AN: As always, before we begin, Reviewer Replies!

Curveball: Yeah, this one's on a set schedule that I'm trying pretty hard to actually hold myself to, and it's the Revised and Expanded Edition of something I'd already written once, so it'll by default see the most frequent updates. He didn't manage to full on kill it, notice that later in the chapter it gets back up as Miguel watches in horror from the mountainside. He managed to reseal it, but given the circumstances the seal can't hold for long. Yep, this Dimaria's quite different due to the Fairy Tail team being at Mildian and stopping Ajeel and Wall from finding and recruiting her for Team Alvarez, not least because their intervention kept her from having to burn through all the magic she had from six of her seven gods and swallow the lacrima from Kronos to keep it away from them. The S-Class thing doesn't work like that, he has to take the Trial just like anyone else, and he won't be eligible until next year (in universe). Aquarius is only particularly powerful for a Celestial Spirit near water. Leo's unusually powerful EVERYWHERE. Again though, like Sorano said, even the weakest of the Zodiacs can solo an entire guild in the hands of a competent wizard. Regarding Raven Tail and Edolas, no you don't. You want to see the truly EPIC shit I've got cooking for them that I didn't get around to the first time I tried to write this story. Now hang on to your hat, I've got some zingers in this one!

Raidentensho: Actually 'Wingbeat of the Sun God' is very similar to Natsu's Fire Dragon Wing Attack. I have no plans for any of those things, but they are neat ideas, and yes, this will be epic. Glad you're still enjoying!

Now who's ready to...

Chapter 29 – STORM THE GATES!

…

=~=~=~=GAJEEL=~=~=~=

…

Lemme tell ya, wakin' up after getting' squashed by a giant glowin' green monkey monster made o' pure pants-wettin' panic is not fun! The only consolation I got was that Levy was still there. Thankfully I'd managed to wrap myself around her at the last second before we got overwhelmed. I felt hella bad for Salamander though, Blondie had gotten too far from him for him to protect. I guess she thought that big bull of hers could do it (admittedly that axe did more to those tentacles than the rest of us put together before the dog and monkey tore him apart), or maybe she was still havin' trouble trustin' him due to that whole thing Titania and Jerry were tellin' me about that got us all out here in the first place.

Really need to get another name for that guy, how is he not S-Class already? Everyone gets a nickname when they make S-Class, guys like me an' Salamander get 'em even before we make S-Class, so what's his?

Anyway, Titania and some other Blondie in armor I didn't know the name of woke us up. The only light was from the lanterns they were holding, it was as dark out as a completely moonless night and everything was completely quiet because every animal in that jungle knew that something was WRONG. It took me a second but I realized after a second where I'd smelled the new girl before. I sat bolt upright, "Yer the one that's been followin' us since Mildian!"

Blondie blushed and then grinned like I'd just told her she won a three course five star meal, "Yep!" She had a face that looked a lot like Lucy, so I kinda wondered if they were related. Before I could question her, Salamander realized he couldn't spot his little Star Princess.

"LUCYYYYYYYYYYY! WHERE ARE YOOOOOOOOOOOOOU?!"

In case ya didn't know, ya never get between a dragon and his princess. Luckily Titania was close enough to switch into some kinda red armor and dove to catch him by the ankle so that he tripped and face planted where she could jump on top of him and hold him down. If she hadn't, he would've taken off like a shot from a cannon, torn through that whole ass jungle and challenged those shadow monsters to a rematch without any sort of plan and gotten his shit kicked in. Again.

Once I was sure Titania had Salamander properly sat on and he wasn't gonna run off and get killed, I started thinkin'. "Okay, so the Cat got Jerry, Miguel and Kuzultan or whatever his name is out before we got overrun. Blondie was still here when I blacked out."

"SHE HAS A NAME!" Natsu bellowed.

I raised an eyebrow, "Alright, Lucy was still here when I blacked out. Anyone have any idea how to fight those things before we go huntin' 'em for a rematch?"

Titania pulled a sword out of nowhere and tossed it to me, "See what that does for you."

I looked at it in shock and then raised an eyebrow at her. Titania was part dragon, was she really givin' up part of her hoard? "You sure?"

"NOW."

