14

The sun was shining down across Fiore, heralding what should have been another wonderful day in the magical continent of Ishgar. Unfortunately, for a certain Guild that had assembled in a forest just outside of the Phantom Lord Guild Hall near Oak Town, the mood was anything but pleasant.

The Guild Master of Fairy Tail, Makarov Dreyar, marched down the road leading to Phantom's Guild Hall, two of his S Class Mages at his back.

Natsu and Erza stood proudly behind Makarov, both on guard and ready to fight at a moment's notice. Behind them, many infamous Fairy Tail Guild Members such as Cana Alberona, Gray Fullbuster, Elfman Strauss, Max Alors, Alzack Connel, Bisca Mulan and many others, all itching for a fight.

"This the place," Natsu asked as they stopped before the front doors to the Guild Hall?

"Indeed it is," Makarov replied calmly, his eyes scanning the exterior for anyone who may have caught sight of their approach. "Rather lax security…"

"Phantom Lord have always been arrogant, Master. They probably believe no one would ever dare attack them on their home turf," Erza replied with a scowl. "That changes today…"

"All right you brats, listen up! When we bust in there, I want each and every one of you to remember why we're fighting! Remember what we represent as Mages of Fairy Tail! We won't stoop as low as Phantom, to brutalize our enemy for sport! Instead, we shall show them what it means to mess with a close knit family like ours!"

All the Mages present roared their agreement to Makarov's speech as said Guild Master motioned for Natsu to begin the assault. Inwardly, the old man hoped to settle this matter quickly and decisively.

"Fire Dragon's Quaking Iron Fist!"

Natsu threw an explosive punch at the Guild's front door, the door and the surrounding wall flying forward from the impact into a shocked crowd of Phantom Mages.

"What the hell-!?"

"We're under attack!"

"Where are the Element Four!?"

The Mages of Phantom Lord began to scramble into their main hall, as Fairy Tail Mages quickly flooded the building. Over thirty quickly found themselves blasted out of the building as Natsu landed atop the damaged doors, coated in raw flame.

"Run and gather your strongest, Phantom," Natsu's voice boomed across the hall. "You'll need them, because Fairy Tail's come to collect!"

"Shit," one of the Mage gasped as he pointed in Natsu's direction. "That's Fairy Tail's Salamander!?"

"What's he doing here!?"

"Someone go get the Element Four, or at least Master Jose!"

"Look, there's more Fairies coming in behind him," another Phantom Lord Mage shouted as Erza gently landed next to him, now in her Heaven's Wheel Armor.

"Shit, it's Titania!"

"You'll pay for attacking our comrade, Phantom," Erza cried as she summoned over thirty blades and aimed them all at the scrambling, low tier Mages. "Dance my blades!"

As the Fairy Tail Mages began attacking any Phantom mage in sight, a lone figure chuckled darkly up amongst the rafters, his gaze focused squarely on Natsu. Taking a bite out of a piece of metal he held in his hands, the man tossed it aside before rising to his feet.

"So, that's Salamander huh? Better give him a real Phantom Lord welcome…"

Natsu was easily knocking out the random Guild Members who were rushing him, when he suddenly found himself blocking an iron club that had shot down from the rafters. Upon looking at the metal club for a moment, he quickly recognized its similarity to the ones currently sticking out of their Guild Hall.

"So, I'm guessing you're the bastard who threw a bunch of scrap at our Guild Hall," Natsu mused as a man dropped down several feet before him, a savage grin on his face.

Standing at a similar height to Natsu, was a muscular man with long, slicked back black hair. He had distinctive red colored eyes, and lots of metallic studs across his body. He wore a shabby black tunic with studded edges, a studded belt and beige pants with black combat boots. He also wore a pair of studded brown gloves with random scrap metal seemingly welded onto them.

"Gihi! And, what if I am," the man smirked, showing off his sharp teeth as Natsu crossed his arms, a smirk of his own on his face. "You weak Fairies deserve nothing less as far as I'm concerned! If you can't fight and win all your battles, then what good are ya as a Mage!?"

"Interesting philosophy there," Natsu snorted in response. "Guess that means you're pretty worthless, since there are plenty of people out there who can easily kick your ass, huh?"

"Funny guy," the man smirked, not bothered by Natsu's jab. "At least I ain't a weakling who needs help in a fight!"

"You will be, Blacksteel," Natsu replied darkly, a cold smile on his face as many of the Phantom Mages started backing away in fear. "You will be…"

S Class Mage Of The Phantom Lord Guild

Son Of The Metal Dragon Monarch Metalicana

The Shimmering Blacksteel

Gajeel

"Gihi! You trying to be intimidating, eh, Salamander," Gajeel smirked, clearly not shaken by Natsu's threatening demeanor. "You're just a Fairy, and Fairies don't have the guts to do what's necessary to get the job done!"

"Is that right," Natsu replied in clear amusement. "Tell me, you're the Dragon Slayer for Phantom, right?"

"That's right," Gajeel smirked. "I'm the Iron Dragon Slayer!"

"Iron, huh," Natsu grinned as fire exploded from his form, heating the area up. "Then let's just see if I've got what it takes to beat the almighty Blacksteel?"

"Gihi! Keep talking shit Salamander," Gajeel smirked. "Its only gonna make kicking your ass that much better!"

Natsu smirked as the two Slayers rushed one another, both their fists igniting in their respective element as they clashed.

"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"

"Iron Dragon's Club!"

The two attacks smashed together, cracking the ground beneath them, before Gajeel was suddenly blasted across the room, smashing into the back wall. The Phantom Mages were shocked as they looked back fearfully to Natsu, who simply smirked as he cracked his knuckles.

"My fist is currently at one, Blacksteel, and your ass is nil."

"Keh," the Iron Dragon Slayer huffed as he ripped himself out of the wall. "Almost felt that one, Fairy…"

"Gonna play it that way, are you? Fine," Natsu scoffed as he slowly started advancing toward Gajeel's position. "This next one is gonna hurt…"

"You ain't even gonna land it, Fairy," Gajeel snapped as he took a deep breath, his chest puffing up as Natsu crossed his index and middle finger, continuing to walk forward. "Iron Dragon's Roar!"

