Fandom ~Fairy Tail {Rogue x Akari and Gray x Sakura}~

[AnimeGenork]

Akari Kaya

Up ahead, Akari could hear sounds of fighting, one she’d heard all too often today. The distinctive sound of snow magic reached her ears as she dragged Rogue and Sting along. Sting complained about her strength while Rogue righted himself and ran beside her. She kept her grip on Sting, however, her arm tightening on his. Though she didn’t show it, she was relieved that she was able to fight alongside both her best friends once again.

There were two mages fighting the Blue Pegasus wizards, which was odd, but considering Ren had somehow been separated from Sherry, it made at least a little bit of sense. The boys were clearly excited to help, and Akari rolled her eyes playfully. “Hope you boys don’t mind we dropped in!” In response, the Blue Pegasus mages briefly reverted to their usual flirting, but she glared at them and cut them off. Eve and Ren used their snow and air magic simultaneously to distract one of the mages, and Akari dove in and kicked him in the head to knock him out.

Just as she turned to say something to the Twin Dragons, she felt an arm wrap around her waist and one cover her mouth, stifling her cry of surprise. She was being dragged into the forest, in a direction opposite the boys. Her fingers were somewhat free, however, so she shot tiny flames into the trees and undergrowth, hoping to catch their attention. All the while a part of her wondered if this is what had happened to the Mermaid Heel girls and Sherry…

Gray Fullbuster

Natsu was late to catch up, but to be fair, he had to mark the tree so they'd find it again. Sakura called to him to let him know the crystallized mage was up ahead, and he ran faster. They came to the clearing, where two mages were trying to drag the their crystallized comrade away. Finally, some enemies who seem to care about their partners in crime, Gray thought bitterly, his glare deepening. Sakura and Natsu took down one of the mages, so the other one was left to him. He froze the other mage in ice and watched Natsu tackle his buddy.

"Geez, Pyro, you'd think the guy wronged all of Fairy Tail, the way you're attacking him." Gray kicked the mage frozen in Sakura's crystal. "Nice try, buddy, but you're not getting away that easily. Looks like we have two more on our hands." Using the ropes the dark mages had, he tied one around the wizard he'd frozen and tossed the other rope to Natsu. "You can handle that crystal, right, Pyro?" Natsu snorted and started dragging the mage away just to prove he could. Gray smirked and shook his head.

Suddenly, he heard a rustling, and he whipped around to see yet another dark mage sneaking up on Sakura. "Sakura, look out!" he shouted, diving toward her. He pulled her close to his chest and shoot one of his ice lances at the mage, effectively knocking him out. "What was he...?" he mumbled, glancing down at Sakura to make sure she was alright. Had he been trying to kidnap her? What purpose was there for that? Was that what had happened to the Mermaid Heel girls...? Eyes widening, Gray said to Natsu and Sakura, "We need to hurry and make sure Akari and the Twin Dragons got back. I got a bad feeling about this..."

AiAi ​

 

[AiAi]

~ Sakura Sylvia ~

Sakura was glancing down at the now crispy dark mage as she poked at him. She let out a light giggle, yeah maybe Natsu went a bit overboard, but the Natsu was quite irritated about the dark mages kidnapping the Mermaid Heel girl's and almost Hibiki. She was looking around the clearing, trying to figure out how they even found their comrade...this forest wasn't easy to navigate in nor would it be easy to keep tabs on each member. Did they have some sort of communication device or something?

As Sakura was lost in her thoughts, she failed to notice a dark mage sneaking up on her. She was startled when she heard Gray yell at her all of a sudden. She didn't even have the chance to take a look behind her as Gray dived straight for her. She was muffled against his chest as he knocked out the dark mage. Sakura looked behind her to see the now knocked out mage. Oh...so that's what it was. She looked up at Gray and smiling she was about to thank him when she felt a bit weird. "H-uh?" was all she could muster out before falling limp into Gray's arms.

She was still conscious, but for some reason her body was refusing to work with heror more importantly her voice was and her legs felt rather numb. She looked up at Gray with panic in her eyes, opening her mouth she tried to tell Gray that something was wrong, but nothing came out of her mouth. She was trying to understand what happened when she remembered feeling a prick earlier...right before Gray saved her from being kidnapped. She just thought it was a bug, perhaps it wasn't though. Lifting a hand up and touching the back of her neck she pulled out a thin long needle. It looked like some sort of tranquilizer, luckily it didn't go through her entire body as she only felt numb around her legs. She showed it to Gray. Though she nodded her head, agreeing with him despite not being able to speak. Yes, Akari and the others could be in danger right now...and if the dark mages were to capture Akari too...perhaps they would be too late and whatever they pricked Sakura with, could already well be coursing through Akari's body by now. Her eyes were filled with worry for Akari.

~ Rogue Cheney ~

Rogue gave a warning stare to the men of Blue Pegasus as they immediately began to flirt with Akari, despite their situation. Rogue shook his head, wondering if they really were even in trouble or not. Sting was making a huge fuss about it, but soon the two dragon slayers were occupied by one of the dark mages. The two began to fight against him while Blue Pegasus and Akari took care of the other one. When Rogue glanced over to see how the others were faring, his heart nearly stopped in his chest as he noticed that Akari was nowhere to be found.

His head turned right to left as he tried to find the cheerful Akari, boasting about bringing down one of the dark mages but she was nowhere in the clearing. His eyes were looking everywhere...anywhere for any sign of Akari. However, Rogue didn't let the panic show on his face. Though something caught his attention. There were small sparks of fire on a piece of a branch near the forest. Rogue hurried over and called over his shoulder, "I'll be back!" Without another word, Rogue rushed into the forest. He saw that there were more of the small little flames. It must be Akari. With that in mind, Rogue followed the trail deeper into the forest.

As he kept running, he spotted Akari up ahead, being dragged by one of the mages. Seeing Akari like that made Rogue's mind blank out. He didn't know what happened, one second the dark mage was dragging Akari away, the next when he came to his senses, he had Akari in his arms and the dark mage was knocked unconscious. He was panting as his grip on Akari slightly tightened as if making sure it really was her. He looked down at her and with worry he asked her in a raspy tone, "Akari...are you alright?" His knees gave out under him as he sat on the ground with Akari in his arms. He buried his face into her hair as he murmured out, "Thank goodness you're safe..." he would never forgive himself if he let Akari get taken away.

AnimeGenork
(Sorry, every time I wanted to reply, I passed out from exhaustion x( ) ​

 

[AnimeGenork]

Akari Kaya

No matter how hard she tried, Akari couldn't break the hold of the mage dragging her away. His hand fumbled in his pocket for something, and her eyes widened as she caught the glimmer of a syringe. Kicking her feet, she stepped on his foot, causing him to drop the syringe, which most likely had some sort of tranquilizer in it. The wizard cursed briefly before resuming what he was doing. That certainly explained how these guys were able to drag away the other girls. She couldn't confirm about Sherry, but the Mermaid Heel girls almost certainly were taken out this way.

Peering into the forest, a wave of relief washed over her as she realized she saw Rogue coming toward her. Sting wasn't with him, so she figured he must've left as soon as he realized she was gone. Her trail of sparks had worked, thank goodness. In a flash, she was in his arms and the dark mage was unconscious. She blinked as she tried to figure out what exactly had happened. One moment, Rogue was furiously trying to catch up, and the next she was here. Had he...? Akari glanced up, her hands curled nervously on his chest. "Rogue...?" She yelped when he collapsed to his knees, only to feel tears prick her eyes.

Her arms wrapped around his neck and she buried her face in his chest. "I was so scared, Rogue... I thought they'd take me... Thank you for saving me..." She leaned back slightly to smile reassuringly at him, and then she leaned in and kissed his cheek softly. "We should get back to Sting before he starts panicking about both of us disappearing." Despite her words, she didn't move, wanting to stay in Rogue's arms a little longer, if only so her heart could calm down. The rate it was going, she thought it'd jump right out of her chest. If they hadn't in been such a tight situation, she would've suggested staying like this a little bit longer...

Gray Fullbuster

Gray lowered himself to one knee to better support Sakura, who was for whatever reason limp in his arms. She reached behind her neck and showed him a needle. His eyes flashed as he thought of all the things he'd do the wizards who did this to her...those jerks. It seemed the needle's tranquilizer had really only worked on her legs and her ability to speak, so Gray stood up with Sakura in his arms. "Natsu, you take those wizards and we'll come back for the rest. We need to make sure Lyon and Jura know what happened."

The two boys set off through the woods, and Gray glanced down at Sakura to make sure she was alright. She seemed worried about Akari, so he murmured, "I'm sure she's fine, Sakura. She's got the Twin Dragons with her. Those two won't let anything happen to her." He wasn't sure if his words had any affect, so he readjusted her in his arms and lightly brushed his lips against her forehead. "Focus on feeling better," he whispered, looking up again so he could walk. Soon enough, they reached the clearing, and Lyon went back to where they had been to fetch the other dark mages.

"Quite a pile we have here now," Gray remarked, setting Sakura down by a tree so she could rest. "Jura, someone tried to kidnap Sakura. I think one of them also went after Akari. For whatever reason, they're going after the girls first." Clenching his jaw, Gray added, "I bet that's what happened to the Mermaid Heel girls." Natsu looked about ready to go on a rampage to go look for Akari, but Gray held him back. "We need to wait until the Twin Dragons come back with Blue Pegasus. The best thing to do right now is regroup so they don't catch us off guard again. Akari's fine, I'm sure of it." Looking down at Sakura, he muttered, "I'm more worried about other things right now."

