AN: Hello all, I'm back with another update. Sorry for the lateness but I have been very busy in recent months with the ongoing pandemic. I'm a frontline worker with the NHS so been a bit run off my feet. Still I manage to get this one out, though it is a slighter shorter one as I try and get back into the swing of things.

As for the months preceding the whole ongoing crisis thing, well that's on me. I foolishly created another account over a year or so ago now and have been focusing a lot on new stories I made there, and have been a bit neglectful of the stories on this account. Turns out I've over committed myself and now have far too many stories, still I'll prioritise and chug away at them and update as and when I can.

Other than that, I hope you're all doing well and you've not grown too bored of this story, I know it's been a while.

Thanks a lot for reading, and please do leave a review.

Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or Percy Jackson.

( - )

(Last Time)

Meledy thought for a moment, and then nodded. "Fight... yes... every member of Fairy Tail will be purged… especially Perseus…"

Ultear's smile faded and her expression hardened. "You said you understood Master Hades' orders, Meledy. The Master and I will deal with him, your objective is the remaining members of the Fairy Tail."

Meledy looked like she wanted to object, but in the end merely nodded and then said nothing more.

"Then we are agreed," Hades spoke up, his words and the menacing tone of his voice causing the other seven in the room to fall silent. "The Fairy Tail Guild, they don't yet know what true darkness is. That absolute darkness which lurks in the abyss... tonight demons and fairies will dance together. Eat and be proud, or be eaten and scatter. This is the decisive battle, Fairy Tail…"

( - )

Chapter 26

( - )

(On Tenrou Island)

"I fucking hate this island." Gajeel growled, kicking the gelatinous head of the huge blob-like creature he had just beaten down.

"Come on don't be like that, Gajeel!" Levy shot back irritably as she leant against a nearby tree, her arms folded as she waited for her 'partner' to finish venting his irritation out on the strange fauna and flora that inhabited the island. "They beat us fair and square!"

"They got lucky you mean!" Gajeel snapped, baring his sharper than normal canines at the petit, blue haired girl for a moment, before he turned back around and kicked the creature in the head again. His foot almost disappearing from sight as it sank into the creature's gooey body, before rebounding. "I mean what kind of bullshit was that! Did you know that that drunk girl –"

"Cana…" Levy supplied tiredly. "You've been with the Guild for nearly a half year now, Gajeel, you should know your Guild Mate's names…"

"Shut it you!" Gajeel snapped, though with little actual heat in his voice as he instead glared down at the blobby creature in front of him. A yet unidentified species of living shit or something, that had decided to try and attack them whilst they were heading back to the camp. "And again, did you know she could trap people in those cards of hers? What kind of grade A bullshit is that!"

"It's magic, Gajeel, and you can hardly talk about her being overpowered, you're a Dragon Slayer…" Levy sighed. Honestly, she was the one that had missed out on being an S-Class, not him. Yet despite that it ended up being her consoling him, and not the other way around.

"That's not the point!" Gajeel growled. "That wasn't even proper fight, that was the whole reason I came here in the first place!"

Levy's brown eyes flashed with irritation at that statement. "What!? So that was why you came, so you could beat up our friends? Not so you could help me?!"

"Err…" Gajeel mumbled, turning away from the insensate monster now, and instead looking back to his very pissed off partner.

"I can't believe you! Honestly I can't! I thought you'd come to support me, like a friend or something!" A now red faced Levy shouted, raising her voice now as she glared at Gajeel. "I thought you'd changed, that you'd grown up a little! But no, you're still the same arsehole you were when you first attacked the Guild!"

"Hey! Wait now-" Gajeel started, his dark red eyes widening, and his metal studded brows rising as he, for the first time ever, saw Levy losing her temper.

"No! I'm tired of waiting for you to grow up and be a man, I'm going back to the camp, you can do whatever!" Levy snapped, her own temper flaring now, he wasn't the only one pissed off about losing, and if anything she had more right to be pissed off than him, he had no stake in this test after all.

With that said, Levy turned and stormed away, leaving a very surprised Iron Dragon Slayer in her wake as she disappeared into the trees.