Gajeel fired a powerful blast of wind from his mouth, mixed with what appeared to be scraps of metal and small weapons. The attack completely engulfed Natsu's position as the Phantom Mages all cheered, thinking that their S Class Dragon Slayer had landed a serious blow.

"Is that all?"

Gajeel's eyes widened, genuine shock on his face as four orange sparks of lightning shot out of his attack, the entire thing being reduced into hundreds of miniature cubes that quickly began to orbit an entirely unaffected and amused Natsu.

"Time for a lesson, Blacksteel," Natsu smirked as he fired Gajeel's own attack at the entirety of the Phantom Lord Guild, recombining it as it tore through their ranks.

As Natsu seemingly toyed with Gajeel, Makarov took this as his cue to move on ahead.

"Erza, I'm going for Jose!"

"Understood Master! Natsu and I will keep everything contained to the ground floor," Erza replied sharply as she continued to rain down swords across the area.

Makarov nodded stiffly, rushing up the nearby stairs as Natsu rushed Gajeel, delivering a fierce blow to his gut and sending him flying across the Guild Hall, smashing through a wall. He casually walked over to the stairwell Makarov ascended and took up a defensive position.

"None of them are going up to help," Natsu said as Erza landed next to him. "How are you doing Erza?"

"Fine. These Mages are rather weak, in all honesty."

"What about you Gray," Natsu asked as the Ice Make Mage froze another group of Phantom Mages nearby. "How are you holding up?"

"Great, now that I get to pay back these Phantom bastards," Gray grinned as he fired a barrage of ice shards into the crowd.

Natsu smirked, before suddenly snapping his attention upward as he felt a major surge of power from upstairs, followed by an audible explosion. Before he even realized it, his body was moving as he leapt into the air and caught something rather small that had begun falling from the upper levels.

Erza ceased her attack, immediately looking over in Natsu's direction, her heart sinking as she turned to Gray.

"Gray … I need you to do me a favor?"

"What is it?"

"I need you to quickly help spread word for the others to retreat-."

"WHAT!? Why the hell would we retreat," Gray snapped back, only for his eyes to widen in shock at seeing Natsu slowly approach them, holding the unconscious and sickly form of their beloved Guild Master, Makarov, in his arms. "What the fuck…?"

"Gray, the Master's down," Erza replied, in response to his question. "We need to pull back! NOW!"

"R-Right," the Ice Make Mage agreed as he moved to begin telling the others, Erza moving closer to Natsu who had a neutral look on his face.

"Natsu?"

"Take him."

"Natsu," Erza repeated, taking Makarov's form as he turned around. "What are you doing?"

"Get going," Natsu replied, as Gajeel charged his position. "I should be able to buy you all enough time to get away-."

"SALAMANDER," Gajeel roared, some slight battle damage on his form. "You ain't going nowhere!"

Natsu easily evaded Gajeel's strikes before striking him in the gut, prompting the Dragon Slayer to lurch forward, only to then receive a knee to the face that knocked him clean on his back.

"Natsu…"

"Get him to Porlyusica, Erza… GO!"

Erza nodded stiffly, not wanting to leave him to face Phantom alone, yet also not wanting to risk any further harm to Makarov.

"Fine. You'd better not go doing anything stupid Natsu," Erza huffed as she started sprinting back toward the main entrance to the Phantom Lord Guild Hall.

Many of the Phantom Mages moved to pursue, but Natsu appeared in front of the entrance, right as Erza passed through, blocking their path.

"I'll catch up at some point Erza, just focus on making sure the others are alright," Natsu replied, in response to her demand, as the Phantom Mages tried charging his position. "I don't think so…"

Fire erupted from the ground behind him, blocking off the exit, as the Phantom Mages skidded to a stop, cautious about trying to attack him directly.

"No one from Phantom Lord is going anywhere," Natsu growled as he entered an offensive stance. "Your fight is with ME!"

"You for real Salamander," Gajeel coughed as he rose to his feet. "You seriously think you're tough enough to take on our whole Guild by yourself!?"

Natsu was about to respond, but a rather slimy, conniving voice cut him off before he even had a chance. Floating downward from the top floor, was the Guild Master of Phantom Lord, looking as amused as ever.

"I must admit, I'm curious to know the answer to that question myself," the man sneered, clearly disliking Natsu almost immediately. "Then again, the answer should be quite obvious, shouldn't it? Another arrogant Fairy, believing itself far above its station!"

"You must be Phantom's Wizard Saint," Natsu growled, on guard before the powerful foe before him.

Guild Master Of The Phantom Lord Guild

One Of The Ten Wizard Saints

Wizard Saint Rank Eight

Jose Porla

"Yes, I am indeed," Jose smirked in reply as he descended to the ground floor. "And you, little Fairy, will soon be dead! I'll send you the same place I sent that old fool Makarov!"

"Jose Porla," Natsu murmured. "I've heard about you. Youngest Wizard Saint before Siegrain, and an all-around piece of shit. Don't go counting me out of any fight until my corpse has cooled…"

"That can certainly be arranged," Jose smirked, only for Natsu to suddenly strike behind him, hitting a solid barrier. "Hmm…"

"Oh, this is so sad! I was unable to end this fight quickly, and now I must slice him until he begs for mercy! Oh… isn't that so sad," a man cried as he appeared in front of Natsu before walking over to where the rest of his guild were currently standing.

"What did you do to Makarov," Natsu growled, demanding information. "Tell me Jose!"

"Well," Jose smirked, enjoying the look of concern across Natsu's face toward his Guild Master. "If you must know, I had Aria here strip the Magic clean out of him! A rather amusing process to watch, especially as it was enacted on that old fool who I despise above all else!"

"Amusing? You find harming an elderly man amusing," Natsu spat as he began leaking his Magical Power. "You all make me sick!"

