Akira's P. O. V:
I murmur, watching Igneel face off against Acnologia, "That's him: the King of the Dragons."
Behind me, Gajeel leans against Levy for support as he breathes heavily. We watch as the two dragons butt heads again, growling.
"I can't believe it!" Natsu says, tears dripping down his face. The two dragons begin to battle it out.
Nanami says, "Igneel was inside him? How? Is that possible?"
Levy replies, "Maybe. Do you have one, Gajeel?" She glances at him questioningly.
Looking up at her, the black haired man responds, "Don't really know. But the pain's gone."
The tingling in my neck has ceased now, which must mean that Rogue has recovered from the reaction. I glance at my sister to see Nanami remove her hand from her neck as well.
Levy asks Gajeel, "We're gonna be okay, aren't we?"
"Honestly, I'm not sure," He says truthfully. He addresses Natsu, "What's going on, Salamander?! I mean, is that really Igneel?! What was up with all that stuff about being inside you?"
Bowing his head, the pinkette replies, "I have no idea. He left. I looked for him for so long!" He wipes the tears from his eyes.
Lucy whispers, "I'm sorry..."
Flames burst from Natsu's feet as they launch him into the air and he shouts, "DAD! WE GOTTA TALK, NOW!"
Igneel looks behind his shoulder to see Natsu shooting straight for him. "Natsu, I told you: we'll talk later!" Igneel tells him with annoyance.
Natsu demands as he lands on Igneel's wing, "Tell me, now!! Why did you disappear and leave me?! Oh, and if you were with me the whole time, why didn't you say something?! Do Wendy and Gajeel have dragons inside them, too?! And what happened that day?! On July seventh, the day you left me?!!! Come on, you owe me!!!"
Acnologia roars as he charges Igneel. He dodges as he yells, "Enough!" The attack hits Igneel and Natsu goes tumbling.
I gasp, "That was close!"
"Quit distracting him!!" Gajeel shouts. Natsu looks up to see Acnologia right in front of him.
Igneel expels a powerful burst of fire from his mouth at the black dragon. The flames expand as they hit him. We could feel the heat from here. Lucy and Juvia throw their arms up to cover their faces from the heat, while Karma shields Winter, Zuko shields Ember, Mamoru shields me and Haru does the same to Nanami. I hold Momo and Loki close to me while Nanami holds Vivienne. Gajeel throws out an arm to shield Levy from the heat.
The flames then explode around Acnologia before vanishing.
"So, you killed him?!" Natsu asks in shock.
"Not at all," Replies Igneel. "Just wait and see."
Acnologia spreads his wings as he lets out a furious roar, standing in a large crater.
"Wait! That fireball did nothing?!" Lucy gasps.
"Seriously?!" Gajeel exclaims.
Ember questions, "How could he have survived those flames?!"
Zuko states, "That attack should have destroyed him."
Acnologia launches himself into the air again, and Igneel appears to be smirking as he says, "I'm fired up now!"
Igneel turns to Natsu as he says bluntly, "Son, you're a pest."
With steam puffing from his head, Natsu snaps back, flustered, "Whaddya mean by that?! You sure have a weird way of showing that you missed me!!"
"I've already told you: we'll talk about everything later. I've got a job I need you to do."
"What kind of job?" Natsu asks curiously.
"You are in one of those guilds, aren't you?" Igneel inquires. "Well, I'd like to officially hire you."
Igneel then goes onto explain his job request to Natsu. He apparently wants Natsu to steal the book of E. N. D from a black haired man, whom I'm assuming is the same guy Rogue and Sting were fighting earlier. Natsu questions why he should be the one to do it, and Igneel tells him that he's the only one who can, and that the man with the book is also the one behind all this. Igneel also orders the Fire Dragon Slayer to not open nor destroy the book, no matter what. Natsu asks what the reward is, and Igneel replies that he'll tell Natsu everything he wants to know about what happened that day, when Igneel disappeared.
Natsu eagerly accepts the job request and Igneel launches him off his paw, toward the man holding the book. Natsu doesn't forget to remind Igneel about the promise he made him, and Igneel replies he didn't.
"I'm going to go help him," I tell the others. I glance at Nanami. "Nanami-chan, I want you to help get Laxus back to Porlyusica."
She nods at me in understanding. "Okay, nee-chan." Nanami gives me a brief hug as she adds, "Be careful!"
"Don't worry about me." I give my comrades a smirk, before I disappear in a bolt of lightning.
