A/N: Well, I wanted to get the first part of this chapter out before I started back to college. I hope you guys enjoy it. I decided to split it up into two sections because I'm planning for the next part to be about as long as this one, and I honestly don't know how tight time will be when I start getting hit with work. I certainly don't have time to write the second part before then, so please be patient for the next chapter! My hope is that this will hold you guys over until then. Getting this chapter out in just seven days was no easy feat, I assure you all. Also, a certain someone has arrived ;), and I fixed Sugarboy's name.

As a side note . . . Microsoft Word apparently starts crashing when about eighty pages are filled up. Learned that the hard way when it crashed when I tried to save after making some edits. I ended up redoing them, however, on a different Word document, and everything seems perfectly fine now. I'll just need to make a mental note of it for next time :P.

WraithoftheNight: YES! I'm trying to convey that Mavis is strong, but she's been through A LOT. She's more afraid of Zeref than anything, and I hope to expound upon that, particularly after part two of this chapter is done. Her fear sometimes seriously gets to her and brings her down when things don't go as planned. She's so used to dealing with life-or-death situations that she has a hard time coping with the fact that these are normal battle scenarios. Also, you'll get no comment from me on shipping other than Navis ;). I plan on having a huge twist later on, though . . . . :).

AntiNalu34575: Will do :D. I'm enjoying the experience of writing this story, and I'm glad to hear you're enjoying reading it.

treeofsakuras: I love those fluffy moments too :3. Your question is actually answered in this chapter :D. Thank you for reading my story; I really hope you like this chapter as much as the others.

NoFocus: Thank you so much for recommending Fairy Tail Zero! I didn't know it'd been released. Although now my whole Mavis back story is shot to pieces XD. At least I can incorporate a bit of what Fairy Tail Zero offers later on. Yeah; I saw that the plot wasn't very quick in that chapter, but I felt that I needed to throw in more character development with Natsu and Mavis. Overall, after looking back over it a couple of times, I feel that it moved at a necessary pace to accomplish its goal.

seisoftw: As I told WraithoftheNight, I won't spoil any shippings, though I can confirm that I will not be doing any kind of relationships in this story other than one character with another. I have a couple of reasons for this. One is that, quite simply, I find that the vast majority of the stories that ship more than one person with another end up feeling . . . wrong. Not from a moral standpoint, but from a standpoint of characters not being themselves. I don't see any of the women in Fairy Tail agreeing to a three-way or more relationship. In fact, I don't see any of the women in the entire series agreeing to that. It just seems a bit too far out of character in my opinion, and it also seems to me that doing that often feels quite forced and makes the women have almost the same personality. The last reason I have ties to the first, but it's taken from a real-world perspective. I don't know if you've ever been in love or had a crush on someone, but if you ever have, I'm assuming you know how utterly torturous the thought of that person being with someone else is. It makes you feel incredibly devalued, and you just hate it. I feel that is a realistic reaction that comes from human nature. Women hate the thought of sharing men with other women just as much as men hate the thought of sharing women with other men. It's the possessiveness that comes naturally from those sorts of emotions. For those reasons, I will not be shipping more than one character with one other character. If you still wish to drop the story after hearing my reasons, feel free to do so.

: Have no fear; it's set in stone :). It won't be for a while, though, so the story won't move too quickly in terms of their relationship. I feel that very quick relationships aren't built up enough in many fanfics.

Guest (August 5): No problem :D. I love this pairing. It saddened me that this area of fanfiction was so lacking in terms of it, so I decided to make one. And hey, anything can have life. You just may have to be the one to breathe life into it. That's one of the many beauties of writing, science, mathematics, art, philosophy, and etc., I think, and the subject-object divide be damned.

EVA-Saiyajin: IT'S OVER 9000! Sorry XD; couldn't resist. Anyway, I was actually looking back over the first chapter recently, and I agree with you completely on that point. I wanted her arrival to be a surprise to Natsu and the others, but I think a scene of her thinking inside the seal would have been a more interesting way to start the story and introduce her. I probably should've thrown in a scene or two of her getting to know the other Fairy Tail members. Oh well. I guess the old saying is true; hindsight is twenty-twenty.

Disclaimer: As previously stated in the other four chapters, I still don't own Fairy Tail, and I'm not affiliated with its creation or distribution. I'm simply a fan who wishes to present a different take on events in the canon series. Similarly, I also still don't own any rights to Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.