"Words from Fairy scum mean nothing to me," Jose laughed in response. "You think you're buying time for your pathetic Guild to scurry back to Magnolia, but in reality, you're only delaying the inevitable! I'll admit that you've got some power, but it won't be enough for the likes of me!"

"So you say," Natsu replied darkly as scales slowly began to emerge through his skin, shocking Gajeel who actually took a step backward in shock. "Flame Drive!"

"No fucking way," Gajeel responded shakily. "How the hell are ya able to pull that off!?"

"Simple," Natsu replied as he started sucking in a deep breath, his chest expanding.

"All of ya, hit the damn deck," Gajeel barked as he immediately retreated, much to the shock of the rest of the Guild who refused to move from Jose's side.

"Fire Dragon King's Quaking Roar!"

Natsu unleashed his breath attack, one that was ten times the size of the one Gajeel had fired at him earlier. In a matter of seconds, his attack engulfed Jose and all the Mages that had been around them, setting fire to the entirety of the Phantom Lord Guild Hall, blowing away the entire back wall as part of the structure started to collapse.

Gajeel watched from where he'd hunkered down, visibly sweating from the attack. He naturally knew what Natsu had just done, thanks to his own upbringing, but the rest of the Guild weren't as fortunate.

As the smoke cleared, it revealed Jose to be entirely unharmed, but no one else. Gajeel was now frozen in fear as he looked toward the furious Fire Dragon Slayer, steam still wafting from his razor-sharp teeth.

"He-He killed em," Gajeel muttered, unable to believe he'd just seen a Fairy Tail Mage kill someone, let alone half the members present in the Guild Hall.

Jose, meanwhile, appeared thoughtful. He quickly deduced that, unlike most of the other Mages in Fairy Tail, this one was some sort of trump card Makarov had kept around for a rainy day. A day much like today, in fact.

"To those of you that are left, go to the secondary Guild Hall immediately," Jose said calmly, many Phantom Mages looking between their Master and Natsu in shock. "Gajeel, you know what preparations must be made…"

"Y-Yeah," the Iron Dragon Slayer replied shakily, as he slowly started to retreat, never once taking his eyes off of Natsu's form.

"Such power," Jose muttered, once all the Phantom Mages had fled. "If I can't have that power within Phantom, no other Guild can!"

"Maybe if Phantom weren't so nasty toward outsiders, some strong Mages might actually consider joining," Natsu replied with a frown, eliciting a scowl from the Guild Master.

"To be a Phantom Lord Mage means you care about power! Strength is all that matters in this world, and without it, you're next to worthless! No Phantom Mage has time to play nice, not when there are more important things to be concerned with!"

"Funny you say that, because I'm not really all that impressed with the strength of the Mages in your Guild," Natsu countered evenly. "Numbers don't equate to strength, Jose-."

"You arrogant fool," Jose sneered. "Do you even know who I am!?"

"I thought we already established that I did when we started this conversation-?"

"That's not what I meant and you know it," Jose snapped, cutting Natsu off mid-retort. "Fine! Since you know who I am, then, do you understand what fighting me will mean?"

"I couldn't care less what it means, because, you won't be around long enough for it to matter," Natsu replied darkly. "The moment you stopped serving the people and started abusing your Wizard Saint position, was the moment any of that became irrelevant. Forming a Guild full of nasty, self-righteous thugs who hurt others for fun and destroy with reckless abandon … You're no better than a Dark Guild as far as I'm concerned."

Jose sneered at Natsu, as he began to float in the air. "You sorely underestimate me if you think to challenge my power! I'm one of the Ten Wizard Saints, a Mage recognized as being virtually without peer!"

"That's up for debate, since I know plenty of people who are stronger than Master Makarov, who's also a Wizard Saint," Natsu countered. "Yet, none of them are part of the Wizard Saints, are they?"

"Your arrogance will be your undoing," Jose sneered as he held out his right hand, a sphere of darkness forming within his palm. "Shade Magic – Dead Wave!"

From Jose's palm, he fired a considerably powerful blast of dark energy, that was easily five times larger than Gajeel's breath attack. Natsu easily avoided it, quickly following up by rushing the Saint as his right fist ignited with flame.

"Fire Dragon King's Seismic Iron Fist!"

"Shade Magic – Shade Entangle!" Jose snapped in response as several shadows began to emerge from the ground, wrapping their way around Natsu which effectively held him in place.

"What the he-." Natsu was cut off as Jose seemed to warp to his current position, and punched him in the face, breaking his nose and drawing first blood in the process.

"You simply don't understand boy, you're outmatched!"

"Outmatched huh? Is that what you call this," Natsu asked in reply as he shattered the Shades surrounding him with his Crash Magic, before delivering a swift punch to the Guild Master's face.

Jose skidded backward with a scowl, a small trickle of blood leaking from his own nose. This went entirely ignored, however, as he summoned more Shades to latch onto Natsu. The Saint smirked as he noticed the faint twitch in Natsu's eyes, indicating that the Slayer did indeed feel his attack.

"Put up a fight as long as you can, as my Shades are slowly draining your strength. Pretty soon you won't even be able to stand!"

"Is that so, guess I'd better get rid of them then. Crash Arts – Crash Repulse!"

The Shades began to crack, as Natsu's spell went over them, before shattering, freeing him in the process. Jose merely raised an eyebrow in response to Natsu's successful escape, as if the act didn't even matter.

"You can shatter as many of them as you like with Crash Magic, but it won't do you any good! I can call an infinite army of my Shades, whilst you surely cannot maintain a Crash Barrier for an indefinite period!"

"You're quick to judge, yet you know nothing about me," Natsu replied with a frown.

"I know all about abilities such as Crash Magic," Jose sneered in response. "I will grant you the fact that you must be skilled to even be able to wield it as you have, but it is not the overpowered kind of Lost Magic people talk it up to be, and YOUR body will ultimately prove that to the rest of your trashy eyesore of a Guild!"

