"Then eat some iron!" Gajeel then commands the other dragon slayer. To make sure Natsu does what he wants him to, the Iron Dragon Slayer then extends the pillar to push Natsu face first across the floor so hard that it leave a furrow across the floor.
Lucy looks on, helpless and frightened for Natsu's life. Her hands cover her mouth in an attempt to keep herself from screaming. Even Gajeel's guild mates look on aghast at the slayer's power and actions. After pushing Natsu through the room, Gajeel swings him around and tosses him into some machinery that lines one side of the room.
"I've got no more use for you," Gajeel says casually, just like he isn't beating someone to within an inch of their life. Natsu falls lifelessly to the ground, his energy spent.
"Disappear, trash!" the larger male commands. Happy and Lucy can barely watch this one-sided battle. The last blow sends Natsu towards the edge of the room where the first big hole in the wall was made.
"I don't want that!" Lucy says so sadly, as she is on the brink of crying. "I couldn't stand Natsu losing!" she knows that if Natsu loses, then no one left would be able to stand against the other Phantom mages. Natsu represents the indomitable will of the guild and if he is defeated, there is no hope left.
Gajeel cackles happily, enjoying the sound of despair in Lucy's voice and the sight of the unmoving form of the Fire Dragon Slayer.
"Take a look at what's happening to what you're trying to protect!" Gajeel merrily tells the other male. Opening his eyes, Natsu lifts his head a bit to see what Gajeel is talking about. The sight of the giant Shade destroying his home while his friends stand around helpless to stop it sends yet another bolt of rage through the man.
Yet, all his magic is used up and no matter how furious he is, he can't muster up the strength to act on it. Happy and Lucy stares in horror at the destruction that Phantom Lord is causing. Another punch by the giant Shade and the entire guild hall crumbles into a pile of rubble.
Remembering her injured friend who was staying in the guildhall, Lucy lets out a shriek of horror. The blonde mage starts crying, thinking the worst has happened to Krysti who she believes is still in the bow ruined guildhall.
Gajeel tilts his head back with closed eyes as he laughs in absolute victory at the apparent defeat of the Fairy Tail mages.
Natsu, pushing himself up higher with his hands, looks on in horror at the sight as he too remembers who is still in the guildhall. Unbidden, memories of the first time he came to the guild and more flood through his mind. Even the townsfolk who evacuated to a safer location gasp in horror at the sight of the guild being demolished.
Gritting his teeth, Natsu starts to shake with indescribable wrath at the destruction of his home, the friends who been injured, his helplessness. No longer concerned with how tired and injured he is, Natsu uses the rage within him as fuel to push himself upright until he is standing.
Thinking about how each of his family has been physically, mentally, and emotionally tortured by Phantom Lord has spurred his anger into new heights. Slowly, he makes his way towards Gajeel while his friends look on.
"Natsu… Enough, Natsu…" Lucy softly cries out, too emotionally drained to do more. "If… If they have me, then…" she tries to bargain as tears start to form in her eyes. She can't handle seeing him push himself like this, seeing the guild destroyed, the utter despair on the faces of her friends, and the possibility that someone she has come to view as a sister possibly dead. All of it is tearing her up inside when this entire mess is because she ran away from home.
"Lucy…" Happy calls out to her as he rests a paw on her calf. She looks down to see the little blue cat crying as well with his teeth gritted.
"Natsu hasn't given up yet." he continues. Almost trembling from grief, she looks on to watch as Natsu continues to fight.
"Your guild has fallen. You lose!" Gajeel says nonchalantly as he leans against one of the machines lining the wall. Hearing him say this, Natsu bring a fist back with all intentions to punch the gloating Phantom Lord mage right in the face. Before he could strike, Gajeel backhands Natsu in the chest and knocks him further on down the room and into one of the other machines.
Natsu slides down from where he landed until he is sitting on the floor, supported by the machine. His head flops forward quickly followed by his body and he crashes face first into the ground.
Lucy completely covers her face as she starts to cry. "Any more of this, and I…" she can't even finish what she is trying to say through the sobs. She doesn't see that Natsu is struggling to push himself up again. Approaching him at a steady pace, Gajeel plans on beating up the other man until he can't even move.
