Hannah's Story

It was the early morning, and just like any other morning, in the Guild, a certain woman sat at the bar. Her fiery dark eyes surveyed her domain, watching as fellow guild mates walked in and out and about her Guild. Not many had arrived probably because it was still pretty early but not for her. She was an early bird amongst the sleep ins and she was proud of it. Leaning back on the stool she sat upon, Anaida placed her elbows on the bars countertop behind her and breathed a sigh of content.

However it seemed her peaceful morning wasn’t about to stay peaceful for very much longer. Already she could see some of the more rowdy members coming in both new and old. Anaida didn’t pay much mind to it since she hoped with her being present they wouldn’t do anything stupid. For now Anaida would simply stay where she was and relax while drinking her morning coffee.

Hannah

There was nothing quite like the morning sun... Or rather, nothing quite like pulling a kart full of brand new weights down the market place. Hannah made quite a lot of noise in the early morning, as she stringed along training equipment on her way from Holly's (whom she had probably woken up with said noise) house to the guild. Hannah was in good spirits, enjoying and even humming to the rattling sounds that followed behind her. She had bought it with the reward for her latest mission, but not for herself. No, all this was for Aaron... Although he did not know it yet (nor had any say in the matter) Hannah intended to set it up before he would arrive in the guild this morning. Nothing quite like bench pressing to start off the morning, right after twenty laps around the guild hall and a hundred sit-up's!

When Hannah neared the market plaza however, she found a crowd around a blazing pillar of fire. Hannah knew what that meant; Sera had returned from her mission and she was not happy. Hannah pushed her way through the crowds to see what played out, but the target of Sera's anger had already ran off. Instead, Shinzaemon was there to give Sera his advice. Although Hannah would always take the old man's words seriously, she did not feel that was what the dragon slayer needed at that moment. Instead, Hannah walked up to the pair (rattling, noisy kart prattling behind her) and reassuring touched Sera's upper arm.

“Tell me what happened.” Hannah asked Sera. She felt for her guild-mate, always chasing even the faintest lead. Hannah occasionally joined her, but even though she prided herself in her tracking skills, Hannah had been of little help in the search for Haitxuck as of yet. “Come to the guild with us. Your family will help you. Won't we, Shinzaemon?” Hannah nodded at the old mage, as she put her arm around Sera. Even if the search for her dragonic father proved fruitless, Hannah wanted to reassure Sera that she had Fairy Tail to count on.

Sorry, wrong place.

Opening your eyes to see the sun rising over the beautiful lake in Fiore would be considered the most peaceful relaxing thing in the world. At least, to Damia it was. So relaxing in fact, that he never wanted to wake up in the morning. However, like always, he slowly rolled out of bed until he fell on the floor and rolled around some more until he grew tired of it. From that point, he stood up to make his bed and went to eat. After eating he cleaned his bowl, went to take a shower, and from there he was ready to set foot on the road to his guild. Most people who saw the boys room would think that he was some type of neat freak even though that wasn't the case. He just liked to do as little work as possible to get the job done. As he saw it, by cleaning after yourself after you do something, you don't have to ever do those all day chores he dreads so much. Nope, a calm comfortable day sounded much better to him. He'd even settle for a loud fun day. Now that he was on his way to a place where days can vary, he hummed a little tune, excited to figure out what type of day it would be.

The walk was nice enough to tell him that nothing was really going on this morning. After his first wild morning in the guild, he found that he should always expect a burning set of buildings or random crowds of screaming people. This was just to relieve shock, but that didn't stop it from being an everyday possibility. Making it to the guild hall without any incidents happening the lad was free to enter his second home.

"Hey. I've been waiting for you," a familiar voice called.

"Huh?" Damia looked over to see it was none other than Garr, the latest victim to his schemes. "Oh. Good Morning, hehe."

"Don't hehe me pal. You told me that the guild master was giving rewards to those who mopped the whole floor and I was lucky enough to think to ask her before I started mopping."

"Wow really? Good job man. You cracked my evil scheme."

Garr spat into his holding cup. "Yeah, well now she wants to see you. So who's laughing now? Hehehe." The dwarf of a man walked away happily.

The words he left behind only seemed to slowly seek in Damia's stomach. There was nothing more time consuming than the hour it took to clean the whole entire guild hall. If that wasn't bad enough, the one person who he had to listen to no matter what. The one person who could make him do all the chores at once with no questions asked. The one person in the guild who he conceded to. She was the very same woman who he had to speak to. Passing through a couple of his guild mates, he quickly said "hi" to each of them before going in front of the woman. "Uhhh. Hey auntie." He greeted. The woman gave him a stare which almost made him leave the scene. "So uh... Yeah...... I was ...... Yesterday......" He quickly noticed that he had no excuse that he could give to her while she was looking at him like that, so instead he just bowed his head waiting to get hit.
"Ughh," he softly grunted. Raising his head and rubbing it with his right hand he said, "So yeah, I'll get the broom now."

While sweeping he noticed that everyone else was enjoying their morning conversations so he scanned the area to see who he could mingle with. Over to his right and where the bar was, he saw Sera, Hannah, the old man, Anaida, and Miyuu, who seemed to hate him for some reason. Across from the bar over to the mission board, he saw Seto and Aaron. He really didn't feel like having a conversation about working. Soon he saw Roxie and Tiny, but he waved off the idea about hanging out with them so early in the day. "Wow." He thought out loud. "I'm really getting old huh. I use to have a whole bunch of energy in the morning." Since it seemed like a good idea to let everyone talk amongst themselves for now, he kept on sweeping in hopes that someone would come in and talk to him............and that he would never have to sweep again.

"You are absolutely right Hannah, people are not meant to be alone. That is why we work together to lighten the load." Shin felt his back beginning to ache, his earlier rounds were beginning to catch up with him.

" Now you girls enjoy yourselves, there's a seat with my name on it and tea to be had." He threw something of an apologetic smile towards the pair, just a hint of his old mischievousness visible beneath it all. Shin took the chance to take his leave and have a seat, the ache subsided somewhat. Sure enough he also placed an order of tea, specifically ginseng to help him ease back into things.

His tea had barely arrived before Holly arrived, her loud greeting to her fellow dragon slayer was something he'd rather expected. The girl had her own ways of showing affection, and it was always a sight he enjoyed seeing. His gaze continued to pan across the room, Seto and Aaron were having one of their usual youthful comparisons. Shin felt a slight pang of sympathy for Aaron when he remembered Hannah's gym equipment, she always seemed out to beef the young man up. The idea made him question whether or not he should consider his own youth wasted, after all when he was their age the closest thing to a friend he had was certain individual out to kill him. Shin shifted his gaze again to avoid falling into the embrace of nostalgia.

Virgil and Elizabeth were the next pair he came across, if he had to say so himself he felt the pair oddly suited for one another. After all, one could almost say his interactions with the two were rather identical. If anything, the biggest factor second to their gender was Virgil's own behavior; were he a bit less reclusive, his grandchild like impression on Shin would be equal to Elizabeth's impression as his own granddaughter. Despite his urge to tease the two a bit, Shin let the pair continue their own conversation...he could wait. From there he shrugged and focused on his tea, he'd catch up with his rambunctious 'family' after a bit of rest.

Hannah

After speaking to Sera, Hannah found her way through the guild hall to an unfortunate target. “Aaron!” Hannah shouted cheerfully across the room, frantically waving with her one hand and pulling her kart filled with training equipment with the other. On her way, she passed Seto, whom she asked; “Anything good today?” Although that was more of a casual greeting than a conversation-starter. After all, Seto and Hannah usually let their weapons and magic do their talking for them.

When she reached Aaron, Hannah put a hand on his bicep and smiled as she squeezed it. “Good. It's getting bigger.” Hannah grinned, complimenting the godslayer. “I have a surprise for you to get even stronger.” She stated cheerfully, although with all the noise she made, the new set-up Hannah brought along could hardly be called a surprise anymore.

“First you need to warm up. Twenty laps around the building.” Hannah suggested enthusiastically, before turning to Damia as well. The young crystal mage was even more scrawny than Aaron. That wouldn't do in Hannah's eyes. A strong mind in a strong body, was her motto and to that end she was willing to support all of the guild to buff up... Whether they welcomed her help or not, Hannah's enthusiasm was unwavering.

“You can use muscle too.” She stated bluntly. She snatched his breakfast right under his nose and put it on a different table, then pinched Damia's arm and shortly shaking her head. “Join Aaron on his runs.” She almost commanded the boy, despite having no authority over Damia whatsoever. “You can eat after exercises. It is bad to run on a full stomach.”

Seto returned Aaron's wave of goodbye and began to head towards the stairs, but turned when he heard the ear-splitting cry of "Aaron!". Hannah had arrived, and that could mean nothing good for the young godslayer. On second thought, he wasn't quite so young, he was a good six years older than Seto, but he seemed younger. He was a good three inches shorter than Seto and a rank below, not to mention the way Hannah treated him like a child. Or maybe it was just that Seto seemed older than he really was; the guild seemed to treat him that way. For a twenty-one-year-old he was remarkably serious and experienced, and looked a few years older than he really was, but having to kill for a living from the age of ten took its toll.

"Anything good today?"
Seto's train of thought was put back on track as Hannah passed him, lugging a cart full of training equipment (or instruments of torture, if you were on the wrong end) towards Aaron. Seto simply shook his head in reply, he didn't need to speak to answer a simple yes or no question. He watched with ever-growing pity as she lugged her cart over to Aaron and grabbed at his bicep and ordered him to run around the building. As much as Aaron did need more exercise, Hannah's training regimes were more likely to cripple him than to make him fit. Once she latched onto Damia as well he knew he had to intervene, lest Hannah accidentally hospitalised half of Fairy Tail.

"Hey, Hannah," Seto began as he approached her and her two victims, "I'd say it's rather unfair to expect these two to do so much while you do nothing yourself." Wisps of dark energy were now beginning to flicker and coil around Seto's hands, "We haven't fought in a while, and I've got nothing else to do today. What do you say to a duel?"
Seto tilted his head slightly and discreetly mouthed "Flee" to Hannah's two victims. While he was attempting to save Aaron and Damia from broken backs, he did need something to do today, and duelling Hannah seemed like the best option.

-

Hannah

“You are right.” Hannah accepted Seto's challenge eagerly. The display of Seto's black wisps made Hannah smile, she reciprocated the gesture with the orange aura of the eagle lighting up in her eyes. She and the shadow-make mage sparred often, but Hannah still learned something every match they had. It was good to have a regular training partner who was just as serious about growth as she was.

“You two start without me.” Hannah whisked away Aaron and Damia, somehow trusting they would work out even if she wasn't there to force it to happen. She took Seto by the wrist and pulled on him like he was the kart full of the so-called torturing devices (which she left in the middle of the room with the godslayer and crystal mage.)

“Come, let's find a spot.” Hannah said to Seto, as she guided him along towards the door. It'd been a while since she and Seto had last fought and the last time they'd sparred, Seto had the edge. It had only prompted Hannah to train even harder, and she couldn't wait to show the shadow-make mage the results...

