Third Person's P. O. V:
"You were able to close the gate, even though I was in control," Sherry says in a tone of astonishment.
Lucy says smugly, "I guess that means I'm stronger than you."
"Well, I don't know if I'll take it that far," Sherry states. "Remember: my powers allow me to take control over any celestial spirit that you might call forth."
Whipping out a silver key, Lucy tells her, "Don't be so sure! I've got a few powerful spirits up my sleeve. Open! Gate of Canis Minor: come, Nikola!" With a flash of light, Plu, the little white dog with a pointy nose appears before Sherry.
"Oh, isn't he the cutest little thing! I'm in love!" Sherry coos.
"Would you quit talking about love all the time? 'Cause it's getting pretty old," Lucy asks in annoyance.
"Well, someone's bitter. Marionette Attack! Now you're my puppet!" Sherry says, holding out her hands. Plu starts toward her but stops short suddenly as the kanji for evil appears on his forehead.
"Plu?" Lucy asks, gasping as he whirls toward her. "Not you too!" Plu launches himself at Lucy and starts attacking her, but being as small as he is, he's causing hardly any damage. Sherry sweat drops as Plu keeps attacking, but Lucy remains unfazed, making the pinkette twitch.
"You're kidding me!" Sherry exclaims.
"I knew you'd fall for that!" Lucy says before she leaps up and swings her whip at Sherry with a cry of exertion. However, Sherry easily dodged to the side.
"You deliberately summoned a weak spirit!" Sherry notes.
"That's right! I knew that if I called forth little Plu, here, it would make your spell totally pointless!" Lucy states as she swings her whip for the pinkette again, but Sherry manages to dodge it.
Plu keeps uselessly attacking Lucy, causing Sherry to grumble, "Geez! I release you from command!"
Now free of the spell, Plu repeatedly bows to Lucy apologetically. "Awe! I know you didn't mean it. Now, go back, okay?" With a poof of smoke, Plu vanishes.
"Marionette Attack! Get her, Rock Doll!" Sherry cries, as rocks start to rise up behind her.
Landing in the ground, Lucy says, "We're going to keep going round and round, aren't we? I'll stop your Doll with a spirit. You'll take control of it, then I'll close its gate—" She's cut off when there's a heavy thud, and gasps up at the giant Rock Doll above her.
"It's like we're playing Cat and Mouse. I love that game," Sherry says. "Let's see what you can do, little mouse. You think you can beat my Rock Doll?"
Sweat dropping, Lucy exclaims, "Now, I think I'm in trouble! I don't think I have a spirit strong enough to destroy that thing!"
Lucy let's put a scream as the Rock Doll slams its fist on the ground, before Lucy takes off running for the beach. She's sent flying forward again when the monster throws another punch.
"Gotta get away!! Gotta get away!!" Lucy squeals.
Pointing at her, Sherry orders, "Don't let her get away, Rock Doll! Let's teach this little girl a lesson!"
"WHO ARE YOU CALLING A LITTLE GIRL?! WE'RE THE SAME AGE! I MIGHT EVEN BE A LITTLE OLDER!" Lucy screams back.
"It's not a good idea to keep babbling like that, unless you want us to catch you!" Sherry states with a devious expression.
Flipping through her keys, Lucy asks desperately, "Okay! What spirit do I have that can help me out in this situation?!" Cancer, Horologium and Lyra were out of the question.
"You'd better hurry! If you don't start moving faster, we're going to catch up with you!" Sherry taunts her.
Lucy screams as she narrowly dodged yet another punch from the Rock Doll, and continues running. She pauses and whirls back to the monster and screams again as she sees it raising its left foot in the air.
"I command you to crush her flat!!" Sherry snaps.
Lucy screams as she's thrown back by the impact of the monster's foot crashing on the ground, but narrowly missing her. When a crack appears on the ground, she realised that she's on a cliff.
"H-Hold on!! Isn't this a... cliff?!!"