"Hey come on girl, wait!" Gajeel shouted, sparing just a single moment to deliver a final kick at the creature's soft squishy head, before he began running after the blue haired girl. "This island is dangerous, you don't know what else is out there!"

"I'll manage!" Levy snapped back, her voice only audible now due to Gajeel's heightened hearing.

( - )

(Back at the Camp)

"So, when do we begin the hunt?" Erza Knightwalker, formally known in Edolas as the 'Fairy Hunter' asked excitedly, her spear, 'The Ten Commandments' gripped tightly in one hand even as a distinctly ferocious smile spread across her striking features.

"Must you always be so vulgar, Knightwalker?" Erza Scarlet asked irritably, idly testing the edge of her gleaming, intricate, purple and black sword, the blade from her Black Wing armour, as she did so.

"Oh come off it, Scarlet. You're as bloodthirsty as me, you're just better at hiding it!" Knightwalker snapped, her lip curling upwards as she got in the face of her doppelgänger and chief rival.

"I don't know what you mean!" Scarlet shot back, now forehead to forehead with Knightwalker, an identical look of barely contained irritation on both of their faces as they began to square off.

"Can you two stop fighting for just a second," Percy sighed from just behind the duo, looking up from inspecting the edge of his own blade, a much simpler silver longsword that Scarlet had lent him, his expression flat as he eyed the bickering duo carefully. "You're both far too similar for your own good."

"I'm nothing like her!" Both Erza Knightwalker and Erza Scarlet snapped at the same time, looking away from one another now, and instead glaring at Percy with the exact same look on their faces.

"Yes, nothing alike…" Percy said dryly, his lip quirking upward for a moment before he glanced up at the sun to check the time.

"You know, I really do feel sorry for Percy right now," Gildarts chuckled from a few metres away, a slight grin on his face as he saw the predicament his ageless friend had gotten himself into.

"Huh, why?" Natsu asked, his brow scrunched up in confusion.

"I'll tell you about it when you're older," Gildarts chuckled, ruffling the head of the nearly twenty year old teen, a shit eating grin on his face as he saw the petulant look the younger man sent him in response. It turns out their relationship had not changed at all, even after Gildarts had failed him. It was something he was very glad about.

"Hey, what does that mean?!" Natsu shouted, his attention now fully on the taller, black cloaked man. "Come on, tell me!"

From beside Natsu, Happy giggled. "They're in loooooove…"

"Who is?!" Natsu snapped, his attention now on Happy.

"Enough," Percy cut them all off, standing up now his sword resting nonchalantly on his shoulder. "Makarov should be at Mavis's grave by now, so we can now start moving out."

"Finally!" Knightwalker cheered spinning her spear skilfully in one hand and flashing Percy a grin as she did so.

"Very well, let's see whether any of them are worthy of becoming S-Class!" Scarlet nodded, her tone overly formal as if she were trying to give some modicum of solemnity to the occasion.

"Blow it out your arse, Scarlet, this is a hunt plain and simple!" Knightwalker shot back.

"Must you always be so annoying!" Scarlet snapped back, the moment lost as she instead glared daggers at her twin.

"Hark who's talking!" Knightwalker snapped back in exactly the same tone.

"And on that note, I think I'm going to head off…" Gildarts chuckled awkwardly, sidling out of the camp as he did so.

"Good luck!" Mira called after him, the white haired barmaid tearing her gaze away from the bickering redheads just long enough to give Gildarts a cheery wave, before she tuned back into the ongoing drama, a look of pure delight on her face.

"Hey, wait up Gildarts!" Natsu shouted, making to run after the older man as he did so.

Before he made it more than a few steps though, a hand on his shoulder stopped him.

"What is it?" Natsu asked, turning back to Percy now his brow furrowed in confusion.

"Head out on your own, like the rest of us. It'll be too unfair if we group together, we want to give them at least a slight chance to escape us…" Percy smiled, releasing the pink haired boy's shoulder now, as he instead gave it a pat. "Hey, tell you what. If you manage to make this exam interesting for the two remaining teams, I'll let you spar with me later on, how about it?"

"You'll fight me?" Natsu asked with a grin, ignoring the groan and look of horror from his partner, Happy, as he instead smashed his fist into his palm.

