You appeared in the middle of the village down below the mountain. The villagers had assembled around you.

"There are people coming to attack," you warned, "They're the ones responsible for your transformation."

"They're coming here?" A villager asked.

"Yes." You nodded. "But this is a chance to catch them. Maybe they know how to turn you back to normal." Unsure murmurs spread through them.

'Those three are probably wizards.' Your eyes scanned the crowd.

'I'm the only wizard here. Oh well.'

"What is all the ruckus here?"

"Village chief!"
You turned around to see Moka walk up to you.

"The enemy will be attacking this village soon," you explained.

"Enemy?" He repeated.

"They took up residence in the ruins of the forest and are the ones responsible for your transformations."

"I DON'T CARE ABOUT THAT! WHY HAVEN'T YOU DESTROYED THE MOON YET?!"
You let out a light sigh.

"There's no need for that. We just need to capture the ones responsible," you replied.

"THE MOON! DESTROY THE MOON!"
Two of the villagers grabbed Moka by his arms.

"Village chief! Please calm down!"
"Come this way!"
Your eye twitched. The two of them struggled to pull him away farther from you.

"Please don't take it personally," one of the villagers said, "He did lose his son Bobo and all..."

"Unfortunately," you replied, though it didn't sound that way. "We have to catch the enemy."

"But how?"
You looked around.

"Where's your highest point in the village?"

"The highest point is the top of the wall," he replied. You nodded.

"Alright, thanks."

"Y/n!"
You looked up and saw Happy fly down with Lucy in his paws.

"You two!" You called. You ran up to her when her feet landed on the ground. "I've updated the villagers on what's happening. I'm going to scout on the wall. Stay here." You jogged around her.

"Wait! What should I do?" She called after you.

"Uh," you rambled, "Just... just build a trap or something!" You jumped up to the top after that, looking around the village's radius.

'I don't sense them near yet.' You kneeled to the ground and waited.

You didn't know how much time has passed. The slight burn in your eyes signaled the beginning of exhaustion. You must keep them open, though.

"Hey! Something's coming this way!" The scout said to you. You stood up and looked over the spikes, seeing a blue sphere hoping towards you.

"... Natsu?" You sweatdropped, letting out a sigh.

"Open the gate!" You called back. You jumped down off of the wall, almost landing on the pit fall Lucy made. You deadpanned at her.

"Really?"

"SHUT UP! I tried my best!"
You looked back at the opened gate.

"Hey! Is everyone all right?" Natsu hobbled towards you all.

'What happened while I was gone?' You thought. He was running straight towards the pitfall.

"Stop running, Natsu!" You yelled at him.

"Huh?!"

"I SAID STOP RUNNING."
He slid to a stop right before the pit. Lucy let out a sigh of relief from next to you.

"What is this?"

"Oh no."
He stepped onto it. With a shriek, he went falling down into it. You were not easily dumbfounded... but this time you were. You jogged up to the pit and looked down, seeing Gray sprawled over Natsu's midsection.

"I'm relieved that you and Gray are okay!" Happy called down from next to you. 

"Don't be! Gray's out cold!" Natsu called back up.

"Give him to me!" You said immediately, holding out your hands.

"That masked guy beat him?" Lucy called down. Natsu held him up by his shoulders and you managed to grip onto him. You easily hauled him up.

"The ice cracked! Huh? But not even fire would melt it!" Natsu said, noticing the icy sphere around him was no longer trapping him.

"Exactly as planned!"
You laid Gray down and cradled his head.

'He seems fine internally.' You pressed your fingers along his ribcage, not feeling any wounds or sensing any internal bleeding.

'But he got a real thrashing.'
Natsu was pulled out of the hole after you, the villagers gathering around you.

"Anyway, why aren't they here yet?" He asked.

"Come to think of it, they are taking a long time..." Lucy trailed off, "... they left for the village before you did, but you arrived first..."

"Yeah. I took a lot of time, too."
Your eyes moved up to the sky when a faint humming entered your ears.

"It's a flying rat!"
You stood up, leaving Gray lying on the ground.

"What's with that bucket?"

"The sky?! That makes the pitfall pointless!"
You watched something drop from the bucket and down to the ground. You smelt the properties of it. It was heading straight for Lucy who didn't seemed concerned.

"Move!" You jumped, shoving her out of the way. The little drop dripped onto the ground. The small plant steamed and a hole replaced it.

"Well, that's acid," you said flatly.

"Is that bucket filled with this stuff?"
"Don't tell me they're going to dump it on us?"
With that, multiple people began to panic, running for cover or just freaking out in general. The rat swung the bucket, sending gallons of acid raining down.

"How do we protect ourselves from that much?!" Lucy cried, actual tears coming out of her eyes.

"Everyone, get in the center of the village!!" You yelled, "Fifth Circle!" The magic circle appeared below your hand and you pulled out your black and white swords. Natsu and Lucy helped gather the villagers.

"Scarlet Shock!" With a double slash, you sent two waves of magic power soaring up to the acid in arcs. It collided with the acid. A spark. Then it ignited. The acid was blown into a donut-shape. The villagers cried out at the shockwaves.

"She dispersed it!" Yuka said from atop of Angelica, the rat.

"What kind of wizard is she?!" Sherry exclaimed. The acid rained down from the large pool, decimating the area around the village. Steam arose from all around. A large drop found its way over to where Mako was kneeling near Bobo's grave. It crashed into it with a hiss.

"Village chief!"
Through the steam screen, Virgo appeared with Mako in her arms.
You unequipped your sword. The mist began to settle.

"The village... it's all been dissolved..."
"This is terrible..."
"Is anyone hurt?"
The sound of a rock being pushed over made you turn your head. Sherry, Toby, and Yuka appeared with the latter knocking over the stone to Bobo's grave.
Your expression darkened at his act of disrespect. You're no stranger to grave desecration. The three of them walked towards you all down below.

"The Cold Emperor's enemies must all be expelled," you heard Sherry say, "We were trying to show some mercy by making your deaths quick... but it seems there's going to be much bloodshed after all..."

"Desecrate one more grave and I'm going to be really pissed..." You said, tilting your head at them. Your lip raised in a sneer, brows furrowing. Your glare made the others flinch back. You held out your hand towards them, beckoning them over.

"Come here," you said, though your expression conveyed the opposite. "You have no problem disrespecting someone's grave. Come fight me, then." The three hesitated. They heard rumors about you circulating through Fiore.

"Natsu, Lucy," you called, "Let me take the first strike."

"NO way!" Natsu yelled, pointing a finger at you. "You're gonna blow them all away and leaving nothing for us!!"

"Then you better hope those three are really durable!" A deep red circle appeared. You dipped your hand in it and pulled out a long sword that was thicker than the others. The blade itself was ragged and seemed to be made out of stone.

"Fourth Circle: Dozroth!" You brandished the sword in front of you. "Come at me you three! Don't make me come to you!" The blade split down the middle, sharp teeth beginning to emerge from the sides. The darker outline began to heat to a red. You noticed the trio take a step back with Toby hiding behind the two.

"Not coming?" You asked, the blade's 'mouth' snapping open, revealing a flaming tongue.

"THE SWORD'S GOT A MOUTH!!!" Lucy cried.

"That's what you're focused on?!" Natsu yelled.

"Fine. I'll come to you, then!"' You launched from the ground, raising the large sword above your head. "Ire Screech!"

Ja ne!

{Ruby Red}