Earth land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Magnolia.
August, x784.
After getting Jet and Droy settled in the hospital, a few hours passed. Once again, the majority of Fairy Tail was gathered in the guild's library. Though everyone stood in silence, waiting for Makarov to speak, the current atmosphere was only a moment away from turning explosive.
"My children." Makarov said quietly with his head hanging low and his shoulders shaking, addressing the wizards in the room. "Originally, I wanted to let Phantom Lord's attack on our guild hall go."
With that, all eyes in the library were focused on Makarov.
"The guild hall is just a building, after all." Makarov continued. "Even if it has stood in this very place ever since the guild was established, it's still just a building. A building that can be replaced, rebuilt…"
As Makarov spoke, the emotions in his voice were clear. He was enraged and barely keeping that rage in check.
"But this time…" Makarov said, raising his head and allowing the other wizards to see his rage-filled, bloodshot eyes. "… they have gone too far. They hurt one of my children… A member of our family. And that… cannot and will not be forgiven."
With Makarov's every word, the atmosphere in the guild hall slowly built to its boiling point.
"Phantom Lord will pay for harming our family!" Makarov shouted, instantly bringing the volatile atmosphere to its peak. "And we'll make them pay in the Fairy Tail way."
"Rahh~~~~~~!" Most of the wizards present roared in approval.
Naturally, the more clearheaded of the group, namely, Alfonzo, Elicia, and Ultear, did not roar out loud with them. Still, just by looking in their eyes, it was clear that they were also enraged. Even though Alfonzo and Elicia were expecting this attack, neither of them was expecting Gajeel to completely decimate Jet and Droy considering how much stronger they were than their canon counterparts. And that caused Elicia to miss the correct time to interfere out of sheer shock.
"Now, my children!" Makarov shouted. "Come with me! We will have our revenge!"
Once again, most of the wizards present roared in approval. Then, all the wizards filed out of the guild hall. However, they did not immediately make their way toward Magnolia's gate. Instead, Makarov led them to a recently build building behind the guild hall.
While most of those present were confused, since none of them were ever told what was in this building, Makarov, Alfonzo, and his girlfriends already knew what to expect.
As soon as Makarov was close enough, he pressed his right hand against the side of the building before injecting some of his magic power into it. A moment later, The side of the building facing the wizards split down the middle and the wall slid open to either side.
Revealed behind the sliding walls were three military-style transport vehicles capable of carrying forty passengers each. On each side of the vehicles was a large Fairy Tail guild emblem, making it obvious to anyone who saw them just who these vehicles belonged to.
"Now, get in everyone." Makarov said in a stern tone. "We will take these to the nearest Phantom Lord base and show them what happens when they mess with Fairy Tail."
While almost everyone hurried to get a seat in the three transport vehicles, there were a few exceptions. First of which was Natsu.
"Do we have to?" Natsu asked while taking several steps backward. "Wouldn't it put more pressure on them if we walked?"
"We don't have time for your nonsense, Natsu." Makarov said as he turned toward one of the vehicles. "If you want to walk, then walk. But if you miss the battle, don't blame me."
Hearing that, Natsu gritted his teeth. Just as he was about to step forward and endure the torture of riding in a vehicle, Happy spoke up, almost causing him to shed tears in joy.
"Natsu, I can carry you." Happy said with a smile. "We'll just fly above the magic vehicles. Then, when they stop, we'll land and join everyone else."
"Happy!" Natsu shouted. "You're a real life saver, Little Buddy."
The others who held off from rushing into the magic vehicles were Alfonzo, Elicia, Gray, and Ultear.
"*Sigh* It's too bad Master is on another quest." Gray said, sounding a bit disappointed. "On the bright side, I get a break from fighting with that Blizzardvern for a while."
"Stop complaining." Ultear barked. "Even without Mom, we'll make those bastards from Phantom Lord pay."
"About that." Alfonzo said with a wry smile on his face. "I want the two of you to stay in Magnolia."
Immediately, both Gray and Ultear's heads snapped in Alfonzo's direction with shock and anger on their faces.
"Take it easy, you two." Alfonzo said, raising his hands disarmingly. "I'm not saying this to keep you out of the fight. Well… I guess I kinda am… But hear me out first."
With every passing second, the intensity in Gray and Ultear's glares grew. So, Alfonzo quickly said his piece.
"Jet and Droy are in no position to defend themselves right now." Alfonzo said, his wry smile turning into a solemn expression. "And Levy, who is staying with them at the hospital won't be enough to keep them safe if someone else on Gajeel's level shows up to finish the job. So, I want the two of you to stay here and keep them safe."
"On top of that, Lucy is staying here, too." Elicia said. "I don't know if you noticed, but she's not here right now. And if I had to guess, she's probably at the hospital keeping Levy company."
After hearing that explanation, Gray and Ultear's gazes cooled down quite a bit. Then, Ultear took a deep breath and relaxed the tension in her body.
"Fine, I see your point." Ultear said in a begrudging tone. "There's a real possibility that could happen, after all."
"But if you're worried about them, why don't one of you stay here?" Gray asked.
"Because there are only four of us here that can drive a magic vehicle that big." Alfonzo replied. "Me, Lici, Gramps, and Erza."
"And do either of you want Erza driving ?" Elicia asked.
Although Ultear had never seen Erza drive, she could imagine what the experience would be like from the back of one of those transports based on Erza's personality.
Gray, on the other hand, started sweating bullets. He rode with Erza in an old fashioned magic vehicle during the Eisenwald incident. And considering that she would not have to use her own magic power to propel one of these transports, he could only imagine how recklessly she would drive.
