Pommel Grade's Story

Zane was smashing a few more monsters when Wynter's comment finally registered. He just finished off several Frost Giants. "What do you mean? I could totally handle this, though I admit it is more fun with friends, I could have easily taken this mountain. Issue is, I can't employ my most powerful spells with allies in the area".

Suddenly, Rin the Celestial Wolf arrived. "I see our newest member is here! Welcome! Let me guess, Mavis sent you to try and have us avoid damages to the mountain? Seriously, even if we break it, will someone really charge us for a mountain?"

However, all other words drained from him as he sensed something nearby. Something....dark. His expression could be seen by all, but only one other person here would truly understood what made him feel this way, because this one other person was the only one to truly experience the horrors of a Dark Guild. Ironically enough, it was Pommel who might understand this feeling best, and she too might be able to sense the darkness in the air around them. But Zane didn't just sense it, he recognized it fully...

He immediately looked towards Wynter. "GET THEM OFF THIS MOUNTAIN NOW WYNTER! DON'T ARGUE, JUST GO, BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE!" he shouted, his expression becoming that of half anger and half fear. As he yelled that, he turned around and created a barrier just in time to stop a giant purple arrow of dark magic from hitting them all. However, it began breaking through the barrier, so Zane used it to deflect the shot just enough to allow him to dive out of the way and spare the others. Where it hit, a massive explosion occurred.

However, Zane was not done. Suddenly, he appeared next to Pommel and Wynter. In his back was a crystal shard that would have hit Wynter's head at a high speed, and in his hand, a second one meant for Pommel. His boddy erupted in fire to melt the shard and heal the wound using Primal Fire Regeneration, as he turned around to face their attacker. It was a child however, she looked to be just as old as Zane, wearing a black cloak with the symbol for the Shadow King's Dark Guild. Zane recognized her immediately, she had not aged a day in 34 years either. She was Morven's apprentice, Timal.

"Awww, look who it is. Just as energetic as ever, silly. Oh, and you got faster too since last we met! This is going to be fun!" Timal shouted with excitement.

By now, the others would have noticed Zane's complete and total change, from the silly, fun, happy person he usually is, to someone who is angry, enraged, upset, and overfilled with the desire for vengence. "Timal, you bitch! Where is that bastard Morven?! He can't hide from me forever!"

"Oh come now Zaney, that isn't how you should talk to your elder's. I am still a decade or two older then you". She didn't look a decade or two older, so the fact she was in fact a lot older then she looked much like Mavis should be easy to figure out. "Anyways, I wanted to play alone, but you know Morven. Always likes to be safe, so he sent some playmates with me!"

Suddenly, several Dark Wizards appeared from nowhere and surrounded them. Some only had average magical power, but others....they had a lot more. One of them looked at Rin with a ghostly face though. He stared creepily right into her face. "That's....that's not possible. I killed you! The boss told me to kill The Celestial Wizard Miyuzaki, before she became a threat, and I did! How the fuck are you still alive and younger?! The boss was very clear, lure you out so you were alone, and then kill you close up!"

Timal looked at him like he was an idiot. "She is probably Sakura Miyuzaki's daughter, you dolt. Great, thanks for shouting that to the world. Well, I guess we are here to kill them anyways, so it doesn't matter much".

"Does that guy have brain damage?" Zane asked curiously.

"Sorta. He was trapped in a similar prison to yours for over twenty years. To be honest, Morven completely forgot about him, and just decided to make him a tool due to the fact he survived and he has a high amount of magical power naturally...WAIT, why am I telling you all this!" Timal said, then casting a spell. "Lighting Destruction Magic Seventy Two Blades!"

The one near Rin took out two Red Keys, much like her Celestial Keys, though it was clear they were forged in a completely different manner and via dark arcanic ways. "Demonic Key! Gate of the Death Serpent, Basalisk! Open!" "Demonic Key! Gate of the Hell Hound, Cerberus! Open!"

Meanwhile, a few other took out Black Keys. As the giant Death Serpent and the three headed Hell Hound came up, several other weaker demons came up. Normal Hell Hounds were summoned, as well as a few other dangerous creatures. Meanwhile, Timal smiled. Suddenly, she had her hand right in front of Wynter's face, another aimed at Zane. "If I recall, Sorcerer weekly once named the Team of Burning Heart (Note: This is the first time Zane has been called by his true and most popularly known nickname in front of Rin and Pommel) and Cold Steel Team Dragonsteel, according to a poll by fans. Zane and Wynter, I think its time for this team to be disbanded...permanently. Explosive Palm!" Suddenly, explosions erupted from her hands right at both of them at a speed that couldn't be calculated.

As Timal then returned to her post on the cliff, Zane had moved above her and got a clean shot. Creating a giant molten fireball in his hand, he used one of his most destructive and powerful spells, despite others being nearby. "Primal Fire Dragon Meteor Smash!" he shouted as he hurled the fireball right into Timal. As he landed, he then used another powerful spell. He drew a circle of fire in front of him. "Circle of Flame! Resolute Destruction!" he shouted as he slammed his palms together and then pushed outward. As a result, several streams of fire shot out from the circle, attacking as many Dark Wizards and Demon Spirits as he could, as well as aiming quite a few at Timal. Those who tried to jump or block it would find that they could turn and track enemies, and navigate around blocks and shield spells. Additionally, once they impacted with their target, they exploded violently.

However, none of them were taken out by the spell, particularly Timal, who seemed to have focused on Zane. Likewise, Zane had focused on her. This was not going to be an easy fight.

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Wynter watched Pommel's expressions, as she didn't intend to imply she pitied the girl, Wynter saw a great potential in the little girl named Pommel. Just because she wasn't as strong didn't mean she was weak in the mind of Cold Steel, whom easily was in that situation, though while Pommel didn't get a thorough tongue lashing, yet, Wynter was given a good one by both of her parents. Yet she was drawn off her thoughts by another ally, 'Rin Miyazuki, a strong Celestial gate key caster, along with a very good archer with the Celestial Bow. That's good-' As Wynter thought, something drew her attention away, and quickly, a presence of Dark energy around her, it seemed that Zane noticed it too, as he shouted to Wynter,

"GET THEM OFF THIS MOUNTAIN NOW WYNTER! DON'T ARGUE, JUST GO, BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE!"

As his words echoed around in the cave, the idea of escape was quickly dashed, once from the dark guild members having surrounded them, and second, because Wynter's dealt with this type of battle before, and knew she wouldn't and couldn't run. As Zane moved around attacking and blocking for his allies, even taking a hit for her, it annoyed the knight as she was often the one doing that, though the other small girl cast a spell against her and the others by her, "Move!" she yelled pushing Pommel aside, before taking a god brunt of the spell, though did evade some bit. The battle was going south fast, yet, Wynter took a gentle breath and soon her spear went back to her Requip pocket, as soon it was replaced by an unknown weapon, as she held it, she turned to the Dark Guildsmen, and her words were harsh, and intimidating as she displayed fair extennt of her magical power, though not all of it, "I am Wynter Vellant, otherwise known as Cold Steel. I suggest- No. I order that you surrender immediately or I will cut you down. This will be your only warning. For if my demands are not met, you can gauge what happens then." After those words finished echoing, she spoke once more, "You will have ten seconds. Starting now." as those words continued to echo, Wynter counted in her head, slowly reaching to ten, spreading several airspace bubbles around, since they're invisible, it'd be best to keep a counter-insurgence plan ready.

The ten seconds were up. Wynter walked forward, her face just as cold as ever, "Time's up." before those words could even hang in the air, the orbs that has surrounded her allies and intermixed with the dark mages, had exploded, while Wynter went to a weaker enemy quickly finishing him off, incapacitating him, and soon, the knight known as "Cold Steel" had started picking off a few in the enemy ranks, though she stopped, turning to one, her eyes meeting another woman, she felt a strange power from this woman, as she raised the hidden weapon, preparing for an attack on her as well.

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It was cold up on the mountain, made colder still by Zena's lack of proper attire. A crop top on her flat chest and poofy shorts covering her wide hips were hardly what one would typically choose to wear in the snow, but it was all she had at present since a vulcan had gotten lucky enough to tear her cloak before she could eat it (the vulcan, not the cloak). She kept the shreds of the garment tied around her neck, but it barely fell to her elbows, unable to serve the purpose she'd brought it for. She sighed as the wind picked up once more, leaning down to brush frost off her thigh-high boots. At least these could keep her legs dry.

She'd come to the mountain like a lion following a herd of buffalo, drawn by the scent of prey and the hunger in the pit of her stomach. It had been six months since she'd left her last guild, and without hunt jobs to point her in definitive directions she'd been having a hard time keeping her hunger in check. When she'd heard rumors of the monstrous population boom in this region, it had been like a sign from god, made only stronger by the scent of magic which seemed to rise up from the very ground. It was this same scent she was following now; it had gotten stronger in the past few minutes, and even though she had no intent of attacking any wizards it still left her curious.

She stepped lightly along the mountain side, stopping occasionally to regain her bearings in the freezing cold. She felt she was on the right track, the smell of magic growing thicker as she walked, and she quickened her pace, eager to see where it might be coming from. And then she fell in a hole.

One of the damned abandoned mining tunnels which pockmarked the mountain, no doubt. She'd ventured into their labyrinthine depths a few times already in pursuit of her quarry, but it was always annoying when she found herself thrust into one by virtue of poor visibility and unfortunate placement under the snow. She sat up and rubbed the back of her head, cursing her failure of observation, then rose her cross-pupiled eyes to gaze around the tunnel. It didn't look like anyone had been in this section, but as she sat there she could hear the sounds of distant explosions echoing along the passage. She cast a look back up the hole she'd fallen through, then turned and started walking, curiosity getting the better of her.

This tunnel she was in now wasn't particularly long; Zena imagined it was some sort of side passage constructed in the event of a cave-in. She began to notice signs of others coming through as she entered into a conjoining tunnel, and the sounds coming from the end became sharper. She recognized them as the sounds of combat, and the lights coming off the spells illuminated figures standing with their backs to her. She approached casually and began stepping past them, curious about what they were watching, or... perhaps just eager to place a face to the swirling cumulus of magical scents which filled her predatory nostrils.

Before she could, however, she found herself momentarily stunned by some kind of previously invisible explosion. Caught off her guard she had no alternative but to take the bulk of the blast, sending her body crashing against the tunnel wall. Her ears rang from the force of her contact with the cold stone, and she blinked a few times to clear the blur from her vision. She placed a hand on the wall to steady herself as she got to her feet, trying to regain her senses as she heard the sounds of fire and ringing steel fly around the area.

"This is why you don't go wandering after random magic, dumbass," her thoughts spoke in the voice of her father. She'd been careless and wandered into a fight she had no part in, and apparently the only recourse was to shame herself using the voice of a dead man. Terrific.

She forced her eyes to focus on what was in front of her, and when they did they settled on a blue haired warrior just a couple of paces away.

