Chapter 54

Invasion

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

"Magic"

Flashback

Location / Date / Time Skip

The dead leafs crumbled as they floated in the air around the group. "Thanks for showing up when you did." Evergreen told the Dragon Slayer on top of her.

"Yeah, same here." Elfman added. "Just warn us next time, will ya?"

Natsu continued to stare at the man with anger in his eyes. "Natsu, where did you go!?" Happy asked as he floated into view. "I thought we were going to the island's top."

"I just had a bad feeling. Turns out I was right." He told the cat.

"What happened here?" The cat asked, looking around in horror.

"The trees, the grass, everything is dead." Evergreen said.

"Everything that isn't us." Elfman added.

The man in black hung his head as the four Fairies looked forward at him. "Did he do this?" Happy asked.

"Yeah, and I'm guessing he's nit some standard wizard." Evergreen nodded.

"How come he's crying now?" Elfman asked.

"Listen, I don't know who you are, but this island belongs to our guild!" Natsu shouted. "So stop messing with our trial and get out of here."

The man continued to look down before slowly raising his head. "You've really grown up. I've been waiting for so long, Natsu." He said.

At the mention of his name, Natsu launched forward and pulled his fist back. "Just who do you think you are!?" He shouted before punching him in the face.

"He punched him!?" Evergreen asked in shock.

"Cheap move." Elfman said.

The man tumbled in the air, his eyes never leaving Natsu. 'I see... he's still not strong enough..." He moved his arm and landed on the ground safely. 'You still can't hurt me...'

"Who the hell are you and why do you know my name!?" The pinkette demanded.

'I don't want to kill anymore...' The man thought to himself. 'But Natsu is the only one who can stop me... and he isn't strong enough yet...' Tear returned to his face, confusing everyone.

"He's crying?..." Happy asked.

"This guy is a complete creep." Evergreen said.

The man gasped in pain again as black mist started rising from his feet and surrounding him again. "Run... all of you!" He shouted before grabbing his head as the mist turned into a dome around him.

"It's that black wave from before!" Elfman shouted.

"Whatever it touches, it kills!" Evergreen added.

"Get out of here!" Natsu shouted over his shoulder

The man cried out in pain as the dome expanded. The Fairies raced away, but Natsu was too close to the dome to escape. "Natsu!" Happy cried out, trying to fly forward.

"Are you insane?!" Elfman asked, pulling him out of the air. "You wanna get yourself killed!?" He and evergreen jumped as the dome reached its peak. The black magic then dissipated, causing the trees to crumble into nothingness.

"Okay... that hurt." Natsu groaned as he sat up and coughed.

"Natsu!" Happy shouted in fear.

"I'm alright." The pinkette told the cat. "It looks like he lost control of his magic. More importantly, where'd he go?"

"He-he vanished." Evergreen answered.

"What was that guy rambling about?" Elfman asked.

"Natsu, your scarf!" Happy shouted. "It's black now!"

Natsu looked down and stared at his memento from Igneel, now solid black. "Igneel gave this to me... The next time I see him, he's eating a flaming fist!"

'Igneel gave that scarf to him... maybe it absorbed some of the magic.' Happy thought.

Deeper in the forest, the man sat against a tree in thought. 'Why must this world reject me?' He asked, staring up at the sky.

With Mest and Wendy

Mest's eyes went wide as Wendy continued to smell the flowers. He looked around with a sick smile on his face. 'This power... I can only belong to him... He's on the island... should I report it now... no, I'll wait until I know more.'

Above the Sea Near Tenrou

A massive ship floated over the sea as Ultear let her orb roll along her arm. "We found him." She said to the man on the thrown. "And it seems like he is sleeping. The time has finally come, Master Hades."

The master smirked before standing up. "Finally, the man who showed what magic can truly accomplish... who master the blackest spells... created thousands of demons... and drove this world into chaos... the most powerful dark wizard in the history of the world. The black wizard Zeref.

"The time has finally come. The source of all magic shall soon be ours. Let out work begin and Tenrou Island soak in the blood of fairies." He smiled as five more people appeared in front of him and Ultear.

With Natsu and Co.

Standing up, Natsu looked around for the man who ruined his scarf. "Where is he?" He asked, gripping his scarf. "I owe him a pounding for what he did to my scarf."

"Yeah..." Happy nodded.

"I mean how are black clothes and a black scarf fashion-wise!?" The pinkette shouted.