AiAi
{Haha, I totally get it. This week will be exhausting for me.}​

 

[AiAi]

~ Sakura Sylvia ~

Sakura felt rather frustrated at the moment. She couldn't speak, she couldn't tell Gray and Natsu to not worry about her and to stop making those expressions. It made her sad to see her friends so worried sick over her. Though she was a bit scared herself...she couldn't speak...but more importantly the lost feeling of her legs made her a bit panicked at first. She felt it surge through her body, but luckily it seemed like Gray saved her in time since it seemed like the dark mage was unable to give Sakura the entire dosage of the tranquilizer sort of drug. Though what really concerned Sakura was what kind of drug was it exactly?

Her mind kept whirling around all the various assumptions of why they were targeting her and then it led her to worry for her fellow Fairy Tail wizard, Akari. Sakura easily deduced that the dark mages were targeting the females first and so the only surviving female wizards would be her and Akari...Sakura's eyes were filled with worry as her mind kept coming up with various ideas and reasons. She was too lost in her thoughts to realize that Gray was carrying her and heading towards where they were to meet up with everyone else. She only snapped out of her thoughts when she felt something rather soft and warm touch her forehead.

Startled, Sakura looked up to see Gray having kissed her forehead gently. She heard his gentle and reassuring words.His gentleness filled Sakura with warmth as she felt her cheeks go red slightly. She gingerly nodded her head and merely tightened her hold on Gray as she dug her head into the crook of his neck. Why did that make her feel so safe and happy? She was confused but soon enough they arrived at the clearing. She looked up to see Jura and Lyon already there. Her head was swiveling right to left as she tried to see if Akari and the twin dragons were around. While she was looking around with worry, Natsu asked Gray confused, "What're you more worried about?" in a rather clueless way. Her ears perked up as she saw Rogue and the rest appear out of the forest. Her face was full of relief as she saw them. She tugged on Gray's shirt as she hugged onto him tighter as if saying, "They're here! Thank goodness they're safe!"As she tugged on Gray's shirt, Sakura felt a throbbing pain in her chest. She flinched slightly, but tried her best to shake it off. What was that just now...? She felt a stare on the back of her head, looking behind, she saw that the guy in the crystal that Natsu brought with them was smirking at her direction...as if knowing exactly what she was going through at the moment. Sakura had a bad feeling about this...well either way she couldn't speak and so she decided to stay silent about it. Despite the pains increasing little by little. Then her thoughts went to what she was mainly concerned about...what if it was actually a poison?


~ Rogue Cheney ~

Rogue was in a daze as he sat in the dark forest with Akari in his arms. He was still a bit out of breath, but little by little he was regaining his senses. His grip on Akari didn't change as he still had a tight hold on her. It was almost as if he didn't believe that he was able to save Akari in time. Not wanting to let go even if it is a dream, Rogue stayed silent. He only began to realize it was reality when he felt Akari wrap her arms around his neck and bury her face into his chest. He felt his shirt get slightly damp and realized just how frightened Akari must have been. His eyes became soft as he gently rubbed soothing circles into the small of Akari's back.

However, what he didn't expect was for Akari to lean up and give his cheek a light kiss. His face turned red and he merely hugged her tighter so that Akari can't see his crimson blazing face. He didn't move, despite what Akari saying being true. Sure they should hurry back to where Sting and the rest were, but his beating heart would not calm down and so he decided to stay where he was for a while longer. Holding onto Akari calmed Rogue down considerably, once his body wasn't shaking any longer, Rogue stood up with Akari still in his arms. Glancing down at Akari, Rogue smiled at her and gave her a chaste kiss on the forehead as he murmured out, "Let's go back to the others..."

He began heading back towards the direction he had just came from. He soon entered a clearing and found Sting and the three Blue Pegasus males to have been looking around, calling for Rogue and Akari. When Sting spotted the two, he rushed over with a worried expression, "Rogue! Akari-chan! Are you two okay?! Where were you guys?" Rogue merely answered him, "Akari almost got kidnapped...this is getting serious. Let's hurry back to where the rest are....I have a bad feeling." Rogue began walking towards where they promised to meet up with Natsu and the rest. If his worries were correct...then the next target would be Sakura. His brows furrowed as he explained while walking, "If I'm right...our enemy are kidnapping the female wizards one by one...if Akari almost got kidnapped right now...then I'm afraid that Sakura-san is also being targeted right now, we have to hurry and find the others." Rogue's brows furrowed as he hurried his pace. He wondered why they were targeting the girls first, but then...why was Hibiki kidnapped in the first place? Perhaps the girls had something that the guys didn't have...something that the dark mages needed? Regardless, Rogue and the others arrived at the clearing. Rogue was looking around, trying to see if the other group made it back. Seems like Jura and Lyon were still here. But where was Natsu, Gray and Sakura? That was when he spotted the other group as well. Relieved, Rogue hurried over towards where everyone was.
​

AnimeGenork ​

 

[AnimeGenork]

Akari Kaya

Akari clung to Rogue as he tightened his grip around her, and she tried to look at his face to read his emotions. Either her eyes were playing tricks on her, or he was blushing. Had she caused that? She didn't say anything, however, as they stayed there a little longer and held onto each other. Despite the situation that had led to this, Akari felt a smile grow on her face the longer she and Rogue stayed this way. Her next chance at something like this probably wouldn't come for a long time. She might as well enjoy it while it lasted.

Finally, Rogue stood up, and to her surprise, he gave her a kiss on the forehead. Akari blushed furiously, ducking her head so he couldn't see her face. "Yeah, okay..." she replied, following him back through the trees. After a short walk, they reentered the clearing with the Blue Pegasus wizards and Sting, who were calling out their names. Rogue explained what happened to Sting, and the blond wizard turned to her and started checking her to make sure she was alright. Laughing, she hugged reassuringly. "I'm perfectly fine, Sting, thanks to Rogue. C'mon. Let's get back to the others." With that, she turned and followed Rogue back to the clearing where they'd left Jura and Lyon.

The first thing Akari saw was Sakura on the ground. She rushed over to her friend. "Sakura-chan! Are you alright?" Glancing back and forth between her and Gray, she muttered, "It seems you encountered a similar situation that I did." But her friend looked like she was in pain. Leaving her to Gray, she stood up again and rejoined her Sabertooth friends. "Once we catch our breath, maybe we should go explore that mountain, after trying to question these guys." Lightly, she kicked one of the unconscious mages and murmured, "Not that they'll tell us anything..."

Gray Fullbuster

Gray stayed by Sakura's side, more a show of support than anything. He rolled his eyes at Natsu's confusion and replied, "It's nothing, Pyro." Suddenly, Sakura was tugging on his shirt, and he looked up to see Rogue, Sting, and thankfully Akari coming back with the wizards from Blue Pegasus. He sighed in relief when he saw his guildmate with the Twin Dragons. Evidently, the dark mages had failed to capture her like they'd failed with Sakura.

When he looked back at Sakura, however, she seemed to be in pain. Following her gaze, he glared at the wizard she'd frozen in crystal. "Sakura, are you alright?" he asked, his eyes still on the wizard, whose smirk faded when he saw Gray's face. After a few moments, he dragged his gaze away and looked at the others around him. "Considering the state Sakura's in, I wouldn't be surprised if the Mermaid Heel girls and Sherry were worse off. I agree with Akari. Let's get what we can out of these guys and then go explore that mountain."

One of the wizards in the pile they had gathered stirred gently, and Gray immediately stood up and picked the man up by the collar. "Tell us what the hell you're up to before I stop playing Mr. Nice Guy," he growled. "You hurt one of my guildmates, and in case you didn't know, us Fairy Tail wizards aren't so easily forgiving of that stuff." Natsu's face morphed into a similar scowl as he walked over to stand beside him. They may have been known for their arguing, but when it really counted, Natsu and Gray were sure to make a pretty good team. As he waited for the dark wizard's answer, he looked around at the Blue Pegasus, Lamia Scale, Sabertooth, and Fairy Tail wizards. It was up to them to finish this job, and he couldn't be more thankful that this was the group he was doing it with. Now if only the dark mages would be cooperative and give up when faced with the most powerful guilds in Fiore...

AiAi ​

 

[AiAi]

~ Sakura Sylvia ~

Sakura could only give Akari a reassuring smile although the throbbing was increasing little by little. As Akari walked off to the others, Sakura let out a breath of relief as she winced in pain. Her chest was burning and it was hurting so much. It hurt to breathe. As she watched from where she was seated, Sakura could only watch while sweatdropping slightly as Natsu and Gray questioned the dark mage. Poor guy was her only thoughts, though the one in the crystal wouldn't stop smirking in her direction...what was going to happen to her that made him smile in such a gleeful way? Sakura couldn't shake the foreboding feeling away.

The mage coughed as Gray held him by the collar. He blinked a couple times as he finally regained his consciousness..only to find himself in such a situation. He flinched as he could hear the anger in Gray's voice and the flaming Dragon slayer next to Gray didn't help to ease the man. He saw that his fellow wizard was in a similar situation as his, but with the other two rather frightening looking dragon slayers. The man coughed but he soon began to cackle as he saw Sakura leaning against the tree trunk.

