What's this?! Two updates in one day? Is this some sort of special occasion? Well, you're right. I have officially been on this site for a whole year now! How crazy is that? I've met so many awesome people and have read some of the best stories EVER! I just wanted to sat a big THANKS to everyone who has read any of my dumb fics and reviewed, favourited and followed. Extra thanks to FalynELF, AsDarknessSpreads and EternalFlame401 for being fucking awesome people! Anyways... on with the authors notes.

This is my tenth fic WHOOOO! I've been working on this fic for so long now and even though the planning still isn't finished, I wanted to get this chapter out there. Also, there WILL be a lot of plot-holes in this as I started writing this fic before Tartarus had finished. I've tried to keep it as up to date as I could but it's still gonna be pretty off. This fic takes place after their battle with Zeref so WARNING SPOILERS AHEAD! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail.

Mystery Circle

By PokeTail

Chapter One - Meteor Shower

It was a glorious day in the town of Magnolia. It was mid-day on a Saturday which meant the streets were lined with children playing and having the time of their lives. The market was open for business and customers were partaking in pleasant conversations with the stall owners. Five figures were walking through the streets with their head held high as they were bathed in the soothing sunlight. Some of the locals would wave and commend them for a job well done as the team continued on their journey back to the place they all loved so dearly.

"Man, I'm starving!" The pink haired wizard patted his stomach, grinning.

"Me too," his feline partner agreed. "I hope Mira will cook us up something super tasty."

Fairy Tail's strongest team was returning to their guild hall after completing their job of defeating a group of bandits that were causing trouble in a vast amount of villages.

"I'm surprised we handled that job so easily," Wendy Marvel stated to the two other girls on the team. Considering they only left for the job early that same morning, Wendy was surprised that they had already returned home in such a small amount of time.

"We have all improved a great amount since the incident with Zeref," Erza Scarlet proclaimed.

It had only been a few months since Fairy Tail triumphed over Zeref and his demons, and a lot of things had changed in Magnolia. For starts, most of the town had to be re-built due to it being torn apart in the fight. Thankfully, other guilds such as Sabertooth and Lamia Scale were more than happy to help.

"Still, I can't believe how much I've improved," Lucy Heartfelia began, "I mean, I thought I'd improved quite a bit during Fairy Tail's disbandment but this is crazy. I feel like I've doubled my magic power since then!"

"I'm able to control my premonitions even more that I used to," Carla smiled. "But I still do get the occasional surprise vision."

Whilst the girls marvelled at their strength, the males of the team threw fists towards one another while at the same time screaming a list of insults.

"Glad to know nothing will ever change with those two," Erza rolled her eyes.

The girls had been extremely worried about the pair of quarrelling wizards. After they had found out Natsu was E.N.D. Gray hadn't exactly been himself. The black marks that he supposedly had control over came back and he let his anger get the better of him. Determined to kill E.N.D, a fight ensued between them. Of course, it wound up being a draw with both slayers exhausting themselves, but they finally managed to bring Gray back to his senses. After that the Fairy Tail guild went through some very dark times, however now it seemed that it was all a distant memory.

The girls carried on with their cheery conversations while Natsu and Gray continued directing punches and kicks at each other. Surrounding locals smiled at the teams' usual fanatics. Entering the Fairy Tail guild hall, the team were greeted by the always joyful bar tender.

"Welcome back guys," Mirajane Strauss chimed. "How was the job?"

"Easy, as usual. Gramps should just make me S-Class right now," Natsu roared.

"Don't hold your breath, Salamander," Makarov called from the other side of the room. He was staring at the magical archive, joined by Levy, Gajeel, Juvia, Cana and a few others.

"What seems to have everyone's attention," Erza inquired.

"A list of all the dark guilds that have popped up over the last couple of months. You'd think that after the Balam Alliance was defeated, the amount of dark guilds would decrease."

Whilst Happy chowed done on a fish, the team were enjoying a nice drink... well the girls were, Natsu was jugging down some fire whilst Gray chomped on some ice. They were soon interrupted by their beloved master.

"Natsu, Gray," he began. The two in question looked up. "Apparently, the dark guild, Bloodford, have been involved in a lot of activity shall we say."

Their eyes widened. "What?!" They cried in unison.

"Who're Bloodford?" Wendy asked, turning to the pair. "I've never heard of them."

