Chapter 44

Disclaimer I do not own Fairy Tail. Why would I be writing fanfiction if I owned something like that?

Beta Reader: volfwildman

Cover Art by KegiSpringfield

(3rd Battle Person POV)

"Burasuto"

The air around Aria stalled for a moment before it all blasted outwards. Erza, who had been preparing a heavy swing with a morningstar while charging at the Airspace mage, found herself being hit back. The air hit like a train as she was thrown back but was able to land on her feet and instantly started running like the wind thanks to her Flight Armor.

The battle between the two S-class mages had been going on for a good dozen minutes. Both showed signs of minor injuries like the bruises that were sparsely placed all over Erza's body from the impacts of the Airspace magic. Aria had a good few cuts on his body from where Erza had been too fast for him to react to along with other marks from the various weapons that were in the Fairy Tail mage's hammerspace.

That said neither were showing signs of slowing down. Both had years of experience taking on powerful and tough opponents, the battle they were in now was simply another day in their lives as S-class mages.

"Tsubusu"

Erza found herself doing more than just running as she rolled out of the way of airspace after airspace as they appeared where she had been, and the air crushed the areas that they took up. After her fifth roll, she threw the morningstar in her hand towards Aria who stopped his assault to put up a barrier of air around him that blocked the attack.

"Heaven's Wheel Armor" In a flash of light Erza wore her most famous armor and took to the air and flew around the chapel that the two were still in. While twirling through the air she constantly threw weapon after weapon to keep her opponent busy. Aria found himself forced to keep the airspace barrier up as the barrage of weapons kept up.

While this happened Aria could help but smile. The Airspace mage was a lover of drama, tragedy, and all things theater. But something that not many people knew was that he loved battle as well. The thrill and excitement as adrenaline pumped through his veins was something that he craved. But above all else, it gave him a sense of control.

It had been about fifteen years since Aria had joined Phantom Lord. Before that, he had spent the first thirteen years of his life with his loving parents in a little village in northern Foire. It had been a great life, but some things simply weren't meant to last.

For some reason, a genetic mutation or a gift from a Greater Being, Aria had been born special. To be more specific he had been born with special eyes. This wasn't too rare as eyes with magical powers would happen on occasion, but this was something else.

Aria's eyes gave him access to completely new and unseen magic. Airspace.

The only other occasion of this happening was in the nation of Enca where a family possessed some special eyes that gave them a very powerful form of Copy magic. Sadly, though they were very secretive, and Aria had found all his attempts at contacting them had been forcibly refused.

The Phantom Lord mage's parents had been proud of their son, even if the two weren't mages themselves. Aria had never really thought of using his special magic to be a mage, preferring to spend his days helping on the family farm. That didn't keep the small village from talking about his magic, about how impressive it was.

It was rather tragic that ended up causing a group of rare magic hunters to attack.

It had been a bloody day as the hunters tore through the village looking for the one with the special eyes. Aria still remembered vividly his father yelling for his wife and son to run while he distracted the hunters. He still remembered vividly his mother with tears in her eyes telling him to run when the hunters caught up with them. He, unfortunately, remembered her screams too.

And above all, he very much remembered when the hunters had caught up to him. Their wide grins and bloody clothes as they prepared to take his eyes. The looks of horror when shades descended upon them. And the hand of Jose Porla has he gave the new orphan a sad look.

Jose had taken Aria with him back to the guild where the orphan had found a new place for him. He met Sol, Gajeel, Totomaru, and Juiva who became his friends and, in some ways, a new family. He developed his magic and rose through the ranks, becoming an S-class mage after five years with the guild.

Over the years Aria had become the man he was now. A lover of theatre just like his mother had been. Hell, he was good friends with nearly all major theater actors in Foire since he made it a point to see all the major productions and was the near sole reason that Log Town had a theater at all. He had also developed a love of battle as defeating opponents gave him a sense of peace, a feeling of being strong unlike back then.

