Let's be together.
Next year, the year after that, forever.
"Does Natsu really intend to face Zeref alone?!"
"That's too reckless!!"
"That brat..." Laxus muttered, looking to the side used to Natsu's actions.
Gray clenched his teeth. "Change of strategy it is then! Let's go!"
"Wait." Erza demanded, holding her arm out to stop him from taking a step further. "We'll move according to the First's plan. Let's leave Zeref to Natsu."
"You serious?!" The ice mage gave her a look of disbelief. "We're talking about Zeref here! He has the book of E.N.D with him, y'know!"
The redhead was unfazed by his angry tone. "Natsu said he's got a secret technique to defeat Zeref, so he'll be alright."
"You've got too much faith in him, Erza!" He snapped, getting closer to her, the anger evident on his face.
Asami, Wendy, Carla, and Haru stood on the sidelines hoping the two wouldn't break into a fight.
Erza kept the same confident expression on her face, believing in Natsu. "So you're telling me, you don't believe in him?"
Gray stared at her in silence, unable to come up with a response. The two were pushed away from each other by Asami who gave them a chiding look. "This isn't the time to be arguing you two. We have to believe that Natsu can defeat Zeref with his secret technique." She said, the two looked at her and felt a pang of guilt knowing that just like them she was also worried about the fire dragon slayer.
They also glanced over at Lucy who held an expression of worry on her as she stared at the board on the wall showing where Natsu was headed.
Mavis nodded in agreement with her statement. "His moves might be reckless, but I'm sure there's a reason behind them. We're cornered from all sides. He must've thought that the fastest way to end it all was to take the enemy's leader down, and I must agree, that is the most effective way." She glanced over at the ice mage. "Let's just believe in him, shall we, Gray?"
Gray looked away, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "Yeah well it's not like I don't..." He didn't want anyone to see the small embarrassed look on his face. "It's just... y'know... him going out there all alone... and stuff..."
Asami's eyes softened, knowing that Gray might not outwardly show it but he cared about the pinkette who was almost like a brother to him. He's worried about Natsu too.
"You're forgetting something..." Haru trailed, a scoff escaping his lip as he crossed his arms over his chest. "He isn't alone."
Gray gave a look of confusion.
Carla smirked. "Happy's there with him."
The rest of the guild nodded, suddenly remembered that the blue exceed wasn't here either and trusted that Happy would look out for Natsu.
With Natsu and Happy, the two found Zeref who awaited for their arrival. Natsu and Zeref clashed with one another, neither letting up. Zeref felt a buzz of excitement coursing through his veins as he fought against Natsu who had gotten a lot stronger since their last encounter a year ago.
After trading blows, Natsu revealed his secret technique was the last of the power that he inherited from Igneel. Zeref fully believed that with that technique he would finally die. But before he allowed Natsu to attack him, he revealed that his name was Zeref Dragneel and that he was Natsu's brother. He told him that Natsu had died along with their parents when they were killed by the dragon embers and how he created E.N.D which in reality was Natsu.
Happy and Natsu refused to believe him. Especially since Natsu was aware of how Igneel was supposed to destroy E.N.D. But, Zeref revealed the reason was because Igneel loved Natsu too much to kill him. Zeref also told him how Natsu along with the other dragon slayers he knew were born 400 years ago and were brought to this time by the dragon's by using the Eclipse.
Hearing all of this made Natsu furious who decided he was going kill Zeref one and for all. Except, Zeref let it slip that should he die so would Natsu since he was a demon of the book of Zeref. Happy who was listening to all of this became overwhelmed with fear of losing Natsu, flew down and picked Natsu up before he could land the hit and took him away.
Meanwhile, with the remaining wizard saints who were easily taken down by God Serena laid on the ground watching God Serena walking away towards the Fairy Tail Guild. It was revealed to them that God Serena possessed various dragon slayer lacrima inside him. But before he could get far, Acnologia who was in his human form took him down with one hit. Acnologia was after the remaining dragon slayers that he planned on slaughtering till it was only him left.
