted. Her blonde hair was tangled and messy and there was dirt on her skinny arms and legs, but he knew. Phantom Lord wanted her and Gajeel had her. She was all skin and bones-there was no way she could protect herself like this.

Natsu threw himself over her, holding her tight against his chest as his shoulder crashed painfully into one of the benches. He was thrown hard against surfaces twice more with wood and metal cutting into his flesh. When something sharp tore through the junction between his chest and shoulder, he pulled the girl closer before everything finally stopped moving. The stillness took a second to sink in, then he opened his eyes.

The train was in utter disarray. The walls were dented like paper that had been crumpled and unravelled again. Two of the benches that had been anchored on to the floor had been uprooted, with one of them lying on top of Loke. Glass was shattered everywhere, shards mixed into his hair and glistening from where sunlight was hitting them on the floor. Natsu gritted his teeth as he looked down the long, jagged piece of wood impaling him. It had narrowly missed his lung, and it might have even killed him if it had landed another couple of inches to the right.

On the other hand, the precious cargo seemed okay. He had absorbed pretty much anything that could have damaged her upper body, and his legs felt fine save for a few scratches, so he felt confident the rest of her was all right too. With her face buried in his chest, he could only see her blonde hair, but it felt strange to have the girl he'd been trying to help for so long finally here with him. Everything that had transpired since he'd found that bottle had led up to this moment and he wasn't about to let her down.

There was a creaking of metal and wood from nearby and Natsu knew right away they had to move. He had no idea where Happy had ended up, but Loke was throwing a bench off of himself and Yukino, but he was thoroughly tangled in the debris of the wreckage. Like the rest of them, Gajeel was quickly pulling himself from underneath the rubble, but he didn't have anyone to look after other than himself. His target was Lucy, and she was still shaking in his arms in terror.

He sat up, gritting his teeth as the sharp pain ripped through his shoulder down into his chest, but Gajeel was standing now and there was no time to hesitate. Cradling her close as he rose, he could feel her staring up at him in curiosity. He had to be conscious of the fact that she wasn't wearing any shoes because of all the glass around, but where he had landed was fairly clear. He set her down carefully, glaring at his opponent who actually seemed to be waiting on him.

"Salamander," Gajeel said in acknowledgement. The Iron Dragon Slayer still had that arrogant grin on his face despite his ratty appearance. He hadn't escaped from Yukino's spell unscathed, but the impact of the train's rollover clearly hadn't hurt him more than Natsu. His left arm was dangling uselessly at his side which meant the playing field was a little more level for both of them.

"I'm not gonna let you take Lucy," he growled.

"You gonna stop me like that?" Gajeel asked dubiously. He nudged his head in Loke's direction. "Or is your little friend with the keys going to do it?"

It was two on one. There was no doubt that they would've won if they'd fought him like that from the beginning, but it had been impossible with Natsu's motion sickness-not that he'd have done that anyway. He had too much respect for the art of fighting. But the math was simple. Between him and Yukino, one of them had to get Lucy out of here before the rest of Phantom Lord caught up. Now that they were on solid ground, it seemed obvious who was going to do what.

"Loke, you and Yukino take Lucy somewhere safe," he said as he clutched the piece of wood protruding from his body and covered his wound with the other.

"You… You're…" Lucy couldn't seem to get a grasp on her words just before Loke scooped her into his arms without stopping to let her process what was going on.

Yukino, standing on her own two feet, nodded at him with the full understanding that she had the most important job of all. The summoner and her celestial spirit sprinted off, taking the precious cargo with them. And with that, Natsu could focus on the job at hand.

"I'm gonna make quick work of you," Gajeel said, obviously annoyed that the person he was guarding was getting away, but he had no choice but to stick around in his condition. There was no chance he was going to get past Natsu without knocking him out or killing him. They were both in pain and weren't able to fight at their highest level.

Natsu glared. "You can try."

He gritted his teeth as he began to pull the wood from his body, unable to hold back a roar at the pain. It took everything he had to keep going, but he let nothing stop him. When it was finally out, he wasn't even sure if it felt better or worse. Natsu tossed the piece of wooden debris to the ground and placed his hand over the wound, slick with blood. Wincing, he burned it closed.

"No need to stop the bleeding when I'm about to punch a few more holes in you," Gajeel stated as he launched forward. There was no more time for waiting.

Natsu dodged the first set of blows narrowly, feeling a little annoyed with himself for not being able to move faster. But Gajeel was clearly off his game too. The Iron Dragon Slayer's attacks weren't nearly as calculated as they'd been when Loke was fighting him. Still, the man was relentless and both of them were pretty evenly matched. Each took a hit for a hit and a block for a block.

Natsu moved out of the way of Gajeel's blade arm, but not before it nicked his forehead. However, he found an opening and grabbed a hold of it tightly and let the heat flow into his fingers. Charred metal soon transformed into flesh before Natsu was kicked in the face. He skidded across the ground, then rolled over just before an iron rod came smashing into where his head had been.

The rod came crashing down at him again, but Natsu grabbed it with both hands before the blow could connect. Gajeel was kneeling over him, adding pressure as Natsu's arms shook from exertion.

"You're a pretty decent opponent, Salamander," Gajeel said, still in the midst of trying to kill him, "but only one of us is walking away from this."

"That's why I'm getting all…" Natsu contracted every possible muscle. "...fired…" His body became engulfed in flames. "...up!"

He threw Gajeel off him and tackled him, the fire turning him into a literal human rocket. His fist connected with Gajeel's face with a satisfying crunch, but then met ground. By some miracle, the guy still had the strength in him to dodge. Gajeel rolled over and kicked Natsu away before struggling to his feet again.

Similarly, Natsu staggered upright, the flames around him now shrinking like there was a lack of oxygen. The gash on his forehead was now becoming somewhat of an issue as the blood leaked down into his eye, impairing his vision—another thing he was going to disregard until his opponent was down.

He heard Gajeel's foot slide back and he mirrored the move, ready to receive anything that was coming.

Clank!

Natsu blinked and looked up, Gajeel's eyes following the same sightline. He'd been ready for battle, but what the hell was that?

Above them stood a massive machine building adorned with the Phantom Lord guild crest. What… What in the hell was that thing? It looked like some kind of strange spider, but it only had six legs instead of eight. If he had to guess, that was some sort of mobile headquarters for Phantom Lord. Nothing else made any sense. But if they were here, where was everyone else in his guild?

Gajeel snorted. "Looks like we'll have to cut this fight short, Salamander. Not the way I'd do it, but if this is what Master wants…"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Natsu growled in response.

Some sort of foothold came down from the walking guild next to Gajeel. He grabbed onto it with his good arm and it began ascending.

"You're not going anywhere!" Natsu shouted as he flew forward to knock Gajeel off the platform, but Gajeel was ready for him. The Iron Dragon Slayer extended his arm as metal, knocking Natsu in the stomach and effectively grounding him.

Natsu rose as quickly as he could, watching as Gajeel grew further and further away. The legs of the machine were too thick to damage by hand. He glared up at Gajeel, powerless to do anything else. Without a doubt, they were going to head after Lucy. He only hoped Yukino and Loke had gotten far enough away for Phantom Lord to catch them.

He pressed his hand against the wound he'd gotten from the tumbling train as the guild building passed overhead. There was no time to rest. He had to find Yukino before the other guild did. He locked on to her scent, ready to follow as soon as he could find Happy. Lucy had been lost to him for so long, and he'd be damned if he lost her again.