"What even is your problem with Fairy Tail," Natsu spat in response. "Why do you hate us so much!? Can't you just put an end to whatever petty feud is between our Guilds!?"

"The feud between our Guilds shall never cease, not so long as one of us remains in this pathetic world," Jose snapped back. "I couldn't care less for your pathetic concerns, only that once I kill you, I shall finally make Phantom Lord the undisputed top Guild in the country!"

Natsu frowned at Jose's words. It took something truly significant to make someone hate something to the lengths Jose hated Fairy Tail. He'd need to find out just why Jose despised them so much at some point.

For now though, he had to focus on getting out of this situation. He'd certainly bought the Guild enough time to retreat. Erza's words flashed through his mind, demanding he not do anything stupid, eliciting a small chuckle from the Slayer, which only further angered Jose.

"You think this situation is funny!?"

"Not in the slightest," was his immediate response. "But at least I have things I can find joy in, unlike you."

"What are you, five? What kind of insult was that!?"

"Insult?"

"I'm going to destroy you now…"

"Before you do, let me ask you a question, since you're a big, bad Wizard Saint," Natsu smirked. "Do you know what it means if a Mage can summon a great deal of Magic Circles that are all of the same element?"

"What," Jose blinked, clearly confused. "What kind of question is that!? Are you stupid, any Mage knows what would happen if-!"

Jose froze as he felt Natsu's Magical Core fully open, a torrential sea of power slamming down on the area as he extended his arms outward, each arm covered by four Fire Magic Circles each.

"You might know the theory … but have you ever seen it in practice?"

Jose floated backward slightly in genuine surprise as the Magic Circles spun rapidly around Natsu's arms.

"What are you doing!?"

"Something stupid," the Dragon Slayer grinned as he slammed his palms down onto the ground, watching as the Magic Circles sunk into the concrete floor. "Fire Dragon King's Seismic Eruption!"

The entire area began to shake violently as large cracks formed in the ground, expanding quickly to encompass the entire ground floor. Searing hot fire began to shoot up from the ground causing steam and smoke to appear as the building quickly started to collapse.

Jose found himself forced to retreat as his Guild Hall fell all around him, becoming nothing more than melted rubble and slag. Once he was a safe distance away, he brushed some ash off of him and scanned the area.

"That bastard," Jose sneered. "He's used this to retreat. Still, there's only one place the rat will scurry toward anyway. In the meantime, it seems I have some research to do…"

Jose flew off at high speed, leaving the inferno that was his main Guild Hall behind. He didn't notice as Natsu bolted from the collapsing building, quickly retreating into the nearby forest as he suppressed his Magical Power as much as possible.

Stopping by a large tree, he placed a hand on it and panted slightly. He'd expelled quite a bit of power using that attack, but it was ultimately worth it. Jose was a Wizard Saint, and one doesn't escape one of those without making a few sacrifices. For having come up with the plan on the fly, he thought he did rather well."

"Shit," Natsu muttered as he placed a hand to his nose. "Bastard definitely broke it…"

Wiping the blood off onto his sleeve, he decided to deal with it later as he set off into the forest. He had a decent trip ahead of him, and knew a lot of the Guild was going to be worried about him.

"Better head back and see them as soon as possible-."

"I think I have something else in mind, Natsu," a voice muttered from behind a tree prompting Natsu to stiffen. "Something a little bit more … dangerous…"

***POTD***

Back in Magnolia, the mood in the still damaged Guild Hall was grim, to say the least. Matters were certainly not helped by a certain scarlet-haired Mage that was currently freaking out.

"Erza, you need to calm down," Mira sighed as she inserted herself into her friend's field of view. "Natsu will be back soon, we all know that. Are you really doubting his strength at a time like this?"

"This isn't like all those other times Mira," Erza replied through grit teeth, though not directing her anger at the white-haired Mage. "This time, he's alone against the strongest Guild in the country aside from ours, AND a fucking Wizard Saint! Natsu's strong, but what if Phantom managed to overwhelm him!? What if he's bleeding out in the forest somewhere!? What if he's in the same state the Master is-!?"

The small group was shocked when Mira slapped Erza across the left cheek, hard enough that it almost immediately started reddening. Erza could only gape at Mira, who was clearly not happy, her patented glare in full effect.

"Damn Mira," Gray muttered quietly. "Forgot you can do stuff like that-."

"Shut up Gray," Mira replied coldly as she got into Erza's face. "Shame on you, Erza Scarlett."

"Shame on me…? What-?"

"How dare you act like this when you know damn well Natsu is going to be fine, and that there are far more important things to be worrying about! Without him, it falls to you, as the only combat ready S Class Mage, to lead," Mira snapped harshly. "And you're running around panicking like a chicken with its head cut off! Are you not Fairy Tail's Titania!?"

"Mira…"

"Natsu would be disappointed to see someone he admires and respects so much acting this way," Mira continued in a slightly gentler tone. "He bought time for all of us, knowing that this fight is far from over, and you're squandering it."

"Hate to say it, but Mira's right," Elise chimed in as she entered the ruined Guild Hall. "Sorry to cut in, but I've got some news."

"What is it," Gray asked as Erza moved to stand near the window overlooking the bay behind the Guild Hall.

"Turns out I was right, and Phantom did send some trash to try and mess with Magnolia while you guys were gone. Ur and I smashed them though, and she's got them on ice. The Mayor is pretty pissed about it by the way…"

"I figured he would be," Mira sighed. "I'll have to speak with him soon…"

"Getting back onto this whole Natsu situation though, I agree with Mira. We need to focus on getting ready for a Phantom counterattack. They aren't gonna take this lying down, and Jose is one of the Ten Wizard Saints and has lots of connections. We should be prepared for anything."

"Which means we need you to step up and lead, Erza," Mira replied gently as she stepped up to the scarlet-haired Mage, gently placing a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry for slapping you…"

"No, its fine Mira," Erza smiled as she rubbed her cheek. "I needed that. You were right, I was freaking out and squandering the time Natsu bought us, and I apologize."