Pommel Grade

Pommel was stunned. Amazing… Really, really amazing! She couldn’t even remember some of her questions, yet here Rin was responding to them with cool confidence! Truly, her reputation was well deserved. Pommel couldn’t help but beam back at the pleasant and patient look Rin was giving her. Wait. WAIT. Hold up. Did she just say she was here for the three of them? She was part of the rescue mission too? But… Why? Wasn’t she a solo wizard? That didn’t make sense…

Pommel pondered on this thought some more, hearing the shouts of Zane over her shoulder. Newest member?! The celestial wolf was joining Fairy Tail? Pommel could hardly contain her bursting excitement, instead finding herself bobbing up and down slightly in enthusiasm. Oh wow. This really was the best day ever! Cold Steel and the Celestial Wolf were here! With her! They’d get along great and train her and she’d soon enough be her own great Wizard! And yet… Pommel frowned, getting a sickly feeling in the back of her throat. Something didn’t feel right… Like, something rank was in the air. This was weird, since this was possibly one of the greatest moments in her life…

Unable to place why she suddenly felt so sickly, Zane’s sudden shout of alarm and what she could only place as fear startled Pommel, and briefly, her mind flashed back elsewhere. Frozen on the spot, she watched as the situation unfolded into an ambush, and amidst the shouts, fighting and confusion she was fairly certain she was saved several times between all three of her protectors. At the climax of it all, she found herself taking cover on the floor behind a rock, finally able to take stock of the situation.

First of all, Rin seemed locked into a duel with the malevolent key bearer of the opposing guild. As the Dark Guild wizard summoned forth two ferocious beasts, the celestial wolf didn’t bat an eyelid, instead flashing her own cocky smirk. She was as confident and cool in person as in the articles! With a simple gesture, she summoned forth one of her spirits, the sheep. She was so cute! Eying up the battle, Pommel was swooning over the intelligence and skill of the master key wielder, quickly disabling one of the enemy spirits with barely any effort. “Yeah, you do it Rin!” She cheered excitedly from her position behind a rock, pumping a fist into the air. This was probably far louder than she should’ve been considering she was attempting to take cover, but her excitement could not be quelled.

Next up, she looked towards Wynter, locked in a showdown with the vast majority of the Dark Guild grunts. For a moment, her words echoed out through the cavern, commanding the authority of all those listening to her. Ooo, she was so intimidating! How could these idiots not just throw down their arms immediately hearing that? Still, as the countdown happened, the Dark Wizards waited, seemingly testing Cold Steel’s threat. Pommel smirked. A bad move on their part. In seconds, the battle erupted into its second stage, Wynter flashing about the battlefield and cutting down the now scattered ranks of the enemy as ripples of energy burst all around them. So cool! This was so much more exciting than hearing stories back home!

Finally, there was Zane. Or rather, Burning Heart. Pommel was only just now coming to terms with just who Zane was, and in all honesty, who could blame her for not knowing that one of the powerful heroes heralded at Fairy Tail was - as far as she knew - just a kid? Ripples of flame coursing around him, he became locked in intense combat with the girl known as Timal, who also seemed equally powerful. Though Pommel wasn’t entirely following in on their conversation, it was clear there was already some history between the two. As the flickers of fire screamed out from Zane, impacting foes all across the cave, Pommel began to question whether she even needed to get involved. Between Zane, Rin, and Wynter, there was far more talent in the room for even 3 Dark Guilds to handle. This one little convent didn’t stand a chance!

Grinning like an idiot, Pommel didn’t notice the arm dart out to grab her, wrenching her wrist around her back. “Hah! Got the lass! All we have to do is threaten this one and those weaklings will have to surrender!” Came the booming voice holding her, along with the laughter of the other guild members that had gotten the jump on her. This was bad! If things continued this way, she’d not only be a burden to the others, but might even be the reason they lost here and now! She couldn’t let that happen! She would not let her family lose!

Wrenching Pommel up from the ground, the man began roughly jerking her upright. “Now come along quietly missy, or else we’ll have to-…”

“Free-Form…” Pommel whispered, barely audible.

“Huh?” The dark guild member paused, trying to understand what she was saying.

“Blade!” With a streak of light, her arm quickly shifted form, immediately cutting into the arm of the man holding her, allowing Pommel to break free as he cried out in alarm and pain, stumbling back. “Grab her you idiots!” He cried out to his companions, pointing as Pommel darted back, glancing around her surroundings as she made room backing up from the villains. There were actually a few tunnels leading out of this main cave, along with some mine cart tracks… Stuff she could work with if she got the opportunity.

The first guy ran at her, a large staff in hand as he came in with a heavy downward swing. Slipping to the side of it, Pommel was quickly surrounded on the other side by another enemy, a massive gauntlet swinging in to punch her as she lacked the time and room to maneuver away.

“Free-Form: Shield!” Was the panicked cry from the little wizard, as from her shoulder to her hand, Pommel’s left side of her body quickly changed into a solid tower-shield. As the punch came in, the force was too much for her to take, and instead she found herself slipping down on the ice. What this actually ended up causing was a deflection of the man’s fist, carrying it straight over Pommel and into her other adversary, knocking him for a loop. Now on her back, hiding under her shield, Pommel barely caught sight of the third man running at her, brandishing a huge club. As he closed in, he quickly launched into a jumping strike, intending to put his weight into the blow. Even her shield wasn’t that good!

“Free-Form: Cannon!” Shifting her arms around, both transformed into twin arm cannons, aimed up to blast the man from the sky. In her panic however, Pommel ended up firing far too quickly, the energy blast well below her target. As the wave of energy coursed upwards, it struck the nearby ceiling, shattering some stalactites and sending them scattering down onto another group of the dark wizards. But that wasn’t all. The force of the blast, along with the friction-less state of the ground actually ended up sending Pommel skidding along the ice at rapid pace. Squealing out in panic, her leg accidentally swept the man to the side of her, tripping the gauntlet wielder right into the spot where she’d once been. Moments later, club met skull as another unfortunate case of friendly fire occurred on the side of the Dark Guild members.

Finally sliding to a stop as she impacted a rock, a stray pick-axe lodged in place was suddenly bent and flung free from the force of Pommel’s impact. Spinning wildly through the air, it soundly clonked the club wielder in the face, knocking him unconscious. Dazed, Pommel slowly pushed to stand herself up, looking over the carnage. The small squadron that had intended to grab her had been left devastated, all in varying states of injury and consciousness. Perhaps her bad-luck had been in place to counterbalance her present good fortune? Still, Pommel beamed, laughing heartily as she gestured out a point.

“There’s more where that came from you dorks! Bring it on! I’ve got more than enough to take all of you on!” Continuing her haughty laughter, the greeting Pommel got when she opened her eyes immediately changed her expression to one of tentative fear. Hearing her boastful statement, more of the remaining wizards were now turning their attention to the braggart, having had quite enough of her mischief. Cautiously, she took a step back, and yelped as she found herself tripping. With a soft ‘Oof’ she landed awkwardly draped with her arms over either side of… Was this a minecart?!

Slowly, but steadily, she could see herself moving further away from the approaching wizards. Glancing about, she looked at what she’d tripped over. What she saw brought a more fearful expression to her face, the snapped brake of the minecart now lying beside the tracks. No, this wasn't right! She'd planned to send some of the enemies down the mine tracks, not herself! “No! Wait, stop, someone help me!” Panic settling in as she fumbled about in her seat, Pommel managed to get herself upright just in time to look where she was headed. Her scream would echo out through the tunnel as she headed down the first dip of the track, covering her eyes as it became a ride eerily similar to a rollercoaster, the little wizard not good with the idea of a high-speed trip. On a positive note, at least she was escaping the wizards that were trying to give chase to her.

"Primal Icestorm!" she yelled, and sent shards of ice at everyone. This ice was not normal ice however. It could shatter steel and magicsteel alike, so getting hit with it would not be wise. Timal then lunged right at Zane, as she conjured an Ice Sword. "Primal Ice Sword!"

"That's how you want to play huh?" Zane asked, as he took out....

(Meanwhile, off somewhere else in the world...)

"Hey Mavis, what is primal magic anyways?"

Suddenly, Mavis pulls out a teaching desk, apple, books, and a moving blackboard, with various writing and drawings that help explain stuff. "Primal Magic is a very old Lost Magic. You see, the reason its primal is because its actually some of if not the oldest magic in the world. Its a lot more powerful then normal magic, but its also harder to control. Additionally, they say that the magic itself is alive, and that those who harness it who are not careful, or try to eat it in the case of some other Lost Magic users, and it will kill you....if you are lucky. Primal Magic is incredibly powerful".

"And there are no side affects at all?"

"Tell me, what do you think the real reason Zane cant swim?"

"Ohhh. So its got some nasty side affects then".

(Back to the battle)

....a sword made of what appeared to be solid fire! "Primal Fire Sword!" The sword blocked the attack.

"I see you learned all about summoning Primal Fire magic while in that library for 34 years, Zaney" Timal announced as their fight went on inbetween Wynter and Rin now. "Too bad it couldn't stop you from suffering. After all, these two don't know do they? Not that your the legendary fire Wizard Burning Heart, but that your actually 44 years old, and under the affect of two curses? The first curse is preventing your body from aging, so you can never grow up physically and stay that scrawny kid forever. And the second curse, you placed upon yourself! That's right, I can see it! You placed a curse upon yourself to prevent your mind from aging, so that you wouldn't go insane from 34 years of isolation! Did you think you could just hide that forever?!"

Zane was getting more and more angry. His attacks were getting more and more brutal as well. Clearly, this girl annoyed him a lot. His attacks were also spreading fire a bit everywhere. "Okay! That's it! Circle of Flame, Resolute Destruction!"

He aimed all of the fireshots right at Timal, forcing her to use Primal Ice Shield to block. He then smashed right through the shield and landed a direct blow on Timal. Timal, however, used an uppercut punch to get Zane right in the gut, causing him quite a bit of pain, especially when she added a primal ice fist to it. Zane kept his ground however, and gave his own Primal Fire Fist right into her face.

The two were knocked away from each other, Zane landing near Rin, while Timal landed near Wynter and Harmony. "Oh yes, let me introduce my other new friend. This is Harmony. She can mimic the magic and spells of anyone she sees, increase their strength, and turns it against them. She also learns all of its strengths and weaknesses".

Zane noticed something however, something he hoped Wynter did as well. She knew the strengths and weaknesses, but not any personal stratagies or combo options the original Wizard knew. Timal launched an attack, but not at Zane. It was aimed at Rin! Zane managed to block the attacks with a Primal Fire Shield, but one got through and hit Zane in the shoulder. Still, the fire was melting it, and he was still in the fight. "I...am okay. Just please deal with that Demonic Wizard, okay?"

Zane had temporarily forgotten the Wizard shouted, out loud, that he killed Rin's parents. He was consumed with hatred for Timal, who had betrayed him. Which didn't help when Timal started insulting him. "Maybe you should open your eyes and pay attention Zaney! You might see better and actually notice things!"

"Would you just...shut...up! Primal....Fire....Ultimate....Fury!" Zane shouted, sending a tidal wave of fire right at Timal....and maybe a few others if they got in the way! Several monsters, which had been hiding, were certainly hit by this attack.

"That's it! No more being nice!" Timal shouted. "Terragenesis Magic! Ocean!"

"Hold on, what was that about ocean?!" Zane yelled, as suddenly water began to flow into the cave! Zane immediately jumped somewhere high, but at this point, the water level was somehow rising. "Timal! I hate you! Also, can someone please deal with the water!"

"Here, let me!" The Demonic Spirit Wizard shouted. "Demonic Key! Gate of the Sea King, Krakken! Open!"

"I meant get rid of the water, you idiot!" Zane shouted.

"Also, why did you answer him!" Timal chimed in. "Your on our team, you idiot!"

"Fairy Beacon!" Zane shouted, casting it on Timal. Timal just blinked.

"What did that do? I don't feel anything".

(MEANWHILE, BACK AT THE GUILD!)