But over the years Aria had found that more and more he lost that sense of peace as his opponent became easier as he grew stronger. It was the reason he wore his blindfold. With it on his magic was less powerful and it allowed him to have a challenge. But he was rapidly finding that this was a fight he would need to end without it.

Taking a moment to prepare himself Aria had the barrier explode outwards and hit Erza. While the Requip mage corrected her flight the Airspace mage took his right arm and grabbed his blindfold. The Fairy Tail mage let out a small sigh after stabilizing and looked towards her opponent, her face swiftly gaining a look of fear as she realized what her opponent was about to do.

With a quick pull, Aria's shining light green eyes were free.

And so was his full power.

(Bishop's POV)

Where the hell am I?

That was the seventh time I had thought that, and it would probably not be last either. Apparently, whoever had designed the fortress and not given much thought to how the inside would be like when transformed into a giant robot. That was the only reason I could come up with for why there were so many dead-ends along very long hallways.

Since the second this place had changed, and I was separated from the others I had been looking while under my Vanish to find them. I had felt magic spike after magic spike in the mech while I looked but the place was such a maze that I could never find where the battles were taking place before they ended. It was becoming increasingly annoying.

Which led me to my current situation as I tried to head upwards to find where the current magic battle was taking place. I was near certain that it was Erza fighting and I really did not like the feeling of the magic from her opponent.

Sadly, the Phantom Lord headquarters had other ideas.

With a sigh I turned away from the dead-end I found myself at and made my way back. Once I was back to where I had made the unfortunate left turn, I went right and hoped that would lead me to a better result.

It didn't take too long before I found some stairs leading upwards. Taking that as a good sign I made my way up to them and found myself on another floor. Sadly, it seemed like the battle was still above me and so I started looking around for some more stairs.

I hadn't run into any Phantom Lord mages while here which was lucky. Even if the mages wouldn't know I was here it was better to not meet anyone then to chance them somehow sensing me through my Vanish.

My luck apparently decided to run out though.

I had found a large hallway that leads towards an observation room that overlooked the area in front of the mech. I was about to turn around when I noticed off to the side someone else was in the room too.

Jose Parlo, Guild Master of Phantom Lord.

I paused as I saw him staring out the window towards the battle going on between his shades and my guildmates. I wasn't sure what to do here. Did I try and take him out and end this war here and now or leave?

It made sense to just pull out some poison and knock him out; it would end this. But a part of my mind was telling me not to. The man in front of me was more than just the Guild Master of Phantom Lord; he was a Wizards Saint, one of the strongest mages in Foire. You don't get there without a lot of work and effort. It was probably best to leave him for now and come back with more firepower. With that, I was just about to turn and leave.

"I would appreciate it if you took that illusion down. As impressive as it is, I would rather talk to a person then what appears to be nothing but air." Jose said this with an even tone, not even taking his eyes off the battle.

I froze as he spoke. How!? How did he notice me!?

Jose seemed to find the lack of response funny has he let out a little chuckle before speaking again. "Truly impressive Illusion magic you have there. I only just noticed you when you entered the room and even then, I only just barely sensed you. If I hadn't spent decades developing my magic sense, I probably wouldn't have noticed. But that said I must ask once more that you take the illusion down so we may have a nice little talk."

Well, that answers that question. I took a moment to calm myself and started to back up, hoping the entire time that he gives me just enough time to at least get out of the room. Unfortunately, Jose had different ideas.

Jose let out a small sigh before turning to face my direction before raising his hand and preparing to snap his fingers.

"Greater Illusion Dispel"

With a snap of his fingers, a wave of magic echoed through the room and I felt it literally rip my magic out of the air and forcibly ended my illusion. I soon found myself completely exposed without anything hiding me from existence.