"To live only for some future goal is shallow. It's the sides of the mountain that sustain life, not the top." – Robert Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

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Chapter Five: Headlong, Part I

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The air was tense as the remaining Fairy Tail members and Sugarboy engaged in a stare down. Suddenly, Mavis lifted her left hand in front of her, and a tree branch rapidly flew from it, knocking Sugarboy into the air before he even had time to mentally prepare. He gritted his teeth and coughed up a little blood, noting a sizeable dent in the chest piece of his armor. So this is what Earth Land magic is like. Looks like that girl isn't nearly as weak as I thought. That hurt like hell. He landed upright and launched himself at her before Natsu's eyes became shadowed. Mavis was about to retaliate before Natsu appeared in front of her, startling her and Sugarboy. He caught Sugarboy's fist and looked at the man, draconic eyes meeting fearful blue ones.

"Make her feel pain," Natsu said coldly, looking the other man dead in the eyes, "and I'll make sure you don't feel anything ever again, you worthless bastard."

He then proceeded to throw him at the nearest wall. Sugarboy quickly used his Rosa Espada to temporarily soften the wall, resulting in him landing on what felt like a soft cushion. He pursed his lips, realizing there was no way he could beat them on his own. Just that pink-haired weirdo proved more than a match for him, let alone his girlfriend. Damn it! What the hell is Hughes up to at a time like this?!

"Your sword possesses an interesting power," commented Mavis. "It appears to have the ability to rearrange the atomic structure of any given object and soften it by increasing the amount of space in between the particles, perhaps even liquefy it."

"Oh?" he cooed. "How adorable," he turned his eyes to Natsu. "Your girlfriend is pretty smart. How'd a hothead like you land her?"

Both looked taken aback and had blushes on their faces. "W-what the hell are you talkin' about?" yelled Natsu.

"Don't be coy," Sugarboy drawled. "Why else would you jump in harm's way and get that pissy with me?"

"Damn you, bastard!" Natsu charged at Sugarboy only for his fist to be blocked by Rosa Espada.

"Now now," Sugarboy said condescendingly, "the fun's just beginning."

Natsu growled, "Fire Dragon's Roar!"

Searing hot flames poured from Natsu's mouth, forcing Sugarboy to dodge and put an ample amount of distance between them. He smirked, "Looks like me calling you a hothead was pretty accurate. And a Dragon Slayer, no less. Impressive." That doesn't make my situation any better, however. He suddenly heard a crashing sound. He gave Natsu an arrogant grin. "Be seeing you and your girlfriend later, Fire Breath."

"What the hell is that supposed to meEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAN?!" Natsu yelled, his voice rapidly gathering pitch as a rollercoaster picked up both him and Mavis, strapping them in side-by-side as it coasted through the air. Mavis gritted her teeth. This wasn't good. Backup had arrived.

"What took you so long?" asked Sugarboy to the man who walked up behind him.

"I was taking care of a couple of errands for old Kingy," he replied casually, smirking.

"Hmm," Sugarboy hummed, not really interested in the details. He had the backup he needed. Now all they had to do was clean up the trash before heading back to their barracks. He didn't think the others would be nearly as much of a challenge as the two Hughes just sent away, and even if Knightwalker somehow lost, her Earth Land counterpart would be significantly weakened after the battle. This was a win-win situation in his eyes.

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With Natsu and Mavis

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"Are you alright, Natsu?" she inquired, looking over. Immediately, she knew he wasn't. Natsu was very, very motion sick, his face looking like a balloon that was about to pop. She reached over and grabbed his hand. His bloating decreased a respectable amount, and after a moment, he composed himself enough to speak.

"Y-yeah. Thanks, Mavis-chan."

She nodded, her expression grim. "We need to get off this thing as soon as possible."

"How are you so unfazed by this?" he asked weakly.

She smiled, scratching the back of her head and sticking out her tongue. "Because I'm awesome."

Natsu gave a weak smile. "Yeah, yeah, brag all you want, Mavis-chan."

"You know," she said casually, "roller coasters aren't nearly this fast in Earth Land. Do you think maybe we could ride one together, Na-chan?"

"As long as it isn't this much hell, sure," Natsu said, gritting his teeth as they spun at a particularly sharp angle.

"It won't be," she said cheerfully.

"Then we have a deal, Mavis."

"Good. Now, let me get us out of this thing."

"Please do," he gasped weakly.

Mavis created a small stick as sharp as a knife, cutting her bindings. She quickly did the same for Natsu. She prepared to jump out, but, seeing that Natsu was too sick to even move properly, she scooped him up in her arms and jumped out of the flying deathtrap, landing on a giant inflatable, bouncy playpen on what she could only assume was almost the opposite end of the amusement park. She inwardly sighed, watching setback after setback occur and interfere with her plans. Couldn't she do anything correctly? Now the others were fighting alone.

