It was a festive day for Fairy Tail. In the guild, foods of all kinds and barrels of draft beer were banqueted all over. Crowds of people bustled at the main hall by the elevated stage. Sitting elsewhere at a secluded wooden table were a Dragon Slayer, an Ice Make wizard, a former Phantom water mage, and a blue Exceed. Natsu Dragneel, the pink-haired delinquent, chowed ravenously on a pair of drumsticks gripped in his hands. He arched his brow at the murmuring crowd and the stage they encircled.
"What's all the fuss?"
Sitting across him was the half-naked Gray Fullbuster. He crossed his arms across his chiselled chest as he did with his feet on the table and glanced where Natsu looked.
"Oh, that? Master said something about celebrating, but didn't catch on what. Got any ideas, Juvia?"
Beside him sat Juvia Lockser. Midnight blue themed her hair winding down her shoulders, the frilly coat and skirt draping down her pale thighs, and the woolly hat with the gold flower pin. She smiled pleasantly, beyond honored that it was Gray of all people asking her.
"Juvia thinks it has something to do with Erza."
"What makes ye say that?" said Natsu.
"She's got a point. When's the last we saw her? Like a week or two back while we were out in the streets? That's when we randomly caught Erza hauling fifty kilos worth of groceries all by her lonesome. Begs the question what she's been up to these past days," said Gray. The tail on Happy, the blue cat, slithered as he stood on the table. He gnawed on a freshly-caught fish that he held. His round eyes glanced at Natsu.
"She looked like she was in a great mood, too. Right, Natsu?"
"Yeah. Never seen her that happy since she was Frederick in that god-awful theatre play. Juvia, seen anythin' at Fairy Hills that we oughta know?" said Natsu.
"Juvia noticed she has been awfully busy cooking. While on way back to my dorm, Juvia happened to see the kitchen door ajar and peeked inside."
"Whatcha notice then?"
"Let her finish, idiot," said Gray.
"That Erza donned an apron, and that flour powdered her all over while she whisked away cartons after cartons of eggs. Juvia believes she has been committed to this day and night with little rest between."
"Eggs and flour, huh?" said Gray.
"Ah! So she's been baking a cake!" said Happy. Natsu pointed at the stage.
"So yer sayin' all that has somethin' t'do with all the commotion there?"
"At least it is what Juvia thinks. Though Juvia is unsure what for."
They pondered in momentary silence, wondering what it could be that had Erza Scarlet, the armored warriorress, seemingly preoccupied in baking. A moment later, Gray pinched his chin and ruffled his black hair.
"Here's what I'm thinking. Much as I hate to admit it, I think Master finally called it quits and that he's gonna retire."
Natsu planted his chin flat on the table and sighed.
"Man, sucks if that's true. Gonna miss that geezer like ye wouldn't believe. Right, Happy?"
Happy hung his arms, looking downcast.
"Aye, sir."
Juvia used this opportunity to wrap her arms with that of Gray. She stroked her cheek on his shoulder much to his disgruntlement.
"Juvia rather thinks Erza is encouraging our soon-to-come wedding."
His arm wedged in her bosoms. A dreamy entrancement of a kneeling Gray presenting a diamond ring took over her.
Juvia. Will you marry me?
Yes, my beloved!
The daydreaming rippled into a different scene of her and Gray walking down a carpeted aisle flanked by cheering Fairy Tail companions. They were dressed in a white bridal dress and a black bow-tied suit, respectively. A bell tolled. By the priest and the altar, Gray pinched the ring to her finger and announced the unthinkable.
Juvia. Will you have thirty babies with me?
Yes, my beloved!
Meanwhile in reality, Gray tried yanking his arm from Juvia who murmured drunkenly in shut eyes while grinning an infatuated smile. The harder he pulled, the tighter her embrace was. He gritted his teeth.
"In your wildest dreams!"
Happy slid in between the struggling couple, hovering his paw by his smirk.
"They're in loooooove."
Once finally breaking free, Gray immediately changed the subject.
"Anyways, where's Lucy at? Haven't seen her a while, too."
Juvin!
It was as if lightning itself had struck Juvia's heart upon her being reminded of the accursed name. Lucy. She drooped her head and in silence wallowed there pitifully. Leaning back, Natsu rested the back of his head on his hands.