I appear right next to Natsu a few seconds later, my lightning bolt striking the ground beside him. I quickly activate my Crystal Armor spell and Natsu and I swing our fists for the man's face. He raises his arms to block our attacks.
"And, you are...?"
My pink eyes harden as I answer, "Akira Suishou Mizuno, the girl who'll send you back to Hell!"
"The son of a dragon, eh?! And a Suishou?! Made Geer hasn't heard that name in a long time," The black haired man says in curiosity, just before he goes skidding backward.
Natsu and I appear in front of him, and kick at Mard Geer. He raises his arm to block the attacks. With a grunt, Mard Geer goes flying back from the kicks.
I say as I land, "I'm taking that book! And stopping the faces!"
"Oh?"
"It's over! You're about to get thrashed!" Natsu shouts as we race toward Mard Geer.
Mard Geer throws his free arm down and gestures with it, as he says, "Curse of Thorns!"
Thorns appear out of the ground. Natsu and I were able to avoid them with ease. I crystallise then before they could pierce us as we continue running toward Mard Geer.
"Crystal Fist!"
"Fire Dragon: Fist!"
Natsu and I punch Mard Geer in the face, throwing him back into the wall. He stares back at us with a shocked look on his face. Natsu lets out a fierce cry as his body lights on fire, before the flames vanish.
Mard Geer's look of shock turns into a smirk.
Natsu whips his head to me as he demands, "What the heck are you doing here, Akira?! Igneel gave me the job of getting that book."
"I know; I just thought I'd lend you a hand," I respond, smirking back at him. "Besides, I can't let you have all the fun!"
"Fine, but remember, we're—"
"I know. We can't destroy or open the book. I heard Igneel tell you." I smile at him. "I'm really happy your dad's back, Natsu-kun."
"Thanks, Aki-chan!" Natsu says, smiling at me. "I just can't believe that he's back, after all this time, after all the years I've spent searching for him..."
I place my hand gently on Natsu's cheek as I say, smiling softly at him, "Hey, your dad's back now. And that's all that matters."
"Yeah, you're right, Aki-chan," Natsu murmurs, nodding his head slightly, as he smiles back at me.
"Now isn't the time to be flirting with your mate, Natsu!" I start when Igneel yells this down at us.
I whirl around to glare up at Igneel as I shout at the same time as Natsu, a blush on my face, "HE'S NOT/SHE'S NOT MY MATE!!"
Igneel looks slightly confused by that.
Imaginary steam comes out of my ears as I fume, a large red tick mark throbbing on the side of my head, "Geez! This is the second time someone has confused me for someone else's girlfriend!! I already have a mate!!"
Natsu shouts at Igneel, "Yeah, dad! And, besides, Aki-chan is more like a little sister to me! It would just be weird if she were my mate."
I wrench a glare around to Natsu at that, startling him. "You think I'm weird?!"
"N-No!" He squeaks in fear, waving his hands back and forth placatingly. He knows that if Rogue heard him call me that, Rogue would get mad at him.
I let out a sigh.
"Focus, you two!" Igneel orders us. We turn back to Mard Geer.
Mard Geer says, now standing, "The flames you wield bear the scent of that dragon. And you have the blood of Rumi Suishou running through your veins." He shifts his gaze to me as he says this.
"Guess it must run in the family," Natsu says.
"It seems as though I inherited more than just looks from my mother," I add, narrowing my eyes at Mard Geer.
Natsu runs at Mard Geer and punches toward his face but the raven haired man avoids them. I activate my Crystal Armor spell again and attempt to punch Mard Geer, but like with Natsu, he easily dodges before jumping back.
I leap back beside Natsu. He tells Mard Geer, "We're gonna take that book of yours, you hear?! I promised my dad I would." As the fighting between Igneel and Acnologia continues above us, Natsu says, "Sounds like dad and old Dark Wings are really getting into it."
Mard Geer says with a weary look on his face, glancing briefly up at the battling dragons, "Mard Geer is growing rather weary of all this chaos."
I snap back at him, glaring, "And I'm getting tired of hearing you act like you're above it all!"
Natsu yells, "COME ON!! LET'S FINISH THIS!!"
Igneel lets out a challenging roar of his own.
Natsu and I charge at Mard Geer.