I picked it up and took a bite of the blade. The rush was immediate and wild. I dunno what drugs feel like, but if that's what they're like, then I understand how somebody could get hooked in a hurry. All my exhaustion and pain evaporated and honestly I felt like I could go beat the crap out of a hundred of those shadow monsters. There was somethin' weird about the taste though, and why was I glowin'?

"Hey what the heck did you just feed me?"

The Mildian Blondie gaped at me and then looked over at Erza, "Remind me again how you got your hands on the magical energy signature of the Sun God and replicated it? I'm the last member of the holy order that protected his center of worship and the Lacrima with a teeny tiny drop of his power is one of the holiest artifacts in the world. HOW are you able to replicate and pass that power out like candy?!"

As I noted down in my head that judging by what they were saying I was apparently now in some kind of Divine Steel Dragon mode and started coming up with cool attack names, Titania grinned all smug as a cat, "A little something from my mother. I don't know how, I don't know why, but the enchantment she made his cards with is tied so thoroughly to Jerry's magic that his magic signature came with it when I copied it. Since it's on the steel you just ate Gajeel, you've got a bit of Jerry's power now, which means your attacks will actually be able to hit those shadow monsters. I still don't know exactly what Jerry's deal is," she admitted, "but for some reason his magic has, I guess Sun God energy and earlier he KO'ed one of those shadow monsters in a single shot."

"Good thing too," Mildian Blondie mused, "I might not have found you in time otherwise."

Then Levy raised a hand and pointed out something I'd missed, "Hold up! Erza, did you just say your mother made Jerry's cards?!"

Titania nodded, "I'm not a hundred percent sure, but the magic signature on them is nearly identical to mine. Unless I have a sister running around who's a much more highly trained enchantress than me, I think it must be hers."

Levy's jaw dropped and she put her head in her hands, "I have so many more questions than answers."

"Here's one answer," Titania replied as she pulled a sack out of thin air again levitated it over to Levy, "Yes, I still have your armor. Already enchanted with Jerry's magic signature where those tentacles won't be able to touch it or you if they attack us again."

"I love you so much Erza," Levy grinned and in a flash of light, which I don't know if I was imaginin' shit or not but I could've sworn I got a glimpse of Levy butt naked for a second, and then I saw somethin' just as hot: Levy in armor.

I did not even know this existed and now I do and how did I not know this existed for me to need more of it?! It made sense, I'd heard of those skeevy places where you could eat food off a sexy woman's body. I'd never understood the appeal, but I knew there were guys in Phantom who couldn't get enough of that one place on the south side of Oak Town. I now understood. That was high quality steel too, but I could tell from the look on her face as Levy made sure she could still move freely that if I took so much as a nibble of that armor, she'd skin me alive and replace the armor with my scales and oh shit, no, down, STOP THAT! Well, I wasn't going to be standing up for a few minutes…

It being black steel, (my literal epithet how the hell is this woman so perfect?!) frankly only made it better, although it would have been pretty darn great no matter what. It looked like a variant of Titania's standard armor but with an armor skirt and leg armor that went up to her mid-thigh and a cleavage window. Then she pulled out a sword as long as her arm that was shaped kind of like a feather and had a serrated edge and I will fully admit, that yes, my pants were uncomfortably tight over her right then.

"I haven't used this in so long…" Levy grinned as she ran her gauntleted finger along the razor sharp edge and hot damn how was she so sexy?!

"I've upgraded the focus filter effect," Titania noted, "It'll add Jerry's Sun Magic to any Solid Script you use."

"Which means now, I can fight properly," Levy's grin grew, "Oh, this is going to be fun."

"That's really great armor, why would you not use it?" Mildian Blondie (whose name I probably needed to learn since she was apparently going to be helping us now) asked.

"This is Focusing Armor," Levy explained, "It was my training wheels when I was learning to fight. It helps focus my magic into what I want it to be, but I stopped using it because I didn't want to become completely dependent on it. I can't believe you still had it Erza!"

Erza shrugged, "Lots of good memories. We don't team up enough anymore."

Levy smiled, "We'll have to go on some lower stakes missions when we get home. Ah, by the way, before I forget," She looked at Mildian blondie, "what's your name? I feel kind of bad having not asked yet."