"It's a promise," Percy smiled, his green eyes twinkling slightly as he saw the excitement on Natsu's face. The Dragon Slayer was a good kid, a bit annoying and immature, but he had a good heart.

"You're on!" Natsu grinned, raising his fist, and then fist bumping the bemused looking Percy, before he then turned and sprinted out of the camp, shouting at the top of his lungs as he did so. "Come on out, Gray! Come out and fight me you pansy!"

"Are you actually going to fight him if he does well?" Scarlet asked as she idly stepped up to stand beside Percy.

"Yeah, I mean no offence to the flame brained moron, but I could easily demolish him in a fight, and well, if you could beat me as soundly as you did, then what chance does he have?" Knightwalker chimed in, taking her place at Percy's other side.

"You'd be surprised," Percy chuckled, a slight grin spreading across his face. "Natsu's potential is incredible. All he needs to do is get his emotions under control, as opposed to letting them control him, and, well, honestly I don't know how strong he'll become."

"Bit optimistic don't you think?" Knightwalker muttered.

"I don't know, I think if he did as Percy said, then he might even be able to beat me, and well if he could defeat me, defeating you would be no trouble at all…" Scarlet said, a fond smile on her face as she looked off in the direction she could still just about hear Natsu shouting out his challenges.

"Was that a challenge, bitch?" Knightwalker snapped.

"It was a statement of fact, cow…" Scarlet snapped back.

"For fuck's sake…" Percy muttered, ignoring Mira's giggles and the two redheads as he instead rubbed his temple with his freehand. What did he do to deserve this?

( - )

(With Gray and Loke)

"This is nothing!" Gray shouted, fending off a flock of large, red eyed birds with a conjured ice sword as he did so. "If I can deal with this, I can be an S-Class mage!"

"You sure are optimistic." Loke grunted, running for his life beside the dark haired teen, his own fists covered in golden light as he tried to fend off the cawing ravens. "And there I was thinking that S-Class wizards should not run from enemies!"

"True," Gray nodded, before without warning he stopped and turned, the ice sword in his hand swinging around without warning as he proceeded to cleave several of the attacking birds in half.

"That wasn't me telling you to stop running!" Loke shouted, as he too skidded to a stop, his eyes widening behind his shades as he saw that Gray was now being flocked by the rest of the large, sharp taloned birds.

"Regulus Impact!" Loke shouted, leaping forward now and backing Gray up as they attempted to fend off nearly fifty vicious, oversized ravens, each of which had razor sharps beaks and talons and stood at nearly three feet tall, many times the size of a normal raven.

"Ice Make: Hammer!" Gray shouted, slamming one of his fists into his open palm, ignoring several bloody cuts he received from the squawking birds around him as he instead created a massive, spiked warhammer of ice, his eyes narrowing as he did so before he then started to lash out at the mass of corvids attacking him.

He did not come all this way, only to be beaten by a flock of mangy birds.

From beside him, Loke continued to wield his golden magic, a slight bit of perspiration forming on the Celestial Spirit's brow as he dipped into his own magic reserves, as opposed to his summoner, Lucy's, a distinct handicap for a Celestial Spirit, but one he would gladly take if it meant both supporting his friend, Gray, and not screwing over his other friends, Lucy and Cana.

"There, I think that's the last of them!" Gray gasped out a few minutes later, his breathing heavier than usual as he saw he saw the remaining birds rapidly flying away.

"But not the end of our troubles," Loke muttered, looking around the verdant, green clearing they had wandered into, his eyes scanning the surrounding trees for a moment, before he stopped. "Listen…"

"Wha…" Gray began, only to stop as he heard a voice calling out in the distance.

"Gray, you perverted stripper, I know you're around here, come on out nancy boy and fight me you tool!"

"Natsu…" Gray sighed tiredly, his rival was the not the person he wanted to see right now. Not because he believed himself incapable of beating the flame brained moron, but instead because he knew the pinked haired idiot would doggedly chase him, force a confrontation and then probably tire him out as he forced the two of them to kick his arse.

Grinning slightly, Loke was about to speak again, only for him to noticeably fall silent instead, his gaze now going over Gray's shoulder, and his body tensing up almost unnoticeably.

