Phantom Lord Returns

Chapter 9: Another Picnic Ruined

"Erza, why did you bring your wagon along?!" Gray groaned as Erza was dragging her embarrassingly huge wagon with who knows what inside through the woods.

Instead of Erza being hurt, she smiled like she has prepared for this conversation.

"Gray, you never know what might a person do in these woods," she stopped, she did a 360, and faced Gray "you know what Gray? I think this is a perfect day for a picnic!".

Gray faced palmed.

"Erza, please we are already behind, and what if someone is going to see us doing-" before he could say another word, he turned around and Erza was slowly munching on a piece of strawberry cake, while on a small red and white patterned blanket and on it were a dozen different cakes.

"Would you care for one Gray, I have strawberry cake, chocolate cake, vanilla cake, marble cake, moose cake, black forest, and cheese cake. If you want more, I still have some different types in my wagon."

Gray's eye twitched. Each cake was family size, and had a cherry on top, expect for the strawberry cake, it had a strawberry, not to mention it was the biggest. But that wasn't why Gray was surprised. How could she just pull the cakes out of her wagon, they would've squished, and how did she do it so fast, he thought.

"Erza please, not now".

"But," Erza continued "If you going to chose the ice cream cake, please hurry, because it is melting. Also, the strawberry cake is mine".

BOOM!

Gray spun his head toward the noise.

"Erza, what was that?".

"I don't know" her face expersion hardened.

"What if was Juvia?".

"There is a chance that might of been her, there is only one way to find out" she stood up and walked right passed Gray, but he grabed her arm.

"And what I am going to be doing, while your risking her life and possibly Juvia's one the line? You really think I am going to let you go by yourself?".

"Of course I do!" She tugged her arm away from Gray "Our picnic isn't over and you haven't chosen your cake!" She said as she zippped through the forest.

............

It seemed like with each step Erza took, the trees got thicker and taller, so it was difficult to run in a straight line without being hit by a tree.

Suddenly, she saw a wild fire. It started off small, but as she ran father into the forest, the fire began to spread.

Just before she was going to change into her Fire Empress Armor that way she'd be immuned to the fire, she saw the fire spread into a house, a small hut in a largest tree Erza has seen today.

No, not her, Erza thought, Anyone but her.

She walked in the house, careful not to catch her blue shirt on the fire. There was now no door, although Erza remembed perfectly there once was one.

Inside the hut was a train wreak. All the potions, all the plates, everything that is glass is shattered into a million pieces all over the floor, Erza has never been more thankful for her knee high boots.

As she looked at her feet, she saw a large mirror shard that had many cracks in it. She picked it up, not scared because of her thick armor she wore as gloves and in saw herself in the reflection.

Who would have done this to..

"Ch-Child" said a sudden voice.

Erza spun her head toward the noise, there hiding from who now's what under the sheets of her blanket the fell off her bed.

Erza rushed to her.

Once she took the blanket off her face, she was shocked of what she found was scattered with scratchs and vicious blood marks. Her well known serious face and turned into a hurt broken one.

"Ma'am!," Erza said, reallizing there are pits of glass stuck in her hands, once Erza realized this, she tried squeezing the pieces out. "You have to get out of here, fire will spread and you are much too hurt to just sit there, we need to take you to a doctor! Who did this to you?".

Porlyusica face turned dark.

"The Phantom Lord members," she pointed around the room "they destroyed everything, my potions, my medicine for my sick patients-".

"Why are you worrying about potions when you should be worrying about yourself. Why did they come here, what did they ask for?".

"They do didn't ask, they forced. They said I have to tell them where Juvia Lock-".

Erza's eyes let open.

"You know where Juvia is?".

"Yes, she went looking for Gray".

"Gray is with me! Which direction was she headed in?".

"I am not sure exactly, I saw her run up North but that is it".

Erza was thrilled to hear the great news, Juvia was alive! And she might not even be far from here. But then Erza just realized what she had said.

"Wait, you didn't tell where Juvia was, you didn't tell them the truth, did you?".

Porlyusica gave her a sad glance, like she couldn't bring herself to say the truth.

"Child, they beat me and destroyed all of my things, if I hadn't told them, they would have burned down the entire forest. I am sorry. Please understand that I -".

"No. Do you realize what you have done! You have sent them after Juvia, who knows what they might do to her!" Erza yelled, tears forming in the cracks of her eyes.

Erza couldn't believe it, the same woman who had once repaired her eye, had also betrayed her close friend, who Gray and her had been so eager to find, and now, she might be gone.

Erza was so anger, but remembered they beat the awnser of out her, and that she had no choice.

But that is not a good enough excuse for Erza.

She stood up, calmed herself by counting to ten in her head, then spoke to Porlyusica.

"Right now, I need to continue the search for Juvia, now more than ever because of those Phantom Lord members, so I adivse you to flee, get out of this area, out of this forest, it is not safe anymore".

Porlyusica crawled to Erza as much as her weak body would prevail.

"I am sorry Erza! I had no choice!".

Erza left the destroyed hut behind to go back to Gray without repling to her hoping with all her heart they will make it in time.