A/N: Finally! Got another chapter done!

I don't own Fairy Tail!

Please enjoy!

Chapter 51: Ready for This Fight

April 22, X792 – Night

Cordelia was becoming more and more irritated throughout the night. With having to run around town with Ingrid and Kasra and then running into Mingo and his crew and not finding Van Black at the music hall all while doing it in the rain was running the guild master's patience thin. A worker in the music hall said that they could find Van and her band out at a bar, but he had no idea which one, and with Solis having so many bars to search through, Cordelia was certain it would be well past morning when they found them.

Cordelia dragged a hand over her face upon hearing Mingo hitting on Ingrid for the hundredth time while Kasra was basically a shining beacon screaming 'I'M OPEN FOR BUSINESS' in reply to the blonde man.

"I'm getting a drink at the next bar we stop at," Cordelia mumbled.

"I was just thinking about the same thing!" Zinnia said as she twirled by Cordelia with Swabbie.

Watching the pair dance in the rain made Cordelia smile briefly until a heavy hand smacked down onto her shoulder and she was certain that her feet sunk into the mud by a good three inches.

"The champion will drink with you! It is just another challenge I shall win!"

Cordelia quirked an eyebrow up at him, "Didn't my mages win against you?"

Atlas faltered briefly before he straightened his back again and laughed loudly in response, "One match against them proves nothing! We will fight again and you will see why I am the world's greatest fighter!"

"How about this place?" Zinnia asked as she dipped Swabbie in front of a warmly lit bar. The sign above the door read 'The Lighthouse Lounge'.

"Might as well," Cordelia said with a shrug.

The group walked into the bar, feeling a great deal warmer as soon as they stepped in. A handful of people looked up when they walked in, but for the most part, the group was left alone. Soft music played while low murmurs of conversations could be heard. They made their way over to an open table and drink orders were soon taken.

It was a quarter of a way through her beer that Cordelia caught movement in her peripheral. She heard the clicks of high heels before she fully saw anything. She saw the spike studded black heels next before her eyes moved up to revolvers hanging at the sides of hourglass hips. She then looked up further to take in the long sheet of black hair and seemingly darker eyes, crimson lips smiling down at her.

Cordelia stared at the woman before her for a long moment, longer than she probably should have, but it was hard not to when Van Black stood right in front of her. Cordelia knew she was beautiful before, but they had also been trying to size each other up and fighting off bandits the last time they met. It was hard to concentrate on things at the time, but Cordelia was sure if there ever was a picture in the dictionary for gorgeous, this woman would be it.

"Hello, Guild Master Murdock," Van said with that rich, honeyed bourbon voice.

Cordelia knew if she had been standing, her knees probably would have buckled, 'Jesus, if I wasn't already in love with someone else…' Cordelia thought.

"Oh, my lovely Cordelia, do we need to give you two some privacy?" Ingrid purred, shattering the moment completely.

Cordelia narrowed her eyes at Ingrid, hissing at the woman. She then cleared her throat and turned back to the musician, "Hello, Van Black."

"I'm surprised to see you here."

"I could say the same to you. I wasn't expecting you in a place like this."

Van laughed at that, "Were you expecting to find me in a hardcore bar, heavy metal music blaring, and bar fights erupting everywhere?"

"Well…yeah, kind of."

"And that's why I come to places like this. No fans to disturb me and the quiet atmosphere relaxes me before we go on for a show," she explained, earning a nod from Cordelia, "And what brings you to Port Solis? How's the treasure hunt going? Must be pretty damn interesting, considering the wanted posters I've seen."

"Ah, yeah, those were complimentary of Vice Admiral Bern Eversaw," Cordelia said with a wide smile, "I looked good in it, yeah?"

Van let another laugh escape, "Hell yeah, you did."

"But the treasure hunt is coming to an end, finally! Though, we kinda need your help again."

"I figured it would come to that," she said, motioning towards a table full of men dressed similarly to her to come join her. She quickly introduced them as the rest of her band, "We headed back to your guild then?"

"You don't have to go that far," Cordelia said, "We can take care of business here."

"I want to see your guild again," Van said with a smirk, "Plus, you started with me at the guild, might as well finish the same way. And then there is that cigarette you promised me. Don't tell me you're going back on your word now, Guild Master Murdock."

"Of course not!"

The outburst had the table laughing in response.

"Then let's get going."

Cordelia agreed, her group quickly finishing up their drinks. They all began making their way outside, and after two steps out the door, Cordelia turned a pale green before faceplanting into the ground.

"What the hell?" Van asked as everyone turned to look back at her.

"Ohhhh, the land sickness medicine must have worn off!" Zinnia said, looking over to see Ingrid leaning up against Kasra, "Yep, it definitely wore off!"

"No worries! The champion has this covered!" Atlas said as he easily picked Cordelia up and hoisted her over one of his shoulders.

"This has got to be one of the shittiest nights of my life," Cordelia mumbled, praying that she wouldn't throw up on the way back to the guild.

. : + : .

