~*****~

Ballad watches as I pace in front of the barrier restlessly, her big eyes entirely too watery for my liking. I glance back at the statues and sigh. Just before I can turn back to the barrier, there's a bright light, and everyone is returned to normal. "Oh my, what happened to us?" Juvia comments as she gazes around curiously.

"I can't remember..." Levy hums.

"They're all back to normal!" Natsu exclaims as we hurry to the stage.

"Lucy!" Happy and Ballad cry, burying their faces in her bust.

"Guys?" Lucy chuckled.

"Erza versus Evergreen. The winner is Erza." Makarov read out as the barrier changed. "Well, Laxus! You're all out of hostages, boy! Can't continue with your game now, can you?"

"Will someone please explain what's going on?" Lucy complained. We go into a brief explanation. "He called it the Battle of Fairy Tail?"

"Laxus outdid himself this time." Can sighs.

"At any rate, it's over now," Makarov sighs. "I played along with his foolish game because your lives were in danger, but I won't indulge him anymore."

"Master, we can't let him get away with hurting our friends," Mira comments.

"Yeah, she's right!" Bisca barks. "If we don't teach Laxus a lesson, then he'll never learn!"

"Oh, don't worry. I'm gonna give that boy a punishment he'll never forget." Makarov comments. "He should know better. You can mess with me, but you can't mess with my guild!"

"Hey now, hold on a sec. I dunno about taking hostages, but I don't see any harm in finding out who's the strongest. I think we should keep the battle going." Natsu comments.

I sigh. "Neither do I, Natsu--" Natsu begins to beam as I start to agree with him. "But I do not condone anyone pitting each other in a battle royale for the safety of others. Battles of strength should be something everyone consents into doing. No one should fight feeling the anxiety of losing someone close."

"C'mon, he's prolly just tryin' to make a little fun for the festival!" Natsu disregarded me. "So, what are we waiting for?! We got enough people here! Let's start brawling! C'mon! Round two, right now!"

"Don't even think about it, you nincompoop!" Makarov shouts as Natsu throws fake punches at me.

"Aw, c'mon! I gotta do somethin' with all this pent-up energy I've got!" Natsu exclaimed.

I slip my hand against his fist, shove it to the side before flipping him on the ground with his scarf. "I'm not in the mood for a fight with you right now, Natsu." I say in a serious tone.

"C'mon, show me what ya got, Aria!" Natsu complained as I shoved my foot against his face as he tried crawling towards me.

"Stop it!" I hiss angrily.

"What's going on?" Mira chirps.

We stop what we're doing and gaze over at the barrier. It's turning red and filtering out slowly. "What's weird," I comment.

"Don't tell me he's up to something else," Cana snaps.

"You're gonna have to fight us this time." Bisca agrees.

They form into a giant skull made of up red letters. "Can you hear me, old man?" Laxus chirps. "The rest of you better listen up, too."

"What do you want?" Natsu snaps.

"Looks like one of the rules has gone out the window." Laxus snorts. "That's fine. I'll just add a new one. In other words, since I would hate to end the battle of Fairy Tail early, I've decided to active the Thunder Palace."

"Are you out of your mind, Laxus?!" Makarov roars.

"You have one hour and ten minutes." Laxus retorts, ignoring Makarov. "If you think you can win, you'd better get moving, unless you're ready to hand the guild over to me now, Master." The giant skull disintegrates with Laxus' laughter ringing out, leaving me feeling extremely peeved.

"This game has gone on long enough, boy!" Makarov roars louder. "I WON'T LET YOU DRAG INNOCENT PEOPLE INTO THIS!"

He lets out a pained shout. "Master, no!" Cana gasps.

"Is he hurt?!" Natsu exclaims.

"What's going on!" Lucy cries.

"Mira, grab his medicine!" I exclaim over my shoulder as I grasp onto Makarov's shoulders. He slumps into my leg, still clutching his heart. "Master, hang in there!"

"What's he mean by thunder palace?" Natsu asks as the other girls surround us. "C'mon, Gramps."

