As they stared up at a darkening sky, they knew it was the end. All their running, all their hiding, their plans, dreams, and hopes all ending under the boots of the massive force that was currently climbing the ridge towards them. As they waited, their resolve steeled. There would be no running, no last second miracle retreat, no "Fairy Tail" ending where they used their combined might to take out the enemy. This was it.
"Well, I don't know about you lot, but I'm not gonna go down without a fight," a muscular blonde said, stowing his headphones in a pocket of the overcoat he wore around his shoulders. "If I go out, I'm taking as many of them with me as I can."
"And I will be right by your side, as always," a white-haired beauty said from beside him. "If you are going to fight, then I will fight right by your side."
"I would have it no other way," the blonde replied. All around them, other couples confirmed their love as the advancing army bore down on them. A curvy brunette sobbed as she hugged her father, who returned the embrace. A green-haired woman hugged her brunette husband and their small child. A muscular white-haired man gripped a tan-haired woman as they gazed into each other's eyes, whispering quickly before locking each other in a lover's embrace.
"I'm sorry, Master," a beautiful redhead whispered, gazing at an aged photograph of a group of people celebrating around a campfire. "In the end, I couldn't protect them. I've failed you." A solitary tear fell from her left eye as she gazed at the smile of a short, old man who was holding his hand straight up in a fist, except for his forefinger and thumb, both of which were pointed skyward.
"He'd be proud of you, y'know. We all feel blessed to have called you our comrade, guild leader, and friend," an extremely tall man with brown hair and bright blue eyes spoke from behind the redhead, his voice filed with love and admiration. "And I am happy that I was the one who got to claim you as his, until the very end." Rain began to fall, masking the man's tears as he began to sob. "I just wish that we were able to lead a normal life, rather than the life of a fugitive."
"I know. I just don't know what to do. They should be here with us, because the guild was never the same without them." More tears fell as the redhead stood up, embracing the giant in what could only be described as a lovers' embrace. Their final sanctuary had been breached, their final hope had failed to show up, and there was nowhere else to go. The only thing left to do was wait for death to find them, all of them, and bring about the end of their group. The two stood there, hoping beyond hope for a miracle that would allow them and their friends to escape this nightmare.
Suddenly, the ground shook as a massive creature landed on the cliff with them, with more of the same creatures landing behind that. "Hey!" A familiar pink-haired man cried from astride the largest beast, which could only be described as a dragon, gleaming red and glorious in the rain that fell heavily from the sky.
"Are you guys going to stand there gawking or hop aboard? We don't have much time before the military gets here!" A black-haired man yelled, moving to motion with his arm that they should hurry, while trying to keep the unconscious blue-haired woman on his lap from falling off of the mighty silver beast that they sat upon.
Quickly, the gathered fugitives chose beasts to fly upon, and just as the first ranks of the approaching war machine topped the cliff, they could only shout in frustration as one by one the dragons took off from the cliff and into the thunderstorms raging above.
The group couldn't believe it. Just when they thought all hope was lost, and death marched towards them on iron boots, the miracle had happened. Their last hope had come through, and they had escaped certain death for the time being. As the redhead marveled at their luck, the brunette behind her laid his head against her back, taking comfort in the fact that they had survived another near death experience. The redhead leaned back into the man, lightning from the clouds glinting off of the armor that she wore, and off of the glasses that the man wore. "We escaped…" the woman sighed, relief evident in her voice. The man chuckled as she heard the voice of his long-time girlfriend. "That we did. Old candlestick came through in the end, didn't he?"
"Yes, Natsu certainly did. And now, Fairy Tail lives on."