Mildian blondie nodded with a smile, "I'm Dimaria Yesta. I was the one piloting the Mildian Defense System when all of you were fighting that army. Sorry I couldn't come out and help in person, the Lacrima that powered the Defense System aren't as powerful outside the temple. Or, they weren't," she glanced over her shoulder at the ring of Lacrima floating behind her, "They're actually stronger than they've been in four hundred years now that we're out of the desert, which is really weird, but I feel a lot better too, so…I don't know."

"The entire desert was completely devoid of ethernano," Levy noted, "That's why it was a desert. They probably haven't been able to recharge since whatever happened to that region."

"That would be Zeref inciting the wrath of Ankhserahm," Dimaria noted dryly, "He cared about Mildian, so that was the first thing Ankhserahm destroyed to punish him."

I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who did a doubletake over that one. Zeref was THE dark wizard, the symbol of evil, creator of demons and the ultimate monster that every other dark wizard since has been a two bit knock off of. The way new girl was talkin', it sounded like she knew somethin' the rest of the world didn't, and I told her as much.

She blinked at me like I'd just said somethin' crazy, "What? I mean, I guess Zeref could technically be blamed for the destruction of Mildian since he's the one who angered Ankhserahm, but he didn't do it himself. It's the curse of Ankhserahm, anyone who revives the dead gets everything they care about obliterated except themselves and they have to wander the world seeing everything they care about wither and die for eternity. I thought everybody knew that?!"

"Nooo…" Levy drawled, "That's news to us. The only thing anybody in Ishgar knows for sure about Zeref is that death and destruction followed him everywhere he went, he created city levelling demons that have terrorized the entire continent for centuries and every dark wizard since has been a Zeref wannabe. Him being just a victim of disproportionate divine retribution isn't something I've heard ever even theorized."

Dimaria looked shocked by the revelation, "Um…okay. So, a lot's apparently happened in the four hundred years of no outside contact, but whatever Zeref became, that's how he started. He was just a guy that wanted his family back. I don't think he even remembers me, and that's why I'm still alive," she explained softly.

If she didn't have our attention before, she damn sure had it now. "Hang on, did you just say you've met Zeref?!"

Dimaria blinked in surprise, "Oh um… yeah. He gave me food when I was a starving little gutter rat before the Holy Order of the Eight Apostles took me in a few weeks later. I…" she swallowed thickly and tears brimmed in her eyes, "I was chosen… by Lord Kronos to be his next Apostle. It was the happiest day of my life…" she admitted before adding quietly, "and the last day of everyone else's. Lord Kronos shielded me, from Ankhserahm and from much of the passage of time but…" she shuddered, "…I've been all alone ever since."

She took a deep shaky breath and gave us a super teary smile that would've yanked on a rock's heartstrings, "And then, right when time went back to normal…All of you showed up! If… if that wasn't a sign for me to join you then I don't know what is!"

I should've seen it coming.

I would've stopped him.

"Well that's great, welcome to the family!" Natsu said with a cheerful smile, then he erupted out from Titania in a little tornado of fire, "NOW IF WE'RE DONE TALKING, CAN WE HURRY UP AND GO SAVE LUCY ALREADY?!"

He had a point, but he still deserved that boot to the head Titania gave him before she threw a firestorm of her own at him that was so bright it was hard to look at, "LEARN SOME MANNERS AND EAT THIS SO THAT YOU'LL ACTUALLY BE ABLE TO FIGHT THEM THIS TIME!"

Aaand that's how we wound up racing through the forest following Natsu who was yelling his head off, blazing with flames so bright they were kinda painful to look at as Levy shouted directions to where the gate into the city was supposed to be. I'm not sure if he was paying attention or following Blondie's scent, but we got it confirmed that we were going the right way when we ran into the webbing.

In the light from Natsu's flames setting the webs on fire, I could see and don't blame Levy for screaming over, the crawling carpets of spiders all around us, held at bay only by the light and heat Natsu was generating.

Then we noticed the ones the size of bears with eyes glowing in the same freaky way that one spider shaped shadow monster was, and they didn't give a shit about the flames unless Natsu was going after them specifically.