"Who would have thought Natsu cared about fashion?" Elfman mumbled.

"Laki must be rubbing off on him." Evergreen added. "Remember all the times she dragged him off to go buy 'thin protection against the elements'?"

"So, what happens to the trial?" Happy asked.

"With that creepy guy hiding around here, I think we should make that a secondary priority." Evergreen suggested.

"It's not the time for that!" Natsu shouted.

"As a real man, I do both at the same time!" Elfman shouted as well before the two glared at each other.

"I'm not quitting! That'll break my promise with Gildarts!" Natsu said.

"I have a duty to win as Mira's brother!" The Take-Over mate shouted back.

"But we can't just ignore that tree killer..." Happy mumbled. "He was crying the whole time... Stop hanging around creeps, Natsu!"

"He's not a friend!" The pinkette shouted.

"Still, he didn't seem all that bad." The cat mumbled.

"Wow, you surprise me." The bespectacled girl said.

"I'm finishing this trial, like it or not!" Natsu shouted before taking off.

"Not if we finish it first, right Ever!?" Elfman asked.

"What did I say about calling me that!?" The girl shouted.

Grimoire Heart Airship

"Time time has finally come. We will see Zeref returned to this world." The man on the throne said. "Now that we have the keys to awake him, nothing can stop us from reaching our goal."

"Master, you're forgetting one obstacle." Ultear said, holding up her orb. "Fairy Tail is on the island as well, and they could interfere with us. They did defeat the Oracion Seis after all, and it's strongest members are on the island."

"So what!?" The blonde on the ship said. "That doesn't mean anything! I'll just burn every last one of them into a pile of ash!" He burst into black flames as he laughed.

"Pride comes before the fall, Zancrow." Ultear warned.

"Never underestimate the opponent in front of you." A goat man warned. "Still, I believe we will win this day."

"Agreed, Caprico." A man in glasses and a pompadour said as the fat man next to him started mumbling. "At last, our desires will be freed onto this world. We shall dance along the bodies of the fairies this day."

"Ifeelthesameway!" The fat man mumbled quickly.

"Talk normal, will ya!?" Zancrow demanded of both of them.

"Kain Hikaru says I feel the same way." A pink haired girl translated, making Kain nod. "Rustyrose says that our victory is upon us."

"I take it you'll be joining us, Meredy?" Ultear asked.

"In the war... yes." She nodded to the other female.

"I am very pleased." Master Hades said, standing up. "No one will be able to stop our combined might. Even the Fairies strongest wizards will fall to the might of the darkness of Grimoire Heart. Tonight we devils dine on the blood of fairies. Makarovs face will look exquisite in agony. The war against Fairy Tail begins now."

With Cana and Lucy

"How are we supposed to know where the guild's first master would be buried?" Lucy mumbled as she and Cana rested from their lizard encounter.

"Any ideas?" The brunette asked.

"No, a blank." The blonde replied. "How can we find something if we aren't given any clues? I don't know what to do."

"You sure we haven't been given clues?" Cana asked. "I've been on this test four times and never once has there been a task that was incompletable. He might have given us clues and we're staring right at them. Then again he's also goofy..."

"So the first round tested strength, and this round probably tests intellect..." Lucy mumbled, thinking aloud. "Maybe this test is like a puzzle or something. Like 'grave'. We think it means a place but it also could mean the end of a life."

"You're going a little morbid there." Cana said before kicking a lizard into a bush. For a second she thought she heard a scream before turning back to Lucy. "Don't you have a Lucyism or something to figure it out. 'When you die, you turn into a shooting star!'"

"Do I really say stuff that ditzy and blonde?" She asked before gasping. "Of course... ditzy or not, I just figured out where the grave and the master are."

"Seriously?" Cana asked. "Let's get going!"

Behind them Loke and Gray popped out of a bush, the latter holding a frozen lizard and a bandage on his head. "Told you she would figure it out." The spirit said.

"Good thing we followed them." Gray said. "Hate to steal your thunder, but this round is about using your brain and that's exactly what I did."

"Sounds like a relationship if I've ever heard one." The spirit chuckled.

"Come on, there getting away." Gra said as the two raced after the girls.

With Erza and Juvia

"I forgot the sheer size of this island. Could take us a while to find them." Erza said as she lead Juvia along.

