Natsu's point of view
''Well what was your dream about Natsu?" Lucy asked inquisitively. ''Don't tell me Natsu, you were dreaming about Lucy in a maid's outfit, weren't you?'' Erza said smiling mischievously, Lucy blushed deeply ''N-NO OF COURSE NOT!'' she shouted, her face as red as Erza's hair. ''WHY WOULD HE DREAM ABOUT SOMETHING LIKE THAT, WE'RE JUST FRIENDS!" Ezra looked at Gray and they both smiled, Azrael smiled as well and said "I also want to know what you were dreaming about." "Alright, alright I'll tell you." I said, so I told them my dream. Three minutes later...''Is there any chance this could have been just a dream and not a vision?'' Lucy asked concerned ''Of course this is just a dream Lucy.'' Azrael said indigently ''I'm not going to die any time soon.'' Lucy smiled relieved, I once again felt that twinge of jealousy I felt yesterday afternoon and said sourly ''Oh stop trying to show off to Lucy, Azrael.'' ''I have really no idea what you are talking about.'' Azrael said with a confused frown, and then the spirit of Mavis Vermillion appeared and said "I heard we have a new member today." Everyone (except Azrael for some reason) looked at her in surprise, after a moment Erza said "Master Mavis! Yes this is our newest member." She motioned towards Azrael. Mavis looked at Azrael with a polite smile, Azrael then (to everyone, and especially Mavis's surprise) lifted her hand to his lips and kissed the top of her hand in a gentlemanly gesture and said "My lady it is an honor to meet you, I had heard tales of the First Master of Fairy Tail's beauty, but as I can obviously tell the stories fall short greatly." Mavis blushed and nervously said "Oh, um thank you." She leaned over to Lucy and whispered, blushing heavily "Handsome and kind isn't he?" Then she said narrowing her eyes "Wait, do I know you?" Azrael sighed and said "No, you were only a baby…" He looked at her with a kind yet sad smile "…But a father never forgets his daughter." "WHATTT?!" Natsu, Lucy, Happy, Gray, Erza, Mirajane, and Master Makarov shouted in disbelief. Erza's jaw nearly dropped to the floor in shock and amazement, and said rather haltingly "W-wait a minute, your saying that your Mavis's father?!" Azrael smiled apologetic and said "Yep, I'm Mavis's father." I couldn't believe what I was hearing, there was no way Azrael could have fathered Fairy Tail's first guild master Mavis Vermillion, could there? "Azrael is this true? Is Mavis really your daughter?" Master Makarov asked. "Yes Makarov its true." said Azrael. "How do I know that you're my father?" Mavis asked skeptically. Azrael smiled, "I can show you." "How?" Mavis asked curiously. "By showing you this." Azrael removed his necklace from around his neck, where a locket hung from it. He lifted it so Mavis could see. Inside the locket was a small picture of a dark blonde haired man with hazel eyes wearing a crimson dress shirt, slacks, black dress jacket and tie. The man was obviously Azrael. Next to him stood a beautiful young woman with slightly pointed ears, bright brown eyes, white skin and scarlet red hair wearing a white dress with gold trimming. And jutting from the woman's back were a pair of translucent dragonfly wings. And cradled in her arms was a small baby with green eyes and pale blonde hair. Mavis's eyes widened with understanding. Azrael smiled lovingly, "That's right Mavis, that's you. And that woman is your mother." "But…how? Who are you?" Mavis asked. Azrael smiled, "My name is Azrael. I am the Archangel of Death. And your mother was Titania, the last Queen of the Fairies." Mavis's eyes widened with shock, "You mean I'm…?" Azrael smiled "That's right Mavis. Your half angel and half fairy. The blood of Fairies and Angels flows intertwining through your veins." "But that doesn't explain why I was born on Tenrou Island. Why did you leave me there?" Mavis asked tearfully. Azrael's gaze darkened and he said "I did it to protect you from harm, if my enemies found out I had a child, they would hunt you down and kill you without batting an eye." Mavis seemed shocked by this statement and asked rather terrified "But why, why would they want to kill me? I was just a baby!" Azrael sighed and said "There is only one way I can give you the answer to your question, because remembering the past for me is just too painful. The way I can show you is through a spell that can give a person the ability to transport to the past." He stood and motioned for everyone to gather around, and after we all gathered he said for us to join hands to form a semi-circle, and also said in a tone of warning "Now you should be aware this spell is very risky, whoever leaves the circle is in danger of being torn to shreds, so DO NOT under any circumstances let go of each other until we successfully pass through understand?" "Aye Sir!" Natsu, Lucy, Happy, Gray, Erza and Mavis shouted. Azrael then took a deep breath and closed his eyes and, with an ancient deep voice ringing with power chanted in a language that sounded more beautiful that a singing bird, the air around us began to glow, steam and hum, he opened eyes, which were glowing gold and with the familiar vertical pupils of a cat that only appeared when he got really angry or when he was using magic, and a magic circle that was glowing black appeared around us and the world dissolved.