Luckily, we had an answer for that now! "BLUMENBLATT!" "DIVINE STEEL DRAGON ROOOOOOAR!" "SUN SCRIPT BARRAGE!" "SUN GOD FEATHER STORM!"

Natsu actually stopped and looked over his shoulder at the sound of us levelling a two mile radius of jungle right behind him, "You guys okay back there?!"

"Yeah we're good," Levy called back.

Natsu grinned, "Well then come on! We've got butts to kick!" There was a massive crash and the spider shadow monster shoved a pair of trees out of its way to let out a sound like the screams of someone falling into a bed of pissed off rattle snakes. Natsu looked at it and then grinned at us as he jerked his thumb over his shoulder, "Like this one!"

Then he jumped in the air, did a flip, and dropped a blazing axe kick into the spider monster's head, "SUN FIRE DRAGON'S TALON! IRON FIST! CRUSHING FANG! AAAND SUN FIRE DRAGOOON ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAR!" The entire world turned white for a second as Natsu's pumped up breath attack surged forward, burning everything in its path and setting fire to everything near said path, and clearing a half mile wide road all the way to the base of the mountain nearly three miles away.

All that was left of the Shadow Spider was an imprint of the lines that had been on it over a big fancy tunnel entrance. Natsu cackled as the white glow faded out of his hair, showing that he'd burned through all the sun fire Titania had given him, "AW MAN! THAT WAS EA-RMPH?!"

I clapped my hand over his mouth just in time, "Don't. You. Dare. Put that kind of bad luck on us right now. You know full damn well that calling something the E-word just ensures that everything that comes after will be a million times harder! And what were you thinkin' burnin' through all your sun fire in one go like that?!"

"It worked didn't it?!" Natsu protested.

Before I could argue, we both heard Dimaria ask Levy and Titania quietly, "Holy shit, he's actually competent? I thought he was just a pyromaniac clown!"

Natsu twitched and I made a face, "You've earned that one."

Levy casually threw out a white bonfire the size of a building and I noticed that the air around her was dim, "Gajeel, Natsu, don't worry about running out of power. I know I told you back in Hargeon not to look at me like a battery, but since we're in kind of a dire situation I'll allow it. I've got Blackout Mode, now that I can use Sun Script, I can keep you two topped up no matter how many all out attacks you cut loose. As long as you can keep making some light, I can keep making more sun empowered fire and steel."

I raised an eyebrow, "The heck? How have you got Jerry's Blackout Mode?"

Levy shrugged, "I read the same thesis he did on the spell and he showed me how to do it. Maybe if you sweet talk me after this I'll show you how to do it too," She added with a grin and a wink.

Natsu let out a little aggravated groan, "Man, how am I ever gonna impress Lucy when Jerry keeps finding ways to help even when he's nowhere around?! And I can't even be mad at him because he's not even trying to steal her!"

Titania walked over and gently dropped the edge of her gauntlet on top of his head, "Get over it. I can't stack up to Mira in love. You don't see me crying about that do you? He's not even dating Lucy and he'd sooner die than give up Mira for good. Just keep doing your best and for right now, focus! We've got bigger problems than our love lives right now."

I didn't think anyone but me and Natsu heard it but Levy let out a little breath of, "Oh my god Erza's actually got a crush on Jerry?! I thought they were just playing around!"

Then Erza proved me wrong by declaring imperiously, "It's complicated, and everyone here is hereby sworn to secrecy about it until I figure it out! Now come on, we've got a world to save!" She took off running towards the tunnel the Spider Shadow Beast had tried to keep us away from, the rest of us hot on her heels.

If anyone but me heard Dimaria whisper to Levy, "Jerry's taken?" or the following quiet exclamation of, "Shit!" they didn't make any note of it.

…

==MEANWHILE==

…

Lucy stirred for a moment before her eyes flickered open in the dark gray not-light and writhing pale blue glow. She attempted to make sense of what she was seeing as the strange tickling sensation all over her legs and arms continued. There was some sort of wall in front of her made of varying shades of darkness, with even the poorly lit ground seeming bright next to it. There was a glowing blue…was that a jellyfish?... next to it, and a woman standing before her.

The voice that reached her ears a moment later as the woman in the headdress noticed she was awake was like the sensation of spiders crawling down her spine as Lucy heard, "Sssooo you're finally awake little star witch…" Then the woman laughed and Lucy knew beyond any shadow of a doubt she was in trouble.

