Hey Guys!

Yes I finally got done with this chapter! So many projects and so little time. Thank you guys for being patient and waiting for this story to update it means a lot but that's enough of me talking. Enjoy the next chapter!

~wolvesfinalden

Fairy Tail: By Your Side

Chapter 21: On Board the Enemy Ship

While Duke rested with Lucy and Natsu, Makarov decided to come up with some kind of strategy for the battle ahead. This was the first time in Fairy Tail history that intruders have found the island and dared to wage war on Fairy Tail's sacred ground. He watched as his children awaited his orders, they were anxious and ready for battle, to defend their sacred territory.

The teams slowly came in to camp one group at a time. Finding out by Erza and Juvia that the enemy has reached the island. The two mages had faced off against two of the enemy mages with more either on the island or still on their ship. Erza and Juvia were both beat up pretty badly but they managed to hold off the enemy for the time being. Wendy went to work on the two healing them and ordering them to rest until the master gave his word.

Meanwhile the others came back, now they were waiting on Gray and Loke, who still haven't made it back to camp yet. Duke noticed this and offered to go out and search for the two mages, knowing that he'd find them much faster than anyone else, especially if he had Natsu to help. Makarov hesitated but decided it might have been for the best. Just as they were about to head out, Duke spotted Gray immediately. He stopped, telling Natsu to do the same as they watched the two make their way to camp. However a strange scent hit Duke's nose causing the white wolf to run forward growling in warning.

He saw someone behind Loke immediately. He was tall and didn't look human at all. That's when Loke motioned for Duke to stop. The white wolf held back a little waiting for some kind of explanation.

"Who is that with you?" the master asked.

"This is an old friend. He's been lost for some time. Turns out the enemy here had him under their control." The lion spirit explained.

Lucy then got up and walked towards her spirit, to investigate who he had talked about. She had heard about Capricorn but knew nothing about him, other than he was one of the golden gate spirits.

"Ah this must be Miss Lucy. My how you've grown." The other spirit commented.

As he spoke Duke then noticed something familiar about the spirit. Reminding him of their old home at the mansion and glimpses of what he had just witnessed in his dreams not long ago.

"How do you know my name?" she asked him.

"I was contracted with your mother for quite some time. Under my contract to Miss Layla, I was to be given to you once she either gave up on her mage duties or the unfortunate alternative that had happened." He told her.

He then turned to Duke. The wolf saw the surprise in his eyes as he looked at him. A smile then crept on his face as he seemed to come to an answer on his own.

"And this must be the pup Duke. You look so much like your father now it's quite remarkable. It's no wonder Fang had entrusted his son to the daughter of his master."

"Yes unfortunately, I know nothing of my father." Duke remarked.

"It is unfortunate but now is not the time to dwell on old memories."

"If you were to be entrusted to me Capricorn, how did you end up with them?" Lucy immediately asked.

Capricorn paused for moment and then continued his story.

"The night before I was to be given to you Miss Lucy, my key was taken away. I do not know what exactly happened that night. All I remember was the sound of Fang's howl and the screams of my captors. However when I was finally summoned I was nowhere near the mansion or any sign Layla or Fang. I was then under their control. Until now." Capricorn finished.

Loke then stepped up to stand by Lucy.

"Well now that you are back to yourself. Will you serve Lucy then?" he asked him.

"In respect and memory of my former master, I will obey her wishes and become one of Lucy's spirit as was promised in our contract. I will serve you well Miss Lucy." He told her.

"Thank you Capricorn." She said to him.

Capricorn then disappeared into the celestial world to regain his power back. She then looked to Loke who nodded and was about to do the same.

"I'll go back as well and make sure everything is under control there. I'll be ready when you need me Lucy."

Loke then disappeared leaving the mages to their next move. They turned to Master Makarov awaiting his orders.

"Well now is the time to act now that we are all together. I will gather a team to head straight to their ship, while another will remain on the island to move anyone left here back to their ship. We will not back down on our own ground." Makarov stated.

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"The team I want to head to the ship will be as follows. Erza, Wendy, Gray, Gajeel, Natsu, Lucy, and Duke. Mira, Lisanna, Cana, and Freed, I want you to stay here in the camp in case we need to fall back or if our ground team needs to regroup. As for the rest of you, you all will have to round up any enemies left on the island and by any means necessary force them back to the ship." Makarov explained.