"Fine, I'll stay here." Gray said with a strangely resolute expression.
"Yeah, if Erza ends up driving, our guild mates could be in more danger than they would while fighting Phantom Lord." Ultear agreed with a nod.
"My point exactly." Alfonzo said with a nod of his own.
"Alright, then let's go." Elicia said, turning toward one of the remaining transport vehicles. "Oh, and make sure that at least one of you is using [Magic Power Detection at all times. You guys don't want to be caught off guard."
"Got it." Ultear replied.
"Make sure to give 'em hell." Gray said, raising his right fist in Alfonzo's direction.
Raising his own fist, Alfonzo fist bumped Gray before he turned around and made his way toward the driver's seat of the last transport.
A few minutes later, once all the Fairy Tail wizards were loaded up, Alfonzo, Elicia, and Makarov pulled off with Makarov in the lead. It would only take a few hours for the vehicles to make the trip. Shortly after sunrise Fairy Tail would be knocking on the Phantom Lord guild hall's front doors.
A few hours later, in Magnolia's hospital, Levy and Lucy were sitting in Jet and Droy's room. While Levy was clenching her fists in frustration, Lucy was watching her with concern.
"I wasn't cautious enough." Levy muttered. "If I had kept my [Magic Power Detection] up all the way from the guild, I would have known he was following us. We would have had more time to react."
"Levy… It's not your fault." Lucy said in a consoling tone.
"It is." Levy refuted strongly. "Our guild hall was just attacked. Why did we think that we would be fine? Why didn't we take Lici's offer to stay the night at their place. If we had, Jet and Droy wouldn't…"
"Levy…" Lucy said with worry in her eyes.
"I'll get stronger." Levy said resolutely. "I don't want anything like this to happen ever again. I'll never again be too powerless to help my friends."
Hearing that, Lucy exhaled a sigh of relief.
'At least she's not going to let this hold her back.' Lucy thought to herself as a smile crept onto her face. 'I kinda feel bad for Jet and Droy, though. Although I'm pretty sure Levy doesn't realize it herself, she just friend zoned both of them out loud.'
While having that thought, Lucy glanced at the clock hanging on the room's wall.
"It's about time for the market to open." Lucy said with a smile. "We've been up all night; I think some breakfast and a cup of coffee would do both of us some good."
"Thanks, Lu." Levy said with a tired smile. "I could really use some coffee right about now. *Yawn*"
"Me too." Lucy replied as she stood up. "I'll be back in a few minutes."
"Okay." Levy said with a nod. "And thanks for staying here with me, Lu. I really needed the company."
"Any time, Levy." Lucy said with a smile. "We're friends, after all. Any time you need me, I'll always be there."
With that, Lucy made her way to the door. Then, just as she opened the door, Levy spoke once again.
"When you get back, I'll tell you what I think about the latest part of your book." Levy said.
Immediately, Lucy's movement froze. Then, she quickly turned her head towards Jet and Droy, making sure they were both still unconscious. After that, she poked her head out of the door and looked up and down the hallway. After making sure that no one heard Levy mention her book , Lucy, once again, breathed a sigh of relief.
"Geez, Levy." Lucy said with a pout. "That's supposed to be a secret, remember?"
"Sorry, sorry…" Levy replied with a wry smile. "I didn't think anyone would be able to hear me., so I just let it slip."
In fact, although Levy and Lucy had only known each other for a little less than three months, they became fast friends. And the reason behind that was their shared love for reading. Then, after growing close, Lucy revealed to Levy that she had started writing a book that chronicled her adventures after joining Fairy Tail.
Naturally, after finding out about Lucy's book Levy had to read it. In the end, Levy basically became Lucy's editor and proof reader. She would also give Lucy ideas about wording and how to make the reading experience better for her future readers.
After smiling at Levy with an exasperated smile and receiving an apologetic smile in return, Lucy finally left the hospital room and made her way out of the hospital, heading toward the shopping district to pick up some breakfast and coffee from one of the roadside stalls.
Halfway to her destination, however, Lucy noticed that her surroundings had darkened significantly. Looking up, she saw that the once clear sky was covered in thick, grey clouds.
"How did these clouds roll in so fast?" Lucy asked herself as she quickened her pace.
Before she could get much farther, however, Lucy was hit by a raindrop on the top of her head.
"Seriously?" Lucy asked in an annoyed tone. "Now it's gonna rain, too."
As if the sky was waiting for her to comment on it, it started to rain. Though it was not too heavy, it was enough that the stall owners would more than likely close up until the rain passed.
"Great…" Lucy muttered as she raised her hands over her head to try and shield herself from the rain. "Now I'll have to go all the way to the Rabbit's Foot to get breakfast. But first, I should go home and get an umbrella. I'll probably need a bath and a change of clothes, too."
Just like that, Lucy started running through the rain soaked streets of Magnolia. Familiar with the roads after three months, it did not take her long to arrive at her apartment. To her surprise, there was a blue-haired woman, holding an umbrella, standing outside of her apartment building.
'Who's that?' Lucy thought to herself as she approached the building's front door. 'I've never seen her before. Not that I've seen everyone in Magnolia. But I'm certain she doesn't live here.'
"Excuse me, can I help you with something?" Lucy asked as she drew near to the blue-haired woman. "Do you need help getting inside to meet someone?"
Hearing the voice, the blue-haired woman turned in Lucy's direction.
"Drip, drip, drop." The blue-haired woman said in a monotone voice. "Juvia is the rain woman. What kind of woman are you?"