He grinned in a rather maniacal way as he spoke up, "Hahaha! You're right! We took the other girls'! We have them! So what of it? They will be soon fulfilling their job for our sake...it really is a shame we couldn't capture the last two girls...and even more that one is perfectly safe." He grinned as he looked into Gray's eyes, "You want to know a secret as to why the other girls' didn't fight back? Well one is that the poison works rather fast you see...and the minute we mention that it is a poison and not a tranquilizer...well the girls' didn't fight back. I mean we did promise them the antidote as long as they came along with us...it was all too easy!" He smirked as he saw Sakura's ragged breathing, "Looks like little missy over there won't last much longer unless you let us go...we can give her the antidote you see...So what do you say? Let me go and I'll save pinky over there..." He smirked at Gray. Sakura's eyes slightly widened...so that's what it was. No wonder they were able to easily take Kagura down. Sakura glared at the man as she tried to stand up. How she wanted to knock that man out! But soon she was bent over coughing, looking into her hand, Sakura shook slightly as there was blood on her hand.

~ Rogue Cheney ~

Rogue stood by and watched as Akari went to go check on Sakura, a fellow Fairy Tail guild mate. Rogue frowned as he saw the state Sakura was in, if she was in a similar situation as Akari just was, then...that could have possibly been Akari in Sakura's position also. Not liking the feeling of that, when Akari returned to where he and Sting were, Rogue made sure to keep Akari besides him. He draped an arm around her shoulders so as to make sure that Akari will not get taken away again. As he heard Gray's comment, Rogue nodded his head, "I also agree, we should make haste and hurry...who knows what else the girls' from Mermaid Heel are experiencing right now...and also Sherry too." He glanced to see how Ren seemed a bit more tense than the rest.

Looking back, Rogue was about to suggest heading over when he saw Gray and Natsu begin to gang up on one of the awakened dark mages. He sweatdropped slightly at the rather violent methods the two Fairy Tail wizards were using, but then his eye caught another of the dark mage's waking up. Rogue made his way over and lifted the mage by the collar into the air. His glare was frightening as Rogue asked, "Where are the others? What are you planning?" Sting also joined in as the two got into a similar situation as Gray and Natsu.

The dark mage shivered in fear of the twin Dragon Slayers, but he looked over to see Akari standing behind the two in perfect condition. The dark mage then averted his eyes to see his fellow wizard getting questioned by Natsu and Gray. He then turned his gaze onto Rogue and Sting. With a wicked smirk, the mage finally spoke up, "I see that the girl behind you is safe...how unfortunate....it would have been better if she wasn't awake for when things begin..." He stared straight at Akari as he said, "Young girl, I suggest you kill yourself now if you want to get away...we will get you the next time and we w-!" his words were soon cut off as Rogue punched him in the stomach hard. He was panting as he let the dark mage go, the wizard was unconscious as he fell to the ground in a heap. Rogue glared at the man's unconscious figure, raising his fist once more, how dare he speak like that to Akari! Over his dead body could anyone ever lay a hand on Akari! The same thoughts went through Sting's mind as he also glared at the mage.

AnimeGenork

​

 

[AnimeGenork]

Akari Kaya

As soon as Akari returned to the boys, Rogue put his arm around her, and she blushed furiously at the gesture and his closeness. What had come over him so suddenly? She instinctively wrapped her arms around him to hug him as a way of reassurance, leaning her head on his shoulder. As long as he and Sting were with her, she knew that she'd be safe. She nodded along with what he said about the Mermaid Heel wizards, glancing over at Ren to see him looking uncharacteristically worried about Sherry.

A slight smirk came to her face as Gray and Natsu harshly questioned one of the dark mages the group had captured. There was nothing those two couldn't do when they worked together. Rogue walked away to talk to a dark wizard that was waking up, and Akari went over to him and Sting to listen to what the wizard would say. Her skin crawled when the wizard's eyes settled on her, but she stood her ground, scowling fiercely at the dark wizard. As soon as he opened his mouth, Akari felt her blue eyes widen. Kill herself? What the hell type advice was that? What would possibly possess her to do such a thing? Before she could retort, Rogue punched him in the stomach, knocking him out.

He raised his fist again, but Akari rushed forward and put her hand over his. "Rogue, stop! It's not worth it. I'm...I'm fine..." She lowered her head to hide her expression. Anger and fear rolled through her, and she couldn't tell which one was stronger. The look in the wizard's eye had been terrifying. Before she knew it, she was shivering, and her calm hand on Rogue's turned into her clinging to his arm. Though she wasn't crying, she shook as if she was sobbing. Sting put his hand on her shoulder, a pained look on his face. Frosch and Lector hugged her legs in an attempt to make her feel better. The shivers continued on.

Gray Fullbuster

Somehow, the dark mage's flinch gave Gray a feeling of satisfaction. As mean as it was, he wanted these guys to feel every bit of fear they'd instilled into Akari, and especially Sakura. He waited for the man to speak, his fury growing as the mage started to cackle while staring at Sakura. He confirmed their suspicions of his guild having captured the other girls. They had needed all the girls for some sort of "job," and they'd gotten them to come with them by poisoning them. Widening his eyes, Gray glanced over at Sakura. So that's what had been in those tranquilizer darts. Thank goodness Akari hadn't been given one of those.

Sakura attempted to stand up as the mage taunted Gray with the promise of an antidote. Tightening his grip on the man's collar, Gray shouted, "Do you think we're stupid? We're not falling for that! Hurry up and decide whether or not you actually want to keep your face." The mage grimaced at his collar tightening around his throat, but Gray was distracted by Sakura coughing. He handed the mage to Natsu, who looked overjoyed to be left alone with him. Going over to Sakura, Gray helped her up, wrapping his arms around her. Glancing back at the others, he muttered, "We've wasted enough time. Let's go storm that mountain already."

Gently, he guided Sakura over to the dark wizard. "And you, if you really have an antidote, give it to us now or my pyromaniac friend might 'accidentally' hurt you." Natsu chuckled as his hand burst into flames. Gray looked over at the Sabertooth boys and Akari, all three with some sort of angry look on their face. Staying here would just make things worse. Looking over at Jura, he nodded curtly and said, "Lead the way, Jura. The wisest member should go first."

AiAi ​

 

[AiAi]

~ Sakura Sylvia ~

Sakura was feeling a bit concerned now. Her hand was bloody from the cough she just had. She glanced over at the one in her crystal...he knew something. Sakura was sure of it. She saw Natsu begin to cackle as he was ready to pummel the guy as Gray handed him over to Natsu. Sakura wanted to ask why Gray would ever let Natsu handle such things when she saw him hurry over to her side. She felt something warm flutter in her stomach as she felt Gray pick her up. Sakura could only wrap her arms around his neck as she could no longer feel her lower half of her body.

As Gray brought her over to the dark wizard in Natsu's grasp, Sakura tugged on Gray's arm while she shook her head as if telling Gray that this guy wasn't the right one. She merely glared at the man and without any warning, she punched him hard in the face, enough to make him fall unconscious in Natsu's arms. Natsu could only gape at Sakura before complaining, "Hey Saku! I wanted to do that! Why did you do that!?" Sakura merely stuck her tongue out to Natsu before she focused her gaze on Gray. She tugged on his arm once more before pointing behind them at the man in her crystal. She was pointing at him, then at her, as if telling Gray that this guy definitely knew where the antidote is.

She then pointed at Natsu then the guy and held three fingers up. Natsu immediately understood as he stood on stand by. As Sakura dropped her three fingers down in a count down, she released the crystal, at least half way so that his neck up was released and Natsu immediately tackled him to make sure he can't escape, though that was near impossible. Sakura glared at him as she held her index finger up, pointing at him, as if to make him speak. The guy merely chuckled as he finally spoke up, "No one here has the antidote...sorry babe." He smirked, Natsu glared and punched him square in the jaw. Sakura glared once more and the guy laughed as he continued, "What? You can glare all you want with those pretty blue eyes of yours, but it's the truth, the only antidote available is where the rest of the girls' are. So you either die here or you go up there, I can lead the way of course." Sakura glared then looked over at Gray and then Jura, unsure of what to do. The guy continued speaking, "But babe, I need you to let me go, I know you want to keep a tight hold of me, but I won't just leave you, you know...you too." he winked towards Akari as he said, "We need you two the most after all..." his mouth was then sealed by crystal once more as Sakura was rather that he wouldn't stop speaking.

~ Rogue Cheney ~

As Rogue was about to deliver another punch to the already unconscious dark mage, he felt Akari's smaller hand reach out and hold onto his balled fist. He looked over at her, his glare softening as he heard her pleas to stop. He glanced down at the unconscious male before sending it one last glare. He let out a sigh as if to calm himself down. He soon felt her hand shaking, looking over at Akari, Rogue felt like his heart was tearing as he saw her shaking form. He knew she wasn't one to easily cry...yet the image of Akari visibly shivering was equivalent to her sobbing, in his eyes at least.

Seeing how Sting and the Exceeds were comforting Akari, Rogue ran his thumb over her hand in a comforting gesture as he gently pulled Akari into a hug. He continued rubbing his hand over her's as he murmured into her hair, "Don't worry...as long as I am here...nothing will harm you, okay?" He smiled down at Akari. Though Sting soon ruined the moment as he protested rather loudly, "Hey! I'm here too you know! And Akari-chan! I'll protect you with my life too! Don't forget me guys!" Rogue let out a sigh as he smiled over at Sting, seriously the blonde could act like such a kid at times, and merely said, "Of course Sting too is here to protect you Akari, okay?"