Mavis immediately sensed the Fairy Beacon. She kicked the doors to the Guild wide open, and aimed her arm, charging up Fairy Glitter. "Beacon Locked. Coordinates Locked in. Fairy Glitter Cannon Charging. Height locked in. Location Marked, Beacon Locked, Target Locked, Fairy Glitter Charged. Firing in three, two, one..."

Suddenly, for all in the Guild, traveling nearby, and everyone at the mountain to see, a giant blast of Fairy Glitter was shot out.

(MEANWHILE, BACK AT THE MOUNTAIN!)

Timal just laughed. "Your spell completed fizzl...."

She was interrupted by being hit with Fairy Glitter at long range.

(Well, I wnt overboard again, but that last part was too good not to add.... XD)

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As Wynter looked at the mage now named Harmony, as her opponent literally explained what she does, Wynter's expression remained the same, 'She can mimic my spells, hm? In other words this would be more based on skill with weapons, and skill and speed of Requip than power of magic. It doesn't matter the strength of her spells, if I can avoid it and beat her on pure skill alone. Yet, I should be prepared for any eventuality.' though she thought, approaching slowly at first, though her spells can be used against her, Wynter wanted to know how skilled her opponent was. Stopping about Five meters from her opponent taking up the weapon like it was a rapier, and right as she was about to move in for the attack, something happened that caught her off guard. As she came to a dead stop a beam of light had closed on their location, it was very shocking as she almost fell onto her tail, as the pillar of light slammed those whom would be deemed an enemy of those in Fairy Tail.

After leaping back, Wynter looked at Rin and Zane, whom seemed injured, things weren't in great shape. Especially as Wynter doubted the enemies were defeated by that. As she held her weapon, she glanced to Zane, whom had used what appeared to be Fairy Beacon, almost in pure shock, sshe spoke, "Do tell, where'd that party trick come from? That was interesting." As she kept her gaze around, Wynter noticed one thing, they were missing a certain cherry red girl, though it seemed Rin had it handled. As she let the dust settle the pain of the hit she took earlier. Gritting her teeth, Wynter raised her weapon again, expecting the three to still stand.

((Sorry, I have no clue what has happened in Zane's post... :/))

Pommel Grade

With a fearful yell, Pommel finally opened her eyes to see where she was going, the mine cart careening down the tracks and round a bend. Pits and rises, narrow weavings between hanging spikes and other rock formations. At one point, she even found herself flying between the legs of a huge ice beast, though he seemed more stunned than Pommel did, and not at all the aggressive kind with his big goofy eye and chicken wings. Slowly but steadily, fear had given way to cheering, as the ride was exhilarating to say the least. The joy at such fun was short lived however, as Pommel came out of another passage, coasting alongside next to another mine cart. This one however, was occupied by a couple of the dark wizards.

"Hey Moops, I found her!" The larger, more muscular and bald wizard shouted, pointed to Pommel, causing her to jump a bit and sweat profusely. "Well don't jus' stand there Vince, grab 'er!" The pint sized fellow with a long pointy nose continued to hold the mine cart steady, while Vince began lunging across the gap, attempting to grab hold of Pommel. Sidling up as far back against the wall of her cart as she could, Pommel was lucky that a track sign came up between them, forcing Vince to rapidly retreat back into his mine cart, standing on Moops's head.

"Oi! Git off me ya git and git her!" Moops complained, confusing the poor dolt of a partner. Pommel just sighed a bit that she was actually afraid of dopes like these, though she didn't get long to ponder that as Vince began leaning over into her cart again. Planting herself with her arms gripped firmly on the rim of the basket, she sent a solid boot to his face, trying to keep him back and out of her ride. It worked for a moment, but then he got hold of her leg, laughing to himself. "I got her, I got her!"

At that point, the mine carts diverged on their paths. Pommel still had a tight grasp onto the wall of her cart, and as the two turned away, Vince found himself clinging onto Pommel for dear life, flailing behind the cart as it careened further into the tunnels. ”Get off me you creep!” Pommel wailed, still kicking at his face repeatedly. The dark wizard grunted in pain with each kick, but he managed to slowly pull himself in, climbing into the mine cart with her. "I've got you now! Moops is gonna be so proud of me!" He laughed a bit, before his face fell into terror, and he pointed ahead. Pommel spun herself, and what she saw brought a similar look of absolute fear to her face. Dead end. Cliff edge. They were headed for a pit!

"Stop this thing!" Vince wailed, Pommel equally panicked. ”There's no brakes!” Bouncing along the track, the two were heading closer and closer to their doom. There was no way they could jump out at this point - they'd be smashed on the rocks and spikes of the mine. ”Quick! We gotta slow this down!” Pommel shouted, leaning over the side of the cart. ”Free-Form: Blade!” Drawing her arm back, Pommel shoved it to the ground, wincing in pain from the jarring friction that almost felt like it'd rip her shoulder from its socket. They were still going way too fast! There was no way they'd stop in time!

"Me help!" Vince called, grabbing hold of Pommel to brace her. With his other hand, he magically equipped a ball and chain, throwing it behind them as an anchor. Dust and shards of rock flew up all around them as the mine cart screech, slowly, steadily slowing as it approached the edge... And stopped, moments from careening into the pit. Both of them gave out a long sigh, before cheering, jumping up and down in their cart. ”We did it Vince!” Pommel congratulated him; Vince laughing as well as he hugged her. "Yeah! We make good team!"

Far off, and coming closer, the two heard a loud screeching noise. Soon enough, it became a voice. "GIT OUT OF THE WAY!" Came the terrified cry moments before they could see it. Moops was rocketing down the rails in his mine cart, equally out of control as he came down the steep hill towards the pit. Pommel tried to scramble to safety, but was gripped by both fear and the fearful hug of Vince as he saw their impending collision. All three wizards wailed out in terror, before finally...

*tink*

With a soft tap, Moops managed to bring his cart to a stop, barely shoving Pommel and Vince anywhere along the track. All three gave out a long sigh, before breaking out into laughter. "Dat dere was a real close one!" Moops stated, scratching the back of his head.

”Haha, yeah, I thought we were goners for sure! Who knows what would've happened if-” Pommel didn't get to finish her sentence as the loud rumbling broke out, the three stopping to look back down the tunnels they came from. It was weird, like the sound of rushing water, almost as if they were near a wild river or a broken dam or something... Moments later, it became apparent that was exactly what was coming as a literal ocean of water swept them away, knocking all three off the edge into the mine pit.

Pommel tried to scream, tried to grab hold of something, but the water engulfed everything, silencing and knocking her for a loop. Zane may have sunk like a rock, but Pommel was no better, having never learned to swim at all in her life, and certainly didn't stand a chance of learning amongst such rapid water. In the confusion, she completely lost track of Moops and Vince, struggling amongst the black abyss. There was no real light at all, no sense of space. And, most frightening of all, no air. Slowly, steadily she drifted, eyes clouding with darkness, chest burning up, fighting to try and breathe. Dim. Dark. Nothing...

And then... Strong hands suddenly grabbed hold of her, wrenching her upward. At least, she hoped it was upwards. Seconds later, she broke the surface, coughing and spluttering for air as she took deep, shivering breaths, the ice cold water really sapping her lungs. For a second, she thought it was Vince or Moops, but then noticed the steady beating of wings, along with catching a full glimpse of the hunk of a man that saved her. Looking up, she was immediately taken by his green eyes, and that charming smile.

”You know, cute girls like you shouldn't wander off alone. It's dangerous.” Oh god his voice was charming too. Pommel withheld a blush, and was about to speak before turning it into a soft yelp of surprise, being heaved up into a bridal hold. ”Now hold on a moment, let's get you somewhere safe to dry off.” The man spoke again, Pommel dimly nodding before giving a surprised yelp as they did a brief somersault in mid-air before gliding to a nearby ledge, watching the rushing water fall off into the depths below. As he began looking her over, and gently taking her hand, Pommel finally managed to find her voice again.

”Just who are you exactly?” She asked quizzically, and then made a brief squeak as he poked her in the nose. ”I’m HēiMǎ, you however, can call me Moru. I'm a Celestial Spirit.” Suddenly, memories began flooding back to Pommel. Memories of someone she disliked. Nay, someone she despised. Charming as this man was, she couldn't look at him without seeing that infuriatingly creepy man. Her expression wavered into one of scepticism.

”Uhuh. So I take it Rin sent you?” Pommel surmised, sitting up as he seemed content with her condition. She was still shivering from the cold, but there wasn't much he could do to help that. Moru could see the look that Pommel was giving him and decided to act more casual. ”Yeah, she was worried about you. If you're okay we should probably head back. Rin isn't a very patient person, especially when she's worried. So, you want me to carry you or would you rather I let you ride on my back?”

Pommel paused a moment, looking down to the swirling whirlpool of water, grimacing. She was lucky Moru pulled her out of that, but she could see no sign of Moops or Vince amongst the tide. Somehow, even though they were dark wizards, she felt bad for them. ”Do you think they..?” She trailed off a bit, biting her lip. She shook her head once. ”Never mind. Let's go back. Uh... So are you going to give me a piggy-back, cause that would be kind of weird...”

Moru followed her gaze and shook his head at her question. ”Don't worry, there's a tunnel at the bottom that they can get to and one of them uses some form of air magic. They're safe. And of course not.” Silverly blue light filled the area around Moru and Pommel and when it dissipated a gold-eyed, black stallion with large wings stood before her. Through telepathy he spoke into Pommel's mind, laughter filling his mental voice. 'Climb on.'

Pommel reacted with a startled jump as the sound filled her mind. Man, even creepier, he could be in her head, reading her thoughts. Best to keep her cool then and not think anything too weird. Still, she was happy to hear those two would be alright, and thankful he saved her life. But not THAT grateful. She would have thought of something to... Oh, who was she kidding? ”Ugh! Fine, thanks okay!” Pommel whined aloud as she climbed onto Moru. Keeping her thoughts private was going to be difficult, since she thought about a lot of things. ”You better not be listening in!” Pommel fumed a bit, grabbing hold rather roughly by the horse's ears, just to ensure he heard her. Moru snorted and shook his head, yanking his ears out of her hands. 'Telepathy isn't mind reading. I can only hear what you think at me and once I stop using the magic I can't hear what you're thinking.' Moru kept his voice calm, rather offended someone would think so low of him, but knowing becoming angry wouldn't do much for the situation.

”Well good! Keep it that way!” Pommel hmmph'd, folding her arms. After all, she didn't want him knowing what she REALLY thought about him. I mean, he was cute and charming, but if he didn't remind her so much of Slick she might've liked him more. Well, that and she couldn't get over her own hang-ups around men. It was difficult for her to really trust any of them, and she knew it was stupid. But somehow, she couldn't stop herself from being that bit on edge. That bit quicker to judge. She'd get better at it though. Just like her skills as a wizard. She just needed some time.

With that, she was forced to take hold of his mane as Moru took flight, quickly making his way back up to the cliff that she'd fallen from, navigating the complex tunnels back towards Rin. During their flight through a particularly straight part of the tunnels Moru activated a high speed spell and the cherry-haired girl on his back let out a yelp and wrapped her arms around his neck. The rate they were going at that point was far faster and scarier than the rollercoaster ride she'd previously taken. ”S-Slow down! I'm gonna be sick!” Pommel threatened with a wail, as the concept of falling and splitting her head open felt very much more real with the flimsy grip she had on his neck. Of course, her stomach was fine with this sort of thing, but hopefully Moru got the message. In response Moru let out a neigh that sounded an awful lot like a chuckle and slowed down, deciding to stay at a speed unaided by magic to keep the girl from panicking. Breathing a soft sigh of relief, Pommel snuggled in a bit closer to Moru, trying to use what she could of his body warmth to keep herself from freezing. Hopefully from here, it’d be smooth sailing to re-join the fight with the others…

Of course, when it comes to Pommel, nothing is ever that simple, a pair of eyes following the two as they approached. With a grin of misshapen and rotten teeth, the Dark Wizard prepared his devious ambush on the unsuspecting duo…

---

---

It was dark in the mines, but Zena didn’t care. She was on the Hunt, and her Heaven’s Eye would see to it that none of her prey escaped. She had already dealt with a dozen or so since she’d entered, small fry mostly, though the cloak she’d worn to ward off the mountain’s cold had been discarded at some point after one dark wizard had gotten lucky enough to burn part of it to ash.