Lucy screams fearfully as the end of the cliff she's sitting on breaks away completely and falls. It hits the beach floor below with a heavy thud! The dust clears to reveal Lucy lying spread eagled on her back, eyes spinning dizzily.
"Finish her, Rock Doll!" Sherry screeches. It jumps down toward her and Lucy screams, but manages to avoid being crushed by its foot again by throwing herself forward. Then she takes off running again.
Sherry laughs, "Hahaha! There's nowhere to run, blondie!"
Lucy gasps as she stops before the sea. Then, an idea hits her. "The sea...! I can summon Aquarius from here!" She gasps when she sees the Rock Doll stomping closer to her. Sherry laughs again.
"It looks like the cat's finally going to catch the mouse," Sherry says triumphantly.
Lucy murmurs, "Water can't destroy that thing. Besides, Aquarius would just wash me away with them. Wait a minute!" Another idea hits Lucy.
Sherry laughs. "I'm going to crush you like a little bug! Sorry! No love for you!"
Lucy murmurs as she dodged another punch, ""Wash me away." That's it!" She pulls out a gold key. "Open! Gate of the Water Bearer: Aquarius!" A half woman with king blue hair and blue eyes and matching coloured tail appears, holding an urn.
"Aquarius?! How does a weakling like you have a spirit with that kind of power?!" Sherry demands to know.
Lucy whirls to her as she points and says, "That girl is our enemy! You hate her kind! So go get her!" Aquarius just "Tch's" at Lucy. The blonde snaps, eyes angry white circles with tick marks around her head, "I don't have time to deal with your bad attitude!! Get over there and take her down! Now!!"
"Well, I see you're just as annoying as ever," Aquarius says nonchalantly. "No wonder you still don't have a boyfriend." This infuriates Lucy even more.
"GEEZ!! WHY DO YOU HAVE FO KEEP RUBBING IT IN LIKE THAT?!!" Lucy screeches.
"Marionette Attack: you will now do asi command!" Sherry orders Aquarius.
"What?"
Sherry smirks cockily.
"She's under my spell! So she won't do your bidding anymore. Might as well send her back," Sherry says.
"No way! Aquarius is still my ace in the hole."
"I bet you won't think that when the sea washes away your pitiful existence! Now, Aquarius! Get rid of this stupid girl once and for all!" Sherry says.
"What?! I was already planning on it!!" Aquarius spins and summons water from her urn with a cry of exertion, making Lucy nervous as a humongous wave rises up in front of her.
Lucy screams when the wave hits her. Sherry grins. "Say goodbye little—" She's cut off with a gasp when the wave just continues toward her. Sherry screams when the wave crashes down on her, taking both wizards with it.
Aquarius scoffs, "Huh! And I thought the blonde girl was stupid. I can close my own gate, thank you very much! Bye-bye!" And, with that, Aquarius returns to the Celestial Spirit World, leaving Lucy and Sherry sprawled o the beach, but very much alive.
Lucy gets to her feet as her eyes spin dizzily and she says, swaying in her feet, "Leave it to Aquarius to hurl her waves against friend and foe alike!"
Sherry gets to her feet and says as she sways as well, her own eyes spinning dizzily, "I hate myself for allowing you to trick me again! But it doesn't matter because she wasn't strong enough to destroy my Rock Doll!"
Lucy says as they topple toward each other, "Yeah, so what?! That puppet of yours can't do anything if you're not there to control it!! I know all I have to do is get you away from that thing, and it worked! 'Cause now you're too dizzy to even talk straight, right!" When they bump into each other, Sherry and Lucy wave their fists at their faces. "That's what you get for messing with a member of Fairy Tail!!"
Sherry groans as she punches Lucy's face, "I can't believe we ended up in a stalemate!"
Lucy demands, "What stalemate?! I'm obviously the winner here!"
Kicking Lucy, Sherry states, "You can't just declare yourself the winner of a fight!! If that's the case, then I'm the winner!"
