Jupiter Strikes Back

When Krysti is safely out of sight, the usual noise slowly starts up again as everyone goes back to complaining, planning, or stocking up. They knew that Mira would not of tolerated any of their noise and activities while the newest member was being treated. Reedus stays upstairs to keep an eye on Krysti as he wanted a bit quieter place to paint, along with he has grown fond of the woman in the short amount of time she has been in the guild.

Her knowledge of paints and pictures instantly wins him over during their first meeting. The sight of all the bandages that cover her figure saddens him greatly. Knowing there is not much he can do at this point to help her, he decides at least he can paint her something he thinks will cheer her up after she wakes.

Back downstairs, Cana and Mira are trying to find out where some of their strongest mages are at that were absent from the battle with Phantom at Oak Town. Cana uses her tarot cards to look for Mystogan, their most mysterious member.

Mira however, is using a lacrima that is designed for communication to talk to Laxus. Grandson of Master Makarov, Laxus uses lightning magic to overwhelm his enemies in a blink of an eye and is currently tied with Mystogan in strength. Trying for the 6th time and still no luck, Cana tosses her cards into the air with a groan of defeat.

"It's no use… I can't tell where Mystogan is." she growls out in frustration. Mira turns slightly to look at her from where she is standing while talking to Laxus.

"I see. Too bad." she replies in disappointment. Cana looks over towards the white-haired woman while in a partial kneeling position.

"If their aim is Lucy, then they'll be attacking again. We've got a lot of injured people… This doesn't look good." Cana says in a worried tone. Mirajane turns back to the lacrima and closes her eyes, with troubled thoughts and a heavy heart. She starts talking to the image in the crystal, outlining their situation while Cana starts to chug a bottle of alcohol.

"Master is gravely wounded. And we don't know where Mystogan is." She opens her big blue eyes which emphasizes her sorrowful expression. "You're the only one we can rely on, Laxus!"

"Huh?" sneers the image of the man in the crystal. Short, spiky, blonde hair with grey eyes and a lightening bolt scar running down one side of his face, the man gives off a gruff exterior.

"Please, come back! Fairy Tail's in a crisis!" Mira pleads. A gleeful expression replaces the sneer and Laxus turns partially away from Mira and has a hand on his head.

"Serves that old codger right!" he says with a gloating laugh. He then turns back to Mirajane with a sly look on his face. "Doesn't have anything to do with me. Handle it yourselves." he states seriously. Cana throws a glare at Laxus while tightly gripping the bottle in her hand.

"Laxus… Why, you…" she growls out in anger at his words.

"After all… The old man started this war. Why should I be the one to bail him out?" he says with a self-satisfied smirk before pinning the two girls with a hard stare.

Matching his hard stare with one of her's, Mira informs Laxus, "They're targeting Lucy… One of us!"

"Huh? Who's that?" he asks with a questioning tone and uncaring look. Then a look of recognition enters his voice. "Oh, you mean the newbie?" His face gets a lecherous look to it. "Tell her I'll be happy to save her if she becomes my woman." he demands in a lower tone of voice.

Indignant, Cana shouts at him, "I can't believe you!"

"Hey now! Is that any way to speak from someone you're asking help from? And just for that, you can strip for me as well!" he snaps at bikini-top clad brunette. His expression relaxes back to the I-don't-give-a-damn one he has been using.

"And tell the old man to hurry up and retire, so I can take over as position as master." he continues with a tone to match his expression. He laughs greatly like the whole thing is a joke before suddenly the crystal explodes into tiny pieces. Mira lowers her fist from where she punched the lacrima. Tears streaking down her face as she bites her lip in an attempt to keep from crying out loud. Her fists are clenched tightly, her fingernails leaving indentions in the skin.

"Mira…" whispers out Cana as she looks at her fellow mage in shock and sadness.

"I can't believe him…" Mira chokes out through her grief. Her shoulders shake from her quiet sobs. "Is that person actually a member of Fairy Tail?" she questions no one. She quickly turns away from where the image of Laxus was and determination enters her tone and features.