Erza, Asami, Gray, Wendy, Laxus, Juvia, Carla, and Haru all sat together in a group after deciding to rest before continuing towards Halcion.
"This is really good." Asami hummed in content as she munched on the apples that they found. They were really sweet which made her happy.
"Juvia can't wait till we arrive tomorrow." Juvia said, her cheeks flushed as he mind drifted to meeting up with a certain white haired wizard.
Wendy nodded in agreement although her reasons completely different. "Me either. I wonder how Chelia's been." She mumbled.
Juvia puffed her cheeks out at the thought of the pink haired girl. "Love rival." She muttered a bunch of other things and a dark aura surrounded her.
"Anyways..." Asami sweat dropped. "Where's Laxus?"
"He did say something about being hungry before he ran off..." Carla said.
Gray looked up. "Heh, he does seem like the kind that'd nab a bear or something for a snack."
"Does that taste good?" Erza asked curiously.
Asami and Wendy sweat dropped. "She's drooling."
Gray sighed and stood up, walking away. He ignored their curious looks and only said he was taking a walk. He managed to find Laxus not too far. "How long has that been happening to you?" He questioned, seeing the blonde breathing heavily while grabbing his chest.
Laxus stiffened. "It's none of your business."
Gray scoffed. "Heh, tough talk.. We're from the same guild." He sighed when the blonde said nothing. "Was this from a year ago when you took all those magical barrier particles in?"
Laxus sent him a glare. "Don't go flapping your lips about this."
The ice mage tensed, he sweat dropped. "You don't have to glare at me like that."
The blonde sighed, looking down. "It's no big deal, it just does this once in awhile. No need for anyone to worry." Back at the camp, the girls and Haru were all sleeping. Erza was cuddling with Juvia who was tense the entire time. Asami was sleeping with Haru in her arms and Wendy slept beside Carla. "I ain't dying until this is all over... Watch me as I protect it... the guild I mean." Gray's lips twitched upward at his determination. Laxus send him a deadpan look. "And put some damn clothes on."
Gray let out startled noise of shock. "WOAH! WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN?!" He began panicking as he searched for the rest of his clothes as he saw that he was only in his underwear.
Laxus only chuckled, watching the ice mage looking embarrassed as he got dressed.
The following day, the group immediately headed off towards South Fiore Halcion. In the distance they could see the fighting and Wendy was able to see Chelia who needed help and immediately rushed off to help her friend.
Gray and Asami rushed past Lyon. "Lyon!! We're pushing forward!" Gray called out to his friend.
"Gray?!" Lyon exclaimed, surprised to see him here.
"Let's do this in one go!" Asami said, she began throwing attacks at the soldiers around them.
"Asami?!" The rest called out.
Haru smirked as he threw lacrima grenades at the enemy. "Instead of gawking maybe you guys should help." He deadpanned and the group immediately nodded before rushing over to help.
Lyon's eyes landed on a certain blunette who had a bashful look on her face. She's still so cute. That is until his eyes fell on Erza and suddenly remembered that they were here. "What are you doing here?!"
"This is our fight to begin with! So, for helping us deal with our problems..." She stood beside Kagura. "Thank you very much!"
Laxus goes off to fight against Wahl while Erza and Kagura team up against Neinhart. Chelia and Wendy go up against Dimaria.
Somewhere else on the battlefield, Asami, Gray, Lyon and Juvia could see the giant bursts of lightning in the distance. Lyon's eyes were wide. "Lightning?"
"This kind of weather is normal for Magnolia." Gray said, a smirk on his lips knowing who was causing the change of weather in the distance. "Sunny... with a chance of Laxus." He swipes his hand at the incoming soldiers that were about to attack them and freezes them. "Transitioning into freezing rain later in the day."
"Juvia you've gotten even more beautiful than the last time I saw you." Lyon flirted with Juvia, completely ignoring Gray. The blunette blushed a bright red and began stammering.