Laughing at Julius's question, Damia let a small grin from on his face as the older lad bopped him on the head. "Oh do I now? Maybe I have a problem. A food problem that only you can solve," he said.
He accepted the food his friend laid out in front of him with open arms. "Thanks man. Don't know what I'd do without you."

"Don't eat too fast and die now."

" I won't. . ." Damia replied waiting for him to leave before eating as fast as he could. At least that was the plan until Aaron came over to him.

“Find a job first, maybe then you'll get to eat breakfast.” The older man lectured.

Damia turned around and said, "But, you know I can't work on an empty stomach and besides, I plan on getting real serious about work soon."

“Anyway, I couldn't help but notice your eagerness to clean the guild. What have you done this time?”

"Well, you see I...."

"Aaron!" a shout that was so loud, it would wake up anyone that lived in a guild on the far side of the map, called out to the man in front of the boy.

Damia peered over to see that it was none other than Hannah, the exercise guru, as he liked to call her. He tried to find a place to escape to before she realized he was in the area. He looked to Aaron's left and his right. He looked behind him. He even looked towards Julius who was talking to Roxie now. All points were escape routes he knew wouldn't work against the hunter. He listened to her talk to Aaron about his weakness and lack of muscles, hoping she wouldn't go to him next. Although it seemed it was to no avail as she soon called him out.

“You can use muscle too.” She noted taking his plate away before pinching his arm.

"But," The boy didn't ever get the chance to defend his lack of muscle. It wasn't really a bad thing in his eyes that he lacked any muscle. Honestly, he saw muscle as an exhausting thing to carry around all the time. He liked being thin and able to carry his own body weight. However, Hannah, for whatever reason, thought he needed to be bulky. Though he doubted skipping meals would help anyway.

“Join Aaron on his runs.” An urge of authority rung in her voice, “You can eat after exercises. It is bad to run on a full stomach.”

Luckily, Seto had come just at the right moment to take Hannah off to spar. That had to be another reason why Damia didn't want to be an S class wizard. He didn't really like sparring, but if Hannah or Seto asked him, how could he refuse? Yep, being A class was good enough. Though, even now he realized he had to change somehow. He turned to Aaron and laughed about being forced to exercise. "You know Aaron, I never thought I would say this..." he stated to say. If he was going to follow through with his all his being. "We should probably do what Hannah said."
Almost instantly, Damia felt a piece of himself die. He grabbed onto his chest and even lunged on the floor panting. After a few seconds he jumped up in triumph from having said something that went against his morals. "There. I have done the deed. Whew. I feel way better you know. Don't get me wrong bro, this doesn't mean I'm going to do this again anytime soon, but I kinda promised someone I would help them. Basically speaking, all I need to do is have a fight and I'll be that much closer to realizing my goal."

Moving his hand towards the case on his belt and reaching inside, Damia pulled out the emerald crystal that was inside of it. His eyes grew confident and a smirk planted on his face, making him look more mischievous than ever. "So I guess I should ask you. Aaron, how about we spar?"

---

---

Rune magic lit up the sheets of paper one by one as they seemed to float through the air to Virgil's hand and back to the table, neatly stacked into a calculated order in a single stack. Repetition had made the process increasingly fast as the last of the papers drifted into the pile. "Done." He declared in the usual nonchalant tone, his visible eye returning to its normal shade. There was no telling exactly how many papers he had tended to, but it really didn't matter as long as the job was done.

Sitting back to rest upright in his chair once more, Virgil turned his head slightly as he studied the rest of Fairy Tail. Elizabeth was right, there was never a dull moment in the guild, but at the very least, they could wait until after breakfast before trying to crush, batter, or maim something. Breakfast was, after all, a very important meal. Realizing he himself had not eaten anything, he felt a bit hypocritical in his own thoughts. "I guess it can't be helped..." It seemed everyone had their vices in the guild, he just wished a few of theirs were quieter.

As if on cue, a rumbling overtook the guild and in strode their wild mage as Hannah drug a cart full of, what could only be described as tools of cruel and unusual punishment, toward her typical target. Virgil cringed at the thought of what Aaron had to deal with on a daily basis with all of Hannah's training. He had no qualms with his guild mate, and had often had quite a few inspiring contests with Aaron, but wouldn't swap places with him even if he was paid. Somethings in life were just not worth spending a day aching over.

Returning his gaze to more important things, Virgil's vision focused once more on Elizabeth, vainly attempting to word anything witty enough to keep her attention of the papers in front of her for a moment longer. As he began to open his mouth to inform her of the carrot-shaped guitar he had seen in the market that would have been a hilarious edition to the young mage Roxie's collection, something grabbed at his consciousness and yanked his attention back toward Hannah and the others.

Seto had made his way toward the group and had sparked up conversation it had seemed, but Virgil's vision was averted toward his hands more than anything as the dark tendrils made themselves visible, coiling around his hands with dark energy. Seto's magic was like Virgil's. And in a way, Virgil could sense the dark energy as he could sense his own magic when it materialized.

Where Virgil's eyes narrowed at the emergence, Hannah's seemed to light up. 'As if the day hadn't gotten loud enough already....' He thought silently. Though, the development did pose some interest inside him. "Looks like things will get a bit noisy between those two." Pointing out what Elizabeth probably could already foresee. Virgil didn't particularly interested in the fight itself as the two began to leave, but it could provide useful information that he had yet to determine from Hannah's magic, as he was sure he could see in full effect against a wizard such as Seto.

"I think I'll watch this," Virgil announced to his literary companion. "Coming with?" Standing from his seat, he turned toward the door to follow the two out, waiting a moment on his companion if she decided to attend the fight as well.

Seto wasn't surprised when Hannah grabbed him by the wrist and allowed her to lead him on, but stumbled along behind her with a mildly irate look on his face. He had great respect for her, but her physical gestures always made him feel rather awkward; it was hardly fitting for one of Fairy Tail's highest ranking wizards to be led around by the wrist, and Seto just didn't like physical contact outside fights.

Fortunately, it wasn't long until they had found a suitable, open space outside the guild hall. Once Seto had his wrist back under his own control he put a suitable distance between himself and Hannah, turned, and adopted a fighting stance.

"Why don't you take the first shot?" Seto offered, the dark energy around his hands hissing and crackling with anticipation.

At his invitation, Hannah sprouted the turquoise swallow’s wings from her back and requipped a shortbow. Starting from a dash, Hannah flew low to the ground. She circled Seto, knowing that a direct attack rarely worked against her sparring partner, Hannah fired a salvo of arrows mid-flight; opening the fight with successive attacks from multiple angles; something she hoped would put Seto either on the run or the defensive.

Despite seeming trapped, Seto remained totally calm and took a moment to analyse the situation. There were arrows coming at him from all sides, even from above; dodging was not an option. So, Seto opened his right palm, gathering dark energy, and then clenched it shut.
"Shadow Make: Shockwave!"
A blast of dark energy expanded outwards from his hand, reducing the arrows to dust, as well as the ground beneath his feet, leaving him in a small crater.
"Surely you didn’t think that was going to do anything?" Seto taunted, gathering more dark energy in his hand, "Shadow Make: Locust!"
A thick, black cloud of small, insect-like creatures flew from Seto’s hand and began to encircle Hannah, almost obscuring her from view. There was no doubt that their bites would do very little damage to Hannah and that she could break out of the swarm with ease, but Seto had something else in mind.

In hindsight, Hannah hadn’t expected anything less from Seto. However, Hannah herself also wasn’t without tricks in her sleeves. Both she and Seto knew that the locusts were weak, but they worked as a double blind. Neither could see what the other was doing; and so Hannah readied another flurry of arrows; this time coating them in swallow aura’s; making them easily break through the locust whirlwind and track Seto to give him no time to make use of his cover. The attack didn’t come without it’s price; as it gave the locusts time to bite Hannah. She just had to grin and bear it. Hannah dismissed her shortbow and bursted upwards; as the locust gave chase; a second to see Seto was all she needed. She hovered mid-air and allowed the locusts to catch up. Hannah coated her one arm with the eagle’s talon and requipped a net and imbued it with the frog skin aura in her right. The aura made it nearly invisible and Hannah threw it in an arc with Seto’s own locusts covering her movement. A split second later, she tore through the locusts with her talon; so that neither party’s vision was obstructed. If her plan worked and her net hit; she’d disable Seto from using his shadow-make for a few moments; precious moments she could use to launch another attack…

Seto smiled as Hannah broke through the locusts, smashing many of them so that they reverted to their original state of pure dark energy. Seto had had no need to hide himself from Hannah, only a source of dark energy behind her. He extended an arm to direct his magic, and chanted: "Shadow Make: Fenrir!"
The destroyed locusts morphed into the head of a gargantuan wolf behind Hannah, a wolf that opened its maw and slammed it shut with great force, hoping to catch Hannah with its bite. However, Seto had failed to notice the net that Hannah had thrown earlier until he could hear it whooshing through the air above him. He jumped backwards, causing Fenrir to waver for a split second, and still not fast enough to stop the net from entangling his left leg, tripping him up. He didn’t spend effort on trying to free his leg, lest it disrupt Fenrir. If he landed a good hit on Hannah then he would have the time to untangle himself, so he’d need to concentrate, even if that meant lying on the ground.

When the shadows disperse and Hannah noticed no frontal attack, she used the opening and dove towards Seto with the talons on her hand straight out; ready to slash. It was thanks to her net she managed to avoid the Fenrir, as the second it flickered was enough for Hannah to escape it’s reach. The wolf’s maws clasped together, crunching on nothing but her dust. Hannah closed the distance quickly, hoping that between her speed and Seto’s position, she could score a clean hit.

Seto flinched slightly when Hannah avoided Fenrir; she’d gotten better since they’d last fought. He had to think fast if he was going to avoid a direct hit from her talons, but there was no way he could free himself and dodge in the short time he had. However, that didn’t mean he was just going to take the hit. He pulled himself up to one knee, waited for Hannah to come within striking distance and then pressed both palms against the ground beneath them.
"Shadow Make: Eruption!"
A pillar of darkness erupted from the ground, engulfing Seto and, with any luck, Hannah as well. Seto stood his ground; he could take a hit from his own magic with minimal damage, but the same could not be said of non-dark mages. Not only was there a good chance that he’d hit Hannah, but the magic destroyed the net that was binding his leg, allowing him to move freely again.

Hannah had put too much speed in her charge to dodge Seto’s eruption, and so it would come to trading blows. In the same second her talon connected; she felt Seto’s dark energy bulge underneath her and like a punch to the gut it caused Hannah to flinch before she was thrown up high into the air by the black energy. It was a good thing Hannah could fly; or else she’d have been suffered another hit on her way back down. Seto’s attack definitely stung, but as Hannah noticed cloth on her talons, she assumed that went two ways.

“That was good!” Hannah shouted at Seto, complimenting his reaction as the dust cleared. She wasn’t about to give up, however, as Hannah requipped a spear and coated it in the eagle’s drilling energy (thereby dismissing her talon.) It was a tenacious piercing magic that would not so easily be destroyed as her arrows. The moment she would spot movement, Hannah would lunge it straight down to keep the pressure going.

