The village of Blatt was rather unassuming. Smaller than most medium-sized towns, but a good deal larger than the average hamlet that dotted the continent of Ishgar, it was a cozy place that anyone would happily call home. The people were friendly, the atmosphere warm and comfortable, and the trees that surrounded it on all sides made for a picturesque, quaint image that any artist would be happy to put to paper or canvas.

People from all walks of life gathered and settled down within the confines of Blatt; soldiers and mercenaries of little renown looking for a gentler clime to raise a family, scholars wanting to escape the hustle and bustle of large cities, and of course, as was common in the small nation of Fiore, wizards hoping to retire.

Two such folks were Minato Namikaze, formerly hailed as the Yellow Flash of the now defunct Fire Shadow Mage Guild, and his lovely wife Kushina Uzumaki, known as the Golden Manacle of the same guild.

After several years of happy service to their Guild, the Guild Master had passed away and announced in his will that the guild would be disbanded so that its members could go their own way in the world.

Minato and Kushina took this as a sign that it was time to settle and make use of the sizeable pooled fortune to raise a family of their own. A few years later, they were ecstatic to bring a young boy with golden blonde hair and blue eyes into their lives, and together the two successful magic users raised their son to be a fine wizard.

Rather than the once lively little village of Blatt, home to people from every walk of life, Naruto's bleary-eyed gaze was glued to the gutted, burned out husk of his childhood home. The ruins of the formerly happy town were strewn about around him in much the same manner they had been when he last saw it years ago. In fact, if he focused, he could almost see…

"That's an awfully unhealthy habit you're about to form there, kid."

The voice was familiar. So much so that it physically pained him to recall the source. Naruto turned slowly and took in the sight of his godfather, looking much the same as he always had when he was younger. A wild mane of white hair fell down his back, held out of his face by way of a simple metal-plated headband with the kanji for 'Gama' carved into its face. Red face paint trailed from his eyes down his cheekbones, a mark of his title as a Sage, recognized by the magical toads that partnered with him as their voice in the world of humans. His clothing was an odd getup of olive green and garish red that he somehow managed to make work, along with a pair of old-fashioned geta sandals on his feet.

The two stared at each other for mere seconds that seemed to stretch into eternity, neither willing to break eye contact. Naruto was the one to break the silence.

"Where were you, that night?"

To the trained eye, the grimace that passed over the man's face was as fleeting as the wind. The child wizard never noticed it, nor the pain that flashed in the older man's eyes.

"Unfortunately, I had business with the Council. By the time word reached me about what had occurred here, it was already days too late." He frowned mightily, weighing whether he should continue before shrugging noncommittally to himself. "It's hard for word to get around when there aren't any survivors to do the telling."

The boy tensed at what his mind registered as a callous dismissal of the tragedy that had occurred here, before thinking better of it. His godfather spoke the truth, regardless of whether or not it hurt his feelings to hear it.

The two lapsed back into another uncomfortable silence, this time with Naruto unwilling to meet the man's eyes.

The Sage's eyes softened somewhat at the defeated posture of his godson. He sidled up to the boy smoothly and ruffled his hair gently before kneeling to draw him into a hug that was quickly returned.

"Dammit kid, I've been looking all over the place for you. Your godmother isn't going to be too happy, knowing you've just been wandering the countryside since you escaped." He pulled back and looked at Naruto seriously. "You should have come looking for us…"

The blond smiled in apology, but shook his head in the negative. "I had a friend that I needed to look after, but she's safe now." His own face now mirrored his godfather's in seriousness. "I need your help, Uncle Jiraiya. I need help getting stronger so that I can go back and protect all of my friends." His expression wavered and grew somewhat gloomy. "I don't want to lose anyone else…"

Jiraiya nodded solemnly, ruffling the boy's hair again. "Alright kiddo," he stated as he stood. "I guess you should consider yourself lucky that I took an extended leave of absence from the Council before I came to find you. Let's go, Tsunade's waiting at home for us!"

. . .

