*Fairy Tail Guild Hall, Magnolia, Fiore; October 22, 2019; 3:04*

A decent-sized pile of dead... Well, dead-er zombies lay strewn across the street leading to the Guild Hall, as well as a fair amount of black smoke as Grimm evaporated.

Thankful for the few moments of rest, everyone gathered inside the Fairy Tail Guild Hall, with some repairing the windows.

"Okay... I think that's the last of them, at least for now." Dempsey muttered.

"About f**kin' time. Let's crowd in here and try to come up with a plan." Alex said.

While several Guild Members still boarding the windows, The Origins Crew and Vanoss' Team met up with Alex's family.

"So, any ideas?" Yang asked.

"Well, first things first, we need Juggernog. Moo almost died like 13 times." Wildcat smirked.

"F**k off, Tyler." Moo scowled.

"I agree on zat notion.. We should be supplied with something." Richtofen assented.

"Also, we need to know where we can find the weapons and ammunition. These things do not come cheap." Nikolai added, raising his KRM.

"Okay... Let me think of something... Hey, can we get a map of the town!?" Alex demanded.

Mirajane ran over, keeping a magic pen handy.

"I can take care of that for you... Hold on.." Mira began drawing an outline of the town in thin air, being sure to add landmarks as she went along.

"What's she doing..?" Dempsey asked.

"The Magic Pen. It's kinda self-explanatory." Cade replied.

Once Mira finished her drawing, she turned back with a smile.

"Done!" Mirajane grinned with satisfaction.

"Twilight! Ruby! Can you come here?" Yang asked.

Ruby and Twilight zipped over towards the group.

"Yeah?!" Ruby cheerfully grinned.

"We're trying to find where the perks would probably be, can you two try and figure out where they are?" Yang asked.

"It's pretty much guesswork! To find the perks, we'd need to map out the area... Make safe routes..." Twilight explained.

"Couldn't we just ask Dr. Monty?" Auburn asked.

"... I suppose that is possible..." Richtofen figured.

"Right you are, Edward.. Give me a sec.." Monty's voice emanated though the air as various colored dots appeared on the map that Mira drew.

"Juggernog, Stamen-Up, and Double Tap should be towards the church in the center of town. Unfortunately, that's also where most of the Grimm and the Zombies happen to be. The Box should be at that glowing green beacon in the sky. And Pack-A-Punch..." Richtofen peered at the map.

"Inside that Apothicon..." Twilight shuddered.

"Wait a minute..! That light is at my apartment!" Lucy gasped.

"Keeping that in mind... How are we going to stop Calvin Calamari?" Vanoss wondered.

"Who..?" Richtofen asked, obviously confused.

"He's talking about the bastard that took off with that f**king golden ball of death!" Alex groaned..

"I have a question... Given that we probably have a bunch of other people on our asses, what do we do about them?" Yang asked.

"We'll split up into groups. Odds are, they'll know who to go after." Cade figured.

"Let's think.. How many of us are able to fight?" Mirajane asked.

"Well, we're 5 people... 7 if you count Ruby and Sun." Alex figured.

"There's 12 of us.. If you guys come with us, it'll be 16." Terroriser decided.

"Make that 22... We're coming with!" Twilight demanded.

"We could split you guys into 4 groups of... 7.. That way, we'll have one extra!" Ruby decided.

"Auburn, Cade. We'll deal with Cinder together." Alex demanded.

"You've already defeated your Cinder... Let us deal with ours.." Auburn demanded.

"You'll die!" Yang gaped.

"We've trained just as hard as you! And besides, You know how far we've come." Cade smirked.

Alex looked at his son, then slightly grinned.

"Cade.. Auburn.. Oreonna.. The three of you combined stood against impossible odds before.. Do me proud, and kill her." Alex ordered.

Yang, bewildered, looked back at Alex in anger.

"You're letting them go?!" Are you nuts?!" Yang seethed.

Alex held Yang's shoulder.

"You know what I've seen from them, and you heard what Karos said.." Alex stated.