"I don't think so!" Lucy screams before ramming her arm against Sherry's neck, knocking her backward.
"No! How'd this happen to me?! I never lose!"
Winking, Lucy says as dawn begins to break over the island, "Oh, yeah?! Well, you just did—to a wizard from Fairy Tail!"
With Sherry defeated, the Rock Doll crumbles, she says melodramatically, tears flying from her eyes, an image of Lyon in her head, "Although the burning flame of my life has been extinguished far too soon, my love for you will burn on eternally, Cold Emperor!"
Lucy says with a wink, "You're not gonna die. So, let's tone down the drama, okay?"
Hitting the ground, Sherry groans out, "Angelica, avenge your master's death!"
"Huh?" Lucy states at her dumbfounded until the giant rat appears above her. "But I thought that rat was one of her puppets!" Lucy gasps when she tries to get away, but collapses to her knees. "I can't move my legs for some reason!"
Suddenly, there's a red and silver flash and Angelica was cut down in an instant. Lucy gasps as she realises its Erza.
Jumping to her feet, she cries happily, throwing a hand up, "Erza!!" Erza turns a deathly glare to her, causing Lucy to shrink back in fear and sweat drop.
"Whoa!!" Lucy exclaims. She thinks nervously, "I forgot! She's mad at us 'cause we broke guild rules and took an S-class quest without permission!"
"Lucy. I assume you know why I'm here?" Erza questions. "You do, don't you?"
"To take us back?" Lucy asks, rather than says. "Promise you won't hurt me?" Lucy asks innocently, clasping her hands together as her voice seems to echo.
Happy had been flying for hours. He hasn't found Lucy yet, and he really hopes that she's okay.
Dawn is breaking by the time he finally spots the celestial wizard, kneeling and looking frightened on the beach.
Happy says with a relieved smile as he flies towards a fearful Lucy, "Hey! I have been looking all over for you! I'm glad you're okay! I was wor— *GASP...!!*" Happy cuts himself off with a sharp gasp, jerking to a halt in the air, his dark round eyes considerably wide with fear.
Erza peers back at the blue cat with a livid expression on her face, and Happy whips around. He tries to escape with lightning speed, but ultimately fails because Erza had snatched ahold of his tail in a vice-like grip.
She asks in a tone laced with calm fury, "Now, where is Natsu?"
Lucy tells Erza, "Listen! I'm sorry we came here without permission, but some really awful things have been happening on this island! There's this guy and his minions were trying to revive a frozen demon! And the island's villagers are suffering because of this magic spell they're using, and they'd turned into monsters." Lucy glances away. "We just thought, that if we worked together we might be able to help them."
The look on Erza's face blatantly read that she couldn't care less. She states as such, facial expression unchanging, "That's not my concern."
Lucy begs, "Please, Erza! Let us finish this job! We can't leave things this way—!" Lucy is cut off with a sharp gasp when Erza whips out a sword and points it right at her face, the blade gleaming in the morning sunlight.
Erza states sternly, still holding Happy by his tail, "I don't think you understand. The three of you have betrayed Master Makarov! You'll be lucky if you walk away with your lives."
"Okay! Now I'm scared!" Lucy thinks fearfully.
Gripping Happy's tail firmly, Erza drags them back to the village, but a different part of it. In this section of the village, large white tents have been set up. They enter a tent near the one that holds Gray, and Erza immediately ties Lucy and Happy up with rope.
Lucy and Happy had anime tears pouring down their faces when the tent flaps open to reveal Gray, on his feet again and with bandages wrapped around his stomach and chest. Lucy is sitting on Happy's right, and Erza sits cross-legged with her hands steepled together on Lucy's right, her face anything but happy at the sight of Gray.
"You made me wait. Not smart," Erza says in way of greeting.
Gray gasps in surprise, "Erza...?! Why are they tied up?"