"Likewise." Seto replied as he brought his hand to his now bleeding right shoulder. He was rather irked by the fact that Hannah had torn his robe, but such things for bound to happen in a duel, so he wouldn’t hold it against her. In order to avoid any further damage to it he simply took it off and cast it aside; he wasn’t particularly bothered about his shirt getting torn since he could easily replace it. He used dark matter to stem his bleeding before drawing his sword and running his palm along the flat of the blade.
"Shadow Make: Corrosion."
Seto’s hand left a coating of dark energy on the blade, giving it an eerie, black glow. The dark energy acted like an acid, eating away even steel and stone as if it were mere foam. Hannah wasn’t the only one with powerful weapons at her disposal. Seto beckoned for Hannah to come down to attack him, for he could only strike her with a ranged attack while she was up in the air, and that would give her an opening while he was preparing for the next strike.

Although she had intended to throw the spear, when Hannah saw Seto challenge her to fight old school up and personal, she could not decline. Her wings kicked back the air and folded in a dive, as she put the spear in front of her charge and fell straight on down, putting even more force behind her attack. Hannah had the edge in range and mobility, but for some reason she couldn’t help but be curious of what Seto had planned…

Good, Hannah had taken the bait. Seto raised his katana above his head, clutching the hilt with both hands, and chanted: "Shadow Make: Guillotine!"
Guillotine was a spell that could just as easily be cast without a sword, but Corrosion’s power would give it some extra force. The dark energy lengthened greatly, and Seto swung it down at Hannah. She wasn’t close enough to stab at him with her spear, but she’d come close enough to lower her chances of dodging Seto’s attack.

Hannah wasn’t fond of his trickery, but it was Seto they were talking about. He likely wanted to win this as much as she did. Again, her diving speed made it impossible to dodge an attack reliably, even if it was as narrow as the guillotine. Instead; Hannah channeled her momentum into another aura; dismissing her wings and spear, she called upon the pangolin and used it to roll into a ball of armour. While it was a defensive spirit, the combination of it’s hard scales and her diving momentum practically made it a cannonball. She’d scold Seto for fooling her after she was out of immediate danger…

Seto recalled the guillotine once Hannah cast pangolin; he wouldn’t be able to break through the armour with guillotine, only a close-range, corrosion-assisted stab would have the power to break through her shields. Instead, Seto jumped to the side to avoid Hannah, but he wasn’t going to wait for her to uncurl. She was going to crash into the ground hard, and while it wouldn’t do her any considerable damage, it would give Seto a window of opportunity while the impact jarred her. He pressed a palm to the ground again and channeled dark energy from himself into the ground, but he wasn’t going for the area around himself this time.
"Shadow Make: Bind!"
Tendrils of dark energy spiralled out around Hannah; if Seto could bind her within her sphere he would limit her movement to almost nothing, almost assuring his victory.

The tendrils wrapped around the pangolin scales, trapping Hannah’s movement just as Seto had planned. However this was the tricky thing about Seidhr magic; the tendrils held onto the aura around Hannah and not the mage herself. Hannah summoned her frog’s eyes allowing her to see straight through the back of her own head (something made possible by Seto’s own magic, because if it hadn’t restricted Hannah’s movement and she’d still been rolling, this would have made her very dizzy.) She had to anticipate Seto’s next move, knowing that if Seto got one clean shot with his corrosion-fueled sword; this fight would be over. Instead, she’d pay him back for his trickery; she intended to drop the shields at the last moment and use the split second of mobility she would gain from it to attempt to parry the incoming attack and use her talons to rip through the tendrils and if possible; counter-attack Seto.

Seto examined Hannah for a moment; she was tightly bound within her shell by his magic, but the tendrils only wrapped around the shell, so if Hannah dispelled the magic she would have free movement for a split second. With most opponents this would not be a problem, but countless battles against Hannah had taught Seto that she was not to be underestimated. The obvious course of action would be to lunge at her with his sword; he could score a clean hit and defeat her with a single strike. However, if he did so he would run the risk of impaling her and causing her serious harm; he would need a different approach. Going near her could give her an opportunity to strike at him, so he’d need to keep his distance. He kept his palms pressed to the ground at proceeded to cast bind repeatedly, wrapping Hannah’s aura in tendril after tendril until her protective sphere was no longer visible under all the coils. Not only did the thick covering of tendrils bind Hannah more tightly, it gave Seto more strength for his next attack. He used his magic to have the bind force Hannah down into the ground, using the strength of her shield to crack the ground beneath her and force her down further.

It seemed Seto knew her well, so Hannah had to think fast. She couldn’t simply destroy the tendrils, because that would simply give Seto a clean shot with his Fenrir. The force of the mass of tendrils quickly accumulated, and she felt the power pushed her deeper into the ground… That gave Hannah an idea; once again Seto had used a double blind so he wouldn’t be able to see what she would do either. Hannah dispelled the lower half of her pangolin shell; something that put tremendous pressure on her legs to keep standing. Hannah roared at the top of her lungs to put forth the strength to keep herself from being crushed, but also to hide the sound of the move she was about to make. She requipped her spear, coated it in her eagle’s once more and drilled deep into the ground; digging a hole she would fit in. Seconds later, she finished and just in time. Hannah allowed her remaining pangolin scales to scatter and using the split second she gained from it, Hannah summoned a large amount of nets to take her place above ground and dropped herself into her hole below it. Pushed together, they would be indistinguishable from a human form in fetal position when bound by the tendrils; which snatched it with great force and wrapped it in a dark metallic bodybag; with Hannah hiding underneath…

Seto smiled to himself as Hannah roared, impressed that she was able to maintain such determination with the force of all the tendrils pushing down on her. However, his smile faded when he felt the tendrils suddenly met with less resistance; Hannah must have dispelled her shield. He couldn’t see anything different from his current position, so he inched slightly closer to the hole, but still nothing seemed different. The tendrils of dark matter were still wrapped around a sphere, just as they had been before. Was that sphere Hannah? He couldn’t think of what else it might be, but neither could he think of why she would drop her shields when in such a vulnerable position. Something here was amiss. Not willing to take any chances, Seto went no closer to the hole, and instead snapped his fingers and chanted: "Shadow Make: Tremor!" The tendrils dissipated into dark energy and forced their way into the ground below. If that had been Hannah the tendrils were wrapped around, he would have a clean, powerful hit on her.

It was a good thing Seto always chanted his attacks, or else he’d sure have hit Hannah hard. She reformed her pangolin scales skin-tight to defend against the coming tremor, as the the nets took the brunt of the blow. Learning his tendrils had caught nothing but nets would spell the end of her distraction. However, Hannah knew she could force Seto into a guessing game. The quake softened the ground and stone around Hannah and when felt the attack had passed her; she burst out of her hole and used her eagle’s wings to whip up the dust into a smokescreen that developed around both her and Seto. Afterwards she dismissed the wings and coated herself in her frog’s skin. Normally the aura wouldn’t deal well with fast movement; but inside the the blanket of sand she could move and keep her stealth advantage. Hannah moved quickly around Seto’s side, preparing for a straight punch to the jaw if he guessed wrong about where she was…

Seto took a step back in shock when he saw Hannah emerge unharmed from his attack, and things only got worse. The smokescreen prevented him from having any idea of where Hannah was, for all he knew she was above him. He strained his eyes for any signs of movement, but found none. Unfortunately for him, he had been looking completely the wrong way when Hannah burst from her cover and struck him square in the jaw, sending him staggering backwards.
"Not bad." Seto smiled as he rubbed his injured jaw, "You’ve gotten stronger, but so have I. Shadow Make: Gauntlets!"
Dark matter solidified around Seto’s arms within a fraction of second, and he swung his right fist down at the back of her head, adding speed and force to his punch with dark energy.

The disadvantage to the frog skin was that Hannah could not see herself well either and so was unable to parry Seto’s counter strike. The force propelled Hannah a few inches back as Seto’s strike connected. He too, was fast and if she wasn’t angry at Seto for fooling her earlier, she would have told him that.

Still, a bruise on her cheek wasn’t going to stop Hannah from attacking. Seto’s advantages were power and reach and Hannah couldn’t equip her talons to match them without dispelling the frog skin, but the sand hadn’t settled yet. Hannah leapt back into the fray and in an attempt to get under his guard, she ducked and swept with her leg at Seto’s, attempting to knock him off his feet.

Seto was prepared for Hannah’s counter strike this time, and jumped to avoid her kick. When he landed he pressed the heels of his hands together and curled in his fingers, mimicking a jaw. Now that he was in front of Hannah he had a good chance of hitting her with Fenrir, especially while she was recovering from her attack. He chanted the incantation and snapped his hands together, causing Fenrir to do the same with its maw.

Hannah was shocked to learn that somehow Seto had managed to predict a sweep, even while she should have still been invisible to him. Dark energy formed around her, and it was too late for Hannah to escape. Fenrir’s jaws closed and shadows pierced into her skin. Blood seeped from her arms and shoulders; which she had raised to protect her head. Hannah was not willing to throw in the towel yet. Her frog skin aura dropped, flashing Hannah’s condition to Seto for a brief moment, before a green aura wrapped itself around Hannah’s legs and a purple one around the right arm she stretched out; forming a grizzly wolverine’s head with it’s maws wide-open. Hannah launched herself straight forward towards Seto; with a leap that would either get her far out of Seto’s reach if he dodged; or tackle and push him by at least three yards between the wolverine’s jaws if it hit.

Seto cringed slightly at the sight of Hannah’s blood-soaked arms, rather regretting his most recent move. He wanted to tell her to stop, but she was a proud woman; she wouldn’t surrender until she could no longer move. If he wanted her to stop, he’d have to beat it into her. However, it didn’t seem that that chance was at hand; if she was using the wolverine spirit she was really getting serious. Seto almost wished that he could use his Darkness Embodied spells, but such magic was too powerful for friendly sparring; he’d already harmed Hannah enough. He braced himself as Hannah charged, clasped his hands together and chanted: "Shadow Make: Barrier!" A wall of dark matter burst from the ground in front of Seto, which ought to protect him from Hannah’s attack, providing she wasn’t riled up enough to smash through it.

The wolverine’s opened maw and the offensive and defensive dark magics met. A clash of forces made waves of magic repel everything from the collision but the two combatants as the two spells slowly destroyed one another. Hannah’s hand slowly forced itself through the shadow-make barrier that was being dispersed alongside the wolverine’s jaws and her finger’s reached for Seto’s chest; bared by him taking off his shirt earlier. Hannah’s intention never had been to fully unleash the wolverine upon her friend, it could be as disastrous for him as Seto’s Embodiment spells would be to her. Instead, as the tip of her finger almost touched Seto’s chest she chanted; “Seidhr Magic: Sloth.”

Seto took a step back as Hannah forced her arm through his barrier; it wasn’t often that anyone could break through his defences. Even more surprising was what happened next. As Hannah’s finger pressed against his chest he suddenly felt incredibly drowsy, and began to lose his balance. Was he really being brought down by what seemed like the most useless spell in Hannah’s repertoire? He sunk to his knees and began to close his eyes, but his willpower was strong enough to just about keep him conscious. With one last effort he extended his hand and chanted: "Shadow Make: Dart..." A magic circle appeared and released a half-arsed flurry of darts at Hannah, just before Seto slumped down on the ground, fast asleep, snoring like an earthquake and drooling slightly. It must have been quite a sight, because Seto barely even rolled around when he slept naturally.