"In that case, I'll fight!" she says firmly with her eyes clenched tight and tears still on her cheeks. She starts to walk away and Cana steps forward to stop her.

"What are you saying?" Cana says loudly in disbelief.

"Lucy was captured and Krysti was almost killed even though I was there! I could of kept them safe!" Mira almost shouts, still keeping her eyes closed while fighting the turmoil inside of her.

Cana reaches out and grabs a hold of the crying woman's arm before stating firmly, "No. You'll get in everyone's way as you are now. Even if you were once an S-class wizard." Her face tightens as her sorrow threatens to overwhelm her. Mirajane's eyes open to show the blue orbs shining with her tears.

______________________

After Krysti's wounds have been treated, Erza went to the guild showers to relax as she mentally goes over their situation. She replays the battle against Phantom and how badly it went when they lost their morale. She feels disheartened and almost lets her feelings get the better of her.

Gritting her teeth, she shoves them back behind lock and key. Not wanting to lose her focus at this reprieve. Guilt assuages her as she starts thinking about the Master and Krysti and the condition they are in. She punches the wall in anger as she blames herself for not going with the Master and preventing that tragedy.

Before she could blame herself any more, the entire guildhall shakes repeatedly while large crashes are heard. Wrapping a towel around herself, she and the rest of the guild who are conscious run outside to see what is the cause of the shaking. The whole town of Magnolia looks toward the sea in absolute shock. Those that can move, quickly start exiting the town as soon as they can make their legs work.

An almost mass panic takes place as more and more people become aware of what is happening. A large shape approaches the city from the sea, which is shown to be a large castle-like building walking on mechanical legs. The members of Fairy Tail exit out the backdoor that lies facing the sea and they stand there looking on in awe and fear.

"What the hell?" Natsu shouts out the question on everyone's minds as they watch the Phantom Lord headquarters walking towards them on two large mechanical legs. The sheer size of it boggles the mind and leaves more than a few Fairy Tail mages shaking in terror. Each step the building takes shakes the ground as if it was an earthquake.

"Their guild is walking!" Happy blurts out, unable to stop himself.

"Phantom?" Loke questions, unwilling to believe his eyes.

"What are we going to do?" asks Wakaba, fear evident in his voice. The rest of the guild watches only in silence as the monstrosity makes it way towards Fairy Tail. Erza shakes as she is almost overwhelmed by what she is seeing.

"I didn't predict this… This is how they attack us?" she utters. Mira is crying behind Erza, overcome by her fear. About 100 yards away, the building sets itself down in the water. One of the walls of the building lowers itself to reveal a giant barrel aiming right at Fairy Tail.

The barrel extends until it resembles an enormous rifle. Dark energy starts gathering at the tip of the barrel and a orb quickly grows in size. The energy gathering creates a vortex at the site. Realizing what is happening, Erza takes action.

"This is bad! Everyone, take cover!" Erza shouts out commandingly as she turns to face her guild mates. Her arms sweeps out over them to emphasize her words. The orb by this time is almost as big as the Fairy Tail guild hall. Erza darts towards the shore while ignoring the questioning cries of her friends.

She throws off her towel as she re-quips into some armor. Bulky white and dark gray heavy armor covers the red head's form as she stands on the shoreline. Eyes wide in fury, she yells at Phantom Lord.

"I won't let you touch the guild!" she screams out.

"It's the Adamantine Armor!" Happy notices.

"She doesn't intend to actually block it, does she?!" Bisca gasps out of fear for the safety of her friend. Her partner, Alzack, yells at Erza.

"I don't care how much crazy defensive power that armor gives you!" He looks angry and scared as he yells.

"Don't do it, Erza! You'll die!" Wakaba joins in to try to persuade Erza from her decision.

"Get down!" screams out Erza, the only thing on her mind is protecting her home and family from further harm. Natsu tries to run towards her to stop her and Gray latches onto the irate fire mage and has to struggle to hold him back.

"Erza!" Natsu screams out in fear as he continues to struggle.