"This ain't the time for that!" Gray snapped at the other ice mage only to be ignored. His eye twitched. "That..."
Asami sighed, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Calm down." She muttered and glanced at Juvia who looked ready to pass out with all the flirting.
Haru stood beside them with an innocent expression on his face. "Hey, Juvia... these bad guys are trying to take your loverboy away!"
Juvia's expression went dark. "Love Rivals?!" She let out a war cry before charging at the enemy and began taking out dozens of soldiers.
"And that's how you get things moving." Haru smirked.
"Wow, she's intense." A familiar feminine voice said with amusement evident in their tone.
Asami stiffened at the voice and turned around to look at them. "Meredy!" She exclaimed, a smile on her lips at seeing the pinkette.
"It's been a long time." Meredy smiled back at her.
"What are you doing here?" Gray questioned the pinkette. He was a little surprised that Crime Sorciere would send Meredy here but he remembered how their goal was to take down Zeref.
"Crime Sorciere's here to help!" She beamed at them, excited at the idea of working with them again.
"C-Cute..." Lyon's cheeks darkened when he saw the look on the pinkette's face.
Juvia on the other hand couldn't help but feel a bubble of jealousy and began muttering love rival under her breath.
The Fullbuster's only sweat dropped at the blunette's jealousy.
They continued to fight and take down the soldiers that kept showing up. Up until now, 5 of the Spriggan 12 were taken down.
Gray and Lyon stiffened in their spots. "What is this sudden chill?"
"It can't be..."
There in front of them stood their old master, Ur. "Now then... it's about time I whip the two of you into shape..."
Lyon and Gray's expressions were that of anguish and hurt when they saw her standing there.
Meredy gasped. "ZANCROW!"
"Yo~!" The blonde smirked darkly at his former teammate.
Juvia's eyes were wide at the different people that showed up that were supposed to be dead. "How is this possible... the dead are..."
"Contrary to my necromancy, which manipulates the dead, this magic is somewhat different." Asami was frozen in her spot hearing the voice that belonged to Keyes. Haru could only stare at her in worry, remembering the way she let the guilt eat away at her after she took down Keyes. "How amusing indeed. From the hearts of those on the battlefield, the memories of powerful warriors are being conjured before our very eyes."
Asami never thought she'd hear that voice again and could only look at Keyes with a stunned. How is he here?!
"It's been a while, Haru."
Haru's eyes filled with horror when he heard the voice that belonged to an old friend of his. "Toshiro?!"
The group could only stare in surprise at the former enemies and in Haru and Asami's case an old friend.
Gray was snapped out of his shock when he was knocked back. Lyon quickly got into a fighting stance by stepping in front of him.
Ur stood there with a smirk. "Is that really the best you can do?" She scoffed. "You two may have grown up, but your magics still child's play. At that level you're a far cry from taking me down, boy's."
Lyon was trembling, unsure of whether he should attack or not. "Ur..."
Gray stood up, he was also shaking but with anger. "SNAP OUT OF IT! THAT THING AIN'T UR!" He yelled at Lyon.
"I'm well aware..." Lyon muttered. "This is obviously the work of the enemy's magic. But, even so..." He still didn't think he could hurt the person wearing Ur's face especially with how much the woman meant to him before she died.
"ROSEN KRONE!" She attacked when she saw they weren't going to.
Lyon put up his arms to block the incoming attack. "Her magic and abilities are the splitting image of Ur herself!" He noted. "The two of us aren't the same as we were back then!"
Gray broke the attack and sent his own which scratched Ur in the face. "We can and will overcome this obstacle! This is nothing but the enemy who happens to look like Ur!"
"Gray..." Lyon breathed out.
"I won't allow you to drag our Master's name through the mud any longer!" Fairy Tail's Ice Wizard stated. Gray hated that Ur's memory was being used in such a horrible way. He just wanted to end this.