"What's wrong?" Natsu asked, concerned, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Nothing's going according to plan," she sighed, perturbed.

"Mavis," Natsu said, "you're being hard on yourself again. There was no way you could've done anything to avoid this. There was a lot you didn't know. Don't be so hard on yourself; no one blames you."

She smiled, "Maybe you're right, Na-chan. In any case, we need to help the others. C'mon!" Natsu nodded, grinning in return. He was glad he could bring her back to her usual, cheerful self. They began running towards the battle, but suddenly, Natsu felt an extreme pain in his head. He stopped and promptly fell to his knees, causing Mavis to stop and look back at him. "Natsu . . .?" he heard her voice call from what seemed far away. His vision faded to pure, inky blackness.

Oh? Natsu heard an omnidirectional, evil, mocking voice say. So you're with little Mavis-chan? How cute, Natsu.

"Who the hell are you?" Natsu ground out, his teeth bared in pain.

I am the man who will become God. Unless you kill me first, of course, but that won't happen. You can ask that midget bitch who I am; I'm sure she knows. Natsu growled at the disembodied voice's verbal attack on Mavis. Oh? Did I touch a nerve? Hmph. For a time, I sat on the sidelines, just biding my time, waiting for another immortal to come kill me . . . but no more. I've seen enough of human history to know that true peace will never come. I'll achieve what I set out to do four hundred years ago. You and all your friends can lick the blood off my shoes when I come in from a long day of maiming people and ripping out their spines. I particularly enjoy hearing the squelch of my hand running through someone's back. Sometimes you can even get their brains to come out attached to their spinal cords. It's an art, really. And hey, who knows? Maybe I'll even let you fuck a girl or two, Pinky. My treat. Natsu then glimpsed a face. It was pale. Jagged black hair partially covered ringed red eyes, and the face had a sadistic grin painted on it. Natsu instinctively knew that this face embodied pure evil. Just as quickly as the face appeared, however, it disappeared, though the disembodied voice gave him with some parting words: This era of false peace will end. I hereby declare a one-sided annihilation on humanity. And I will win. If you're not prepared to join me, then you damn well better be prepared to have your guts spilled. There is no mercy for those who rebel against the will of God. Natsu's vision began to swim with colors, and before long, it returned completely. He was looking directly upwards into Mavis's eyes. He must have fallen on his back without realizing it. His entire body was drenched with cold sweat.

"Natsu!" she yelled when she realized Natsu's eyes had refocused. "Natsu, are you okay?!"

Natsu groaned, pulling himself up to a sitting position. "Y-yeah. I just . . ." he trailed, off, holding his aching head in his hands.

He felt her wrap her arms around him, her fingers gently stroking his hair. She knew they didn't have much time, but making sure Natsu was alright outweighed that for her at that moment. Natsu looked into her eyes, and she was incredibly alarmed when she saw only fear. "Natsu, what happened?"

"I-I don't know. My vision faded. I could hear this evil voice talking in my head," at this, Mavis began to noticeably pale.

"What did the voice say, Natsu?" she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

"It said that you would know who it was. It said . . . something about being God and achieving what it failed to do four hundred years ago." Natsu was alarmed—alarmed as he could be in his hazy state of mind—when Mavis's head hung low, her bottom lip quivering. "Mavis? Are you okay? Who the hell was that?"

Her indescribably deep, sad green eyes met his. "Natsu, that . . . the voice you just heard just now . . ." she emitted a choked sob. "It was him . . . . Natsu, that was Zeref."

Natsu's eyes widened. "B-but that can't be true! H-he's dead, or sealed away or something, right?!"

She shook her head in the negative. "Natsu, there's a lot you don't know, and you deserve an explanation of what happened four hundred years ago now more than ever. But we need to have that discussion later, not now. Now has to be the worst possible time for something like this to happen." He saw tears running down her cheeks. "I-I just . . . why? I don't understand . . . . Did he say anything else?"

Natsu nodded, "He said that he was tired of false peace and something about a one-sided annihilation of humanity."

Mavis buried her face in the crook of Natsu's neck, sobbing. "I-it's going to happen again. He's going to take everything away from me and kill a bunch of people, just like last time . . . ."

Fire. She felt extremely warm, and felt alarm at seeing herself and Natsu surrounded by flames. They don't burn, though . . . .

Natsu's teeth were gritted. "I'm glad that bastard's still alive," Natsu said, earning a curious and incredulous look from Mavis. "This way I can pay him back for all the hell he's put you through."

