- Act 1 -

Enter the Dragon(s)

"Despite the increasing influence of major wizard guilds established across the kingdoms that dot Ishgar, dark guild activities have, without a doubt, increased steadily over the past several years. I'm sure you're already aware of the existence of Balam Alliance, correct? The alliance of three of the most powerful dark guilds in Fiore, if not around Ishgar as a whole. They've been strangely quiet for a surprisingly long time, and yet for some unknown reason we've received reports that one third of said Alliance, the Oracion Seis, have begun to make themselves known to the world again. They've been making enough of a ruckus that got them old geezers up in Magic Council all riled up. That's why they're sending for official representatives of some of the major guilds around Fiore to form our own alliance and nip this Oracion Seis problem in the bud, so to speak."

That sounded good on paper, noble, even, though Lucy couldn't fathom for the life of her why she of all people had to be part of Fairy Tail's representative group. Surely there were much stronger, more suitable members in the guild that could have, should have been sent instead? The Thunder God Tribe was still active, despite their former leader banished from the guild for an undetermined period of time, and she knew for a fact that Mirajane could give Erza 'Titania' Scarlet a run for her money when it came to magical power. Heck, even Juvia despite being a recent addition to Fairy Tail could outperform her on some levels.

Of course, any and all protests died when Erza accepted the task with absolute resolution, and Gray seemed all too eager to volunteer for what was tantamount to a suicide mission. Then again, they were Fairy Tail mages – insanity and irrationality seemed to be part of the package deal when it came to these rowdy bunches.

And it seemed like it was contagious, too, for despite all her fears and apprehension, a small part of her, the egotistical part, was eating up the implication that the master decided to send her, of all people. If nothing else, it was a chance to prove that she too, was worthy of a title as a Fairy Tail mage.

That, and the number of zeroes the council was willing to dole out upon successful completion of the mission more or less made the decision for her. Not only would she be set for months' worth of rent, she'd also have enough to expand her wardrobe, maybe even a vacation. God only knew she deserved one.

"So that's three of us from Fairy Tail, then," Gray counted, shifting his gaze to the other guilds' representatives, "and those three from Lamia Scale. Can't say I'm happy to see his damn smug face again, but at least he's not out for our blood this time."

Lyon, having heard the exchange, merely sneered in response.

"Well, at least they seem capable. Can't say much for those skirt-chasers, though," Gray sighed, flicking his head towards the famed 'Trimens' of Blue Pegasus and their 'master' Ichiya (the trio could never seem to settle on which titles they addressed their leader with). "I mean, don't get me wrong, but can they actually fight?"

"Let's not rule them out too quickly," Erza piped in, her gaze hardening as they settled on the diminutive leader of the Trimens. "If they weren't powerful, they wouldn't have been chosen to be part of this alliance to take on Oracion Seis."

"Not judging a book by its cover, huh? Guess we'll just have to see what they're made of."

Lucy could only nod. Despite being one of the major guilds in Fiore, Blue Pegasus' reputation mostly revolved around its beautiful members and their appearances in Sorcerer's Weekly, rather than their martial prowess. Still, Erza had a point, and as a budding writer herself, Lucy was all too familiar with the expression.

"Still, is this all there is to it?" Gray asked. "I mean, don't get me wrong, but seeing how we're about to take on one of the three hotshots that make up this Balam Alliance, I thought we'd get more firepower."

"What's the matter, Gray? Scared?" Lyon mocked.

"Like hell I am. But seriously, we're up against Oracion Seis, each member supposedly being a one-man-army by themselves. If that wasn't bad enough, we could also be taking on their pet guilds at the same time too. Even you would have to see the odds are definitely not in our favour," Gray paused. "And for the record, I kicked your ass before Lyon, and I can do it again."

"You little-"

"Enough!" Erza cut in, glaring daggers at both ice mages. "Now isn't the time for petty squabbles. We need to learn to work together, and fast, if we ever want to hope to bring Oracion Seis down."

"She speaks the truth," Jura spoke in agreement. "And fear not. We have another sect of mages who'll join us in our endeavour… soon."

"Well, whoever they are, they sure are late," the youngest of the Trimens, Eve, said as he peered at the clock. The representatives were to convene at three in the afternoon, though the clock hand was nearing four.

"Who are we expecting, anyway?" Ren asked.

"The Triumvirate," Jura said, his answer garnering mixed responses from the gathered.

"Those three?" Erza and Gray shared a look, the significance lost on the celestial mage.