Azrael's point of view
After the world around us dissolved due my time travel spell, we appeared on a battlefield blackened from fires, winged corpses in armor with weapons still in their hands, and crows picking the dead of their eyes and entrails, littered the battlefield. Lucy, Natsu, Erza, Gray and Mavis looked around in horror at the scene before them. "W-Who did this?" Erza asked horrified. "I did." I answered simply. Lucy, Natsu, Gray, Erza (and worst of all, Mavis) looked at me in both terror and awe. Not wanting to make them fear and hate me I quickly said "Do not be scared, this was during The Fall. The dead you see here are rebel angels who served Lucifer." I continued walking. "Dammit Lucifer, why did you have to rebel against God?" I muttered angrily to myself. "Azrael, Azrael?" I heard someone calling me, I turned around to see that Erza was staring at me, "Yes Erza, what is it?" I asked, blushing slightly. "You seem awfully quite, and you were scowling, is everything alright?" she asked gently, "Y-yea everything is alright; there is no need to be worried about me." I lied. "Okay, just making sure." She replied.
Erza's point of view
After Azrael spoke to me, I knew there was something wrong going on with him, like the way his eyes hardened whenever we passed the corpse of a particular rebel angel, and the way his expression saddened when we past a blood-soaked field littered with bodies in golden armor (possibly his dead comrades). I slowed down so the others could catch up to me, and whispered to them, "Have you noticed how strange Azrael is acting?" "Yea I have, actually." Lucy said. "I think it might be a good idea to keep a closer eye on him, just in case." I said to Lucy, Natsu, and Gray. Suddenly Azrael stopped walking "Look, after what you've seen you might think I'm a monster, but the truth is I was a much different person than the Azrael you know, because I was much crueler, heartless, bloodthirsty and much more comfortable in my role as the Angel of Death." He sighed. He resumed walking at his previous pace and we scrambled after him, he stopped when he reached the crest of a hill and said in a voice loud enough so we could hear "There's where The Fall ended my friends." He gestured towards the flat of the hill, where just now two mortal enemies were about to face off in what could be their final battle…
Lucy's point of view
The warrior on the left was as a tall, lean and muscular man in armor as black as a moonless night, the pauldren's in the shape of a raven's head, their beaks mid-shriek, with rubies for eyes, and a skull embossed into the center of the breastplate, with rubies set into the eye-sockets. His wings were the most beautiful shade of black, with dark blonde hair and hazel eyes with vertical slits like those of a cat for pupils. He was carrying a sword of black metal that glowed a faint dark purple in his left hand. The warrior on the right emitted an extremely evil energy; he had smooth pale skin, fiery red feathery wings, long curly horns, fangs, and a snake-like tongue, in his hands was a blood red great sword that he wielded with doubtless skill, "So, you finally have the courage to face me Azrael?" Lucifer said mockingly "You honestly think that God will just let you take over the universe Lucifer? Because if you do you have no idea how wrong you are!" Azrael from the past retorted, Lucifer snarled then said "You dare stand in my way?! I will tear off your wings then slowly torment you to death Azrael, so if you don't want that, you will get out of my way!" "There is no way in hell that is happening Lucifer, because you will be the one to suffer for your betrayal, just try and get past me I will cut you and anything you throw at me down to size, SO COME ON!" past Azrael shouted, "AAAHHH!" Lucifer roared, then charged, determined to kill him no matter what price he'll have to pay, I looked on with horror and wondered what would happen, and then Azrael charged on his black wings to meet him. When their weapons clashed the ground shook, lightning flashed and thunder boomed and the wind howled, and sparks flew from their weapons as clashed they together, the battle had begun. Lucifer swung his great sword towards Azrael's head, but Azrael blocked it with the blade of his sword, Azrael then slashed his sword across Lucifer's chest sending a spray of gold ichor and gore, Lucifer stumbled backwards examining his wound carefully, laughed and said "An impressive blow Azrael, but it will take more than a simple flesh wound to kill me!" he then lunged swiping his sword towards Azrael's face, successfully striking a long bloody slash mark across his face, Azrael yelled in pain, covering his now wounded, golden ichor soaked left eye. Looking up with pure fury in his eyes then charged and stabbed him in the center of his heart with his black sword and pinned him to the trunk of a tree with the blade, summoned a scythe made from shadows and sliced his face. A crevice then appeared in the earth that led straight to Hell, he then pick up Lucifer by his throat, but got stabbed in the gut by Lucifer's last attempt to kill him. Azrael tossed Lucifer into the fiery abyss deep below the earth. After a moment's silence Azrael sheathed his black sword hens forth called "Metentis" (Latin for Harvester) in it scabbard and staggered down the hill clutching his wounded chest. I looked at Azrael in awe and said "Azrael you defeated the King of Demons on your own with only two wounds?!" Natsu, Erza, Gray, and Mavis looked equally amazed, Azrael nodded and said "Yes, and I even have the scars to