Mira smiled as the two shared a hug.

"AWW-!"

"Damn it Elise," Erza huffed as the black-haired God Slayer poked her tongue out at them, eliciting a giggle from Mira. "You ruined the moment!"

Despite her tone, Erza also started to giggle, with Gray chuckling along moments after, as the tension in the air seemed to simmer down somewhat.

"Now that we've all calmed down a little, let's review our current plan," Elise said as they all sat around a table. "Mira?"

"Well, we should first check to see if anyone else is injured," the white-haired Mage suggested. "Then, we make sure that the Guild continues to operate as close to normal as we can, all things considered."

"That's all well and good Mira, but with me being the only combat ready S Class Mage, people will think Fairy Tail is vulnerable. I know we have people who are as strong as an S Class like you two, as well as Elfman, Cana, Alzack and Bisca, but losing the Master will be a severe handicap if Jose decides to turn up with Phantom at his back."

"Well, I tried to get a hold of Laxus, but he doesn't care. Mystogan probably isn't an option either, since no one ever knows where he is or how to get in contact with him. And Gildarts isn't expected back for at least another few weeks from what the Master told me," Mira sighed.

"Look, we can sit around moping or we can do something. Let's start with checking up on everyone," Gray said sharply as he slammed a hand down on the desk. "We're only gonna make things worse being like this! Sometimes, just doing anything is better than sitting around and talking about it!"

"Gray's right. Sitting around here is just as bad as giving up," Elise said as she rose to her feet. "I'm going to go see who we've got left and see if we can work out some kind of strategy to combat Phantom Lord."

"How are you gonna do that Elise," Gray asked eliciting a smirk from the War God Slayer.

"Well, back when I worked for the Council, I was privy to information on certain troublemakers. Let's just say that some members of that Guild are on the Council's watch list."

"Not under enough scrutiny to where crap like this gets stopped before it even starts," Gray replied dryly prompting Elise to smack him in the back of the head "OI!"

"Can you not be positive for ONCE in your life!?"

"Alright alright," he groaned as he rose from his spot. "I'll come and help, just stop hitting me!"

"I swatted the back of your head once, you big baby," Elise smirked as she looked toward the others. "I'll be downstairs if you two need me."

Erza and Mira watched Elise and Gray go, before turning to face one another once again.

"Hey Mira?"

"Hmm?"

"I'm going to get you back for that slap," Erza smirked, eliciting a matching one from the white-haired Mage as the two girls devolved into another fit of laughter.

***POTD***

When Natsu set out to attack Phantom Lord this morning, this was the last possible scenario he'd expected. Still, things were still far from hopeless, and this latest nugget of good luck was something he found himself grateful for.

Mystogan had arrived, meeting up with him deep in the forest surrounding Oak Town. The man had come up with a plan, and the pair were weighing the pros and cons of going through with it.

"Are you certain you can get it done in five hours?"

"Quite easily. If we coordinate this correctly, we can completely destroy Phantom Lord as a Guild by late this afternoon," Mystogan replied as the pair sat around a tree stump, looking over a map of Fiore. "The branch Guilds containing Phantom members are all located within several kilometers of the main Guild Hall, as you can see."

"And I ask again, can you take out all forty by yourself?"

"I can take out thirty-nine of them," Mystogan replied as he pointed to one that was positioned in what appeared to be the sea on the map. "This one here is a mobile Guild Hall, and is where Jose has no doubt fled. As we speak, it will be undoubtedly making its way toward Magnolia."

"Lovely," Natsu sighed. "I assume you want me to deal with this one?"

"I have it on good authority that you'll be the best fit for dealing with Jose," Mystogan replied, his tone showing slight amusement.

"Oh yeah? And who exactly is this source?"

"I promised not to tell, though, you do know them."

"I'll figure it out in due time, trust me on that," Natsu chuckled, before growing slightly more serious again. "So, what can I expect from this mobile Guild Hall?"

"Unfortunately, you're looking at a rather grim time," Mystogan sighed. "My anonymous source about you has informed me that you are well aware about a weapon known as a Jupiter Cannon?"

Natsu sucked in a sharp breath, his eyes growing hard as he leaned in closer to Mystogan, the other S Class Mage not wavering under his intense glare.

"Pretty short fucking list of people who know about my time in Scarlione, Mystogan…"

"I know, and rest assured, they only told me what they knew I'd need to know," the robed Mage replied quickly. "You have experience dealing with Jupiter Cannons from the war in Scarlione, hence why my source requested you deal with the one Phantom Lord illegally possesses."

"Fine," Natsu huffed. "I want to make it clear though, I'm not happy that someone is talking about my military service behind my back-."

"It isn't like that, it was just this one thing because its relevant," Mystogan replied firmly. "They said they wanted to make sure that Magnolia isn't wiped off the map by a damn super-weapon, because Gildarts, Shrikke, and yourself all live there!"

Natsu sighed and turned away from the robed man, taking several deep breaths to calm himself. He knew Mystogan was right, of course, but he had his reasons for being the way he was.

"Sorry Mystogan, I just don't like discussing the war, or anything in it," Natsu replied quietly. "Let's just get back to this Phantom business, okay?"

"Agreed. I've got a route planned to take out all of Phantom's branches as quickly as possible. Once I've done that, I'll head to Magnolia as quickly as I can to help out."

"Understood. Thanks for the info on this Mystogan, I appreciate it."

"We're all in this together Natsu, never forget that," Mystogan replied as his form began to shimmer. "We'll talk soon."

Once Mystogan vanished, Natsu took off in the direction of Magnolia as quickly as he could. If Phantom Lord had a Jupiter Cannon, then he needed to do whatever it took to destroy it. He'd seen what one can do firsthand, and he wouldn't let Magnolia suffer the same fate.

***POTD***

Erza sighed as she finished reading a report Mira had handed her. Twenty Fairy Tail Mages were currently in the hospital, another nine had injuries that weren't bad enough to keep them there, but were enough to keep them out of action.