'Why didn't i just sneak away when I had a chance?' Juvia asked. 'I need to find a way to leave and find my darling Gray.' Her mind traveled and started fantasizing about being with him.

"You okay, Juvia?" Erza asked.

"Yeah, totally fine." She snapped back.

"Then Let's go." The red head said, marching onwards.

"Here's an idea. Let's split up and cover more ground." Juvia suggested.

"No, you don't know the islan that well." Erza replied. "The last thing we need to do send out a search party for a search party." She came to a stop looking over the sea. "Juvia... are you afraid of me? Accept my apology for earlier."

"What do you mean?" The bluenette asked. 'Oh, the trial.'

"I admit, I could have held back more." Erza said. "But it's my duty to make sure every S-Class candidate understands the danger and the responsibility of the rank. I barely survived my own trial. People don't understand how important S-Class really is. Everyone wants to fight you and the public eyes are on you constantly..."

'She needs to shut up or I'll never find Gray.' Juvia thought as Erza rambled on. "Please, I know that you were just doing your job."

"Now that I think about it, I might have hurt Lisanna too. And she just came back. However..." She got in Juvia's face, scaring her. "I didn't do it out of hatred... Sorry, I just wanted to clear the slate."

"Don't worry it's fine." The rain woman replied. "We both knew the risks of this trial. So shouldn't we split up to find-"

"Thank you so much for understanding!" Erza cut her off. "Come on, Juvia! Let's go find Mest and Wendy." She grabbed Juvia by the collar and dragged her away,

'Why must the world torment me?' Juvia asked herself.

Fairy Tail Sub Camp

"Okay, I think it's done." Lisanna said, stirring the food.

"Allow me to taste." Mirajane said before taking a sip from a bowl. "Delicious."

"Really?" Her sister asked.

"Guess you picked up a few things in Edolas." The model chuckled.

"The other Mira was a real good cook too." Lisanna said before stirring the soup.

"It's hard to believe that I'm not dreaming." Mira said. "You've come back into our lives so suddenly. Sometimes I worry about waking up and finding you gone."

"I'm not going anywhere." Lisanna replied.

"By the way, it's kinda salty and you might wanna cut your vegetables smaller." Her sister replied.

"What's with the sudden criticism!?" Lisanna asked.

With Levy and Gajeel

"You ain't gonna scare me!" Gajeel shouted as he pumbled a monster as Levy looked on disinterested. "What the point of this trial!? How does picking a path and finding a grave show how strong you are!?"

"Will you shut up!?" Levy pouted.

"I only came here to punch Salamander and Erza, not walk around in a circle." He continued.

"So it wasn't to help me!?" Levy asked.

"What's your problem?" Gajeel asked back.

"You just said you only came here to beat up our friends." The petite girl replied. "You don't even care about helping me, do you?"

"What, you wanna fight me too?" He asked before patting her head. "Don't worry, half pint. Just get a lot stronger and I'll take you on."

"So... I'll never be strong enough..." She mumbled.

"Look can we move on?" He asked. "The flies here are getting-"

Levy whacked him with her bag and ran off. "I don't need your help anyway!"

"What was that for?" Gajeel asked from the ground.

'I can't believe I teamed up with him.' The girl thought as she ran. 'I thought he was changing into a good person, but he's still the same as ever.' She came to a stop as she stared at the ground, thinking of everything Gajeel had done since he joined. 'I hate him.' A rustling caught her attention, making her wipe tears from her eyes. "Go away."

Two figures she didn't know jumped out as the dog man in the samurai armor drew his blade, knocking her back and slicing her head band off. "Wh-who are you guys? And why are you here?"

The chicken clucked as he picked up Levy by the arms and pinned her down. "Our first kill." The dog mumbled as he brought his sword down. Just before impact, Gajeel jumped between them and hit the chicken with a pillar while blocking the blade.

"It's hard to look for someone as fast as you." He mumbled as the two enemies jumped back. "So don't leave me like that again." Levy nodded as she stood back up. "So, who are these two?

"Don't know. Never seen them before." She answered before looking at the emblem on the armor and neck. "Grimoire Heart? Why is the strongest dark guild here on our island?"

"So I take it the old man didn't bring these two along?" Gajeel joked.

"There's no way he would do something like that." She replied. "They must have snuck onto the island."

"Finally, I get to fight someone." Gajeel chuckled. "If you can't adapt to something like this, you don't deserve to be S-Class."