Then the woman raised her hand with a malicious grin and dangled something that glowed faintly golden and silver in the dim light. Lucy's eyes went wide, "MY KEYS! GIVE THOSE BACK!"

The woman's grin only grew as she threw them into the air, and a sound like rocks crashing together erupted overhead, drawing Lucy's attention to the mammoth dog shaped monstrosity wreathed in shadows that had chased them through the jungle as it snapped up the keys like a doggy treat. Its horrible orange eyes bored pure fear into Lucy's soul as it met her gaze and growled while the woman laughed, "Whoops! Cluuumsy meee…"

Then Lucy jumped as she felt something tickle across her breast and looked down to realize in horror that she'd been stripped naked and was currently suspended over a pit of bubbling black looking liquid. The only thing worse than that? The things holding her up and dragging awful stinging slime all over her? Tentacles. Big, thick, stupid strong tentacles. It was like that one naughty book Levy lent her minus the fun and consent!

The woman chuckled as Lucy started to hyperventilate, "Oh yes, your connection to the star spirits will make you a perfect virgin sacrifice to complete the resurrection of Lord Apophis. Once he devours you, even the stars themselves will not be able to resist him."

She surged upwards on a tentacle that erupted out of the ground to ferry her up right into Lucy's face, and as she did, Lucy got her first good look at the decrepit corpse of a woman. The woman's breath was like rancid carrion and her pallid skin was more wrinkled than any prune. Bones jutted and blood vessels bulged against the skin stretched over her ancient frame, but her eyes were still alive and full of madness and hate as she ran a bony hand over Lucy's cheek purring, "But don't worry, you won't have to wait too long, little star witch. By all means though," her horrid prune of a face split in something that had to be her version of a smile, "Struggle and scream all you like, because nobody's coming to save you."

And as terror seized Lucy's heart, the tentacles began to whip across her skin, stinging and burning like ribbons of hornets, she did scream. She screamed a LOT.

"WHY?! WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?!" Lucy screamed as her skin crawled and burned.

Almost immediately the whipping and pain stopped and Lucy warily opened her eyes to see a look of absolute joy spread itself across the old crone's face. There is something profoundly weird about seeing someone who looks like they should be several hundred years old light up with excitement like a child on Christmas morning, Lucy thought.

"I'M! SO! GLAD! YOU! ASKED!" the hag squealed delightedly, actually bouncing in place a little before turning and sprinting off into the shadows with a speed and agility that someone in that shape should not have had. There was a fair bit of shuffling, the sound of something very heavy being shoved into place, and then the glowing jellyfish lifted itself high into the air, with a curtain wrapped around its tentacles to keep the light low. Lucy's eyes narrowly picked out the shape of two shadowy figures with faintly glowing eyes riding up on the jellyfish as the glow around her faded considerably.

Then, just as darkness was rushing into fill the room, a soft string of notes from a piano cut through the darkness and the Jellyfish's glow was allowed to shine down on the crone like a spotlight. With her clearly flower inspired headdress and dark green robes now easily visible, she spoke in a soft voice that carried easily through the silence. Lucy couldn't help but stare at how different the hag's voice suddenly was as she began…

"When a woman acquires a certain age,

And the men who adored you no longer swoon…

It pays to avoid the sunlit days,

And live by the light of the kindly moon.

Even at a distance, Lucy could pick out the mournful expression on the hag's face and a part of her knew beyond any shadow of a doubt: This woman had once been a great beauty. The old woman sighed regretfully and cast her gaze up at the cloud covered sky,

"But the moon grows old, just like us all,

And her beautiful years are done,

So now she praaays, through endless days…

The woman's expression twisted into something cold and sinister that sent shivers down Lucy's spine as her tone suddenly changed,

To take, her revenge, ON THE SUN.

The piano suddenly kicked up the pace as an unseen band began to play a surprisingly upbeat jazzy tune and the tentacles of the Jellyfish lit up to bathe the plaza in eerie blue light, revealing dozens of men with glowing eyes waiting in position around the hag as the lights came up to act out the scene as she sang.