The storm clouds that had dominated the sky the previous day had given way to clear blue skies. The entire town of Magnolia was out in force, pure excitement thrumming in the air in anticipation for the Harvest Day Festival and the Fantasia Parade that would be its grand finale.

Laxus, as he gazed quietly upon his fellow blond powerhouse's grave, couldn't help the errant thought that the mood was far too jovial for his tastes, all things considered.

"Ah, so you were here after all." His grandfather made his presence known behind him, and Laxus grudgingly admitted to himself that he was impressed that despite his old age, the old man could still mask his presence well enough to sneak up on him.

Laxus grunted in response, his eyes never wandering from the clasped hands of the grave marker.

Silence reigned in the graveyard, heavy enough to weigh upon the old man's shoulders before the younger of the two Dreyars spoke.

"I wanted him to take the reins of the Guild after you stepped down, did you know that? I figured if I wasn't a worthy successor, then I would be alright with someone like him being in charge." His fists clenched at his sides, the air around him crackling with electricity. "Too kind by far, but he knew when to throw down and how to make the tough calls during a job. I never told you that I saw him a few times these past two years."

It wasn't a question and though he wouldn't see it, Makarov shook his head in the negative.

"The Raijinshu and I were on an S Class quest from the Council to do some information gathering on a few Dark Guilds. There were four in total, so we split up. It was a sound strategy, we weren't planning on fighting, just recon. But they knew… and we all got captured. Clever bastards were working together, just like the Council thought."

Makarov nodded. "Your report said as much. I take it your account of your escape was 'doctored?'"

Laxus chuckled mirthlessly. "We didn't escape the Dark Guilds. They escaped him. We'd been held for nearly a week, and they had no problem with roughing us up. We usually stay out of contact with the guild for months at a time, so we weren't expecting help anytime soon, but then the guild we were being held in… I've never seen so much fire in my life. The Dark Wizards were running around in a panic, and nothing they did would put the fire out."

His voice took on a quality of awe. "Then he just formed inside the flames and stepped out. His skin was white as snow, and he had on some strange sort of blue armor." He shook his head in disbelief of his own memories. "His hair was black and blue fire with feline ears forming from the sides of his head, and he was wreathed in the same flames that were tearing the guild down around us. I only recognized him because of the two tails he had that seemed to turn everything they touched to ash."

"So Naruto saved you?" Makarov asked in surprise. "How did he even know you were captured?"

"I never asked, and he never mentioned it." Laxus admitted with a shrug. "I tried to convince him to come back with us, but he said he wasn't strong enough yet…" Laxus trailed off into silence in a fashion that Makarov felt was very much not Laxus-like. The air around his grandson crackled dangerously again as he finally turned to face Makarov.

"Speaking of not being strong enough…" He trailed off into deadly silence again. "Bah, you'll learn soon enough." The younger Dreyar locked eyes with the elder. "I think it's about time you retired, old man." And with that, he disappeared in a flash of electricity and a thunderclap.

Alone in the graveyard, Makarov felt a shiver go down his spine as he thought on his grandson's parting barbs. What are your intentions, Laxus? Giving the graves of two of his lost children a parting nod, Makarov made his way back to the guild hall, to hopefully bury himself in the festivities of the day and distract himself from how old he was feeling these days.

. . .

"Lucy, must I tell you again? This is completely pointless. Visiting an empty grave, for someone that hasn't even died? It's a waste of time." Erza huffed in annoyance. She had already agreed to participate in the Miss Fairy Tail Pageant like she would any other year, but now found herself being all but dragged to her brother's supposed final resting place.

Lucy refused to make eye contact with her self-made blonde friend. "Yeah, I know. I just wanted to… uh, see the statue! Yeah, I heard it was really well done… What did you think of it, Erza?" She spoke quickly, hoping to distract the other young woman. In truth, she wanted to pay her final respects to the fallen mage.

Unlike Erza, Lucy couldn't even begin to imagine how anyone, even someone as strong as Naruto was lauded to be, could survive an explosion like the one that had consumed the Tower. And even if he had – by some miracle – escaped the blast, why hadn't he come home?