prove it." He then lifted up his shirt where a scar caused by a stab wound appeared. "The scar on my eye was also caused by this battle." He said grimly. We continued to watch Azrael from the past walk down the hill, where thousands open thousands of angelic soldiers stood smiling happily. Past Azrael cleared his throat and addressed his troops, "Soldiers of Heaven! Today we have succeeded in defeating Lucifer and his minions. Rejoice, for tonight we celebrate!" The soldiers cheered. After 7 days of celebration (including drinking, playing games and feasting) an extremely large shaft of light appeared from the sky and a 40 yard wide set of stairs descended and Azrael's heavenly legion formed ranks and marched up the stairs. When the last of his soldiers disappeared from view, the stairs vanished and the shaft of light dissipated as the clouds closed shut. "We should go back." Said Azrael. He chanted the Time Travel spell and we appeared back in the Fairy Tail guild hall, Azrael said "So, what do you guys want to do now?" I smiled and said "I know, let's go to the hot spring!" I said "Lucy…" Erza said "Y-Yes ma'am?" I asked terrified, Natsu and Gray looked just as terrified as I did, Erza smiled and said "…that's a wonderful idea" so we went to Magnolia's local hot spring with the boy's side on the left and the girl's side on the right, Azrael said that he needed some time to himself so he went and stood outside, when we stepped into spring I tuned to Erza and Mavis, sighed and said in a small sad voice "You know I kind of feel bad for Azrael, having to remember all those horrible and painful memories, it must have been horrible to have witnessed all that death and destruction." Erza nodded and said "Yea, it must be hard to remember a past like that." Suddenly Erza asked "Lucy, do you hear something?" "Yea, actually I do." I said with a puzzled expression on my face. I heard Natsu say "Ugh this is so boring, why are they talking about Azrael? I HATE THAT GUY!" suddenly the wall creaked then collapsed spilling Natsu and Gray on top of each other, onto the floor. "AAAHHH!" I screamed in a loud frightened voice.
"N-Natsu?!" I stammered still frightened, Erza had on a look that, if it could kill, would kill 10 men and growled "NATSU, GRAY!" suddenly the door was kicked open so hard that it nearly blew off its hinges. I turned around to find that Azrael had charged in with his black sword in his left hand, ready for action. "Is everyone alright? I heard a scream." He asked worriedly. When he saw us with nothing but steam covering our bodies, his face turned to a deeper scarlet than Erza's hair, but he pretended not to notice. "They were spying on us while we were bathing!" I said to Azrael, anger seething in my voice. Azrael clenched his fists around his sword so tightly that I was afraid that it would snap and his eyes began to glow, but instead of glowing hazel, his eyes glowed blood-red with rage. He roared in a demonic voice thick with red hot rage, "WHAT?! HOW DARE YOU SPY ON MY DAUGHTER WHILE SHE IS BATHING! I WILL TEAR YOU BOTH APART WITH MY BARE HANDS!" and charged the two male wizards, determined to tear them apart. Natsu and Gray ran as if the Grim Reaper himself were at their heels, who quite literally was. Erza chuckled "They are so going to get it when he catches them." She said mirth fully. "Remind me never to make him angry." I asked nervously Erza replied "Gladly." Two hours later, after we were dressed, Azrael came back in covered in cuts, gashes, bruises, dirt, and blood, but with a satisfied smile on his face "Where are Natsu, and Gray, Azrael? And are you okay?" I asked worriedly, he smirked and said "Oh don't worry about me, I've been dealt worse, and as for them, I don't think they will be coming back for a while, and who knows their probably half way to the guild hall by now." He then laughed so hard that the beams and ceiling rattled and said "I probably scared them so much that they will never do that again for as long as they live." I sweat dropped and said "O-Okay but you didn't go too hard on them did you?" Azrael sweat dropped and said "Well…not exactly…I mean I did beat them so hard I think I might've knocked them out with huge knots on their heads that, by my best guess will not go away for a couple of weeks, and then I hung them upside down unconscious by one of the guild hall beams." "Jeez, talk about over kill" I said to myself "Any way are you girls o.k.?" Azrael asked, I might have just imagined it, but I could've sworn I just saw Erza blush, I said "N-no it's fine, we're all right, thank you for asking!" Azrael nodded then said "Anyway, I should probably go clean myself up, I mean those three did put up a fight and I did not get away unscathed." He walked through the now gaping hole in the wall, spoke a magic spell, and with flair of purple light the wall flew back into place, the cracks sealing themselves shut, except for one small hole the size of a quarter, we could hear the shower being turned on and see steam coming out of the hole, I blushed at the thought of seeing Azrael's lean, muscular, and likely scared body, I looked at Erza and was surprised to see that she too was blushing, her face redder than her hair, I smiled mischievously and whispered so that no one else could hear: "So you want Azrael to Erza? I didn't know you were single." Erza blush turned to an even deeper shade of scarlet, and she stuttered "N-No it's not like that, I just want him to teach me to be a better warrior that's all!" I frowned and said "Okay whatever you say Erza." Meanwhile at Fairy Tail….