As the three ran out, Alex turned to face Natsu and Happy.

"Follow them. If she's too much for them to handle, get them back here as soon as you can." Alex ordered.

Natsu stepped backwards, eyes widened.

"You want Happy and I to help? Even after what happened..?" He asked.

"... Of course, if you'd like to step in... Well... Guess I can't stop you.." Alex smirked.

Natsu nodded, and promptly had Happy fly him off

"Okay.. Vanoss, I'll need you, Wildcat, and Delirious to fight your way to Juggernog. Twilight and Applebloom, you go with them. Scootaloo, once they're able to get to Juggernog, or if you need backup, fly back here as soon as possible." Alex ordered.

"You got it! Weenie Boys Alpha, roll out!" Vanoss shouted as the six ran out the door.

"Okay. Lucy, You tneed to head back to your place and clear a path for the Box. Gray, Lui, Nogla, and Mini, You guys keep them covered should the worst happen. Fluttershy, you follow along and fly back if they need help, or if they've reached the Box." Alex added.

"Got it covered! Fluttershy promised.

"Weenie Boys Be-" Lui began.

Lucy promptly slapped him across the face.

"LIKE HELL I'M LETTING YOU NAME THE GROUP!"

"And... Juvia... Follow Gray." Alex smirked.

"Wait what?" Gray looked up.

"Oh, brother." Lucy deadpanned, rolling her eyes.

"Oh, Alexander! Thank you for allowing me to tend to my beloved Gray!! But don't you know how dangerous it is to let two love rivals be in the same group?" Juvia dreamily inquired.

"Um.. Sure. Now, hurry up! Time's of the essence!" Alex demanded.

The group ran off, leaving Alex with a slight grin.

"I am such an asshole." He mused.

"Ve meet ze strangest people.." Richtofen gaped, staring at the chaos before him.

"Meh.. You get used to it after a while." Sun shrugged.

"Besides, Doctor.. We've dealt with everything from plant monsters and soulless machinery to.. Eh... Squid monsters.." Nikolai added.

"Speaking of weird shit, I'm putting you four in charge of figuring out how the f**k we're going to cut this out. I'll have FourZer0, Ohm, Droidd, and... Moo coming, too." Alex stated.

"So, what you're saying is you want us to do what we've been doing for eight years?" Dempsey asked.

"Yeah, that's... Wait, eight years?" Alex blinked.

"Da. On and off.." Nikolai answered.

"... Well good luck... Anyways..." Ruby grinned.

"Terroriser and Basically, I'm pairing you with Pinkie, Sweetie Belle, Sun, and... Ruby." Alex decided.

Ruby hugged Sun quickly before regaining her composure and facing Alex.

"What's the plan?" Ruby asked.

"I'll have you guys cut a path to some of the other hard-to-reach necessities. I'll warn you, this isn't going to be a cakewalk, so I'll have Gajeel and Erza helping you out. Being that one of them is the strongest female S-Class wizard and the other left me with a scar the size of that Apothicon!" Alex scowled.

"Hey! I saved your ass when Laxus had you and that fire-breathing punk on the ropes!" Gajeel retorted.

Alex shuddered. He remembered that incident well.

Laxus had essentially pitted the guild in a tournament against itself, leaving Yang and Auburn encased in stone for most of that time. Alex had gone to attack him in revenge, but despite Mystogan softening him up, he and Natsu still had trouble dealing with him.

Alex's weakness in particular, despite being around equal in power output to Laxus, was his apparent lack in necessary strength and speed, hence why he doubled the weight in his clothing to 700 pounds.

"Just.. Just go." Alex shook his head.

Team 4 ran out the door, leaving him and the rest of the guild inside.

"Alright.. Yang and I... Wait... Oh, motherf**ker!!!" Alex kicked a table, causing it to fly out the window.

He sent out all of his best to do other tasks, leaving only him and Yang for the last task.

"What?!" Yang turned to him, worried

"It's literally only the two of us DEALING WITH THE LAST TASK!!!" Alex screamed, flipping a table.