Gray however did notice, and reading his friends mood he turned around too, icy mist already starting to cover his hands as he saw just what had Loke on edge.

"Someone..." An androgynous looking teenager, with short, spiky black hair and dark listless black eyes said, stepping out of the dead looking forest as he did so, his black and white robes whipping about behind him as he moved. "There's someone... on this island? I thought there would be no one here..."

A frown passed over Gray's at the sight of the younger teen. "Who are you?"

"This is wrong," Loke muttered, his gaze also on the young teen. "You shouldn't be here, only those of the Guild should be able to find this island!"

"Guild?" The boy repeated, his already pale skin somehow going even paler, even as his intense dark eyes widened in surprise. "Oh... so this island is under the administration of a Wizarding Guild."

"Yeah!" Gray nodded, a prominent scowl on his face as he took a step towards the odd teen. "So you need to leave, now!"

"No!" The boy suddenly shouted, his eyes widening and a look of terror momentarily passing across his face. "Don't come near me!"

Gray froze at the boy's scared response, his gaze locked on the now frightened looking boy. "What are you talking about?"

"Look, fine, I'll leave." The boy pressed on, a shakiness entering his voice now as he backed a step away from the confused Gray and nervous Loke. "Just please don't come near me."

"Listen to him Gray, back away from him now." Loke muttered to his partner, the expression on his face more serious than Gray had ever seen it before. "Now!"

"Loke, what are you-"Gray began to say, only to freeze as he heard the strange boy cry out again.

"N-no..." The unknown teen shouted, clutching his head in pain with one hand, even as he tried to wave them off with his other. "It's coming... the preying death... it's coming..."

Before Gray could even begin to ask the boy what he was talking about, a wave of black energy suddenly erupted forth from the boy, spreading out over his surroundings a sit rapidly closed in on the startled duo. Both of them already starting to fall back, as the wall of forbidding looking energy approached.

"Get down!" Natsu suddenly shouted, the pink haired Dragon Slayer seemingly appearing out of nowhere and knocking them both down with a running tackle, even as the black wave passed over them.

The strange boy's eyes widened at this intrusion, his lips parting slightly in surprise, even as a single, solitary tear formed in one of his eyes. "Na... Natsu..."

In response Natsu got to his feet and glared at the boy, all of his senses tingling with warning. "Who are you?"

"Natsu..." Loke groaned, pushing himself to his feet. "Where did you come from?"

"Don't surprise me like that..." Gray grumbled, getting up and onto his own feet too. The test momentarily forgotten, as his mind instead focused on the near and present threat. "And you, what the hell man?! Why did you attack us like that!?"

"Natsu!" Happy made his appearance, the blue cat streaking through the air towards them. "What's going on? Why did you run off like that, I thought you wanted to ambush them?"

"I don't know what's going on..." Natsu frowned. "But I got a really creepy feeling... something felt, wrong…"

Hearing this, Happy looked around the area in alarm. "What the happened here?"

"The trees..." Loke muttered, also looking around. "This whole area..."

"It looks dead..." Gray add, his eyes locking on the now desolate and barren clearing, and all the spindly and bent looking trees that now surrounded them. "The trees are all withered..."

Happy glanced at the unknown boy. "His magic did this?"

"Death Magic..." Loke muttered, a grim note entering his voice now as he cast the boy a wary look. He had felt it, just before the boy started freaking out, that dark, foul, black magic.

"I don't know who you are, but this is our Guild's island!" Natsu shouted at the boy angrily. "You need to get out of here now, before we make you! I'm serious!"

"You've really grown..." The boy whispered in response, a slight smile playing around his mouth. "I've been waiting to see you, Natsu."

Natsu's eyes widened, at this. Before they suddenly narrowed as he remembered what Loke had just said, this kid had tried to kill his friend, and Gray, with Death Magic. With that in mind he shot forward, his mind already made up as he unleashed a brutal, fire coated punch into the side of boy's face and knocking him down. "Who the hell are you?"

The force of the punch sent the intruder flying several meters away, a faint look of disappointment, not pain, passing across his face, even as he flipped around in the air and landed back on his feet.

"I don't know you!" Natsu yelled. "What's your name?"

In response the other teen only looked on blankly for a moment, before another tear formed in his eye and dripped down his cheek.

