Chapter Text
Wendy nearly screamed in both fear and excitement when she saw the window on the ground floor of the warehouse break out. Her body tensed with the anticipation of a fight – even if she didn’t want to fight she knew that the mages would only spell out danger for the rest of them. Smoke filtered out as she saw a figure climb through. She didn’t recognize him but she did recognize the symbol on his arm. He was a member of the Inferno Eclipse guild. Looking across the rooftops towards Lucy, Loke, and Gray, she caught Lucy’s gaze. The blonde shook her head in an indication not to move and Wendy dropped her gaze back to the man. She hadn’t noticed Natsu following him until then. Natsu must had climbed out of the window after Wendy had looked away.
Natsu didn’t stop the chase as Ryuu as he fled down the allies towards the town. Just before he could turn down another alley, Natsu cut his path off with fire. The man turned around to face Natsu, a deep frown etched on his expression.
“Did you think you would get away that easily?” Natsu typically didn’t like to play with his opponents but this one was someone he couldn’t forgive for what he had done. Unfortunately, they didn’t know what his magic was. This was one of the members that even Vem and Aky had little information on. In fact, this was the only member of Inferno Eclipse that they had no information on. Natsu was playing a dangerous game trying to corner him.
“I will, in fact, get away with this. Our Lord Zeref will be brought back one way or another.” The laugh Ryuu gave off sent shivers down Natsu’s spine. He couldn’t risk buying into the urge to seek out his mate with his eyes to make sure Gray was okay still. Something didn’t feel right and it put Natsu on edge.
The hairs on his arms and the back of his neck were standing on end as the laugh bounced off the walls surrounding them. Gray hadn’t felt this sort of fear since Deliora’s attack on his home and the subsequent death of his parents. He had a clear view of Natsu standing in front of the dark skinned man. While he had seen first-hand how strong Natsu was, had experienced the strength of his magic and fists himself, Gray was afraid. The amount of energy the dark mage was putting out didn’t bode well. For any of them.
Natsu seemed to realize something was wrong before Ryuu was able to summon the giant demon. Gray watched as his mate launched himself back so that he avoid the oncoming attack. Gray’s eyes followed Natsu’s movements rather than the demon Ryuu summoned or Ryuu himself. The man slipped away from them as the bright yellow demon sent lightning bolts after Natsu. Gray’s heart tightened when Natsu was hit by one of the bolts.
A hand on Gray’s shoulder stopped him from lurching off the rooftop to help his mate. Behind him Loke was staring at him worriedly. He knew Wendy and Lucy were as well. He frowned and looked back at Loke.
“It’s not real Gray. That man made an incredible illusion. It’s so realistic that if we don’t alert Natsu it may kill him. I can do that without getting hurt. You and Lucy need to go after Ryuu. If anything happens to Natsu I’ll send Happy or Carla to tell you.” Gray wanted to argue. There was no way he was going to leave Natsu in this type of situation but he knew Loke was right. The job had to come first.
“Take care of him.” Gray turned his attention away from Natsu and Loke. Instead he made a slide headed straight towards where Ryuu had run off from, behind the illusion. Lucy followed after him from her own rooftop. Gray had to resist the urge to look back at Natsu to make sure he was still okay. Focusing on his mate would only end in disaster for everyone else fighting. None of them could fail this job.
The illusionist hadn’t made it far. Gray was able to cut him off only minutes after he and Lucy had started following the man. Ryuu came to an abrupt halt in front of him. Gray frowned at him and put up walls of ice on either side of him to keep him from escaping. Behind Ryuu, Gray saw Lucy come to a stop. He was trapped between Gray, his ice, and Lucy.
Good.
Ryuu’s eyes darted around him. If these mages had seen through his first illusion there was no way a second one would trick them. Especially not at this close of a range. He was trapped. Like vermin. The look on the mage in front of him as well as the pure rage and magical energy coming off him was unsettling. The mage behind him had an intense amount of magical energy as well. All he had in his arsenal were his illusions. This was a dangerous situation.
The keys Lucy was holding were two of her strongest. Gray knew she was preparing for a strong attack. He dropped down into his fighting stance and waiting until someone made a move. Ryuu looked as much the trapped animal as Gray intended. Both mages watched as the dark mage summoned another illusion. Gray destroyed it with an ice spear. Lucy summoned Taurus and Capricorn to help her. Taurus was staring down at Lucy even as Capricorn focused his attention on the mage in front of his master.
“A celestial mage?” Ryuu hadn’t meant to actually ask the question out loud. The sound of his voice seemed to break Taurus out of his gawking and the bull also turned his attention to the dark mage.
“We need to stop this guy at any means necessary. Be careful he can create powerful illusions.” Lucy’s statement also doubled as orders as both spirits took a step forward. Ryuu stepped back, closer to one of Gray’s ice walls since he had shifted his body to look between the two light mages. Gray smirked and recreated the ice to grab onto the man. The illusionist didn’t fight as ice encased his hands so he couldn’t create any more illusions. Now all they had to do was figure out how to incapacitate him.