She was following a set of tracks laid down for a mine cart she hadn’t seen yet, for no other reason than it was the only feature that wasn’t a stone spike rising from the floor or ceiling. Her eye magic illuminated the forms of several people in the distance, which made it rather convenient that the tracks seemed to be running in their direction. She watched them as she walked, their glowing forms a beacon in the dark tunnels, and she felt a kind of dull surprise that they seemed to be fighting each other. A house divided, perhaps? Or maybe…

She felt her pace quicken to a jog, and then a sprint. If a different guild had come to the mountain, then she’d have to hurry. Like hell was Zena going to let some two-bit “official” guild steal credit for her achievements, or worse, rob her of all the fun. This was her guild to destroy, not theirs.

Her feet flew over steel rails crossed with wooden boards, kicking up clouds of dust as she ran full-speed toward the interlopers. She could hear the wind in her ears, feel stone pounding under her feet - and then she was pinwheeling her arms, trying to catch herself from falling into a ravine that was swiftly filling with water. Seawater, judging by the smell, which was just. Just great. Absolutely terrific.

Looking down into the inky swirling blackness, her Heaven’s Eye revealed two figures bobbing on top of the waves. She looked around for a way to cross the gap, content to pass off the two forms below as dark wizards that had been felled by her rivals in guild busting, but as she noticed the distinct lack of a bridge or even so much as a swinging rope, another thought gnawed at her brain.

What if they’re from the other guild?

Well then, they should’ve known what they were getting into. Besides, they’re alive, probably. Their heads are above the water sometimes, they’ll be fine.

Actually, now that she judged the gap, maybe she could jump across! It’d be easy. She moved back a few paces to give herself a running start, broke into a sprint, and dove headlong into the water.

Wait, what?!

She took a deep breath as her head came back above the waves, feeling her stomach turn as she bounced in the churning water. She cast around for the two bodies she’d seen from above, spotting one a short distance away. She swam towards him, fighting with the saltwater pouring down from above to keep her head from sinking below the surface, and felt her fingers close around fabric. She pulled his arm around her shoulders, kicking her feet to keep from slipping under from the new weight, then made for the slick rock wall.

”Poison Dragon’s Grip Strike!” She thrust her claws into the stone, hauling herself up as she wrapped her other arm around the wizard she was trying to rescue. She heard a hiss as caustic purple scales appeared on her forearms, burning away the fabric of his shirt. He could always by a new one.

Her feet struggled with the wet stone, and her attempts to scale the wall were made even more difficult by the use of only one arm, but after a few minutes of cursing and more than one slip that caused her to lose several feet of progress, she felt her fingers land on the ledge. With a mighty heave she threw the heavy bastard up onto level ground before diving back into the water.

Hope your guild is rich, assholes, she thought to herself as she hit the waves face-first.

She didn’t see the second one. She spun wildly in pace, treading water and hoping she hadn’t been mistaken about how many had been down here. And then she spotted him, a dozen feet down and sinking fast. She swore loudly, took as large a breath as she could, and threw herself after him. It was dark, dark, and getting darker. She strained against the force of the water pouring down from above, muscles burning as she kicked her feet as hard as she could, trying to catch him before she ran out of breath.

She was getting closer, closer - she reached out her arm, and then she had him, pulling him back up above the waves as quickly as she could. Stupid long-nosed bastard had to go and- She cursed at his unconscious form the entire way up the wall before tossing him over the edge to join his considerably more bulky companion. She hauled herself up after him, gasping from the exertion. She rolled over onto her back, panting and cursing. She wondered briefly how much water these two had swallowed. Oh well. At least they were on dry land now.

Speaking of dry land, she sat up and looked across to the side she wanted to be on. Seawater was still pouring over its ledge, though if this were magic she doubted it would keep up much longer. Just the amount that was steadily filling the ravine must be consuming a considerably amount of magical energy, so whoever cast this damn ocean crap spell must be either exceptionally powerful or about to pass out. Zena really hoped it was the latter, but judging by the previous fifteen-ish minutes, she was willing to bet it was the former.

She sighed, stood, and then took a running leap at the other side, her head immediately dropping below the water rushing over its edge. She managed to catch hold of the cart tracks to keep from plummeting over back into the abyss, and proceeded to use them as a bizarre horizontal ladder to make her progress toward the wizards she’d been moving toward to begin with. Occasionally she had to stop to raise her head above the water line and take a new breath, being pushed back a couple of feet every time she did so. But then it was back to the horizontal ladder, working her way up the incline to what she really hoped was a perfectly level room where the seawater flowed at a lazy trickle.

(sorry for the delay, but to make up for it, I made the post fairly hilarious)

Timal dislodged herself from the mountain, and gave Zane an angry glare, who was currently on fire trying to boil the water away. "Seriously? Why don't you stop and think a little next time, cause that was overkill!"

"Your the one that brought an ocean onto the mountain..." Zane replied from his small island. "And how was it overkill when your trying to kill me?"

"Well why don't you come over here and settle this then? Oh yeah, you can't. You are as ignorant in swimming as you are with this whole situation. You cant win against us. Morven has more influence then you realize" Timal mentioned.

Hold on, wait a second... Zane thought as it hit him. That's when he realized it. He then pointed a finger at Timal. "You totally lied! You weren't cursed back then, so you can't be a decade or two older then me!"

Timal's expression was priceless. "...are you serious? Is that all you have to bring up? I kinda thought you were bluffing, but are you actually trapped over there? Also, how the fuck does that even matter? Your still an idiot, which given the fact you were trapped in a library, shouldn't be possible!"

"If I was stupid, how would I know you are also trapped? Normally, even while talking, you would have attacked me by now. But despite an unnatural growth, you either are low on magical power...or something is stopping you from coming over here".

"Is not!" Timal replied.

Zane started to laugh a little. "Oh wow. Let me guess, your embarrassed about getting wet right? All your clothes will become seethrough or..."

Suddenly, Zane was smashed into the ground by a Primal Ice Fist. "Your still an ass".

However, not just the ground next to Zane, but the entire floor cracked, draining the water. Timal was confused at first, she hadn't hit that hard, but then she realized it. Zane added his own force to the strike to crack open the ground and cause the water to drain. Zane then shattered the first, burning with primal fire. "Gotcha..."

"You little....you on purposely said something perverted to anger me and make me give you the extra force to drain the water!" Timal yelled. "Clever, but not enough to save you! Primal Ice Spike!"

"Primal Fire Barrier!" Zane called out, stopping the spikes. "Fire Dragon Roar!"

The fire nearly got Timal, but she dodged most of it, only getting hit by a portion of the damage. However, Zane moved to where Timal dodged to, and hit her with his Primal Fire Sword. However, Timal hit him with her Primal Ice Burning Spike, which while being made of ice, burns anyone it touches. It was a critical hit, and as he fell backwards his red and white cloak fell beside him. As Timal spoke, she used a magical item to broadcast the two of them to everyone on the mountain. "See. I will always win. I will eliminate your friends, your guildmates, everyone you care about, and there is nothing you can do about it".

"Not...a chance. So long as I live...I will not let you hurt a single member of Fairy Tail!" Zane shouted in anger and loyalty, until Timal used a Primal Ice Fist to knock him down and fired several Primal Ice Shards, cutting him all over and leaving his shirt in ruins and bleeding all over. She drew her Primal Ice Burning Sword, and poisoned to strike.

"And the best part is Morven will ensure they all suffer slow and agonizing deaths. Just know now, your friends will watch you die before I go to kill them as well" she spoke as she flinched a little. Then. as she swung, Zane reached out and blocked the attack with one hand. His hand was bloody, and on fire. However, this fire was not red, or blue, or purple, or black, or anything. It was white. As Timal tried to pull away, she found she was unable to. Then she looked into his eyes, but she did not see Zane there. She saw the one issue all primal magic had. Its uncontrollability, it allowed for a risk of temporarily losing control of yourself if you had it inside you. And Timal had pushed him too far. Still, knowing this, she was baffled at the physical changes. "How is it...how can you just block my sword with one hand? Its ice, so the burning affect should still work! This wasn't my intention!"

Timal had to dispel the sword and jump away, but Zane was already behind her, fueled by anger and lost to the primal spirit. Without using a spell, he smashed her down into the floor, and then impacted right onto her. Zane had completely lost it. Timal knew reasoning wouldn't work, though it probably wouldn't have worked reguardless. So she had no choice.

"Terragenesis! Oce...." she tried to summon an ocean to help her escape, but Zane, or the primal spirit she had provoked rather, interrupted the spell by kicking her into a wall. She mumbled a little to herself. "Jeese, I didn't know you were this fragile".

Suddenly, Zane appeared next to her, and she just barely dodged a punch to the face that would have done massive damage. She tried to get some more distance, but he finally started using magic....which meant a swarm of primal fireballs in her direction. This forced her to put multiple Primal Ice Shieldwalls in front of her while moving away. She needed some way to deal with Zane's primal mode, or else he might kill everyone on the mountain, starting with her. The only way was to make him not angry, but she had no clue how to make his anger disappear, considering what she did and the fact she just riled him up.

Then, as the last shieldwall shattered, some of the ice shards caught her damp clothes. The resulting combination plus the force they were moving at resulted in something she really disliked. Primal Zane moved in for the kill, but stopped when he saw her. Timal sighed with relief, until she remembered why he stopped and got both embarrassed and pissed off. Zane was Primal Ice Fisted into the wall, while she took one of the black cloaks of a fallen Dark Guild Member. "I cannot believe that it was because of THAT he stopped. Pervert..."

Timal was drained however from that fight, and quickly disappeared, not even leaving a trace. She counted herself lucky though, the magical broadcast ended during the fight so no one else saw most likely. If any Dark Wizards did, she would make them forget later. Zane meanwhile, was blushing while lodged in a wall of ice and rock. Dazed, he replied despite the fact Timal was already gone. "How is it my fault? You caused me to go Primal, and it was your ice..." Lets not forget the fact that I can't age, so that's both the closest I might ever get right there, and the fact I am too young technically for it to matter. Though, if I said that out loud, I would probably get crushed, so lets leave it there...

As Zane pryed himself out, he looked around. Rin and Wynter were still fighting. He went to help them, but collapsed on the floor. Entering Primal Mode healed his wounds, but it didn't remove the pain. His body ached all over, and he realized he should probably rest a little before joining the fight, so he sat with his back against a wall. As he did, a Dark Wizard tried to jump him. One punch later, and the Dark Wizard.