"Natsu . . ." Mavis's face was flushed.

"Mark my words, Mavis-chan," Natsu said, "I'll do my damndest to make sure he never hurts you again."

She stared at him in amazement, her lips slightly parted, before looking away, smiling. "I know that, you knucklehead . . . ."

Natsu grinned. "Come on, let's go help the others," he said determinedly, picking her up bridal style, which made her face flush even more.

"H-hey, put me down, Natsu!" she squealed.

"Huh? Oh, right. Sorry," he said sheepishly, putting her down before they continued running in the direction of the others.

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With the other Fairy Tail members

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"Damn!" yelled Gray as he was jerked up by his ankle by what looked to be a jump rope.

"Language, little boy, language," said Hughes haughtily, using the jump rope to throw Gray against the wall.

"Gray!" yelled Wendy worriedly.

"You hardly have time to be worrying about other people," Sugarboy appeared behind her. Anticipating her dodge, he stabbed Rosa Espada into the ground, causing it to liquefy, which in turn caused Wendy to fall flat on her face.

"O-owie," she muttered.

She was just barely able to roll out of the way just before Rosa Espada cleaved her in two, earning a panicked "Wendy!" from Carla.

"Gate of the Golden Bull, I open thee! Taurus!"

Hughes and Sugarboy looked at each other before looking back at the cow, looks resembling "DA FUCK?!" on their faces.

"MOOO! Lucy, you've got such a nice body!" Taurus exclaimed, eyeing her lecherously.

"Taurus, stop being a pervert and attack those guys!"

"As your heavenly body commands!" he yelled, charging at Sugarboy and hitting him with the broad side of the blade of his axe, effectively knocking him away from Wendy and putting another fairly large dent in his pink armor.

Sugarboy growled, "You Earth-Land fairies sure pack a lot more punch than the ones here. I'll need to get my armor refitted now."

Hughes smirked, "What's wrong, Sugarboy? You look a little angry."

Sugarboy smirked arrogantly, "At least I use my own two hands to fight."

Hughes narrowed his eyes, "Just because I don't spend five hours a day in the gym like you doesn't mean I don't have any upper body strength. Besides," his voice took on an arrogant tone of his own, "Kingy trusted me with the key to control the entire park. I doubt he'd ever give you that honor."

Sugarboy snarled, "I don't care for boasting, Hughes, and I'll have you know—" he was cut off by a giant icicle that slammed him into a nearby concession stand.

"You guys sure love to talk, don't you?" Gray said, annoyed.

"Back already?" Hughes said mockingly. "Impressive."

Gray growled, "I would've been back a lot sooner if you hadn't thrown me so far, you bastard."

"Divide and conquer," Hughes stated simply. "It works, provided the enemy doesn't know it's coming."

"Little brat," Sugarboy said, a sneer on his lips. "How dare you interrupt me while I'm talking?"

"Well," Gray said flatly, "I was honestly going to wait, but seeing as how you two wouldn't shut the hell up, I figured it was about time to take things into my own hands."

"Hmph. You tell us to stop bickering, and yet now you're the one who won't shut up. Really now, use some common—" Hughes was promptly smashed through a wall by a fiery fist Natsu sent his way.

"What the hell are you guys doing?!" Natsu roared. "We have to save our friends! Stop talking and kick these guys' asses!"

Gray smirked, forming one hand into a fist and subsequently put it on his palm, "As much as I hate to admit it, you have a point, Flamebrain. Come on, let's—" the floor shattered beneath them as Gray was speaking, a long, octopus-like tendril grabbing Natsu, Wendy, and Gajeel.

"Natsu!" Mavis screamed.

"Mavis!" Natsu yelled back, trying to grab her hand, but he barely missed. The giant tendril dragged off the Dragon Slayers while the rest of the Fairy Tail members plummeted into the darkness of the underbelly of the castle. Happy and Carla dove after them, attempting to catch at least two of them, but despite their best efforts, they failed to latch onto anyone in the encompassing darkness.

"Byro . . ." muttered Hughes weakly from his position inside the wall. He coughed up a little blood, his hand forming into a fist that pounded into the ground. "Bastard . . . . We didn't need your help."

Sugarboy got up from the stand, dusting himself off. He walked towards Hughes, helping the other man stumble to his feet. "The fact that Byro had to get involved will not please the king," Sugarboy said, a grim expression on his face.

"Heh . . . I know." He paused, looking around. Sugarboy threw him an inquisitive glance. "Sorry . . . I was just wondering where Knightwalker and her Earth Land counterpart went. I haven't seen either of them since they started fighting."