"Mard Geer finds that cocky attitude of yours to be rather annoying, dragon spawn, Crystal Princess!" Mard Geer says as his eyes snap open, and a sphere of white energy forms in his hand, rapidly getting bigger. Natsu and I jerk to a sudden halt as it explodes. "Mard Geer only considered the actual dragons worth his worry. Not pathetic humans, although the Crystal Princesses' crystallisation ability can be quite worrisome."
Natsu bursts out of the light with flames around his body. "FIRE DRAGON: TALON!!" He flips around to land a kick on Mard Geer. He easily catches Natsu's leg and the flames go out.
"Face the facts, you're no dragon, you're just full of hot air." Mard Geer creates another sphere of energy and makes a pitfall in the ground, throwing Natsu in it.
"HEADS UP, PONYTAIL!!" I thrust my crystal covered leg down on the Tartaros member from above. He simply catches that just as easily as he caught Natsu's leg. I scowl fiercely at him in annoyance.
"Mard Geer has heard about the Crystal Princess, tales of your valour. Yet, he finds it offensive that you have such a rare magic."
I growl at that. "Shut your mouth!"
Mard Geer sends me into the hole after Natsu, and I scream as I go down.
"It's over! Time to put an end to all of this. Curse of Thorns," Mard Geer says. He holds out his hand and thorns reach down to Natsu and I. They pin us in midair, but we couldn't dodge them in time.
I try to crystallise the thorns but two of them was about to pierce us. Just before it could, however, the thorns were cut to ribbons, freeing us. I blink when two familiar figures appear in my vision.
"Sting-kun! Rogue-kun!" I exclaim.
The White Dragon Slayer responds, "We thought you might like some backup!"
Natsu and I land on our feet, facing Sting and Rogue.
"Hey! I knew I smelled you two," Natsu says as I go to Rogue and briefly hug him, which he returns. "It's cool that you guys wanna help out and all, but we've got it covered."
Sting starts saying, "Yeah, but Minerva told us—"
Natsu cuts him off, holding up a hand. "Yeah! How about we save that story for another time, okay?" Rogue lets out a sigh of exasperation. "What happened to Lector and Frosch?"
The ravenette replies, "They're with Erza."
"I knew she was going to be okay!" I say in immense relief.
Rogue explains, "They were on their way to the Control Room to stop the faces. Happy was going with them, too."
Natsu says, "Glad to hear it. But, I mean, I wasn't worried about them! They can handle anything."
I grin as I nod in agreement. "Yup! You're right about that, Natsu-kun!"
We look up when Mard Geer scowls in anger.
Sting says, "Let's go! We can beat him faster if we work together!"
Rogue adds, "With all four of us, he won't stand a chance."
Natsu says with a pondering expression, "I gotta admit, you do have a point, but I gotta pass." He gives them a flat look.
Sting's and Rogue's reactions were priceless! They yell in unison, "WHAT?!"
"My dad gave me this job, and I'm gonna make him proud of me! And I'm gonna do it alone! Besides, I've got Aki-chan to back me up."
Rogue says with a hint of impatience, "Look, Natsu, we don't have time for this—"
I catch Rogue's upper arm as he takes a step toward the Fire Dragon Slayer. Sting says, "Alright, have it your way! But what do you think about this plan?! Let's race to see who can beat him first, you two or us!"
"WHAT?!" Natsu and I yell, glaring at the blonde male.
"There's no way we'll ever lose to you!! It's on!!" Natsu says. He leaps out of the hole first, followed by Sting.
I go to jump after them, but Rogue grabs my arm, stopping me. I turn back to him questioningly.
"You shouldn't be here, Angel. What if something happens to you?"
My gaze softens as I turn back to my mate. "Nothing will happen to me, Rogue-kun. I promise. I wanna stay and fight!"
Rogue lets out a sigh, knowing there's no changing my mind now. "Alright. Just promise me you'll be careful? I know how reckless you can be in battle."
I give him a soft smile, as I reply, "I promise, Rogue-kun. But, you don't have to worry about me. I can protect myself."
He narrows his crimson eyes at me as he says, "Well, that's not an option. As your mate, I'm going to worry about you, no matter what."
"I appreciate that you worry so much about me, Rogue-kun," I say. I give him a quick peck on the cheek.
He asks seriously, "By the way, I felt through the link in our mate bond that you were upset earlier. What happened? Are you okay?"
He felt that?
I don't say anything for a couple of seconds, averting my eyes.
"Akira." I look back up at him. Rogue never uses my actual name unless he's being serious about something.