The Celestial Mage hoped that by visiting the grave on an occasion other than the day of the funeral, Erza might be somewhat mollified in her stark denial of reality. Judging from her dark muttering, the plan was flawed, as it had not taken into account Erza's unshakeable faith in her brother.

"He looked so serious back then…" Erza whispered quietly. "He never looked so serious before, but after he did that transformation - short as it was - something changed about him." Her posture straightened and she smirked in a decidedly Naruto-like fashion. "I didn't like him looking so grim, so I brightened up the statue before it was revealed… though someone's probably cleaned it up by now." She muttered a bit glumly.

As if on cue, the cemetery came into sight, and the two women fell silent in respect for graves around them. Ahead of the two, nearly dominating the far side of cemetery, stood what Lucy easily recognized as what had to be Naruto's grave marker. He does look pretty serious… but, wow, he looks so strong like that!

"Erza," She whispered. "What was it like, back when Naruto transformed into that?"

The natural blonde swore she saw a mix pride and fear flash over Erza's face at the question, but it was gone before she could be sure. I wish I could read people better… She lamented to herself.

Erza speaking drew her from her thoughts. "It was equal parts exhilarating and terrifying." She said matter-of-factly. "He had already managed a stage two transformation for the eight-tails a handful of times, and the others before it as well. Obviously, each one is more powerful than the previous, but nothing prepared us for the sheer pressure that was being exuded by the strongest of the Tailed Beasts."

She nearly smiled at the memory.

"Poor master was drinking while he observed, and I thought the poor man would never get all of the alcohol out of his lungs. The force of Naruto's magic saturating the training field we were in almost made him choke." She recalled fondly. "The transformation only lasted for a few minutes, but in that moment I knew that Naruto had the potential to become greater than any of us."

Her expression grew stormy. "That's why I can't stand the fact that everyone has written him off as dead so easily!" She growled. "Naruto is way too strong for even the full force of Etherion to keep him down!" She nearly shouted, but caught herself when she remembered where she was and who she was with.

"Sorry, Lucy… I know you came here to -" Here, she very openly grimaced. "Pay your respects. I'll meet you back at the Guild Hall. Hope you're prepared to lose!" She tossed absently over her shoulder as she left.

Watching as Fairy Tail's strongest female wizard made her way out of the cemetery, Lucy frowned softly.

"How sad," She admitted to herself. "That talking about her brother seems to be the only thing that makes her forget about him, even for a little bit." Her eyes shifted to rest on the statue looming over her. "If by some crazy chance you are still out there, somewhere… For her sake, please come home soon, Naruto." She ducked her head awkwardly in respect for the fallen mage before she too left for the Guild. She was in for a long day.

Longer than she could expect.

. . .

Naruto would never admit it, but he was happy to see the pageant. It was just so… Fairy Tail. Sure, tensions were still a little high, but it was clear that everyone present was trying to make the day fun like it always had been in the past.

Cana had started off the show with her usual flair, a bit of card magic and voila, she was drawing in the crowd with her swimsuit.

Up next was a new but also familiar face from the events at the Tower.

"Huh, so that Juvia girl joined after all. That's nice." Naruto murmured to himself as he watched the acts go on. Juvia had of course dedicated her entire act to her wondrous 'Gray-sama.'

Following her was one of the crowd favorites, Mirajane herself. Her act, while… inspired, left the crowd mostly gawking in horror when she used her Transformation Magic to changer her own head into Happy's, followed by…

"Who's that guy?" Naruto wondered. It was easy to see the resemblance between Mira's transformation and another man in the crowd. His wild black hair and the piercings that dotted his face were hard to miss. "Another person joined while I was drifting around?" 'Drifting' being his way of referring to his time in the void.

Naruto focused on the man for the next few acts, gauging his reactions to guild members around him. He seemed… lost, somewhat. Like he didn't know what to make of the people making a ruckus around him. He also seemed to be somewhat distant but…

"He seems alright I guess. Strong too, if what I'm feeling is any judge. Ah, darn!" He grumbled. "I must have missed Erza's act, Lucy was listed to go last… why is she dressed like a cheer leader?"