Sugarboy shrugged. "Knightwalker can take care of herself."

"Do you think she'll know where to find the prisoners?"

"Of course," Sugarboy snapped, uncharacteristically losing his patience. "She knows Byro would've taken the Dragon Slayers to the dungeons. The only reason we were even sent here to fight was so that we could secure the Dragon Slayers to power the Dragon Chain Cannon."

Erza stepped out from behind the wall. "Cease your movement, or I will make sure neither of you ever move again."

Hughes looked at the woman disbelievingly, his jaw slack. "No way in Hell . . . . You beat Knightwalker?!" he yelled incredulously.

Erza simply stared at them. "You will tell me the king's plans."

Sugarboy laughed. It was short, harsh, forced. "I guess we don't exactly have much of a choice, now, do we? We got beaten nicely by your friends, and something tells me you still have enough left in you to mop the floor with our corpses. Very well. What do you want to know?"

"What is the king's ultimate aim? What is the Dragon Chain Cannon? And most importantly," she narrowed her eyes, "where are my friends?"

Sugarboy heaved a long sigh. "The Dragon Chain Cannon is a device that the king will use for his ultimate plan. That plan is to destroy the Exceed. He intends to use the cannon smash the Lacrima and the island it's on into Extalia, the homeland of the Exceed, to achieve this goal."

"Why would he commit such a supreme act of evil?" growled Erza. "What does this have to do with Dragon Slayer magic?"

"If the Lacrima and Extalia collide, the result will be magic showering upon a large area of Edolas, ending our shortage of magic for several years and actually giving us a vast surplus. The Dragon Chain Cannon can only be powered by Dragon Slayer magic, but it doesn't take a lot of it. The king will most likely use whatever power remains in their bodies as an extra supply of magic."

Erza's eyes became shadowed. "I see . . . . And you two really support such an act?"

Hughes snarled, "You Earth Land mages have nothing to worry about. You have an infinite supply of magic. If we run out of magic in Edolas, it's over for us!"

"No, it isn't," she said, raising an eyebrow. "Do you really believe you will die if you don't have magic?"

"It's common sense," Hughes fired back.

"You won't die from a lack of magic," Erza replied. "Every biological specimen is equipped with the necessary organs to live . . . . Who told you that you need magic?"

"Stop lying," hissed Sugar Boy.

"There have been times when I haven't had an ounce of magic left in my body, but I'm here, standing in front of you, am I not?"

Now they didn't look so sure. "The king told us that. He's told that to everyone in Edolas . . . . Could it really be true? Could he have been manipulating us from the start?" Hughes wondered aloud, eyes bulging. "Could the anarchists have been right . . .? Can we use science to build back up our society?"

Sugarboy growled, slapping Hughes roughly across the cheek. "Listen to yourself! Are you seriously going to side with those ideological miscreants rather than your own government? This is enough. We're leaving, Hughes." He turned his eyes to Erza. "If you want to save your friends, you better hurry up. They don't have long if Byro's got them."

Erza appeared in front of them in a flash, driving a fist into each of their stomachs simultaneously. They passed out before they even hit the ground, their forms crumpled on the pavement. Erza looked down the large hole grimly. She needed to regroup with Mavis and the others and attempt to rescue Natsu, Wendy, and Gajeel before they would be too magically drained to fight. Inhaling deeply, she let her breath out in a whoosh before diving straight into the hole, its inky blackness consuming her. On her way down the hole, she thought to herself. They knew we were coming. The entire plan to use the Dragon Chain Cannon completely depended on it. Where else would they get Dragon Slayer magic? Our guild was specifically targeted for this because we have so many. It's the only conclusion that makes any sense.

She flew through several floors before landing on a very soft, leafy bush she assumed Mavis made only a few moments prior. She looked around, the dimly lit corridors around her illuminating her friends, who had dropped down just before her.

"Erza!" called Lucy happily.

"Lucy!" Erza smiled. "Is everyone okay?"

"Yeah, but Mavis . . . broke her arm."

Erza ran over to Mavis to see the woman holding her left arm, clearly in pain. "Mavis, are you alright?"

"I'm fine," she said through gritted teeth. "More importantly, Erza, what happened with Knightwalker? You look a little beaten up, but you couldn't have beaten her alone and sustained so few injuries."

Erza nodded her confirmation to the woman. "That's correct."

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Flashback with Erza and Knightwalker, ten minutes ago

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Erza groaned as she hit the ground, taking another bone-jarring hit from Knightwalker's staff. She shakily stood up. "Is something wrong, Scarlet?" Knightwalker asked mockingly. "Surely you can do better than this."