"We're talking about Grimoire Heart!" Levy replied. "We can't even fight them without approval from the council."

"Ha! That's the problem with a legal guild." The samurai replied. "Too many rules to follow, it ruins the point of a guild."

"This is a war, and there are no rules allowed!" The chicken replied.

"So who are you two anyway? Gajeel asked.

"I'm Yomazu." The samurai answered.

"I'm his partner, Kawazu." The bird replied.

"What are you doing here!?" Levy asked.

"We've come here to poach all the fairies on the island!" Yomazu smirks before swinging his sword. A giant kanji appeared and a screeching sound came out of it.

"My ears, he killing 'me!" Gajeel shouted in pain as he covered his ears. "Ain't that the same kind of magic as yours?"

"It looks like the eastern version of solid script." Levy replied before seeing Kawazu charge forward. "Gajeel, behind you!" She shouted, only to realize something. 'He can't hear me!' Thinking quick, she pulled Gajeel to the side, making the chicken miss.

The bird then jumped into the air and pulled his head back before opening his mouth. "Egg Buster!" He shouted before eggs shot out of his mouth and peppered the two.

Gajeel looked up to see Yomazu jump up and bring his sword down. The Slayer rolled out of the way as he sliced the rock apart. 'With all this noise, I couldn't even here him coming.' He then jumped over another sword swing before ducking a third.

"Hang on!" Levy shouted before waving her arms. "Solid Script: Silent!" A giant word appeared and crashed into the kanji and broke it apart, canceling out the sound.

"Finally, I can hear myself think again." Gajeel cheered.

"How dare you destroy my work!" The samurai scolded.

"Payback." The Slayer smirked before hitting the dogman with his club, sending him sliding back.

The chicken watched this before repeating his spell, among at Levy. "Fire!" She chanted, creating the word and toasting the eggs.

Yomazu slid along the ground before coming to a stop. "I'll make you pay!" He shouted before gripping the sword handle. "Slice!" He chanted before swinging his blade, slicing through every tree he hit. Gajeel barely managed to duck before the samurai flipped his grip and swung again, this time hitting Gajeel.

"Talk about intense..." Gajeel mumbled as he held his arm, now in his Scale armor.

Kawazu fires more eggs from his mouth and Levy did the same as before, only to look at the sheer quantity of the eggs. She managed to burn some but the rest still hit her.

"Levy!" Gajeel shouted concerned before noticing a cut in his armor. He turned and noticed the samurai thrusting his sword forward. 'No way! He's actually cutting through my scales.'

Yomazu pulled his blade back before delivering one final thrust. "Pierce!" He shouted before the blade punctured his side. Gajeel gripped his side in pain as he pulled his blade back. "Dark Sword..."

"Please, stop." Levy begged, but to no avail.

"Naru-Kami!" He launched forward and sliced multiple times before sheathing his blade. A second later, Gajeel gasped in pain before falling backwards, his scales fading away as he hit the ground.

"Gajeel!" Levy shouted.

"If the entire guild is as weak as these two, we can dispose of them before the main squad even arrives." The samurai said.

"Let's wipe them out." The chicken said.

Gajeel gasped as he rolled onto his knees. "Did you say there are more..." He panted out in pain.

"He's still clucking on." Kawazu pointed out.

"We're merely the reconnaissance squad." Yomazu replied. "The rest of Grimoire Heart is on their way."

"The rest of the guild..." Levy mumbled in fear.

"Levy... Run..." Gajeel let out, confusing her. "This didn't gonna be a simple fight. It'll be worst that we can imagine."

"But you're injured!" She replied. "I can't just leave you!"

"Get out of here!" He shouted back. "You gotta tell the others what's happening! I'll be fine! I can handle these guys so move it!"

Tears in her eyes, Levy stood up and ran into the woods. "You're not going anywhere!" The samurai shouted before eating a club to the gut.

"Are you alright!?" Levy asked.

"What did I say!? Move it!" He shouted before the word 'iron' fell in front of him. "That's iron."

'Stay strong... please...' Levy begged as she ran away.

Gajeel opened his mouth and began chomping down on the word. "We let the little girl escape..." Yomazu mumbled in annoyance.

"That ones got some pluck." The chicken replied. "Hunting her will be even more fun."

Gajeel finished the meal and slammed his fist down, catching their attention. "You wanna go to war with Fairy Tail, do you?" He asked.

"He has the strength to stand?" Yomazu asked in shock.