"Stay down already, Salamander." he calls out, starting to get a little annoyed at the tenacity of the pink-haired guy.
"I really hate holding back, you see… I don't know what might happen to you." His love of utter dominance over others shines brightly in his eyes, almost as if they are glowing.
"Destroying Jupiter, battling fiercely with the Element 4... He used up too much magic power!" Happy cries out, knowing in his heart that Natsu could win if he fought Gajeel before those other battles.
"If only he could eat some flames, Natsu wouldn't lose to anybody!" Happy shouts out, angry at the unfairness of it all.
___________________
I grumble silently to myself at the unfairness of it all. (Dang magically enhanced kids. Able to run with no troubles even with injuries. Don't know how to listen and wait for others as well. Now I got to wander these halls by myself and who knows what all is in this building. Erza and the others better be ok, or I'm going to rip Phantom to shreads.)
I growl low in my throat at the thought of the pain and anguish the girls that I consider my little sisters went through. I almost snarl in devilish delight at all the pain I want to put those two Element 4 mages that took Lucy.
(Oh, they will pay…) I finally make it down to the end of another hall when the floor beneath me starts to shake. Already unsteady on my feet, I painfully crash down onto my knees as my stomach feels like its trying to climb up my throat.
The sensation of falling accompanies it, and now panicked, I throw myself to the floor with a cry of pain of hitting my broken nose on the floor. (Please be ok, please be ok, please be ok!) I chant as a mantra in my head. Worried for the rest of my friends and family that are in here, I close my eyes and pray that they will be alright.
Not long after it started, the falling stops with another jarring shake and pieces of the ceiling rain down on me. I stay there, laying on the floor until I'm certain that the building is stable before stiffly and painfully pushing myself upright again.
"Geez, what the hell is going on around here?" I ask myself. Looking around, I find that I'm at a T-intersection and have to choose left or right to continue. As I think of which way to go, a cheerful tone sounds off from somewhere above me. A male voice sounding very pleased with himself starts talking.
"Attention all you from Fairy Tail. Please listen carefully to this voice." he requests in a sing-song manner. A pained filled feminine scream soon sounds out from the system, causing my blood to run cold. I heard that voice earlier when Mira was taken.
I recognize that scream.
"We have captured Lucy. So we have accomplished one of our objectives." the man's voice rings out happily. His voice lowers slightly and becomes gruffer but doesn't lose the note of joy in it, "Thus we have one final goal that remains to be fulfilled. To slaughter the lot of you! Disgusting brats!"
Before the end of the message, I'm shaking in pure unadulterated rage. (How dare they… HOW DARE THEY!) The raw anger I feel begins to overwhelm me when something makes itself known to me. I don't know what it is, but it feels warm and familiar. I can feel it calling out to me towards the left. I am not sure how I know this, I just do.
It slowly starts to calm me down and I only hesitate for a second before following this feeling. Very far away, I can see an archway that leads to a room. So limping along, I make my way towards the opening and the whatever is calming and calling to me. Before getting very far, the feeling goes away leaving me cold and feeling slightly empty.
Getting worried now, I pick up my pace somewhat to try to get to the room sooner.
As I get close to the opening, I can feel shaking and hear booms like explosions coming from the room. Screams of pain and terror from familiar voices coming from within urges me to move faster.
My eyes widen as I stumble onto a scene that horrifies me. Some smarmy looking guy is casting magic at Gray and Elfman and is tossing them around like rag dolls. My gasp catches in my throat as I see Erza charge in headfirst against the guy. She runs quickly towards him, and the guy extends an arm in her direction and a swirling mass of magic blasts out from his palm.
Erza's reflexes kick in and she is able to dodge the attacks as she continues her headlong rush towards this enemy. Jumping into the air, she changes into her demonic looking armor that causes me to shudder again at the sight of it.
With an enraged yell, she tries an overhead swing of her sword in an attempt to strike the guy. Unfortunately, he was able to dodge nimbly to the side, completely avoiding her attack. A quick change in grip and Erza turns the overhead slice into a horizontal one that aims for his neck. He ducks quickly and grabs onto Erza's arms before she can mount another attack.