"Hmph. It seems both of us need to stop messing around then, Knightwalker." Erza then proceeded to make a quick, fierce strike with her sword. Knightwalker was barely able to catch it with her staff in time, but she was still sent flying onto the floor, skidding a little before the friction stopped her.

"Damn you, Scarlet," Knightwalker hissed, bringing herself up to a sitting position. "After I'm finished cleaning you up, I'll be sure to kill your friends and hang all your heads as trophies on my wall."

Erza's eyes turned dark at the outset of her threat. "Knightwalker, I want to make one thing clear to you. You can kill me, torture me, do whatever you want . . . but if you so much as harm a single hair on any of my friends' heads, I'll personally see to it that you will never fight again."

"Let's see if you can live up to your words then, Scarlet!" Knightwalker yelled as she got to her feet and charged at Erza in a single motion, only for extreme tiredness to grip her body. "What . . . the hell . . .?"

Knightwalker fell to her knees halfway to Erza, her eyelids becoming increasingly heavy. She fell flat on her face shortly thereafter, her breathing evening out to indicate that she was asleep. Erza looked around. Only one person I know can use magic that puts people to sleep . . . she thought. Just as she expected, she looked up to see Mystogan standing atop a pillar she and Knightwalker had broken in their scuffle. Her breath once again caught at the sight of Mystogan's true face, but because she'd seen it before, she quickly got over the spell.

"Mystogan? What are you doing here?" He gave her a quick brief on the situation. She nodded. "I see . . . . It all makes sense now. You were from Edolas all along. I thought so when Gajeel said the X-Balls were from you."

Mystogan nodded. "Where are Natsu and the others?"

She shook her head, "The last time I saw them, they were taking on a couple of weaker guys outside. Knightwalker and I were fighting for about twenty minutes before you showed up."

"Alright. I'm going to go deeper into the castle and try to throw the Anima in reverse. See if you can get back to Natsu and the others; I have a bad feeling about all this."

Erza nodded, and Mystogan ran off down a separate corridor. Erza then walked to the hole in the wall through which she'd originally thrown Knightwalker and stepped through it, catching sight of Hughes and Sugarboy as they attempted to get back to the king.

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Present time

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"Ah, so that's what happened . . ." Mavis said distantly.

Lucy raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure you're okay, Mavis?"

"I'm alright," she replied automatically. "Erza, did you get any information from Sugarboy and Hughes?" Erza nodded and proceeded to tell her what Sugarboy and Hughes had relayed to her. Mavis's eyes widened. "This is even worse than I predicted. I knew something wasn't right . . . . We need to save Natsu and the others. Now." She looked to Happy and Carla. "Fly to Extalia as quickly as possible! The Exceed have to be warned about this!" With solemn nods, they flew back up through the hole.

She then ran off in the direction she'd seen the tentacles taking the Dragon Slayers, forcing the other Fairy Tail members to run as quickly as they could to keep up. Erza cast a look over to Gray, mouthing, "How did she break her arm?"

Gray gestured for her to come a bit closer. When she did, he whispered, "She used her tree magic mostly to break our falls, not so much hers. I guess she didn't have time. She landed on the bush, but she bounced off the side and slammed into the wall."

Erza grimaced, knowing it must have taken a very hard hit to break one of Mavis's arms. "I see. Is there a reason she's acting this way?"

Gray shrugged. "If I had to guess, it'd be because Natsu got captured. The look on her face when she realized he was being dragged away . . ." Gray shuddered.

She nodded quietly. She knew firsthand how it felt to watch someone she loved get dragged away and be totally helpless to do anything about it. Jellal . . . she thought somberly.

Mavis looked above them as they ran, holding her arm and noting the holes in the ceiling getting more and more slanted towards the direction in which they were running, meaning that they were indeed going the right way. She then saw light at the end of the hallway. This must be it, she thought, steeling herself. Natsu . . . you'd better be okay. If you're not, I don't know what I'll do.

She and the other Fairy Tail members crossed the threshold into the large room. Standing before them was a large octopus-like creature. It cackled. "Oh? You're here for your friends? That's too bad; I don't plan on letting them go until they have no magical energy left."

"Bastard!" yelled Gray as he powered up an Ice Make: Lance, only to be swatted aside like a fly by Byro.

"You honestly thought that would work?" Byro cackled once again.

"How about this, then?!" yelled Lucy. "Gate of the Maiden, I open thee! Virgo!"

Virgo appeared, looking at Lucy. "Hello Princess. Is it time for punishment?"