"Thunder Palace is a very dangerous spell," I explain to Natsu. I get up and hurry towards the doors. "And I'll bet--" I run up to the balcony with the others and grimace. "He's already activated it."

"What the heck are those?" Natsu asks.

"They're lightning Lacrima," I explain irritably. "Thunder Palace is a spell made up of lightning magic and an organic chain link spell. If he sets them off..." I grasp at my overcoat and grip it tight.

"Wait, Aria, if those things are full of lightning, what'll happen if he activates them?" Lucy asks worriedly.

My gaze darkens for a moment at the thought. "Everything inside the circle of Lacrima will be burned to a crisp."

"I won't let that happen!" Bisca barks. "Requip Sniper Rifle!" Bisca aims at one of the Lacrima before I can stop her.

"No!" I bark at her as she performs her stinger shot.

"But that was a good shot! She took it out!" Cana exclaimed as I pulled the sniper from Bisca.

"Yeah, what's the big deal--" Bisca snaps, but she's immediately struck with savage lightning.

"Why did she get zapped by that thing?!" Natsu exclaimed.

"C'mon Bisca! Wake up!" Levy pleaded as she pulled her into her lap.

"I don't get it. How'd that happen?" Lucy stammered.

"It's Body Link Magic," I snap as I peer back up at them. "If you destroy one of the Lacrima the spell was put on, the magic energy used in your attack will be reflected back at you. In other words, if we try to get rid of them, we'll be risking our lives in the process." I swallow the knot in my throat.

"What should we do?!" Levy asks. "Those things could wipe out the whole town!"

"We gotta take down Laxus, fast!" Cana exclaimed.

"Okay, in the meantime, I'll help the citizens evacuate!" Lucy explains.

"I'm coming with you!" Happy cries.

"Me too!" Ballad agrees.

"Bixlow and Freed are still out there," Cana calls back. "Be careful, you three!" She and Juvia run back into the guild hall. I stare back up at the Lacrima and growl.

"Do you still think he's doing this for the festival, Natsu?" I ask angrily as I whip my gaze onto him. He swallows and his eyes set in a harsh glare. "Then help me get out of here. All three of us will take down that jerk!"

"Right!" Natsu barks. "He's gone too far this time!"

We leap over the ledge and start pounding against the barrier. "Stop please!" Levy cries as we shout at it. "You're going to hurt yourself!"

I stop pounding, gaze up at her. "Then what do you suggest? Just sit here while that jerk threatens an entire town of innocent people?!"

Levy just smiles. "Since it's script magic, I might be able to break the spell."

"Oh yeah?" Gajeel hums, clearly interested. I don't bother to tease him on it, as I'm on the banister.

"It's not 'might be able' to," I mention to her as I grasp her shoulders. "You will be able to do this. You're the only one who can. I have complete trust in you."

Levy smiles brightly. "Right! And when I do, you guys will be free to go track down Laxus!" I smile back and pat her shoulder encouragingly.

~*****~

We're once again pacing and trying to break the barrier ourselves while Levy works. I crack a chair against the barrier and growl as it flies out, uninjured until it hits the stone ground. There's another blip on the screen, causing us to gaze up immediately. "Wow, Lucy kicked his butt!" Natsu exclaimed.

"No way!" Gajeel barked. "That little princess can actually fight?!"

I snort. "Yeah, she's tough as nails!" I comment.

"She's just a cheerleader!" Gajeel exclaimed.

"Way to go Lucy," Levy sighs.

"You do realize she didn't have her celestial keys when you took her. You basically cheated-- once again-- and didn't let her fight back with her full strength." I mention irritably.

"Yeah right!" Gajeel scoffed.

"You act like you never heard the story of the tortoise and the cheerleader?!" Natsu exclaimed.

I whipped my head to him and grimaced. "It was a hare! And the dumb bunny lost!" Gajeel roared.

"Aria, c'mon, tell him he's wrong!" Natsu complained.

"Actually, it was the tortoise and the hare," I comment dryly.

"What?" Natsu whined. "There's no way! Why are you all suddenly buddy-buddy with metal face?!"