Erza just stands there like she is frozen. Awe and worry start building up in me again while seeing her like this. (Even when injured badly she can still move like this.... she is amazing. She's like Xena the Warrior Princess!) The ever-present smile on the guy's face becomes slightly crazed.
With a powerful throw, he tosses Erza into the air and away from him. Using a piece of rubble as a step, she is able to recover from the toss and not suffer any more wounds as of yet. I let out the breath I was holding in relief that she isn't injured any more than she already is.
Flipping in mid-air, she lands lightly on the ground in a kneeling position. Calmly, they both stand back up with the mystery guy looking quite bored with the exchange and Erza looking quite angry.
"You." He says in a bored tone to match his expression. "I'm pretty sure you took a direct hit from Jupiter," he states.
A hint of irritation can be heard in his voice when he asks, "How is it you can stand?"
"My friends strengthen my heart!" Erza proclaims loudly as she holds her sword in an outstretched hand, unwavering. "For those that I love… I'd throw away this body!" she declares in utmost certainty. (Man, if only I can understand what they are saying. But whatever it is, Erza sure is looking confident despite it all. I'm so proud to be her friend.)
"Strong, courageous, beautiful… It will be such a pleasure to destroy you, girl!" he cries out with a manic expression now on his face. As they are at a standstill, I look over to study this guy on the floor in front of me. Kinda tall, with red blackish hair in a high ponytail, ugly long face, eyebrows and mustache that reminds me of a spider, and a blue military-like outfit.
(His voice… I recognize it from the speakers. He was there as Lucy was getting hurt!) The anger surges up inside of me, faster and more powerful than before. Its almost like its taking on a life of its own.
My vision begins to turn red as I growl loudly in fury towards him, "Leave Erza alone asshole!" His head barely turns to study me as I stand there holding onto an archway for support.
"What's this?" he asks, unconcerned. "Another piece of trash that needs to be taken out?" I stand there still snarling at this monster in front of me. (I don't know who he is, but he is definitely at least partly responsible for these atrocities against my friends.) Without warning the entire building starts shaking again.
(What the hell is going on?) My knees, which were already unsteady, give way and I fall painfully onto them again. I let out a hiss and hold onto the archway for balance until the building stops shaking.
"Our dragons have run quite amuck." the smarmy git says, surprisingly clearly despite the noise. (Now if only I can understand what he is saying...) Below, Erza is standing with her sword held up in both of her hands while breathing heavily.
"It doesn't seem like you accounted for Natsu's battle strength. He is just as powerful as I, if not more so!" Erza pants out. I perk up at hearing Natsu's name. (Is he doing this? Seriously? Damn, I figured he was strong, but to make this big hunk of stone shake like this? And he wants to get stronger!?) I almost whistle my appreciation at the display of my roommate's strength. Erza changes the position of her sword as she spoke, now having the point aim right at the smarmy guy's waist.
"Enough with the modesty, Titania Erza. Your magical power is indeed amazing. I have never met a wizard who could hold out against me for so long." says Smarmy as he lifts a hand up to shoulder height with his palm facing the ceiling. (So he knows who Erza is, but why did he call her Titania? I thought her last name was Scarlet?)
The shaking within the building slows down until only faint rumbles are heard. I let out the breath I been holding in, glad that the place isn't falling apart yet.
"If you hadn't taken damage from Jupiter, I suspect we may have had a better match." Smarmy continues. (I caught that one, Jupiter. What does the largest planet in the solar system have to do with this?)
"I can't stand Makarov having a wizard this powerful in his or in any other guild." Smarmy goes on. (This guy likes to talk, and I think I heard him say Makarov. What about our Master is he saying?) I unsteadily get up off the ground, sighing slightly in relief at getting off my knees. I watch as Smarmy closes his hand in a fist and brings it over in Erza's direction.
I feel a sense of dread at that action and I can't help but shout out, "Erza! Look out!" Smarmy looks my way with a look of displeasure and I give him another snarl in return. Erza uses this distraction to charge right at Smarmy, but before she gets close he extends a finger and something small whizzes forward and knocks her back all the way across the room.
"Erza!" I shout out in fear. (Xena or not, she is still heavily injured!) A cloud of dust hides her from view as I feel my throat constrict with worry over her wellbeing. Smarmy's voice catches my attention again.