"I did too... way back when..." He mumbled, thinking back to his Phantom Lord days. "You're about to find out just how bad you screwed people.

Levy raced forward through the woods, trying to find anyone to help her. 'I got to find someone, anyone!' She through in a panic. 'Grimoire Heart is going to be here any second! Why are they coming after us!?' She missed the rock in front of her and tripped, sending her tumbling down the hill. "Gajeel... hold on..." She mumbled before passing out.

Minutes passed before someone finally found her. "Levy! Levy!" The petite girl forced her eyes open and looked up at Erza and Juvia.

"What happened to you?" The other bluenette asked.

"It's you..." Levy smiled as Erza helped her up. "You have to help him."

With Gajeel

"Iron Dragon Roar!" Gajeel shouted before firing a tornado of shrapnel out of his mouth.

"Defense!" Yomazu shouted before holding his sword up, creating the kanji for defense.

Kawazu squawked behind Gajeel before pointing his beak up and firing eggs out of it. "What the?" He mumbled.

"Look up, you idiot." The samurai chuckled before Gajeel did that.

"Heavy Egg Rain!" Kawazu shouted before the eggs crashes down on the Slayer. The dust kicked up from the impact blocked Gajeel's sight, letting Yomazu stab forward repeatedly.

Gajeel held up his club to block the sword. "Nice try, punk..." The Dragon Slayer mumbled. "But that oversized pocketknife won't scratch my steel!" He swung the club and pushed the samurai back as the chicken tried to cast another spell. "Just shut up!" Gajeel turned and hit Kawazu in the gut, knocking him out.

"An opening!" Yomazu shouted as he ran forward. "I'll run you through!" He pushed his sword forward and Gajeel tried to block it with a club, only for the blade to go clean through.

Gajeel grunted in pain before smirking at the dark mage. "I'm not going to lose, punk. You hear me!?" His iron began cracking as the samurai pushed, making groan in pain. 'Fighting Fairy Tail... these guys are just as stupid as I was...'

After Phantom Lord

In an ancient ruin of a forgotten town Gajeel sat on a pile of rubble, chewing on some metal. "Hello, there. How's the iron today?" He glanced over his shoulder and went wide eyed seeing Makarov walking towards him.

"What do you want?" He huffed out as the small man climbed up the pile.

"Well, that's a pleasant hello." Makarov mumbled. "Not one for manners, are you? I came here to let you know that Juvia has joined our guild."

"What you say!?" Gajeel asked in shock.

"She was also concerned about you." Makarov added.

"Why would she ever say something that stupid?" The Dragon Slayer huffed.

"Have you figured out what you want to do next?" The wizard saint asked.

"Just keeping my options open." Gajeel replied.

"Another question. When you look back at it, what were your reasons for going to war with Fairy Tail?" Makarov asked. "What did Phantom Lord mean to you? And what did the idea of a guild mean to you?"

"You sure are a nosey old man." Gajeel huffed.

"One last question: If Jose asked you, would you take a life?" Makarov asked. "Does he hold your leash that tightly around his hand? If so, you're no better than his pawn. But I don't see that in you."

"Just shut up and go away." Gajeel said, growing annoyed.

"The darkness has no power over you, Gajeel." Makarov said as the sunlight burst through the clouds. "I'm offering you a place in the Fairy Tail guild."

"Are you mental?" Gajeel asked turning around. "Why would I ever do that!?"

"There's is perspective in isolation, but too much time in there will destroy you." The master said, making Gajeel gasp.

"I'm the one who destroyed your guild hall. You know that, right?" Gajeel asked.

"Buildings can be fixed." The master replied.

"And I'm the one... who hurt your members." He added.

"Yes..." Makarov started flaring his magic and Gajeel panicked. "That is the one thing I will never forgive. But, if I let you fall into darkness without trying to help you, I wouldn't be able to look at myself." Gajeel truned to see the old mans hand extended. "I cannot promise salvation, only a light to a better tomorrow. Do you wish to follow that light, or stay here in the darkness?"

Gajeel slowly took his hand and the two shook.

Present

The club broke and Gajeel's arm was shown in his scale armor. "I will not lose, you hear me!? Because I'm a Fairy Tail wizard!" He twisted his arm and snapped the blade in two.

"My katana!" Yomazu shouted as Gajeel began eating the sword. "No, that holds my soul!"