"Yeah, neither have I," Happy added.

Mira had begun to draw Bloodford's guild emblem - a fancy looking cross - with a light pen as more and more of their guild mates gathered around.

"I didn't think we'd be hearing from them again," Cana stated.

"You don't think they'd..." Levy started before being interrupted by Black Steel Gajeel.

"Do what?"

"What is everyone talking about? Juvia is confused."

"Those bastards are no men."

"Would someone please explain what you are all talking about?" Lucy finally asked.

"Hmm, you guys won't have heard. It happened eight years ago - fifteen more like," Erza replied. "It's a long story really."

XXX

"A meteor shower?" Jet and Droy said in unison.

"Yep, it's supposed to be really pretty. I really want to see it," a young Levy explained.

"Can I come? It seems like it'd be fun," Lisanna chirped.

"What'll be fun?" Natsu asked growing bored of his latest brawl.

"A meteor shower. It's tonight!"

"What is?" Gray and Cana joined the conversation.

Levy, once again, explained the phenomenon in more detail and were joined by the rest of the guild youngsters, all staring in awe at images Levy showed them of previous meteor showers.

"Huh? You kids interested in the meteor shower? Tell you what, when I get back from my job this evening. I'll take you all to see it," the kids' role model, Gildarts laughed.

"ALRIGHT!" The kids cheered.

"Where is he?" Levy wondered, getting impatient.

"Where's who?" Natsu and Gray both asked, throwing fists at each other.

"You already forgot, didn't you?" Erza groaned, pushing the two apart. "Gildarts said he'd take us all to see the meteor shower when he got home from his job."

Levy sulked. She was really looking forward to the event, especially sharing it with her friends.

"Hey brats," Makarov called. "I've got Gildarts on the communication Lacrima for you all."

Everyone then huddled around the Lacrima, eager to find out when their idol will show up.

"Hey everyone. Listen, I've been having a few problems on the job and won't be able to make it back in time for the meteor shower. Sorry guys, gotta dash," and with that Gildarts hung up.

Tears started for form in Levy's eyes as Jet and Droy tried their best to comfort her.

"I was really looking forward to seeing it too," Lisanna sighed.

It then dawned upon Natsu. "Why can't we go and see it without Gildarts?" He looked over to the master.

"I would be more at ease if there were an adult with you to keep an eye on you all," Makarov replied taking a sip from his drink.

"But we go out on jobs alone all the time," Gray added.

After mulling it over, and having many of his children give him puppy-dog-eyes, Makarov finally decided to let his children go out and see the event. What could go wrong? Magnolia was as safe as they come.

"I CAN'T WAIT!" Levy cried jumping up and down, which was unusual for the shy wizard.

Each of them had brought a bag packed with: a sleeping bag, a canteen and some scraps of food to keep their hunger to a minimum.

"What's the big deal about a couple of rocks?" Mira questioned, still wondering why she'd decided to tag along.

"Nee-san, please just try to enjoy it," Elfman smiled to his older sister who tutted upon hearing this.

"You should listen to your brother, Mira. This could be a good experience for us all," Erza glanced towards her rival.

"There you go again, turning everything into one of your school classes," Mira growled as the two were about to throw down.

"And she says 'we shouldn't fight'," Natsu rolled his eyes.

"That's Erza for you," Gray replied.

"What was that?"

"Nothing," both boys froze panicking.

After they had made it to an opening, everything began to go wrong. Erza and Mira had continued arguing, which in turn made Natsu and Gray begin to fight without Erza realising. Levy had placed her sleeping bag next to Cana so Jet and Droy were arguing over who got to sit next to Levy, which left Lisanna and Elfman trying to pry their older sister off of Erza.

"Maybe we should have come with an adult?" Levy realised, considering what her friends were usually like, she should have seen all of this coming.

"They're bound to run out of energy sooner or later," Cana reassured. "Gray, your clothes!"

"GAH! How long have I been like this?"

Natsu laughed at his rival before the fight continued.