"Sorry, but what's this 'Triumvirate'?"

"I'd like to know, as well," Sherry quietly added. "Are they part of some guild?"

Jura shook his head. "Not quite. They aren't part of any official organisation either, rather they are three mages that drift from place to place, taking on jobs of dangerous nature and successfully completing them."

"And by that, he doesn't mean stuff like picking flowers or babysitting kids either. Extermination of dangerous creatures, hunting down some of the worst criminals, that sort of thing," Hibiki added in his two cents, making use of his Archive magic. "They have some impressive track records to their names, even going so far as to breaking apart several dark guilds on international territories just by themselves."

"Wow…"

"Given their histories with annihilation of dark guilds, the higher-ups deemed them as an integral part of this operation. As such, we will wait until they arrive before making our move," Jura finished.

Gray snorted. "Yeah, if they actually get here."

Lucy lightly smacked him on the arm. "Be nice. Though, they are pretty late. They haven't like, lost their way or something, could they?"

Eve shook his head. "I highly doubt it. I mean, the road up here is pretty linear, you'd have to be a special kind of ditz to be that directionally challenged."

Lucy let out a light chuckle. "Yeah, what are the odds of actually finding someone like that?"

A thud drew all eyes towards the doorway, landing on a young girl who was picking herself up from the floor with a quiet whimper. Drawing herself to full height (far from imposing, given her short stature), she shyly introduced herself.

"I… um… I'm sorry I got here so late. I just got lost and couldn't find the way up here so-"

"Yeah Lucy, what are the odds?" Gray nudged with a smirk.

"What can I say, the world is a big place," Lucy answered in a daze, gobsmacked.

"-my name is Wendy Marvell, by the way. I-It's nice to meet all of you," Wendy finished quietly, eyes glued to her shoes.

Silence stretched on as the convened mages tried to wrap their heads around the newcomer. "So, uh, Wendy, was it? Are you quite sure you're supposed to be here?"

Wendy looked up in alarm, and Erza hastily corrected herself. "I meant no offence, but we were expecting members of the Triumvirate, and, well…"

"I… I am one of them…" Wendy shyly replied.

Another moment of silence passed, before someone whispered, "Her? That little girl's supposed to be one of the Triumvirate?"

"But she's just a child!"

"And she's not handsome!" Ichiya whined as Erza planted her boot in his posterior.

"That's because she's a girl you dimwit."

"It's my fault, I should've been clearer in my explanation," Jura said as he turned to face the rest of the mages. "The three mages of the Triumvirate are not your ordinary mages. There is no easier to say it, so I'll be blunt; each and every member of the group known as Triumvirate are Dragon Slayers."

"I'm sorry, what?" It was never Lucy's intention to be rude, but she was still trying to wrap her head around the part that a little girl was intentionally sent to be part of the alliance, let alone digest the revelation that said girl also possessed magic that could slay dragons. "You're joking, right?"

"N-no, he's right, I am a Dragon Slayer…" Wendy's bashful confirmation went by unnoticed.

"That little girl? A Dragon Slayer?" Sherry exclaimed dubiously, before a mocking sneer spread across her face. "Please! What's next, cats that can talk and fly?"

"Well, actually…" Wendy began, when a cat walked in just in time, arms crossed in an eerily human-like gesture, complete with the frown tinged with slight condescension.

"Just shows how much you know, troglodyte," the white cat spoke, much to the surprise of all save for Wendy.

"A talking cat?"

"That cat can talk?"

"How about that?" Sherry muttered, turning to Lucy. "You're right, the world is a big place."

Lucy could only nod in response, somewhat shocked that they agreed on something for once.

"Oh, Carla? You followed me here?" Wendy asked nonchalantly, as if the very notion of walking and talking feline was perfectly normal.

Said feline huffed. "Of course I did, you're far too young to travel alone, child. I swear, to think they just let you go off on your own, they're hopeless as guardians."

"They're not that bad…" Wendy trailed off with a small smile.

"So, uh, miss… cat…?" Lucy asked, unsure how to address the talking feline. Common sense, even in magical realms, dictated animals usually didn't speak.

"My name," the cat huffed, emphasising on the word as she stared at the celestial mage dead in the eye, "is Carla, and it's customary for one to introduce themselves before asking others' names."

"Oh, uh, it's Lucy. Hi. So, as I was saying, are you both members of the Triumvirate?" The answer seemed obvious, but considering the few surprising revelations they've seen on this day, she felt she was reasonably justified in the line of question.