Gajeel swallowed the last of it and his magic power returned. "Dragon Slayer Secret Art:-" He held his hands above his head and they shined in a bright light. The light faded and turned into a massive sword, scaring the armored dog. "Karma Demon - Iron God Sword!"

He swung his blade and crashed it down, tearing up the ground and the armor of the dark wizard. Gajeel panted before falling over to his side. "Gajeel!" Levy shouted as she, Levy, and Erza raced forward.

"What happened here?" Erza asked.

"No, Gajeel..." Juvia gasped in a panic.

"Gajeel! Hold on, okay!" Levy shouted as he raced over.

"Told you I could handle them." He chuckled out.

Yomazu started chuckling and everyone turned to him. "You're not out of the woods yet. The main force of the guild is on their way. Wizards with power far beyond my own, they're are coming. The Seven Kin of Purgatory!"

"The Kin are coming?" Juvia asked.

"The trial will have to wait, then." Erza said as she summoned a flare and fired it. "We must prepare for battle, condition red!" The flare exploded for everyone on the island to see.

With Makarov

"An enemy attack!?" The master asked in shock. "Who dares come to our island uninvited!?"

With Cana and Lucy

"What does the red flare mean again?" The blonde asked, unaware that Loke and Gray were listening in.

"You got any clue?" The spirit asked.

"Enemy approaches." Gray answered.

"Why now!?" Cana asked in anger. "This is my last attempt at the trial! Why does something like this have to happen now!? I'm not giving up! Attack or not, I'm completing this trial! And I'll destroy anyone who gets in my way!"

"Would you calm down for two seconds?" Both girls looked over to see Gray and Loke walked out of the woods.

"It's not like you're the only one who feels this way." Loke added.

"What the?" Lucy asked in surprise.

"What are you two doing here?" Cana asked.

"We've been follo-" Loke started before Gray covered his mouth.

"It's a coincidence, that's all." The Ice wizard said. "That doesn't matter now. If there's really an enemy attack coming, then that's more important than the exams."

"We need to head to the emergency meeting area and find out what's going on." Loke said, having pushed Gray's hand out of the way.

"Like the trial wasn't hard enough." Lucy huffed as Cana scowled in annoyance.

With Elfman And Evergreen

"But what about the trial?" Elfman asked as the two looked up at the flare.

"It's being put on hold, idiot." His partner replied.

With Natsu and Happy

"It has to be him..." Natsu mumbled, looking up. After the attack, he swapped his vest inside out to better coordinate the colors.

"But I thought a red flare meant that an enemy was coming..." Happy said. "That means someone else is coming here."

Natsu chuckled as he slammed his fist into his open palm. "I don't care who it is. Anyone who gets in my way is gonna get hurt."

With Erza and Juvia

Erza flowed as her Requip magic replaced her bikini with her armor. "So what do we do now?" Juvia asked.

"First we find Mest and Wendy, then we head back to camp and reunite with the others." The redhead told her friend.

"I'll take Gajeel to camp now." Levy said, the Dragon Slayer slung over her shoulder.

"Quit pushing yourself, shrimp." Gajeel let out as they walked away.

"It's not like you can get there yourself." Levy chuckled as Juvia watched them.

'I need to find gray... he needs me.' The rain woman thought.

Erza walked over and flared down at Yomazu. "I want to know what your plans are, now." She demanded.

"Like we'd cough up anything to you." The samurai replied.

*BANG*

"We seek the black wizard, Zeref." Yomazu answered, now with a massive bump on his head. Both girls gasped at the revelation. "He is here on this island."

"That's impossible!" Erza shouted.

"Zeref lived hundreds of years ago!" Juvia added.

"Four hundred years." The samurai corrected.

"Don't you see!? Zeref cannot possible be alive!" Erza shouted, thinking about Jellal. 'If he was, Jellal wouldn't have tired bring him back.'

"He lives." Yomazu chuckled. "And he's been living for the past four hundred years. Master Hades told us that he's been sleeping for all that time."

"I find that hard to believe." Juvia spoke up.

"When Zeref wakes up, this world will be submerged in total darkness." The samurai added.

"Absolute nonsense!" Erza shouted. "This island is our guild's sacred ground! You're kind of despicable evil has no place here."