"Well, my pretty little Cordelia, this is where we leave you," Ingrid said with a smile once they were back on the guild. They stood on the head ship, Zinnia having already run off somewhere while Van, Mingo, and their groups having gone down into her main office.

"Great! Good night!" Cordelia snapped, more than happy to be rid of her companions for the night.

"There's no need to be so moody, my dear," Ingrid said, her face going unusually serious, "I was never going to actually tell anyone about Seven. I'm not that cruel."

The two women stared each other down, Cordelia oddly believing that Ingrid was telling the truth. Cordelia nodded towards the woman in a silent thank you.

"But it was just so easy to blackmail you, love. You should really work on that."

Cordelia let out an irritated shout as she watched Ingrid prance back towards Kasra with a sly smile, the two disappearing into the night. She then made her way down to her office, never guessing in a million years that the group of people that filled it would come together. It was such a strange sight, seeing her own mages mixed in with the navy, a rock band, and a siren.

"What a sight to behold," she said, causing everyone to turn and look at her. She looked at the siren directly, "Thank you for attending, Rhouth."

The siren nodded in reply.

"Bernie!" she continued, turning a wide smile on the vice admiral, "And I see you brought your captains," she said, glaring at Desmond.

"Don't ever send a message like that to me again," Bern said with a growl.

"Oh, you know you loved it!"

"All right, baby doll, what are we all doing here?" Duke asked, standing by Finn, Regina, Sam, and Matilda.

"Battle planning!" she answered as she took the chair behind the desk, "But first! To finish this stupid map!" she said, motioning for Van to step forward, "Looks like we'll need another drop of your blood."

Van read over the map, "Seems like it," she said, pulling out a small knife.

"Who are you?" Duke asked.

"Van Black, granddaughter to William Blackstroker, the asshole who thought it would be hilarious to make this treasure hunt," Cordelia answered, a scowl on her face.

Van pricked her finger and let a drop of blood fall onto the map right as Cordelia answered. While Cordelia expected the map to fully reveal itself, a ripple of magic burst from it instead. The map began to float and transform into a human shape. Another large ripple of magic erupted from it, leaving behind a gray-haired, proudly smiling old man.

"Oh, you know you loved it!" the old man repeated Cordelia's earlier words, looking directly at the guild master.

"Who the hell are you?!" Cordelia shouted.

"Jesus, old man, you're such a fucking tool," Van said.

"Wait…this is your gramps?! As in William Blackstroker?!"

"The one and only!" he said, straightening his large, gray moustache.

Everyone went silent, staring at the old man dressed in an expense red coat with gold buckles. Cordelia just sat their blinking for a long moment, trying to take in the fact that her current bane of existence was standing right in front of her.

Then she snapped. She let out a roar and she leapt from her chair and over the desk, pulling back her fist. As soon as she landed in front of the old man, she slammed her fist across his face, instantly knocking him out and dropping him to the floor.

The room went silent again, until there was a resounding, "Daaaaaaaaaaamn!" throughout the office.

"Cordelia!" Regina said, frowning at her daughter, "You should know better! And in front of his granddaughter, no less!"

"It's cool," Van said, causing Regina to stare at her in confusion, "The asshole definitely deserved it."

Cordelia straightened her clothes out, held her head high, and took her place behind her desk again, "Let's get started with the planning, shall we?"

The group took one last look at the knocked-out William Blackstroker before turning away to begin planning for the upcoming battle.

. : + : .

April 23, X792 – Dawn

Morning had come too quickly, and Cordelia definitely didn't get enough sleep after all the planning had been completed. Sam and Matilda helped speed things up after the planning to spread the news out to the rest of the guild. She could feel the entire guild on edge with the upcoming battle, but there was a confidence and determination underneath it all. She felt electrified and energized despite spending the night in the rain, planning a final battle, and getting about three hours of sleep.

She stood at the edge of her guild at the back of it, staring out at the approaching black ships that made up the Black Skulls. The rising sun enhanced their outline and the misting rain made them appear hazy, but Cordelia could see the men steering the ships perfectly. Roberts was at the helm of the smaller ship, his face straight and as cold as his magic. And then there was Madmartigan at the main ship, his face filled with anger and his own determination and Cordelia knew then that this was it. This really was the final battle.

She could feel her mages beginning to gather behind her and she felt ready. She was ready for this fight; they were all ready for this fight. It was time to end everything with the Black Skulls. It was time to end Madmartigan.

A/N: And there we are! Hope you all enjoyed it!

Short chapter is short, but that's okay. I got something posted and finished up a few things before the final battle! CHA! Finally! I was originally going to actually show the battle planning in this chapter, but I felt that it would take too long and that it would be better to just show everyone coming together to do the planning and then just having that plan play out in the next few chapters. Didn't want to bore everyone with details that were going to be written up anyways in the actual action scenes. It felt redundant.

Anyways!

Thank you all for your reviews! Awesome as always! And always puts a smile on my face!

That's basically it for now.

Until next time!

Yours Truly,

MyDearWatson