At point blank, even a half attempt from Seto’s darts was a good attack. The needles stuck in Hannah’s skin. Hannah dropped to her knees, between the damage she had taken and the amount of strength she had used under his bind spell and the clash with the wolverine, Hannah had to catch her breath. As Seto dozed off, the needles dispersed and Hannah felt her heart thump loudly in her chest. She stared at their on-lookers (quite possibly blown away by the shockwave mere seconds ago) before she got up and dispelled the sloth’s aura from Seto.

“Never use my code to trick me again.” Hannah said sternly, referring to when Seto had beckoned her to come down and cross blades. She stretched out her hand in order to help Seto up.“Still, that was a close fight.” Hannah said and couldn’t help but show a glimpse of a smile. Part of her wanted to remain angry, but Hannah couldn’t hide she was thankful to Seto she could have such great sparring matches.

Seto awoke to the sight of Hannah’s extended hand, and a small pile of drool around his mouth. He recoiled at the uncouth display, but shook it off and allowed Hannah to help him to his feet.
"I wouldn’t quite say I tricked you." Seto protested, "I just challenged you to something you weren’t expecting. I won’t do it again, if you promise not to cast that on me again." Seto returned Hannah’s smile and shook her hand firmly, "You look like you could do with some patching up." Seto let go of Hannah’s hand and ran it over her wounds, sealing them with dark matter, "Well, I don’t know about you, but I could definitely do with a sit down after that."

Shin waved back when he caught Elizabeth waving towards, obviously she'd caught him during his little survey of the guild. It wasn't something he minded, after all in his mind if some of the kids knew they were being supervised they might behave better.

A little dispute between Hannah and Seto more than served to prove that belief wrong. However, instead of intruding on the matter given he no longer had the power to step in on the dispute he contented himself with finding a nice view point of the match. To say the least, he was impressed by the two younger's growth. To say the least, this had served as more than a little reminder of his age. There was however, one habit the two younger mages had indulged in...shouting out their spells. To his knowledge, Mages here found announcing their spell made gifted more power to it. However, he'd been trained on the battlefield and in open war that was more likely to get you killed or countered. To that extent, Shin himself favored silent casting and personally never found much of a drop in power after some training.It took a bit of effort to force himself back to his feet due to his back's noncompliance but he still forced himself towards the pair after they'd settled their affair.

[orange] "Don't you think it's about time the two of you stopped shouting out your spells like children? It might seem pretty, but casting without speaking is the better skill."[/orange] In demonstration of his point, Shin had simultaneously cast the spell Ih Ragdo upon himself during his speech. Space distorted into a bubble around himself upon completion and he took the chance to re-seat himself in the sphere.

[orange]"Sportsmanship aside, while spell calling is technically more 'fair'. I'm concerned that the two of your are depriving yourself of the skill to read your opponent."[/orange] He felt that he was just being a nagging old man by this point, but he still felt the words needed to be said.

“The nightmares are starting to come back; it’s been over two years and I thought I had finally gotten over it. Well I know you don’t really get over something like that, but I thought I had finally been able to forgive myself.”

She stared at Johnathan for a moment before coming up with something to say. "They're back, that's not too surprising. With the severity of the actions of your past, I don't expect you to just forget about it. These things take time to heal but sometimes they never do." Looking back at him, Anaida took on a more stern approach to the matter at hand.

“It doesn’t really matter though, it’s too early to be dealing with stuff like this lets just forget I said anything.”

Hearing this, Anaida sighed and stepped off her stool. It seemed Johnathan didn't think it mattered for it being so early. However that wasn't what made her sigh. It was the fact that he chose to brush it aside and let it take its course. As much as I want to help you Johnathan, I won't and I can't. You're none to special than the rest of my Guild Anaida turned her back to him and downed the rest of beer in one go. With an exaggerated sigh of content, it almost seemed like Anaida for once was in a good mood. However the words that passed her lips said otherwise.

" It's not a matter of you just forgetting about it and forgiving yourself. There's more to it than that."

With that being said, Anaida glanced over her shoulder breifly and noticed the crack in his cup. Shaking her head ever so slightly, she walked off to some other part of the Guild. To where she walk to was surprisingly enough outside. While talking with Johnathan she noticed an increase of magic and had glanced in the general direction. What she saw didn't sit too well with her but she kept her cool before Johnathan. And so now Fairy Tail's Guildmaster followed two of her mages outside.

Leaving the double doors open Anaida stood between two battle-ready mages. One of whom had the habit of challenging her while the other she admired for his skill. Hands on hips she looked at Hannah then Seto with a scowl. “I guess I should watch over you guys.” Closing her eyes for a moment, she rubbed the back of her head. With a mean smile on her lips Anaida crossed her arms and stood in a stable stance to keep from being knocked over if their fight got out of hand. Soon enough their dual began and Anaida couldn’t help but want to join in. Hmm maybe some other day. Every now and then she’d have to side step or move a bit to keep from getting hit by anything. For the most part Anaida enjoyed watching her mages dual with one another, each one showing what they had learned from their last mistakes.

Anaida did worry, if just a little, once Seto’s ShadowMake: Fenrir took hold on Hannah’s shoulders. A prideful smile overcame that worry the moment she saw Hannah fight back and took a few steps back from their dual the moment she saw two of her strongest mages getting ready to collide. The moment they connected, waves of magic erupted from where they stood pushing back anything that wasn’t grounded to the floor. Which included those who were foolish enough to get close to Seto and Hannah’s dual. As the shcockwave hit her, Anaida bent low bringing up her arms to shield her face. Unlike some of the other members Anaida didn’t get pushed back but stood in the same place. Straightening up, a mix between a scowl and a prideful smile settled on her face as if she didn’t know whether to be angry at them having nearly destroyed the area around them or to be full of a mothers pride when she sees her kids grow up.

Walking up to Seto and Hannah with her hands on her hips she beckoned behind her towards the Guild. “Although Shin has a point, for now I suggest you two, especially you Hannah, to go to the infirmary. I have something important to tell all of you and I need everyone’s help in this matter.” Not bothering to wait for their replies, she took them by the shoulders, being careful with Hannah’s wounds, and shoved them in the direction of the infirmary. Anaida walked back into the Guild’s hall then went to the second level. Standing by the corner of the stairway that would lead her to the balcony that opened up towards the hall, Anaida wondered how her Guild would take this news. Taking a deep breathe, Anaida stepped out from the shadows and walked to the middle of the balcony.

Leaning her elbows alongside the rails, Anaida watched her Guild with what could only be a mother’s expression of pride. That expression soon changed itself to a more serious look and she cleared her throat loudly. “Attention Fairy Tail!!” her voice boomed across the hall making some jump unexpectedly. Glad to have their attention she continued, keeping her voice loud.

“We have received a request from a small town by the name of Annandale. This request will be asking us to risk our lives for strangers and to possibly fight strong opponents, but I have confidence that as mages of Fairy Tail you will be able to confront your opponents. Now to the task we have been given, we Fairy Tail have been asked to deal with a guild by the name of Nightmare Hearts. They are a dark guild and have been terrorizing the town of Annandale. We have been given little information on the key members of this guild due to only the small fry going out into town. I need you lot to get into your teams and we will head out as soon as possible.” With that Anaida stepped back and let the information sink in.

Hannah

“Yes. Let's.” Hannah threw a friendly arm around Seto, the both of them could use a breather. Hannah nodded towards Shin, acknowledging his advice. It wasn't the first time she'd been told by the older mage and Hannah knew what his critique was directed at. While Hannah had practiced silent casting throughout most of the match, she had slipped up during her last move. Old habits died hard, and magic was simply easier to cast using vocal commands.

Hannah and Seto were pressed to the infirmary by their guild master. Although the shadow-make mage had bandaged the worst of her wounds, he was no healer. The nurses of the infirmary would take care of the two and Hannah and Seto's duels were infamous amongst them. They just needed a glimpse of their faces before they rolled out the ice-packs and disinfectants. As Hannah sat down with an ice-pack pressed against her cheek, gritting her teeth as a nurse took care of her wounds, she heard Anaida's booming voice come from the guild hall; announcing a new mission.

“There's a good mission after all today.” Hannah grinned at Seto, a spark twinkled in her eyes at the mention of dangerous opponents. When the nurse was done with her shoulders, Hannah stood up and put her leg up the infirmary's desk to stretch her muscles in the middle of the room (to the dislike, but no longer shock of the nurses.) “At least now we are warmed up for Nightmare Hearts.” She said, despite that their intense sparring match had put both of them out of their optimal fighting condition. Still, Hannah put her leg down and enthusiastically punched in the palm of her opposite hand. “We will show them the power of Fairy Tail!”

---

---

Virgil floated easily to the ground once more from his elevated position atop the roof of the guild, his selected vantage point for the brawl between Seto and Hannah, hovering for a brief second before letting his rune wings dissipate and dropping to the ground. Dissipate was a curious word to describe the process as he had explained it on previous occasions as the wings seemed to shatter like lavender glass into a thousand fragments before actually fading from sight. His musings about his own techniques aside, the wings had carried him to the top of a nearby roof to spectate on the S-Class sparring match. Close enough to analyze each detail, but far enough to keep the sand and debris from impeding his vision every five seconds as the two seemed to kick up enough of the stuff.

While most onlookers were quite pleased with the bout, Virgil's lips features ruffled into a ponderous frown as he compiled the information that had just played out in front of him. He was aware that every fight was solely based off the two combatants and the tactics used would be dependent off that fact, yet he had the sinking feeling that he would come up far short in talent and strategy if faced with the power the two mages before him had displayed. Shin's words only brought the feeling to a head once more at the advice he offered. 'Casting without speaking...?' His mouth opened to say his rebuttal to the opinion, but closed without doing so. Virgil's magic held considerable power when used in conjunction of both written and spoken word, but Shin knew his stuff and was more than likely referring to wizards apart from Virgil.

Shaking the thoughts off, Virgil followed the others as they assembled into the guild hall, cataloging the instances for later deciphering when he had more time. Positioning himself toward the back, Virgil leaned his shoulder against the wall as he turned his head in the direction of Anaida as she explained the situation, studying his guild mates from behind his mask. It was quite the inopportune time, a dangerous mission while two of their strongest members had depleted a large amount of magic trying to tear each other in half. Crunching the numbers and assessing the guild's current strength, he had no doubt that they would put up a strong front, no matter what was thrown their way. Yet there was one variable that still needed to be addressed.

Leaving his safe corner of obscurity, Virgil made his way to Seto and Hannah through the adoring crowd of onlookers and fan boys to take up a position behind Seto, still watching and assessing the rest of the guild. "Good fight, seems you two have gotten everyone quite fired up for the coming mission." And it was true, after the display outside, Virgil was even a bit ready to jump into the fray, but retained his calm demeanor as best he could. It was much simpler when his voice dropped and his tone took on a more serious note with his next words. "You threw quite a bit into that fight. How much magic do you have left?"