"The army of Master Hades will be here soon." Yomazu chuckled. "I wouldn't underestimate the seven Kin of Purgatory if I were you. The Time Wizard, Ultear... Rustyrose... Our commander, Caprico... Kain Hikaru... Zancrow... Meredy... and one more, who's already on this island." The revelation shocked the two before Erza knocked him out and the two raced into the woods.

"I can't believe Zeref is still alive." Erza said.

"I'm more concerned that Grimoire Heart is heading here." Juvia replied. "Not to mention the fact that one of them I sent already here."

"We need to find Mest and Wendy as soon as we can!" Erza added.

Wit Mest and Wendy

"Hey, do you know what that means?" The girl asked as she pointed up at the flare.

"Uh..." Mest mumbled before grinding his teeth on a rock. "I need to know what that means!"

"Did you forget?" She asked.

'Are they on to me?' He asked himself. 'I need to act before the main force lands.'

"Wendy!" Carla shouted as the Exceeds flew into view.

"What are you guys doing here?" The girl asked them.

"Back away from her, right now!" Rose shouted as they landed between Mest and Wendy.

"Alright, now tell us who you really are right now!" Carla shouted.

"What are you talking about?" Mest asked. "I'm Mystogan's stud-" He was cut off when a fist crashed into the rock next to him.

"I don't believe that my prince would ever take on an apprentice in this world." Pantherlily, in his battle form, said. "You were clever enough to use someone who's no longer here, but you made a mistake from the beginning, 'Mest'."

"What are you guys talking about!?" Wendy asked.

"Stay out of this, Wendy." Carla said.

"Tell me your real name, now." Pantherlily demanded.

"I told you..." Mest mumbled out.

"I think you can use magic to manipulate memories." The large cat said. "You've been using it to convince people that you've been a member of the guild. But there are too many things that don't make sense. No one in the guild really knows anything about you, and you don't know what the emergency flare means. So who are you?"

Mest kept silent for the whole time before looking up and vanishing. "He just vanished!" Rose shouted.

'Teleportstion magic!?' Pantherlily asked as he turned around to see Mest appear in front of Wendy. He sprinted back from the rock as Mest grabbed the girl before an explosion launched them all back. 'An attack!?'

"Did he just save her life?" Rose asked as they two reappeared before they all dodged another blast.

"Who's there!? Come out now!?" Mest shouted.

The tree in front of them began moving before a face popped out. "Not bad. You actually found me."

"The tree attacked?" Carla asked.

"Show yourself, you coward!" Pantherlily shouted.

"The name is Azuma." The face said as it looked at them. "I'm part of the seven Kin of Purgatory of Grimoire Heart."

"Grimoire Heart?" Wendy asked.

"That's a dark guild." Carla answered.

"So the flare must be warning people of an enemy attack." Mest mumbled. "Someone must have run into another member."

"I hate to tell you this, but your friends won't save you." Azuma said as his upper body popped out of the tree.

"Just what is your plan!? Tell us!" Pantherlily shouted at Mest.

"I thought if I managed to get onto Fairy Tails holy island, I could get some dirt on the guild." Mest confessed. "But finding Zeref and Grimoire Heart at the same time... this is just too good."

"Zeref?" Wendy asked.

"So who are you really!?" Rose shouted.

"Isn't it obvious?" Mest chuckled. "I'm part of the magic council. I infiltrated this guild so we could shut you down for good."

"A spy?" Carla said.

"Interesting..." Azuma mumbled.

"But that plan doesn't matter anymore." Mest said. "Now that we have Grimoire Heart in our sight, Fairy Tail doesn't matter anymore. Once they're captured, I can retire a made man. I even got permission to use the councils warships just for this occasion. The second the dark guild arrives, they're under arrest. Your demonic heart is done beating."

"Those ships... right there?" Azuma asked before the ships exploded, shocking them all.

"Everyone on the ship!" Wendy shouted concerned.

Azuma slowly climbed out of the tree and stood up. "Now that they're taken care of, shall we fight now?"

"Everyone get behind me." Pantherlily said as he stood in front of the group.

Did anyone else not take the scouting party seriously when they first show up? Seriously, a chicken and a dog? All we need was Taurus and we'd have the full barnyard crew. Not to mention that samurai swords were made of steel, not iron. So Gajeel's little powerup shouldn't have happened. But that a rant for another day.

Some people have been complaining that Laki hasn't been in the last few chapters. Don't worry, she'll show up sooner than you think. Anyway, hoped you enjoyed this chapter.

Beta read by JBallinR12