Hearing the commotion of the other Fairy Tail wizards, Rogue glanced over, wondering what happened over there. Seeing blood on Sakura's hand, Rogue glanced down concerned towards Akari, wondering how she was taking all of this. He heard Gray's rather hasty request and merely nodded his head, "Yes, I agree...if Sakura-san is in such a state as that...I worry about the other girls' already captured. Let's hurry." Glancing back at Akari, Rogue held his hand out for her to take as he said, "Let's go?" He gave her a kind smile as if telling her that he will always protect her no matter what. Jura nodded his head, agreeing with both Gray and Rogue, "I agree, let's get going. Natsu, Lyon, take hold of two of them, we will be bringing them with us for further questioning and to guide us to where the rest are. Of course if they refuse to guide us to right path, well I'm sure you all can use some of your favorite ways of getting it out of them, right?" Rogue could only smirk, seriously,a Wizard of the Ten Saints could be quite frightening. Though Rogue stopped as he heard the once crystallized wizard begin to speak. He glared at the male when he directed his eyes to Akari. Rogue stepped forward a bit with a warning glare.
​

AnimeGenork ​

 

[AnimeGenork]

Akari Kaya

Akari felt herself calm down as Rogue pulled her into a hug. How many hugs was that today alone? Somehow, she felt like this job had given her more chances to hug him more. She tightly gripped his shirt and hugged him back, burying her face in his chest. His words comforted her and brought a smile back to her face…though not as much as Sting’s interruption did. Pulling away from Rogue, she ruffled Sting’s blond hair playfully. “Thank you, Sting,” she said, smiling up at him sweetly. “And thank you, Rogue,” she added timidly, glancing up at the Shadow Dragon Slayer.

Hearing Natsu and Gray causing a ruckus (which was normal for them), she looked over at her guildmates. Her eyes immediately shot down to the blood in her hand, and her eyes widened to saucers. The dark wizards had used poison? How low would they sink to hurt the light guilds? Nodding along numbly to Gray’s plan, she murmured, “Let’s do it.” She looked up at Rogue, blinking at his sweet smile. Akari gave him a slow smile in return and took his hand, entwining her fingers with his. He took charge, uncharacteristically, but Akari could only gaze at him in awe. But then she heard a harsh voice slithering toward her, and she glared in the direction of the mage that Sakura had crystallized.

Before she could ask him anything, Sakura restored the crystal around him. Akari muttered, “What does he mean, he needs us?” Her eyes shot up to Rogue. “What could they possibly need us for? Kagura’s the strongest out of all the girls…” Suddenly a horrible thought occurred to her. “Unless…it’s because we’re Fairy Tail wizards…” Her grip on Rogue’s hand tightened. “If that’s the case, we really should hurry and find the other girls.” Dragging Rogue along with her, she started toward the mountain, noting the footsteps of Sting and Natsu following her.

Gray Fullbuster

Gray whistled at Sakura’s well-aimed punch at the wizard that Natsu was beating up. He glanced down at her only to see her gesture to the dark mage in the crystal. She released him only to have Natsu attack him (good call, Gray thought) so they could ask him about the poison antidote. Unfortunately, he didn’t have it. However, in his denial, the wizard revealed the antidote was with the other girls. A foolish reveal, really.

Since he couldn’t let the comment about Sakura’s “pretty blue eyes” slide, he walked over to the mage with her still in his arms and kicked the guy in shin, and then between the legs. The wizard grunted, now having multiple bruises from both he and Natsu’s abuses. He continued talking with that sickeningly flirty tone of his. “I wouldn’t let you lead me anymore, scum bag,” Gray growled, nodding to Natsu, who punched the wizard in the gut. Sakura finished the job by sealing him in crystal once again.

Shifting Sakura so she’d be more comfortable, Gray looked over at Rogue and smirked. “We better get going. Time’s a-ticking.” His smirk hardened into a frown as his arms tightened around Sakura. He’d carry her however far was necessary to get her the help she needed. His eyes shot to Akari as she mused the reason the dark guild needed her and Sakura so badly. It was a valid theory, but it was one he sorely hoped was wrong. She rushed off with Rogue before he could say anything, however, with Sting and Natsu followed close behind. Shrugging in Jura and Lyon’s direction, he said, “You heard the girl! Let’s go!” Lyon grabbed one of the dark mages and hurried to the front of the group to have him lead the group. The Blue Pegasus boys each grabbed one as well for questioning use, and Gray brought up the rear with Sakura. “You’ll be fine, Sakura. You’ll see,” Gray reassured her, his dark eyes hard as he stared straight ahead of them.

AiAi ​

 

[AiAi]

~ Sakura Sylvia ~

Sakura was rather pleased when she saw Gray and Natsu beat the guy to the ground. She smiled at the two, these were her boys alright! She clung onto Gray's arm as she felt rather drained from all the talking and punching she just did. Resting her head against Gray's chest, Sakura listened to Akari's theory. It could be possible that they needed at least one female wizard from each guild, but then why did he say that they needed both her and Akari. If Sakura could speak, she would be saying that about now.

As she felt Gray shift her in his arms, she looked up rather concernedly. She felt bad that he had to carry her all the way. She must be heavy and rather a huge burden to him. She was slowly losing her energy fast as the poison began to make it's way through her body. She was glad that she didn't get the full dosage of the poison, but even just the amount she got was apparently enough to begin eating away at her body from the inside. She frowned as she hugged Gray as if telling him how sorry she is for dragging him into this. Sakura looked up at Gray and into his eyes, she opened her mouth, but still nothing came out. She let out huff as if sighing and just placed her head on his shoulder. She wished she at least could walk.

As Sakura was staring blankly behind Gray as they kept walking up the mountain, she thought she was a pair of gleaming eyes from the forest. She blinked a few times, trying to get a better view, but it was gone the next second she looked. Was she just imagining things? Shrugging, Sakura looked around once more as her and Gray were in the rear. She heard Rogue's comment and wanted to tell him that it would be better if Gray was paired with someone other than her, she was basically useless right now. She wanted to protest,but she couldn't even do that. Feeling frustrated, Sakura let out a silent scream and just buried her face into the crook of Gray's neck. Peeking out once more was when Sakura noticed the rather excited gleam in the crystallized guy's eyes. That meant no good for them, immediately Sakura was on alert as she looked around. That was when she saw it. Her heart nearly dropped at the sight before her. Was this an illusion or was it for real? Hearing Rogue's warning, Sakura snapped out of it as she saw someone jump out from behind her and Gray. She shot several crystal bullets from her fingers, but stopped when she saw who it was. It was Millianna!? But something seemed off as if she wasn't staring at anything. Just what is going on!?

~ Rogue Cheney ~

Rogue glanced down at Akari as she spoke to him. His lips were set in a firm line as he thought about what that dark mage meant...why do they need specifically Akari and Sakura? The only similarities the two female wizards had was that they were both Fairy Tail mages and also that both used some sort of elemental magic. But Akari was right, so far, they had the female wizards of all other light guilds besides Fairy Tail...but if they needed a female wizard from each light guild, then why didn't these wizards simply just kidnap a girl from each guild one by one over time?

So many thoughts kept coming into mind, but Rogue snapped out of it when he felt Akari take the lead and began to pull him along with everyone else. He could hear Sting and Natsu walking behind while he saw that the Lamia Scale wizards were taking the front lead. Keeping a tight grip on Akari's hand, he finally answered her, "You're right...we should hurry...and also," he said as he spoke towards everyone, "We should keep a two-man team in the case that we get separated. I think the pairs we have should be good except that Blue Pegasus will be a three man team. So Jura-san with Lyon-san, Blue Pegasus altogether, Natsu-san with Sting-kun, Gray-san with Sakura-san and then Akari and I."

Everyone gave a nod or murmur of approval as they kept trudging up the mountain path. Rogue was glad that all the enemy mages they captured were unconscious or unable to speak for he saw the look the one in the crystal kept giving to Akari and Sakura and Rogue did not like it one bit. He pulled Akari closer to himself as they kept walking onward. Looking ahead, Rogue murmured out for Akari to hear, "We'll get them back and heal Sakura-san...so don't worry Akari." He paused then glancing down at Akari he said with a smile, "And of course I'll protect you." As they continued up the path, they didn't seem to notice the gleaming eyes hidden in the dead forest, though the dark wizards were soon grinning as they knew what was coming up for them. However, something or rather someone came to stand in their path as Rogue looked ahead, he felt himself gasp silently as he noticed that Kagura was standing in their way, weapon pulled out and stance ready to cut them down. But why? That was when Rogue noticed the empty looking eyes of Kagura, was she being manipulated?! "Watch out guys!" was all Rogue could let out before more came out on either side of them...it was Mermaid Heels.
​

AnimeGenork ​

 

[AnimeGenork]

Akari Kaya

Akari was so focused on following Jura and Lyon, she was startled when she felt Rogue pull her closer. She smiled up at him as he reassured her that they’d save Sakura and that’d he’d protect her. “I know,” she murmured sincerely, taking his hand and squeezing it. Glancing back, she saw the crystallized mage smirking at her, but her only response was to scowl in return and continue forward.

Suddenly, Kagura from Mermaid Heel was in front of her, her eyes empty and weapon drawn. On either side of her came her two guildmates, who had similar looks in their eyes. Akari stopped in her tracks, her eyes wide. “That was some antidote,” she muttered, noting how the girls seemed as if they hadn’t been poisoned at all. Kagura swung at her with her sword, but Akari leaped out of the way, shoving Rogue out of harm’s way, too. She didn’t want to fight Kagura—what would Erza say? But since she wasn’t in her right mind, Akari supposed she’d have to fight her anyway.