"Lucy's gotten me up to speed with everything that's happened." Erza adds as she stands up from her seat on a wooden crate, "I thought you and Reina were sent to stop Natsu and these two fools." She rests her left hand on her hip. "Needless to say, I'm disappointed."
"Where are they, anyway?" Gray asks in confusion.
"That's something we'd all like to know."
Gray feels worried for his girlfriend and prays she'll be okay, even though he knows she can take care of herself. That never stops Gray from worrying, though.
Lucy says worriedly, "The last time I saw them, they were fighting against the Cold Emperors' lackeys, But when we went back to where the village was, there wasn't any sign of them. Wherever they are, I hope they're okay... Anyway, since we couldn't find them, Erza demanded that we take her to you, but I'd had no idea where you'd ended up."
"So, I did some scouting from the air," Happy inputs. "From up there, I could see that the villagers had moved into this storage area."
"Okay," Erza tells us with a sigh in her voice as she stalks towards the tent flaps. "First, we're going to search for Natsu and Reina, and then we're going back to the guild."
Gray tried to protest, "But we can't leave the island just yet! If Lucy filled you in, then you know exactly what these villagers are going through, right now."
Erza looks at Gray and asks, "And what would be your point?"
Gray gazes back in silence, looking a bit surprised by her question.
Elsewhere, on Galuna Island....
Natsu yawns as he and Reina approach the Temple of the Moon. Natsu grumbles as the blonde blinks her eyes, "We'd finally come up with the perfect plan, but then we'd had to go and oversleep!"
"It will work, right, Natsu?" Reina questions.
"Sure it will, Rei-chan! It'll definitely work!" He replies as they walk up to the Moon Temple.
They pause, looking up at the ancient building. Holding up a fist, Natsu says grinning, "Alright, then! Let's do this!"
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"I came here solely to apprehend these fools for breaking the rules of the guild. I'm not interested in anything other than that," Erza tells Gray, back in the large tent.
Gray demands, "Rules?! Have you even seen what's happened to the people on this island?"
"I have."
"And you're still just gonna turn your back on them?!"
Erza responds smoothly, without looking back at Gray, "Their Request is posted on the board of every guild hall. The villagers would be better served by wizards who are cleared for S-class. You are not qualified!"
Gray demands, "How can you be so heartless?!"
Erza turns her head and gives Gray a dark glare. She demands angrily, "What did you say?!"
Happy cries, eyes wide, "That's no way to speak to the Great Erza!!"
With a deadpan look, Lucy mutters, "You suck-up!"
Holding out her right hand, Erza summons a sword as she growls, "Have you chosen to defy the guild's rules as well?!" Erza turns and points her sword at Gray. "You'll face the same punishment!"
Erza looks slightly surprised when gray grips her sword and points it right at the dark blue Fairy Tail symbol on his right pectoral. Both wizards give each other equally dark glares. Gray tells Erza strongly, "Do what you must." Lucy and the cat stare at him with wide eyes. "For me, there's no other choice to be made. I can't walk away from what I know is right!" Erza continues to glare at Gray, even as he walks away from her to the entrance. Gray opens the flap, but pauses and looks back at the redhead. "I'm seeing this through to the end, and you can't stop me!"
With that said, Gray leaves.
Trembling with anger, Erza turns to face her prisoners. Their eyes grow wide with fear. Lucy squeals pleadingly, "PLEASE DON'T GET MAD AT US! WE DON'T HAVE ANY CONTROL OVER GRAY!!"
Happy adds, "HE'S NOT FEELING LIKE HIMSELF RIGHT NOW, BECAUSE HE'S LOST A FIGHT TO HIS OLD FRIEND...!"
Erza swings her sword and it slices clean through the ropes binding them. Lucy and Happy stare in surprise as the ropes fall to the ground.
Erza says in shock, her brown eyes wide, "These events are intolerable! We'll deal with the immediate problems for now."
Happy and Lucy cry gratefully, happy expressions on their faces, "THANK YOU!!"
