*Fairy Tail Guild Hall, Magnolia, Fiore; October 22, 2019; 2:45 PM*

Hazel entered the Guild Hall, politely greeting a...flying blue cat...upon entry.

"Thank you." He nodded curtly, walking inside the hall.

"Aye, sir!" Happy grinned.

He overheard two men conversing about their girlfriends or something, not that he cared.

"...So, I'm hanging out with Ruby now.." A blonde-haired monkey Faunus explained.

"Wait.. Ruby..? Huh.. Never thought you two'd make a couple." A man wearing an owl mask figured.

Looking at his scanner, the Summoning Key should be inside this building.

He just had to find it.

*Outside Magnolia Town, Fiore; 2:47 PM*

"Ma'am, I am approaching the city. When shall I activate the portals?" Watts asked.

"As soon as we send out our signal." Cinder replied.

"Alright.. If you insist.." Watts muttered.

He stood out, awaiting the supposed signal as the figure walked out.

"Now, what am I to do with your sick creations, Doctor? Put them out of their misery?" A figure asked.

"We are to wait for a signal to let my children out. I will activate the portals." Watts explained.

"These freaks won't go after me, will they?" The figure wondered, unafraid.

"No. They'll flock with the others." Watts replied.

The figure grinned sadistically under his mask.

"Excellent. The coming storm won't compare to the monumental battle that follows it. " the figure smiled wickedly.

*Inside the Guild Hall; 2:48 PM*

"Okay.. Keep your eyes out for the Key, alright?" Alex asked.

"You can count on us!" Applebloom replied

The crusaders scampered off as Twilight trotted next to Alex.

"Are you sure they can handle the responsibility?" Twilight asked.

"They handled Morning Star decently, they can deal with a game of 'find the needle in a haystack'." Alex noted.

"Right..." Twilight nodded.

"Besides, everyone else is doing pretty much the same thing." Alex shrugged.

"I'll leave you to deal with your special some-pony. Speaking of which, she's coming in 3...2...1.."

Yang tackled Alex onto a table, smiling down at him.

"Ow... Hey, Yang..!" Alex grinned a little.

"Sooo~ you having fun?" Yang smiled.

"Heh... Yeah.. Or I would if we weren't busy searching for something." Alex answered..

"I asked Oreonna and Wendy to help take care of that. Cade's with Auburn and Lucy in the back." Yang said, inching closer.

"What about the door?" Alex asked.

Yang was silent, and she actually looked really nervous.

"Yang... Who's on door duty?" Alex demanded.

"...You probably won't like it, but..." Yang sheepishly smiled.

*Fairy Tail Back Hallway; 2:50 PM*

Hazel kept up his search. Those three teenagers were going to be an issue. He'd otherwise silence them, but this was more of a 'high-profile' mission.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!" Someone screamed in anger.

Hazel immediately ducked into a nearby staircase, hiding.

"That was close.. Don't wanna attract attention.." Hazel sighed.

He went down the stairwell, which led to a library. Hopefully, it was close.

'Let's see.. Once I clean this place up and find that stupid trinket.. I could actually kill Cinder.. If Salem of all people wants it, I must be hitting a gold mine..!' Hazel thought.

He continued his search, thumbing through notes and books.

"Nothing here... Useless... Jobs for 2,000,000 Jewel.. That'll get a cheap mobile home.." Hazel rolled his eyes.

"Please... You must help me..." a voice called.

Hazel looked upwards.

"Who the hell..?" Hazel scowled.

Hesitantly, Hazel walked up the staircase.

*Inside the Main Hall*

"YOU ASKED HAPPY OF ALL PEOPLE TO WATCH THE DOOR?!" Alex yelled.

"Hey, he said I could trust him!" Yang retorted.

"Well, why not just f**king ask?!" Alex grabbed Yang's wrist and dragged her over to Happy.

"Happy?!" Alex asked angrily.

"Yeah?" Happy asked, eating a fish.

"You didn't happen to let anyone weird or unhinged inside, did you?" Alex asked.

Dr. Monty, Richtofen, and Vanoss ran to the three Fairy Tail members.

"What happened?!" Monty asked, worriedly.

"Yang put Happy on door duty!" Alex replied.

"... You mean ze blue cat, right..? Wait, am I hallucinating..?" Richtofen asked.