"... I'll tell you about it later. I promise. Right now, we need to go and beat that demon!"
Rogue lets out another sigh as he replies, "Okay, Angel."
"Are you alright? I felt you were hurting before when Natsu-kun and Gajeel were reacting when Acnologia arrived," I ask Rogue in concern, studying his face.
"Yes, I'm alright now, Angel," He replies, nodding.
"That's good."
I give him a playful smile, making him blush a little, before turning and jumping out of the hole, after Sting and Natsu. We catch up to Sting in moments.
The blue eyed man says to Rogue, "And that's how you get what you want from Natsu."
Rogue says, "He is rather simple."
Natsu leaps out of the hole, fist set aflame. He brings it down on Mard Geer who jumps back to avoid it. Natsu goes in for another punch but Mard Geer knocks him down. I activate my Crystal Armor spell and go to punch his face, but Mard Geer catches my wrist and knocks me down just like he did with Natsu.
Sting goes to attack with light swirling around his fists, but Mard Geer simply knocks him aside. Rogue appears before him through his shadows, and punches his fist forward. Mard Geer looks down on Natsu and I as the shadows part, revealing the both of us.
Black lightning crackles around my fist while flames flicker around Natsu's. We both land an uppercut to Mard Geer's jaw, causing him to stumble backward. Rogue appears in front of Mard Geer again and punches his face, knocking him back once more.
Sting appears above Mard Geer, light wrapped around his right foot. He spins around and lands a solid kick to Mard Geer's stomach. The raven haired man is sent flying backward through broken walls, until he finally comes to a stop, cracking the final wall as he collapses.
Natsu and I stand behind Sting and Rogue as the dust starts to settle.
"With two dragons in the sky above, and three dragon spawn with the Crystal Princess at my feet, Mard Geer is lead to believe that there are even more. Seeing you fly about my castle, disturbing my peace, Mard Geer is reminded of a feeling, one that he has forgotten so long ago... anger!" Mard Geer says, now standing, as he jerks his head up, his eyes dilated considerably.
Sting and Rogue ready their stances at that.
"Glad to hear it," I say with sarcasm dripping from my voice, a grin on my face. "Guess that means you're just the same as us humans."
~~~
Above us, there's an explosion as the dragon's battle continues, and a roar is unleashed.
Mard Geer says, "Feelings tend to dull the mind, you know. So a long time ago, Mard Geer decided he must find a way to control them." He starts walking over to a stump. He tells the book, puffing his free hand on his heart, "The time is nigh, Master E. N. D. Be patient a bit longer."
Mard Geer places the book on the stump before starting to walk back toward us.
"Anger is an especially powerful emotion. For it has the potential to transform a person entirely." He holds up a finger as he muses, "One must wonder, who exactly would this transformed me be? Mard Geer admits it's quite a terrifying thought, to be sure." He goes to the throne nearby and sits down on it, crossing his right leg over his left, hands on the armrests. "For who am he, anyway? Who is Mard Geer, the Underworld King, and leader of the masterless Cursed Ones that are Tartaros."
Mard Geer raises his head to look at us.
"That is who he must remain, so he will banish these emotions forever, and while he's at it, he'll banish you from existence!" Mard Geer says as light begins to emit from under his throne, followed by some rumbling.
I exclaim, "What?! He can't do that!"
Rogue murmurs wearily, "He's giving off this weirdly strong power!"
Mard Geer raises his left hand.
I say, as we get into our stances, "I think he's beginning to take this fight seriously."
"We should, too!" Sting says.
Light appears around Mard Geer and thorns burst up from the ground, swirling around us.
"DAMNIT!!" Natsu shouts in frustration.
I hold out my hand and the thorns in front of us become crystallised, before shattering. Natsu and I run forward. Flames envelope him as he leaps into the air, and lightning envelopes me. Natsu and I go to punch Mard Geer, but he holds out a hand, creating a force field of energy that throws us back,
"NO, NATSU, AKIRA!!" Rogue and Sting shout fearfully.
Mard Geer gestures with his hand and a rose appears in their chests. The roses explode and Sting and Rogue are sent flying backward.
Sting mutters, "This guy's strong!"
"For real!" Rogue agrees.
Natsu and I run along the thorns toward Mard Geer. "FIRE DRAGON: SWORD HORN!" Natsu slams his head into Mard Geer who remains unfazed.
"That's not going to cut it."