Scattered across the desk were numerous papers for her to sign, all of them authorizing the payment for the medical costs incurred by Fairy Tail at the hospital by the various members. She'd just finished approving them, as Mira slowly collected them, leaning back into her chair with a sigh.

"Any word from Elise?"

"Not yet. Gray told me she's not convinced we can hold the Guild Hall without more S Class Mages, should Phantom actually decide to attack in force," Mira replied grimly. "Phantom have numbers, as well as five S Class Mages of their own, and a Wizard Saint…"

"Don't remind me," Erza sighed as she looked up at the broken window near the far end of the room. "I really wish Natsu were here right now, and not even for my own personal reasons. Just having him here would make the logistics of fighting Phantom Lord a hell of a lot easier on Elise."

"You're right on that one Erza," Elise huffed as she slowly strode up the stairs and flopped down on the nearby lounge. "To put it simply, unless Natsu comes back, we're basically fucked."

"Please tell me you're joking?"

"I'm really not. Aside from the two of us, and Gray to a lesser extent, there's only one Fairy Tail Mage in Magnolia who I think could actually fight Jose."

"Who?"

"Ur."

"Ur? Seriously," Erza asked in genuine surprise. "Why do you think that?"

"Well," Elise replied hesitantly as she motioned for Erza and Mira to come closer. "I did a bit of digging on her, since I recognized her name but couldn't place it. Turns out, before she turned herself into an ice cube, she had the Council begging her to be one of the Ten Wizard Saints."

"Seriously," Erza gasped, eyes wide. "Ur is that powerful!?"

"Oh yeah, definitely. She could smash me, you, and Gray at the same time with little effort," Elise replied honestly. "I'd say she's around Natsu, Makarov or Gildarts' level. Not sure exactly where she ranks specifically, but she's in that high tier."

"Well, if she's that strong, then why do you think we're screwed," Mira asked, clearly confused.

"Ur still hasn't fully recovered from Galuna Island. She's regained strength, but she's not a hundred percent, and Jose would exploit that for sure."

"That's fair," Erza agreed. "Ur's case isn't something I've ever heard of happening before. I know Natsu and Ur have spoken privately about it, and neither are talking about the details."

"In other words," Elise continued, as both Erza and Mira shared a look, before all three girls spoke in unison.

"We need Natsu back."

"Hey guys," Gray called out as he ran up the stairs. "Just got word from Porlyusica about gramps!"

"How is he," Erza asked immediately. "Is he conscious?"

"Not yet. Apparently, Porlyusica has tasked someone with collecting gramps' Magic that got scattered after the attack on Phantom's Guild Hall," Gray replied. "Before you ask, I tried to find out what she meant and she just yelled at me and called me stupid."

"Well, in any event, at least it seems like there is a viable road to recovery for him," Erza sighed. "I hope he gets better soon, because everyone downstairs is about as cheery as the dead-."

The group all stumbled forward as the entire Guild Hall shook violently. They quickly righted themselves, only for another powerful tremor to send them stumbling around once again.

"What the hell is that," Gray hissed as they all crouched down to avoid stumbling all over the place.

"Hey, you guys up there," the group heard Cana shout from downstairs. "You need to get out here, right fucking now!"

"Come on," Erza barked as they quickly descended the stairs and ran out the back doors to the Guild, noticing everyone else doing the same.

Once they got outside, another powerful tremor shook the place, as the small group gazed out at the bay before them.

A massive crab-like platform was slowly walking into the cove behind their Guild Hall. Atop said platform, was clearly another Guild Hall, and one that flew the flags of Phantom Lord.

"What the hell is that thing," Gray asked aloud. "Its huge!?"

"That's not the only thing huge about it," Elise replied grimly as she pointed toward something sticking out of the center of the Guild Hall. "That's a Jupiter Cannon…"

"What," Erza gasped, paling considerably. "But how…?"

"I'd heard Phantom Lord managed to acquire a Mark I of them a few years back, but the Council didn't do anything about it at the time. Said that they wouldn't have the balls to actually use the thing…"

"Well, guess that's another point in the Council being completely FUCKING useless then, isn't it," Gray snapped as the mobile Guild Hall came to a halt.

The sound of screeching, followed by banging could be heard by the entirety of Magnolia, as an all too familiar voice boomed across the entire town.

"MAGES OF FAIRY TAIL, TODAY IS A MOST GLORIOUS DAY," Jose's voice boomed as the Fairy Tail Mages all looked toward a massive Lacrima-based projection of Jose himself. "Today is the day that this pathetic rivalry between Phantom Lord and Fairy Tail finally draws to a close … FOR PHANTOM LORD SHALL PROVE ONCE AND FOR ALL THAT WE ARE THE STRONGEST GUILD IN ALL OF FIORE!"

"Fairy Tail won't ever surrender to trash like you, Jose," Gray shouted back, many other Fairy Tail Mages cheering in support of his statement.

"A bold stance, considering you're down a Guild Master, and only have one S Class Mage left, with the rest either dead, or unwilling to assist you," Jose shot back mockingly. "I shall ensure you all die, just like Dragneel did-!"

"NATSU WOULD NEVER FALL TO SCUM LIKE YOU," Erza roared in defiance. "HE'S A HUNDRED TIMES THE MAGE YOU COULD EVER HOPE TO BE!"

"Don't believe me Titania? Well, if he's still alive, then where is he," Jose replied sadistically as he looked at his right hand, coated in blood. "Oh look … THERE HE IS! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"No…No, YOU'RE LYING JOSE!"

"Believe what you wish Titania, it matters little, because you'll all be joining him soon enough," Jose smirked as he leaned into the lens of the Lacrima. "That is, unless you girls choose to surrender, in which case I'm sure I'll find … uses, for you all?"

"You're disgusting," Elise snapped back, eliciting only mocking laughter from the Guild Master.