"Hey! By the way, I did see somebody weird, okay?!" Happy defended, albeit poorly.

Alex, Dr. Monty, and Richtofen sweatdropped.

"Imbecile!" Monty yelled.

"You've doomed us all!" Richtofen screamed.

"Now we have to work overtime just to find the stupid thing! Where's Natsu?!" Alex asked.

"Natsu?!" Vanoss groaned.

"Yeah, what's up?" The pink-haired Dragonslayer asked.

"Happy's gone and let in some stranger! I need your sense of smell to either find that Summoning Key, or find the guy Happy let in!" Alex explained.

"You got it! By the way, I've been smelling something weird since a few days ago.. It almost smells like a mix of Lucy's Keys and Dark Magic." Natsu noticed.

"That could be it! We need to find that Summoning Key before he does!" Vanoss realized, sprinting in-tow with the rest of the group.

"Right! C'mon, Happy!" Natsu yelled from across the room.

"Aye, Sir!" Happy flew towards the team as the party continued.

Ruby and Sun immediately went towards the door.

"We'll keep watch!" Ruby promised.

"Thank you!" Alex screamed.

*Coat Room; 2:54 PM*

Hazel looked through the coats, shoving his hands through the pockets and purses as he went.

"Only through me, can you find your redemption.." the voice promised.

Hazel hurriedly looked for the Key, cautiously feeling through the coats.

Suddenly, the door behind him was opened.

"Ahh!!!! There's some creep in the coat room!!" A straight-haired blonde girl yelled.

"N-No, wait..!" Hazel begged as she grabbed the nearest purse and smacked him with it.

"Lucy!" Cade yelled, unholstering his Conductor pistol.

Cade and Auburn pointed their weapons at the stranger.

"Don't move a muscle, or I'll blow your brains out!" Cade ordered.

Hazel grinned.

"Try me, Thunder blood!" Hazel yelled, shoving Lucy to the wall and grabbing Cade by the neck.

Auburn swung her axe and hacked his back open, leaving the man staggering down and dropping Cade.

"You're dead!" Cade punched him back into the coat room, shooting at Hazel as he dodged the bullets and ripped through the coats.

One particular purse fell over, causing a large, metallic ball to roll out of it.

Cade, Auburn, and Hazel eyed it before attacking each other.

"Don't stop me, Huntress.." Hazel scowled as Cade dove in for the Summoning Key.

Alex, Natsu, Yang, Dr. Monty, Richtofen, and Vanoss stopped in front of the chaos.

"Oh, shit!" Alex charged, kicking Hazel down into the main hall, ruthlessly attacking as he continued.

"Quick, grab it!" Richtofen demanded.

"No! Kick it over!" Monty ordered.

Lucy went and reared back as Hazel leaped back up to get it, grabbing Lucy's whip as he reached.

Lucy stepped on his face with the back of her boot.

"Watch it, creep!" She yelled as he used the whip to pull the Summoning Key closer.

"Natsu! Yang!" Alex ordered, grabbing a hold of his foot.

The two charged, firing at Hazel and blowing up that part of the building.

The group fell to the ground, stunned, as they struggled to find the Key through the smoke.

"Yang..?" Alex coughed.

"I'm here... Cade? Auburn?" Yang replied.

"Yeah.." Cade winced.

The Summoning Key emitted a golden glow as Hazel reached and picked it up.

"Good job, you fools! I did my part, now do yours and DIE!!" Hazel raised the Summoning Key to the skies, only for the golden glow to surround him.

"The hell?!" Delirious gaped.

"Dammit, Natsu!" Gray yelled.

The glow that surrounded Hazel only intensified as it continued absorb him, leaving the ex-Hunter screaming in agony as the glow ripped him to bits and pulled his chunks inside the Summoning Key, entrapping him inside the device.

The entire guild hall stared in awe.

"What happened..?" Sun asked.

"Your guess is as good as mine." Dempsey added.

"Well, let's hope that's the end of it!" Ohm grinned.

Suddenly, a sinister laugh enveloped the Guild.

"What the..?" Erza gasped as she raised her weapon.

"Now isn't the time for your pranks, Evan!" Terroriser yelled.

"That isn't me!!" Vanoss gaped.

The Summoning Key broke apart again, unleashing another golden glow as a human form materialized from it.