Lucy sweat dropped anime style. "Um, no. In case you hadn't noticed, Virgo, there's a man behind you that's trying to kill us."

"I see," Virgo replied calmly, sizing him up. "Princess, may I punish him?"

"Yes . . ." Lucy trailed off, exasperated.

Virgo then jumped at Byro, aiming a swift kick at his head, but he swatted her away just as easily as Gray. "How did you people beat the other three? They must be getting rusty."

Erza growled, aiming a slash at one of Byro's tentacles. Just as she was about to swing, Byro swept his tentacle under her feet, causing her to lose her footing and fall. Byro then picked her up and slung her ruthlessly against the wall. "Really now?" he said, this time with a slightly exasperated tone.

Lucy looked over to see what Mavis was doing, only for her breath to catch. The woman was emitting a magic aura. Her fists were clenched, and her eyes were shadowed. Lucy knew Mavis was looking at the pained expression on Natsu's face. Mavis looked up at Byro, a distinct frown on her face.

"Hm?" he cackled. "You seem to be angry, girl. Do I get to fight you next? You appear to be injured, though. How disappointing. Maybe you would've proven to be an interesting challenge. I guess I'll just have to tear you to pieces."

"You better not lay a hand on her, you bastard," growled Natsu weakly. He was barely conscious, but he had his teeth bared in sheer anger.

"Shut it, you worthless Dragon Slayer. Once you're used up, we'll dispose of you like the rest of this trash," he said, gesturing towards Mavis and the others.

"Don't call my friends trash . . ." Natsu growled, straightening slightly in his vertical holding position. "And don't call Mavis trash."

"This should shut you up," Byro stated coldly, launching a tentacle at Natsu. A tree suddenly blocked its advance. "What?!" he yelled.

Mavis looked up at him. "Your opponent . . . is me." She then ran, though it was at a speed Erza could barely follow from her slumped position next to the wall.

Could she move this quickly all along? Erza thought to herself, astonished. She's moving so quickly that even I can barely see her. Is this her power? No . . . this is only a fraction of her true power. Mavis is angry right now. Angrier than I've ever seen her. What's going to happen?

Gray was equally shocked. Damn . . . I knew she was powerful, but this is insane. And this is only a little bit of her power?

Mavis ran up his tentacle arm, sending a ferocious punch straight into his face. Byro gasped, his entire body being lifted up by the sheer force behind the impact. Erza and the rest felt the compressed air between Mavis's fist and Byro's face being released, and a sickening crack could be heard following the punch. Mavis then clenched her right hand, momentarily releasing a huge amount of magic, before a tree rapidly grew up into Byro's spine, bisecting it and causing him to scream in agony. Mavis jumped forward from her position on his tentacle, which was moving backwards with him, and, just as Byro balanced horizontally on the huge tree, Mavis delivered a punch even more ferocious than the last, causing Byro's weight distribution to shift so radically that he flew into the wall.

"G-gah . . ." he ground out. Mavis, however, wasn't done with him as she put up the index and middle fingers of her right hand, which caused trees to completely enclose Byro's unconscious form, sealing him in until someone managed to hack through all the wood.

Mavis landed on the ground, anger still evident in her eyes, before she walked over to where Natsu and the others were being held captive, tearing apart the metal bindings as though they were made of butter.

"M-Mavis . . ." Natsu trailed off, eyeing her.

"Na- . . . chan . . . I'm tired. Can you hold me?" she murmured, falling forward. He stood up shakily, catching her as she fell.

"Mavis, are you okay? What the hell happened to your arm?"

"It's okay Na-chan . . . . I don't care about that right now. Are you okay?" she asked, her deep green eyes meeting Natsu's.

He held her close. "I'm fine, Mavis-chan. Please tell me you're okay."

She nodded, closing her eyes and leaning further into him, if that was even possible. "I just used too much magic."

He laughed. "Overdoing it as usual, Mavis," he said, grinning.

She smiled weakly at him, "I don't wanna hear that coming from you of all people, Na-chan." Her face then flushed. He looked down at her questioningly. "I can't walk right now . . . . Can you carry me back to the others, Na-chan?" she asked sheepishly.

"All you have to do is ask," he replied, taking her in his arms.

She sighed contentedly as Natsu carried her back to the other Fairy Tail members. Erza and Gray were already making their way back to them; Virgo had disappeared into the Spirit World before she hit the wall. The other two Dragon Slayers were looking a bit weaker than Natsu, but were managing to hold up enough to make their ways back to the center of the room. Once everyone was congregated, Mavis said, "Wendy, Gajeel . . ." she looked pointedly at Natsu, "Na-chan . . . ."