"Natsu! All we can do is believe in her!" Gray grunts out from trying to hold back the frantic dragon slayer. Less than a second later, the large orb is shot out towards the guild with an explosive force. The pressure from the magic alone parts the water as it speeds along to its target. In a blink of an eye, the dark vortex of magic is almost upon them.

Erza, with her quick reflexes, brings her arms together and the wings on the armor's arms join together to create a giant shield. The magic of the armor activates into a magic barrier as large as the orb itself. They collide in an intense explosion. Both sides push against the other, neither giving any quarter. Almost everyone cowers or is frozen in place, watching their possible death being blocked by one of their friends.

Stubbornly, Natsu still tries to escape Gray's grasp to go to Erza's aid. Bit by bit, the Adamantine Armor starts to crack under the strain. Refusing to give up, Erza pumps more magic into the armor. Straining against the power, she grunts as more of the shield disintegrates. With a sudden force, the armor breaks completely and throws Erza backwards just as the dark magical energy dissipates.

She did it.

She protected everyone.

Exhausted and relieved that she managed to do something right, she reverts to the clothes she normally wears under her usual armor as she tumbles over the ground. Knowing that her family is safe, she relaxes as she tries recover from the strain. The dust clears from that last blast of power to shows a huge furrow in the ground and the ocean from where that magic was at.

The members of Fairy Tail look on in fear at the power the orb had and awe at Erza's strength in being able to block it. Gray finally lets go of Natsu, who then rushes to the red-head's side.

"Erza, hang in there!" Natsu yells at her, clearly worried for the woman he has looked up to as an older sister for a large part of his life. A voice calls out loudly from the direction of the Phantom Lord's headquarters, who Lucy recognizes as José.

"Makarov. And now Erza as well. Both are out of commission. You no longer have a chance for victory. Hand over Lucy Heartfilia. Right now." José demands coldly. Outraged, everyone in the guild starts shouting refusals. All except Lucy herself. Guilt wracks her as everyone is willing to go through so much pain and suffering just to keep her safe.

Being one of the newest and weakest members, she doesn't feel like she deserves any of the loyalty from the guild that they are displaying for her.

"Hand her over." José demands again in a harsh, guttural voice. The voices of outrage from her friends continues as Lucy starts to cry, so overcome by everything. Her shoulders shake as the tears fall. Erza pushes herself up to her elbows as anger surges through her.

"We'd rather die than sell out our friends!" she screams out with all her might. A chorus of agreements flow around the guild. Lucy, shaken out of her self-induced guilt trip, looks up at all of her friends. She is touched by their loyalty, even when she hasn't been there long enough to earn such dedication in her opinion. Natsu's face is a mask of pure rage as he adds to Erza's scream.

"Our answer will never change, no matter what! We will kick your ass!" he roars out. Lucy has to use both of her hands to stifle the sobs as they tear through her body. Angered beyond belief, José shouts back at the defiant Fairy Tail wizards.

"Then you'll get a second extra-large helping of Jupiter! Quiver in fear for the 15 minutes it takes to charge!" This announcement quiets most of the mages on the beach. How can they stand another blast when the only person who could is out of commission? How will they block another attack?

Dark shapes start flying out of the Phantom building and head towards Fairy Tail surprising everyone. At first, they think it's the mages from Phantom Lord attacking until the dark shapes get closer.

"Stare into the pits of hell, Fairy Tail! You only have two choices left. Be destroyed by my troops. Or be blown away by Jupiter!" José's voice rings out in fury. At first, Fairy Tail thinks that the figures are more Phantom grunts coming back for revenge for the earlier raid, until Cana tells them that the dark figures are only José's magic and not real humans. They are surprised that they are being attacked by beings not unlike ghosts.

"We have to do something about Jupiter." Cana states seriously. Natsu turns to her and punches a fist into his other palm.

"I'll bust it to pieces!" he declares before getting into an eager fighting position, wanting to hit something.

"15 minutes right? Let me at it!" he says loudly, just as serious as Cana. She nods and quick as a flash, the dragon slayer takes off to destroy the gun.

"Happy!" he shouts out for his blue-furred friend.