As if in answer, Lucy went on to explain to the crowd that she was going to do a cheer routine with her Celestial Spirits. Naruto couldn't help smiling. That was such a Lucy thing to do.

"Entry Number Eight!" A feminine voice announced over the loud speaker. The host of the contest, Max, looked down at his own microphone in surprise. Nobody else should have access to the speakers.

"Hey, no fair!" Lucy shouted at the unknown announcer. "I'm not done appealing to the crowd yet!"

Naruto's eyes widened in surprise as the mystery woman stepped out onto the stage, then narrowed the moment he recognized her. It's not very often she comes to the guild, and never alone. What are you up to…

"If you want a Fairy, then you want me." The green-clad brunette announced to the crowd matter-of-factly. "If you want beauty, then you want me." She chuckled prettily behind the hand-fan that covered a portion of her face. "Indeed, I am all that you want. The winner of this contest is obviously me, Evergreen!"

"Evergreen?" Gray muttered, his body tensed in surprise. Elfman himself was visibly sweating. "What on earth is she doing here?" He wondered out loud.

From his place at the front of the audience, Makarov couldn't help the sinking feeling in his stomach; something was about to go horribly wrong.

. . .

"Hey!" Lucy growled to the newcomer. "You can wait your turn just like everyone else, lady! It's good manners!"

Evergreen's brow twitched ever-so-slightly in annoyance, her free hand idly drifting to her glasses. "How uncouth." She grumbled, but the smirk on her face was unmistakable.

"Lucy!" Grey shouted from his place in the crowd. "Whatever you do, don't look her in the eyes!"

Naruto watched from his own place above the audience as the Celestial Mage, in true Lucy fashion, quirked her eyebrow in confusion before staring directly into the eyes of Evergreen. The green-clad woman's eyes flashed subtly, and Lucy was turned to stone before the eyes of the entire audience.

Max stumbled back in shock before turning to the gathered onlookers. Oh man, this is bad! "Everyone! Please hurry and escape!"

Without any further invitation, the entirety of the audience turned as one and fled to the entrance of the hall, leaving only the members of Fairy Tail to remain.

"Evergreen…" Makarov growled lowly. "Just what do you think you're doing?! With everything that's happened these past few weeks, are you trying to crash this Festival as well?"

Completely unaffected by his dangerous temper, Evergreen simply chuckled as the stage curtain rose behind her. "Well, what is a Festival without a real contest, hmm?" The sight that met their eyes nearly drove several of the wizards to their knees; behind the curtain, the other Miss Fairy Tail contestants had all been turned to stone as well.

"Mira-nee!" Elfman gasped, while Happy cried out in surprise at his side. "And Erza too!"

"Levy-chan!" Jet and Droy shouted in horror.

All of them, turned to stone? Why? What are you trying to do with this? Naruto wondered, only his ethereal state saving Evergreen from his wrath at seeing the state of all of his friends.

"You fool! Return them to normal at once!" Makarov grit his teeth in exertion, finding it difficult to keep his anger – and magic – at bay. Naruto had been taken not even two weeks ago, plus Laxus' grave words earlier in the day. Now this? Makarov felt himself losing control of his temper.

Before he could focus, a bright light and a crackling sound came from above. A crack of thunder sounded, and Laxus now stood at the center of the stage flanked by two men, along with Evergreen who remained near the statues.

One of the new arrivals Naruto easily recognized as Freed Justine, a Letter Mage of no small amount of skill, as well as Bickslow, a mage that specialized in Seith or 'Black' Magic, namely Human Possession which was more commonly thought of as the manipulation of souls.

The appearance of the three set the entire guild hall on edge as Laxus gazed down imperiously at Makarov. Freed himself looked bored with entire situation, and Evergreen couldn't have stopped smirking even if she had tried.

Bickslow on the other hand, much to Naruto's surprise, was staring directly at Naruto, an eery green glow behind his helmet that Naruto recognized as his Figure Eyes, a form of Eye Magic that allowed him to actually 'see' souls the same way an average person could see the flame of a candle.

