[disclaimer: I have not read through this at all yet so if you would be so kind to just ignore all the mistakes... thank you :) appreciate it]

Nashi looked down at her hands; they were shaking. Fear creeped into her conscience leaving an unnerving feeling throughout her body. It was rare for her to be scared. After all - in her opinion - it was useless to be scared, especially when your friends were relying on you in battle.

But with Demon's Torment it was different. She was all alone in that instance; alone with her own thoughts, fears and inner demons.

Demon's Torment was a spell which confronted a person with their worst fear over and over again. It was like a never-ending nightmare, driving it's victim to near insanity. The name of the spell fit well. So well, that it was ironic. Your own inner demons would basically torment you into going insane.

"I-I can't... I can't go through this shit again..." Nashi whispered. She looked to the others, particularly Gale and Storm because they had been affected by the spell just like she had. They were trying to act strong but she could see it in their eyes. They were exactly like her.

Anxious, vulnerable and sure as hell not wanting to go through the spell again.

"Everyone just stay calm." Hunter said. If he was trying to sound reassuring then he wasn't doing a good job because it came off as more of an order.

"Easy for you to say." Storm hissed angrily. "You weren't under the spell, you have no idea what it was like." He shouted raking a hand through his raven coloured hair in frustration.

Hunter was silent, unsure what to say. Storm was right, he didn't know what they had experienced. 

"Any second... any second, we could be in that nightmare again." Storm growled clenching his fists by his side.

"We should be under the spell by now." Gale said carefully. He could already hear the screams. The screams of the many innocent people who were now under the torment of Alexis' spell. Judging by the way Nashi clamped her hands over her ears and tightly shut her eyes, she could hear them too. "I remember... right when the sky went dark, we were... basically in our fucking nightmares." Gale continued. He paused for a second trying to devise some sort of explanation. When he did, he spoke up, "Maybe since we don't belong here, the spell doesn't work on us."

BOOM!

"What the hell was that?" Storm questioned. 

BOOM! 

Nashi clenched her fists by her side. "If what you're saying is true, Gale..." She said slowing opening her eyes. "Then we should make our selves useful in this situation and try to reduce the destruction." She proposed looking more adamant now.

Hunter shifted in his spot. "We shouldn't interfere... there's still the timeline to be wary of." He said laying down the unfortunate truth of the matter.

"I don't care!" Nashi snapped. "All I know is that I can hear the people I care about and other innocent people screaming and in need of help! Help that we can give them!" 

"She's right." Storm said. "We need to do something... anything. We can't just stand here like dumb asses while the ones we love are suffering."

Hunter didn't like it. Not one bit. But as much as he wanted to, he couldn't ignore the words of Nashi or Storm. "It's seems we have no choice then." He muttered grimly.

"The one thing we have to make sure of is that we avoid Alexis at all costs." Gale announced. "We can't take part in defeating her because, a vital part of our history is that it's Hunter and Ultear who take her down by themselves. We can't change that or else that would mess everything up."

"Seems easy enough." Nashi said.

"All we're doing is ensuring that those under the spell are not harming each other or themselves." Hunter stated sternly. "Understand?" He looked to his three teammates who nodded in agreement. "Once the spell is over, we're out of there immediately."

The moment he stopped talking, the team ran as fast as they could towards the town. 

The sight that welcomed them as they entered was not a pleasant one. Citizens of Magnolia stalked around like mindless zombies. Most had their hands clutched to either side of their heads and were screaming out of pure fear and perhaps even pain. 

A trait which all shared was their dark eyes. You could no longer see the whites in peoples' eyes. There was nothing but inescapable darkness. That darkness was the result of demon's magic which now invaded their minds. 

"Mommy!" 

Nashi's eyes widened as she saw a little boy - no more than probably four years old - rubbing his tear filled eyes as he wandered the streets looking for his mother. 

"Mommy!" He sobbed loudly.

BOOM!

A large explosion collided with a building. As a result, the building began to crumble, the debris heading straight towards the boy. With quick reaction time, Nashi bolted for the boy, scooped him up in her arms and then jumped right out of the way of being crushed. 

Nashi groaned landing hard on her back. The boy was still in her arms unharmed thankfully. "Are you okay, little guy?" She asked softly ignoring the spreading pain in her back.

The boy shook his head. "I want my mommy."

"Trust me kid, so do I." Nashi mumbled already wanting out of this nightmare. 

"Nashi, are you alright?" She heard Gale call out as he ran towards her.

BOOM!

Gale got to Nashi's side and helped her sit up. "I'm good." Nashi said. "But I'll be better when you find out what motherfuc-" She stopped herself suddenly remembering there was a child in her arms. She rephrased, "I'll be better when you find out who's destroying all these buildings!"

"I think I know who it is!" Storm suddenly shouted. He pointed past the debris of the building to an all too familiar figure. 

"No way." Gale breathed out. 

Master Laxus stood there, his fists radiating with lightning. "Must... p-protect... family..." He raised his fist and a magical circle appeared.

BOOM!

A powerful surge of lightning struck yet another building nearly destroying it in the one blow. Gale shielded Nashi and the boy from the small debris that came their way.

"We need to stop him from destroying the buildings, he's putting all these civilians at risk." Gale shouted. 