Getting back on her feet, she turned to Kagura, only to find that the other girl was using her gravity magic to keep her rooted to the spot. Struggling against the force, she held her hand toward Kagura and shot a flame at her arms in an attempt to prevent her from hurting anyone with her sword or use her magic on anyone else. All the flame did was distract her for a few seconds. “Dammit,” Akari growled. “How the hell do I fight someone who’s on the same level as Erza?”

Gray Fullbuster

Gray didn’t bother to look at the crystallized mage anymore. The guy pissed him off enough as it was, but if he got any angrier, he could drop Sakura, and that wouldn’t help anyone. He looked down and patiently waited for her to attempt to speak, though it didn’t work. She leaned her head on his shoulder, and he suppressed a chuckle. “You’re cute,” he said, lifting his gaze so he could better follow the rest of the group.

He nodded along to Rogue’s proposition, and when he felt Sakura bury her face in the crook of his neck, he joked, “Hey, I kinda need to breathe. Take it easy, Sakura.” Of course, he knew she was just worried that she wouldn’t be able to help him, but hey, someone had to protect her in this state, right? “Don’t worry about it, Sakura. We’ll get you fixed in no time.”

All of a sudden, someone jumped out in front of him. He crouched, ready to defend, until he realized who it was: Milliana! Ahead of him, he could see the other girls from Mermaid Heel with her, but all three had an eerie, empty look in their eyes. The dark guild must’ve been manipulating them as a ploy to weaken the rest of the group. He didn’t want to attack Milliana—he’d already done so once before when she was on the side of evil—but it looked like he had no choice. But maybe he could distract her… Gray shouted, “Ice Make—Frozen Cage!” Hopefully that would keep her distracted while the others attempted to figure out what was wrong with the girls…

AiAi ​

 

[AiAi]

~ Sakura Sylvia ~

Sakura's cheeks turned a light shade of red as she hid her face even more into Gray's neck when he commented about her being cute. It made her heart flutter and beat a tad faster than usual. She never really felt this and wondered what it was. But...shaking her head, it was not the time to think about this. As she heard his reassuring words, Sakura smiled up at Gray, her blue orbs reflecting just how thankful she was of him. Though the events that happened next was definitely not something Sakura was expecting.

As Sakura faltered in using her crystal bullets to attack their enemy, finding it to be Millianna. She heard Gray's magic and seeing a frozen cage surround Millianna, Sakura let out a sigh of relief. Though that was soon gone for she easily broke that cage, what kind of strength was that?! Sakura's eyes narrowed, this was not the usual cat-loving Millianna that Sakura knew of. She saw the empty look in her eyes and knew that she must be under some sort of spell or control, but how to stop it was the question? She looked around and saw that everyone was busy with their own fight against a Mermaid Heel member. Really...how to stop this.

Though her attention was back on Millianna as she brought out her whip to attack her and Gray. As the whip came towards them, Sakura used her arms to block the hit, though it soon wrapped around her wrist tightly. Sakura winced, not having exactly all the strength in her to fight back, but she resisted in letting go of the whip. Millianna was pulling as hard as possible, which was quite hard since the girl seemed to have gained some extra strength through whatever control she is currently under. It pulled Sakura out of Gray's grasp and straight towards Millianna. Sakura smirked, this was perfect. Getting her spell ready, Sakura crystallized the whip that was wrapped around her wrist, letting it make it's way towards Millianna. Soon it was crystallizing Millianna's arms and that was when Sakura crash landed into Millianna. Sakura winced at the pain, unable to let out any sound, but as soon as she could get her hands free, Sakura placed it onto Millianna's shoulders and let her crystal begin it's work.

~ Rogue Cheney ~

Rogue was confused as he looked on ahead at the Mermaid Heel girls' whom they were just on their way to rescue and retrieve. He heard Akari's mumbled comment to which he agreed with. What happened to them being poisoned and getting the antidote? Antidote...he turned his head to Hibiki as he told him, "Hibiki-san! You and Eve-san ask one of the captives what kind of antidote it exactly is!" Just as he said this, he felt Akari push him away from her. As he caught himself on time, he turned to see Akari being rooted to the ground with Kagura approaching her slowly.

His eyes widened as Rogue forgot everything else and he rushed to Akari's side. As Akari attempted to keep Kagura distracted, it only worked for a few minutes for she was soon making her way towards Akari, in a slow and robotic way. Rogue used his Shadow claw to shove Kagura aside, which was enough to distract the Mermaid Heel wizard as the magic on Akari was broken. Rushing to Akari's side, Rogue asked her, "Are you okay, Akari!?" He looked her over to make sure she was fine, worry reflected in his eyes.

Though as soon as he saw she was fine, Rogue calmed down. He looked towards Kagura who was standing up from his attack. He narrowed his eyes at her, she must be under some kind of spell, hearing Akari's question, Rogue smirked at her as he said, "Well, you're not alone. That's one. Now then Akari...let's show them what we got!" Despite not wanting to fight against Kagura, they had no choice right now. Rogue leaped in yelling out, "Shadow dragon's fist!" He formed a layer of shadow armor on his fist as he began a close combat with Kagura. The moment he was able to land a punch on her face, Kagura fell to the ground and as she looked back up at him and Akari, her eyes flickered back to her usual hue as she mumbled out, "Rogue...san? Akari-san? !? Urgh!" but as soon as it was there, it was gone. Her empty eyes were back as she stood back up. Rogue glanced over at Akari and muttered out, "I think the only way to get them back might be to beat them..."

AnimeGenork ​

 

[AnimeGenork]

Akari Kaya

Akari wanted to tell Rogue not to come near her, in case Kagura's gravity magic affected him, too. But he used his Shadow magic to distract Kagura enough to break the spell rooting her to the ground. Now free of the magic's effects, she collapsed to her knees. "I'm fine, Rogue," she reassured her friend, smiling up at him. "I forgot how strong her gravity magic is, is all." As she recovered, she watched Rogue attack Kagura. For a second, she returned to normal, but then whatever spell she was under took control of her again. She nodded at Rogue. "I think you're right."

Turning back to the others, she screamed, "We have to defeat them to return them to normal!" Some of the others looked alarmed at the prospect of hurting their allies, but it seemed to be the only option. The girls would understand if they knew why they had to do it. Akari stood up and faced Kagura again. "I'm sorry, Kagura-san....and Erza," she murmured. Using the Shadow magic she rarely ever used, she sent a wall of shadows right at Kagura, followed by an extremely bright beam of light. Somehow, it knocked her back, and Akari looked at Rogue. "Looks like I'm going to need a little help, eh, Rogue?"

Gray Fullbuster

"I don't suppose we can throw a cat her way and expect her to return to normal," Gray muttered sarcastically, bitterly noting how easily Milliana broke his cage of ice. Hearing Akari shout over to him, he glanced at the Blue Pegasus wizards, who were preoccupied trying to get one of the dark mages to fess up what was in the antidote. In less than a second, Sakura shot out of his arms, and he widened his eyes when he realized Milliana had used her whip on them. Sakura had crystallized the whip, pulling her over to the cat-obsessed wizard. Despite her handicap, Sakura had pinned Milliana down and was crystallizing her.

Gray dove in and scooped Sakura up again as the crystal started to take over. "Perfect," he murmured, and then he cast his Ice-Make Lance to drive Milliana back into a tree. The girl let out a meow of surprise, but when she slumped to the ground, she seemed less intent on hurting her allies. The Mermaid Heel wizard blinked open her dark brown eyes, clearly confused as to what she'd been doing. Gray's shoulders relaxed in relief, Sakura still in his arms, before he heard something coming through the woods. When he looked up, he saw what appeared to be a giant monster coming through the woods. But it wasn't just any old monster, it was one of Sherry's puppets, with the female wizard perched atop it!

AiAi ​

 

[AiAi]

~ Sakura Sylvia ~

Sakura gripped onto Gray as she watched him put the finishing blow to Millianna. As much as it hurt her to see her comrades get hurt, this was the only way. Seeing how Millianna wasn't getting up to fight them again, Sakura assumed whatever was controlling her was no longer viable. Smiling, Sakura was about to praise Gray for his quick thinking when she heard something rather large coming their way. Looking over to the woods, Sakura could only groan as she saw Sherry heading their way. Did she ever mention how she hated puppets?

Seeing how Sherry was intent on hurting them, Sakura assumed that she was also under some kind of control. She shared a glance with Gray before Sakura began to hurl crystal bullets towards the large monster's feet. It seemed to be only tickling the monster as she watched it trudge towards her and Gray at a slow but large pace. As it came closer, she could literally feel the ground shaking underneath them. If it won't stop walking then...Sakura nudged out of Gray's grasp as she landed on the ground. Placing her hands on the ground, she spread her crystals onto the ground, thus making the large monster slip. Okay, well that worked out well, as she saw Sherry fall off the monster when the monster slipped. Now the problem would be how to get rid of this monster...when it was falling straight towards them...damn it Sherry. Why are all her puppets so darn humongous? Sakura let out a silent string of curses as she sat on the ground.