"Why is that on the forefront of your mind, weren't you just adamant about the tortoise and the cheerleader?" I complain as my cheeks flush.

"Why're you all flushed, ice princess, trying to shift the attention to that speedy varmint that--" Gajeel teased.

"That's it!" Levy barks, causing us to flinch.

"What's what?!" We yelp.

"I need to look at these two grammar styles like the tortoise and the hare and translate them at two different rates. If I take the Integral Number of Synchronized Letters in a single pass and transform them into Geel Grammar, and then translate that into Logue..." Levy rambled before she stood up with her stack of papers. "It worked!" She exclaimed excitedly.

"Yeah!" We cheered.

"Just give me a second, I need to rewrite the enchantment." Levy hummed.

"You bet." We nodded.

"This is it, you guys," Levy chirped. "When I'm through here, you three'll join the battle of Fairy Tail. I hope you're ready."

"Yeah, I'm all fired up!" Natsu exclaims.

"It's time to take out the trash." Gajeel grinned.

"You're the best, Levy!" I exclaim.

Once she finishes, she turns to us, hands propped on hips. "Now, guys, I want you to listen closely. We can't risk the three of you getting caught up in one of Freed's enchantments, so you're gonna have to separate. Got it?"

I wave my fingers in a salute. "You got it, Levy~" I chirp.

~*****~

I don't know where exactly, but Mira's magic amplifies, and I feel sorry for the person that's angered her to let loose that power. I hum delicately and scratch at my cheek before continuing my trek through the city, searching for Laxus' scent. I leap onto the ground when a powerful explosion flashes over the city.

"Freed versus Mirajane. Both wizards forfeit." I hum as I read over the script in the sky. "Now there's just one. And he's not getting away with this."

I catch a faint whiff of that scent Laxus seems to carry every time I see him. My head snaps towards the road, my gaze scrutinizing it until I spot the large structure further in town. My teeth click together painfully before running down the alleyways, making my way to the Cathedral. A large explosion rocks the place and I push my feet harder. I can feel the intense magic swirling around the building.

I run up the steps and peer into the open doors. "So here you are--"

I flinch and snap my gaze to my sides. "Erza! Aria!" Natsu gasped.

"Hey, you made guys made it out of there," Erza commented.

"Wait-- who the heck is that guy?" Natsu snapped as he glanced back into the church.

"That's Mystogan," Erza said.

My eyes narrowed at the sight of him. I didn't get a good look at him when he cast that sleeping spell on the guild so long ago, but now that I'm wide awake, I can see a shock of blue hair peeking from under his cap.

"You're wide open!" Laxus snaps before blasting electricity straight at Mystogan's face, destroying the coverings.

All his blue hair swirled free around his head, his gaze remained on the ground before he turned to us. "Jellal?" Erza stammered.

My head tilted and I began scratching at my head. "Okay, what the hell is going on here?"

"But how-- you-- you're still alive?" Erza murmured.

Laxus hummed tauntingly. "So you know this guy?"

"Wait, I don't get it," Natsu started.

"Yeah, me neither," I snap. "So, Mystogan... is really Jellal?" I ask irritably.

"Jellal, I--" Erza started softly.

"Erza, please, forgive me," Mystogan murmured. "I was afraid you'd see this. I'm not your friend, Jellal. I do know of him, but I'm not him. I'm sorry. I must be going." He disappears in a soft mist.

"Hey, wait up!" Natsu barked. "Well, that made my brain hurt." I pinch at the bridge of my nose. "I can't think about it right now--" Natsu groaned once before snapping his gaze onto Laxus. "All right, Man! It's you against me! I'm gonna take care of this clown! That cool with you guys?!" When Erza doesn't answer, Natsu barks again. "Wake up!"

I flinch to the side as Erza is met with a barrage of lightning. "That's quite a face you're makin' there, girly!" Laxus shouts. "UGLY!"

"That's enough!" Natsu roars. "I told you, you're mine, you jerk! Let's go!"

"Hey, didn't even notice you." Laxus snorts.