"Said she's off t'strike a book deal or somethin'. She should be back tomorrow." He sighed. "Boy, have I missed her."
"Aye, sir. I need someone to poke fun at, and there's no one better to do that to than Lucy-Luce you see," said Happy.
"Guess it all paid off for her. Now I can read. But write?" Gray snickered. "Screw that. You'd have to pay me a fortune to make me write anywhere near a hundred words."
Natsu huffed.
"Hundred? Bro, I wouldn't get past ten if I tried. Hell, even if Erza forced me at gunpoint."
Happy raised his paw as a fish hung in his mouth.
"I'll think about getting through five if I get rewarded with lotsa fishies for it. Aye!"
To win back Gray's attention, Juvia balled her hands by her breasts and interjected.
"Juvia can write, too!"
"What abouts if ye don't mind me askin'?" said Natsu. Juvia blushed.
"Well." She tucked her hands to her lap and wiggled her hips. "Juvia can write to the end of times the length of a dozen tomes as long as the book features many smutty scenes with my belo–"
Gray pointed his finger at her. A block of ice stiffened her lips.
"Alrighty, Juvia. Think we got the memo there," said Gray. Pleased, Juvia palmed her cheeks in shut eyes.
Ahn! Darling Gray is punishing Juvia for indecency!
"So back t'the whole shenanigans surroundin' Erza. Could be someone's birthday fer all I know. Anyone here know whose birthday's in April?" said Natsu.
"Not any that I know of," said Gray.
"Juvia is unsure, too."
"Aye. Same here."
"Children! Gather around! If I could have your undivided attention please!"
On top of the stage stood Makarov Dreyar, the short and elderly guild master. He twirled the tips of his bushy white mustache and continued the announcement upon silence falling the crowd.
"Today's one of Fairy Tail's most treasured nights! Today, we cherish a long due anniversary. Today, we celebrate Fairy Tail's belated hundredth birthday!"
Cheers and applauds roared.
"Tonight, everything's on the house! So eat and drink–and by all means feast–to all your hearty content!"
The hurrahs went wild. Frothy mugs of golden ale sloshed as they were jutted up.
"Thought it had something to do with that," said Gray.
"So that's what they're gettin' fired up about," said Natsu.
"Makes sense. We were stuck in that island for years after all," said Happy. A dejected aura gloomed Juvia who was the least pleased out of the four..
"Juvia is disappointed that it did not turn out to be the wedding Juvia had most eagerly anticipated."
Gray's eyes bulged out.
"You were serious about that?!"
Natsu sniffed out a scent.
"I think Erza's at the backstage. I can smell her. And a cake. Strawberry cake." He slammed his fist on the table. "Yeah, a big one! It's huge! Looks like yer intel's spot on, Juvia!"
Makarov continued.
"There's one more thing that I'd like you all to see while you're still sober. Erza, if you would present it to your friends."
The curtains rolled aside. There at the backstage Erza's red hair gleamed brilliantly under the spotlights. By her stood a mountainous strawberry cake that had in each ascending layer ten flaming candles. At the tenth and highest layer was a diamond Fairy Tail emblem and beneath it a sparkling number one hundred. Makarov gestured both his hands at the gargantuan bakery that almost tipped the ceiling of the stage itself.
"Behold, children! Feast your eyes on this most magnificent view!"
Dumbstruck murmurs stunned the audience. Then a spirited uproar stood testament to the cake's stupendous appearance. Erza folded her arms and smiled boastfully and triumphantly in shut eyes and tucked chin. As for Natsu, he clenched his temples as he couldn't believe his very eyes.
"Holy crap! She baked that all by herself?! Now how'd she manage that?!"
"It's because she's Erza. Duh. If she wants it, she gets it done. Especially if it means baking the mother-of-all strawberry cakes. You should know this by now, Natsu," said Happy. Makarov resumed his speech.
"Erza, you see, has taken the liberty of pouring her heart and very soul into crafting this grand masterpiece! Its very size spells her utter determination, the grit! The blood! Sweat! And tears she had to shed through the month-long tribulation!"