Her back to them, Erza tells them, "This doesn't change anything! You're still going to face punishment."
Happy and Lucy say with sad faces, "Yes, ma'am!"
❄️❄️❄️
Inside the temple somewhere, Lyon stands with his arms crossed in between a throne and Toby, a displeased look on his face. "How pathetic! You're the only one still standing... Toby...?"
Toby makes a sound of agreement.
Lyon stalks back and sits in the throne. "Those Fairy Tail wizards... They're quite impressive."
Toby asks hopefully, "Hey, can we keep that whole shocking myself thing a secret?"
"This unfortunate turn of events could put the resurrection of Deliora in jeopardy." A short man with green spiky hair wearing a horned mask and brown cloak walks up to them.
Lyon addresses, "Zalty. As stealthy as ever."
"If all goes as planned, the demon should awaken at some point tonight," Zalty tells them while kneeling before Lyon. "But we have to keep an eye on those wizards. If they were to interrupt the Moon Drip ceremony, then Deliora would remain forever entombed in ice. Salamander, The Queen of Reflections and Titania are quite powerful. They could easily foil our plans."
"As always, you seem remarkably well informed," Lyon says. "No mind. I can't say I'm worried." Holding up his left palm, Lyon summons some frost. "Those fools may be strong, but they're no match for me!"
"I was hoping you'd say that," Zalty says as Lyon lowers his hand. "So it's very reassuring to hear." He places his right hand over his heart. "But still, allow me the honour of joining you in battle for old time's sake."
"Hold up! I didn't know you were a wizard, too!" Toby exclaims in surprise.
Zalty straightens as he says, "Yes. It's been awhile since I've used it, but I've dabbled in a particular form of Lost Magic."
Lyon says, "Sure. We could use another wizard." He looks up at the ceiling as debris starts to rain down from it.
Toby exclaims, "It's an earthquake!!"
The building starts to tilt sideways, causing more debris to rain down.
Lyon states, "I don't think so!"
Toby says, "It's all coming down!!"
Elsewhere in the temple, Natsu slams his flame covered fist against the walls and pillars, while Reina just leans against the wall of the temple, her arms crossed over her chest and looking very entertained.
"Keep it up, Natsu!" Reina cheers on her teammate as she gives him a thumbs up, chuckling.
With a roar, Natsu unleashes a burst of fire from his mouth that explodes through the ceiling, right in front of Lyon and his lackeys on that same floor.
"What is the meaning of this?!" Lyon demands as Toby had collapsed on his hands and knees. The flames have vanished.
Toby gasps fearfully, "We're in trouble!"
The flames had made a hole in the floor, big enough for a person to fit through.
Zalty says with a smirk, as he walks up to the smoking hole, "I should've known the Salamander and The Queen of Reflections would make the first move! It appears we have visitors, Sir."
Lyon and Toby approach the hole and peer down. Several floors down, the three of them could see two figures.
His hands on his hips, Natsu chuckles as he remarks, "You know, usually I'm breaking stuff by accident. It's funny how hard it is when I'm doing it on purpose."
Lyon demands in annoyance, "What are you two doing here?!"
With veins popping out of his forehead in anger, Natsu responds, "We're knocking this place over! Then you won't be able to shine moonlight on that demon you've got underground!"
Lyon yells down at them, "Insolent fools! Just who do you think you are?! You dare challenge me?!"
With a light blue anime question mark appearing beside his head, Toby asks, "Okay. Would someone please explain, because I'm lost."
Zalty explains as he turns to Toby, "Evidently, this boy is the reason the temple is tilting. I assume that they destroyed the support pillars on one side. Doing so, caused the temple to shift in that direction. This in turn will prevent any moonlight from shining directly on Deliora. Heh. It's an ingenious plan. I'm actually quite surprised that dope was the one who came up with it!"
With flames bursting from his feet, Natsu hovers in the air, Reina holding onto him, and challenges the white haired mage, "So you're gonna fight us, or what?!"