Natsu glances at me and I nod. "NOW! FIRE DRAGON: ROAR!!"
"CRYSTAL POWER!" I shoot a beam of energy as Natsu shoots flames at Mard Geer, pushing him back further.
Natsu calls down to Sting and Rogue, "STING! ROGUE!"
"Hey! Are Natsu and Akira asking for our help?" Sting asks.
Rogue utters, "That means even they think he's tough to beat."
Light swirls around Sting's fist as shadows swirl around Rogue's. Natsu and I had leaped away as they activate their Unison Raid.
"HOLY SHADOW FLASH FANG!!" A huge beam of white shadow heads straight for Mard Geer, still in the air.
"Light and dark in perfect harmony. Isn't that just lovely?! But it can't last!" He holds his hands above and below each other and a sphere of energy begins to form. "Vanish!"
The combined spell is absorbed into the sphere of energy Mard Geer created.
"There's no way!!" Sting shouts in disbelief.
"Did he absorb it?!" Rogue demands.
Natsu and I hover above and behind, flames around his fist, lightning around mine.
"Lightning-Flame Dragon: Firing Hammer!"
"Topaz Magic: Raijin's Fury!" The lightning expands around my fist as the same happens to Natsu as we punch the side of Mard Geer's head. When the elements die down, Mard Geer simply turns his head to chuckle at us.
Natsu and I jerk our eyes wide in surprise. We're thrown away from Mard Geer by a blast of energy. We hit the ground and go tumbling, while Mard Geer calmly floats down into his throne.
He tells us, resting his head in his head, "If that's the best you could muster, Mard Geer thinks you should give up now. Spare yourselves the agony that my Etherius form will surely inflict upon your bodies."
The four of us glare back at Mard Geer.
Sting grumbles, wiping his hand across his mouth, "He's just sitting there!"
"Even against four of us, he seems bored," Rogue states.
Sting asks, "Hey, Natsu, Akira, you alright?"
"'Course I am! Been hurt by a freaking Lucy and Akira kick—err, don't tell Lucy I said that, though."
I smirk at him. "You got hurt by me and Lucy? Hahaha!"
"Ah, shuddup, Aki-chan!!" Natsu yells, whipping a dagger glare to me.
I grin sadistically as I answer Sting's question, "Same as Natsu-kun. I got hurt way worse when fighting Erza-chan." I add sheepishly, "Don't let her know I said that, either."
I glance at Natsu to see him smirking cockily at me. I scowl as I smack him upside the head. "Shut up, Natsu!"
"What? I didn't say anything," He says, rubbing his head.
"No, but I bet you were thinking it," I mumble with a tick mark throbbing on the side of my head.
Rogue says, "Sounds like you're both good to keep fighting."
"Damn straight!" I say, smirking.
Natsu adds, "There's no slowing us down! Especially since we have a contest to win!"
Sting's and Rogue's eyes turn into stunned, animated white circles as they both exclaim, "Is that really why you're so fired up?!!!"
A devious look appears on my face as I say, "It'll be a cold day in Hell when we lose to you guys!"
"Got that right, Aki-chan!" Natsu says, chuckling deviously, a matching expression on his face.
Mard Geer sighs, seemingly bored. "Well, so it goes. Kyoka's become so preoccupied with slaughtering your comrades that she's forgotten my voice. But, Mard Geer supposes shes earned this last bit of fun."
Sting questions, "So, tell me, why do you want to erase all magic, anyway? What do you stand to gain from that?"
Mard Geer answers, "Don't you know? Mard Geer thinks you could've put it together. That tome your friends want to steal contains E. N. D, and its magic that seals him."
Natsu says, "You wanna bust him out!"
"Now you see? Despite how it may appear, Mard Geer isn't our leader. That title belongs to E. N. D. There are none among us who can rival his strength. Once E. N. D has finally been released, we can fulfill our true purpose, and return to Zeref," Mard Geer states.
Sting says, "Makes zero sense to me."
I ask, "Why wait? If you want to see Zeref so badly, why wouldn't you just do it on your own?"
"Though raised by dragons and blessed with such power, sadly, you're still only human," Mard Geer says. "This is likely beyond your comprehension."
"Get to the point!" Natsu snaps, getting impatient.
"Have you ever stopped to consider Zeref's reason for creating my kind? Perhaps you merely thought of us as his... playthings."
We don't say anything, just glare at him.