Once again everyone nodded and began to gather about to head out to their respective tasks.

"Good luck my children. I will help the ground team flush them out. If anyone may need my help call on me. Now move out!" he commanded.

The groups all then made their way out of camp leaving only four behind at the camp to await the outcome.

Erza took the lead with Gray, while Duke covered the back with Wendy, Natsu, and Lucy in the middle. Duke and Natsu carefully listened for any sign of enemies nearby as they made their way to ship. Duke, still recovering from his injuries did his best to stay with the group. He refused to let them handle this alone. Like Makarov he considered all them his family, his pack, and he'll do anything to keep them safe.

They reached the edge of the island and saw a ship resting near the shore. Duke's fur began to rise as he could sense the enemy's presence threatening them. He looked to Natsu and saw he was starting to feel it as well.

"Well we can't exactly charge in there, so what's the plan?" Lucy asked.

Erza took a look around and didn't see any obvious ways they could sneak in.

"We need to get in and catch them off guard. That's probably the only way we are going to be able to have the upper hand on them." Erza said.

Duke looked down to see Happy staring up at the building and saw that they were joined by the other two exceeds.

"What are you doing here Happy?" Duke whispered to the small cat.

"We can't leave you guys behind. Besides you know I go with you three everywhere!" Happy said excitedly.

"Right but what about Lily and Carla?" he asked.

"Oh well Carla didn't want to leave Wendy behind and Lily just decided to come with us." Happy answered.

"I came because I thought I'd be of more help to you guys than the other groups." Lily said.

"Well that's good because I have a feeling that you three are going to be our way in." Duke said with a smirk.

All three looked at him confused.

Duke ignored the cats and turned to Erza who was still coming up with a way to sneak in. From Duke's perspective, it looks like she didn't have a single clue. He gave her credit though she hid it extremely well.

"Erza." Duke called.

Erza and the others turned to face Duke who was standing with the three exceeds beside him.

"There may not be a clever way in for all of you but perhaps the four of us can find a way for you guys to get in unseen." Duke suggested.

Erza nodded and seemed pleased with the idea.

"You might be right Duke. You guys might find a better way in for us." Erza agreed.

Lucy then smiled and turned to her wolf.

"Which also means we can see for ourselves as well as long as we sync our sights together." Lucy said looking at her wolf.

Duke smirked. It's been a while since they've used this technique, he remembered Natsu and Happy's reactions when they watched them use it the first mission they went on together.

"Alright then we're counting on you four. Be careful and if it's too risky evacuate immediately. After all you're still recovering from earlier." Erza reminded him.

The wolf mentally sighed. She was right he couldn't risk taking out enemies on his own. Especially with the exceeds. Lily and he could fight them off but Carla and Happy would be left defenseless.

"I understand." Duke agreed.

He then turned to the three cats.

"Alright come on you three let's fly." Duke said as he took off summoning his white wings.

The three exceeds then took off after him, leaving the others to themselves.

"Think they'll be okay?" Gray asked.

"Yeah, Duke's with them and if things go south Lily will be there to help and I'll see what's happening so we can run in after them if it comes down to that." Lucy answered.

Natsu nodded as he watched the cats and wolf fly off and behind the ship, careful to keep low and out of sight of the ship. He trusted both Happy and Duke to find a way in but the second they run into trouble he's running in no questions asked.

Looking back to Lucy flashes of the scenes he'd seen not a few hours ago came to his mind. He'll be damned if anything happened to Duke again. He then turned his gaze back to the ship.

'Be careful Duke.'

Duke led the group around the back side of the ship and spotted a vent big enough for them to slip and had a blind spot as well. The wolf flew over to the vent and motioned for the three cats to remove the cover of the vent. With the three they were able to remove the cover easily and they then slipped into the vent.

The white wolf then activated his sight syncing with Lucy as they entered.

'We're in.' Duke said through the mental gate connecting his and Lucy's thoughts.

'Alright, be careful through there Duke.' She responded back.

The group made their way through the vent when they came across another opening so they could see what was below them. Lily removed the cover and peeked through to see if anyone was around.

"Is it clear Lily?" he asked the cat.

"Yeah for now but we should hurry. Who knows if they have a patrol coming back around." He answered.