Lyon says in surprise, "Flames shoot from his feet?!"
Toby tells him, "When we fought that guy, he was able to shoot fire from all over his body!"
With a cry, Natsu launches himself up through the tunnel at speeds, bringing Reina with him. Natsu flies out of the hole and rams his head right into Lyon's stomach, sending him flying into the air. However, Lyon's body begins to break apart and turns into ice.
'An Ice Clone?!' Reina mentally gasps. Toby makes a surprised noise.
Staring at where Lyon's body had been, Natsu breathes in surprise, "What the—?! He's a fake...?!"
Reina shouts warningly, "Natsu! It's an Ice Clone!"
Natsu looks back at her only for his tan coloured eyes to widen when he sees the real Lyon has appeared behind her, frost and shards of ice swirling strongly around his right hand, causing his spiky white hair and white cloak to sway. "Reina! Behind you!" Natsu returns the warning.
The Walker whirls around just as Lyon calls out, "Ice Make: Eagles!" Eagles made of ice are sot from his hand, aiming right for the two Fairy Tail wizards. "You can't dodge it in midair!"
"Arc of Reflection: Reflector!" With a flick of her arm, Reina redirects the attack right back at Lyon. He gasps and creates his oval shaped Ice Shield to block his own attack.
Everyone except Natsu stares with wide stunned eyes.
"Impossible!" Lyon breathes
once he'd gotten over his initial shock. Reina smirks in triumph as she lands gracefully on the floor, facing him, knees bent.
"You hurt Gray-kun," Reina tells Lyon in a low tone, a muscle ticking in his jaw at this. "Now you're gonna wish you hadn't!"
A crazed look appears on her features as Reina whips her head up, holding out her hands, hair tossing due to a flare of Reina's magic power. Lyon freezes out of fear as he gasps at the sight of the girl's eyes as they've suddenly changed their appearance.
They were no longer clear blue but black with a red centre and flecks of white.
Reina doesn't understand why she's getting so defensive over Gray, but the thought of him being hurt by this masked freak makes her blood boil.
Lyon wonders silently why she's so overprotective of his former student—the same man who'd killed their beloved master. He now remembers who this blue haired woman is from the rumours he'd heard over the years. She's the user of Arc of Reflections and the Eye Magic known as Lunar Eclipse Eyes. And, if what Zalty had told him about the girl is true, as were as those rumours.... then Lyon will secretly admit that he's in trouble....
Natsu expels flames from his mouth, causing him to jerk towards the floor. He then flips his lower body upwards and shoots flames from his feet. They barrel for Lyon, but he simply ducks to the side, easily avoiding them. He ducks further when Natsu swings his legs around, causing the flames to roar above Lyon's head. He straightens again when they dissipate and glares at the Dragon Slayer.
Lyon questions, "What kind of ridiculous magic is this?!"
Natsu unleashes his Fire Dragon: Wing Attack spell, but Lyon evades that as well.
"Arc of Reflection Magic: Mind Reflection!" Thrusting her hands forward, the bluenette makes a reflection of Lyon appear before him, an exact copy.
"What?!" Lyon thinks in shock. He just barely manages to jump to avoid the blast of ice aimed at him and it hits the wall behind him, making a big hole.
Standing on his hands, Natsu calls out, "FIRE DRAGON: ROOOAAARRR!!" Flames burst from his mouth and shoot at Lyon. Before the man could dodge, however, Zalty throws out a hand towards Natsu and Reina. Their eyes widen when the floor suddenly breaks out from underneath their feet, causing the two Fairy Tail wizards to fall through, screaming.
The reflection of Lyon disappears.
Lyon lands on his feet. "How very fortunate, Cold Emperor," Zalty says, smiling. "Luck is on your side."
Behind him, Toby had gotten charred from Natsu's fire attack. Holding up a hand, he asks, "Can we keep the whole Toby got charred thing a secret, too?"
"What did you do?" Lyon questions Zalty.