Before Seto could protest to Shinzaemon that casting creation magic spells without their incantations resulted in unstable products, he found himself being pushed off to the infirmary by the guildmaster. He didn't consider his injuries particularly serious, but he knew better than to argue with Anaida. He crouched down slightly so that Hannah could lean on him for support more easily and hobbled off to the infirmary.

The nurses rolled their eyes the moment they saw Seto and Hannah and scurried off to fetch bandages and other medical supplies. The blood soaked binding that Seto had used to stem the bleeding from Hannah's talons was replaced with a fresh, clean bandage after the wound had been sprayed with disinfectant. Surprisingly, that was the only serious wound Seto had received, everything else was just small, shallow cuts and bruises.

Despite not being in the guild hall, Seto could still hear the guildmaster's booming voice with no difficulty. He smiled at the mention of taking out a dark guild; as a former dark wizard he knew exactly what made them tick and how to take them out. Hannah's reaction was even more enthusiastic, and Seto couldn't help but have some of her enthusiasm rub off on him. However, what he was not so enthusiastic about was the idea of getting into teams. Seto had always worked alone, and had no desire to change that. Other people were just extra burdens, and more often than not couldn't keep up with him. If he were to team up with anyone it would probably be other S-Class wizards, but even then there would be problems. Hannah was completely incapable of subtlety, Jonathon had fantastical ideas of chivalry wedged into his head, and Elizabeth... Seto couldn't think of a reason not to team up with Elizabeth; perhaps he'd ask to join her if he couldn't slip off on his own without being noticed.

Seto turned when he heard Virgil's voice and smiled slightly at Virgil's first comment, a smile that only grew wider when Virgil expressed concern for him and Hannah.
"I've still got a fair bit left." Seto replied, releasing a few sparks of dark energy from his hands to prove his point, "I'll be back to normal in a couple of hours as long as I have something to eat. I wouldn't be able to call myself an S-Class wizard if one friendly scrap put me out of action."

Elizabeth observed quietly from her viewpoint leaning against the strong doors of the guild hall as the dust and magical energy in the air seemed to simmer like that of bacon in a frying pan..before fading into the still air. Her eyes narrowed at the bold declaration from Hannah, whose enthusiasm had landed others, namely herself in hot water just once. Elizabeth wasn't looking forward to getting scalded again by her 'feral' magical talents...Seto, however his talents were under control in his mindset. Running a hand through her hair she merely smirked at the loud whoops coming from the interior guildhall as the guild master announced the latest mission of ridding a town of a Dark Guild by the name of Nightmare Heart. ~Well, this will definitely be a cause for celebration ~ Elizabeth thought wearily as demands for caskets of ale rang out..it would only be a matter of time until some hothead threw a chair. Quickly pausing at the bar to swipe a piece of fruit before it was overtaken by alcoholic beverages.

Glancing around for Virgil, she guessed the quietest location in the guildhall at this possible moment as well as what the tactician would be doing after such a battle. Quiet conversation reached her ears as she reached the almost tranquil silence of the infirmary as she saw Virgil and Seto, looking a bit battered but nothing to the extreme. A faint smile reached her lips as she caught the last segment of his conversation "-wouldn't be able to call myself an S-Class wizard if one friendly scrap put me out of action.". Despite his quiet persona Seto did embody the Fairy Tail mentally of never knowing when to quit. Merely pulling a nearby wooden chair she straddled it in a relaxed position before voicing in a lazy tone " Would you really just call was I just witnessed a 'scrap' really Seto, I hope you aren't turning another Hannah with your enthusiasm..I think one of her would be enough..". Her tone turned a bit frosty at thought of the rambunctious female mage..before she tossed the bandaged man the apple she was planning on eating. Yet one glance at the injuries man, Elizabeth would consider her giving up her prized fruit as her good deed for the day.

A few seconds later, the sound of glass shattered rang outside the quiet refuge of the infirmary as an audible sigh escaped her lips as she felt annoyance flash in her mind as the possible arrangement of being stuck with short-tempered, irresponsible mages during the mission to confront Nightmare Heart, running a bandaged hand through her hair once again out of habit she merely posed this question to Virgil "Why exactly have we chosen this guild as our home Virgil. I doubt even someone of my patience would avoid accidentally punting one of these mages off the cliff side on the way to Nightmare Heart. That is unless I manage to get on a team I will be able to tolerate. Isn't that right Seto? I doubt you are willing to put up antics for very long..". Another piercing sound of glass breaking flooded her ears as she rubbed a hand across her face as if that moment merely proved her point, her crimson eyes blinked slowly as she observed Seto "Unless you are planning on working solo for this job..which I seriously recommend against Anaida would tear you a new one. Personally I find Virgil to be fairly tolerable most days..when I am not having to hunt him down for my books..". Her tone turned teasing as she mentioned Virgil, who did seem to leave often only to be reminded by her books. That being said, Elizabeth had been forced to track those she lent her books to..with extreme retribution.

---

Hannah

“We will be fine after we eat.” Hannah answered Virgil, echoing Seto's response. Her mind temporarily drifting off to she hadn't had even a single bite yet that day. Hannah's stomach growled. Between all the excitement, she had forgotten about how hungry she actually was. “Worry not, Virgil.” Hannah said as she put her hand on his shoulder and smiled reassuringly. “We will be ready when we need to be.”

Hannah's enthusiasm however, somewhat dwindled as Elizabeth joined into their conversation. Hannah was often confused as to what the blood and paper mage was trying to achieve, but knew better than inquire by now. Elizabeth never had forgiven Hannah for a past mistake and the two had avoided each other ever since... Even in shared company, it seemed Elizabeth made a point out of it not to address Hannah, as she evidently did now. The huntress' eyes passed to Seto's, then Virgil's for a moment, glinting a hint on her feelings towards the off-hand remarks by slightly baring her teeth. Although she was eager to learn how it was to fight beside Seto rather than against him, and curious as to what Virgil's magic could bring to the table, the rift between Hannah and Elizabeth was still too big for them to work in one team.

“Good luck.” Hannah said resolutely, before suddenly leaving the infirmary in wide strides. If she was lucky, there would still be some of Julius' cooking left in the guild hall... Instead, however, Hannah's attention was drawn to Aaron asking their guild master to team up.

“You are making a team?” Hannah inquired, pleasantly surprised, as she shoved herself into the conversation. Anaida usually operated on her own. Any chance to see their guild master fight, Hannah knew would be a learning opportunity. At the same time, she was also curious about Aaron's improvements. Although he frequently tried to get out of Hannah's training schedule, he did have the ambition to become one of the wizard saints...

“I will join you.” Hannah declared, as she threw an arm around Aaron and Anaida each. “Together, we will let Nightmare Hearts taste the power of Fairy Tail.” Hannah cheered, eager for their mission. This was going to be good, she just knew it.

---

---

Considering the words, Virgil almost cast a questioning glance at Hannah as she assured him they would be fine and not to worry. It wasn't a matter of worrying so much as gauging the guild's current strength. It was a matter of importance instead of faith, a form of information to catalog....and then he realized it was just a mannerism to assure him of the power of the S-class mages before him. Nearly berating himself for having the mental rant he nearly tore off on, Virgil tried to cast an apologetic smile at the woman before he noted it would be pointless behind his mask.

Food was another issue though. The point of eating brought up first by Seto and again by Hannah was one that brought his stomach back to the forefront of his mind once more, remembering that he had skipped breakfast on this morning. At that moment, he could feel his stomach starting to tighten up and the inevitable beginning to happen. 'Don't growl, don't growl, don't growl....'

rrrraaarrrrRGGHHH

The awful sound making it's way through the silence in Hannah's departure broke through his mental commanding as it let loose from the depths of his body. "I don't mind being carried by the likes of two of our guild's stronger wizards," Virgil reached up and scratched behind his head as he addressed Elizabeth and Seto once more, "but food is kind of a must right now." I'm going to grab something to eat and then head out if possible." Moving toward the door once more, he placed a hand on Elizabeth's shoulder as he passed her, silently thanking her for including him in the plans of the stronger two mages of the guild.

If the guild was riled up before, it was exploding with energy and enthusiasm now that Anaida had made her announcement. Virgil would prefer people conserving their strength and preparing for the upcoming fight he was sure would ensue, but it wouldn't be Fairy Tail without the raucous.

The kitchen was generally empty due to the earlier fight, but Virgil looked around to see if Julius was anywhere to be found. While he had not spent much time with the man, his cooking was a marvel. A disappointed sigh left his mouth as the man was nowhere in sight at the moment. Virgil helped himself to a few things, packing some away for the trip later as well. With nothing else coming to mind that was needed as he walked away from the area, Virgil decided a timetable on events was the best course of information he could acquire at the moment. And to get that, Anaida was the woman to speak to.

Virgil found her among a few others, Aaron and Hannah the most prominent. Not wanting to intrude too much, Virgil hung a bit away as he approached and addressed the Guild Master. *cough* "Ma'am? Everyone seems ready to go, or close to. When do we depart?"

"Would you really just call was I just witnessed a 'scrap'? Really, Seto, I hope you aren't turning into another Hannah with your enthusiasm. I think one of her would be enough."
Seto turned at the sound of Elizabeth's voice to see her slouched into a chair behind him. He did not reply immediately due to the exchange of angry stares between Hannah and Elizabeth. It was always awkward for him when he ended up in the crossfire, and he would very much have liked to just get up and leave to avoid any further awkwardness, but doing so would just cause more. The tension between the two was almost enough to stop Seto from noticing the apple Elizabeth had thrown to him, but he caught it at the last moment and offered her a nod of thanks. He wasn't going to take sides in an oestrogen-fuelled rivalry he didn't understand, so he just sat quietly and ate his apple until Hannah left. He gave her a small wave of goodbye before returning his attention to Elizabeth and Virgil.
"You won't have to worry about that." Seto reassured Elizabeth, "Confidence and lack of self-control are hardly the same thing. Besides, I've been through worse."
This was indeed true. Plenty of times, both during his current and previous career, had he scraped through life-threatening situations, not to mention the time Hannah had curb-stomped him when he had decided that the flu wasn't a good enough reason to take some time off.

Seto cringed slightly when Elizabeth mentioned that Anaida would "tear him a new one" if he tried to work alone. Seto had expected Elizabeth to put it more eloquently, but she was right, and Seto certainly didn't intend to end up on the wrong end of the guildmaster's wrath. Working with Elizabeth and Virgil seemed like the second best option, as nobody else in the guild was capable of being calm for more than a few minutes.
"Well then, it seems that we have a team." Seto commented, "But this is for this job only, once we're done I'm going back to working on my-"
Seto was cut off from a loud, gurgling noise emanating from Virgil's stomach. He almost gave Virgil a dry look, but stopped himself; Virgil couldn't control the workings of his stomach. Instead, he gave Virgil a wave of goodbye as the older mage went of to find some food.

Seto rose from his chair to stretch a bit; his whole body still ached slightly from the strain of fighting another mage of his calibre, so he did a few stretches to loosen up a bit.
"I know this is probably a silly question," Seto began as he turned to Elizabeth, still doing his stretches, "But I don't suppose you know anything about this 'Nightmare Hearts', do you?"