(Humor makes everything better when you don't have too little or too much :) Kinda makes me want to have flashback posts as well >.>)

Pommel Grade

In a moment, the entire situation had changed. They'd been flying along, Pommel hanging tightly to Moru's mane as they made their way back towards the group. Whether it was his distraction at conversing with Rin, or the suddenness of the enemy's entrance, Moru was caught off guard as the villain wizard leapt from above, obstructing their path completely. In the split second before they crashed into him, he rose his arm before backhanding the two, Pommel crying out in pain as she was sent flying and separated from Moru, impacting some rocks and falling down to the floor. Thankfully by this point, the water seemed to have mostly stopped and drained.

Grim, booming laughter filled the tunnel, the dark mage holding his portly belly as he looked over to the two staggering to their feet. He was humongous, at least 3 times the size of a regular man, almost completely blocking the arch of the tunnel. Disgusting grease and sweat stained his white tank top, though what was the most off-putting was the fact that it did little to hide his rolls of fat from showing. His large stomach made up the majority of his figure, making his other limbs and head look like stumpy bits of flab stuck onto his spherical form. Messy and similarly unkempt dirty blonde hair covered his head, while his eyes were beady and small. His mouth looked like he'd been punched in the jaw after binging on several years supply of candy; with only a few stained and chipped teeth remaining. Further adding to how off-putting the man was an indescribably foul odour, the closest comparison being that he smelled like death.

”Well well well, seems it takes a real big man to handle one little girl!” Taking slow, heavy and deliberate steps, the floor seemed to crack and shake after each one as he headed towards Pommel. ”Ah well, I could use a snack; and you look just good enough to eat…" Pommel flinched slightly at his words, but quickly found her spirit once again as she scrambled to her feet, still quite some distance from the vile man. "Ew! Ew! No! Don't even touch me you ball of lard! You're fat enough as it is!" The insults drew out some more laughter from the giant man, who stopped to gesture to himself. "Haha, girly, you have no idea how hungry I am. Still, you better show some respect, I am-"

"Nasty - If you ask me!" Pommel replied, interrupting him. ”No, I'm-"

"Gross? Disgusting? Foul? Ugly? A blight on the planet?" Each time he went to speak, he found himself interrupted by Pommel as the list went on. Finally however, he had enough, roaring out. ”SHUT IT!" The booming sound echoed about the room, and immediately, Pommel went quiet. ”I'm Big Gus, and you're dinner!" He declared, marching forward. The close observer would notice the change in Pommel, eyes dilating, hands trembling slightly, stiff body and the ever so slight step back. She found however, that she couldn't move, standing there plainly as 'Big Gus' closed in to grab hold of her.

Moru, who had slammed into the cave wall, took a moment to recover from the blow. Changing back to human form the young man swore, putting a hand to his head. Shaking his, which only made the pain worse, Moru focused on the reason behind it. Looking over at the wizard approaching Pommel, Moru let out a growl, cast a high speed spell. Catapulting forward Moru landed his punch but the man barely stumbled back and Moru looked at his hand in disgust. "Wow dude you would think you'd be less nasty since there was water rushing through here five minutes ago..."

With another evil grin, Big Gus shifted to look at the tiny man beside him. ”Seems neither of you can appreciate my true beauty. Why be clean when you could better use that time eating?" Turning back towards Pommel and ignoring Moru, he began reaching for the girl. ”Well, time for the entree before the main meal. Bon appétit!" The shadow of his hand cast across Pommel, and in her stupor, she still was frozen to the spot, almost not registering anything around her.

"Yo kid, you should at least run if you aren't going to fight!" Moru summoned his wings and used a high speed spell, blasting into the air and landing a punch to the side of the man's head. The blow rippled into his cheek, briefly staggering Gus, but then, he simply grinned, puffing out and bit and lightly knocking Moru back from him before laughing. ”What, that's all you've got little man?" Turning back to face him, Gus cracked his neck a bit. ”Come on, you can do better than that. Free shot, give me all you got, donkey boy." He gestured with his arms, beckoning Moru in with both to bring it on. Amongst all of this, Pommel didn't even seem to notice Moru's shout, but somewhere inside of her, it managed to get her legs moving, backing away from what was likely to be an intense battle.

Fire blazed in Moru's eyes and he spoke in a slow, calm voice. "Did you just call me a fucking Donkey?" Gus simply grinned, savouring the taste of such a strong reaction before speaking. ”Yeah, I called you an Ass. Whatchoo gonna do about it, chump?" Moru muttered something under his breath before casting three stacked speed spells and zipped up and off to the side. The large man turned to look at him and laughed. ”You completely miss-" The man was cut off as Moru made a sudden turn, casting two more speed spells to more than make up for his lost momentum, and kicked him in the face. "I'm a Horse not a Donkey you shithead!"

For a moment, Moru would seem to hang in the air with his impact. Then, slowly, the blow began to take force, Gus's head and neck receding into the bulbous fat surrounding his torso. Deeper, steadily, Moru's foot all but disappeared into the fatty remains of where his head vanished, with an unsatisfying squelching noise. Then... Laughter. ”Whoo boy! Not bad chump. My head's ringing a bit." Gus's muffled voice rose out from the squished neck hole. ”So you're a horse, right?" Gus chuckled some more, his fat clinging to Moru's leg and refusing to let it go from the compressed air suction. ”Holy Shit are you stupid or deaf?" Internally Moru was trying not to vomit. Using a speed spell Moru flew upwards, yanking his leg from the gelatinous mass of the man.

”Neither you dumb twerp! My gut magic makes me invincible!" The fat man called out in indignation, before beginning his recovery. As Moru attempted to clear some distance, there was the slow and steady squishing sound as Gus began stretching back out into shape. Finally, with a wet pop, he came free, glancing about to locate Moru. ”Alright, you had your turn, now it's mine! Come here!" Gus yelled, a thundering sound as he ran... Well, waddle-rolled at Moru. Surprisingly mobile for such a huge force, Gus lunged for the horse-man, mouth agape as he attempted to literally eat him.

Moru let out a very horse-like snicker, and flew out of the way as the ball of lard's momentum threw him past the spot where Moru had been hovering and crashing into the tunnel's wall. "I'm sorry, did you expect me to just let you eat me?" Moru glanced over at Pommel while the giant struggled to get up and turn back around. "What did I tell you?! Either fight or Run!" Hearing those words, Pommel staggered in the spot, her hands slowly going to her head and clutching it, whispering some words over and over to herself. She needed to calm down. She wasn't in trouble. He wasn't angry at her. He wasn't dangerous. He was her friend. She just needed to get moving. "R-right..." She mumbled, taking some slow steps backward before turning to run. She wasn't in the mental state to be much help to Moru at this point; she needed some space to collect herself.

Moru let out a sigh of relief. Head buried in the rubble, the blobbed fellow spun, his mouth filled with rocks. Moments later, he swallowed, giving a small, satisfied burp. ”Well It's not like I ordered my food to go, but I guess I'll have to take you out!" Puffing up his chest, Gus suddenly leaned forward, maw open wide as the rocks he ate fired out like bullets, aimed squarely at Moru's chest. Moru's attention still on the girl he didn't have the time to move out of the way of the rocks. With a grunt of pain his wings folded and he dropped through the air and towards the ground.

Licking his lips, Big Gus then looked to Pommel. Well, a runner wouldn't do. Drawing in a deep breath, he prepared a huge spit wad before launching it at the cherry head fleeing the scene. Struggling to breathe Moru focused on opening his wings and used a speed spell to catapult himself at the dark wizard, throwing off the trajectory of the spit wad just enough for it to miss Pommel. Gus's face pivoted, twisting to the side from the punch, launching his spit harmlessly to the ground beside him. Instantly, the ground began to bubble and boil, dissolving under the acid contained within, melting a small hole in the ground. Anger flared, Gus grabbed at Moru arms and body, his hand almost big enough to encompass around his torso all by itself and pin the fellow.

”Alright, enough mug shots. Forget the dessert; I'm hungry enough to eat a horse..." Glowering at Moru, Gus began to open his mouth wide, dislocating his jaw with a sickening crack. The breath alone that wafted out would be something Moru would have to spend weeks removing from himself. Inside, the saliva dripped between his gums and teeth in strands, the very same liquid that had melted rock before.

Having cleared quite some distance, Pommel turned to hear the sound of Moru in pain, and instantly her heart leapt out of her chest seeing the danger he was in. This was her fault. She had to do something to help him! Shakily, she took a few steps forward. He couldn't fight the Big Gut himself, he needed her. She had to do it. She had to use her Fuse Form. Trembling at the thought, she willed herself to move forward. She didn't need to be scared. He was an ally. He was in danger. She had to save him. She had to! Move! Just transform! Tears began to well up in Pommel's eyes, as she sunk to her knees. She couldn't do it. Even after all he did for her, even after saving her life and practically sacrificing himself, she couldn't get over her idiotic and irrational fears. "I'm sorry..." She whispered, turning her head away and shutting her eyes. She couldn't bear to watch.

She wasn't strong enough yet.

But knowing that wasn't going to make this loss any less painful.

Zena le Blank

---

"Poison Dragon's Spiral Jaw!"

Zena's legs struck the large wizard directly between the shoulders, the sudden attack from behind causing him to release his intended victim. Zena flipped over his head and spun, landing with her back to a red haired girl, standing tall. For a moment, the girl looked up to who was before her, but didn't recognise anything about her, staring in stunned silence as her saviour confronted their enemy.

"You know, I was starting to get worried that I'd wasted too much time on those damn drowning morons and missed last call," she cricked her neck with one hand on her nape, stretching her other shoulder as she did so. "And yet here you were kind enough to wait for me. I'm flattered."

His attention diverted from the pretty boy, the oversized goon took a step toward the newly appeared dragon slayer. "A new snack..." he said, licking his chops. "I do love delivery!"

The wizard swung his boulder-sized fist down at Zena, cracking the floor of the tunnel where it landed when she jumped to the side. He swung his other arm outward at her, following the path she'd leapt in, but she blocked this follow-up attack with crossed arms. She retalliated by sending a swirling pillar of poison magic in the shape of a serpent's head at her opponent, the magical "snake" biting the dark wizard where it struck his arm. He recoiled, taking a step back and rubbing his arm where her spell had impacted.

"Finally, a proper meal!" He puffed out his cheeks and made a hawking sound, as if pulling spit up from deep in his throat. 'Pretty boy', who had taken a second hit to the head when dropped, groaned and used the tunnel wall to help him up.

Hey watch out! His spit is acid!" he called out to Zena, leaning against the wall to steady himself. Zena responded by clicking her tongue before jumping to the side again, narrowly avoiding a large wad of spit which caused the rock to hiss and bubble.

Zena landed with knees bent, then launched herself at her foe, slashing at him with a scaled left hand, mist trailing behind it. "Poison Dragon's Crushing Fang!" She felt the breath get knocked out of her as the big guy brought both hands down on her back like a hammer, followed by a knee to her gut which sent her flying back.

Zena pressed one hand to her ground and used it as a sort of pendulum, righting herself and landing on the balls of her feet. She swung her arms up in a cross-formation, sending two massive waves of poison magic slamming into her opponent. He dropped to one knee, breathing heavily.

"I don't feel so good," he groaned, clutching at his expansive stomach. "Maybe a little hair of the dog that bit me!" The wizard threw his head back and opened his mouth inhumanly wide, until his chin was touching the center of his chest.

Zena felt powerful winds pulling at her body and a rushing sound filled the tunnel, as if the large man had a vortex inside his mouth. Well now, that was interesting. Unfortunately, it was also not allowed..

"You don't wanna eat me, big guy." Zena leapt into the air and delivered a spinning double kick to the wizard's fat head, discharging blasts of poison onto him from both legs and causing him to bite down. "You'd get food poisoning!" She kicked off the back of his head, spun in the air, and landed facing his back.