When I was a girl at my daddy's side,

Papa the royal mortician,

Revealed to me in secret signs,

The mark of a magician!

And daddy was no dummy!

Did OUTRAGEOUS things with a mummyyy…

Lucy couldn't help but cringe and hold back an urge to vomit at the implications the dancers were making about just exactly what those outrageous things had been.

And often the stiffs that he would thrive,

Would look better dead than they did alive!

The hag didn't care though and kept on singing, obviously enjoying herself immensely as she began to dance and strut across the plaza like it was the grandest stage.

I studied well, I learned the trade,

I thought my looks would never fade!

Her dance brought her to a large stone table lined with vials and mixing implements which she began to pour and mix with a theatrical flair to the point that she was all but juggling the vials and beakers as she danced and sang.

If I could find that recipe,

To give eternal youth to me!

It was always my ambition,

To use Papa's tuition,

And gain some small remission

From the vagaries of time!

She slammed her fist down on the table and her face looked like she wanted to snarl,

But every little ray of sunshine…

Robbed me of my youth!

Who to blame, who the one,

Who to curse?

Her head snapped up with a maniacal glint evident in her eyes even from across the plaza,

You know the only one to blame would have to be my enemy

THE SUN.

The dancers suddenly began dancing towards a large stone pit full of dark liquid that Lucy had been suspended over and the hag danced along with them, an ominously foaming vial in one hand and a stone knife in the other as several of the dancers drew what looked like massive jagged stone swords and formed a line at the raised end of the pool.

SNUUUFF OUT THE LIGHT!

Claim your right,

To a WORLD OF DARKNESS!

Snuuuff out the light!

Neophytes,

Of a WORLD OF DARKNESS!

Lucy's eyes went wide and she went to scream as the first of the dancers knelt before the line of swordsmen. The hag dumped the beaker into the pool and that was the signal for the swords to fall.

A tentacle shoved its way into Lucy's open mouth to gag her and silenced her scream as the first wave of brainwashed dancers was decapitated and shoved into the pool which suddenly took on a reddish hue. Lucy could only watch in horror as the dancers flowed across the plaza in droves to be slaughtered like sheep a dozen at a time. The pool glowed brighter with every fresh wave of bodies, but for all the corpses falling into it, the surface of the pool remained completely still and smooth like a piece of glass.

All the while the song played on and the hag sang at the edge of the pool dancing along with her puppets in a horrifically coordinated choreography as Lucy tried and failed to suck in a horrified gasp at the sight of a palace sized dragon with pitch black scales and glowing violet eyes looming out of the shadows to have its nose petted by the crone…It wasn't one of the Shadow Beasts, that was an actual dragon!

Supai baby turn me on,

Every wrinkle soon be gone!

I could squeeeeze myself with glee,

The promises you've made to me!

I've really stopped at nothing,

Murder treachery and LYING!

WHATEVER IT TAKES TO KEEP MY LOOKS!

You really can't blame a girl for trying…

And it was evident even from across the plaza as the crone struck a pose that she truly believed the horrific slaughter she was conducting was indeed not only justified but perfectly understandable. Lucy silently swore to herself as she watched the sickening display that she would NEVER obsess or even worry overly much about her looks ever again. Meanwhile, the dragon joined the awful chorus singing.

SNUUUFF OUT THE LIGHT!

Claim your right,

To a WORLD OF DARKNESS!

Snuuuff out the light!

Neophytes,

Of a WORLD OF DARKNESS!

Oh god, is she…she's NOT… Lucy thought as the hag began to shimmy in a very distinct way. Then she scrunched her eyes tight as the hag's robe fell away, She is.

SNUUUFF OUT THE LIGHT!

Claim your right,

To a WORLD OF DARKNESS!

SNUUUUUFF OUT THE LIGHT,

HERE TONIIIIIGHT!

Lucy opened her eyes as she heard a splash and the glowing eyed backup singers and executioners took the final verse, the hag disappeared except for the ripples in the otherwise eerily still and now glowing crimson lake,

Apparitions of eternal darkness

Spiraling in circles through the night

Creatures of beguiling blackness

No more squinting in the light!

Bats and owls and coiled dark dragons,

Crocodiiile and carrion beast!

Swirling in the growing darkness,

JOIN US IN THE COMING FEAST!