A soft smile settled on her facing seeing some of her mages perk up at the sound of a new challenge. “Some of them never change,” shaking her head she went back down below, hands clasped behind her as she watched her mages form their teams. Heading back to the bar she sat down to calm herself a bit and even ordered a drink. Taking a swig of her beer she saw out of the corner of her eye, Aaron, who approached her. Hm this doesn’t look good. she thought to herself with a slight frown.

“I have a couple of questions, Anaida" Looking out at him from the corner of her eye, “Course you do.” she said sarcastically. “The information on these miscreants, I'd like to have it. Unless you'd rather form a coherent plan of attack yourself.” Bringing the mug back to her lips ready to tip it into her mouth she paused, lowering her mug so that it rested on the bar. She gave him a raised brow before snorting at him pushing his glasses up to their rightful spot. ‘Information you say.” All the while she was teasing Aaron although he probably just thought she was being difficult. It seemed he wasn’t about to let her answer just yet so she returned to drinking what was left of her beer. “Also, I regard my chances of survival extremely low without the strength of the Guild Master at my side. I'd like us to join forces for this particular... problem, if you will indulge me.”


At hearing that, Anaida couldn’t help but choke on her beer. Coughing a couple times she wiped the corners of her mouth and looked at him. Even with the chuckle it was obvious how serious the young man was. Seeing this a look of acceptance settled on her face and she sat up straighter. “I-“ before she even managed to finish her sentence, Hannah burst into the conversation. “You are making a team?” Scowling at the younger woman Anaida questioned her words, “Surprise, surprise, but no I don’t need you two following after me. Although I have confidence in your magical abilities, what I’m aiming at isn’t something to bring kids along.” Motioning towards them it seemed Hannah didn’t hear, “I will join you.” Anaida stared at her, rubbing the bridge of her nose as an oncoming headache emerged. Sighing, she drew away from Hannah’s arm.


“Didn’t I just say no?” It didn’t look like Hannah was taking a no for an answer. “Together, we will let Nightmare Hearts taste the power of Fairy Tail.” Rolling her eyes, Anaida couldn’t help but smile at Hannah’s eagerness so with much effort she spoke. “Ugh fine, I’ll let you two tag along but don’t slow me down.”Her words weren’t directed to anyone in particular as for the time being her attention was elsewhere. Dark eyes shifted across the Guild hall taking account of how many had formed teams and how many have yet to do so. We’ll need to hurry it up.

Realizing she hadn’t answered Aaron’s question yet she shifted in her seat to face him. “Sad to say but there isn’t much information them individually. From what the request said no one has been able to leave or enter the town since they arrived. That and the entire mayor’s staff and guard were knocked out by a single mage, so I guess we’ll have to watch out for them. I’ll tell you more later. “

---

Difficult as always... Aaron thought casually, merely nodding and shrugging as Anaida metaphorically tore her way out of the man's questions and prods for information with sarcastic retorts and frowns.

“I can see-” He was about to respond with dismissal of his previous offer, only to notice that a certain S-class mage had caught wind of their conversation. Although he'd normally react with slight fear and nervosity, in regards to the task at hand it came as an opportunity.

“Hannah.” Aaron greeted, only nodding yes when the young woman inquired if he and Anaida were forming up a team. Contrary to popular believe, Aaron never really feared Hannah. He respected her, and that she was willingly adding her name to potential roster of team “badass” was welcomed with open arms.

Aaron couldn't help but let the corners of his mouth perk up in a content smile, though that may just have been Hannah's contagious eagerness to show the power of Fairy Tail. His smarts, Hannah's... tenacity and Anaida's immense power would make a deadly combination that was likely to overthrow this supposed Nightmare Hearts.

They only needed...

“Well?” Aaron asked with certainty, thought still unsure if the guild master would even want to join them. She did, albeit with great reluctance.

“Kid, huh? I'm hardly the mage I was ten years ago, you should know that.” Aaron retorted with a hint of hostility. He felt Anaida should never underestimate any of her mages, more so with himself and Hannah. They weren't children wanting to play at war. Not anymore.

“We'll go show these pathetic excuses for mages what a Fairy Tail mage can do. Won't we, Hannah?” Them godslayer gave her a quick look before turning to Anaida.

“That's fine. I was hoping to give each team an individual target befitting their strengths and weaknesses, but I guess we'll just have to take them as they come.” The man sighed.

“I'm not too worried, though.” He was confident in everyone's ability, even the small-fries.

Hannah

Although she had been all fired up before the trip, Hannah had enjoyed a fair amount of rest thanks to her guild members taking care of transport. Hannah normally wasn't fond of vehicles, and truth to be told she still did not like it, but after her bout with Seto it gave her a little time to refresh. Not that Hannah thought it was really needed, though. Or maybe that had been her pride talking... Nevertheless, when the town of Annandale came into sight, Hannah jumped up and met the view with the same excitement she had the mission back in the guild.

Hannah hung out of the vehicle's window as Fairy Tail's mages drew closer to the town. The party was about to get started... Hannah jumped out of the vehicle when it stopped and watched as Anaida shattered the barrier. The guild master was strong and it pleased Hannah to know she'd be teaming up with Anaida. She had to suppress her enthusiasm to shout and cheer on her guild as they all moved out.

“Let me scout ahead.” Hannah spoke to Anaida and Aaron softly. Because Hannah was a big part of what made Fairy Tail so loud and noisy, people often forgot that she was in fact an expert huntress and knew the value of subtlety and silence. She put a hand on each of their shoulders, wings popped from her back and Hannah's eyes flickered orange; and with a mighty beating of her wings she took off into the air; flying high above Annandale. So high that any on-looker wouldn't be able to differentiate Hannah a common bird...

Hannah's eagle eyes scoured the ground beneath them; seeing far further than any normal human. Hannah registered the positions of the people she saw, but other teams were already moving into their directions. However, there was one figure (Cind) moving towards the outskirts of town... Where they had just left the vehicles and likely exhausted transport mages. Hopefully Anaida and Aaron were still close, because Hannah did not like the idea of them being left alone with a potential dark mage... Hannah circled far above their heads. If a fight would break loose, Hannah would be in the perfect position to support Anaida and Aaron from above...

---

The older woman put her hands on her hips, waiting for two individuals to reach her position. She gave no indication of acknowledging Hannah’s suggestion. Anaida rubbed her shoulder shortly after cracking her knuckles. Scowling at the smirk on Aaron’s face, she understood his intent and it was for this reason she didn’t really want to have them along. Looking up above where she assumed Hannah to be, it was near impossible to tell that it was her. The only reason Anaida knew it was her was because she saw her ascend to that location but she knew once they started moving she’d lose sight of Hannah.

Focusing her attention back to the front, she rubbed her shoulder again letting it roll a bit before taking the front position. “Then I guess I will, although I should have you take the lead since you seem intent on showing me your worth as an adult.” A scowl turned smirk made it somewhat obvious she wasn’t trying to be mean, merely stating the truth. Looking back up Anaida scanned the sky for Hannah already well aware of how useless it’d be. The woman just couldn’t help but worry, but mostly wonder, what the girl saw from her positon up above.

They walked for a short while but the distance they covered was a decent amount. The buildings around them seemed vacant in an eerie way. Hidden bodies and glancing eyes were the only hints that there were still people within the town. Anaida took notice of the small amounts of damage, which surprised her since normally Dark Guilds that take over a town ended up decimating most of it. What was not a surprise was a small house whose appearance made it obvious a fight had occurred there of the magical sort. Starting to get bored, Anaida wondered when they would meet a Dark Mage. She would be perfectly fine if they went straight to the center however Anaida wouldn’t mind having a little sparring match to make sure she hadn’t lost her touch.

Something up ahead caught her attention, a figure heading their way. Standing in place, Anaida squinted from where she stood trying to get a better look at this figure. She already knew that they were part of the Dark Guild since the townsfolk were too scared to even venture outside the safety of their own homes. “Looks like we have company” shifting so she got out of Aaron’s view, the figure was closer now and guessing from their physique their soon to be opponent was a man.

He could see them, almost as clear as day, his new playthings. These Official Guilds and their need to save the day sickened him. They were just some annoying little pests that needed to be taught a lesson.

From where he stood, Cind could count two people. The idea of their being a third individual or even more crossed his mind, as well as the idea that these people may just be some townsfolk but of course he dismissed both ideas. There was no way any of the townsfolk would dare venture outside the safety of their own homes. Of course they were wrong in thinking they were safe by placing up some measly little brick walls between themselves and the Dark Guild. We'd just break it down in one way or another. What fools. Snorting with a shake of his head, the pair finally became clear.

There was an older woman accompanied by a young man. "Oh what’s this? An old cougar and her little boyfriend. Is this really all they had, this so called Fairy Tail. They send an old hag and a youngster to take us out. You must be mistaken and I'll show you." A sneer took place on his lips as he began to form his magic. A dark substance began to fall away from him, but it was airy and it didn't seem to have any solidity to it.

With that same sneer still on his face, Cind motioned with his hands towards the pair. In reaction the black substance followed his movements, swirling and kicking right for the two.

---

Hannah

There were already fights bursting out and Hannah ached to join one of them. The team of Seto, Elizabeth and Virgil had vanished from her sight and for some reason Aina had summoned a giant skeleton to aid her. Aaron engaged the threat that had been moving towards them, releasing a flash of light. Hannah knew this was the perfect opportunity and needn't think twice to make use of Aaron's attack. Requipping her bow, she pulled back a swallow-infused arrow and fired it towards Aaron's target. The projectiles weren't the strongest, but they would add up. Cind would be assaulted from all kinds of directions, as Hannah released one arrow after the other; each coming from a different arc she ordered her spirit arrows to take. Between her and Aaron, Anaida wouldn't need to lift a finger, Hannah thought.

---

Oliver

Before Kisara could finish, Oliver jerked the back of her top and pulled her around a corner in the room. “We don't want them to see us.” He shrugged casually, as not a few seconds later, Elizabeth appeared where Kisara and Oliver had stood before. She had come running after the sound and would surely notice the urn laying, or more importantly; the gaping hole on the floor!

Oliver though, had a plan... And best of all he could confirm it just by walking around the corner. Stepping into Elizabeth's sight, with a casual smile and a wave, Oliver greeted her; “Welcome to our manor.” He said, making a bow while simultaneously putting his hand on his magic tool as if it was part of the bow. “Oliver L. Eisenhauer, S-rank disassembly mage, at your service.” He lied between his teeth. Oliver's range of expressions and body-language was limited to nonchalant; making it impossible to tell his emotion or intentions except for those trained to do so or very close to him. He could see through his eye the woman wouldn't act recklessly, and this was to his advantage... Because he could foresee what would happen up to five seconds in the future...

“Speaking of disassembly magic, look out, above you!” Oliver yelled as he stretched his hand out to the ceiling just in front of Elizabeth, correctly predicting for her to take a step back at the threat of the roof crashing down on her. Instead, Oliver whipped out his magic weapon as it transformed into a chain, grabbing the urn and flinging it at Elizabeth's position. He then flung it onto a chandelier, to counter-act the force pulling him towards the black hole that it created.

“Did I do good?” Oliver smirked as Elizabeth, like Virgil before her, vanished from the room completely. However, they wouldn't be able to pull the same trick on the third mage, as the urn had began smoking...