Jose gave me a smile before lowering his hand, "Much better. It's the shame that I had to get rid of such a well put together illusion, but I've always preferred to talk face to face. That spell, by the way, was specially made by my grandfather. He had a hatred for Illusionists for some reason. My father was old enough to know that illusions are not as weak as the youths of today believe and taught me it before he passed. Now with that said welcome to Phantom Lord's headquarters Bishop Vern, Gatekeeper of Fairy Tail."

I kept myself calm as I faced Jose. He hadn't killed me yet, so I guess that was good. Better to keep it that way. "...And you know me how?"

Jose chuckled a little before answering, "You're a well-known member of Fairy Tail, and even then, it was only yesterday that Gajeel...make an example of you. I am sorry for that by the way, Gajeel tends to go a bit too far when it comes to guild matters. Good to see your up and about though. Now is there anything else you want to ask?"

I didn't like the smile he gave me and how he said that last part. I also didn't like how nice he was being either. The Jose I somewhat remembered was an arrogant asshole that sacrificed his entire guild for some petty revenge. Although now that he asked, I couldn't help but voice a question that's been on my mind since I've woken up.

"I know that you hate Fairy Tail but surely that can't be the only reason you've declared war on us."

Jose's smile fell a little before coming back as he let out a sigh. "You seem to be mistaken young one. It's true that I hate your guild but that was never a reason for this war."

What? But that was damn near his entire reason if I remembered right. Did something change?

"Then why did you do this? What reason do you have for this war?"

Jose's smile once more dropped a little but this time it stayed shallow as he looked towards the Fairy Tail guild. "I suppose you deserve an answer, considering that this war happened like this because of what Gajeel did to you. Very well then.

"Phantom Lord was Foire's number one guild for almost fifty years before Fairy Tail took that spot. It was my father that got Phantom Lord to that position and after his rather unfortunate death I took over and I tried my best to keep things that way. While at the number one spot Phantom Lord expanded to keep up with the demand for mages who wanted to join us. We even have a few guild halls in the nations Seven and Bosco."

"It took a lot of jewels to get to this point and a good many to keep it up. While Phantom Lord was number one, we made enough money to keep up with the demand and a bit more for a rainy day if needed. That sadly changed when Fairy Tail took the number one spot and we started to lose money. We have been able to keep making a good number of jewels but as of recently our savings have...been rather shallow. If things had continued as before then I would have been forced to close four, maybe even five, of our guilds halls."

I processed what he had said as I compared it to what I knew from my old life. None of this had been said in the show, right? God, I disliked that I waited so long to write things down. "So, you use that to justify a war against Fairy Tail? To justify destroying the entire town with that cannon or Abyss Break?"

Jose shook his head a little before addressing me, "Both the Jupiter Cannon and Abyss Break were calculated and charged with only enough magic to only destroy the Fairy Tail guild building. Some of the surrounding buildings would have been damaged but I'd like to think the people of Magnolia would be smart enough to run away from a battlefield."

"And as for declaring war. That wasn't the first option or even the second and third. It wasn't until Jude Heartfilla came to us to get his daughter back from Fairy Tail that it was truly considered. Even then it wasn't until Gajeel...took my orders a bit too far that I decided that an all-out war was what we would do. In the end, it would get rid of Fairy Tail and put Phantom Lord back on top while giving us jewels and refurbishing our loses. Two birds with one stone."

I did my best to level a glare at him as I started to think of ways to get away safely. "Still doesn't sound like a good justification."

Jose let out a sad sigh before giving me a sad look, completely ignoring my attempted anger. "Let me tell you the reason why Phantom Lord has so many guild halls. We have 872 members in our guild. According to Guild Law 5, section C, the maximum number of members a guild can have is dependent on o the size of their guildhall and the number of halls they have. To put it simply if I was forced to close even just four of my halls then I would be forced to have thirty-six of my guild members leave."

"I will openly admit that I am not like Makarov. I don't see every single one of my members as my own children. But Phantom Lord is the culmination of my, my father, and grandfather's work. Every single member is a small part of that. If I was forced to remove them then I would be spitting on my family's graves and on myself. And that's just the beginning if things continued then I would be forced to close more and more halls and get rid of even more members as well."