Natsu's point of view
"OW, it still hurts!" I shouted as sharp pain stabbed me like a red-hot knife when I lightly touched the gigantic knot forming on my head, Gray, who had a similar huge knot forming on his head, glared at me and said "Well it was YOUR idea to spy on the girls while they were bathing Flame Brain!", I returned the glare and said "Shut up Ice Princess! The only reason I wanted to spy on them was so I could hear the names of the people they had a crush on.' Gray replied by saying "Oh you and I both know that was not the actual reason, it was because you wanted to see Lucy naked isn't it?" I flushed angrily and said "You want to fight me? Bring it on Ice Princess!" But before either of us could land a single punch, I noticed a strange veiled woman walking towards our guild, I could tell it was a woman because of my Dragon Slayer sense of smell, when she got to the top of the stairs I said "Hey lady, you lost or something?" She looked at me, and through her veil I could see dark blonde hair and hazel eyes with the same cat-like pupils like Azrael, she smiled and said "No, I'm just waiting for someone." Though I did not know it yet, that woman played a very important role in Azrael's past and will continue to do so well into his future.
Erza's point of view
When Azrael got dressed and exit the boy's side of the bathhouse he said "Come on you two it's getting late, we should probably get going." "Okay." I said as I got out and with Lucy and Mavis and we started back to the guild… Meanwhile in a an hidden palace, two evil forces were watching as Azrael and his new friends went back to their guildhall, a black dragon with feathery wings, a spiked tail, and blue markings on the top half of its body, and a man with blood-red skin, red bat-like wing, cloven hooves, one horn on the right side of his head, a tail with a triangular tip, snake-like eyes and tongue, and fangs were watching through a magic crystal ball, the red skinned man laughed wickedly and said in a voice like a serpent "You were right Acnologia, Azrael did join the Fairy Tail guild, just as you predicted." The former dragon slayer-turned dragon chuckled and said in a deep evil voice "Yes, just as I predicted Lucifer, just as I predicted. So which minions shall we send first?" "The Vulcan's perhaps?" the dragon made a dragon version of a sinister smile and said "Yes, yes perfect the Vulcan's! They should make quick work of them." Lucifer snapped his fingers and a dozen Vulcan (ape-like monsters that are 6 to 9 ft. tall who take over peoples bodies) appeared, Lucifer said "Alright you know what to do" the monsters smiled, bowed then disappeared. Lucifer turned back to Acnologia and said "You were very wise to align yourself with me, you've got a score to settle with Fairy Tail, and I've got a score to settle with Azrael. All the more reason we joined forces, am I right?" The evil dragon chuckled and said "Indeed Lucifer, but now we must wait and watch."… When we got back to the guild Natsu and Gray were waiting for us at the guild entrance, Natsu shouted "Hey Lucy, Erza, Azrael, what took you so long? We kept your visitor waiting!" Azrael frowned and said "Wait, what visitor?" When we entered the guild, I saw a mysterious veiled woman was sitting quietly at the nearest table. Judging from her posture I suspected that she was waiting for us, she stood and said in a beautiful heavenly voice "Azrael, it's been a long time." She unclasped her veil, which was held in place with a brooch, and let it fall to the floor, suddenly all the men's faces in the guild turned to a deeper scarlet than my hair, because the veiled woman was incredibly beautiful. She had long dark blonde hair that reached her waist, bright hazel eyes, long pale legs and arms, a graceful hour-glass figure, and a chest easily as big as mine or Lucy's, she wore blue jeans and a snow-white t-shirt, Azrael's eyes widened and he whispered "…Uriel…" she smiled happily and said "It's nice to see that you remember me Big Brother." "WHAT?! BIG BROTHER?!" the whole guild shouted. Suddenly the entire guild broke into two groups, one group surrounding Azrael demanding to know why he had such a hot sister and didn't tell them anything about her, some even had the nerve to ask if they could be her boyfriend (and for some, her girlfriend), while the second group mobbed Uriel with hearts in their eyes, complimenting her beauty, offering her roses, dinner invitations, clothes, or anything else that a girl as beautiful as herself might want. Lucy sweat dropped and said "Well this never happened before." "Aye." Happy agreed. Suddenly, a wall of shadows appeared and separated the two groups, providing Uriel a clear path to her brother, whose arms were spread holding back the girl-crazed mobs, with dark purple magic circles around his hands, Uriel rushed toward him shouting "Azrael!" and she leaped into his arms, Azrael wrapped his hands around her waist and said with a voice full of brotherly protectiveness and love "Uriel…", Uriel then (to everyone's shock) wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him with a smile on her face, Azrael's eyes widened in shock. Uriel let go of him and said "I've missed you Big Brother." Azrael stood there, mouth gaping like a fish; he said "U-Uriel did you just do what I think you just did? I thought I told you that I don't like you in that way!" Uriel giggled and said "I know, but I still love you though. And I won't stop until I've won your heart." "But first…" she said with a mischievous glint in her eyes as she looked at me. I backed away uneasily, Uriel