Dragon's child

•Twenty Two•

A/N: And here we have yet another mystery man!

The darkness washed outwards in a wave, killing every living thing that got in its way. Birds, cats, dogs, flowers, trees, grass, nothing escaped. Even the buildings crumbled and crashed to the ground. Those inside Levy's rune wall were pressed frantically against it, staring at the dust surrounding them. They called mentally, but the mind link had been severed. The dust began to clear, revealing a hazy figure.

"G-Gray-sama..?" Juvia whimpered. As if in a trance, Wendy summoned a wind, blasting the dust away. The Dark One alone stood, surrounded by the bodies of their guildmates and allies. But his expression wasn't triumphant, it was...confused. Then they noticed a strange golden sheen that coated everyone like a second skin.

"The hell is this..?" The enemy seemed just as confused as they were. As if in response to his voice, the golden auras detached themselves from the mages, each briefly taking the form of a horse, before coalescing into a singular enormous stallion. As soon as the auras dissipated, the mages on the ground began to move and groan, shakily pulling themselves up. "What?!" The Dark One snarled in disbelief.

"Everyone!" Wendy cried.

'Oog. Lemme link everyone back up...there.' Warren said woozily. The mental link was immediately overloaded with exclamations of relief and confusion, especially from Crime Sorciere and Sabertooth, who had never been linked before.

'Everyone shut up!' Cobra snapped. 'You're giving me a headache!'

'He's right, we need to focus.' Erza said decisively.

'I'm not sure what just happened, but we'll use it to our advantage.' Makarov grumbled. 'Let's see, Erza you-'

No. Do nothing. Not yet. A completely new voice said, blowing through their minds like wind through the trees.

"The hell are you doing here?!" The Dark One snarled, his face twisted with rage. "SHOW YOURSELF, YOU TRAITOR!!"

There was an amused chuckle. "You cause chaos wherever you go." A man hopped over a pile of rubble, kicking stones as he went. "Hello, Rai. How many decades has it been?"

"Don't gimme that bullshit. EXPLAIN YOURSELF!!" The Dark One, Rai, snapped back, the air condensing around him again.

The newcomer began to speak in a strange guttural language as he approached, before creating a soundproof bubble around the pair of them. 'Who is that?' Lector piped up and many echoed his question.

'Who cares?!' Natsu snorted, preparing to launch himself forward. 'He's distracted! Now we can-!'

I said no. The stallion neatly sidestepped into his way. Let Master talk him down. Take this time to rest and heal.

"AAH! TALKING HORSE!!" Natsu and Happy screeched in unison.

"Who are you?" Sting demanded.

"Are you the one who protected us?" Yukino added.

My name is Zabi and yes, I protected you. Had I not, you would've had the life stripped from you. Now hold still. The stallion's glow extended outward, easing pain and healing injuries.