I sigh and pinch the bridge of my nose again. "Oh, you're about to notice me, pal!"

"Natsu--" Erza whimpered as tried getting up.

"Don't move," I hiss as I kneel down to her. "Your body needs time to recover."

"Be careful!" Erza shouts as Natsu lands on the ground.

"I'm okay! You don't got to worry about me!" Natsu exclaims. "Now get her--"

"Natsu!" I shout just before Laxus kicks him in the face. As Natsu falls back, Laxus grasps his wrist, pulls back and begins to pelt him on the face with a series of punches. The two go at it for a moment. I leap out to catch Natsu as he sails towards a wall.

There's a bright light coming from Erza and I grimace. Why was I on the guard detail now? "Careful, Erza!" I shout.

"All right, Laxus! What have you put in the sky! Tell me, now!" Erza demands.

"What, you haven't heard? That would be my Thunder Palace." Laxus beams.

"You're absolutely despicable. To think that you would attack your hometown!" Erza growls.

Laxus just laughs. "Honestly, it breaks my heart. But that's just the way the game is played, dollface."

"Damn you!" Erza shouts as she attacks.

Laxus grabs the foot that's sailing to his face, unbothered. "There's only two minutes to go."

Erza glances back towards us. "Go. Destroy them now, you two!"

"I can't, okay?! If I attack those things, I know they're just gonna zap me right back!" Natsu barks.

"Seriously? You're using Body Link Magic to protect them?!" Erz snaps her gaze back onto Laxus.

"Yeah! And they're gonna stay up there until I give the order to blow!" Laxus shouts.

"You coward!"

"It's a shame you won't be around to see it!" Laxus chimes as he unleashes savage lightning upon Erza. She requips into a different seat of armor once she's able to escape his grasp. Laxus barks out a laugh. "Lightning Empress Armor. Nice try, but it's not gonna protect you from my attack."

Erza leaps into the air. "Now that we're using the same magic, it's a fair fight!" The two unleash their magic on each other.

"Then let's see if your armor can handle this!" Laxus shouts, shooting his lightning magic at her. He gives another hum as she deflects the attack. "Still standing, I see!"

"When two wizards do battle with the same type of magic, many different factors determine the victor." Erza explains.

"Their level of magic energy, technique, and experience. Right?" Laxus scoffs.

"One more." Erza simply says. "Their heart. I know the master taught you that, Laxus."

A sick sneer crossed Laxus' face. "Yeah, he mentioned it. But he also taught me power trumps everything else."

"You couldn't be more wrong." Erza says.

"Erza! Would you just leave it alone, already?" Natsu barked as I helped him stand. "I told you that I was gonna be the one to fight him!"

I grimace and sigh. "Erza, you and I can do destroy those Lacrima."

"But that'll--" Natsu started.

Laxus just laughs. "I'd like to see you try! Attacking even one of those Lacrima can be deadly. And who knows how many of them are floating above town right now. Besides, you're out of time."

"Then we'll destroy them all at once." I mention.

"Is that so?" Laxus jeers. "You must have some kind of major death wish then."

Erza and I glance at one another before smirking. "Not really, but if that's what it takes." I retort before saluting with my fingers and heading out the door with Erza.

"You take the north half of the city. I'll focus on the south." Erza commands as I leap onto one of the buildings.

"You got it." I nod and allow my internals to freeze over.

I make it to one of the tallest buildings in the north side of town and clasp my hands together, sucking in the frost surrounding me. "Ice Dragon Multi Lance." I growl as my feet freeze to the building below me. Several hundreds of ice spires appear around me, jutting up at each of the Lacrima I can reach. My breath hisses loudly as I continuously suck in the freezing air around me, taking in as much magic as I can to create more and more lances. There's a voice in my head, and I recognize it to be Warren's.

"Hey, Fairy Tailers! Can you hear me?" Warren chants. "Things aren't looking so good for us. Check out what's floating in the sky. We're gonna have to pull together, so get off your butts and lend us a hand. If any of you are still fighting, just give it a rest for a second. Now, listen carefully. Those Lacrimae up there are part of a spell called the Thunder Palace. Laxus is using it to threaten the entire town. So we have to take it out before he can set it off. We don't have much time, so we have to work together." I can hear everyone murmuring in shock and denail about everything.