"Whatever do you mean...?"
"Don't play dumb with me! Your magic had to have caused those holes in the floor."
"Don't you have ever the watchful eye," Zalty remarks with a snicker. "Please allow me to explain my actions, Sir. You're the only one strong enough to defeat Deliora, so it's imperative that you remain safe until its resurrection."
Frost begins to swirl around Lyon's body, reacting to his anger. Lyon challenges, "Are you suggesting that I could fall victim to such paltry magic?! And be defeated by a girl?!" Ice spreads out from underneath Lyon, coating the entire room, except the hole. "Leave me! I can take care of this myself!"
Lyon glares at Natsu and Reina, who have climbed back up through the holes they'd fallen through. The Fairy Tail wizards glare right back at him.
"Once I finally defeat the demon, everyone will worship my name: Cold Emperor, Lyon! I've worked too hard to let a brat like him and a girl like her tarnish it."
Reina just gives the white haired man her deadliest glare at that snarky remark.
Zalty murmurs, "As you wish."
Reina questions, "So you plan on fighting and defeating Deliora yourself once he's revived. You're a complete nutcase!"
Outside, Lucy, Gray, Erza and the cat are making their way to the Moon Temple. Lucy says in disbelief as she runs, her chest still covered with her pink undershirt, "Are you kidding me! He seriously wants to fight that demon?!"
Gray says nothing as he runs.
Back inside the temple, Natsu and Reina have finally climbed out of their holes and are now standing facing Lyon.
Natsu comments, "That thing looks half dead already. So let me get this straight: you're going through all this trouble to melt that ice just so you could fight it? That's pretty messed up, if you ask me."
Lyon says as he readies his next attack, "I must rise up against Ur's legacy! I will not rest until I've fulfilled my dream!"
The Ice Eagles impale the ground at the Fairy Tail wizards' feet, but they manage to jump backwards to avoid them.
"Why go this far?!" Reina asks as Lyon throws more ice attacks at them, but she and Natsu continue to evade the attacks. "Can't you just challenge her, and be don't with it?!"
"Well, I would if I could," Lyon replies, "but Ur has been dead for years!"
Reina's and Natsu's eyes widen as they gasp at this knowledge. They remember Gray's words from when they'd first discovered the frozen demon.
The woman who'd taught me how to use my magic, my master Ur, sacrificed everything to seal it away.
"Gray. So, that's what you meant," Reina thinks sympathetically.
Natsu says, "I didn't realise she'd ended up dying when she'd sealed it."
"Yes, but she'd still be alive if it wasn't for Gray!" Thrusting out his frost covered hand, Lyon manifests an Ice Eagle right behind the Fairy Tail wizards. Reina feels her anger boil as the white haired man accuses her teammate.
With a cry, Natsu blocks his attack by thrusting up an arm, while Reina reflects it, her bangs shadowing her face.
Holding up his left arm in front of his face, clutching it with his other hand, Natsu tells Lyon, "Look. I don't know what happened to you in the past, but I do know what you're doing in the present, and it's hurting a lot of innocent people. And since you don't seem to realise it yourself... We'll have to... knock some sense into you!"
Natsu summons flames around his left fist.
In a clearing outside the Moon Temple, Gray's group had stopped while he told them of his past with Lyon.
"Even back when we were kids," Gray was saying, "Lyon's always dreamed of surpassing Ur's magic ability. Since she's gone, he can't challenge her directly. He's decided that it's up to him to kill Deliora, 'cause it's the one thing she couldn't do."
Lucy states, "Well, yeah. I guess that'd be the only way to challenge someone who's already dead."
Happy says, "Aye."
Gray says, "Listen. There's something... Something I never got to tell him." He turns to his guild mates. "I kept it secret. Ur made me promise to never let him know, but I have to! Ur may not be with us... but she's still alive!"
Everyone else gasps in shock.
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For those of you who've missed it, I've changed Reina's Lunar Empress alias to The Intimidator.