"Do you understand why I didn't finish Makarov off before.?" (Ok, now I'm sure he mentioned Makarov.) Smarmy's fist opens and five small purple orbs form at the tip of each finger. Those orbs don't look right and the feeling of dread in my gut increases. The orbs grow in size as he keeps talking and I can see swirls of black laced within the bright purple.
(That magic just looks... wrong. I don't know why, but that's how I feel.) The ground in random areas in front of Smarmy suddenly explode like something invisible has hit it, and Erza jumps up out of the cratered wall where she was in what would be an impossibly high jump if not for magic.
The maroon-haired man raises his hand to follow Erza as he shouts, "Despair!" (He said that like it was some sort of attack.) Just after he shouts, the wall just above a stained glass window exploded just where Erza was less than a second ago. (Oh shit, it was!)
Erza lands on the ground closer to Smarmy before jumping sideways closer to where I am. I was just able to make out a small purple lightning bolt arc from Smarmy's hand to the ground just where Erza landed before her jump towards me. More dust explodes up and obscures my vision of what is happening.
"Be careful, Erza!" I yell out at her as I lean further into the room. She looks over at me and nods before jumping out of the way of another blast that I could feel the wind from. The magic blasting out of Smarmy's hand gets brighter and more noticeable the more he uses it.
I feel my rage start growing by leaps and bounds when I see that as he follows Erza's movements, that he has no qualms about hitting my friends who are laying comatose on the ground.
"It was to put him in despair!" Smarmy's voice sounds out in the building and his attacks against Erza stop. I aim my glare at him.
"When he wakes up and sees his beloved guild and beloved guild members destroyed... How will he feel?" Smarmy pauses to chuckle before continuing, "Crestfallen, I'm sure."
As the air clears of dust, I see Erza standing sideways to offer Smarmy a smaller target to hit while aiming her sword at him with one hand. I can see a look of anger on her face at Smarmy's words. (What did that rat bastard say?) Something in his demeanor changes and instinctively, I press myself closer to the archway. I shake in anger feeling the need to do something to help, but I don't know what I can do.
"I will destroy that man with despair and sadness that is never-ending. I will not let him rest! He'll suffer, and suffer and suffer some more... Until the end of his days!" Smarmy declares, his voice lowering and becoming more harsh and menacing. (What is he threatening?) A flash of red passes in front of me to show Erza charging at Smarmy again.
"You villain!" she cries out. (She sounds mad, what the hell did he say!?) She slashes at him and I feel my eyes widen. (Where the hell did he vanish to? Magic lets you teleport as well?) The redhead stands motionless at the spot where she slashed her sword. I look around and gasp as the image of Smarmy fades into view from behind Erza.
"Phantom Lord was always the number 1 guild. We had the most powerful magic, the most talented people, and the most money in the country. But in these past few years, Fairy Tail has suddenly gotten powerful. Erza, Laxus, Mystogan... Those names were heard even in our city, and rumors of Salamander spread throughout the country. And at some point suddenly Phantom Lord and Fairy Tail became the two signature guilds of this country." Smarmy says all this with the same damn calm tones as most everything he is saying, and I can't help but feel that I'm missing some important information here.
Smarmy's voice becomes harsher as he says, "I don't like it. Especially when your guild was once crappy and weak!" to Erza. That tone leaves a real bad feeling in my mouth. Fear for my friends wars with my anger of what he and his buddies have done to my friends. My focus was burning a hole in Smarmy's back, so when Erza suddenly flashes in front of him to slash her sword, I jerk back in surprise.(Good god, she is fast!)
"Silence!" she shouts out. and I'm left in awe at how fast these two are. (Is this just their honest to god speed, or is this something augmented by magic? If I'm stuck in this world long enough, would I too get to be this fast and strong?) Smarmy stops on top of a rubble pile with Erza standing below him in a defiant manner with her sword point still aimed at him. I hear the anger in her voice and my own anger grows with it. (Whatever the bastard said, it wasn't good.)
