"Get outta my way, or I'll run you down!" Natsu roared while glaring towards the Fenrir. "I don't have time to be messing around with you!"

"Yeah!" Happy exclaimed, punching the air a few times with a serious expression. "We'll steam roll over you!" The Fenrir merely let out another loud roar, shaking the very earth. It then lowered its head, paw tapping the ground a few times as it prepared to charge. "It's gonna charge…!"

"Not if I beat it to it!" Natsu replied while being the first to charge, letting out a battle cry as he pulled his fist back, flames flaring dangerously around it. When he closed the distance he leapt forward, preparing to swing towards the white wolf. "Iron Fist-" He started, but before he could get too close, the Fenrir pushed its rear up, extending its tail towards the Salamander. "Eh!?" Natsu's eyes widened for just a second before the tail slammed directly into his chest, sending him into a nearby building. "GAH!"

"Natsu…!" Happy yelped, hands covering his mouth as he watched Natsu get wrecked.

"I'm fine!" Natsu exclaimed, hopping out of the ruined building as if nothing happened to him. "It won't get another hit like that again!"

"Here it comes!" Happy flailed as the Fenrir began a headfirst charge, moving faster than Happy or Natsu expected.

"Tch!" Natsu grit his teeth, lighting his body aflame once more. He charged as well, shooting flames from the soles of his feet to gain momentum, charging head first towards the Fenrir. "Fire Dragon's Sword Horn!" He roared, clashing with the white wolf. The clash ended in a stalemate, resulting in an explosion that blew both parties back. Natsu slid across the ground, shaking off the impact. "This thing is pretty tough…that's going to be annoying." The Fenrir shook its head, giving a smirk towards Natsu. It was almost daring Natsu to come forward as it bared its fangs towards the Salamander, a green aura coating its teeth. "That doesn't scare me!" Natsu replied.

"Poison…" Happy said quietly to himself, remembering how the description of the Fenrir said it used poison to weaken its opponents and finish them off. "Be careful, Natsu! That is poison, after all!"

"It doesn't bother me!" Natsu replied. His eyes couldn't help but go to the timer above the city. 53 minutes. It seemed like a lot of time, but even little scuffles like this were important. "I can't waste any more time here, so get outta my way!" Natsu exclaimed, rushing forward once again. The Fenrir grinned and met Natsu's charge, aiming to bring down its poisonous fangs down the Salamander. Natsu wasn't having it. He swayed to the side, just avoiding the chomp. Natsu then swung his flaming fist right to the Fenrir's nose, causing a whimper of pain to come from the white wolf along with it backing up, cringing from the fire. "Eh…?" Natsu immediately noticed the reaction from the direct hit. He stared at his fist, then the Fenrir, then his fist again, a wide grip crossing his lips. "Perfect…" Natsu allowed a fiery aura to flare around his body once again, now beginning to inhale. He inhaled his own aura to increase the power of his soon to come attack, cheeks puffing out. "Roar…" The slayer then threw his head forward, unleashing a large funnel of flames towards the wolf. "Of the Fire Dragon!" The eyes of the wolf widened at the sight of the flames, merely turning its head away in a defensive position to possibly lower the damage. A loud yelp of pain escaped the Fenrir before it was torched into oblivion.

"You did it!" Happy grinned.

"No time to celebrate!" Natsu said, immediately picking up his sprint where he left off, Happy following right behind him. "We wasted a few minutes with that! We have to hurry and get to Jack!"

.

.

Lucy went solo. She was never really alone because she had her spirits (most of them) with her. She decided to take the southern route towards the Cathedral. It wasn't the quickest, but it was one of the only paths she could choose with the Wicked Flames blocking everywhere she wanted to go. "I hope the others are okay…" She mumbled to herself, having a suddenly flashback about her conversation with Tia during the Council Ball. This caused her to skid to a halt, eyes widening as an idea crossed her mind. "W-Wait a second…!" The idea was great. But there was one problem with it, and she wasn't sure if it would be solved in time. Only 53 minutes remained on the timer, and every second mattered. "There's a transmission jammer around here, right…?" Lucy thought to herself while beginning her sprint. "Such a device couldn't just be lying around…it would have to be attached to one of those monsters Jack brought in…but who knows if I'll even be able to find it…" Her thoughts were cut off as she ran into someone else, falling onto her butt. "Ouch…!"

"Gah…" Luke grunted, rubbing his head after impact. "Geez, watch where you're going…!" After his vision returned and he stood up, he realized who it was he ran into. "Ah…it's you…"

"Oh, Luke…" Lucy replied, shaking her head. "It's been awhile. What are you doing here?"

"Came here with a few other members and we get wrapped up in this mess…I tell ya, you guys really cause a lot of trouble for others…" Luke replied with a nod. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm on my way to get to Jack."