"Of course not, how on earth did you come to such a foolish conclusion?" Carla pointed at Wendy. "Wendy Marvell is one third of this group you humans call 'Triumvirate' and I'll have you know, she's quite renowned in kingdoms beyond the borders of this barbaric kingdom you call Fiore."

"Yeah, but… she's a little girl," Eve said, still dubious. "And barbaric?"

"Yes, a 'little girl' who also happens to be a Sky Dragon Slayer," Carla retorted, ignoring the quip.

"So you say…" Lucy gave the girl another look-over, as if it would change the visage of the shy young girl into someone who, well, wasn't a shy young girl. It would've been a lot more reassuring had she been someone older and more confident. As things were looking now, she looked more like someone they had to always be mindful of, someone to protect and keep from harm rather than another capable mage to count on.

"I… I am a Sky Dragon Slayer, like Carla said, and I know I'm not probably who you were expecting, and-and I'm not much good at fighting, but I can use a lot of healing and support magic, so… please let me join the group I'll be so embarrassed if you sent me home!" Wendy pleaded shakily, eyes moistening in embarrassment.

The convened mages of the Allied Forces shared a look, just as Carla began to berate the girl for her lack of confidence. "This is exactly why people will treat you like a doormat, child. How can you expect others to respect you when you can't even respect yourself?"

"I-I'm sorry, I just can't help it…"

The Exceed sighed. "You'd think all that time spent around that hothead would at least confer some self-confidence…"

"Forgive me, I didn't mean to be rude, I was just caught off-guard," Erza said lightly as she offered her hand to the young Dragon Slayer. "I am Erza Scarlet of Fairy Tail, and it's great to have you on board with us, Wendy."

The young girl brightened up in awe as she shook Titania's armoured hand. "Oh wow, look Carla, it's really Erza!"

"At least she has some modicum of manners," Carla sniffed, glaring daggers at the Trimens who regarded her charge with strange looks.

"I'm sorry to cut this short, but I must inquire about the whereabouts of your Triumvirate comrades, lady Marvell," Jura said, unintentionally frightening the girl with his gigantic physique.

"Oh, right! I'm sorry, I should've said something earlier. They told me they had something to do, so I went on ahead. They said they were going to catch up soon, though, so I wouldn't really worry about them."

Lucy frowned, not at all impressed. Were they serious? Of all time they could've chosen to be late, it had to be just before they were about to throw down with a powerful dark guild?

"That's nice, but Oracion Seis isn't going to wait around for us," Gray said with a hint of annoyance. Erza wordlessly nodded, her expression unreadable as always.

"And neither will we," Ren agreed firmly.

"While I'd much prefer to wait until all members have assembled, I agree that we have spent enough time already. It's about time we commence this operation. Master Kotobuki, if you could proceed with the briefing."

"With pleasure, my manly comrade," Ichiya eagerly took the floor, much to the exasperation of many and admiration of few. "As I'm sure you've all been briefed, Oracion Seis was last seen operating deep within the Worth Woodsea stretching towards north from here. Their purpose, from what our intel team managed to gather, is an ancient magical war machine called 'Nirvana'."

"What is this 'Nirvana'?" Lucy asked. The only 'Nirvana' she knew was a religious concept and a name of a rock band.

"We don't really know, to be honest," Hibiki admitted as he booted up his Archive magic. "What little information we managed to dig up regarding the matter was that it was used to harness destructive magic. Whatever it was, though, it was dangerous enough that its creators decided to seal it away. Why they didn't just destroy Nirvana I have no idea."

"Shame, could've saved us all the hassle," Lyon grouched. "How'd Oracion Seis even find out about Nirvana, anyway?"

"Again, we don't really know," Hibiki repeated. His fingers glided over the holographic control panel, and several monitors materialised from thin air, each of them framing blurred images of who they surmised as members of the infamous Oracion Seis. "What you see now before you are images of the six individuals that make up Oracion Seis. Our boys on the field managed to procure these, before their comm link went dark."

Wendy and Lucy audibly gulped. The implication wasn't lost on the Alliance mages.

"Anyway, from leftmost to right, you've got Cobra, apt name for a guy who has a pet snake."

The young Sky Dragon Slayer couldn't help but shiver. Something about the man seemed rather odd, almost familiar. Trembling, she wound her arms together, desperately wishing that Natsu and Gajeel were here with her now.