They all then jumped down quietly and snuck their way around the ship. Duke kept his ears open, taking in all the sounds for anyone that might be coming their way. When they came around a corner they saw two enemy mages talking at the opposite end of the hall. Duke moved in front of the cats and motioned for them to go one at a time so they wouldn't be spotted. When they were all across Duke made his way over to them as they continued on.

So far they couldn't see a way the others could get in without making all of them aware of their presence. The wolf cursed in his head as they continued forward. If they couldn't find one soon they run a greater risk of being caught by the enemy and that was a chance they couldn't take.

'Lucy we don't see a way for you guys to get in yet. The more we stay the greater the risk is. What do you think?' Duke asked her.

'If you think it's too much of risk Duke don't do it. We can find another way to do this.'

Duke looked to the cats. They were looking at him for further instructions.

"What next?" Lily whispered.

"Do you want to go with the risk?"

"We can examine a little further, if the results are the same then we should head back. No point in getting caught later."

Duke nodded as he motioned for them to continue. Hopefully they could find something.

Lucy waited for more word from Duke. She could see that they were walking, meaning that they decided to go further. She heard what Lily had said. He was right for the most part.

Natsu looked at Lucy anxiously. He could tell she was focused on what Duke was seeing and it didn't look promising.

"I'm guessing they found nothing then?" Natsu asked.

"No but they're looking a little more before turning back. I hope they find a way in though. That would make things a lot easier." Lucy responded.

'Lucy we found a way in. It's another blind spot too so we won't be spotted. We're coming back to grab you guys.' Duke spoke.

'Got it. Be careful.'

She then turned to the others.

"Duke found our way in. They're coming back to grab us." Lucy told them.

Everyone nodded and waited for the group to come back.

Duke was first to be seen as he landed in front of them. With the three exceeds following.

"We'll need to be quick. Stay quiet and alert." Duke informed them as he turned his head to Natsu.

"What?" the fire dragon slayer asked.

"That goes double for you Natsu." Duke said with a slight chuckle in his voice.

Natsu glared but didn't last more than a second as it turned to a small smile. The wolf knew him well he'll give him that. Duke then got beside Lucy allowing the girl to climb on him. Happy went to Natsu as he picked him up. Carla picked up Wendy and Lily picked up Erza. Leaving Gray without a ride. Duke sighed as he realized now that they were one short.

"Looks like ice queen can stay here!" Natsu called down picking fun at the ice mage.

"Can it fire breathe!" Gray shouted back.

Duke growled at the noise they were causing which silenced the two before they could go on. Duke looked at the other exceeds and knew they weren't strong enough to carry 2 mages. Sure Lily might be able to if he transformed but Duke wanted to save as much magic as possible before they faced the group inside.

The wolf then flew up and came behind the ice mage, grabbing him by the shirt collar as he flew fast towards the blind spot they emerged from. The exceeds quickly followed, getting the message to make it as fast as possible.

"You alright down there Gray?" Lucy asked him, being sure to be as quiet as she could.

"Yeah but I'll be better when I'm on the ground." He said looking down.

He trusted Duke but knew that he was probably struggling a bit with the extra weight he was carrying.

Duke hurried and made it to the opening quickly putting Gray safely on the ground, then landing himself. Lucy slowly got off her wolf and they turned to see the others landing behind them.

"I'll lead and track down their scent but no loud noises or running off. We can't risk more than what we already are." Duke whispered.

They all nod and follow the wolf down the hall. He was quickly tracking the scent of what he assumed was their leader. It was more defined and stronger than the others that were present in the ship. When they made it to a split Duke gave a quiet growl as he noticed that the scent split off three ways.

"Looks like this is where we'll have to split up for now. The scent splits three ways here." Duke told them.

Erza then stepped forward and took it from there.

"Alright then we'll just have to split up then. Gray and I will take the left. Wendy, Lily, and Carla take the right. Natsu, Lucy, Duke, and Happy take the middle. We might be lucky enough that they lead to the same place." Erza said.

"What do you mean by that?" Wendy asked.

"If Duke says it splits off three ways. It could mean that he walked each passage way yes but it could also mean that wherever they lead are the same place." Erza answered.

"Good point. The scent is strong, that's why I assumed it was their leaders. All the others are duller." Duke mentioned.