"Wait…!" Lucy pleaded for a second. "I may need your help with something…!"

"What is it…?" Luke raised a brow.

"I need to make a contact with someone…but there's a jamming device somewhere in the city. I won't be able to make contact unless we get rid of it, and I think it may be on one of those large monsters he brought with him!"

"You're asking me to team up with you?" Luke asked once again for clarification.

"Well…" Lucy started, but before she could actually get too far, a large blue and black bull with golden large horns curved down approached the two, puffing out steam from its nose, readying to charge by kicking the floor with its back hoof. "Yes…."

An automated voice from a lacrima embedded with the large bull made itself present, explaining the monster before them. "Brutal, the Lord of the Plains. This creature holds the title as one of the strongest natural monsters in all of Fiore. Not only are its horns sharp, but they can expel lightning that can completely render the body numb."

After listening to the voice, Luke gave Lucy a comical stale expression. "Do you remember the last time we fought together?" Luke stated once again, pointing to the large horns. "A sharp object nearly impaled me. I'd rather not go through that again."

"Come on, Luke-'chan' it'll be fine!" Lucy said with an esteemed nod.

"Chan…?" Luke let out a heavy sigh, shaking his head. "That's the road you're going to go down? Let' s not…Lucy-'chan'," He chuckled a bit, letting out a sigh after. It seemed he really didn't have a choice. "Well, if I can't make it to Jack in time, I'm sure someone else will…" Luke then slid into a stance while Lucy readied her keys.

"Glad to see we're on the same page!" Lucy grinned.

.

.

"Kid's these days are in way over their head…" Gildarts mumbled while strolling through the city, eventually coming to a large clearing. He was still technically in the city, but he was away from all the buildings. It was bad enough the Ace of Fairy Tail himself was getting involved, but it was even worse that he was strolling through the city because of his lack of an attention span. He scratched his head, completely forgetting which was he was going. "Oi…Which was this place again…?" He grumbled, walking in a random direction. He continued walking until a wall of Wicked Flames appeared before him, preventing him from going too much farther. His instinct was to disassembly it, but he remembered Jack found a way around that. "Hm…that means I'm fighting someone, right…? Well, it won't be too much of a fight…"

"Now that's just rude…" An unfamiliar voice grunted. Gildarts turned, coming face to face with Club Strong himself.

"Hm…Club Strong, is it?" Gildarts asked while crossing his arms.

"That's right! I'm surprised you've heard of me!" Strong said with a cocky grin, now flexing his muscle. "I assume Ace told you of my superior physical strength? Or my dashing good looks?"

"He said to watch out for your stupidity, I think…" Gildarts replied, giving a subtle shrug.

"Now that just rude…" Strong sighed before squaring up. "Heh, but don't think just because I'm an idiot I'm not a bulky mass!"

"Come at me then, boy…" Gildarts said in a serious tone. He could sense Strong's magical energy, and it wasn't much, so he assumed the large Dealer member would go down quickly.

"As you wish!" Strong replied, charging forward with a fist pulled back. "Eat this!" Strong then swung, but his fist was quickly caught by Gildarts, who had an unamused expression on his face. "…Oh."

"You didn't really think you could come at me with magic power like that, do you…?" Gildarts inquired.

"Heh…" Strong smirked, despite the situation he was in. "You know, old man…there's a lot more to a battle than magic energy. Sure I may not have the best of it…." Strong then gripped Gildarts' arm with his free hand, the physical prowess of the male surprising Gildarts, which was an impressive feat all on its own. "But physical strength matters too, and I've got plenty of it!" He then spun around in a half circle, actually throwing the might ace off to the side.

"Hm!" Gildarts grunted, catching himself and sliding across the ground, using his magic to soften his landing. He stood up tall, giving Strong a curious look. "What strength…hardly any magic yet he can pack a punch…."

"I'm not done yet!" Strong exclaimed as he reared his fist back, punching the air with tremendous force, causing a powerful burst of wind to launch forward.

"Tch…" Gildarts scoffed and brought his arm up to defend. The gust of wind hit, but Gildarts easily managed to hold his ground. The ground around him shattered, however. "Impressive swing you have there…" Gildarts admitted while drawing his own hand back, gathering a mass of Crash Magic in his palm. "Crash Beam!" He exclaimed while throwing his hand forward, unleashing a devastatingly powerful beam of Crash Magic towards Strong.

"Heh…." A smirk crossed Strong's face as he requipped his signature club, pulling it back like a baseball bat. "I'll show you an impressive swing! Strong Swing, let's go!" Strong proceeded to put all of his weight and strength into the coming swing, his sheer physical strength showing just how capable he was. His club struck with the Crash Beam, swinging it into the sky, where it exploded shortly after.

"Oh…" Was the only thing Gildarts could really reply with. A mage who hardly had any magical energy, but made up for it with his superior strength.