~ Rogue Cheney ~

Rogue watched with a bit of pride reflected in his eyes as he saw Akari push back Kagura with her magic. As Kagura was knocked back and blinded for a bit, Rogue heard Akari's comment and merely nodded his head as he sent her a smirk. He was excited despite the situation since it has been a while since he and Akari were able to work together as a team. Sure he worked with her and Sting often, but not with just her. As Kagura slowly stood up once more, her eyes were flickering back and forth between her normal colored hues to being blank and controlled.

Seeing how their attacks were working, Rogue decided to end things. He didn't want to use his Shadow dragon's breath since it can cause more harm than necessary and so he decided on sticking to the simple knock out with his fists. As his fists became encased with shadow armor, Rogue jumped in to the confused Kagura and punched her across the face. He murmured out, "I'm so sorry for this Kagura-san..." as he jumped away to see Kagura crumble to the ground. That was definitely going to leave a mark, something which Rogue was feeling quite sorry for. As soon as Kagura fell to the ground, Rogue went over to check on the Mermaid Heel wizard. It seemed like she was back to normal since her face was quite relaxed, despite the rather large bruise on her cheek. Rogue smiled over at Akari as he said, "Looks like all is well now..." now to see how everyone else was faring.
​

AnimeGenork ​

 

[AnimeGenork]

Akari Kaya

As expected, Rogue finished off Kagura, but not so much that she was terribly injured. But, it seemed as if she was okay now. Akari was thankful she wouldn't have to explain to Erza why her "sister" was seriously injured by her comrades' hands. She nodded at Rogue and glanced around. Sherry had arrived with one of her puppets and Milliana was down for the count, so that left Arana Webb, the last member of the Mermaid Heel team that had come on this mission. But...where was she?

Akari glanced around, keeping her eye out for bright green hair. Lyon and Jura were focused on their guildmate, so she wasn't there... Suddenly, Akari saw the female wizard over by the Blue Pegasus boys. They were so focused on interrogating the dark wizards that they didn't notice the approaching threat. Akari used her wind magic to knock her off her feet and do as Gray had and shove her toward a tree. The other girl groaned, but she seemed to have recovered from the spell--or poison--she'd been under before. The boys looked up, surprised, before turning to Akari. Hibiki said, "This guy says the antidote isn't a true antidote, but it puts whoever drinks it under the control of whoever gives it to them. It still heals them, but it's a great risk. So if we want to save Sakura-chan..." He trailed off, glancing at the pink-haired wizard. Akari grimaced. That was certainly a problem. Though not as big as Sherry and her giant puppet!

Gray Fullbuster

Gray knew from experience that Sherry's puppets were no laughing matter. He'd encountered it, along with her, on Galuna Island, back when Lyon's morals were a bit twisted. As much as he wanted to reminisce, he had to focus on the task at hand. Sakura's crystals didn't seem to work on the monster, but she dropped to the ground (startling Gray) and created a crystal floor to cause it to trip. It was similar to his Ice-Make Floor, so Gray highly respected the method. Sherry was indeed knocked off her puppet, but without its master, it began falling...straight toward them. Gray shouted, "Ice Make Shield!" to slow the puppet's progress. Then he dove out of the way, grabbing Sakura and pulling her with him. The puppet collapsed, causing the ground to shake more than it had when it'd been walking.

He vaguely heard Hibiki explain the effects of the antidote. Scowling at the ground, he tried to think of a different solution to the problem. Could they possibly find another antidote that wouldn't put Sakura under the dark guild's control? Sherry sat up, groaning and rubbing her head, now free of the brainwashing. If Sakura was given the antidote, would they have to beat her up to reverse the side effect, too? He glanced at her and asked, "What do you think, Sakura? Do you still want to take that antidote?" In the end, it was her opinion that mattered most in this situation, though Gray knew the dark wizards weren't finished with them yet. "We should get going soon, back to that mountain to see if we can help Sakura and defeat this dark guild."

AiAi ​

 

[AiAi]

~ Sakura Sylvia ~

Sakura could only sit there and watch as the large puppet made its slow but impending descent onto her and Gray. Luckily for her, Gray was quick on his feet as he made a shield and during that small time, they were able to escape without any injuries. Sakura let out a mute whistle as she saw the puppet crumble the ground underneath it. She looked around their aftermath and was glad to see that all her friends were safe and sound. She turned around and was about to give Gray a grin and a thumbs up when she also heard Hibiki's statement.

She saw the scowl on Gray's face and couldn't help but frown herself. She didn't like seeing him make a face like that. Sakura frowned as she gripped tightly onto Gray's sleeve as she looked down at the ground herself. She let out a silent huff as she leaned her head back and stared up at the sky. She had no other choice but to take the antidote...but at the same time she didn't want to hurt anybody...was there really no way around this? She closed her eyes for a moment before looking over at Gray to answer his question. She gave him a smile, a comforting smile as she just nodded her head. She knew she can trust her friends to keep her safe...and she hoped she can control herself enough to keep them safe as well. It frustrated her that this was their only option, but maybe just maybe there is a way around it all. Regardless, the only thing that they can do right now is to keep moving forward. She gripped onto his arm as she pointed to the mountain top, smiling as if telling Gray to just keep going forward.

~ Rogue Cheney ~

Rogue was checking on Natsu and Sting when he saw Akari move from the corner of his eyes. Curious and slightly worried, Rogue followed after Akari to see her finish off the last of the Mermaid Heel girls'. Relief flooded through his body as he let out a sigh, seems like all the Mermaid Heel members were finally back to their normal self, some were confused while others, Kagura, are still unconscious. He came over just in time to hear what Hibiki found out from one of their captives. Rogue shared a similar frown that were flitting across all the wizards who learned of the truth of the antidote.

However, before Rogue could think any further about it, he felt the ground shake even more than before. Pulling Akari to his side to keep her safe, Rogue looked around to see that Gray just finished the last of their enemies, or well their fellow wizards who were under control. He glanced over at Akari and asked her, "You alright, Akari?" Sting and everyone else were beginning to gather around, Ren was holding the semi-conscious Sherry and the Mermaid Heel wizards were held by the rest. Rogue looked around before saying, "I agree with Gray-san....regardless, to save Sakura-san and to stop the dark mages from doing what they want...we need to go to the top of the mountain. Let us hurry." Rogue began to head towards the mountain pathways along with everyone else. They were getting closer and closer to the top, Rogue could only wonder what really lies ahead of them. He kept a gentle hold on Akari's hand as he murmured out, "Everything will be alright..." Or that is what he hopes for.
​

AnimeGenork ​

 

[AnimeGenork]

Akari Kaya

Leave it to Sherry's puppet to nearly cause an earthquake in the general vicinity. Akari felt herself stumble as Rogue pulled her to his side. "Yeah, I'm fine..." she assured him, shifting so she wasn't off-balance anymore. She was relieved that all the girls were back to normal. That was one worry to cross off their list, at least. But Sakura was still suffering from the poison, and it seemed as if the antidote wouldn't help much. Before she could comment, though, Rogue resumed their sprint through the woods. Once again, Lyon and Jura took the lead, with the same mage they had been forcing information out of before. The Shadow Dragon Slayer murmured something about everything being okay, and she smiled up at him and responded, "Of course it will. Nobody can stop the light guilds when they work together!"

They ran for a long time, and Akari started to wonder if the mountain was farther away than originally thought. After another half a mile or so, they finally reached the bottom of the mountain, which housed a yawning entrance to a cave. Akari ducked behind a tree, pulling Rogue with her. She muttered, "That must be the entrance to their base of operations." Glancing behind her, she saw the rest of the group of wizards join them in hiding in the undergrowth. Natsu was twitching, anxious to get going already. The others also seemed antsy. Akari stage-whispered, "Is everybody ready?"

Gray Fullbuster

Gray hid his disappointment at Sakura's nod in response to his question. He'd been hoping she'd say no to the antidote so they could find a safer way to fix her, but he supposed this was the quickest way. If they didn't hurry, it would be too late for her, and then he'd really regret it. With a sigh, he followed the others, a small frown on his face. The trek was long, but Gray could tell they were getting close to the source of the dark smoke. All around them, the trees grew darker and denser, as if they were hiding something from the rest of the island. Eventually, they came to the bottom of the mountain, and Gray joined Natsu in hiding behind a bush with Sakura in tow.

Naturally, Pyro was antsy, but this time, it wasn't just him. Everybody else seemed eager to take down the dark guild that had made the past day so taxing. At Akari's question, Gray nodded. He'd follow the others close behind so that he and Sakura wouldn't be in the immediate line of fire. He relayed as much to the rest of the wizards. "Once inside, we'll try to find the antidote as fast as we can." Jura raised his hand to give a signal, and in less than a second, the wizards were off. Gray followed, hoping that he'd be able to help Sakura soon.

AiAi ​

 

[AiAi]

~ Sakura Sylvia ~

Sakura felt awful. She looked down as she kept a tight grip on Gray's shirt. She felt bad for causing that frown to appear on Gray's face...she didn't like to see him down. Sakura bit her lower lip, frustrated that she was of no help and now she was going to cause more trouble just for taking the antidote. Sakura leaned up and gave a quick peck to his cheek, her cheeks a bit pink but she gave him a small smile, as if telling him to smile as well. Sakura promised to give them quite the hell of a time after she was healed. But for now they can only focus on reaching the base of the mountain and get their hands on an antidote. After quite a while of running, they arrived at the base of the mountain.