walked up to me and said to Azrael "Is this your girlfriend? Incredible, she looks just like your ex-wife Titania the Queen of the Fairies!" the whole guild murmured in confusion. Lucy stared at Uriel and asked "Wait, isn't Tatiana Erza's title? And she's not his girlfriend." "Yea, I would've remembered if I had a guy like Azrael as a boyfriend." I said "What is going on Daddy?" said Mavis, who appeared beside Azrael. "Nothing important dear." Azrael said with a smile. Uriel walked up to Mavis and said to Azrael "Who is this Azrael? Did you take up babysitting again?" Azrael blushed, scratched his head awkwardly and said "No Uriel, I'm done with those kinds of jobs. This is my daughter Mavis Vermillion." He kneeled down so he was eye level with Mavis and said to her "Mavis, this is my sister Uriel, your aunt." She looked from Azrael, to Uriel, then to Azrael, and back to Uriel "It's nice to meet you Aunt Uriel." she said. She walked up to Uriel and hugged her, who hesitantly hugged her back. Azrael stood up and said to everyone present "Mavis Vermillion is the daughter of me and Tatiana the Queen of the Fairies. She is half angel and half fairy and was born with incredible magic powers, including mine and her mother's. So I hope you treat her kindly." And with that he started out the door and said to Uriel smiling happily "If you don't have a place to stay at the moment, you can stay at my place until you find a house to live in." every man in the guild glared at him, but he returned their glares with an even fiercer glare of his own. She smiled and said 'I would be happy to live with you!" I thought to myself that it was a little suspicious how the way she said it, as if she would try to make a move on him as soon as they were alone. Then a thought came to me, and I said to Azrael "Oh that's right, you never did tell us where you lived." Azrael eyes widened and he said "Oh how rude of me! Yes of course I will show where I live!" he started out the door and called over his shoulder 'Follow me, my dear friends!" So me, Lucy, Gray, and Natsu ran after the two of them, trying to keep up, because they were very fast (probably because they were Archangels), we exited the outskirts of the city until we were 100 yards away from Magnolia's gleaming buildings, in front of us was a huge hill with a flat top, there didn't seem to be a house nearby, I said to Azrael "Where is your house Azrael? I don't see any house around here." The others looked just as confused as I did; he laughed and said "Oh sorry! I forgot I had my cloaking spell on." A purple magic circle appeared around him and his eyes began to glow and his pupils turned from normal circles to slits, he shouted an ancient incantation and an invisible barrier faded revealing a massive pair of doors made from a strange kind of metal. "Why is there a door here Azrael?" Gray asked curiously. "You'll see." Azrael said with a smile. He took out a key made from black metal, the handle shaped like a skull with horns with rubies embedded in its eye sockets. He set the key in the lock and opened the door. Black fog poured out from the door. Azrael went through the door and disappeared in the black fog. A moment later he poked his head out from the door. "Oh, sorry. I forgot that you can't see through this type of fog. Hold on while I cast a spell on you that will allow you all to see." A stylized black magic circle appeared under each of our feet. Suddenly I could see much sharper. I gasped with surprise, "What is this?" I asked. "It's called Sharpe Sight. It allows those the spell is cast on to see in the dark and the thickest fog, including this kind, now come on!" Eyeing each other nervously we reluctantly followed him. When I passed through the door I found myself in a completely different place (later I learned that we entered one of the four afterlives for dead Christians). The entire landscape and environment looked similar to that of Earth-land but scarier. The sky was blood-red, the clouds as black as the night sky, the same with the landscape. To the west was a wide river of what looked like blood. I must have had a horrified look on my face because Azrael turned to me, "Don't worry, it may look like blood but it's not. It's just designed to look that way." Azrael said, much to my relief. To the east, bordered by the river was a colossal city of black marble surrounded by massive black walls. (To call it colossal would be like calling the Titanic a toy boat.) A massive castle made from midnight-black marble, with ghostly green torches glowing in the parapets and battlements, skeletons in black armor with glowing red eyes stood guard at the top of every tower, patrolling the battlements and guarding the gates stood at the center of the city, easily dwarfing the buildings surrounding the castle. My eyes widened so much I thought they would pop out of their sockets, my mouth gaped in wonder and awe. I looked around me to see that everyone else had a similar look of awe and wonder on their faces, I turned back to Azrael and said "Azrael this city is yours?!" he smirked and said "Impressive isn't it? Welcome to Purgatory my friends, the afterlife where people are punished temporally for their sins before being sent to Heaven to live in eternal happiness with God. I also happen to me its emperor, so please feel welcome." "HOLY CAT HE'S RICH!" Natsu shouted, "AYE!" Happy agreed. Azrael howled with laughter and said "Come on, I'll give you a tour." When we reached the city gates, the guards stood at attention and saluted as we passed; Azrael just waved his hand