He paused and I decide to say the first thing that came to my mind. "But even if Phantom Lord win this war and Fairy Tail is wiped off the map the Magic Council won't let your guild off free. Even if your the number one guild by then they're still going to punish you."

Jose seemed to gain a happy yet sad look on his face for a moment before a more determined look settled on his face as he started to speak. "Your right the Magic Council will want us to pay in some way. But luckily for Phantom Lord, it will have the perfect scapegoat. Me. Once this war is over and Phantom Lord is number one once more I will place all the blame for the war upon myself. As a member of the Wizard Saints and Guild Master, it should be enough. They will most likely imprison me but I've already had instructions put in place for the guild to follow once I'm gone. It's a shame I never found a wife and had a child but ever since the day I rescued Aria he has been like a son to me, I'm sure he will make a fine Guild Master."

Jose once more passed before doubling down on his determined look and stared right at me. "I am many things, Bishop Vern. I am a prideful man. An arrogant one as well. But above all else, I am the Guild Master of Phantom Lord and I will not let anything erode away my guild! Even if it means giving up my life and freedom to make sure that it prosper!" Jose shouted that last half and even dramatically threw his arms to the side.

I stood there stunned. This was not a part of what I knew. Had me being here changed that? Or was this not a carbon copy of the world I knew as I thought. I felt a headache start-up in my head as I thought of what could be different then what I knew. It didn't get far though as I calmed down, there was no point in hurting myself over this. Best to just go with the flow and try to keep afloat.

Here's to hoping I don't drown.

Before I could voice anything, Jose lowered his arms and let out a relieved sigh. "I must thank you for that Mr. Vern. That had been building up for longer than I would like to admit, and you gave me an outlet to get rid of it. Now then," Jose paused as he looked behind me, "Makarov while don't you share your opinion on what has been revealed?"

I felt started as I turned to look and saw Makarov standing by the room's entrance with a conflicted look on his face. After a few seconds, he let out an annoyed sigh before walking into the room and stopping beside me.

He gave me a stern side look, "Bishop. Head out of this room. On the third left go down it and then turn right. You'll find some stairs leading up to the next floor."

I tried to say something, but he cut me off. "I understand you would rather not leave me alone with Jose, but I believe Erza could use your help against Aria. Especially since he has unleashed his full power about three minutes ago and I can feel her struggling."

I paused at his words. I looked between Jose and Makarov before letting out an annoyed sigh and started making my way out of the room. I trusted the Guild Master to take care of himself and if Erza was truly struggling then I needed to help her.

With that in mind, I quickened my pace to help my little sister.

(3rd Person Makarov & Jose POV)

The two Wizard Saints stood across from each other. Makarov still had a slightly conflicted look on his face that had some cold anger mixed in as well. Jose wore a much more relaxed and confident look on his face.

"So," Jose began, "You still haven't answered my question Makarov. Now that you have the full context what do you think now?"

Makarov closed his eyes for a few seconds as he collected his thoughts and slowly opened them as he spoke. "I'd be lying if I didn't say that I understand things a bit better now Jose. Now don't get me wrong, I am still rather mad at what you've done but I can understand it. But surely there are better ways to stop the closing of some of your halls."

Jose gave his fellow master a small frown, "Your right, there are better ways, but this is how things played out. Either way, there's no point in thinking about what could have been, we would be here for the rest of our lives if we did. You and me both now that if put into a similar situation you would do something drastic for your guild if pushed."

Makarov let out a sigh but did not agree or disagree with the statement. Both knew the answer to that. Instead, he looked behind Jose to see how his children were doing. Even from this distance, he could tell that they were tired from fighting the shades, but they still fought on.

Makarov allowed a smile to find its way onto his face as he felt proud of them for holding out for so long against such an overwhelming and deadly force. That smile soon fell as he looked towards Jose and they both wore the same calm but determined look.