Sakura looked ahead at the dark cave ahead. She sighed, oh how she 'loves' caves, insert her sarcasm here. Since her crystal magic training took place in caves, Sakura was quite accustomed to the darkness of caves. She would have led the way...if she could move. She coughed a bit more, feeling her lungs burn and tighten slightly. She let out a heavy breath...it was getting harder for her to breathe. Guess the poison was working more...Sakura shook her head. No, she must keep going! As they entered the cave, Sakura looked around, so far looks like no traps...but then they arrived at the fork. Sakura held back a groan as she slapped a hand to her forehead. Hearing Rogue's question, Sakura nodded her head in agreement. Though she glanced up at Gray in question, silently asking him what he would like to do. Sakura leaned her head onto his shoulder, feeling more and more tired.

~ Rogue Cheney ~

Rogue smiled as he heard Akari's optimistic answer. When the light guilds work together huh...Rogue thought about that for a moment before focusing on the task at hand.The group ran for quite some time after the Mermaid Heel girls' were safe and sound. Some were still unconscious, for example Kagura in which Rogue was feeling quite guilty for, but otherwise the rest of the girls' were awake and running along with the rest. Rogue could still feel the prickles of the girls' glares directed on the back of his head. He let out a sigh but kept running along.

Soon they reached the bottom of the mountain. Up ahead was a rather large entrance to a cave, he got pulled behind a tree alongside Akari as he let her pull him. He stood behind her as he peered over the tree and Akari's head to see up ahead. His eyes narrowed slightly as he noticed a rather ominous aura coming out of the cave. He placed his hands on Akari's shoulders as he peered out. Hearing her question, everyone nodded their heads as they all slowly made their way into the cave. As he entered the cave, it was pitch dark, they made sure to only bring two of their prisoners and left the rest tied to a tree unconscious and crystallized. Rogue looked around, having a better eyesight than most due to being a Shadow dragon slayer. Keeping a tight hold of Akari's hand, Rogue led the way, seeing how the cave split into two ways, he whispered out, "I think we should split...what do you think, Akari?" Rogue glanced down at her in question.

AnimeGenork (sorry I took a while to respond! ><) ​

 

[AnimeGenork]

Akari Kaya

The entrance to the cave seemed rather ominous, so much so that Akari almost wished she didn't have to go in. She looked up at Rogue's hands on her shoulders, but soon he took them away, and the group entered the cave. It was far too dark to really see anything, but Akari allowed her eyes to adjust. Her night vision wasn't the best, like Rogue's, but it wasn't terrible, either. Natsu helped everyone by making a flame appear. Rogue took her hand and led the way, until they reached a fork in the tunnel. Rogue suggested they split up and looked to her. She murmured, "But how do we know that where we split up will have the dark guild or the antidote?"

Milliana stepped forward. "I sort of remember my way around here from being under that mind control spell." Pausing to glance around, she pointed down the passage leading to the left. "That's the room where they drugged us with the so-called 'antidote.' The other one is their main gathering hall and base of operations. Arana, you go with the group heading down that way, and I'll take Gray-san and Sakura-san to the antidote." With that, she turned and led the Fairy Tail wizards down the tunnel she had indicated. Akari sent a silent wish of good luck to them, and then she turned to follow Arana, who was already leading the way. Tugging Rogue along, she began sprinting down the path leading to the dark mages.

Gray Fullbuster

Gray's cheek burned at the spot where Sakura had kissed it. He was now more determined than ever to help her get the antidote, even if it meant he would have to later defeat her. As they entered the cave, Gray kept his guard up, in case the dark mages decided to ambush them as they were so fond of doing. All too soon, they reached a fork in the tunnel, and while the rest of the group mused on what to do, Milliana of Mermaid Heel stepped forward and gave them all directions. When the cat girl looked at him, Gray nodded, ready to follow.

Feeling Sakura's head rest on his shoulder, he peered down at her. She was getting weaker by the second. As he sprinted after Milliana, he urged, "We need to hurry. Sakura's getting worse." The other wizard jerked her head once in acknowledgement, probably more focused on detecting any enemies. After some sharp turns, they reached a cavernous room that looked like a lab of sorts. It seemed to be the room the antidote was in. Gray murmured to Sakura, "If you see or hear anything suspicious, let me know, alright?"

AiAi
{No problem! Sorry I took a while; I had my AP test last week and another type of test this week!}​

 

[AiAi]

~ Sakura Sylvia ~

As the rest of the group decided on which paths to take, Sakura was feeling more and more out of breath. Her hold on Gray's shirt was loosening as her eyes began to get hazy. She stared out in a daze until she felt herself moving once more. Looking over, she saw that they were heading towards the left side and looking over Gray's shoulder, Sakura could see that the rest besides her, Gray and Millianna were heading to the other side. Sakura could only let out strangled breaths as they continued onward.

Hearing Gray's soft murmur to her, Sakura looked over at him in a daze but she still nodded her head. She kept her eyes wandering as they were closing in on where the antidote was. From the looks of Millianna, she was on high alert since last time she was brought here, there were more than a handful of dark mages in the room up ahead. So when they reached the room, Millianna was expecting them to be ambushed, but it seemed to be rather empty. "Huh? No one's here...I wonder why..." while Millianna was confused, Rose's eyes wandered the room until it landed on the table up ahead. There lay two antidotes, as if expecting her and Akari to have gotten kidnapped. Sakura's eyes narrowed in thought of that, but she slowly lifted a finger up ahead, pointing at the antidote. Sakura couldn't speak, but she didn't want them near her when she took the antidote...how was she going to convey that to the other two? As her hands wrapped around the crystal clear vial, she looked over at Gray and Millianna, with a stern look, she used her hand to 'shoo' them away, gesturing them to not be near here if worst comes to worst. She didn't want to hurt her friends.

~ Rogue Cheney ~

Rogue's brows furrowed as he thought of Akari's question. Yes, that is the risk they will have to take, but Rogue knew it would also be a waste of time to all go together and end up hitting a dead end. As he thought about how to answer her question, Millianna spoke up. He listened to her recollection of the place and nodded his head. Well that should do it he thought, though he was slightly worried for Gray and Millianna since he knew that once Sakura takes the antidote, well she'll go berserk and attack his friends. Rogue shook his head, now wasn't the time to worry.

Gripping tightly onto Akari's hand, Rogue and everyone else headed right while Gray, Millianna and Sakura went left. As they continued on, it seems like the darkness was affecting the area once again for the walls looked more dead if that was possible, or perhaps those were blood stains. Regardless, Rogue could see a fire up ahead which signaled that their enemies were close by. Rogue lifted a hand to signal everyone to stay quiet as he slowly began to approach the open room. As he slowly approached the entrance, he peered in to see that the dark mages were once again formed in a circle, except that this time there was two caskets in the center of them. The dark cloud was coming from a single black crystal shard that was placed between the two caskets. One of the mages were muttering something while there were orbs circling above them just below the cloud, each orb was a different color. Rogue watched on in silence, wondering just what on earth they were doing. From the looks of it, the caskets were empty but it gave him an ominous feeling just by looking. He glanced back to see if everyone was ready.

AnimeGenork ​

 

[AnimeGenork]

Akari Kaya

Akari tried not to shiver the further down the tunnel she ran. The darkness was starting to play tricks on her, and at some points she could've sworn she felt a cold breeze tickle the back of her neck. She was almost relieved when she saw a pinpoint of flame up ahead. However, she knew that the dark mages had to be gathered there; why else would they need the light? Rogue, having far better vision in the dark than she did, slowed down and signaled for them to stop. He inched forward, and so did she, peering around the edge of the entrance. There the dark wizards were, gathered in a circle once again, but in a slightly different way than before. Akari blinked at the crystal they were using. That was the source of the dark cloud?

Noting the caskets, she stepped backward toward the group. "It seems like they're trying to resurrect someone...or something. Whatever it is, it goes against the natural laws of magic," she murmured, her mind racing to try to figure out their plan. "It seems like the source of this freaky ritual is that black crystal. If we crush that, we can stop them...hopefully." Natsu barely heard her, instead focusing on the word "crush." He immediately charged into the room with Akari feebly reaching after him. She knew she wouldn't be able to stop him, and for once, she was glad she couldn't. If anyone could destroy the source of this guilds' power, it was him. "Looks like we better go," she mused to Rogue, smiling.

Gray Fullbuster

Gray immediately noticed when Sakura pointed out the antidote vials across the room. After a split second hesitation, he carried her across the room to the table where they lay, watching as she wrapped her hands around one of them. It pained him to see her suffering so much, but he knew that she would be better after drinking this. Glancing over his shoulder at Milliana, he said, "We should go at least to the opposite end of the room, just in case." Gently, he set Sakura down, kissing her forehead as one last gesture of comfort. Then he joined Milliana at the entrance to the room, just as a couple dark mages came down the tunnel, only to skid to a stop once they saw him and the Mermaid Heel wizard.

Milliana turned to fight the wizards, and Gray shouted back to Sakura, "Hurry and drink that! Don't worry about us!" Even if Sakura succumbed to the mind control aspect of the antidote, he'd do everything in his power to help her. So, he faced the dark mages and shouted, "Ice Make Floor!" creating a slippery ice floor that failed to trip up Milliana. It worked like a charm on the dark wizards, however, something Gray had expected. He smirked as the other wizard took over, restraining their opponents with her binding magic. Gray therefore used his Ice Make Lance to take them out. Turning back to Sakura, he checked to see if she was alright, and if she had taken the antidote yet.