Judging by the slight downward quirk of his lips and his rather tense posture, it seemed to Naruto that Bickslow had recognized him – or rather, his soul - and was rather uncomfortable to see him in the hall.

The masked wizard moved to speak to Laxus, probably to tell him about the unexpected development, but Makarov's anger had reached the boiling point.

"Laxus! What is the meaning of this? Why are you all appearing here like this all of a sudden?"

Laxus grinned viciously, his gaze traveling over the gathered wizards. "Like I said this morning, old man. I think it's about time you retired and passed the reins over to me!"

"Listen up, all of you!" He shouted, ensuring he had their full, undivided attention. Bickslow fell back to his former position, set on speaking to Laxus later.

"I've been doing some thinking lately, and the recent 'war' we had with Phantom, along with other, more recent events…" He sighed, steeling himself. "It's pretty apparent that this guild is weak! And so are most of its members!"

Many in the crowd growled and booed at that statement, but Laxus waved them off and continued.

"You guys disagree? Well," He chuckled darkly. "How about we look at the facts then? If there wasn't any doubt that Fairy Tail was the strongest guild, Phantom would have never dared to attack us in the first place! Even then, our counter attack was crushed because the old man went down; we shouldn't be so reliant on our Master to pull our asses of the fire."

"Don't get it twisted! We retreated because we were worried about Master's health, not cuz we were scared!"

"That's why you're weak! You should have been more concerned with putting those weaklings in Phantom in their place! The old man shouldn't have tried to do what he couldn't." Laxus stated, eliciting even more grumbling from the guild.

The lightning mage sighed again. "Believe whatever you want, but I've got evidence of weakness that none of you clowns can argue with. You all probably know what I'm talking about."

A familiar head of pink hair shoved its way to the head of the group, glaring up at Laxus with an unreadable expression. Gray followed him closely, his own expression dark as he looked at the blond.

"I dare you to finish that thought." Natsu growled, the veins on his arms visible as he clenched his fists tightly. His anger was visible as steam poured from his scalding body, at odds with the severe drop in temperature caused by Gray's own.

"Guild member or not, we're not just gonna let you talk bad about Naruto. He was the best out of all of us, and you know it!" Gray nearly spat out.

"You're damn right he was." Laxus admitted, his scowl softening. "You'll get no argument from me. Naruto was by far the best wizard in this guild."

Natsu and Gray faltered in their righteous fury, confused. "Then what the hell are you-" Natsu was stopped cold when a lightning covered fist drove into his gut, sending him careening to the back of the hall to collide with a number of benches. He didn't even move to get back up.

"Hey, what do you- hurk!" Gray choked out, Laxus' vice-like grip cutting off his question.

"It's you two little brats that I've got a problem with…" He snarled.

"Laxus, put him down! I won't allow you to just attack members of our family!" Makarov shouted, holding back a wince when an odd pain lanced through his chest.

"Stow it, old man." His grandson said icily. "Facts are facts. Naruto would still be with us today if these two weren't so weak."

The entire guild hall went dead silent at his proclamation. Gray looked absolutely horrified by his words, while Makarov tensed visibly at the unexpected reasoning of his wayward family.

Laxus leaned in close, bringing his mouth to Gray's ear. "This sense of utter disappointment I'm feeling right now as I look at you… It sickens me to say that this is probably what Naruto felt as he died, knowing his family was too weak to help him." He locked furious gray eyes with the ice mages own dark blue. "You and Natsu make me sick, playing at being real wizards." Laxus stated, tossing Gray onto the ground before walking back onto the stage, every eye riveted to him.

"To weed out the weak trash that seems to make up the majority of my guild, I'm proposing a contest of strength. A free-for-all Battle Royale, with the entirety of Magnolia as the arena. Now, some of you weak-willed sheep are probably thinking 'Why on Earthland would I want to put what meagre skills I have on display, knowing my performance will be found lacking?' The answer is simple." He leaned onto Lucy's statue, draping his arm over her shoulders.