"Poison Dragon's Roar!" A jet of poison-infused magic struck the wizard square between the shoulders with enough force to send him flying a few feet, crashing face-first into the dirt, completely knocked out. There was silence for a moment as the dust settled... Before a last burst of flatulence filled the air from Gus, a final noise of defiance in his defeat.

Zena stood over her opponent, taking a moment to appreciate her victory. Then she remembered the two others nearby, and was thrust back to business. She activated her Heaven's Eye, but turned it back off when she saw most of the guild she'd come to destroy had already fled. She side-eyed the redhead and the pretty boy, as if it were their fault her job hadn't been completed.

"You. Coward girl." she pointed at the one who'd barely moved since Zena had arrived. "What guild are you?" She walked over and squatted down so she was at eye level with the red haired girl, green x's in yellow irises meeting the smaller wizard's normal brown eyes.

Pommel flinched a bit as the strange woman came over to her and Moru, the cherry princess having moved over to help him up and steady him towards the climax of the battle. Coward girl... Yeah, that was right. That's what she was. An inner fire inside of her screamed to deny that, but the truth of the matter was she had no right to do so. Downcast, she met the eyes of Zena, and finally resolved to answer her question, ignoring the intimidation she felt looking into them. "I'm Pommel Grade of Fairy Tail. Thank you for saving us back there..." She mumbled slightly, feeling more guilt than ever. She was a Fairy Tail wizard and here she was, bringing shame to the guild's name by her actions.

Zena ran her fingers through her dark hair, a bit put off by the girl - Pommel's? - response. "Fairy Tail, huh. The ones who blow up the towns they're supposed to be helping?" That was a new wrinkle. Though looking at these two, she wondered if the stories weren't a bit hyperbolic. "Well I saved a couple of your guys back there from drowning, and just saved the two of you just now, so should I just give you my bill or do I send it somewhere official?"

"B-bill?" Pommel stammered slightly, taking a moment to register what this woman was asking for. She wanted money for helping them? Then she... She must have been some sort of mercenary. Her eyes narrowing somewhat, Pommel stood up a bit straighter. "So what, if we didn't have money you would have left us to die?" Anger flaring a bit, the fiesty little girl wouldn't seem all that intimidating given what had happened. More akin to a barking chihuahua.

"I also accept payment in the form of food and fun," Zena said, completely disregarding Pommel's indignation. She stood up from her half-crouch, rising to her full height of over six feet (almost 2 meters). "Besides, I'm a good person! I saved you before demanding compensation." The skeptical look Zena received from Pommel made it clear that she didn't believe that entirely. Pommel mumbled something about blackmail, though it wasn't entirely audible.

She poked Pommel's forehead three times, as if the small girl were a hornet's nest and Zena's finger were a long stick. "Aren't you gonna thank me for saving your friends from drowning in a ravine? Big guy, long nose guy, ring any bells?"

Twitching a bit in annoyance, Pommel had to restrain herself from lashing out again. As irritating as this woman was being, it was true she had saved them and... Briefly her mind went to Vince and Moops, and somehow, she didn't know whether to be relieved or not. "They're not... Well... It's complicated..." Pommel settled on, before shifting her weight slightly again as Moru had started brushing off his injuries. "But if it's food you're after I'll make whatever you want back at the guild hall." Mid-way through speaking, Pommel darted her free hand out to catch Zena's finger with surprising accuracy, making it clear that she didn't appreciate it before slowly releasing it. "Ah!"

Zena chewed at her nail as she regarded Pommel's offer. She'd probably need to head to the Fairy Tail guild hall anyway, considering this guild had chased off half her targets. She'd need to stick close enough to ensure they didn't show up before her next time, and hanging near an official guild would probably make it easier to find the rest of Shadow King. It would certainly be faster than waiting on information from her own guildmaster. If she could get food out of it in the process, that was a nice perk.

"Puffer fish," she finally answered, crossing her arms. "I want a whole bunch of puffer fish." At those words, Pommel didn't really know what to say. She'd promised anything, but where in Magnolia was she going to find that? And better yet, how was she going to cook it? She'd protest a little, but it was a futile effort, the banter continuing as they slowly made their way back down the tunnel to regroup with the others.

Moru, who had spent the entirety of the two girl's conversation using his magic to heal his injuries, followed after them as they started towards the main cavern. As the two bickered Moru cleared his throat and spoke up, adressing Pommel. "Did you sustain any wounds during the fight? If I come back with you and you're injured Ama- I mean, Rin, will kill me." Moru flinched and quickly corrected himself, knowing Rin didn't want anyone knowing her first name. The fact that she had kept it hidden was the only thing that kept people from connecting her with her famous father, Rin having taken after her mother more appearance wise. Since he had already figured out that the girl was wary of him he kept his voice as unconcerned as possible. Honestly he would have asked either way but if the girl was that untrusting of him than he had no qualms with acting like he didn't care and blaming Rin's wrath for his concern.

"I'm telling you that 1,500 is an absurd amount of Puffer fish!" Pommel whined back to Zena, puffing out her own cheeks and pouting. They'd been going at it for quite some time now, and Moru hadn't really said a word. That being the case, when he chose to speak up, it drew Pommel's immediate attention, and provided her a good excuse to ignore Zena's pointless bickering. "Wounds? Oh! Uh... Nothing major, just some scrapes. Being a free-form wizard I heal a little faster than most..." Pommel didn't want to admit that her butt was actually incredibly sore from the multiple falls she'd gone through, but she wasn't lying when she stated that she would heal a bit quicker than most.

Still, she hesitated. She wanted to apologize to him for what had happened, but somehow, she felt that it was better reserved to give to everyone once they were all safe. That, and she had no doubt the sasquatch woman next to her would find it a new reason to pick on her. Still, Moru might return to the spirit realm at that point, given he was one of Rin's keys. Remembering back to what Moru had said about his telepathy, she decided to give it a shot, clearing her mind a little and attempting to think at him. 'Uh, Moru? If you can hear this uh... I'm really sorry about all the trouble I've caused you. Thank you for saving me. I... I know I've probably let you down through all this, and I don't deserve your forgiveness, but... I promise, I will get stronger. Even if I'm nothing but a disappointment to you and Zena and everyone else right now, I'll earn your respect. It won't make things up to you, but... it's the best I can think of right now...' Pommel trailed off, looking down to her chest briefly. She hadn't meant to think and go on so long, but it had just kind of happened. Talking was way simpler than thinking, at least then she had a bit of a filter.

Moru, who had been about to telepathically inform Rin of their return, immediately heard Pommel call out to him and listened. At the girl's self-deprecation he matched his pace to hers and ruffled her hair, responding telepathically. 'You have nothing to apologize for. Everyone gets scared sometimes. You did a wonderful job. I'm sure that with training you'll be an amazing wizard one day, maybe even better than Rin.' Moru chuckled and gave the girl a kind smile before removing his hand and taking a step away, not wanting to crowd the girl.

'Don't patronize me Moru.' Pommel responded, somewhat roughly, and unintentionally immediately, shrugging free from him. 'I'm nothing like her. I did a wonderful job of letting you almost get killed, not because of fear of dying. Not because I was scared to fight. Because...' Pommel stopped herself, shaking it off and changing her train of thought. She hated admitting or acknowledging that weakness of hers. '...Because I'm just an idiot that can't get over things! There was nothing wonderful about what I did...' Even while just thinking to Moru, it was clear that Pommel was getting worked up. Clenching her eyes shut, trembling slightly, even Zena would be able to see that something was going on in that little head of hers.

Zena side-eyed Pommel and Moru, not privy to their conversation but still capable of observing their physical actions and expressions. She doubted it was a sibling thing, since pretty boy was almost certainly not a permanent feature of physical existence. Looking at Pommel, Zena figured she couldn't be much older than 14, so... a parent thing? Was that possible with a guy who only stuck around when summoned? Why was she bothering to ponder this issue when she did not even remotely care about it? Nevertheless, the kid seemed to have a lot going on in her head. Maybe Zena should do something to help ease her tiny red-haired mind, if only to stop her from making faces which bore no context.

More frowned and went to respond but the independent wizard decided to speak up. "So! Free-form magic, that sounds neat. What's it do?" She subconsciously bent over and slowed her pace as she walked, so her face was closer to Pommel's. "There a lot of people with magic like that in Fairy Tail?"

Snapping back to full alert, Pommel jumped a bit as Zena towered over her again, looking down to her. Still clearing her thoughts a little, it took a second prompting from Zena before she replied, raising her arms up in a bit of an embarrassed gesture. "Oh, no, Fairy Tail has all kinds of people with magic, way more impressive than mine." Immediately, her mind went to the powerhouse of Wynter, and the quiet strength of Magpie. That was the kind of power she lacked. "All my magic lets me do is reform my body..." To demonstrate, Pommel lifted up her left arm, letting the light gather into it and shatter to reveal a large arm cannon. She'd hold it out for a bit, before letting the magic fade and returning it to her side.

As the two girls started a new discussion, this one thankfully not an argument, Moru telepathically spoke to Rin. Zena raised her eyebrows and straightened up, towering over Pommel. "Neat." She bent over again, her face at eye level with Pommel's. "So what, you've got like a Machina Soul thing going for you?" Pommel halted a bit as Zena leaned in front of her, looking to the side. "Um, well... No? I don't think so... I don't really know what Machina Soul is..." Pommel replied truthfully, not the wisest when it came to the forms of magic. "Free-Form is just what my fa- I always called it." Pommel stopped herself from finishing her sentence. The topic about her magic was also another uncomfortable one, given that it tied into her past. Rather than dwell on that closet of secrets, she decided to retake the initiative.

"What about you? We don't really know anything about you other than your name..." Pommel frowned a bit, pouting some more. "That and you're a glutton for puffer fish..." Moru cleared his throat and answered for Zena, his message to Rin relayed. "Her name is Zena or Zena Le Blank, she's a Poison Dragon Slayer. Her guild is Outlaw Code, an independent guild that would be considered a dark guild if not for the fact that they destroy dark guilds. Honestly they were Rin's first choice as a guild, though she never would have joined without a push. Sadly with how often Rin gets into trouble with the magic council we knew her joining Outlaw code wouldn't go well for Rin or the guild. That's why we started scoping out guilds for Rin and when we found Fairy Tail we knew it was the best place for her. She was reluctant but..." Moru shook his head and flinched. "Shit, I wasn't supposed to tell anyone that." Moru's tendency to speak his mind and to talk without thinking about it was something he had never had to worry about when it had just been him, Rin, and the other celestial spirits.

"Independent guild?" Pommel repeated to herself, thinking on it. She didn't like the comment that it was almost considered a dark guild, but if they helped deal with the actual villain guilds, they couldn't be all bad, right? As for the revelations regarding Rin's decision to join Fairy Tail, it honestly made a lot of sense. The magic council already came to expect frequent chaos when it came to things Fairy Tail was involved in. If it wasn't for the fact that the guild had been so pivotal in preventing catastrophe on a regular basis, no doubt it would have been forcefully disbanded and disbarred a long time ago. Right now however, the council was pretty lenient on most things they did; though no doubt it was only a matter of time before they pushed it too far. "Well, it's a bit late to say that Moru." Pommel smiled, laughing a little to herself. "Anything else you're not supposed to mention?" She probed, teasingly. "Well there is..." Moru cut himself and gave the red-haired girl a look. "You're gonna be the death of me." Despite the look there was laughter in his voice.