"Is... Is that..?" Twilight shuddered.

"The Shadowman." Monty scowled.

The glow dissipated, revealing an aging man with a dark suit and a semi-long white beard.

"Ah, Dr. Monty. I never thought I'd have the displeasure of seeing you again." The Shadowman scowled.

"Now you listen here! If you lay a finger on my children, I'll teach you a lesson myself!" Makarov threatened.

Alex grinned.

'I thought the old man was above idle threats.' Alex thought.

The Shadowman smirked in reply.

"Ah, Mortals. They do not understand the sheer insignificance of their existence. Right, Monty?"

"You couldn't possibly have planned this all alone..!It was Salem, wasn't it..?" Monty scowled.

"Indeed. Now... Now we have reached the absolute..." The Shadowman continued, raising his hand and breaking the door open.

The Shadowman floated out the door before turning back.

"Now run, hide, or... More preferably, die." The Shadowman stared back and raised his hands..

*Outside of Magnolia Town; 2:59 PM*

Watts felt the ground shake as the city seemed to break apart, it was as though an earthquake shook through the town.

The sky blackened, turning the land dark as night. For an unknown reason, a blue sun appeared in the skies, illuminating the area.

"Looks like the right signal. Tell your boss." The figure said, revealing himself.

"Right then. Let's hope you are worth what we paid for, Primis Crux."

The figure stepped out, revealing scarred features that looked very much like his younger cousin's, his chin was more defined, his eyes were a deep orange color, and his hair had shown signs of greying.

"Trust me. I'll succeed where my cousin had failed. Speaking of, let's invite him.." Primis smiled.

"Your Cousin has proven too weak for our mission, Primis!" Watts declared.

"I don't care. If you want me to stay, you'll allow him to come with." Primis demanded.

Watts scoffed.

"Fine. But you two had better be worth every cent."

*Magnolia Town; 3:00 PM*

Zombies rose from the ground, screeching as they turned the corner towards the Guild Hall.

Grimm fell from portals, tearing up buildings and zombies alike while Apothicons and Nevermores flew side by side, eclipsing the blue sun that lit up the now devastated town.

The Shadowman watched over the chaos closely, as Salem joined him.

Raising his hand, the Shadowman spoke.

"I've been watching.. I have seen each and every one of your misdeeds.. I know who you are.."

Alex, Yang, Cade, Auburn, Ruby, and Sun stood in front of the guild, weapons raised.

The Fairy Tail guild stood at their sides, itching for a fight.

"But.. Questions remain... Why do you do the things that you do? Do you not see the futility in your tiny, insignificant existence? You are all but fragments of a bigger universe.." Salem added.

Dempsey, Nikolai, Takeo, and Richtofen stood behind them, loading their weapons. Vanoss and his crew, too, grabbed their wonder weapons.

"Your sins only serve as an invitation... An invitation to an evil beyond your imagination.." The Shadowman explained as Zombies and Beowolves crowded around the Guild Hall.

"But we'll lead the way.. We'll show you the path.." Salem added.

Kat grabbed her sniper, ready for the worst.

Twilight and the other Elements reared back, readying for a charge.

"Only through us, the Shadowman and the Grimm Queen, can you find your salvation.." The Shadowman finished, unleashing the horde upon the occupants of the Guild Hall.

The group charged at the demons, ushering in a cataclysmic battle.

Cinder stared at the chaos from one of the remaining buildings, with Tyrian at her side.

"Now then.. Shall we begin?" Cinder asked as Tyrian cackled in the background.

Four shadowy shapes landed on the ground past the building, all of them looking strangely familiar.

Dr. Monty watched the carnage unfold, and sighed.

"I'll do everything I can to help, but I can only do so from the sidelines. Alexander, Yang, your daughter will be safer with me. Hopefully I can lead all of you to a solution.. Good luck.. All of you."

Author's Notes:

And with that, a 10-part saga unfolds!

Ultimus and his older Cousin, Primis, are aligned with Salem and her plans.

The Apothicon and the Grimm have been unleashed upon the world of Fairy Tail, and all hell has broken loose.

Who will live to see tomorrow? Who will fall?

Find out in the next chapter of 'Blood Red Shadows 2: The Crimson Shade'!

-The Destoyer