Gasps came fast upon Makarov revealing the sheer duration it took for Erza to bake the colossal monstrosity. Speaking of tears, Erza found it difficult to contain them. She quivered her fist by her trembling lips. Her husky voice shuddered as she uttered silently to herself.
"Oh, Master. You know exactly what I went through. Your words will forever be etched in my heart."
Amid lively applauding and cheering, Gajeel Redfox, the spiky-haired Dragon Slayer, arrived later than usual to the guild. He unwittingly stepped on Natsu's tiptoes on his way to the stage, incurring Natsu's wrath.
"Hey! That's my foot ye jus' happened t'step there, steel-fer-brains!" His arms flung up. "Watch where yer goin'! Yer ruinin' the damn show!"
Gajeel's red eyes glared back.
"Cry 'bout it why don'cha, fire breath."
Natsu leapt from his seat. He hunched with his fists blazing by his hips, ramming his forehead against Gajeel's.
"Whatcha jus' call me, nail face?!"
Their altercation drew growing attention. Glancing at the heated scene, Makarov cleared his throat and continued his speech as if nothing had happened. Erza stared a deathly glare. Sighing, Gray shrugged.
"What do you know. The dragon knuckleheads going at it again. Shocker."
The Dragon Slayers snapped their fiery gazes.
"SHUT YER PRETTY MOUTH, SNOWFLAKE!"
Gray cupped his hands by his hip and there a shimmering pale blue light exuded frigidness. Gritting his teeth, he gave his last and final warning.
"Hey, bastards! I'd take that back if I were the both of you!"
More people at this rate sucked into the fast-escalating commotion. Some even went as far as to encouraging the fight, bickering and chanting. But not Erza. Her winnowing patience was on the verge of being severed. Veins popped on her head and pent-up anger shuddered her as she raised a fist by her lip that she bit. She muttered.
"They never learn."
Makarov himself devolved into a steamy tantrum. He shot up his fists and hopped on one foot then the other.
"Oi! Quick the bickering, you three! I'm giving a once-in-a-lifetime speech here! You're flattening the mood like a balloon!"
Erza palmed his shoulder.
"It's alright, Master."
She cracked her knuckles, then the joints on her neck while headed for the altercation.
"I'll deal with them. Personal–"
"Fire Dragon ROOOAAARRR!"
"Iron Dragon ROOOAAARRR!"
"Ice Make Unlimited! One Sided Chaotic Dance!"
Fire, metal, and ice clashed deafeningly. The elements surged into a blinding sphere that had most third parties grunting and shielding their eyes, not excluding Erza and Makarov themselves. Locked in a stalemate, Natsu glared back at a blue twin-tailed girl standing by him.
"If ye ain't too busy there, Wendy, I could really use yer help!"
Wendy Marvell, another Dragon Slayer, flinched back a pace while guarding up her arms from being flustered.
"E-Eh?! B-But, Mister Natsu!"
"Afraid we don't do buts here! Come on, pipsqueak! Join in the fun! Party's jus' gettin' started and all! Geehee!" said Gajeel.
"O-Okay! If you say so, Mister Gajeel!"
Out of nowhere, Panther Lily, the black Exceed, leapt high and midair transformed into his more burly Battle Mode physique. He wielded the Musica Sword, the crimson greatsword that was thrice his height.
"Geehee! Here comes Captain Lily, too! Royal Army ex-soldier of the First Magic War Division at your service!"
He swung a powerful overhead strike at the ever-expanding ball of destruction. This time Carla, the white Exceed, hurried to Wendy as her paw outstretched to her.
"No, Wendy! Do not heed to those troublemaking men!"
It was all but too late. Wendy had her war face on and her cheeks bulged beyond proportion from ravenously whirling in air. She raised her fists over her shoulders and hunched front with all might she could gather.
"Sky Dragon ROOOAAARRR!"