"How the hell did he figure it out?" I murmur irritably.

"I've never been so happy to hear your voice," I hear Gray's all of a sudden. "I was worried about you."

"Gray!" I exclaim. "So you told him?"

"Yeah, would have happened sooner, but I had to track the guy down." Gray explains.

"Was that Aria?" I hear Jet's voice. "You mean she's not petrified anymore? Wait, if she's back to normal, then..."

"What about the other girls? How is Levy!" Droy asked.

"There's no need to worry, boys," Cana hums. "All the ladies are fine."

"Even Juvia's back on her feet!" Elfman chants.

"Yeah, and so is Bisca." Mira hummed.

"That must be a relief to you, Alzack," I snort before I hiss at the ache beginning to form in my body.

"Yes, it is," Alzack hisses. "I was worried. I thought she was a goner."

"Yes, and romance would be dead," I huff almost inaudibly.

"There's one problem," Warren interrupts. "My telepathy can't reach all the way to the guild hall. So we'll have to make due with the people who can hear me. If we work together, we can do this!"

"Hold it right there, Warren!" Max exclaims. "Why should I do what you say after what you did to me?"

"Oh, uh, Max..." Warren stammers. "Hey, I'm sorry about that! I-- I swear it wasn't anything personal. I was just desperate to save the girls!"

"I got a bone to pick with you, Alzack!" Droy exclaims. "Can you hear me?!"

I groan loudly and kneel down. "Yeah, I can hear you. I'm sorry about before."

"Sorry ain't gonna cut it, you little coward!" Droy snaps. "You shot me when I wasn't looking!" Soon, everyone begins to argue amongst themselves.

"WOULD YOU IDIOTS QUIT YELLING AT EACH OTHER?!" Gray's voice bellowed. Then everyone begins screaming back at him. "WE DON'T HAVE TIME TO BE GOOFING OFF! WE GOTTA TAKE DOWN THOSE LACRIMAE!!" Gray bellows again.

I tilt my head to rest it on my shoulder. I suck in the ice around me and let out a loud roar over the crowd. "Shut up!" I scream. Everyone stops bickering almost immediately. "Stop wasting time! There are innocent people in this city that will be killed if the Thunder Palace goes off! We are their last hope! We need to work together! I can understand everyone's feelings are hurt! But everyone in this guild has bonds that are stronger than Laxus' dumb games! Don't let this blind you to the important matter of protecting this city! I might still be fairly new to this guild, but this was the only guild that moved my heart to join it. I love each and every one of you, and I want us to pull together right now, for the sake of the town!" I exclaim. "And if none of you are up to the challenge--" I suck in another breath of chilly air, and a hundred more lances appear above me, crowding the skies. "Then watch me bust those things by myself!"

I hear a chuckle from Cana. "So, what's it gonna be, guys? You heard the lady. You gonna let a newbie show you up like that?"

"She may not have been a member for as long as some of us, but she's got more Fairy Tail Pride than all of us put together!" I hear Jet comment.

"Right. We gotta save the town." Alzack hums. "We can workout our other problems later."

"Jeez, now we gotta agree to help, or we're gonna look bad, huh?" Wakaba huffs.

"You done good, Aria," Macao hums. "You got everyone to cool their jets."

"I'm gonna ignore that stupid pun," I mention back, my teeth gritting.

"All right, guys! Are you ready to do this?" Macao barks.

"Warren, we'll work out our issues after we get the job done," Max states.

"Careful, Macao. An old man like you can't handle all this action." Wakaba teases.

"You're callin' me old? That's rich." Macao laughs.

"Everyone, grit your teeth, cause this is gonna hurt!" I explain as I begin focusing on the attack itself. "I'll take the two hundred to the North!"

"And I'll take the two hundred to the South!" Erza states. "Everyone else can take the rest! We can do this!"