AiAi ​

 

[AiAi]

~ Sakura Sylvia ~

Sakura felt her cheeks flush and the place that Gray kissed to warm up considerably. She shook her head lightly and after seeing that her two friends were at least far away from her, she opened up the lid of the vial. Sakura looked down at it hesitantly, but soon noise from Gray and Millianna's side caught her attention. When she saw that several of the dark mages came over here, she panicked, wanting to help her friends out. But hearing Gray's shout at her, Sakura held a determined expression as she downed the vial right when one of the dark mages slipped past the two.

Sakura could feel herself healing at a fast pace as she could finally feel energy flowing through her and the feeling of her legs finally came back. But then suddenly she felt a darkening mist cloud her vision and her mind became hazy. She couldn't think straight and then there was pitch black. Sakura has fallen to the floor for a brief moment and right then the dark mage that slipped past the two was about to land a finishing blow on Sakura when suddenly he was encased in crystal. Sakura slowly stood up once more, though there was a rather blank expression in her eyes as she stared at the crystallized mage. She then turned her gaze towards Gray and Millianna. She frowned before creating her crystal bow and arrows in which she shot Millianna with. Seeing as how Millianna also became crystallized, Sakura's empty gaze turned towards Gray. She stared at him for a moment and there was brief flicker of emotion running through her eyes before it became empty once more.

~ Rogue Cheney ~

Rogue was keeping an eye on the dark mages as the rest discussed what to do. He heard Akari's idea and was about to put his input when Natsu rushed past him. Before he could even react to it, Akari was already behind Natsu as well, hearing her suggestion and small smile, Rogue shook his head as a smile graced his lips. He nodded his head at Akari and was quick to jump into the scene alongside Natsu, looks like Sting had the same idea in mind as he also rushed into the soon to be battlefield.

As they charged in, the dark mages were startled and the glowing orbs dimmed down as their concentration was broken. Seeing how the dark shard in the center began to dim slightly as well, Rogue spoke up, "Looks like the orbs and the dark mages' magic is what is powering that dark crystal! Let's get rid of the orbs and the mages then!" Rogue was soon in combat with a dark mage as he began to dodge, trying to land a shadow attack on one of the colored orbs to break it. He was able to break one and smirked as he saw that the dark crystal began to fade even more, he noticed that the dark cloud looming above them was also getting smaller as they fought. He was only concerned as to what the caskets were for...it surely doesn't look like resurrecting someone since it was empty. He looked around to make sure that Akari was doing well. His eyes skimming the group to search for her.

AnimeGenork ​

 

[AnimeGenork]

Akari Kaya

Akari charged into battle after Natsu, hearing Rogue’s shout over the din of the dark mages and the other wizards with her. She kicked one of the dark wizards in the gut when he tried to attack her, smashing one of the orbs with a flame as she did so. Another dark mage tried to avenge his friend, but she simply kicked him aside and smashed the orb he’d been using. With a hiss of pain, she realized that the other wizard had landed an attack on her good arm. Damn, that hurt.

Scanning the faces of her comrades as well as her enemies, she found Rogue in the crowd. Making his way over to her, she noted, “I think Natsu’s got this pretty much covered.” Her guildmate had destroyed the orbs without incident and thrown off the mages operating them. It seemed he was unaffected by those trying to attack him. With satisfaction, Akari noted the weakening of the crystal in the center, as well as the dark cloud dissipating above them. That should weaken the aura around the island, she thought. Looking up at Rogue, she said, “We should probably destroy the caskets, too, just in case. I wouldn’t want anything that’s in there coming after us.”

Gray Fullbuster

One of the dark mages somehow managed to pass him and Milliana, and Gray swore under his breath. With a cry of alarm, he saw Sakura slumped on the floor. He made as if to dive at the dark wizard, who was about to land a blow on her. However, before he could do anything, he blinked as the wizard was encased in crystal. Sakura stood up and shot Milliana with her crystal bow and arrow, also encasing her in crystal. Then she turned her gaze on Gray.

The brief flicker that passed through her empty eyes was enough to convince him that she was still in there. So instead of attacking her as he had the Mermaid Heel girls, he grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her, making sure to freeze her feet where she stood. “Sakura. I know you’re in there. Please come back. You can fight this!” He didn’t want to attack her, but he also knew that he might not have a choice. Unless she snapped out of it, he was afraid he wouldn’t be able to do anything for Milliana. Man, Erza would be pissed if that were the case. Stepping back in case she struck out at him, he murmured, “Please, Sakura. Snap out of it.”

AiAi ​

 

[AiAi]

~ Sakura Sylvia ~

Sakura stood directly across from Gray with her blank eyes. Inside, she was struggling to find the light that she saw for the briefest of moments. She was surrounded in a dark cloud and everything was muted out. She couldn't hear, see, or feel anything. Slowly she felt like she was suffocating. Suddenly, there were ice trapping her feet in the dark abyss. She looked around confused, but one thing she knew of this ice was that it had to be Gray's. Confusion fluttered across her features as she murmured out, "Gray?"

However, as soon as it appeared, her face contorted into one of pain as she struggled to stay in her own mind. She was then back to being controlled, though her movements were being stopped. Sakura created her crystal bow and arrows once more, aiming an arrow straight towards Gray. Sakura stopped for a moment before the arrow was released and whizzed past Gray, slightly scratching his cheek. She began to struggle and stopped as she held out another arrow. Within her own mind, Sakura could see a blurry figure ahead of her, it almost looked like an enemy to her, until she realized it was actually Gray. Sakura struggled to stop herself. Gritting her teeth, Sakura dropped the bow and holding the arrow, she stabbed her own leg with it causing her to scream suddenly. Falling to the ground, Sakura was panting as she looked up at Gray, her eyes back to normal. She weakly smiled up at him while saying, "I found a way out..."

~ Rogue Cheney ~

Rogue spotted Akari amidst all the chaos occurring around them. He immediately made a bee-line towards her to make sure she was doing fine, of course he was confident in her abilities, but a guy can worry no? As he walked over to Akari, he scanned her from head to toe to make sure she was fine, so when he spotted a small injury on her arm, he frowned looking concerned. He gently lifted her arm to take a closer look, relieved to see it wasn't too large of an injury. Afterwards, he looked at her face and nodded his head, telling her that he heard her comment about Natsu.

Standing back to his full height, Rogue looked over at Natsu to see the pink-hair dragon slayer going on quite a spree. He held back a chuckle as he glanced over at Akari and said, "Your arm...does it hurt?" He was worried, but tried to not show just how worried he was. He instead focused on the task at hand, he looked at the caskets and nodded his head, he didn't have a single good vibe about the caskets. What he didn't expect was for them to try and target Akari. As Rogue got rid of the dark mages that jumped at Akari, he growled as he grabbed one by the collar and demanded an explanation. The dark mage merely replied in a monotone voice, "Find the fairies filled with love...that is the ultimate sacrifice..." Rogue felt a chill go down his back at the robotic reply of the dark mage. What does he mean by sacrifice and fairies with love!? He glanced at Akari with concern etched on his features.

AnimeGenork ​

 

[AnimeGenork]

Akari Kaya

Akari glanced up just in time to see Rogue join her. She held back a hiss of pain when he inspected her arm, instead whimpering the slightest bit. Damn, it hurt more than it had at first. She admitted, “A little. But it’s not that bad. Honest.” Unfortunately, she didn’t get much reprieve, as it seemed many of the dark mages were after her specifically. Rogue man handled one of them and demanded answers, but even this interrogation gave them little to go off. Kicking one of the wizards in the stomach, she stared at the one in Rogue’s hands. “Fairies? Does he mean…me? And Sakura?” But what was that “filled with love” bit? Did that mean…

Looking up at Rogue’s face, she swallowed nervously. “I think…they need me and Sakura…for their ritual… That’s what he means by ‘ultimate sacrifice.’” Another mage tried to capture her, but she blasted fire at him. As she did, a thought occurred to her. Filled with love… Did that possibly have something to do with… She glanced at Rogue, recalling how she’d been feeling about Rogue lately. Could her silly little crush on him really be enough to consider her “filled with love?” Sure, she’d known him for a long time, and he meant a lot to her, but… Oh, damn it.

Suddenly, she felt herself being lifted into the air. It was Sting. He’d lifted her into his arms and kicked away a couple of wizards who were trying to capture her. “I know you love us and all, Akari, but that’s no reason to let us have all the fun,” he joked, grinning down at her. Akari slapped him lightly. Leave it to Sting to be ridiculous.

Gray Fullbuster

Gray barely felt the scratch on his cheek. His expression was pained as he saw Sakura seemingly struggling for control over the screwed-up antidote. Before he could stop her, she stabbed herself in the leg with one of her crystal arrows. Though he was relieved she wasn’t under the antidote’s control anymore, he was incredibly alarmed at what she’d been willing to do to escape it. Crouching down in front of her, he chided, “Sakura, what made you think that was a good idea?” He seized her in a hug, his arms tight around her, barely registering the sounds of his ice cracking and Milliana’s crystal releasing her.

Pulling away, Gray searched her face, wholly glad that her eyes were back to normal. He was so happy, he did something odd. He kissed her. Of course, as soon as he realized what he was doing, he pulled away, holding her at arm’s length. His cheeks were flaming, and he glared at Milliana as she giggled girlishly. “Let’s just get going,” he muttered. He pushed himself to his feet and held out a hand for Sakura. “Do you need help walking?” he murmured, his worried face returning. Though he supposed he wouldn’t mind it if he got to hold her again, kiss notwithstanding.

AiAi ​