“I think this has ran out of magic power, though.”

Their opponents taunts made the older woman grind her teeth in irritation. It was one thing to assume she was Aaron’s woman but to call her old was crossing the line. Stepping forwards Anaida cracked her knuckles prepared to take down the sneering boy in one go. Then Aaron retaliated with his own bout of taunts as well as ordering her to stand back. Surprised by his muttered tone Anaida remembered that she did ask that he prove himself to her. That he had indeed grown since he joined the Guild.

Swallowing her pride Anaida brought her hands up as if she were surrendering. “He’s all yours Aaron. Show me what you got boy.” motioning towards the dark mage. Watching as Aaron extended his staff a light appeared before them showering them in a black light and then forming a shield to fend off the dark mages attacks. From her point of view it looked like shadow magic but the way it moved was too airy to be like that inky substance that made up shadow magic. Then what is it-oh I see. Thinking of telling Aaron the mages magic he called out her name but she stayed still as her eyes caught something moving above them. Oh right I forgot Hannah was up there.

Stepping forwards nonetheless Anaida leaned in close to his ear. “I don’t think you need my help here Aaron. Remember you have support up in the air and besides it shouldn’t be too hard in getting rid of this waste of air.” It wasn’t much of a hint but Aaron was smart so he may be able to figure out what she had meant.



Cind continued to sneer at the pair not caring for the mages own taunts. “Of course I do you fool. I’ve never regretted a thing in my life so good luck in that endeavor.” The smoke mage hated his casual tone but if that’s how he wanted to play it then so be it, Cind would simply do better. After that unconvincing taunt Cind simply chose to ignore the other mages words and instead focused on the attack coming his way. Although his first attack was easily dispersed he didn’t care much for that as he still had so much to show them.

As the rays of light shot towards him, Cind’s hand twitched upwards and the smoke whipped upwards and solidified. It took the brunt of the attacks holding for quite a bit but it was obvious the shield he had erected around himself was severely damaged. “Is that the best you got-“ before he could even finish his words a crap load of arrows came falling from the sky. “What the hell!?” Cind barely had time to avoid the first one but the next one sliced into his arm. Looking upwards he could barely make out a form up in the sky. Grinning a bit as if he came across a wounded animal Cind tightened his fist. The smoke around him began to formulate into small balls before elongating into long spear like projectiles. Then with a sharp motion of his arm the projectiles flew into the air with incredible speed. There were twelve in total but the arrows would either destroy some of the arrows and if he was lucky enough at least one would get to the mage in the air.

It was thanks to his earlier defense that he remained relatively unscathed until the arrows started to come at him from different angles. Surprised by the direction they were coming from Cind growled as a few more bit into his skin and clothing. “Dammit!” Stepping from side to side he managed to avoid a few but there was one or two that were lucky enough to hit him. Moving his arms again he formed a dome around him but it wasn’t quite solid but not quite gas like. It moved directions and for the moment he could focus on the mage in front of him.

From what he could tell the old hag wasn’t going to do anything so provoking her wouldn’t get him anywhere. Now to figure out what makes this kid tick. Grinning from ear to ear Cind formed two fists, with the smoke forming into two large smoky orbs, before spreading them open and moving his arms forwards. In doing so the orbs shot off as small little needles that headed right for Aaron and Anaida. “You scared of the dark kid!?” As the needles got closer they began to expand and thicken, forming a sort of dome over Aaron. The needles from the second orb remained as needles forcing Anaid to dodge them. However considering it was a rather complex attack Cind had to forget about his defense against the arrows from above.

Hannah

As Cind challenged Aaron, Hannah couldn't help but be excited. She wanted to see the mage's progress, hoping to see what he wanted to prove Anaida. Still she had her own problem to deal with; a barrage of spears was launched back at her; countering many of her arrows and some even were aimed for her. However, his aim was rather sloppy considering he couldn't take his eyes off Aaron for too long, and Hannah was easily nimble enough to dodge them from a distance...

When Cind formed a dome around him; the smoke burned through Hannah's projectiles before they could reach him. That was an issue, Hannah reckoned, but not the kind of adversity she could not handle. Summoning a spear in place of her bow and arrow; Hannah pumped into it the aura of her most defensive spirit; the pangolin. If he thought the best offence was a good defence, Hannah would contest his guard. With a second to aim and one powerful throw; she launched the heavily plated projectile; capable the burning fumes.

---

Cind watched with a sneer on his face at his work. He was a bit surprised by what happened next. The dome of smoke he had formed around the mage was suddenly flung back by black light; the same kind that the kid had used earlier. Bringing his hands up to retaliate, Cind didn’t have enough time as he was soon blinded by the blast of light. Squinting the dark mage quickly formed a shield around himself to block out the light. The shield wasn’t solid enough to be considered a wall but instead it retained its smoky look. He barely had enough time to register the oncoming attack from above when felt something breach his smoke shield.

Instinctively, and without using any hand motions the smoke erupted to coat the spear with a thick burning substance. It slowed down its path but it moved past the smoke nonetheless. Cind was able to step away from it thanks to his smoke but he want prepared for the blast of light. With his smoke shied more or less still intact it took some of the blow but the dark mage was unable to fortify his smoke.

Flung backwards Cind skidded across the ground, earning him a few cuts and burns. Laying on the ground for a brief moment in shock, rage quickly filled his being and he got up. Throwing his fist back, thick smoke swirled around his hand to form a large spear which was soon launched into the air and right for Hannah. The funny thing with this particular spear was that it was very thin but the moment it got close enough to Hannah it would expand into a spiked ball.

If a glare could kill it certainly would with Aaron in his sight. Walking towards him, Cind snarled, his hair was now dishelved. “You snot-nosed little bastard! I’ll wring your neck for that!” The dark mage brought his hands together as if he were about to wring Aaron’s neck. The smoke in response to Cinds actions formed a dense cloud around the light mages head. Like the rest of his previous attacks it had that burning acid like trait to it. It was meant to distract the kid long enough for Cind to get close enough and slip a pick of solid smoke between the mages ribs.


The Guild master watched with keen eyes as the fight ensued. It was when Aaron repelled the dark mages magic that she felt the sudden surge of magical energy. Looking in the direction of the source she realized that it was where Seto and his team had gone. It seemed Aaron and Hannah had things under control so without giving Aaron much of a heads up, Anaida ran off to the magical surge. The woman did of course wave to Hannah up in the sky seeing as the girl would no doubt see her.
It wasn’t that she was worried about Seto and his group but at that level, it might have been the Guild master of this Nightmare Hearts. She trusted her guild mates’ power but they weren’t ready to face someone like that, at least not yet. She was glad no one was on the streets otherwise she’d have trouble reaching her destination in a timely manner.

Anaida ran towards the gates, pausing long enough to check on the unconscious body on the ground. Breathing a sigh of relief it wasn’t any of her mages. Continuing on further to the mansion, there was a brief surge of power and part of the manor collapsed. “What!?” Walking quickly now Anaida stepped into the manor with caution. From what she could tell there weren’t actually any mages here aside from a few strong ones. Sadly she was unable to tell if they were her mages or the dark guilds. Ignoring the rest of them Anaida felt something else as well, a darker magic but it was very dull so she chose to ignore it.


Roxie nodded in understanding of what Dami advised her not to do. When the last rumble passed, even from here the small girl could feel the ground pulse with magic for a brief second. The ceiling of the cavern shuddered and bits of dirt and rock fell from up above. Frowning the girl knew they shouldn’t be here any longer. Turning to the kids Roxie paced her hands on her hips, trying to make herself as intimidating as possible. “You saw that right. If those mages continue fighting up there the caverns ceiling’s gonna break. We need to get put of here. Do you think the big kids can form a sort of stage for the smaller kids to go up and we small kids can pull you guys up?” Some of the children looked at her dumb foundely, surprised by her escape plan.

“Well it’s worth a shot.” said one of the older kids. That very same kid rounded up the rest of his age group and they formed a sort of stepping spot for the kids. Some even pushed the kids up to the ledge as none of them was tall enough to reach it on their own. Soon enough all of the little kids were at the top and the strongest teen helped pull the rest of them up. Now that they all stood out of their prison they smiled and Roxie then led them out of the cavern. “Come on I think it’s this way.” leading them past the opening that would take them back into the manor. The white haired girl was relieved that they hadn’t come across anyone so far.



Anaida continued to run down the halls but slowed when she reached an area bathed in light. The woman wasn’t able to see around the corner but she could tell a fight had transpired there. Edging closer to the large opening, Anaida heard the pitter patter of feet. Tensing for a brief moment, she stared in the direction the footfalls were coming from. The moment that shock of white hair and small form stepped around the corner Anaida released a sigh of relief.

Roxie grinned taking quick steps to reach her Guildmaster, however Anaida brought her arms up to stop the girl. She did indeed stop turning around to keep the children from going any further. It was then that Roxie’s band of children noticed the large opening in the wall. Bits of brick had scattered into the hallway and light streamed through. Looking over at Anaida wit a look of worry, the woman nodded to her and then stepped into the hole.

With fists raised in case someone decided to surprise her, the woman herself was a bit surprise to see that Seto stood in the barely recognizable room. The place was a complete mess, a woman lay bound on the floor and a younger man was knocked out on the floor. “What in the world? Roxie you can come out now with the children, it’s just Seto.” Motioning for the children to follow her lead, Roxie gingerly walked around the wreckage while the children peeked through the opening. Upon seeing them Kisara growled and squirmed a bit, “You released the children?” Letting her head fall back to the ground, the sound mage chuckled to herself. “I assume the others have been taken care of?” turning her attention to the woman with black hair. It was easy to tell that Anaida was the guildmaster, not only by her obvious age but with the way she carried herself.

“Yes for the most part. Are you disappointed?” Anaida crouched next the dark mage. “And I’m guessing you’re the Guild Master Kisara correct?” Nodding silently Kisara answered to the former, “Far from it actually. I was getting sick of their company.” A smirk settled on her lips, the way the dark mage was reacting to it all was rather odd. Anaida sighed, standing up she looked at Seto, “Keep her bound for now. She and her guild will need to answer to the Council when we get back.” Turning her attention back on Roxie, Anaida began to question the small girl. “I’ll be back Seto. I assume you can handle things for the time being. The other should be arriving shortly.”

As she passed Dami, Anaida tapped him on the shoulder for him to come with her. “Lead me to this crystal Dami.”

Led by Dami through the mansion, the two arrived before the entrance to the tunnel. Pausing at the entrance, Anaida ran her hand over the edges of the tunnel. The two entered the the tunnel but this time the guildmaster took the lead. It wasn't hard to know where to go, the older woman could feel the dark power from the crystal Dami informed of. After a while the tunnel opened up into an immense cavern. "It's over here." Following his directions, Anaida turned to the right and now stood on a wide ledge that went around the entire cavern from what she could tell.