Had Natsu not eaten Laxus’s lightening during the fight with Master Hades on Tenroujima, the strike of lightning may have seriously harmed him. Unlike Laxus he was unable to absorb the power of the strike but he remained relatively uninjured. The strike was painful but not incapacitating. Above him he saw Lucy and Gray race ahead of him. The beast that loomed over him made no indication it even noticed them as it stared Natsu down. He frowned. He hadn’t even gotten a chance to pool his magic together in order to begin an attack before the lightning hit. Was this thing that powerful?
The fire Dragon Slayer groaned as he sat up. A bright light shined from behind him, illuminating the dark street until it was too bright to see anything. Natsu shut his eyes to shield them from the intensity of the light. After the light dissipated and he opened his eyes again, the beast was gone.
“Natsu!” Wendy’s shrill cry broke Natsu out of his thoughts. He had been so focused on his anger for Ryuu and the pain he felt from the lightning that he hadn’t heard Wendy or Loke walk up behind him. He turned his head to look at the two running up to him. Loke must have been the one to cause such a bright light. Natsu usually wasn’t paying attention to him and Lucy when they were in fights but he knew Loke was strong with light magic. Now he wished he had spent at least a little more time paying attention to their fights.
“Are you hurt?” Wendy asked as she knelt down next to him. Natsu shook his head but Wendy still scanned her glowing hands over his body to check for any injuries. Loke frowned as he looked down at the two, waiting to get the all-clear from Wendy so he could move on to help Lucy and Gray.
“You need to take it easy for a while Natsu. You’ve used up too much of your magic power to continue the fight. Let the rest of the guild and Sabertooth worry about the dark mages.” Wendy said after a couple minutes of looking over Natsu. She pulled her hands back to her own body and looked up at Loke.
“Are Gray and Lucy going to be able to stop that man all by themselves?” She asked Loke worriedly. Loke fought the frown that wanted to tug at his lips and instead forced them into what he hoped was a comforting smile. Lucy cared much for Wendy and the last thing she would want was for the young girl to worry over her safety.
“They’ll be just fine. Both of them are incredibly strong mages in their own right. They aren’t alone either. They have the support of everyone still fighting, as well as the three of us and Lucy’s other spirits. Just stay here with Natsu and I’ll go check up on them.” Natsu tried to protest as Loke faded away with golden sparks. He pouted at the idea of not being able to continue fighting but the look on Wendy’s face told him that she wouldn’t let him go so easily.
Laxus circled around the warehouse, finding mages tied up by either his guild or the Sabertooth mages, and others yet who had died in the battle with the corpses scattered all around the building. The battle was over but not everyone had been accounted for. Natsu was missing and so was Ryuu. Actually, now that he thought about it, all of Natsu’s team were missing – including Lucy. He frowned but kept his worry down as he continued searching the warehouse for his guildmates.
He found Mira staring down at who they had believed to be the Guildmaster and the woman who had led them straight to their hideout. Both mages were dead and Mira looked like she was on the verge of tears. Laxus put his hand on her shoulder, gentle and calming yet still firm enough to ground her emotions. She looked up at him and he could see just how close to a breakdown she was.
“It couldn’t be helped Mira. We were sent here to stop them and that’s what we did.” Mira didn’t sign up to kill anyone. That wasn’t the Fairy Tail way. But in cases like this, where their target wouldn’t stop until they were dead, that was the only option they had. Mira offered him a shaky smile as she stood up. He knew she struggled with death in general, after losing both of her parents and watching her sister die. Seeing so much at once must have sent her back to the memories of Lisanna’s death. Laxus knew he couldn’t understand how she felt but he wanted to at least support her in her grief. In whatever way he could, at least.
“I’ll be okay. Have we contacted the Rune Knights yet?” Laxus let Mira lean on him as they walked past more bodies and bound mages. He looked around, watching for any signs of someone trying to escape or any of their mages needing medical care, until he finally settled his eyes on Gajeel. The man always had a scowl on his face but this one looked angrier than usual. He was speaking to Juvia, who was crying frantically. All Laxus understood out of her was Gray’s name.
“I believe we did. Mira, have you seen Lucy or Natsu? Or Gray or Wendy?” That worry from before was starting to bubble up again and this time Laxus couldn’t ignore it. Mira shook her head as worry overcame her expression as well. He knew that Gray, Wendy, and Lucy had been stationed outside but by now they should have come inside to help out already.
“Let’s look outside. Maybe they chased one of the members and haven’t returned yet.” Mira didn’t sound confident in her idea as she pulled him to the entrance of the warehouse; Laxus didn’t fight her. His worry outweighed his pride. He kept telling himself that they were all strong mages. They had overcome every obstacle they faced since joining Fairy Tail without once giving up. If anyone in their guild could handle Ryuu, it would be those four.
The second they stepped out of the warehouse into the alley behind it, Laxus froze. Shooting up into the sky were two giant walls of ice, peaking out just above the buildings. There was a flash of bright light, completely different from Lucy’s Celestial Spirit summons and much closer than the ice walls, that nearly blinded Laxus for a split-second. When it was gone, the ice walls were gone. Laxus shared a worried frown with Mira as both ran forward.