"Are you saying you started this war all because of some petty jealousy?!" she angrily calls out. Smarmy's facial expression hardly changes, but suddenly I get this feeling that he is looking down at Erza like she is a piece of trash that he, a king, is granting her a high honor by talking to her.
This attitude riles me up even more and I can feel my stomach burning from my pent up rage. Something also tells me that this guy has some sort of insanity issues and my mind urges me to be cautious even though my heart is telling me to tear this man apart.
"Jealousy? Of course not! I wanted to show everyone our superiority!" Smarmy says in a way that just makes me snarl. (I do not like this man.) I keep an eye on his upraised hand, wary of what other types of magic he could use with it.
"What a... what a worthless reason!" Erza almost growls out before she jumps in Smarmy's direction. His face loses that annoying smile and I stand by that archway grinding my teeth. (If only I was able to call upon some magic! I might be able to help, even something small. If I could distract that guy just long enough...)
I can barely see Erza's movements, yet Smarmy is able to dodge her blows effortlessly. My eyes narrow when I notice something. (That piece of... His eyes are closed and he is still dodging her strikes!? How crazy powerful is he?!) Erza's movements become even more of a blur and I'm left feeling in awe of her speed and swordsmanship.
(I got to get her to teach me...) Smarmy is still dodging all of her strikes and not a single scratch appears on his form. I grit my teeth in frustration at this. At one point when she lunges past him, he throws out his hand and a spray of purple magic spews out.
Her sword gets knocked out of her hands and my breath is caught in my throat. A magic circle appears in front of Smarmy and three creepily laughing black skulls shoot out with trails of purple magic. They wrap around Erza's form and constrict around her. Her scream makes my heart twist painfully as red lightning sparks out from the magic surrounding her.
"ERZA!" the scream tears out of my throat at her pain. Fear for her overriding everything else. The smug look on Smarmy's face leaves a distinctly unpleasant taste in my mouth.
"I've long had a distaste for your guild, so the trigger to go to war was but a trifle. A request to return the first daughter of the Heartfilia Konzern," he says looking overly confident. As my anger grows, I can feel my hands shaking. My body feels like its overheating and my vision starts to turn red again.
He continues, "A daughter of one of the richest families in the country in Fairy Tail? How big must you get before you're satisfied?!" His voice gets harsh at the end and he slightly lunges towards the trapped redhead. The lightning increases and so does Erza's screams. (I have to do something...)
My mind almost blank with rage, I roar out, "STOP! Let Erza go you smarmy bastard!" Smarmy turns to look at me in displeasure, and before I know it, my hand releases the rock in a throw that I didn't realize that I picked up. Slowly I start to move forward into the room. I'm shaking so hard that I'm in danger of falling over. Smarmy's eyes narrow at my approach.
"Your guild is filled with nothing but pests. Every time one is crushed, more show up out of the woodworks," he says almost dispassionately as he doesn't even pay attention to the thrown rock.
"KRYSTI! Get out of here!" Erza shouts out while struggling against the magical bonds. For me everything is muffled, so even if I could understand I wouldn't be able to hear.
Everything within me is so hot that I feel like I'm about to melt, but I don't care. Only the safety of my friends and the maiming of this guy in front of me matters. As he turns to look at me more, his hand moves forward and I see Erza screaming once more.
Too much.
There was too much heat in me and seeing Erza scream once again in pain has made something 'snap' within me. My heat inside becomes heat outside of my body. My head lifts and my eyes close involuntarily. The heat I'm feeling doesn't hurt, but it continues to get hotter as my fury of the entire situation increases. (I have to tear this guy and his cohorts apart to protect my friends.) That is the only thought in my mind until I lose consciousness.
____________________
Back on the beach, the members of Fairy Tail who are fighting to protect the guild hall stop their fighting as fire bursts out of the robot on the beach. They look on in awe as the fire pours out of every opening like there is an inferno set off in every room of Phantom's guild hall.
The fire spreads and almost covers the entirety of the building and figures can be seen jumping into the ocean. The fire lasts about 30 seconds before it tapers off, leaving a partly charred building behind.
"What in heaven's name is Natsu doing?" Macao mutters to himself before he sends out another attack against the giant shade. The rest of the guild shakes off the awe at the fiery display and get their minds back to protecting what's left of of their precious home.