"Racer, who, judging by the name and the get-up, seems to utilise magic related to speed. He also happens to lead one of the slave guild called Harpuia, who all seemed to imitate him in terms of appearance and use of magic."

Lyon narrowed his eyes. "I don't know why, but looking at this guy just pisses me off."

Gray grunted in agreement. "It's the nose. Freak looks like a woodpecker with a mohawk."

Lucy wasn't sure whether the semi-clothed ice mage was being serious or not. She opted to focus on the images instead, simply brushing it off as a 'Fairy Tail mage' thing.

"Next, we've got a man who goes by an alias 'Hot Eye', in part due to his eye magic. Don't let his appearance fool you. He may got the 'man of the cloth' look down pat, but he's just as bloodthirsty as the rest of these criminals. Unlike other members here, he's also working part-time as a mercenary of sorts, willing to shed blood for chump changes."

The Iron Rock's glares hardened. "Despicable," was all he had to say on the matter.

"Then we have Angel, who personally leads another slave guild, the Dark Unicorns. Apparently her magic differs from that of her guild's, though we've yet to find out what."

Lucy raised a brow at the woman's questionable choice of attire. "Her name's Angel? Is this chick for real?"

"The next member is a complete mystery, all we've managed to gather was his name, Midnight."

Erza eyed the image of the black-haired wizard with unease. She hated being in the dark when it came to their opponents. "Quite a sinister name. Could it be related to the nature of his magic?"

"And finally, there's Brain, who's, well, the brain of Oracion Seis," Eve snorted as Ren shook his head, all too used to their comrade's moments of dry humour. "He personally led several of Oracion Seis' slave guilds, though they've all been out of commission for a while, now. I'm sure some of the names are familiar to you, like Eisenwald, Ghoul Spirit and the Red Hoods."

"Eisenwald? Wasn't that the guild with that creep with wind magic?" Lucy could never remember his name, but the level of terrorism the guild wrought was difficult to forget. It was just fortunate that Gray and Erza managed to stop him and the demon Lullaby before things got worse.

As for Ghoul Spirit, they were wiped out to the last men by Laxus and his Thunder God Tribe, if memory served correctly. Which led to Lucy asking herself, yet again, why oh why the guild master didn't just send them instead.

"Red Hoods, huh? They were barely a warm-up," Lyon smirked, Sherry nodding with a smile.

"So we chipped away some of Oracion Seis' forces even before we decided to take things up a notch, huh? I'd say that's a hell of a start."

"I wouldn't be so confident if I were you. These slave guilds are just muscles and cannon fodders. These six on the other hand will be on a whole new level. We may outnumber them, but even then we'll need to throw everything we've got."

Another monitor flickered into view, though this one simply carried audio transmission. "Hibiki, do you copy? We've got Christina inbound on your position, ETA three minutes, over."

"Reading you loud and clear, HQ. Uploading authority codes for manual control through Archive, ready on standby."

"Christina?" Erza asked, perplexed. Ichiya and his Trimens ushered them outside, just in time to see a large airship resembling the namesake of its creator guild slowly gliding overhead.

"Behold, Blue Pegasus' pride of engineering, the aerial bomber, Christina!" Ichiya declared with no small amount of pride. "Considering the kind of criminals we're going up against, we elected to bring our own heavy guns to the fight to even the odds. Not to mention, she'll provide us with some much needed bird's-eye view from above. We'll not only keep track of Oracion Seis' movement, but the possible location of Nirvana's resting place, as well."

"She's so pretty…" Wendy marvelled at it's elegance. It's resemblance to a rocking horse notwithstanding, the mere presence of the flying war machine instilled them with sense of hope. With powerful mages from some of Fiore's strongest guilds joining forces together, the prospect of taking the fight to Oracion Seis seemed less improbable.

Such hopes were short-lived, brutally shot down like the aerial bomber as something shattered one of its wings, sending it hurtling towards the ground before engulfing a sect of the Woodsea in fire.

Somewhere within the Worth Woodsea, Gajeel Redfox paused mid-battle to see Blue Pegasus' pride and joy crash and burn, nosediving into the woods. No doubt it was a blow to the Allied Force's morale, whoever they were. Not that it mattered, anyway. Oracion Seis took down a flying gay pony, and in turn, they were about to lose what remained of their fodder guilds.

"Got you!" A Dark Unicorn mage cried in triumph as he slammed down his flanged mace directly on the Iron Dragon Slayer's head. That soon turned to cry of dismay as Kurogane turned around with nary a scratch, then a wet gurgle as a large, jagged steel blade cleaved him in two.