"Oh?" She replied, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Well, if you don't want to tell me that's fine. Maybe I'll just talk to Rin about it and mention what you said..." The deviousness in Pommel's expression began to show, a cheshire grin growing under her half-lidded glance.

"Wait," Zena cut in. "Wait wait wait. Hold on. Did- Did you look me up?" Moru answering for her had thrown her for a bit of a loop, and her mind was still trying to comprehend what had just happened. And who was Rin? His summoner? Had she done research on Outlaw Code back when she had apparently considered joining? Granted, Zena wouldn't be that difficult to find, considering she'd been in the leading wizard magazine twice (albeit in small columns with only he first accompanied by a small picture), but that this guy had been able to come up with all this off the top of his head was a bit hard to swallow. "Wait. Do I have fans?"

"Pfft, no. I'd recognize a dumb giant like you, and as an avid reader of Sorcerer's Weekly, if you were actually an anybody I'd remember you." Pommel interjected, annoyed at being interrupted from her interrogation of Moru. True enough she was a reader of Sorcerer's Weekly, but she never really paid much attention to anything but the main articles. Moru shook his head. "Rin has done extensive research on all independent and dark guilds and their members. She took particular interest in you because you seemed to have no past. She wondered if you were hiding something like she was and she made me listen to all of her theories. I told her you probably appeared out of nowhere since you had been living with a dragon." Moru sighed, not even realizing the error he had made as the frustration from that memory leaked into his present mood."I remember because I spent an hour looking through the info she had on you trying to find a way to get her to shut up." Moru paused and shrugged "I guess technically I did look you up, though not intentionally."

Pommel's eyes lit up, and she looked to Moru expectantly. "Did she look up Fairy Tail? What'd she think of me?!" Her eyes sparkled in anticipation of the no doubt positive response. Zena's eye twitched, and her previously amused grin took on a more venomous edge. Moru smiled "I thought she would skip over you but surprisingly she looked into your past a little deeper, she was intrigued by your magic, or so she says. I think that you reminded her of one of the younger girl's in Rin's home guild though." Pommel sighed a bit, cupping her cheeks and rocking back and forth in bliss. Yes yes yes! She liked her! Intrigue was just another fancy word for interested, and interested was a form of liking someone, so by that logic, she was already in with Rin! Barely able to contain her joy, in the back of her mind she realized that Rin had looked a little into her past. It was slightly concerning how much she might have known, but she'd cross that bridge when it came to it. For now, she had more questions.

"Who was the girl? Was she cute like me? Was she like a sister to Rin?" The barrage on Moru continued as Pommel's curiosity switch had been flipped, almost completely forgetting her earlier melancholy. Moru noticed Pommel's excitement and hesitated before shrugging. 'It's not like I don't piss Rin off all the time. As long as she doesn't find out...' His mind made up Moru spoke up. "Well I haven't seen her since Rin left her old guild but I think she'd be a few years younger than you. She had bright orange hair and she was quite the ball of energy, just like you. She looked up to Rin. She wanted to be just like Rin and her f-" Moru stopped and frowned. "Anyways she had magic similar to yours only when we left she could barely use it. She could turn objects into weapons.No matter the material, though the material did play a part in how affective they were."

Pommel pumped her fists in, leaning forward to speak with Moru and ignoring the somewhat more aggressive expression Zena had adopted. "That's kinda like mine, I can... Uh..." Pommel stopped, realizing that she was falling into the trap of revealing information she didn't want to. Sheepishly looking away, she scratched the back of her head, laughing it off. "W-well, you probably know everything I can do!" Falsely laughing some more, she turned back to the direction they were heading. [color=#FF0040]"I'll have to ask Rin to introduce me to her. I always wanted a girl around my age to hang out with!" She beamed a bit, thinking she might be able to make a new friend. Moru flinched and spoke quickly. "No! Damn me and my mouth. You can't talk to her about Wolf Spirit or any of it's members!" The Wolf Spirit guild was a legal guild that used to be just as popular as Fairy Tail, without the destructive tendencies, and was still well-known though mostly by older wizards. The guild's power had been decreased largely when their most powerful S-Class Wizard had been killed on a mission and after that a lot of the stronger people left to find guilds that made more of a difference. Rin's expulsion from the guild had been a hard blow to stomach and Moru definitely didn't want to be the reason she had to think about her previous family, both blood and guild, again.

Pommel pouted some more, looking to Moru. "Well that's no fun. I think you're blowing things out of proportion." She began looking at him with a bit of derision, as if inspecting him. "I bet you're actually one of those weird older-brother overprotective types - That's why you're always snooping in people's minds and why you keep trying to hide stuff!" Pommel pointed an accusatory finger at him. Moru's stress and aggravation reached it's peak and he glared at the girl. "I do not snoop in people's minds! I communicate with them! Also, so what if I am protective of her?! She's been through way too many horrible things for someone her age and she's an amazing person despite it! She's kind, caring, and extremely considerate. She's the best wizard that I have ever made a contract with..." Moru trailed off looking more aggravated now that he had snapped at the girl. "And that girl was like a younger sister to Rin. Having to leave her behind when she was kicked out of Wolf Spirit killed her. She lost everyone except for me, Zoe, and Ayumi. Don't remind her of the family she's lost. Me and Zoe forced her to join Fairy Tail so she could find a new family." Moru looked upset but he met Pommel's eyes, hoping she could see how serious he was. Shaking his head he looked away. "I'm gonna go on ahead and start healing your injured guild mates." Without another word Moru's wings unfolded, he having kept the spell active the whole time, and he used a high speed spell, disappearing down the tunnel ahead of them.

Zena scratched the back of her head, easing up a bit now that Moru was gone. She remained slightly on edge at the thought that he had... "communicated" with her mind, but that was a concern for later, if at all. Left with just Pommel, her eyes flicked to the younger girl, and she grew a teasing grin. "You llllllike herrrr." She still didn't know who "Rin" was, but she doubted she'd have to wait long to find out.

Pommel hesitated a bit following Moru's outburst, her eyes lingering on the tunnel he had dashed down. Maybe she had pushed things too far... She'd been poking fun, but clearly a line had been crossed and she'd gone into a sensitive issue. Breathing in a deep sigh, what had started as an attempt at an apology had twisted into a game. And all said and done, she felt like no one really won. She could understand not wanting to deal with the past, but at the same time, she could see the contradictions in what Moru had said. They wanted to build a new family for Rin, but not to be reminded of the old one? That... Didn't really sit right with the young wizard. Even if you lost your family, they were still important. You needed to cherish and remember the happier times. But clearly, it was none of her business. Clearly, she was just a nosy little girl who didn't know any better. Looking up to Zena at her comment, the underlying subtext was completely lost on her. "Yeah, I do..? Didn't you hear what Moru thought of her? She's great! Amazing, even." Slowly following down the tunnel, Pommel looked to the ground. "...And now Moru's probably going to get her to steer clear of me after today... I'm such an idiot..." She mumbled the last part, sinking into silence as they would steadily approach the opening where the others were.

"Well I haven't known you long enough to weigh in on that," Zena replied, mussing up Pommel's hair in a gesture she assumed was comforting. "But yeah, probably." Pommel glanced up at Zena, having given up on correcting her mess of a hair (especially with one of the ribbons lost), replying with a slight amount of sarcasm. "Gee, thanks."

---

Right after Moru had reported Pommel safe Rin had spoken up to the two wizards still in the cave with her. As if in response to Rin's question Wynter practically collapsed against the cave wall. "I've been better... Not great though... Zane is in worse condition than I... Take care of him first..." Rin rushed over and helped the woman. Yanking her cloak off Rin ripped the fabric in half as the blue haired wizard smiled. "Don't worry... About me... I... Should be alright...." Rin scowled. Ripping a pillowcase-sized patch away she pressed it to Wynter's side after moving the wizards' hands away from the wound. "Don't be ridiculous! Hold this onto the wound." Placing the woman's hands back over it she ripped a smaller piece of cloth off and wrapped it around a cut on the woman's arm that was bleeding heavily and tied it tightly. Satisfied Rin called out to Moru. 'Come quick! Both Wynter and Zane are injured.' The spirit's response was him bursting into the cave in a flash of speed and light. "Start healing Wynter, I'm going to go check on Zane." Moru nodded and rushed over to the blue-haired woman, immediately casting a healing spell to start mending the worst of her wounds.

Grabbing the other half of material that was once her cloak Rin stood and turned, about to go where she had seen Zane collapse only to see him walking towards them, fire seeping out of various places on his body. "Relax, its not as bad as you think" Rin went to snap at him but then realized she would have said the exact same thing if their roles were reverse and so she kept quiet. Zane's attention didn't stay on her for long and as he went after the dark wizard Rin stilled and looked to the tunnel that Moru had emerged from. 'I sense two magical energy sources but Moru said nothing about someone else being with them...' The dark wizard slamming into the cave wall drew Rin's attention once more and she looked at Zane with a raised brow. "Its not like that. And no, I don't care about her, she betrayed me...after we had become close friends. We were like siblings once, okay?" Rin, having no idea what he was talking about just shrugged.

"Anyways, given everything going on in this area, we better investigate some of the other stuff going on in this area. Besides, I need to get a new shirt and a new pair of shoes from the nearby town. At least the rest of my clothes are still in one piece." Rin went to comment on that but stopped at the sound of Pommel's voice echoing out of the tunnel. Rin immediately turned, drawing her bow and notching an arrow in one smooth motion, before aiming it at the tunnel right as Pommel and an unknown woman entered the cave. The second they came into sight Rin pulled back the arrow, ready to shoot at the female though in the back of her mind the woman did seem familiar.

"Oh, she's friendly," Zena remarked to Pommel dryly, gazing at Rin as if she were only of peripheral interest. "Bit jumpy, are we?" she asked, or perhaps simply observed, of the celestial wizard. Rin, not the type to control her temper shifted the bow a fraction of an inch and let loose, drawing another arrow so quickly that it was almost as if the action had never happened. Meanwhile the loosed arrow whizzed past Zena's face, the wind whistling in the woman's ear as the arrow flew by. Despite the anger she felt her eyes were like frozen blood, her gaze cold enough to chill a fire. As she took in the woman's appearance, especially her eyes, Rin recognized her. "What the hell are you doing here and what do you want?" Moru, who had just finished healing closed all of Wynter's wounds, jumped up quickly. "Wait Rin she's okay! She saved me and Pommel!" Rin paused and looked over at Moru with a frown but her bow shifted to the left and down a bit, now pointing at the cave wall rather than the woman.

"You missed," Zena commented, looking over her shoulder to where the arrow had gone zooming down the tunnel. Rin bristled but Moru leapt and tackled her to the ground. "You just joined a legal guild! The magic council has the power to take you into custody now! What do you think they would do if they found out the Celestial Demon was attacking wizards from independant guilds!" Though Moru's voice was merely scolding Rin flinched away from him as if smacked when he used the sobriquet she had been given. Moru immediately looked like he regretted the slip but he didn't try to take it back as Rin shoved him off of her.

"I don't wanna get in the middle of whatever little drama you two have going for you, like I get that pretty boy here is trying to talk you down from murder, but like, legally speaking the council wouldn't really do anything, since independent guilds aren't protected by the anti-guild war law," Zena explained, lacing her fingers behind her head and shifting her weight onto one foot. "But it's, you know, whatever. Thanks for trying to save my life, I guess. I assume this is Rin." Rin ignored the woman as she spoke, her attention focused on Moru as she pulled out his key. "Close! Gate of the Horse, HēiMa." Zena gestured to the huffy wizard with the bow. "Hello." As the strange-eyed woman greeted Rin she simply gave her a nod and strapped her bow in place on her back.