Happy's eyes widened. "He's crying?"

"Run..." The teen told them, several more tears joining the first as he continued to stare intensely at Natsu

"The black wave thing?" Gray growled, slamming a mist enshrouded fist on his palm. "Again?"

"Come on, we need to get out of here, Death Magic is no joke, it is literally magic that takes away life!" Loke shouted, grabbing Gray's shoulder as he did so and pulling him away. "We need to leave, now!"

"Loke's right!" Natsu yelled at them, his hackles rising again due to his proximity to the weird boy. "Get away from here!"

A second later another blast of swirling dark energy erupted out of the teen again.

"Natsu!" Happy wailed, watching as the fire user was engulfed by the energy.

"Fuck!" Gray cursed, grabbing Happy's tail and following Loke as they tried to run. "Don't go back there!"

"Natsu!" Happy cried out, struggling against Gray's grip as he tried to get back to Natsu. Only to let out a slight 'eep' sound as the pink haired boy revealed himself to still be alive.

"I'm alright." Natsu told him, patting Happy on the head as his now wailing, little buddy finally made it to him after Gray released his tail. "More importantly..." He continued, his dark eyes flicking back to where the boy was, only for him to see nothing.

"He disappeared?" Loke muttered, looking around cautiously.

"What the hell is going on?!" Gray added, a prominent scowl on his face as he too looked for the creepy looking, dark haired teen.

"Natsu!" Happy paled, glancing at Natsu in fear. "Your scarf..."

"It's black..." Natsu growled, looking down and clutching at his now black scarf furiously. "That bastard... this is the scarf I got from Igneel!"

( - )

(On the Grimoire Heart Airship)

Barely a mile out from Tenrou, the large Grimoire Heart airship continued to sail through the sky as it closed in on its destination

"We finally found him." Ultear, whispered, her dark eyes gleaming with triumphant and her dark red lips curving upwards into a victorious smile. "It seems that he was sleeping, though. It looks like the time has come... Master Hades."

"That man... he alighted on an ancient land, mastered black magic... gave birth to tens of thousands of demons, and then threw the world into chaos. He's the strongest and most evil man in the entire history of the magic world... the Black Mage, Zeref." Hades narrowed his eyes as he looked out at the his waiting troops and elite commanders. "To your posts my warriors, the invasion of Tenrou has now begun!"

( - )

(With Percy)

Coming to a stop in the middle of the First Master's grove, Percy barely spared Makarov a nod or a glance as he instead crossed the leafy ground and came to a stop in front of the simple stone shrine of Mavis Vermillion, Fairy Tail's First Master.

"Shouldn't you be out there causing trouble for the young'uns?" Makarov asked mildly, opening his eyes and looking up at the much taller, and significantly older Perseus, from his positon seated just in front of Mavis's Shrine.

"Erza, and well Erza, are doing that for me. Between the two of them, Gildarts and Natsu, I think Cana, Lucy, Gray and Loke have enough to be going on with for now." Percy replied mildly, resting his sword on the ground as he did so, before taking a seat alongside Makarov, facing the Shrine.

"You know, you're going to have to do something about those two girls, Perseus, before they tear the Guild apart fighting over you." Makarov said with a slight smirk, glancing sideways at Fairy Tail's Ace as he did so.

"I don't know what you mean…" Percy shot back, feigning obliviousness.

"Don't do that, Perseus." Makarov replied, his own voice taking on a harder, sharper tone. "It's not fair to them, either of them. Do not lead them on, and then let them down. It's cruel, and I will not allow it."

Percy's eyes grew a shade colder at Makarov's words, even as he turned to face the shorter man.

"Don't argue with me on this. You're old enough to know better!" Makarov continued resolutely, not backing down, even as he felt those intense, sea green eyes bore into him.

Percy's eye's narrowed a fraction, and a cold wind suddenly whipped through the clearing, disturbing some of the nearby trees and bushes. But that was the only reaction the ancient Demigod gave, before with a sigh he leant back on his hands and instead looked up at the sky.