We all fire off our attacks. "Ice Dragon Multi Lance-- Barrage!" Magic and different types of weapons hit, destroying all the Lacrimae surrounding the city. I hit the top of the building, my body solidifying with the frost surrounding me. A powerful surge of magic hits me, bringing me to my knees. I grimace and clench my fists, the ice around me shattering. "Is everyone okay?" I ask through a soft sigh.

"I can't believe all of you," Erza laughs breathlessly. "Doing something so reckless."

"We should probably be asking you the same thing," Gray groans.

"We really do make a great guild, don't we?" Erza chuckles.

"We'd be a lot better if Laxus would outgrow his rebellious stage." Macao grumbles.

"You can say that again." Wakaba agrees.

"Hey, Alzack, you doin' all right?" Droy calls out.

"Yeah, Droy, I'm fine. Thanks." Alzack hums.

"All of you take a rest," I say breathlessly. "I'm gonna go help Natsu with Laxus if I can."

"Don't act all tough, you were hit just as hard as us!" Gray snaps. "Aria, don't think about getting involved!"

I roll my eyes and ignore him. It's true. My body was hurting bad. That body link spell hit me harder than I anticipated. Every step felt like fire rolling over my body. I sucked in a tight breath as I passed through the throngs of citizens, who're thankfully unaware of the problems that had arisen today.

"Miss--" A shrill whimper cracks through the air. Ballad flies shakily towards me, her body covered in scratches and dirt from the Lacrima rebound attack. "Ice Make: Flurry!" My face is hit with a wave of ice powder, cooling my skin.

I suck in a deep breath, inhaling her magic and recovering just enough to pose a threat. "Thank you, Ballad," I huff softly as I catch her tired body. I push her into the hood of my overcoat and start running towards the cathedral where I begin to feel an enormous surge of magic. It felt strange, something akin to Dragon Slayer Magic, but very different.

When I get to the Cathedral, breathing heavily, I see Natsu and Gajeel on the ground, wincing as the intense magic energy crackles through the air. "No way--" I snap. "You're a Dragon Slayer, too?" I ask incredulously.

"Surprised, doll face?" Laxus sneers as I stride into the Cathedral. "Why don't you step off to the side so I can take care of these pieces of garbage. I'll deal with you in a minute."

"Aria--" Natsu groaned as he struggled on the ground. "Get out of--"

"You three losers, Erza and Mystogan. The old geezer!" Laxus growls. "Those weaklings in Fairy Tail... And the pathetic people of Magnolia-- YOUR TIME IS OVER NOW!"

I brace my feet against the ground, my arm slinging up to cover my face. "Where's all that magic energy coming from?" Gajeel groans.

"What the hell are you doin'?" I shout. "You're gonna cast Fairy Law?!"

"You got that right, doll face! I've mastered the Fairy Law spell." Laxus laughs.

"That's the same spell that defeated Master Jose." Gajeel gasps. "No!"

"Laxus, what are you thinking?!" Natsu shouts.

"Laxus! Stop this!" Levy's voice shouts.

I whip my head to gaze over my shoulder, eyes wide in horror. "Levy!"

"You idiot! What are you doing here?!" Gajeel barks.

"You've gotta see the master! He doesn't have much time!" Levy shouts at Laxus. "Master Makarov-- I mean, your Grandfather... is close to death!" We all flinch in shock. "Stop this now! Go see him one last time! Please! Hurry! Before it's too late!"

"No, it can't be--" Natsu stammers. "Gramps is gonna die? No way."

"Please, Laxus!" Levy screams again.

But the magic spell doesn't disappear. "This is working out perfectly for me." Laxus sneers after a moment. "Now that the old man is at Death's Door, I have an even better chance at becoming Fairy Tail's new master!"

"You heartless--" I suck in a breath.

"This will be the dawn of a new era for Fairy Tail! I'll rebuild everything from the ground up! I'll form the ultimate guild! One so powerful... All will tremble in our name!"

"You can't do this!" I shout. "Don't you even care about Master Makarov at all?!"

"Fairy Law--" Laxus ignores me, slamming his hands together. We're all enveloped in a bright light.