Her intervention completed the disaster. The burst of air that she unleashed collided into the sphere which swelled at thrice the rate. Soon it engulfed Natsu, Gray, Gajeel, Lily, and Wendy, then the spectators, then the stage where stood Makarov and Erza, then the cake itself. Erza snapped her gaze at her greatest-achieved tour de force yet next to tanking a full blast from a Jupiter Cannon and slaying a hundred monsters at the Grand Magic Games. Her magnum opus. She could hardly even gasp as all she could do was reach out to the cake like a mother would to her child who was on verge of being separated. All she could do was watch while the sphere swallowed it whole and everything in the guild with it. Its glaring radiance shimmered out the high arched windows which shattered upon an ear-splitting explosion. Black smoke howled out the building.
Debris of rock and wood fell and crashed bit by bit. Whatever shards of glass were left in the obliterated windows gave in to the wind and tumbled and shattered beneath. Bits of flames crackled here and there. Once the smoke inside cleared, the aftermath wasn't revealed to be a pretty sight. Some coughed violently as they staggered on their feet. Many clothes were charred and tattered.
The Fairy Tail emblem clinked and clacked on its way to Gajeel who sat on top of a pile of rubbles and chomped on screws and nails, the spoils of the catastrophe. He snatched the emblem and used its pointy arrow-end to pick his teeth and bellowed a burp. Grunting, Gray shoved aside Juvia's wiggling buttocks off his face and sat up. Lily was seen scouring for his sword by swiping and kicking aside debris. Wendy and Carla lied flat on their backs with squiggly eyes, moaning semiconsciously out their gaped mouths. As for Natsu, he hilled over rubbles after rubbles searching for Happy but he was nowhere to be found. He cupped his mouth.
"Oi, Happy! Where ye at?!"
Makarov sat up and hovered his fist by his mouth as he coughed and wheezed strenuously. He swiped aside splinters of wood off his charred white coat, and happened to see Erza walking past him speechlessly at a steady step-by-step with her shuddering arm outstretched. Makarov couldn't make out her countenance since her dishevelled hair veiled it. Though he could guess rather that it was anything but joyous or happy or triumphant. Her gait and posture and mood and just about everything about her spelled utter defeat. She was so defeated that she didn't even take notice of the creamy residues that she happened to unwittingly trudge on. That all she could utter out of her agape mouth was her shaky breath. Makarov briefly lost sight of her when she headed deeper in a thicker part of smoke, and he saw her again once the haze drifted aside.
He saw her on her knees under a stuttering spotlight. Her head was hunched low. So low that strands of her hair grazed what was left of the strawberry cake. The said strawberry cake was anything but its former glory. It was a melted pool that took a liking to freshly molten lava. Just when she thought all hope was lost, there still lingered some, as fear not–because Happy himself flew to her side and presented her something that he managed to salvage before all hell had broken loose.
"Hey, Erza! Lookie-look! I saved you a slice!"
Erza steadily raised her gloomed visage which lightened the moment she saw a slice of her strawberry cake perfectly intact on a plate. Her breath shuddered from her disbelief that Happy of all beings would show such magnanimity. The same Happy that had teased her about her short-lived reunion with Jellal Fernandes, the head of Crime Sorciere, and ended up getting punted to orbit by her as result. That there was still good in the world. Her quivering hands cupped her mouth and she used whatever strength she could muster to do just one thing. To smile.
"H-Happy. " She huffed weakly. "Y-You're. You're too. Kind."
The plate went lopsided from Happy's paws just when her trembling hands reached out to grab it. The slice splatted between him and Erza. Grinning cheekily, Happy pawed his mouth and snickered most obnoxiously, bulging his cheeks while at it.
"Oops."
Erza went stark-white pale as she squealed out her gaping mouth. Happy beat his wings and fled to Natsu. Makarov caught him in the act, brandishing his fist overhead.
"H-Happy! You little shit! W-What are you doing?! What have you done?!"
Laxus Dreyar, the grandson of Makarov, was the smartest man in the area. He vanished in thin air upon a flash of lightning and was the first to exit out of there. His abrupt retreat made Lily cup his ears.
"Thunder. I hate thunder."
Meanwhile, Erza led her shuddering hands to the remnants of the cake. She clenched a handful of them and brought them before her visage which at this rate stained in tears. Her hands shook more violently as did her breath and she balled them into fists until her knuckles audibly cracked. Until the bits of cake squeezed and squelched past the gaps of her trembling fingers that went white from her digging her palms. She dug in so hard that blood oozed next and trickled her hands down her arms. More blood burst from her bottom lip that she bit on. Soon, an aura as dark red as her hair and blood exuded her. A clear sign for Makarov to execute mass evacuation of all Fairy Tail members.