"What the hell?" asked Natsu, giving the woman in his arms a playful glare. "Why am I the only one who gets a weird look?"

"Because you're Na-chan," she stated simply, as though it was the most obvious answer to any question ever asked.

"Damn it, that doesn't answer anything!" he yelled with exasperation and anime-style tears.

"Of course it does," she said. Natsu looked down at her for a moment. The woman then stuck her tongue out at him, making a "nnh" sound.

"I don't mean to interrupt you two, but . . ." Wendy trailed off. "Mavis, wasn't there something you wanted to tell us?"

"Right," Mavis nodded. She then explained to them the situation with Carla, Happy, and Mystogan.

Natsu whooped, "Hell yeah! We've got Mystogan here now!"

"But what should we do now?" Erza asked. "Happy and Carla have gone off to warn the Exceed . . . . We know Mystogan will throw the Anima into reverse soon. All we have left to do is . . . ."

Mavis nodded, her face solemn. "We must defeat the king."

"How will we get to him, though?" Gray asked, frustrated.

"We'll use the same plan as before," Mavis replied simply. "Erza will pretend to be her Edolas counterpart. The king trusts his captains more than anyone else, I imagine."

They nodded, and Erza re-equipped into Knightwalker's armor, which she'd copied to her extensive set of magical armors. They then began to walk down the hall. Mavis looked up at Natsu. "I think I'll be okay to walk now, Na-chan."

Natsu gave a silent nod and set her gently on her feet, steadying her as she stumbled a little. She looked at him gratefully and walked down the corridor, albeit shakily. As they walked through the halls silently, Natsu whispered, "Hey Mavis?"

She looked at him inquisitively. "Yeah Natsu?" she whispered back.

For some reason Natsu couldn't identify, his heart was pounding, but he whispered back, "You were amazing back there. That was the most epic ass-kicking I've ever seen. You're a complete badass!"

Mavis blushed lightly from his praise, smiling sheepishly and laughing lightly. "You really think so, Na-chan?" she whispered.

"I do, Mavis," he said quietly, grinning.

Mavis continued smiling. Despite how utterly exhausted she felt and the fact that her arm was broken, Natsu managed to cheer her up quite a bit. She was then reminded of his comment from what seemed like ages ago: "You blew up a mountain! You're my hero!" She inwardly giggled.

"Mavis?" called Wendy quietly.

"Hm?" Mavis replied, snapping out of her reverie.

"I don't have much magic left, but . . . do you want me to heal your arm? Or at least put some pain-killing magic on it?"

Mavis smiled gently at the girl. "Only if you have enough magic to spare, Wendy."

"I do," she replied, smiling in return, before gently grabbing Mavis's broken arm. Mavis hissed lightly before a warm tingling sensation made its way up her arm, effectively numbing most of her pain. "It should feel a lot better now, plus it'll heal a lot faster than it normally would've."

"Thank you, Wendy," Mavis said happily.

Wendy grinned sheepishly. "What're friends for?"

"We're approaching guards," Erza murmured just loudly enough for everyone to hear. The Fairy Tail members went quiet as they approached the first of many checkpoints on the way to the king.

xxxxxxxxxx

With Pantherlily, Anima control room

xxxxxxxxxx

Pantherlily waited for the inevitable confrontation between himself and the intruders from Earth Land. He knew Byro had probably already gotten more than enough energy siphoned from the Dragon Slayers. It was only a matter of time before Faust fired the Dragon Chain Cannon, destroying his old homeland and providing Edolas with an ample amount of magic for many years to come. Pantherlily held no true grudge against Extalia; he simply saw everyone there as a large group of liars. He knew Exceed weren't angels, and the queen certainly wasn't God. She wasn't anywhere close to being a god. She was a broken woman, being constantly corrupted by the council to do its bidding. He sighed, thinking back on his memories with the prince. Jellal . . . he thought. You're the only person in this whole damn place I ever cared about. What became of you, I wonder? It's been so long since I've seen you, but I can still perfectly remember your face. You were such a kind-hearted child, always worrying about the people of Edolas. What would you think of your father's plan? No . . . there's not even a question. You would oppose it with every bit of your might. Pantherlily looked down at the floor in contemplation. My loyalty lies with Edolas's government . . . but am I doing the right thing? He heard footsteps approaching, and he quickly readied his Bustermarm, waiting for the oncoming confrontation. His jaw dropped, however, when he saw who it was.

The man in the doorway smiled at him, "It's been a long time, Lily."

"My God . . . . It's you," Lily gasped, Bustermarm hitting to the floor with a clang.