Like them, everyone else in their group was off facing someone from their past. Meredy and Juvia were teaming up against Zancrow. Haru faced off against Toshiro while Asami fought Keyes.
"The voices of the dead are reverberating across the battlefield." Keyes said. "To think that I would become a puppet! How utterly amusing!"
Asami clenched her jaw tightly as she easily moved around Keyes attacks, her eyes flickering over to Haru fighting Toshiro. "Desecrating the dead is possibly the worst thing the enemy could do." She was furious that wizard's would use such a magic that defiled those who had past. "Water Dragon: Roar!" She had no reason to hold back against Keyes now. The only reason she let her guard down last time was because he had been keeping Gray's father alive.
But, now she was ready to go all out on the necromancer who had caused her and Gray so much pain. As well as Gray's father who was being used as a puppet for all those years.
"Earth Make: Spikes!" The ground around Haru began to change as giant spikes started to pop up from the ground and aimed at him.
Haru quickly ran around them before flipping back. "Take this!" He threw a lacrima grenade at Toshiro.
He easily moved out of the way. "Come on, Haru. I know you can do better than that." Toshiro tsked. "But, I guess I should expect that especially coming from a cat."
The young human/exceed only scoffed. "I don't have to prove anything to you! You're not the real Toshiro!" He refused to let his emotions get to him no matter how fighting against someone who looked like an old friend made him feel.
Toshiro only smirked in response before it soon fell off his face as he glanced up. "What's going on?"
There was a sudden change in the air. "What is it this time?!" Juvia exclaimed, looking up at the sky.
"It's Jellal's magic!" Meredy said and looked over at Asami who ended up getting pushed back near them. "Asami! Form a link with me!" The ravenette glanced over at her pink haired friend. "Maguilty: Sense!"
"What's this going to do?" The two raised their forearms against each other as the ravenette gave the pinkette a questioning look but trusting her.
"If two who believe in each other unwaveringly share a sensory link, their power will be amplified many times over!"
The two young woman shared a smile before they felt a sudden shift in their magic power, Asami's eyes grew sharper as they fell on Keyes and Meredy's on Zancrow.
"ICE GEYSER!"
"ICE VOLCANO!"
Both spells clashed with each other and both males were breathing heavily at this point. They kept throwing attacks but Ur was able to counter each one. It was getting tiresome for them to keep going back and forth with each other.
"We don't stand a chance. Ur is simply too powerful!" Lyon exclaimed.
"THAT AIN'T UR, DAMN IT!" Gray snapped, his breathing heavy. "Ur is dead..." He gave him look. "AND HER DEATH FALLS SOLELY ON MY SHOULDERS! AND YOU DAMN WELL KNOW THAT, LYON!"
The white haired wizard only let out a small bitter chuckle. "You've had many invaluable experiences as you walked along your path, haven't you? This journey you've been on until now... You walked it for the sole purpose of surpassing Ur. And you've come a long way." Lyon smiled while Gray looked stunned by his words. "That path, for me, has always been obstructed."
Gray suddenly picked him by the collar to help him stand. "In that case, the beginning of the road is right here in front of you!" He said. "It's true; I've come a long way. But I didn't get this far by stumbling aimlessly around! I knew in my heart that I had no choice but to keep moving forward... And that's why I'm standing here now! Now's the time for your first step, Lyon!"
Lyon gasped while Ur spoke up, "You two... taking me down? Not in a million years." She said arrogantly.
"Ready, Meredy?"
"Yeah!"
Both women raised their hands that were clasped together. They were about to perform a unison raid to defeat their enemy.
-
Lyon and Gray doing the same except they were in their stances while taking off their clothes.
"The first step is..."
The raven haired ice mage nodded. "Yeah.. it's the first step to a brighter future!"
The four completed a unison raid as they sent their opponent's flying. Haru only deadpanned as he pushed Toshiro into the attack the girls did and watched as the earth make user went flying.
They all were relieved and happy that they won their battles but that didn't stop the weight of the fact that they still needed to win the war which was far from over.