What remained of the dark guild stood frozen in shock, unable to tear away from the blood-soaked carnage that was once their fellow comrades. "W-we surrender!" One by one they hurriedly dropped their weapons as the Iron Dragon Slayer slowly lumbered towards them. "We surrender dammit! Just-just let us go! We'll never bother anyone again! Swear to god!"

Gajeel's response was a deep inhalation. "Iron Dragon's…"

Their screams were barely audible as whirlwind of metallic shards shredded them like improperly secured fantasy blender, splattering the grove with pureed vegetation and gore. Such carnage barely registered in his mind, as he nonchalantly picked up a stray sword with it's previous owner's hand still grasping it, and munched on the weapon as if it was a carrot stick.

He barely spent any mana eradicating the Dark Unicorns, but he was never one to turn down a free chow. And if the rumours regarding these Oracion Seis mages were true, then he was going to need all the strength he could get.

Closing his eyes, he took a deep sniff, easily picking up Salamander's smoky odour (the filthy bastard was hygienically backward as one could get, he swore) in the distance. The Hatchling, though, her scent he could barely pick up, choked by miasma of foreign, unwelcome stink. His eyes snapping open, he was immediately on the move, following the faint trail like one would with a trail of breadcrumbs. His wine red eyes hardened like his namesake, already envisioning multitude of ways of drawing out excruciating pain out of those who dared to mess with his Roost.

Elsewhere, Natsu Dragneel was on cloud nine, pigging out on the wildfire that would've otherwise spread uncontrollably across the Woodsea, courtesy of the strange horse-like airship that almost crash-landed on him. He was tempted to yell for Gajeel – there was plenty of edible metal for the greedy bastard – but decided against it when he was accosted by strange men and women in matching clothes and helmets.

"We found one!" One of them hollered, pointing at the lone Dragon Slayer.

"Which one is that?"

"Doesn't matter. He's not one of us, kill him!"

The Fire Dragon Slayer stood still, fangs bared in amusement as the fodder guild mages rushed at him screaming bloody murder. A burst of fiery explosion saw to them screaming in pain as those caught teetering near the edge of the blast radius were essentially cooked alive. Those unfortunate enough to stand within the epicentre of the explosion disappeared, leaving behind piles of smouldering, blackened ash.

"That was it?" Natsu frowned, disappointed. "These Oracion Seis better be tough, else I'll kick Metalhead's ass for dragging us all the way here."

"Don't be so cocky, Natsu," Happy said as he landed on Salamander's shoulder. Being all too familiar with the Dragon Slayers' destructive tendencies, he learned when to hightail it out of the literal blast zone. Having wings definitely made his supposedly nine lives a lot easier. "These are the real deal, otherwise they wouldn't have rounded up so many mages from all these guilds."

Natsu snorted. "As if they'll ever be a match for me! I'll burn them all to a crisp! And I'll bet I'll take them down faster than Loose Screws! You see if I don't!"

The Exceed sighed. Once his human(?) friend set his eyes on an objective, nothing short of a beatdown to an inch of his life could stop him dead on tracks. "Aye sir…"

Natsu belched, his appetite sated for the time being. Blowing wisps of smoke out of his mouth, he took a long sniff, letting his sharp draconic senses to pick out the scents of his Roost. Gajeel's metallic smell (or pungent odour, if Natsu was being honest – it has been a while since the Roost last had a proper bath) was the easiest to pick out, as it was accompanied by that of freshly spilt blood. Wendy's was harder to track, her already subtle scent diluted with that of foreign origins.

"Maybe we shouldn't have let Wendy and Carla go on their own," Happy opined.

"And let them see this?" Natsu quirked a brow, thumb pointing at the charred section of the forest. Compared to Gajeel's mess though, his own was far less graphic.

"I'm just worried about them," Happy said quietly as he picked up his Dragon Slayer partner and took to the air.

"Don't worry, she'll be fine," Natsu said dismissively. "Besides, she'll be with those guild wizards, what could possibly go wrong?"

A/N: I categorised this story as 'M' rating due to occasional(?) use of profanity and gore, like how I always do with my stories. I don't have quite the vivid imagination to write raunchy scenes, nor do I plan on rectifying that any time too soon (yet?).

The idea of writing a fic about the dynamic between the three Dragon Slayers of Fairy Tail was something I've had practising circus acts in the backstage of my brain, until I decided, fuck it, why not just let it out and watch the trainwreck unfold.