"Run! Run, you wretched fools! FLEE IF YOU VALUE YOUR LIVES!"
The few smarter ones like the Thunder God Tribe had already long left the premises upon seeing the state of the cake alone. They didn't even bother glancing at Erza and ran and ran and never bothered looking back again. For those that were slower and were still disoriented from the blast, just now they realized what had happened and just now they knew that they had to run like all hell to draw breath another day.
Murmurs shifted to gasps. Gasps to panic. Panic to maniacal pandaemonium as not a soul save Makarov planned on lingering a second longer. Warren Rocko, the telepath, tumbled over a table full of beer jugs which all crashed and shattered. Max Alors, the Sandstorm mage, shoved aside the doors on the main entrance and vigorously pumped his arms from sprinting the fastest he could. Speaking of sprinting, Jet, the fastest man in Fairy Tail, abandoned the rest of Team Shadow Gear so that he may save himself, leaving behind him a trail of dust. Elfman Strauss, the behemoth of a man, had been reduced to anything but manly. He panted like no tomorrow while he hauled both his white-haired sisters by his hips.
"This isn't manly! This isn't manly at all!"
Amid the helter skelter wandered Asuka Connell, the daughter of Alzack and Bisca. Terrified beyond her wits, she was trapped among flurries of people making a run for it. She searched for her parents as she sobbed and as tears welled her trembling purple eyes.
"MOMMY! DADDY! WHERE ARE YOU?!"
Elsewhere, Natsu beckoned at Happy.
"Get us the hell outta here, Happy!"
"Aye, sir!"
Happy grabbed a hold of him and through a destroyed window flew fast out of the guild. Once the last of the members had left, nothing but silence lingered and Makarov approached Erza with all caution he could muster like one would to a savage lion. Thunder boomed and drizzles sighed to rainfall and rainfall to downpour. The little sunlight there was had long faded. Trickles of rain seeped down the damaged cracks gapping the roof and droplets drummed on Erza. They pattered on the pauldrons of her Heart Kreuz armor and winded down her guild mark on her arm. The rain mingled with her tears. The closer Makarov encroached, the steadier his steps went and the higher he raised his hands to his chest with his palms facing her.
"Now, Erza. As much as you're grieving, I need you to listen. Listen to me if just for a second, child."
Erza slowly raised her chin without facing back. Halting right behind her, Makarov chuckled nervously, forced a grin in shut eyes, and placed his hands by his temple with his foot folded back. He tried being cute and upbeat about it with an innocent lovey-dovey tone like the spirit of Wendy had possessed him.
"Heck, it's not so bad as you think! Why, we can start anew from scratch! You and I could bake a new one! Toge–"
"NO!"
Her war cry came with battering thunder and lightning. Sheer fright had Makarov hopping off his feet. His skin tingled as every follicle of hair on him jolted. After a moment of silence, Erza restrained herself breath to posture. The red aura simmered. For now.
"Forgive me, Master. I lost my composure."
Makarov nodded understandably.
"You're frustrated. You're hurt. Deep inside you're wounded, I know so. But get this. Whatever you do, leave Wendy out of this. She didn't know what she was doing. You know that. Poor girl's only twelve for goodness sakes!" He chuckled awkwardly, scratching his head. "Let her live the life a little, and learn, you know? I'm sure you'd understand."
Before he could say more, the crimson aura wreathed her again. It burst into a malevolent violet which unleashed a sweltering squall that wavered the air and snuffed nearby flames and blasted aside the smoke congested within. Grunting, Makarov shielded his grimace. Soon more rubbles on the roof that hung by a thread fell and crashed beneath upon the entire area rumbling.
Her aura turned jet-black. It rocketed sky-high past the high ceiling and Erza's hair writhed like a demon possessed. So powerful was her aura that the rubbles around her levitated. Just her aura alone was enough to evaporate the rain around her before they hit the floor in a ten-meter radius. Makarov trembled violently. He was at a sheer loss for words. He didn't feel such freakish presence since the day he had encountered Acnologia at Tenrou Island.