"Aye, sir!" the cat yells out with a determined face as he flies towards his friend and picks him up with his paws. Flying as fast as he can, Happy takes Natsu over to the barrel. On the ground, Gray and Elfman start running towards the enemy guild as well.

"Elfman, we're going in too!" the ice mage calls out to his friend.

"All right!" Elfman agrees while running beside Gray. Cana's serious expression hardens into grim determination.

"All right! We'll make a stand here! Got it?" she commands the rest of her fellow mages while pulling out her tarot cards. The guild shouts out their agreement. Mirajane marches over to Lucy and grabs her wrist.

"Lucy, this way!" the white-haired woman insists as she leads Lucy away from the beach. Mira takes her to around the front of the guild, and out of sight of Phantom Lord. Reedus is out front and Mira starts issuing orders.

"We have a safe house. Stay there until the battle is over." Mirajane directs that towards Lucy who pulls her hand out of Mira's grasp.

"But… I have to fight alongside everyone! It's my fault this happened!" protests the blonde mage. Mira turns to face Lucy and stares at her firmly.

"No, you're wrong, Lucy. No one thinks that. For our fallen friends… For our guild… and to protect you! Everyone takes pride in this battle." Mirajane tells her in a tone that brooks no nonsense. Lucy looks sad at this, she really wants to help fight and not just sit behind some walls like a weak princess. It's one of the reasons why she ran away in the first place.

Mira reaches a hand towards Lucy's face as she continues, "So listen to what I say, ok?" A soft glow emits from the former S-class wizard's hand which causes Lucy to look up and gasp. Her eyes shut and her legs wobble before falling forward. Mira quickly catches her before she hits the ground and looks at Reedus.

"Reedus, take Lucy to the safe house!" she commands.

"Oui!" he replies as he takes out his paints and proceeds to paint a picture of a small covered wagon being pulled by a large pig on his stomach. Activating his magic, a large pink puff of smoke appears and it reveals that the picture on his stomach became real.

"Please be careful!" Mirajane tells Reedus as they load Lucy in the wagon. He gets into the driver's seat and takes hold of the reins. He repeats his last statement and gives the reins a snap to get the pig to move. They take off at a face pace as Mirajane watches them hurry down the now empty streets.

Knowing that she can't fight, but still wanting to protect her friends, Mira does the only thing that she can think to do to help. She uses her transformation magic to turn into Lucy.

Back at the rear of the guild, José's ghosts, which have been identified as Shades, are attacking the Fairy Tail wizards. They fly through the wizards, causing chaos throughout the ranks.

Mira prays for Natsu to be able to take out the Jupiter weapon. She heads back into the guild to take care of Krysti and now Erza who has recently been placed inside. The Shades disappear easily when hit with magic, but due to the fact that they can fly, makes it harder to hit them.

Some of the Fairy Tail wizards notice that if a Shade touches them that they weaken. Worried, they call out to the others about it only to have it confirmed. The Shades were cursed.

José, using a special long range viewing magic, watches and listens to the struggles of the mages on the beach with sadistic pleasure. Hearing their questions towards each other, he feels magnanimous and decides to confirm their suspicions.

"Exactly! Phantom soldiers where just a touch will sap away your life! That is Shade!" he calls out in cruel joy. Hearing this, Fairy Tail's resolve to not get hit and to protect their fallen friends increases. Angry at the entire situayion, Bisca changes her rifle into two semi-automatic guns and fires upon the entire lot of Shades. The sky clears of them, but only to reappear again a few seconds later.

Frustrated and shocked, the mages can only grit their teeth and continue to attack in defense of their home. As they fight, Mirajane sadly watches out from inside the guildhall as she tends to Erza's wounds.

During this, Happy has already dropped Natsu on the end of the Jupiter barrel. Using his flame punches, the dragon slayer has been pounding at it for over a minute. Natsu grows quickly frustrated at how he can't even leave a dent in the barrel.

"I guess we'll have to destroy it from the inside." Happy observes. Natsu stops his attacks and looks up at Happy in surprise as he realizes that he never would of thought of that. With a quick leap, the duo lands on the inside of the barrel and runs inside the building.

They gasp in shock when they get to the other side of the Jupiter gun.