SPECTRE WRAITH AND APPARITION,

SPIRIT, DEMON, PHANTOM, SHADE!

SALAMANDER, SERPENT, DOG FACED DEVIL!

Then a figure erupted out of the pool and Lucy saw that the hag had been transformed by the glowing red liquid. When she entered, she had been a vile wreck of time ravaged flesh. Now as she emerged, wearing the glowing crimson liquid like a long evening gown and conducting the final verse of the song with a huge grin, she was young and limber once more. Her frazzled white hair was now dark and silky as it cascaded down around her glowing red eyes and gorgeous face, and her limbs and figure were as full and healthy as Lucy or even Mirajane's.

DANCE AND WATCH THE DYING SUNLIGHT FADE!

…

==Meanwhile, Magnolia==

…

The Guild Hall, following Mira's um…quarrel with Laxus, had been acting as a more or less open air bar rather than the more traditional pub it had been. The tables hadn't been destroyed by her attack, nor the first floor walls or the bar, but the top half of the Guild Hall had been in no uncertain terms blown the hell away. Master and Max had of course not missed a beat, and began immediately selling the novelty of the pub being an open air café.

With a bit of help from Juvia, they had built in the center of what had been the main dining and assembly hall a magic fountain that fed itself using any rain that would've fallen into the rest of the area. Being that it was built by wizards, it was far more impressive than most fountains. It had a whole set of fancy configurations, and would form Fairy Tail's Guild Mark backlit by Lacrima every couple of minutes. It was really cool and even after the Guild Hall was finished being reconstructed, everyone agreed the cool as hell fountain was to stay.

Mira was still dreadfully embarrassed about it, but nobody held it against her, and nobody brought it up since Cana had made it abundantly clear that anybody who made Mira cry again would be getting their ass kicked, with Elfman, Gray, Juvia and Master agreeing to help dish out said punishment.

It had helped her a lot that Master had decided after seeing how nice the open air dining area thing was that we'd be keeping a courtyard to maintain it with the new Guild Hall. It was actually a really neat spell he'd dug up with some help from some former Fairy Tail wizards (it turned out that Quatro Cerberus and Blue Pegasus's Guild Masters and founders were both actually former Fairy Tail wizards! We had several other notable, I suppose 'alumni' would be the word, including a member of the Magic Council, but Masters Bob and Goldmine were the ones who helped Master out with this one). The spell in question was a simple illusion spell, but still really cool because it would let us build the Guild Hall back without having to waste a bunch of upper level space to 'keep' the open air section.

It wouldn't really be open air anymore, but the ceiling would show the sky above so that we could still get that nice open air view. I'd had to chuckle when I saw it, it was basically the spell on the ceiling in Hogwarts' Great Hall. It was supremely cool to see in person once it was implemented.

In the meantime though, with the dining/assembly area being open to the sky, the Guild Hall had managed to pull quite the crowd for the eclipse. Gray's master Ur was there, along with Lyon and his team from Lamia Scale, and Ultear had come with Meredy as well. Master Precht couldn't make it, he was working on something, but he'd instructed Meredy to enjoy a candy apple for him. Meredy was quite dutifully on her fourth candy apple by eclipse time, and had even laughed out loud at Jet and Droy's comedy routine during the wait while Ultear handed Gray and Lyon their asses at poker.

At the bar, in between patrons, Mira was entertaining three young girls from other guilds who had swung by for the Eclipse Party at the bar, two with black hair from Mermaid Heel and some tiny little guild Mira had never heard of called Sabertooth who were apparently quite big fans of Erza's, and one with long curly blonde hair from Blue Pegasus who was actually a HUGE fan of Mira's. All three were very excited to talk to Mira, especially when they learned Mira was Erza's rival. Mira told me later that she was supremely peeved at realizing she couldn't adopt any of them on the spot.

In addition to selling concessions, there were eclipse glasses and Max had even had special shirts and little souvenir plates made showing the eclipse with Fairy Tail's mark in the middle since there was a bet going around about whether or not my little bit of lunar graffiti would light up when the sun shone behind it. Nobody was completely sure at the time it had been me, but by process of elimination everyone was pretty sure it was either me or Erza. Rather unsurprisingly, it did not light up, although I do agree that would've been one of the coolest things ever.