"If you want these lovely ladies to be freed, you're gonna have to make us release them, right Evergreen?"

The brunette grinned at the entire crowd, none of them willing to meet her gaze for fear of her Stone Eyes. "Right, Laxus-sama. As for the rules of this little contest, you'll have three hours to find and defeat Laxus-sama, as well as Freed, Bickslow, and myself. Otherwise… well, eye magic is so complicated, there's just no telling what could happen if they remain in that state for too long." She chuckled prettily, though the effect was ruined by her devilish grin. "Though the most likely outcome is that they'll die…"

"The battle begins…" Laxus announced, drowning out the shouts of outrage and shock of the guild. "Now." With that, the four disappeared from the stage, leaving the horrified members of Fairy Tail behind. Within moments, confusion turned to anger, which turned to steely resolve as the entirety of the guild rushed into the streets of Magnolia, prepared to rescue the petrified members of the guild at any cost.

. . .

'Laxus… this is wrong. Naruto wouldn't have wanted this.' Makarov thought sadly, making his way to the doorway as well in an effort to put a stop to this madness, only to be met with an invisible wall just before the doors. He fell backwards onto his rear in surprise, confused until red runes appeared where he had met the obstacle. 'Dammit, Freed.' Makarov grumbled as he read the words displayed before him.

Those who are above the age of eighty shall not pass this point.

Those who are stone statues shall not pass this point.

"Reedus!" He called out to the larger, cowering mage. "I know you are frightened, but I must ask you to journey to the Eastern Forest and beg Porlyusica to come here. Perhaps she can find a cure for this petrification."

"R-right, Master. You can count on me!"

The older wizard nodded resolutely. "I know I can Reedus. You're a Fairy Tail Wizard, after all! Now hurry, we need Porlyusica back here as quickly as possible." The rotund man shot of the guild as quickly as he could, making his way to the East Forest of Magnolia.

After watching Reedus disappear down the street, Makarov turned his gaze to Natsu, who was just now rousing after Laxus' surprise attack. "On your feet, boy! The guild needs you out there, you're one of the only ones strong enough to go toe-to-toe with the Raijinshu."

"Grrr…" The pinkette growled as he lifted himself to his feet. "Oh, don't you worry, Gramps. For all the crap Laxus said, plus attacking me out of nowhere… You can bet I won't just take that lying down!" He shot off from his position, making a beeline for the entrance. "Don't you worry your balding head, old man! With my nose, there's no way those bastards can hide from-!" Without preamble, Natsu was flung back from the entrance much like Makarov, the same message floating before their eyes. "The hell? I ain't no statue, and I'm sure hell not as old as you! Why can't I leave?!" In his anger, Natsu took to battering the barrier with his fists, to no effect.

"Calm down, Natsu. There's no pointing blowing your top now. Perhaps there's simply a glitch with the barrier… Or perhaps your magic is reacting oddly with it?" Makarov pondered.

"Ehh? What does my magic have to do with it?" Natsu paused in his battle with the impervious barrier, his anger nearly forgotten in his confusion.

"Well, you say you were raised and trained by a dragon, right? I'd imagine he was probably pretty old… At least by human standards. Maybe, since he taught you his magic, a bit of his essence was passed on to you during that time, so the barrier is simply reading you as older than 80? Although if that were the case, it ought to have affected Gajeel as well…" He added, more to himself.

"Someone call me?" The aforementioned wizard called from his position beneath the bar.

"You're still here!?" Makarov shouted in surprise when the studded youth rose into view, his mouth full of scraps of… scrap.

"Meh." He commented off-handedly. "Figured I'd have a little snack before I went out there and started bashing skulls, you know? Guess I must have drifted off, until Salamander's girly screaming woke me up, that is." He grinned when he saw that his words had an effect on the pink-haired Slayer. "What's your excuse? Trying to keep from getting thrashed by Sparky again?"