She looked over her shoulder at the young Mage, "Stay there Dami. I don't want you to get hurt. " The crystal stood all alone, dark waves of power rolling off its obsidian surface. With a deepening frown, Anaida now stood in front of it. Anaida placed her palm on the smooth sides and took a deep breathe. The crystal was a part of the cavern ceiling, meaning once she destroyed it, the cavern would cave in. "Dami I need you to leave now. I can't guarantee that this place will stand on its own very soon." Checking to see if the crystal Mage did leave, she was relieved to see that his was nowhere to be seen.

Anaida looked up, sizing up the crystal and a small smile crept onto her lips. "Mm you'll be a fun one." Stepping away from the crystal, Anaida shook her hands then pulled back her fist. Suddenly rocking forwards, as her fist neared the crystal it took on a scaly appearance as it slammed into the sides of the crystal. A shock wave erupted upon contact shaking the surrounding area within the carvers. It only took a split second for a crack to form and then spread throughout the crystal. Quickly stepping back, Anaida could see that the crystal was crumbling in on itself as was the cavern.

The Guild Master spent no time getting out of the carven. As she entered the manor she checked to see if her guild mates were still inside. Walking out, Anaida saw that everyone had gathered in the front grounds. Seto still had Kisara, along with the other dark Mage that was with her, tied up by dark tendrils. She wasn't sure how many of the dark mages had been taken care of and how many were able to escape, however for now she was happy to see that everyone was there. Beckoning for everyone to gather around her, Anaida placed her hands on her hips with a look of triumph on her face.

"You've done well today. Today Fairy Tail has set free a town once held captive."

When Anaida waved and left the scene, Hannah instinctively felt something was wrong... And at the same time she felt bad for Aaron who had wanted to prove himself in front of her... Her priorities had changed as the guildmaster left, from playing support to see Aaron's progress to taking down this mage as soon as possible so she could focus on her task as scout. However, taking him down fast as possible would prove no easy feet... As Cind had proven himself to be quite adept at dodging.

Hannah noted the thin projectile being thrown at her. It seemed weaker and fewer than the previous barrage... But Hannah's instincts told her this wasn't simply Cind running out of magic... After all he seemed to have a lot of it left... Perhaps it was focused? She didn't waste much time thinking, requipping her bow in one hand and a net in the other. The net was imbued with the pangolin, transforming it into a large shield, and she then used four swallow-guided arrows to grab each corner of the makeshift defence and used it as an advancing guard.

However, as expected, it was a trick. The narrow spear exploded into a spiked ball; destroying her swallow-guided arrows and slowing the momentum of her shield. It's force was absorbed by the full body of the shield; and so Hannah readied her shoulder to slam into the back of her shield instead, and attempted bring the ball back to the ground. However, due to the nature of Cind's magic, the excessive force of her dive broke the ball up in smoke. Her guard and shield helped Hannah to get through the cloud mostly unharmed, but the sheer heat the cloud produced made Hannah realise how dangerous Cind's magic could be as she passed through it... And small sparks managed to lick her ankles, causing tiny burns...

Still, she had made it close enough. Closing her wings for a second, Hannah turned to use the nets as a platform, coated her leg in a familiar green aura and kicked the advancing guard down the ground. It was unlikely to hit target and with light weight of the nets it wouldn't do much damage even if it did, but it would go so fast it would be hard to tell any of that.

However her frog-powered kick had two purposes. The second had been to slow Hannah's own momentum. She flapped her powerful wings to disperse the smoke and blow it back at Cind as she landed behind Aaron. She put her hands on his shoulders and stated firmly, “We will finish this now, I have your back. You know what to do.”

Weren't it for Hannah's immediate intervention, getting caught off-guard might have ended up worse than it currently was. The cloud of smoke hadn't left the godslayer completely unscathed. While minor, Aaron had been made privy to a property he did not expect smoke the to have. Clutching his face after Hannah's timely rescue, the man slowly opened his eyes to witness their enemy still up and about. Aaron had to commend this Cind person for managing to stand up after taking so much brute force, he was a tough nut to crack after all.

He mustered the will to endure the stinging pain lingering around his face. His wounds, however little, could be tended to later. What was important now was that they ended a fight that, quite frankly, shouldn't have lasted this long. Despite that, Aaron wasn't too happy that he had to resort to his flashier techniques. “I hear you. Let's make this punk regret he ever met us.” With a weak smirk edged on his lips, the godslayer assumed a very specific position that he had grown accustomed to when making preparations to unleash, what he referred to as the true power of a God.

Regaining his focus, Aaron closed his eyes as his hands automatically took their position. He flipped his staff sideways before him as his free hand hovered above its centrepoint. Let's see the dark mage dodge this...

“Godslayer's secret art,”

As if on cue, a large quantity of magic power burst out from Aaron's body, enveloping the mage in a bright light before subsequently gathering at the palm of his hand and forming a football-sized orb that followed his hand as Aaron raised it into the air.

“Swallows!” Hannah stood by Aaron, infusing her aura’s into Aaron’s body. Godslayer magic gave form to the body of a true god, and the various animal spirits fused into the orb.

“Heavenly Starlight!” Aaron’s voice echoed and the orb was shot into the sky and instantaneously split into countless projectiles that homed in on Cind with unimaginable speed. Each one guided by a swallow, increasing the accuracy and power to astounding levels of each light bullet. However, that was not the extent of their attack just yet.

“Aaron!” She called out to the godslayer mage. “One more!”

Hannah and Aaron joined hands; pressing together yet another orb and a large, winged aura. With sheer physical strength, they compressed the two magicks. It took one form of swirling black magic, with an orange glow to it. Together, Aaron and Hannah chanted;

“Unison Raid: Ra’s Descent!”

The spell shot up into the sky, for a second seeming to vanish into the blue… But then a light broke through the air like the sun after a storm. A giant orb of blacklight gave it’s own form to the aura that surrounded it; creating a gigantic, luminescent eagle; tearing through the sky at massive speed; heading straight for Cind!

The net was easy enough to handle. Letting his smoke curve to form thin blades, they cut through the net with some ease. However as soon as that had been gotten rid of his own smoke was blown back towards him. Turning away from the burning substance, Cinds anger boiled to higher temperatures now that his own attack came back to bite him. The dark mage’s hands curled into fists while the smoke around him curled and then suddenly burst. “You damn bird woman!” he hissed scathingly. Cind quickly brought his arms up and spread his fingers. In response the smoke expanded then separated into various needles as it had done before. The smoky needles then shot towards Hannah and Aaron soon after they had finished their chant. The man had been so blinded by rage it didn’t register that their actions could be the end of him.

Realizing his mistake, dark eyes shot up towards the sky with its multiple new sources of light coming straight for him. In a fit of mixed panic and rage, Cind attempted to recall the needles of smoke but they were already set on their course. The only thing he could do now was create as much smokes as he could before those orbs of light, led by swallows, hit him. Breathing out quickly, a stream of the airy substance drifted around him. Moving his arms around so that the smoke would form a dome around him, it wasn’t thick but it was the best he could do. As he did this, Cind released a volley of his own attacks but it was few in number and was only able to cancel out some of the orbs of light.

In the end, Cind barely had time to protect himself when the orbs finally reached him. Most tore right through his shield but they dispersed some after breaking through. It weakened his shield considerably. Surprisingly enough Cind was still standing, although he looked ready to give up. With a pained smirk, Cind attempted to defend himself one last time with a sleazy barrier. Cind didn’t stand a chance against the eagle as it tore through his barrier with ease and struck him down.

As the fog of battle dissipated, so did Aaron's magic reserves plummet through the ground to an all new low. The attack had managed to syphon most of his power, the majority having been used to succeed at his spontaneous Unison Raid with Hannah. Was Cind done for? There was a brief mention of grim on the godslayer's face that the attack had not prevailed. “Are you okay?” He inquired of Hannah, glancing over the S ranked mage for a moment before turning focus on the ruined landscape in which, presumably, Cind was laid to temporary rest. Hannah nodded, although there was sweat on her brow and she breathed heavily. The spell had done a number on both of them.

Clutching onto his staff for support, Aaron sluggishly, and nervously, approached the scene to asses the damage.

There he was, wounded and unconscious, or perhaps dead? Aaron didn't bother to check that close, being knocked out was more than enough reason to move on from this fight. He nodded at Hannah, beckoning for her to come closer for a second opinion. “Let's meet up with the others. This one won't be bothering us anymore.” Aaron spoke almost commandingly to Hannah, already making motions to walk further into the city. The others should have dealt with the rest by now, shouldn't they?

“No, he will not.” Hannah agreed, looking down on their opponent, though she was disappointed they had rushed the fight to it’s end. Between her involvement and Anaida’s early leave, Aaron hadn’t been able to properly show off his progress… And Hannah wore her heart on her sleeve.

“Let’s go.” She said to Aaron, making large strides to catch up and pass him. After all, from her scouting activities earlier, she had an idea where the rest of the guild was going...

double posting galore

Anaida led her Guild back home, making sure everyone’s injuries were sought to. It took them a little longer to get back home than it did getting to Annandale since they now sported a group of roughed up Dark Mages.

The first stop they made was in a small village by the name of Crawstoack. There Anaida sent a group of S-Class mages to gather the Dark Mages and head off towards the courts that would put them on trial for their actions. The following morning they set off once more to Magnolia. With the Dark Mages no longer being there, the Guild Traveled a bit more quickly and they arrived home as the sun was setting. The majority of them broke away from the group heading to their Guild Hall to go home.

The Guild Master was one of the few who went back to the Guild Hall. Opening the large doors, when they reached the Guild, Anaida stepped into the dark building. The darkness didn’t seem to bother her at all as she gracefully navigate around the tables, while the other mages stumbled about, grumbling about not being able to see well.


Eventually they all made it to their rooms and had fallen asleep before their bodies hit the mattress. Anaida on the other hand continued to walk around the interior of the guild. Checking up on the few who slept there, a smile found its way onto her face every time she peered into the rooms of sleeping mages.





The young girl mostly stuck to herself, strumming her guitar out of boredom on the way back. When they finally reached Magnolia, Roxie split ways with her guild after a while of walking with them. Roxie realized she had never stopped by her house to tell her mother of her departure a few days ago. Biting her lip, Roxie quickened her pace back home.

When she got there, Roxie was glad that the lights were still on within the house as well as outside. Skipping up the doorsteps, Roxie stopped in front of the door thinking of knocking when she remembered her key. Oh right” She dug into her pocket, pink tongue poking out, and breathed a sigh of relief upon pulling out a small grey key. “Oh good, I didn’t lose it”

Inserting the key into its keyhole, Roxie turned the knob and quietly entered her home. The small girl made sure to be as quiet as possible, tip toeing around as she took her shoes off and set her guitar down in the hallway. Looking ahead, she saw that there was a light in the living room, most likely coming from their fireplace. She’s still up? came the concerned thought as Roxie poked her head around the corner.

She was glad to see that her mother had fallen asleep but she could tell it was a light sleep by her fluttering eyes. Roxie walked over to her mother and smiled down at her. Shifting on her, Roxie turned to the fire place and took out the poker to move the logs a bit. The sound was loud enough to wake up her mother, which she did, and Roxie quickly put the poker back down. Turning on her heel, Roxie pushed herself into her mothers unsuspecting arms, burying her head into her mothers shoulder. A small gasp was the only sound her mother made before she returned the gesture. “I’m home mum”