and said "At ease men." He turned to the guard on the right and asked "Any suspicious activity since I've been gone?" the guard just shook his head and said in a raspy voice "No Your Majesty, nothing strange has happened since you've been gone." Azrael patted his shoulder and said "Good." He turned back to us and said "I apologize if the amount of security makes you uncomfortable, but these are dangerous times after all." He pushed open the heavy ebony doors, a breeze of fresh air blew through his hair, Azrael breathed in deeply "Home sweet home." He declared merrily. As soon as his boots touched the black marble street his appearance changed, his black trench coat changed into a black cape with blood-red trimming, his black boots had blood-red trimming, the same with his shirt and pants. He wore a gold crown embedded with rubies, and a necklace with a gigantic ruby carved into the shape of a skull embedded in the center, his face and body changed too. His features grew more defined and chiseled, his hair took on a darker tint, his eye pupils changed to the way they were when he used magic, his face was still clean-shaven, and the tips of his ears became pointed. His body was also more muscular. He turned back to us and said "Well what do you think?" his voice was deeper and as smooth as silk, my mouth was still hanging open in awe, Azrael smirked and reached over and closed it for me, "T-Thank you." I stuttered. "Your welcome." he replied, he then turned back to his city and said "Come honored guests, it would be rude to keep you waiting." So we entered his mysterious city. Despite its terrifying appearance from the outside, on the inside it has rather beautiful. With polished black marble streets and buildings, the city shone as if it was a piece of obsidian recently polished by a jeweler. As we walked down the main road people came out of their homes and businesses and stared at Azrael, their eyes wide with wonder, happiness and awe. One citizen in the crowd gasped and said in a loud voice "It's Emperor Azrael! ALL HAIL EMPEROR AZRAEL!" The crowd, overcoming their shock repeated the chant, "ALL HAIL EMPEROR AZRAEL! ALL HAIL EMPEROR AZRAEL!" The crowd cheered and tossed roses and confetti into the air as we walked towards the castle at the center of the city. The inside of the castle was just as creepy as the outside with bones, rib cages, and skulls carved out of the marble, a long blood-red carpet running symmetrically down the hall, black marble pillars 20 feet in height holding up the ceiling, with large hall leading into more large halls, which lead into large rooms. I looked around in amazement and said to Azrael "Your castle is much bigger than it appears to be on the outside Azrael." He laughed and said "That is because my magic is so strong here that its power can increase tenfold. Therefore I can make my castle as large as I like. I can also put in any kind of room, from ballrooms and dining rooms, to training rooms and armories." I turned around and saw a large door with many chains and locks, I asked Azrael "Hey Azrael, what is that room?" he looked to where I was pointing, and his expression darkened and he said "Something I promised myself I would never use again. Come along my friends, there is a lot more to see." He placed his hand on my shoulder and steered me away from the large locked doors towards another large hallway. He led us into a wide hall with four doors, he turned to us and said "These are the guest rooms, you can choose which ever one you want and it will do everything to you make you comfortable. A servant will show you to the dining room for dinner in 5 hours. I hope you enjoy your stay in my city." And without another word, he walked off. I turned to Lucy, Natsu, Gray, Uriel and Mavis "Well see you in the morning I guess." I said nervously. They smiled nervously as they entered their chosen rooms. When I entered mine I was astonished to discover that it looked just like my apartment in Fairy Hills, from the wallpaper to the décor, I remembered that Azrael said the rooms would do everything they could to make us comfortable so I chided myself for being astonished. I found a tub full of hot bathwater, I smiled at the thought of a nice hot relaxing bath, so I unbuckled my armor and eased myself in. After I got out and changed into some clean clothes, I decided to explore the castle some more, so I began looking for Azrael. After searching the halls for 2 hours, I was surprised to find that I was being followed by Lucy, Natsu, Gray, Uriel and Master Mavis. I whispered to them "Why are you following me?" Gray looked surprised and said "We weren't following you. We wanted to explore more of the castle, that's when we saw you sneaking around like a thief trying to not get caught." "I-I wasn't sneaking. I was just going to ask Azrael to show me more of the castle!" I stammered, blushing heavily. "You love him!" Happy teased, "Stop teasing Erza you Stupid Cat!" Lucy shouted. "Anyway since we're all looking for Azrael why don't we look for him together?" I asked, so off we went in search of our friendly host. After searching the halls for another 2 hours, we heard a soft whining sound like someone was playing a guitar; we followed the sound to a large garden, where we found that under the moonlight Azrael was playing a guitar made from polished ebony with silver strings, also with him was a band of ghosts; one on the drums, another on the bass, and a third on another guitar. The song that they were playing was so good that I almost wanted to sing along, it went like this:
Mayday! Mayday!