"Ah, Elise Faulkner. A shame you ended up at a dead-end Guild like this one, and not mine. You'd have been used quite thoroughly-."

"Shut up Jose! Fairy Tail isn't going to fall today, and you're gonna pay for fucking with us," Elise sneered as she grit her teeth, feeling her God Slayer abilities thirsting for combat.

"Then you've all chosen your fate," Jose spat as he looked off-screen for a moment. "Prepare to fire the Jupiter Cannon! Wipe that disgusting eyesore of a city off the damn map!"

"Shit, he's actually going to do it," Gray hissed as he looked to the others. "The hell are we gonna do!?"

Turning back to face the Jupiter Cannon, they all watched as a massive distortion in space began to occur around the entrance to the barrel of the massive cannon. A dark, swirling black vortex, twisting inward, and signalling that the cannon was about to fire.

"Goodbye, Fairy scum," Jose cackled with glee as the Jupiter Cannon was fired directly at the city.

"Requip – Adamantine Armor!"

Erza jumped in front of the entire Guild and erected her strongest barrier in an attempt to stop the blast. A massive Magic Circle formed in front of them all as the shot collided with it, pushing her back almost immediately as she struggled to hold her ground.

After a solid minute, the blast finally cracked and shattered Erza's Armor, right as the shot fizzled out. Erza herself cried out in agony as she was shot into the Guild Hall itself, faster than anyone could react.

"You've bought yourselves five minutes Fairies, at the cost of an S Class Mage. From what I hear, you're short on supply when it comes to those," Jose laughed as his projection faded.

"Mira, go help Erza," Gray said as Mira rushed back into the Guild Hall to find her.

"What do we do now Gray?"

"I'm not sure Elise, there isn't really a whole lot we can do…"

"Hey look, something's coming from Phantom's Guild," one of the Guild Members shouted as a horde of Shades descended toward the group.

"Well, you wanted something to do," Gray sighed as he entered a basic combat stance.

The enemies drew closer as the Guild began to rain down a barrage of attacks on them, to little effect. The strange apparitions seemingly intangible to any attacks they tried as they inched closer.

"Argh this is useless," Gray snarled as his barrage of ice just went right through a group of them.

"These shades are just spirits, attacking them won't do any good," Elise replied, not even bothering to attack them, merely falling back with the others as she watched the Jupiter Cannon power up for a second shot.

"Thirty seconds Fairy Tail," Jose's amused voice rang out as everyone found themselves pushed back toward the battered Guild Hall.

"Shit, this might be it you guys," Elfman cried as the shades began circling the group.

"Times up, so long Fairy Tail … DIE," Jose roared as the barrel of the Jupiter Cannon became enveloped by the same swirling spiral of blackness like before.

Just as everyone thought it was over, several of them sensed a familiar Magical Signature rapidly approaching. Elise noticed first, followed by Gray, as they looked toward each other and grinned widely.

"DIE FAIRY TAIL," Jose roared as the Jupiter Cannon shot was fired directly at them, and by extension, Magnolia itself.

As everything became a bright, blinding white, Elise's superior eyes could just barely make out Natsu landing in front of them. However, there was something … off, as his body appeared to look more like that of a winged creature.

"Crash Arts Secret Technique: Reflecting The Accursed – SHATTERPOINT!"

Elise was gobsmacked as she faintly made out Natsu throwing a punch at the Jupiter Cannon shot. His form skidded backward slightly for a few seconds, but he held firm, as orange lightning exploded out of his entire body.

It was then that she remembered what Gildarts did to Lullaby back in Clover, and she realized what he was trying to do. Trying to focus, she could just make out a claw-like fist completely coated in a thick shell of Crash Magic.

Suddenly, everyone was blown backward, as the entire concrete dock was shattered into cubes and blasted forward toward the mobile Guild Hall ahead of them. Then, ear piercing screeching sounds could be heard, right as everyone scrambled onto their feet just in time to see Natsu holding back the entirety of the shot with one arm.

His form was mostly obscured, just a vague shadow visible, but they knew it was him. Their attention quickly moved from him, and toward the Jupiter Cannon shot, as they noticed the entire thing beginning to crack.

And then … BOOM!

Once more, the majority of the Guild were knocked over, as the Jupiter Cannon shot was shattered into tens of thousands of cubes. Before anyone could even say anything, they suddenly shot toward the Jupiter Cannon itself, flying right up the barrel as hundreds of explosions started going off within the weapon.

By now, everyone could only gape in complete and utter disbelief as the barrel of the cannon slowly crashed down into the sea, the entire area shaking violently as a result. If they could reach it, they could use it as a way into the Phantom Lord Guild Hall.

All eyes moved toward Natsu, and Elise was somewhat surprised that he was in his base form. Her eyes quickly narrowed, realizing that something didn't add up there, but decided not to question it as she, along with Gray, started sprinting toward him.

"How's that for amusing Jose … you prick," Natsu panted as he dropped down to one knee.

"Natsu," Gray cried as he crouched down next to Natsu, a wide grin on his face as he clapped him on the back. "That was fucking insane!"

"Yeah, well… I've got you guys your in," Natsu panted. "I'm gonna need about fifteen minutes to recharge after that…"

"I mean, I'm a hundred percent down with whatever you've got planned man, but how exactly are we supposed to get over there," Gray asked as he looked to Elise, who quickly realized the solution.

"Ur," Elise whispered, Gray's eyes widening in realization before he suddenly copped a punch to the top of his head.

"OW! WHAT THE FUCK!?"

"Come on Gray? You should be thinking of your super, sexy, awesome, badass, supreme Master at ALL times," Ur grinned as she looked down at Natsu. "Guess you really did get here in time, huh?"

"You owe me … one of those meals," Natsu laughed weakly, earning an affectionate hair ruffle from the Ice Make Mage.

"You get a whole bunch for that performance, even if you used that perv's Magic to pull it off."

"Gildarts didn't invent Crash Magic you know," Natsu replied, earning a flick behind the ear.