Mard Geer goes onto say that we've likely heard his cohorts describe the call of Zeref, the urge to return to him, but none of them ever questioned it. He wonders what Zeref would have them do if they find him, why were they endowed with this instinct? Mard Geer says it's an absolute command etched into their genes, and that he alone has come to realise, that in truth, he made them to give him the one thing of which h has been deprived.
Mard Geer tells us that over the centuries, Zeref grew to revile his immortality, and that he yearned for death. But death wouldn't come on its own, so Zeref strove to make a being strong enough to slay him. It took him many years and dozens of creations to refine his work. Before he made one worthy of the task.
That being his masterpiece, is E. N. D.
But E. N. D was prevented from fulfilling his purpose, locked back inside his book. He is held there by a powerful seal, one too powerful for any spell or curse in this world to break.
Mard Geer rises to his feet.
He then add, he'd thought that until he learned about the Faces. A magic seal can't exist in a world without magic.
Mard Geer starts approaching us.
Very soon, he will be free.
Mard Geer stops before us as he says that side by side they'll slay Zeref, and that that was the mission they were created to fulfill, and that he'll be more than happy to carry it out.
I demand, "All this time you've been wanting to kill Zeref?!"
Sting asks, "What the hell does that have to do with the rest of us humans?! Couldn't you just leave us out of it?!"
Mard Geer closes his eyes as he says, "When one is on his way to an important destination, he doesn't timidly avoid the weeds in his path—he tramples them!"
Thorns rise up on with side of him.
"OH, YEAH?!!!" The blue eyed man shouts. The thorns slam into them, throwing Sting and Rogue back across the ground.
I exclaim worriedly, glancing back at them, "Sting! Rogue! Hang in there!"
A thorn slams into Natsu's face, knocking him back. I look down as a few thorns wrap around me tightly, pinning my arms to my sides. "What the?! Ugh, let me go!!"
I try to crystallise the thorns but nothing happened. I couldn't move a muscle, nor would the thorns budge. I was stuck.
"Akira!!" Rogue screams fearfully.
"Natsu!!" Sting yells.
I continue struggling against the thorns binding me as Mard Geer gestures with his hand, and the thorns move me closer to him. When I reach Mard Geer, some giant pink flower rises up out of the ground behind him.
"What the heck is that thing?!" I exclaim, staring at it with wide eyes.
Mard Geer cups my cheek with his hand, forcing me to look at him as he says, "This is a Prison Flower, fresh from the Underworld." He smiles at me, but the smile makes me uneasy. "You truly are as beautiful as the rumours say you are, Crystal Princess. It's just a shame that you're such a weak human."
I growl, "Let me out of here and I'll crystallise you!! Then we'll see who's the weak one! It seems even you demons aren't immune to crystallisation!"
Mard Geer just smiles more as he moves closer to me.
"DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH HER!!" Rogue roars in anger, struggling against his bonds.
"Mard Geer doesn't take orders from you humans," Mard Geer says.
Sting shouts at him warningly, "LET HER GO, BASTARD!!"
Mard Geer returns his attention to me as I keep struggling against the thorns. "Though, Mard Geer wonders why you're not with Dark Star. He is surprised to find you with humans such as these," Says Mard Geer.
I growl, "I'm not with them anymore! I'm with Fairy Tail!"
He releases me from the thorns but grabs my right wrist in a vice-like grip. My free hand flies up and claws at his hand gripping me, but he doesn't loosen his grip an inch. "Mard Geer will kill you and your comrades," He says.
"HURT HER, AND I SWEAR I'LL KILL YOU, BASTARD!!" Rogue screams furiously. "Damn! It won't budge!!"
Sting shouts at Natsu desperately, "Come on, man! Use your fire!!"
Natsu tries to get free of the thorns holding him, but fails. "I'm stuck!"
The Prison Flower shoots for Natsu, but before it can strike him, both the flower and the thorns become frozen, and the thorns shatter, freeing the Dragon Slayers.
Natsu murmurs, "It froze...!"
I can tell Mard Geer is just as shocked as the rest of us. The now frozen flower crashes to the ground. Natsu blinks his eyes in surprise when his white scarf drops on his shoulders. "My scarf...! I thought I'd lost it for good!"
I feel immense relief coursing through me when I see a familiar ravenette standing beside Natsu. "You're welcome. If it means so much to you, then take better care of it."
"Will do!"
I murmur quietly, seeing the ice wizard standing beside Natsu, "Gray-kun...!"