"It's hard, Makarov, harder then you'll ever know. To fall love with someone, build a life with them, and then lose them. Sure you understand a bit of what I feel, but not all of it. You've never had to sit there and watch as time, age and disease ravages those that you hold most precious. Wives, children, grandchildren, great grandchildren. There is a reason why I gave up on anything more than casual relationships long ago, Makarov." Percy said, his tone bitter at he stared up at the blue sky up above. "It hurts to lose them, to just sit there unable to save them as time takes its toll."

"I cannot imagine how hard that must be, Perseus." Makarov replied softly, looking up at the sky himself now. "The loss of my wife, Sarah, it almost killed me. To think how many times you have suffered such a loss."

"Hn," Percy grunted, his face solemn and his eyes blank. "I have buried three wives, two sons, four grandchildren and three great grandchildren. I remember every one of them, Makarov, their likes and dislikes, their dreams for the future, everything. But that is all I have to cling onto now, their memory."

"Then they are still alive, in your heart and in your memory. You probably already know this by now, but you should not allow loss and pain to dictate your life, your loved ones wouldn't want that, they wouldn't want you to walk through this world miserable and alone. They would want you to live, and laugh, and not commiserate their loss, but celebrate their memory!" Makarov pressed, his voice growing louder and more passionate with every word.

A few moments passed as he finished, the wind, now much calmer, rolling around the clearing, once again rustling the nearby trees.

"Ha," Percy snorted. "You and your speeches!"

Makarov smiled slightly. "And there I was thinking it was one of my better ones?"

"It wasn't bad," Percy allowed, a slight smile on his face once more as inspected the Shrine in front of him. "You remind me a lot of Yury, you know. Your father too had a tendency to shout at me one minute, and then try and teach me words of wisdom, or give me advice, the next." Percy sent Makarov a sideways glance and a smile at this. "You're much better at the wisdom and advice part."

"I can only imagine," Makarov chuckled, a slight smile spreading across his own face as he heard about his father. The man had died quite early on in his life, and so the a lot of the things he knew about him, were from stories that his father's friends; Precht, Warrod and Percy told him.

A few minutes of comfortable silence followed, both men sitting back and just watching the world go by, their gazes resting on the monument to Fairy Tail's First Master.

"You know, this is the first time that I've ever actually seen Mavis's Shrine…?" Percy broke the silence.

"Really?" Makarov asked surprised.

"It never felt right to me, you know, visiting this tribute to her, now when… well…" Percy trailed off and shrugged.

"Yeah, I suppose I can see what you mean." Makarov nodded, he knew exactly what Percy was getting at. "Still, do you think she would have liked it?"

"What the Shrine?" Percy asked, looking around again before smiling. "I think she would have liked the thought behind it. This place, Tenrou, it was her home after all, it was where she was born and where she lived most of her life. I think she would have appreciated the thought of the island becoming a home of sorts, to the Guild she created and loved."

Makarov smiled softly at those words. "I wish I could have met her."

"Well you did, you know. She was there when you were born, in fact, if I'm not mistaken, it was she that named you, Makarov, after some kind old king she had read about in a book." Percy chuckled, a fond smile spreading across his face as he thought about his long gone comrade. It had been nearly ninety years since she had left them.

"I didn't know that," Makarov said, a smile on his face as he continued to look at the Shrine. "Thank you, Perseus."

Percy smiled at that, but didn't answer. Instead he pushed himself to his feet and picked up his sword. "Well I suppose it's time for me to head out and terrorise a few brats. I'll see you in a bit, Makarov."

With that said, Percy began to head out of the grove.

"Have fun," Makarov called after him, "And don't be too hard on them, this is just an exam after all!"

( - )

AN: So honestly I was going to start off the whole invasion of Tenrou thing this chapter, but decided that here was a good place to stop. That said the next two chapters will be pretty action packed as the shit hits the fan and an all out fight breaks out on Tenrou between Grimoire Heart and the barley dozen Fairy Tail wizards on the island. Should be interesting to explore what the beleaguered Fairy Tail group will be able to pull off.

Either way it should be exciting, though I might need to refresh myself on the canon goings on soon, maybe binge the relevant anime chapters.

Other than that, I hope you are all well and hope you enjoyed the chapter. If not, well sorry about that.

Thanks a lot for reading, and please feel free to leave a review.

Catch you all later.

Seagate.