"Quiet you. Now then, time to get everyone over there…"

Ur smirked as she strode toward the water, the temperature around her dropping so quickly that even Gray shivered slightly. Pressing two fingers to her lips, Ur kissed them and spun around, a large, dark-blue Magic Circle appearing at her feet before she pressed the two fingers to the surface of the water.

"Ice Make – Ice Age," Ur cried, freezing the sea around entire cove and a good distance beyond the mobile Guild Hall.

"Holy crap, she just froze the entire bay solid," Elise whispered in shock.

"Just how strong even are you," Gray gaped in shock, having never seen Ice Make Magic on such an advanced scale.

"Strong enough," she replied with a cheeky grin as she began to walk towards the destroyed cannon.

"Wait, where are you going Ur?"

"We have an enemy to defeat, don't we Gray? We can't just stand out here and wait for them to come to us, right? Gotta show some initiative!"

"You're having way too much fun with this," Natsu scoffed as Ur made a flicking motion in his direction, hitting him with a snowball in the face. "I was getting to the part where I say that you are right, and that they should press the attack."

"Good," Ur smirked. "I have some energy right now I feel like I need to burn off! Probably all that fried rice I ate…"

Natsu shook his head as he watched Ur wander over toward Phantom's Guild Hall, Elise hurrying after her. He then looked to Gray, who was still in a state of shock.

"Go on Gray, take Elfman with you. You need to take out the Element Four, since they're the strongest Mages Phantom have, aside from Gajeel and Jose himself. Just so you know, if you see a guy named Aria in there, leave him to Ur, ok? Oh, and once I'm topped up, I'll fight Jose myself."

"You really planned all this out, huh?"

"Wasn't completely my idea, Mystogan helped."

"Wait, you met Mystogan!? When the hell did that happen!?"

"Just after I finished distracting Jose," Natsu shrugged in reply.  "We met in the forest and he filled me in on his plan."

"You know, Erza's been pretty worried about you man? I hope Mystogan's plan is worth it?"

"I had a feeling she would," Natsu sighed with a shake of his head. "But you know as well as I do Gray that the Guild needs us to step up when gramps isn't here. Erza knows it too, she'll understand."

"Well anyway, how strong was Phantom's Master? Do you think you can take him in a fair fight?"

"Well, he's at least as strong as gramps as far as I could tell. Bastard actually broke my nose, believe it or not" Natsu replied as he pointed to his bruised nose. "As for if I can win … I can't tell yet."

"Geez, how are we supposed to beat him if even you have doubts?"

"Well, Mystogan's on his way here but we can't stall for time. Currently, the plan is that Ur and Elise finish their fights quickly. Elise will go stop Gajeel, Ur said she'd help me with Jose once she's dealt with Aria."

"Well at least it's a plan…"

"Be easier if Gildarts were here," Natsu sighed, cursing him for disappearing now of all times.

"Well, I'd better head on over," Gray said as he began to walk towards Phantom Lord's Guild Hall. "Here's hoping we make it, eh?"

"Don't be so dramatic," Natsu replied in amusement as he turned and faced the rest of the Guild. "As for the rest of you, great job holding down the fort here."

"Would've been easier if Erza wasn't yelling at us because you were missing," Wakaba replied with a smirk.

"Hey, what do you guys want from me," Natsu snapped in response. "Someone had to hold off Phantom earlier!?"

"Out of the frying pan and into the fire Natsu," Cana said in amusement. "Just as reckless as ever. She took all my booze off me so you'd better buy me some after all this!"

"What the hell do you people want from me," Natsu yelled as the Guild began to laugh. "Screw you guys, I'm going inside!"

Natsu went inside the Guild Hall and found Mira tending to an unconscious, and badly injured Erza. Upon first glance, he couldn't help but wince, seeing she'd definitely had a rough time after that first shot punched through.

"How is she Mira?"

"Considering she got hit directly by the tail end of the first Jupiter Cannon shot … she's doing fine," Mira replied as she got up and pulled Natsu into a hug. "I nearly had a damn heart attack when that second shot was fired…"

"So did I, because I was worried I wasn't going to make it in time."

"But you did, and that's what matters," Mira replied gently as she pulled away. "Do you think you can actually beat a Wizard Saint Natsu? I know you've defied the odds so far, but …"

"I know, this is a bit more complicated than all those other times," Natsu replied as he moved toward Erza and placed a gentle hand on her forehead. "I have a trump card I can use if things get really dicey, but it's a last resort, and not something I can use for long periods of time just yet."

"Well, whatever advantages you can get, take them. And … I hope it doesn't need to be said," Mira continued, looking around to make sure they were alone before whispering into his ear. "Make him suffer as much as you can before you kill him!"

Looking into Mira's eyes, he understood exactly what she meant. This was one of those times Makarov spoke of, where he would need to kill for the sake of the Guild. This wouldn't be like killing Demons, creatures or Dark Mages. Despite his actions, Jose was still a Wizard Saint, a Guild Master and a Legal Mage.

He would do his duty, and execute Jose, for his crimes against Fairy Tail.

Mira noticed the dulling of his eyes, and nodded, clearly satisfied. Natsu looked back at her, taking her hand into his for a moment, nodding stiffly.

"I'll do what needs to be done, Mira. Jose isn't leaving that place alive."

"Make Phantom pay for what they've done to us," Mira whispered as Natsu turned to leave, before pausing and turning back to look at Erza.

Unraveling his scarf from his neck, he passed it to Mira, who held it like it were made of solid gold. She, like everyone else, knew how much this scarf meant to him, as it was the only thing he had left from his Dragon Father, Igneel.

"Give it to Erza when she wakes up, and tell her I'm going to handle this," Natsu muttered as he turned on his heel and started walking away.

Mira watched him go, moving toward the window as she saw him walk back outside and give directions to the Guild Members outside. Looking down at the scarf, she held it close for several moments to her chest, before walking over and wrapping it around Erza's shoulders.

"Natsu's going to pull through for us Erza, just like I said he would…"