"Heh.. Don't be so sure." A certain white unicorn smirked.

Alex turned to face the familiar mare, wearing her trademark red shades.

"Vinyl.. Are you sure you want to deal with this?" Alex asked.

Vinyl grinned, putting on her latest Scratchbolt exosuit; the Mark 23 Heavyweight.

"This thing should help me keep up.. At least, I hope so." Vinyl shrugged.

Alex blinked in shock.

"If you're sure..." Alex nodded.

"I'll go, too. Keep in mind, I've been dealing with the Eye's powers for six months." Kat stated.

Kat stood up to face Alex and Yang, with a slight grin on her face.

"You really look like you've wanted a good fight. I like that." Yang smiled.

"Now that you mention it, Sekhmet's spirit has been bugging me to get out and fight." Kat nodded.

"I'll go!" Wendy Marvell, the youngest Dragonslayer, shouted.

"Wendy..?" Alex asked.

"I can fight too! Remember how I helped Natsu and Gajeel fight Faust?" Wendy asked.

"I don't think he was there." Carla commented, having now entered the room.

"I... What are you talking about..?" Alex asked.

"Oh... Right.. You were encased in Lacrima the whole time.." Wendy sheepishly recalled..

Alex shrugged.

"Well, keeping in mind you're pretty much on-par with Natsu and Gajeel..."

"What?!"

"... You can come to, is all I'm saying." Alex deadpanned.

"Awesome!" Wendy cheered.

"Okay. The rest of you are gonna have to keep the Guild Hall 'mess-free. Build barriers, kill any and all Grimm and Apothicons that scurry over here. Got it?" Alex asked.

"Got it!" The guild shouted as Alex and his group ran out the door.

*Location Unknown; October 22, 2019; 3:10 PM*

The Shadowman entered the small round table where Salem now stood. On the table with her, a map Magnolia Town, several dark enchantments in place around it.

"Welcome to my Domain, Harbinger. Have a seat." She greeted.

The Shadowman eventually lowered himself into the seat, watching the map Salem placed white interest.

"May I ask what that map is, Miss Salem?" He asked.

Salem grinned, activating one of her enchantments, causing a simulation of the battlefield to appear.

"As of now, my followers are allowing countless Grimm from my Domain to pass through portals I've set up around the town, just as your Apothicons are using their energies to pull the undead from other universes into this one. My... 'Disciples', if you will." Salem explained.

The Shadowman smiled with the slightest hint of glee as Salem continued to elaborate.

"Go on."

"Our enemies number at... Say... 40 or 45. My 3 Disciples; Cinder, Dr. Watts, and Tyrian, have scattered amongst the town, particularly at certain areas.

"Their purpose is to block the paths for what our enemies need most: power through Dr. Monty's infernal Perks, weaponry via the Magic Box, and the clues they need to find us." Salem continued.

"And if they do manage to get past your Disciples?" The Shadowman asked.

"Doctor Watts has engineered unique experiments over the past few months. Part human, Part Grimm 'Arbiters'. All four of which designed and conditioned to take orders from me alone, and to lead my Grimm in battle." Salem explained.

"And..?" The Shadowman inquired.

"Cinder made a point of wanting assistance from another Inquisitor. Since he alone was too weak for what we needed, we hired his mercenary cousin as well. The cousin himself has completed over 87 combat missions over the past 12 years, all of them successful." Salem smiled.

Satisfied with their assets, the Shadowman tipped his hat to the Grimm Queen.

But even so, one question was left on his mind.

"All of this in mind, what are our plans?" The Shadowman wondered.

"It is simple. As we speak, our enemies are making their first moves. Six groups have mobilized from the Guild Hall since our initial assault. We shall do the same." Salem grinned wickedly, eyes glowing an ominous red color.

Author's Notes:

Let The Shadow Wars commence!

Both sides are making their first moves, and everything is on the line!

I won't say much else to spoil this mini-saga, but I am going to say this: the ending to this 10-part saga is probably going to be the most intense to date!

Be sure to leave a comment!

-The Destoyer