Rather than fly off the handle like Makarov expected, Natsu merely growled at Gajeel's insinuation. "Nah, scrap-for-brains, the barrier won't let me through; says I'm too old. Gramps thinks it might be since I'm a Dragon Slayer… Why don't you give it a shot?"

The Iron Dragon Slayer blinked in surprise at his explanation before turning a glare at the entrance. A barrier at the entrance… probably around the whole guild. What a cheap tactic… Too old?

"Hm!" He grunted with a nod. "I'll give it a go! If I can, I'll track down those Thunder Punks, and if not…" He shrugged. "We'll figure something out." Gajeel passed Natsu and held a hand forward as he walked to the doorway. A few steps passed Natsu, Gajeel stopped and growled while pressing against the invisible wall. "Damned cowards! If you can't win head on, what's the point of fighting?"

Makarov sighed resignedly. "Alright you two, come back to me." He called from a few feet away from the statues. "If we can't leave, then our only hope lies with our comrades already outside." He turned to face Natsu when he sat across from him, reluctantly joined by Gajeel. "How do you think they'll fare out there, Natsu?"

The pinkette stared at him blankly. "Eh? What's that mean?"

"He means 'How do you think they'll do,' Salamander." Gajeel huffed in annoyance.

"Oh…" He muttered, blushing in embarrassment. "Right, well, Gray's out there, and so is Cana, that water girl-"

"Juvia!"

"Lucy, Mira, Elfman… Oh, crap! And so is that other guy from the Tower, Simmons!"

Makarov sweatdropped dramatically at the proclamation. "You mean Simon?" The Salamander nodded. "Well then… those seven, plus all the others that haven't been eliminated yet could definitely pull it off…"

Almost like an omen, the runes in the doorway shifted, the words changing to read:

Evergreen VS Elfman VS Simon

…

…

Elfman Eliminated

"Damn!" Makarov cursed. "I was counting Elfman being able to handle one of them, but I guess it was bad luck for him to run into Evergreen…" A few more names appeared as more were eliminated from the battle. "At this rate we're gonna need a miracle." The Master admitted aloud.

CRACK

"Oh no! Erza!" Natsu shouted in shock. "Her statue is cracking all of a sudden!"

And it was true; all along the side of her face, down her chest and even across her shoulder blades, minute spider-web cracks were forming. Without any chance to react, a burst of smoke surrounded her statue, followed by a dull thump and a groan.

A groan?! The three thought in unison. The smoke cleared and their hopes were answered. On the ground sat Erza, looking dazed beyond belief, but very much free of her petrification.

"Erza, you're alright!" Natsu cried out, shooting to his feet and helping her up. "How did you escape?"

She ignored him to glance around the room rapidly, hope shining in her eyes but slowly dimming as she gathered her wits. Finally she sighed dejectedly.

"I thought I heard Naru-nii, telling me to wake up… then I felt someone hug me and… Here I am." She straightened up, fire burning in her eyes. "I know what I need to do! I'll go and defeat Evergreen. Do you have any idea where she might be?"

Gajeel nodded seriously, jerking his head to the doorway. "The runes say she was fighting that Beast guy and the dude with the eye patch." Erza's eyes visibly widened at his description. "Elfy's down for the count now… That was a few minutes ago. Which leaves her fighting the other one."

Without further words, Erza blurred from the hall at a dead sprint, unimpeded by the barrier. I'm on my way, Simon!

"Now what?" Gajeel wondered.

"All we can do is wait, and have faith." Makarov admitted as he returned to his seat. Gajeel shrugged and fell to the floor with a huff. Natsu remained standing, staring at every name as it appeared in the doorway.

"They're gonna pay for this when it's all over with, Gramps. This is unforgiveable, putting the girls in danger like that. It ain't right, and it's not what Naruto would have wanted."

Makarov only nodded. No response was necessary.

Unbeknownst to the three patient wizards, a certain blond spirit was pressing himself forlornly against the barrier at the door, watching as his sister rounded a bend and disappeared.

"NO FAIR!" He practically wailed. "I get why those three can't leave, but what about me?! I managed to wake her up, and I just get stuck here? Take me with you!"

. . .