Both knew what they had to do.

Makarov started to let some of his magic flow as he started talking. "Your right Jose. There's no point in wondering what could have been. It is better to think and act on what has been. With that said how about we put an end to this war?"

Jose responded with releasing his own magic as the two built up the pressure. While this was happening, Makarov found himself regretting hearing what he had heard. He had planned to end this swiftly with Fairy Law but that changed when he heard Jose's reasons. Fairy Law was a very powerful spell that could end fights with one use, but in order to use it against a person, you had to truly see them as an enemy. And after hearing what he had heard he had developed a small amount of respect for the Phantom Lord Master.

It was buried under a lot of hate and anger, but it was still there. Fairy Law would see it and not affect Jose. This meant that Makarov's most powerful spell was out of commission. That left him only one thing left to do.

To do things the hard way.

(Gajeel's POV)

I let out a sigh as the blondie continued to worm around and make noise. She had woken up a few minutes ago and started struggling against the bindings and gag. I had been unsure about giving her a gag but now I was glad I did, her muffled words were annoying enough.

I would give it to her that she was determined. Even now she refused to just lay down and be taken back to her father, but I just wish she would be quieter about it. I was trying to enjoy some good iron here.

I had taken her to the uppermost room in the mech. Jose had said to keep watch over her and they would return her after the war. After getting her secured up to a chair I had gotten from another room and taken some iron off the surrounding room and started snacking on it to regain some magic and heal up.

I had just finished a chuck of iron when I heard her fall to the side with the chair she had been tied to. I let out a sigh before walking over to her and putting her upright. "I get you're not happy with the situation right now blondie, but I would very much like it for you to at least wait till I finished my meal."

In response, she just glared at me. I just rolled my eyes before heading back to my meal and taking a bite of another chunk of iron. I was about to take another bite when the closed doors to the room came flying off the hinges and revealed two people behind them.

Natsu and Gray. The Summer and Winter Fairies.

"Lucy!" Shout Gray as he started to run to the girl before I made a show of getting between her and him. Natsu soon got beside him as both glared at me.

"Sorry fairies but she's not going anywhere. Her father wants her and its Phantom Lord's job to get her back to him. Besides, the old man is paying us a lot of jewels to get her back." At my words, they both just intensified their glares, and both got into a battle stance, not even saying anything as the two prepared for battle.

Works for me though. I might not be a hundred percent, but I was raring to go and pay them back for this morning. Besides, it's been a while since I've gone all out and this was the perfect moment for it. I gave them a savage grin as I got into a battle stance of my own.

"Jumping straight to the fighting? Well, then that works for me! Let's go Faires!"

AN: The part with Erza and Aria wasn't planned but when I was thinking out this chapter I realized I needed another section and thought it would be a good idea to show part of the battle and give Aria the backstory I planned for him. We also get to see what Bishop has been up to and I finally get to show the reason in this story for Jose to start the war. I tried to keep it in line with him begin a prideful and selfish person but in a different way that gives him a better reason for the war. I hope you guys like the changes and now I got to start work on the next chapter which will be Gajeel vs. Natsu and Gray fight. Heres to hoping that I can post it on time.

Thanks once again to volfwildman for being a Beta. This weekly shout out goes to Xion The XIV for their review. The gentle fist idea sounds interesting but I don't think Bishop will be learning it, I am going to see about making another character to use it though since I like the idea. And the reason for dozens of blades instead of one is just for a dramatic effect really.

Instead of leaving something here about you guys reviewing, I'm going to use it to ask how have things been with the Corona Virus going around. I've found myself at home more and finally catching up on some stuff that I've been putting off. Like finally playing through that Kingdom Hearts games collection I bought or finally reading the web novel Worm. The former as been fun and fanfic ideas have been buzzing around in my mind for it and the latter is amazing and I'm upset with myself for not reading it sooner. What about you guys?

Have a great day.

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