Pommel had been quietly listening to the exchange between Rin and Zena, as she had a far more pressing matter to attend to. That being, retrieving that arrow Rin had fired from the wall as a souveneir! It was so cool! She hadn't even seen her fire the bow, but she'd managed to follow the sound of the impact, and was eagerly attempting to pry it out of the wall. That said, it was a little high up given the height of Zena. Maybe if she got on the high rocks over there... In the background behind Zena, the little cherry haired wizard would be clambering up, somewhat oblivious to the actions behind her.

Taking a deep breath Rin looked to Zane and responded to his initial statement as she walked towards where Pommel was. "Are you sure we should do that without running it by Mistress Mavis?" Not used to being in a guild Rin was unsure whether she had spoken the guild masters title correctly. Once she reached the red-haired girl Rin reached up and grasped Pommel around the waist, lifting her from the wall and setting her on the cave floor. She held the girl's waist a moment longer to make sure she had her balance before letting go. Climbing up to where the girl had been Rin yanked once and the arrow slipped free of the rock as if it had been butter. Climbing back down Rin turned and offered the arrow to the younger wizard. Focusing on something else other than the events of the last hour or so was what she needed to do and the cherry-haired girl seemed like the most obvious distraction. "Here you go. Are you okay?" Rin was obviously referring to whether or not the girl had sustained any injuries during the fight. "I would have sent Zoe after you but I was afraid you might have been hurt so I sent Moru. I apologize for anything stupid he might have done."

Pommel made a soft, girlish squeal as she felt her waist tickled, scrunching up a bit and holding the arms that held her. Normally, her response to such contact would be one of indignation and alarm, but as she was gently steadied and able to see Rin climb above her, she found herself paralyzed for a different reason, staring up to her in awe. As the angel descended before her, offering a gift from the heavens and sharing words of compassion, she could only babble incoherent words of bashful appreciation. "D-don't apologize! I-I'm fine, really! He was wonderful! If anyone should be apologizing it's me!" Pommel gestured with waving hands in front of her, not wanting Rin to get the wrong impression about Moru. Hesitantly, she drew her hands back in to a clasp in front of her, holding the arrow tight to her chest and looking to the side. "I'm sorry Rin... I... I endangered Moru and everyone... And I couldn't even really help..." Pommel stopped a moment, immediately turning into a full on bow. "I'm so sorry everyone..! When we return to the guild, I promise I'll accept whatever punishment you see fit!" Staying bowed, she had her eyes shut tight, not expecting forgiveness, but working towards it.

The icy distance Rin had been trying to keep from her current situation vanished and Rin chuckled, a genuinely warm smile gracing her face as she looked at the girl who reminded her so much of someone else. "I'm sure Mistress Mavis will have something to say about all of this but you've shown that the situation has helped you to grow by simply apologizing. It takes a great deal of courage and responsibility to admit your own mistakes. Also, Moru could have gotten eaten for all I care. He would have just returned to the spirit world." "Savage."

Pommel sat up rapidly, hands clenched into fists in front of her. "But-But that's not right! Even if that's the case, Spirits are alive too! I... I don't want anyone getting hurt because of me..." Pommel began to slow down as she finished up her thoughts, sighing a little, but suddenly remembering who she was talking to, becoming embarrassed. "I-I didn't mean any offense! I know your Spirits have the utmost respect for you!" The blush on her face changed complexion slightly as the origins also altered. "-J-just like I do..." She cupped her cheeks, bashfully looking to the side.

Rin sighed and patted the girl on the head as she apologized for her disagreement. "No you're right, he just upset me. I'm not very good at handling my temper..." As the girl spoke of her admiration for Rin the older wizard almost flinched. She really wasn't someone people should look up to, at least, not in her opinion. Giving the girl the most confident smile she could muster, which really wasn't that impressive, Rin spoke honestly. "Well then I hope I can live up to all of your expectations." Pommel beamed, flashing a very impressive smile of admiration and appreciation. "You have already exceeded them." She replied cheerily, cocking her head slightly to the side sweetly. Rin blushed and looked away, her eyes landing on Zane which made her realize she had never gotten an answer from him earlier. Jumping at the distraction Rin cleared her throat and spoke. "So? Is that something we should run by her? Also, I haven't officially joined Fairy Tail yet so maybe I should return and assure Mistress Mavis of the girl's safety and inform her of the dark guild? I don't want to overstep my boundaries."

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As Wynter was being healed, she took a breath as the hole in her side had slowly closed up. As she was being treated, she almost laughed to herself, 'How lonf has it been since I've been injured like this? This is embarrassing, Cold Steel, almost dies in a fight. But, t'was an even match as it would seem...' As she recalled her past injuries, marking which ones were the most umplesant, she had taken another long breath, as she still felt that a job was to be done, and just because she's hurt in any way does not excuse her from her job. Yet, as she thought that, the healing had wrapped up, glancing at the others, Wynter noticed Pommel was safe, which felt more relieving as Wynter feared she was in danger, she then looked to a new person. It was interesting, as Wynter had never seen this strange woman enter the cave during the fight, surely Wynter would have noticed, but that was besides the point, what was most important was the mission details. Still quite dazed, the blue knight slowly stood, calling out a blade, sheathed to her back, named Balmung, as the blade rested upon Wynter's back, she turned to Rin, listening to each of her questions with her typical knightly demeanor,

"I shall handle the explanation to Mistress Mavis myself. Don't worry as to that, for if I explain what has happened, she will take the matter further." After answering to Rin's question, though her gaze soon turned to this new woman, whom had come back with Pommel, as Wynter could tell, she didn't seem like she'd be an enemy, but, it would help if the woman introduced herself, "And Ma'am, could you introduce yourself? I take it you've aided Pommel when she had slipped up, but I would like to know what to call you by."

While those words lingered, and echoed through the caves she noticed Zane had no shirt, the rest of his clothes seemed to be in tact, but the boy's shirt had become no more. With a sigh, from her requip dimension, came a simple white track shirt, folded nicely, with little else outside of being her training equipment. With a kind smile, she extended her arm, covered and gloved with her gauntlets, to the boy, shirt in hand. As the shirt reached supposedly his vision, she spoke, her words having softened feeling reassured her allies were safe from harm,

"Here, Zane, It might not be a perfect fit, but it'll let us go directly home to the guild. We can handle things there."

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Zena blinked twice, a bit taken aback by someone actually being polite to her. There'd been the pretty boy, she supposed, but he'd been more... friendly than courteous. The woman had also called her "ma'am", which, in Zena's recollection, was something only Braid had ever done. That is to say, she'd always gotten the feeling Mimi would've used the term, but given that she was mute, Zena wasn't entirely sure the little mime counted, which meant... yeah, just Braid.

In the time it had taken Zena to adjust to the abrupt change in speaking manner, the armored woman had passed off a shirt to some topless kid named- "Zane?" The name sounded familiar, and it took a second for it to click as to just why. "Or uhm. No, I'm Zena. Le Blank." She looked between the faces in the cave whom she felt pretty sure didn't yet know her, then added tentatively: "The Cross-Eyed Serpent?"

She swung her arms at her sides awkwardly,sticking her tongue in her cheek and rocking on her heels. This was a fun little conversation, wasn't it. "Oh," she interjected, stopping her sway and pointing a thumb over her shoulder at Pommel. "That kid owes me money, technically? Same with Rin, I guess, though I doubt she'd be willing to, uh." She clicked her tongue. "Pay for her. Spirit's. Rescuuuue. So I guess I'm coming with you guys. Manzana said she'd make me puffer fish to cover my fee, so." She clicked her tongue again, clapping the side of one fist against her opposite palm, as if the discussion were closed. "Vamanos."

(Sorry its a bit rushed and short, I lost the first post)

Zane was happy to get the shirt, even if he didn't mind too much. He looked around. "We should probably deal with the survivors first. Besides, I don't think I can leave until I find out what they are doing here, and why it attracted so many monsters to this mountain. There are too many Dark Wizards for us to leave now. Think about it, you agree right? We cant just let this Dark Guild run around making a mess. If we do, we risk more people coming under threat. What about the village of people at the base of the mountain? We can send Mavis a magical letter, it won't take too long to reach her".

Zane went to a knee temporarily, but quickly got back up. He needed time to recover his strength as well, and going over water again was not something he was ready for. He needed time to recover in the village at the foot of the mountain.

"Besides, I have some personal business to take care of. Something has been bothering me, and I need to look into it. But there is too much to do here to ignore" he said as he put his hand into a damaged pocket. Suddenly, about ten different job requests for this region fell out. "Like I said, too much to do with Dark Wizards running around".

Liar. He planned to stay here for awhile from the very beginning and complete a ton of jobs in this area. Hoarding them more like. Zane could be a bit of a workaholic when he was having fun with it.

"So, lets get everything together and make our way to the village. No matter what, we are all headed there anyways".

Pommel Grade

Pommel sat for a bit as she watched the discussion go back and forth amongst her guildmates, only just now realising how cold she was with all the tears in her outfit. She wouldn’t complain though, given the injuries that the rest of the team seemed to have, and the presence of two of her main idols. She was tough. She could take it. Maintaining her composure and acting calm and sweet, she couldn’t help but grind her teeth slightly as Zane, of all people, got given a gift from Wynter. Man, that made her so jealous! If she’d only been roughed up a bit more maybe Wynter would have something for her to wear! She could picture it now, her own, personal, Pommel sized requip armour, complete with decals, ribbons, sweet armour, a fancy sword…

Daydreaming once again, it probably didn’t matter too much that she didn’t comment on the proceedings and discussion. Even if she was a bit more aware, she felt that she wasn’t in a senior enough position to give her own opinion on what the group should do. That was until there was the suggestion that they should all stay and deal with the Dark Guild problem. Though Zena had already mentioned that Pommel had some obligations to fill (What was a Manzana anyway? It clearly meant her but ugh… That was going to be bugging her until she could ask someone!), there were plenty of other reasons that the young wizard felt it wasn’t appropriate to be on this sort of job still. Standing up, she found an appropriate moment to interject with her concerns to Zane, who seemed to think he was enough of a big-wig to be ordering Wynter and Rin around! Hah! Just because he was an S-Class didn’t mean he was in charge. Not to mention he was just being selfish and greedy about completing jobs for himself, as was clearly evidenced by his blunder spilling his papers.

“That’s dumb.” Pommel stated bluntly, folding her arms. “Maybe competent wizards like Wynter and Rin can stay here, but I for one have had enough adventure for one day.” She hmmphed, puffing her cheeks and pouting. “I know I’m not really cut out for this yet, so I can go back home and tell Mavis what’s been going on. I don’t want to be a burden to any of you if this is going to be a serious guild war… Besides, I have to get uh… Tupidsay here her Pufferfish.” She thumbed in Zena’s direction, before moving her hand back into their folded position. It wasn’t that she was that annoyed, but it was at the very least slightly warmer. “It’s not like I’m scared or anything…” She added, mumblin slightly, clearly feeling quite the opposite after all that happened. Either way, she meant what she said about the other stuff. She’d go back with them to the village, but as much as she wanted to stay with her idols, she was better off serving as a messenger for now.

With one last huff, she stomped her foot to the ground, rubbing her arms fervently. “A-Anyway, can we get moving?! It’s freezing in here!” She began striding off, her patience and cheeriness finally wearing thin as she stormed in the direction she thought was home – Though she really had no idea if it was anywhere near the correct direction.