"I'll hold off Master for as long as I can." Hunter declared ignoring the fact that the odds were not tipped in his favour. After all, he was about to face a god damn Wizard Saint. 

BOOM! BOOM!

This time the explosions didn't come from Master Laxus. Gale and Nashi recognised the scents straight away and both of them tensed. Coming into view was now Natsu and Gajeel who were dispersing random attacks. Their eyes were as dark as night. 

"Dad?" Nashi whispered.

When it came to facing fears, there seemed to be two reactions. Most cowered from their fears which resulted in screaming or breakdowns while others - like Laxus, Natsu and Gajeel - seemed to have the need to fight their fears head on. In their minds, they were facing real threats but in reality they were destroying their surroundings and unintentionally putting a large amount of people's lives in danger. 

Nashi was still staring in disbelief at her father when she felt a weight being lifted from her arms. She looked to see Storm grabbing the little boy from her. 

"You're the one who should be holding off your dad, Flame Brain. I got the kid." He simply told her. 

Nashi nodded adamantly as she jumped to her feet. "I'm all fired up!" She shouted shaking the doubt from her body. And just like that she ran towards her father.

"My old man'll be a real pain in the ass." Gale growled as he glared at his father who was punching at walls, destroying them in the process. Without another word, he sprinted to his father. 

"Storm! Keep an eye out for any other kids. It seems like they're not effected by the spell so they'll need your help the most." Hunter shouted before going off to fight his battle with the Master. 

Storm grumbled to himself. He didn't really like the idea of being a baby sitter while the rest of his comrades got to fight battles but he had to live with it for the time being. 

BOOM!

"Ahhhh!" Nashi screamed as she flew back and hit a wall before falling to the ground face first. The tremendous momentum from that fall was enough to make Storm wince and actually feel sorry for the pink haired girl.

After that, Storm was quick to dodge any debris which went flying his way. "You good, Flame Brain?" Storm asked hesitantly. 

Nashi shakily got up to her feet. Half panting, she glared at Storm. "Would you just get the kid out of the way already!?" She barked at him. "Mavis, you have ONE job!"

Storm growled under his breath as he watched her charge back at her father. Turning his attention back to kids, he frowned. "Where the hell is the safest place?" 

The first place that popped into Storm's mind was the guild. The guild basement was his best bet at a safe place. That and he also had to check on the kids there. If it was true and children were not effected, that meant that Nashi, Gale and Hunter's younger siblings were by themselves and vulnerable. 

Storm ran as fast as his feet could take him making sure he had secure hold over the boy in his arms. It was times like these that he wished he had some sort of teleportation magic to utilise. 

In a matter of a few minutes, he arrived at the guild which thankfully was in one piece still. He burst into the guild doors and a familiar scene from outside was in the guild also. 

Lucy... Levy... Kinana... Macao... Wakaba... Romeo... Even Wendy...

They were all under the spell either trembling violently with fear, screaming or clutching onto their heads to hard that they were on the verge of pulling the hair form their heads. 

Not only that but Storm also saw himself, Gale and Nashi as the three of them suffered the effects of the spell as well.

Neglecting the traumatising scene in front of him, he refocused his mind on his mission. "Raiden!" He called out. "Rose! Luke! Lily!" He called out their names repeatedly before he calls received no replies. "It's Storm!" He shouted. 

Even if he did get any answer, Storm could barely hear over sound of screaming that was ringing in his ears. 

"I want my mommy!" The boy cried out. 

Storm grunted before softening his voice. "We'll get to your mommy in a short while but first we have to get you somewhere safe." He said in a - hopefully - reassuring tone. Storm made his way towards the guild basement. With more effort than he thought necessary, he shoved the door of the basement open.

"Storm?" A soft faint voice said. 

Storm looked to see Luke Dragneel sitting with his back up against a wall. On either side of the blonde haired boy was his sisters, Layla and Luna who were hugging their brother tightly as tears streamed down their cheeks. The sight made Storm dejected. Luke looked like was going to cry as well but being the good older brother he was, he held it in for the sake of his sisters. 

"I-Is it over yet?" Luke asked. 

Storm had a grim look on his face as he shook his head. "Not yet... it will be over soon." He reassured. 

Looking across the room, he felt a weight lifted off his shoulders. Rose and Lily were also in there. The two girls were trying their best to entertain Skyler. Not only were the Fairy Tail kids but also 30 or so other children that Storm, himself, did not recognise. They must've been kids from around town finding refuge. How did they get there? Storm had no idea but he was thankful the kids were safe. Scanning the room, he noticed there was a certain boy that was unaccounted for. 

"Luke, where's Raiden?" Storm questioned.

Luke's gaze settled on the ground. "I tried to go with him but..." His gaze moved and landed both Layla and Luna. He frowned. "But they needed me and I couldn't just leave them. I tried to stop him too..."

Storm didn't like where the conversation was going. "Where is he?" 

"He went out to try and stop Alexis."

___________

is that cliffhanger-y or no? IdEk dude

i always seem to be writing chapters like between midnight and 2am, it is not healthy whatsoever

anyways hope you enjoyed!

comment what ya'll thought of this chapter

#unedited

I've been gruvia trash for like the past few weeks so enjoy another gif of them!