The ship is slowly sinking
They think I'm crazy but they don't know the feeling
They're all around me,
Circling like vultures
They wanna break me and wash away my colors
Wash away my colors
Take me high and I'll sing
Oh you make everything okay, okay, okay
'Kay, Okay, Okay
We are one in the same
Oh you take all of the pain away, away, away
'Way, away, away
Save me if I become
My demons
I cannot stop this sickness taking over
It takes control and drags me into nowhere
I need your help, I can't fight this forever
I know you're watching,
I can feel you out there
Take me high and I'll sing
Oh you make everything okay, okay, okay
'Kay, Okay, Okay
We are one in the same
Oh you take all of the pain away, away, away
'Way, away, away
Save me if I become
My demons
Take me over the walls below
Fly forever
Don't let me go
I need a savior to heal my pain
When I become my worst enemy
The enemy
Take me high and I'll sing
Oh you make everything okay
We are one in the same
Oh you take all of the pain away
Take me high and I'll sing
Oh you make everything okay, okay, okay
'Kay, Okay, Okay
We are one in the same
Oh you take all of the pain away, away, away
'Way, away, away
Save me if I become
My demons
Take me high and I'll sing
Oh you make everything okay, okay, okay
'Kay, Okay, Okay
We are one in the same
Oh you take all of the pain away, away, away
'Way, away, away
Save me if I become
My demons
His song lasted for a few minutes when suddenly a bell rang, Azrael said smiling "Oh dinner must be ready! Come along my dear friends." After dinner, which consisted of everything we liked, (amazingly he even knew my love for strawberry cheesecake!) Azrael was about to call it a day, "Azrael! Can you train me to be a better warrior?" I asked suddenly. Azrael looked stunned by the question, "But why? I don't think you need training at all, I mean after all you singlehandedly defeated most of the members of the dark guild Eisenwald, so again I ask you, WHY would you need my training?" He inquired. "Because you defeated Natsu as if it was the easiest thing in the world, that's why! And beating Natsu as easily as you did is not an easy thing to do!" Erza explained. "Sorry Natsu but Erza's right, I'm on a completely different level of power than you." Azrael said apologetically. Natsu slammed his palms on the table, stood up "Erza gets to fight you? That is so not fair, you still owe me a rematch!" He complained. "That's enough Natsu! Don't get involved!" Erza commanded. But to everyone's surprise, Azrael started to chuckle then began to laugh hysterically. Natsu gritted his teeth "What's so funny pal? Got something to say to me?" He demanded angrily. Azrael tried but couldn't control his laughing. Natsu lunged, grabbed Azrael by the collar of his shirt, and growled "What's so funny Azrael? Going to make fun of me again?" Azrael chuckled, smiled and said "Sorry it's just funny how much you remind me of Igneel." Natsu slammed him against the wall so hard that Azrael coughed up golden ichor (the blood of immortals) and groaned. "What?! You knew Igneel and you didn't tell me?!" Natsu yelled clearly furious, it took me, Gray and Uriel to pry Natsu's hands from around Azrael's neck and to hold him back to keep him from strangling Azrael.
Azrael coughed up some more golden ichor, smiled weakly and said grimacing "I was very good friends with Igneel until the day he disappeared. I haven't the slightest idea where he is, so don't ask. We both respected each other, I respected the power of the dragons, and he respected the power of the Archangels, it wasn't exactly the perfect friendship, but it worked." "But why didn't you tell me that you knew him earlier?" Natsu snarled, Azrael frowned and said "Because Igneel asked me not to tell you." Natsu looked stunned, he hesitantly asked "But why? Why would Igneel not want me to look for him?" Azrael sighed and said "Because he wanted you to become stronger on your own. My best guess is that he wanted to protect you. Did he say anything strange to you before he disappeared?"
Natsu seemed to think about this, he shook his head and said "The only thing he said before he vanished was "Grow up to be a great mage Natsu, because I believe in you." Azrael nodded and said "He wanted you to become as strong as you could possibly be Natsu. He did not abandon you my friend." Natsu scowled and said "How would you know what Igneel wanted? You're just a filthy angel that fell from God's favor!" Gray, Lucy and I gasped. Azrael's eyes widened, his mouth parted in shock, and said with a shell-shocked expression "I'm just going to get some fresh air." And without another word he exited the room, "Azrael!" Uriel called after her brother, she turned to us and said "I'd better go after him." and she ran after him. Lucy, Gray, and I glared angrily at Natsu, who looked around in surprise and asked "What? What did I do?" I growled and said "Natsu, I didn't think that you would show so much disrespect towards our host! And after everything he's done for us!" "Yea Natsu go and apologize to him!" Lucy scolded, Natsu glowered and said "And what if I don't?" I gave Natsu a death glare and said "Then you'll have to answer to me!" He gulped and stammered "I-I think I can afford the time."