Their entire camp was filled with arguments and fights. Levy looked over to each individual quarrel and frowned. "This was supposed to be fun," she muttered to herself. She reached into her pocket and grabbed her watch; it was almost midnight, the meteor shower was about to start. Taking another look at her friends, she realised it was futile to try to get their attention. She took a seat on her sleeping bag and swigged down her drink. Looking up at the sky she noticed a tiny ball of light pierce through the darkness. Levy's eyes suddenly lit up. "Everyone look!" And at that moment: Jet and Droy stopped arguing, Natsu and Gray stopped fighting, Erza and Mira too. Everyone looked up to the sky just in time to see hundreds - if not thousands - of white lights speeding across the night sky. Everyone huddled together to enjoy the spectacle, gawking at the incredible event they were experiencing together. The children smiled to one another, each realising how fortunate they were to have met each other. Even though most of their lives had already gone to hell, things were starting to look up for the next generation of wizards.

The meteor shower was over - what felt like to the children - as soon as it had started. Each of them were zonked out and having pleasant dreams. The moon was about to say its farewells as it left the morning sun to watch over the young'uns. Everything was quiet until...

"What was that?" Natsu whispered to himself in order not to wake the others. He could have sworn he heard branches snapping from the distance. He listened a little while longer until he could hear very faint footsteps gradually getting louder. With a determined expression on his face, Natsu wriggled out of his sleeping bag and began tip-toeing towards the sound.

"Where the hell are you going?" A voice whispered to him.

"What's it to you?" Natsu knew exactly who he had been caught by.

"Nothing, just remember that if a certain red-head wakes up to find you missing, there'll be hell to pay," Gray smirked.

"I'm just going to check out a noise I heard, alright?"

"Well, I'm up now, I might as well join you."

"Like hell you are."

"Fine then. I'll just tell Erza that you ran off into the Vulcan infested forest alone."

Natsu gritted his teeth. "Fine."

The two boys crept through the forest, not daring to make a sound until they were a distance away from the camp.

"Oi, which way did you say they were coming from?" Gray whispered glancing around at the densely wooded area.

"This way, I'm sure," Natsu answered.

The boys kept walking until they came to a small clearing in the sea of green. At this point they could both hear footsteps. Natsu's fist lit up with a crimson flame whilst Gray created a frozen sword. Keeping their eyes on every corner of the forest, they got into their battle stances.

"My, my. I didn't expect my target to simply show his face to me. Kept my mission simple," a voice from the tree tops chuckled.

This man, who looked to be in his late teens, wore no shirt with black harem pants and geta sandals. His messy dark green hair almost reached to his shoulders and a sadistic look took over his face. Natsu growled and began to charge at the man, but was soon stopped in his tracks when he took a quick look at the floor.

"What the hell is this?!" he cried, no longer caring if his guild mates were to wake up.

"A magic circle?" Gray murmured.

"Spot on kiddo. You're a smart one aren't ya?" the man turned to Gray, a smug look on his face. He then snapped his fingers which in turn sent a jolt of pain through the two boys.

"ARG!" they both screamed, no longer having control over their body's as they twitched in pain.

Suddenly, the flames surrounding Natsu's fist diminished, eventually disappearing and Gray's ice sword shattered. When the pain ceased, the two were forced to their knees, gasping for breath.

"What the hell? I can't gather up any strength," Natsu panicked.

"You think it's because of that bastard's magic?" Gray questioned struggling to his feet.

"Wow, you're really coming up with all the answers today, ice wizard. However, you're irrelevant to my task. I can't have you getting in my way, can I?" the man glared toward Gray.

The next this they knew, that man, who was seemingly of an average build, cast a magic circle around himself and his muscles started to grow an incredible amount. Walking over to the boys, he pulled his arm back and sent a punch directly towards Gray. Not having any time to react, the raven-haired boy was forced back through the forest and collided with the trees. The sheer force of the attack had not only knocked him out, but also sent some trees crashing to the ground.

"Gray!" Natsu yelled, turning back to the man.

"Now for your turn, Salamander."

Many of the guild members liked to be up early to snatch the best jobs before the rest got out of bed, so Makarov had to be up at the crack of dawn to open the guild doors. Fortunately for the youngsters, Makarov could hear occasional 'bang' noises coming from the forest his children were camping in. At first he thought it would be those two idiots in an early fighting session before breakfast, but even he knew that those two couldn't cause damage to that extent. Something was wrong. Makarov decided to save opening the guild doors for later as he began to make a mad dash for the forest.