"My god. Erza. Please, child, come to your senses if there's any shred of humanity in you left!"
She recited the names.
"Wendy. Lily. Gajeel. Gray. Happy. Natsu."
Makarov froze stiff. He could do nothing but stand there and let it all unfold. All he could do was tap two fingers to his wrinkly forehead, his left shoulder, his other, and his chest.
Say your prayers, kids. I tried.
Erza raised her head. Gnashing her teeth, she growled on the roster of her targets that she won't forget anytime soon. Or ever.
"WENDY. LILY. GAJEEL. GRAY. HAPPY."
Lightning blanched the sclera of her blood-drunk gaze upon her most-wanted target surfacing her murderous thoughts. Her pupils contracted abnormally.
"NATSU."
Inside Natsu's and Happy's house was the usual disorganized mess of dirty dishes, flipped tables and chairs, dumbbells and barbells, and whatnot. Outside, the downpour was relentless. So was the thunder and lightning that glared the windows. Splatting footfalls muffled just beyond the wooden door which was barged open by Natsu. The door slammed against the wall and Natsu and Happy shut it closed with both hands and paws. Panting strenuously, Natsu wiped the sweat and rain off his drenched face and immediately instructed Happy the following.
"Plank!"
"Aye, sir!"
Happy glided like the wind for a wooden board. One was seen buried under the hordes of things scattered across the place. He yanked it out and instantly flew back to Natsu to hand it over to him. The incessant fetch quests were just getting started for Happy.
"Hammer!"
"Aye, sir!"
"Nails!"
"Aye, sir!"
Gnawing on extra nails, Natsu hammered away with all diligence of a dozen working men.
"More planks and nails! Hell, make that all of 'em here on the double!"
"Aye, sir! Right away!"
Every aperture, entrance, and prominent cracks and crevices was sealed within the span of half an hour. Their home was so reinforced that darkness swallowed everything but the relentless flashes of lightning raying the little spared slits. Letting the hammer and the leftover nails thud and clink, Natsu knew that boarding the openings was just the start and went as far as to tossing any available object that scattered in the vicinity. Happy lended a helping hand as well. Tables thudded, wooden crates whammed, and shelves with open drawers full of clothes smashed against the main entrance. Barbells and cog wheels and spare pillows and stained dishes obstructed the opening of the fireplace connected to the chimney. Natsu then hopped on the hammock despite being grimy with rain, sweat, and other residues he got from the earlier blast. This wasn't the time for cleanliness. It was about survival. Happy flew to his chest.
"Natsu! I'm scared!"
Natsu cradled him, chuckling it off.
"What? Come on now, Happy. It'll all be over in a jiffy. Jus' ye wait." His hand waded the air left to right. "Soon it'll all be water under the bridge. We're jus' gonna tell her that it was a prank." He nodded rapidly like he was extremely confident that it was going to work. "Yeah. A prank. Surely she'll fall fer it."
Happy's eyes quivered as much as his tone.
"That doesn't sound very convincing, Natsu. Erza can be as air-headed as she's autistic at times for sure, but Natsu. I don't think she'll buy that. At all. We gotta come up with something more clever."
Natsu palmed the back of Happy's head and looked him in the eyes.
"Hey." He tapped his own temple. "Clever's my middle name. We will. Like we always do." Natsu stroked Happy's head with an assuring grin. "It's okay, Happy. It's okay. I'm right here. We pissed her off real good, yeah. But I'm right here. Everything's gonna be okay. Ye trust me. Right?"
"A-Aye."
"Get some sleep now. Whatever's gonna happen, it's gonna be a long day tomorrow."
Happy snuggled his head closer to Natsu and tried to catch sleep. Pinching up the blanket, Natsu glared a thousand yard stare at a barricaded window directly across him. Light flared the slitted gaps as lightning streaked sporadically outside. After roared distant thunder that dully rocked the house with the gale shuddering the windows next. Natsu knew he was for the most part not going to get any sleep tonight. Not when his restless black eyes were stunned wide-open from reminiscing the malevolent stench on Erza and the blood-drunken aura itself. He envisioned the ungodly terror that inevitably awaited him and Happy.