A second after that, El Rayo found the two in the clearing, just staring at what he witnessed. Two physical behemoths staring each other down. "Oh…I assume this was a bad time to get lost and arrive here, huh…?"

"Oh?" Strong turned, grinning menacingly at El Rayo and Gildarts. "Do we have a two on one going on 'round here? Well that's just lovely!"

.

.

Gajeel and Levy took off east. Gajeel was raring to go at anything that came their way while Levy was looking for anything they could use to their advantage. "Tch, isn't there any other way we can get there!? I feel like we're taking the slow route!" Gajeel grunted.

"It's hard to predict where these Wicked Flames will pop up…" Levy started, pulling up a map of Magnolia. There were some areas completely cut off due to the Wicked Flames. "It appears that any shortcuts to the Cathedral will be cut off. He's trying to force us into taking the long way, and with all these monsters he has floating around, who knows how long it'll take before any of us could reach him…"

"I'm sure as hell not going to let Salamander beat me to him!" Gajeel exclaimed, now making a mad dash forward.

"G-Gajeel, wait…!" Levy exclaimed, quickly running after Gajeel. The sprint didn't last too long as a minus seal appeared on Gajeel's back, and a plus seal appeared on Levy's chest. Suddenly, the two were pulled together by a magnetic force and slammed into each other, hitting the ground after. "Oof…!" Levy grunted.

"Oi…!" Gajeel growled, standing up with a comical tick mark on his forehead. "What the hell was that about!?"

"I-It wasn't me!" Levy said defensively.

"I'm afraid I can't let you two go anywhere near Jack…" Spade said while approaching the two, dusting his hands off.

"Oi…" Gajeel raised a brow, his glare shifting towards Spade Magnes. "You're one of those Dealer guys…what are you here for? Helping out that runt, are ya?"

"My reasons for being here are no concern to you…" Spade replied while extending his arms out, creating a blue and red blade in both of his hands, both blades emitting colored electricity. "Just know that I'm going to enjoy cleaving you in half…"

"Gihehe…" A toothy grin appeared on Gajeel's face at the sight of the blades. "Ya know…" Gajeel said while morphing his arm into his signature Iron Dragon's Sword. "I haven't had a decent fight in a while now…If Sparky was able to beat ya, I'll be able to no problem!"

"G-Gajeel, wait a moment…!" Levy said, getting into a battle ready position. "L-Let me fight with you! E-Even if I go ahead I wouldn't be able to…"

"You're not allowed to leave me side right now, got that, shrimp?" Gajeel said, not bothering to look at Levy. "Now then, let's kick this guy's ass and get moving, alright?"

"R-Right…!" Levy nodded, giving a slight smile before turning to look back at Spade.

"How cute…" Spade scoffed before crossing his arms. "I'll be sure to make this quick!" Spade then lunged towards Gajeel and Levy, blades at the ready.

.

.

Selene was in the southeastern part of the town, quite a ways away from the location Jack was believed to be in, but she couldn't help it with the way the Wicked Flames led her. "Ugh…" She let out an annoyed groan while walking through the bad part of town. "This is taking a little longer than I would've liked…" She looked up, seeing only 50 minutes remain. "Tch…running around in circles…" With a grunt of annoyance, she continued her walk, seeing as how sprinting nearly got her charred on multiple occasions. "I wonder if I can…" Selene started, only for a diamond wall to shoot up in front of her, causing her to stop in her tracks. "Those aren't mine…"

"Eyah!" Diamond exclaimed, throwing multiple diamond spears towards Selene.

"Thought so…" Selene replied, merely jumping off to the side to avoid the incoming spears. She landed on her feet, glaring towards the mage. "You again…you're quite stubborn. Why are you even here? Don't you know that many lives are at stake now?"

"What I'm doing here shouldn't concern you too much…" Diamond replied. "However, while I'm here, I can finally exact my revenge on you for humiliating me in the temporary base we had!"

"Ugh…" Selene groaned, eyes quickly moving to check on the clock, then back to Diamond. "I don't have too much time to play with you…but let's make this quick, then…"

.

.

Jack stood atop the cathedral, watching the count down with a smirk. He had a small map which told him the locations of everyone coming to get him, at least what he thought. "50 minutes left…They won't make it in time. None of them will…"

.

.

Gajeel: "Oi, oi, these Dealer punks are starting to get on my nerves! Don't they know we got a runt to beat here?!"

Natsu: "You guys deal with them, I'll be the one taking down Jack!"

Gajeel: "Like hell I'll let you do that, Salamander! I'll be the winner!"

Natsu: "No, me!"

Lucy: "Yeah, just ignore everything else going on in the town, why don't you…"

Cynthia: "Yeah, seriously! A giant bird is crying to eat us for crying out loud!"

Next time: Magnolia Brawl, Part 2!