After a lot of running, and the occasional trip over a branch, Makarov wasn't far from his children's location and now he was positive something was wrong. He could sense an evil magic threatening the youngsters and his was NOT happy about it. And his anger definitely erupted when he saw the state of two of his own. Gray was slumped across the floor, buried in a pile of broken trees, dried blood and cuts covering his body. Natsu was being held at the head by the strange man that had attacked them. His arm was heavily muscled and much larger than the rest of his body. Slowly forcing his eyes open, Natsu glanced over towards Makarov.

"G-Gramps," Natsu stuttered before falling unconscious.

"What fool do you think you are attacking my children?" Makarov asked, an aggressive demeanour surrounded him.

The man slightly hesitated before replying. "Didn't expect a visit from the master so early in the morning."

"Be gone from my sight!" He cried sending a rain of light towards the man.

Throwing the pink-haired boy to the ground, the man did his best to dodge the shower of light, one of which managed to scuff his right shoulder, revealing his guild mark. Dust started to rise over the battle field so the man took this opportunity to escape and live another day. When the dust cleared, Makarov gritted his teeth when he realised he'd let the enemy escape, but slight relief flew over him when he noticed both boys still remained lying on the ground.

"Master, what happened?" Erza questioned, running over to a fallen Natsu. She hadn't even noticed Gray unconscious a distance away.

"I'm not sure myself, where are the others?"

"Mira took them the long way out of the forest, she said she'd take them all back to the guild."

"At least they're all safe. Would you mind carrying Natsu back to the guild?"

"Not at all," Erza slung Natsu onto her back as Makarov used his Titan magic to pull the trees off of Gray's limp body.

"Dammit," the man whispered, watching the Fairy Tail wizards return to their base of operations. "This is not over, of that, I am certain." He disappeared into the shadows.

"They have multiple broken bones," Porlyusica explained to the master and red-head.

"Natsu, Gray," Erza muttered, overwhelming concern was shown in her voice.

"Don't worry Erza, I'm sure they'll pull through. Go and tell the others what happened." and with that, Erza obeyed the words of her master and left the room.

"Do you have any idea who did this?" the healer asked.

"I managed to get a glimpse at his guild mark, Bloodford."

"They haven't been active for ages now. I wonder what changed."

XXX

"We never found out why they attacked. All we know is that they were after Natsu for some unexplained reason," Erza finished her story.

Natsu and Gray both snarled at the memory of being beaten so easily.

"Hah, you two are so pathetic," Gajeel mocked, which earned him a punch from both boys.

"Still, I'm not surprised you two didn't try to go after them," Lucy mentioned.

"Trust us we tried," Gray folded his arms and leaned back in his chair. "Gramps and Erza managed to catch us each time. It didn't help they we had no idea where we were going. And we both got on each other nerves way too much."

"That sounds more like you two," Happy smiled.

"But it was a good meteor shower," Cana joked, which earned her a glare from Natsu and Gray but a chuckle from everyone else.

XXX

In the far corners of Fiore, in a castle-like building. Five figures walked down the darkness filled hallway.

"Has it really been fifteen years since then?" one figure asked.

"You mean since your royal fuck up?" another mocked, grinning.

"I'd think twice before saying that to me. I've since learned from my mistake and I'm now the strongest member of our guild."

"Calm down you two," yet another figure said, a blank expression on her face.

"Listen to her. We can't have either of you wrecking our mission," this figure fashioned the same blank expression as the previous one.

"Urg! You're all so annoying!" a particularly short figure moaned. "Let's just get on with this stupid mission already!"

The figures continued walking towards their meeting point.

To be continued in chapter two - Hiding for Far Too Long

YEAH! First chapter done! Also if anyone read Fairy Who, the ending to that was kinda foreshadowing to this fic so... yeah.

This fic won't be updated for a looooooooooong time as I still haven't finished planning for future chapters. If anyone wants to give me a hand that would be great. All I need is an idea for an event in the Grand Magic Games (not something they used in FT) I have six so far out of the seven I require for this fic. If you're wondering why there are so many I extended the number of days the GMG takes place to better fit this story. Once I have the final event, I'll be able to finish all the planning and be able to work on the chapters. And I definitely won't be updating this until Return of The Calamity is over either so please be patient with me guys.

Don't forget to follow this story so you know when I finally decide to update and feel free to leave a review. If you wanna help with this fic you can PM me. :)

Laters!