"Alright then. Be careful everyone and best of luck. Hopefully we'll meet at the end of the passage ways." Erza said.

They all nodded and then turned and began walking down their own paths.

Duke was in the lead with Happy closely at his side while Natsu and Lucy brought up the rear. The white wolf could smell the scent slowly getting even stronger with every step they took. He then stopped abruptly and perked his ears, causing the others to stop immediately.

"What is it Duke?" Lucy asked.

Natsu on the other hand was picking up what Duke had. He sniffed the air and a familiar scent came into his nose. He looked over to Duke who nodded. The two then sprinted ahead, leaving Lucy and Happy to try and catch up behind them.

When they emerged they were greated with a man sitting on what appeared to be his captain's chair or his throne. Whatever this man preferred. He had long white hair and a long white beard to match. Duke could sense the power residing in the man making his fur slowly stand up on end. Though that wasn't what shocked Natsu and Duke the most. There standing in the middle of the room was none other than two familiar dragon slayers.

"Gajeel." Duke said.

"Laxus." Natsu said.

Lucy and Happy caught up to the two to be greeted by same sight. They were both surprised to see them but they were more surprised to see Laxus there. Duke remembered that the mage was banished by his grandfather for the acts against Fairy Tail only about a month after the ordeal with Phantom Lord. It was a memory that Duke would like to forget, he knew the intention behind everything he had done but that still didn't excuse what had been done.

'Why on earthland would he be back here now? Does he want to make up for what he had caused? No he couldn't have heard about this happening. It's too far away and no one else knows what has happened here. I wonder then why he decided to come here.' Duke thought to himself.

He couldn't make sense of it. He looked over to Natsu who only showed a smile on his face as he saw him.

'Natsu seems happy. I guess I should be too, this means that we actually might stand a chance then.'

"Well it's about time more of you fairies showed up. I was hoping for some kind of fight from you lot. Though I'm afraid that you all are fighting a pointless battle." The man said.

He got up from his chair as he looked at them. He then smiled as he looked at the other two tunnels and saw the others emerge. Duke looked back and saw the same amount of shock on their faces. He then turned to the man before them.

The man noticed the wolf too and he began to laugh at not only him but the exceeds.

"Kittens and puppies. My Makarov really is out of his mind." He mocked them.

Duke growled at the insult.

"My quite a temper they have as well." He continued.

Duke was growing angrier the more he talked. He knew his actions weren't helping and that it was only making things worse for them but his instincts took over his thoughts. His growls grew more vicious.

"After today, I'll not only have Fairy Tail but I think you furry creatures would make a wonderful trophy for my victory."

Duke then snapped as he launched himself forward, though he wasn't the only one. Natsu was close behind him. The others ran behind as backup for the two as they ran forward.

Duke led the attack as he sprinted towards the man and launched himself in the air. He opened his jaws to show his sharp teeth as he got closer to the man's face.

Lucy standing back watching as the man didn't show fear or surprise as Duke jumped in the air. Her eyes widened as she saw him preparing some kind of attack.

"Open Gate of the Lion! Loke!" She shouted as she held out his key.

Loke appeared and ran towards them quickly making it behind the man as he was about to attack. Loke used his ring magic as he attacked the man from behind Duke, seeing the opportunity, jumped on top of the man as he was hit by Loke's magic. Then sent him forward to Natsu, who was charging forward with a fist of fire.

The man was then thrown back to the wall in front of them as they all stood their ready for his next move. He got up and laughed as he looked at them.
"If it's a game you kids want. It's a game you're gonna get." He angrily said. "Fairy Tail will be no more!"

Duke felt more magic energy emerging from the man as he stood there. He stood protectively in front of Natsu as they were in a standoff with the man.

"You'll regret the day you crossed Fairy Tail. You have no idea what you have just gotten yourself into." Duke said with confidence.

His fur fluffed and his tail twitched in anger. His eyes narrowed. He'd protect his pack no matter what and this man would know what fear truly was.

That ends this chapter. Thanks again guys for being so patient and following this story. This is actually one of my favorite ones to write and update. It takes a lot of thought and rewriting to get it just right for the next chapter so again I'm sorry for the long waits between chapters. I hope you guys liked this chapter and stay tuned for the next chapter hopefully coming soon!

~wolvesfinalden