Natsu and Wendy were in the middle of the alley. Natsu looked pretty beat up but at least he was still conscious as he let Wendy heal his wounds. Laxus would have been surprised if he didn’t know they were there as they approached, but the Fire Dragon was focused on where the ice walls had been. That must have been where Gray was. Lucy might be down there too. Laxus and Mira stopped next to Wendy and Mira kneeled down next to her.
“Are you guys okay?” Mira’s voice was clam and sweet as she brushed Wendy’s hair out of her face and placed her other hand on Natsu’s shoulder. Natsu snapped his head to her and looked up at Laxus as if he was startled by their presence. His eyes were widen and almost feral looking, as if the draconic magic inside him was trying to take over. Laxus didn’t let his worry show as he maintained eye contact.
“Where are Lucy and Gray?” His question was directed at Wendy but Natsu was the one who growled and pointed in the direction he had been looking when they arrived. Laxus glanced up before nodding. “I’m going to check on them. Mira, stay with these two.”
Mira only nodded her head as she watched him walk down the alley. The closer Laxus got to where he thought the ice walls were, the more unease he felt. It was eerily quiet except for his footsteps. He paused when he came across an intersection in the alley, leading to more alleys. He could see remains of ice on the edges of the buildings. Gray was propped against the wall as well, clutching his side where he had been wounded on Tenrou, while looking over at Laxus.
“He ran. Lucy and Loke chased after him.” Laxus frowned as he approached the Ice mage. Carefully, he wrapped his arm around Gray’s shoulders and let the shorter man use him as a crutch as they slowly walked back to where Natsu, Wendy, and Mira were. He stopped just next to Mira and helped Gray down to the ground.
“Which direction did they go, I’ll go after them.” Gray looked up at him and pointed back to where he’d been waiting. Wendy moved over to begin healing his wound as soon as she noticed blood on his hand. He groaned in pain but didn’t stop her and Natsu from helping him lay down.
“Straight to the next left and then I lost sight of them.” Laxus nodded and began walking that way.
“If we’re not back in twenty minutes send Gajeel after us.” Laxus began running, letting his worry and fear for Lucy’s safety overcome the calm he’d been trying to keep up.
Lucy panted as she ran after Ryuu. She couldn’t even tell where she was going or how to get back to her team anymore, but at the moment the only thing that mattered was getting to Ryuu and stopping him from escaping. No matter how her lungs burned with the lack of air and her muscles screamed in pain, she couldn’t stop. Didn’t stop. Not until Ryuu did.
Loke and Capricorn were ahead of her, trying to cut him off if possible. When Ryuu ran, his hands were still encased in Gray’s ice and he hadn’t been able to stop long enough to break it, meaning he was unable to cast any spells. It was the act of a desperate man who knew he was cornered and if he was caught he would be imprisoned forever. Lucy just had to stop him before he could try to get his hands free.
A major street was coming up ahead of them and Lucy had to stop him before they got there. She signaled to Loke and Capricorn to corner him as he ran into a narrow alley. Lucy smirked as she heard him let out a growl of frustration when Capricorn and Loke jumped down on either side of him, cutting his escape route off. Lucy came to a stop behind him, her hand on the hilt of her whip. She could hear someone coming up behind her, could feel the magical energy, but didn’t turn to look. If anyone was coming after her, Loke would warn her first. The last thing she could afford was losing track of Ryuu again because she took her eyes off of him.
Her hand gripped the hilt of her whip tighter as she realized she recognized the energy signature. Lucy fought to keep her muscles tense and ready in case Ryuu tried to fight back. Laxus came to a stop next to her, the electricity rolling off him in waves that pricked at the hair on the back of Lucy’s neck.
Ryuu tried to slam his hands against the wall he was leaning against, an attempt at breaking Gray’s ice, but Loke reacted first. He used Regulus Impact to blind him. Lucy jumped in, shot her whip into the light and wrapped it around Ryuu’s shoulders. When the light died down, Ryuu was caught in Lucy’s whip and held down by Capricorn.
“Good job, blondie. Let’s get him back to the warehouse.” Lucy fought her smile of celebration and instead nodded her agreement and moved back towards where Laxus stood. Capricorn followed her. Lucy led the way back through the alleys, Laxus on one side of her and Loke on the other, until Mira came into view. Wendy, Gray, and Natsu were no longer in the alley but Mira didn’t look worried when she saw them approaching. They didn’t pause their steps as they passed her.
“Almost everyone who was injured has been moved to the hospital. The Rune Knights have already taken the dark mages into custody and are waiting for us to bring Ryuu to them.” Mira explained as she fell into step next to Laxus. Lucy hummed in acknowledgement. Lahar and a group of his subordinates came into view and Lucy all but pushed Ryuu towards the men. She only let her whip unwrap when the Rune Knights had him firmly in their grasp. Only then did Lucy let her muscles relax. The threat had passed, and though she was worried for her friend, Lucy was thankful she could get some much needed sleep.