Instead, everyone had a great view as darkness surged up from beyond the southern horizon like a pure black river, and then erupted outward from there, spreading like a tidal wave across the sky, coating the world in darkness.

Master gaped in horror at the blackened sky, "What's going on?!"

"Something's interfered with the eclipse!"

"It's not supposed to be this dark is it?!"

"What kind of crazy dark wizard could do this?!"

The only person not panicking or trying to hide the fact that they were was a guy with black hair, a Fairy Tail eclipse souvenir shirt and black pants. He just kicked back in his chair with a raised eyebrow, eating popcorn and muttering to apparently nobody in particular how he hadn't seen that in a while. Only our guild members could see the little blonde girl sitting with him and looking at him as if to ask what the actual hell, but nobody had time to look at those two because it looked like the world was ending. We only know they were there at all because we spotted them on the footage from the security Lacrima after the fact.

Master spun on his heels, "CANA! READING! PRONTO!"

"Way ahead of you," Cana muttered as she tried to focus over the commotion and tossed out her cards, three in a row for as good an answer as she could get. She flipped them and hissed, The Tower, Death and The Moon inverted. She slapped her hand across the most horrible combination she'd ever had the misfortune to see (repeatedly) with her eyes closed and sucked in a breath as images of what was going on flashed behind her eyelids.

She pulled her hand back with a grimace before announcing loudly, "Okay! Erza's team is already at ground zero of whatever's blocking the sun. They're already in motion, working to stop it!"

Then in a quieter voice to Master as the crowd erupted in a clamor of questions she added, "Lucy's been taken hostage. It looks like Jerry and Happy have been separated from the others and they're both out cold with a pair of raggedy looking dudes I've never seen before watching over them. Everybody's had their asses kicked by some kind of giant shadow monsters, but it looks like Erza's rallying the others for a counterattack. They've got some new girl with them that I've never seen before that looks crazy powerful. Gimme a minute to try and see what's going to happen."

She shuffled and after a second snapped, "QUIET DOWN ALL OF YOU! I NEED QUIET TO MAKE DAMN SURE THIS PREDICTION'S RIGHT!"

Silence fell and Cana concentrated on the outcome of the coming battle before throwing out three more cards for another tight, focused prediction. She raised her eyebrows, The Emperor reversed alongside Strength and the Sun?

Before she could lay her hands across the trio of cards to see their meaning, whole city seemed to shake lightly. Before anyone could ask what had just happened, the Guild Hall's door was thrown open, letting in a wild wind that smelled faintly like blood and death and snuffed out all the candles and lanterns. The Lacrima lights sputtered out, almost like they were afraid to be seen by the cloaked figure that was silhouetted in the doorway. The streetlights burning far down the street provided the only faint light in the Guild Hall as a thick, heavy silence fell over the Guild Hall. Even Master Makarov felt himself tremble in face of the raw, relentless, earth shaking power of the man in the doorway.

The man surveyed the room in silence for a moment that seemed to stretch on into an eternity. Then without a word he turned and leapt away, taking the oppressive pressure of his power with him as a tremendous burst of wind ripped through the area. A massive form that nobody was quite sure they had actually seen in the inky darkness overhead circled and then zoomed away through the lightless sky. A second later, it was like he had never been there at all, save for the absolute instinctual certainty that everyone in the Guild Hall felt: they had been one wrong move, one wrong breath, from dying on the spot.

As the Lacrima lights blinked back on, everyone let out a breath that none of them had realized they were holding. The guy who had been so completely nonchalant about the sun getting blotted out fell out of his chair looking utterly shook, but again, nobody had time to notice that except for the little blonde girl that nobody noticed. Master leaned over to Cana, "Cana…who… what was that?"

Cana shivered, tears of mixed fear and relief in her eyes as she picked up the one card that hadn't blown off the table when the door flew open. Master saw despite how badly her hand was shaking that it was the Emperor reversed, "I don't know, but he's on his way to save the world."

The guy who'd just fallen out of his chair heard that, looked at the space where the mystery man had been, and then picked himself up looking even paler than before, went over to the bar and shakily ordered the strongest drink Mira could give him.