Lucy sat impatiently, foot tapping against the floor while Natsu paced back and forth. It had only been a couple minutes since they contacted their guild mates, but every minute counted now. The two would feel much better protecting the orb if the rest of the guild was here.
The doors flung open, panic flashing on both Lucy and Natsu's face before being replaced by relief. Natsu grinned and raised a fist in the air.
"I told you Erza would get here first!"
Lucy annoyingly shook her head and placed a hand on her head. "We both said Erza would get here first."
"But I said it before you, so I win!"
The celestial wizard simply rolled her eyes, smiling when more of the guild began to show up. Erza had asked what the situation was, but agreed to at least wait for Makarov to show up before the pair explained.
The next minute, Makarov was there. More members had yet to show up, but Lucy and Natsu pulled Makarov aside while they waited. Natsu revealed the orb that was casually placed in his pocket. Makarov's eyes widened at the sight of it.
"How did you—"
"No time for that," Natsu stated. "What's important is the dark guild knows we have it and could be here any second to try and get it. What do we do?"
Makarov took the omnicore from Natsu's hands, eyeing it carefully. He nodded at the two, turning to the rest of the guild and gaining their attention.
"This is the omnicore," Makarov said, lifting it high and receiving stunned gasps throughout the guild hall. "Master Hades instructed me to keep it secret. I spent many years trying to destroy this orb, but had no luck. The dark guild that we've been dealing with recently could very well show up any second. We must be prepared to fight them and protect this orb. Do you all understand?"
All the members agreed with either a nod or a 'yeah.'
"Very good," Makarov continued. "While we still have time, we need a plan. That will be our first priority. The second will be destroying this orb. I want half of the guild split working on a plan while the other half tries to smash the omnicore. There's no time to call out names, just form two sides and get to work!"
The guild members split down the middle, one half gathering left while the other gathered right. Erza was quick to make her way to the orb, requipping her heaven's wheel armor and aiming at the omnicore. Her attack didn't even leave a scratch. She cycled through a couple different requips, but ultimately, the orb look untouched.
Meanwhile, Levy, Lucy, Freed, and Cana were the leaders on the left side, working towards figuring out their plan of action. Lucy told them everything she knew about the group, giving them a little insight into what they were up against.
Levy and Freed were able to recall mounds of information they'd read in the past week. They reminded the guild of the magic types seen in the attack at the museum, how long it took the staff to work once it connected with the omnicore, and suggesting which group formations would be best.
Cana flashed her cards, offering to store the orb within one of them if it wasn't destroyed by the time the dark guild arrived. It was their best bet in such a short notice. If the wizards within the dark guild didn't know how to break the spell or pull the orb from her card, then even if they got it, it would still be useless.
A loud thud was heard across the guild hall as Elfman tried using his takeover magic the smash the orb into pieces. No matter what form he took, it didn't do any damage. Gray stepped up next, trying to freeze the orb enough to break it. His magic also didn't do anything to help destroy it.
Makarov watched with in distress as one by one, any attempt to break the omnicore was shut down. Even Laxus, who had shown up just moments ago, was unable to do anything to it. He stroked his beard while his eyes shifted to the group making a plan of action. They looked like they had much better luck, nods and smiles being exchanged throughout the group.
Natsu pulled him away from his thoughts when he stepped forward. He cracked his knuckles while his gaze remained on the orb in front of him.
"Is there really a better person to break something than me?" He grinned.
Makarov's eyebrows shot up as Natsu charged up for an attack. He ran forward, striking the omnicore with a mass amount of magic power. His attack left a portion of the floor of the guild mutilated and burnt. His fire dragon iron fist punch created a thick smoke over the orb.
The smoke began to clear and all eyes looked for the omnicore. If a loaded attack like that wasn't enough to break it, Makarov wasn't sure what would be. They didn't have the time to find another way to break it, so they needed this to work.
But despite the gaping hole in the floor, the omnicore remained untouched. Natsu's jaw dropped and he whined 'why didn't it work!" Erza requipped again, preparing to try a different approach to strike the orb before Makarov stopped her.
He raised his hand, shaking his head. "I doubt we can break it by force. There must be a spell on it that we don't know of."
"But master!" Erza protested, "we have to try!"
"We have! We're lucky we had this much time to try destroying the orb, but now we need to focus on defending an attack. Whatever plan the rest of the guild has come up with is what we will do."
Erza frowned but nodded. She picked up the orb before Natsu could have another go at it. He crossed his arms and pouted at not getting to try as many times as she did, but Erza waved him off.
They all gathered around Levy, who explained in short what they had come up with.
"Cana is going to keep the omnicore stored in one of her cards. We're hoping none of the members of the dark guild know how to pull it out."
"I'll mix it with plenty other cards, too. It won't be easy for them to find," Cana said.
"We think it's best to stick in groups you're used to fighting in," Freed continued, "For example, the Thunder Legion should fight together."
"They won't get through Team Shadowgear!" Jet and Droy chanted.
Team Natsu exchanged a glance at each other, each nodding at each other.
"Finally," Lucy began, "we think the best strategy—"
A boom rang through the guild, one that shook the entire building. The members looked up to see a massive whole in the ceiling, revealing the same flying ship from earlier. A cannon had been fired into the guild hall, and the dragon slayers eyes widened when they heard the sounds of another cannonball being loaded in.
"Get down!" Natsu shouted.
Everyone took cover in time before another blast was sent down, ripping through the guild hall. Gray looked back up to see a multitude of silhouettes jumping from the ship. The moonlight cast a small light on them. There were hundreds coming down, and it was just the first wave of them.
"They're coming down!" Gray declared.
Master Makarov took charge, preparing to fight. He stood in the center of the guild, shouting above the chaos for everyone to hear.
"Everyone, get in your usual teams! Be prepared for anything. This is a fight we cannot lose!"
Hey guys! Back with chapter 13. It's about to heat up. Let me know what you think! ❤︎