Natsu's point of view
"Man I can't believe I have to go apologize to that jerk!" I complained to Happy who decided to accompany me. "Well maybe you shouldn't have insulted his hospitality Natsu, which was rude after all." Happy said judgmentally "Yea I know, but I just can't stand him. I mean did you see the way he beat me at the guild hall and the bathhouse, and the way Lucy acts around him?" I said scowling "You know what I think? I think you're jealous!" Happy said. I looked at Happy and said "Don't be ridiculous Happy! Why would I be jealous of Azrael?" "I don't know." Happy confessed. We took a right and found ourselves in front of what seemed to be the doors to one of the training rooms, I looked inside and was surprised to find that the room was filled with all kinds of training dummies in all shapes and sizes, from ones shaped like giants to ones shaped like dragons, and Azrael was there furiously hacking, slicing, slashing, and disemboweling any training dummy that was unfortunate enough to find itself in his sight, Uriel was there standing to the side with her arms crossed talking to Azrael whilst he took out his pent up emotions. I gulped, unnerved at Azrael's skill with a blade. I had a sneaking suspicion that this guy could beat any master swordsman in a fight, even Erza. I whispered to Happy "Are you sure we should go in there right now, I mean he's tearing those training dummies apart!" "Yea we should go in, but slowly and carefully." Happy said nervously. Azrael finished his aggressive attacks on the dummies by ripping a fake dragon heart out of the chest of an unfortunate training dummy shaped like a dragon and crushing it. When I entered Azrael and Uriel turned in my direction and saw me walk in. Azrael had a calm expression on his face but I could smell his rage and see the anger smoldering in his eyes "Natsu…What an unexpected surprise…" I could sense that he was trying to restrain himself from strangling me, I gulped and said hesitantly "Azrael…I have a very important question to ask you…" he took out a black rag and started wiping the fake blood from his blade and said "I'm listening…." I took a deep breath and asked "Do you like Lucy?" This sudden question startled him so much that he dropped his sword and asked "No why would you think that?" "B-But the roses, the flirting, and the way Lucy acts around you…" I stuttered. He stood up, walked over, put his hand on my shoulder "Natsu, I don't love Lucy! I mean sure I flirt with her, but that doesn't mean I'm in love with her!" He laughed. I was so happy that I smiled, but then a thought came to me and I asked "Then who do you love Azrael?" Azrael smiled and said "Ah finally asking the interesting questions eh? Well if you must know it's…" he whispered his answer to my question into my ear, my eyes widened and I said "Wow really? It's…" he suddenly clamped his hand over my mouth and hissed "Quiet! Don't say it out loud! I don't want my sister to know! If she found out she would tear her apart with her bare hands!" I got a terrifying image of Uriel and The girl in question throttling each other, and I couldn't help but laugh and say "If that ever happens, Uriel might get more than she bargained for." Azrael seemed to consider that for a moment and said with a mischievous smile "Well she might also be in for a tough fight, because when we Archangels fight we are known to cause more destruction than all the world's natural disasters combined." I laughed and said "In that case you're going to fit right in at Fairy Tail!" Azrael smiled and said "Yea I guess I will. Anyway we should probably get back and tell them everything is fine." he turned to leave "Azrael?" I said. He turned around and asked "Yes Natsu?" I smiled and said "You're a good person, I'm sorry for insulting your hospitality." He smiled and said "Its ok Natsu, we all feel jealous once in a while. Now come on we should probably go." When we both got to the door Azrael turned to me and asked "Race you back to the dining room?" I smiled and said "Oh you're on!" And so we took off running as fast as we could by anyway we could, with Uriel close behind, she and Azrael using their wings, and I used my fire magic. When we got back to the dining room we were sweating and out of breath, but grinning and laughing none the less. Erza, Gray, and Lucy looked at us in surprise, Lucy asked "Why are you guys sweating and look like you ran around the world?" we laughed and I said "Just racing my good friends Azrael and Uriel to the dining room!" Erza smiled and said "Good! So you apologized?" I smiled and said "Not only that, but it turns out me and Azrael have a lot in common, we both like fighting, eating, drinking, and partying the night away." Azrael smirked and said "Speaking of drinking, I actually have a bar here somewhere if I can just find it, honestly this castle is so big that I even get lost sometimes. But I think I have a spell that can point us in the right direction…" he pulled out a portable spell book, flipped through it until he found a certain page and said "Ah here it is!" he chanted the spell, his black magic circle appeared at his feet and a trail of white mist appeared twisting and turning around corners, up and down stairways and through doors, but we never lost sight of it. When the magical trail of mist stopped we found ourselves it front of a door decoratively carved with grapes and wine barrels, and stamped in gold letters above the door were the words: Styx-Water Wine. When Azrael opened the door we were astonished to see row upon row of wine barrels, a gigantic bar, and hundreds of individual tables and chairs, and behind the bar were thousands of bottles of any alcohol you could possibly want, some even looked pretty exotic and some I have never even seen before. When Azrael saw our faces he laughed and said "Not only am I a master of Death Magic and swordsmanship, I am also a connoisseur of every kind of alcoholic beverage in all of Earth-land, from the local brand of beer that your friend and fellow guild mate Cana Alborona drinks, and I must say that in all my years of traveling, I've never seen a woman who drinks as much as her." Lucy sweat dropped and said "Yea, we know." Azrael cleared his throat and said "To the most rare and exotic wines in all of Earth land, some I even got from different dimensions." He pointed to a bottle that was glowing a brilliant sky-blue and said "See that bottle over there? I got that from the Celestial Sprit King when I visited the Celestial Spirit World." Lucy's mouth gaped in wonder and she said "You got that from the Celestial Spirit World?! How did you manage to do that? It's impossible to even go there!" He smiled and said "Oh it's possible if you have clothing from the Spirit World and are invited by the Celestial Spirit King, one of my most loyal suppliers of wine!" Gray frowned and said "One of your most loyal suppliers of wine? What do you mean by that?" I smiled and said "I'm glad you asked Gray! What I meant by one of my most loyal suppliers of wine was a few years after I was banished from Heaven I tried to find a successful job on Earth-land, after many failed attempts I found the perfect job making alcohol, some mixtures were from local ingredients, while others I made from more rare and valuable ingredients like powdered dragon scales and the tears of a fairy. In fact I recently created a very special wine made of water from the river Styx and Hellfire and other special ingredients. I call it "Inferno Wine", it packs more of a kick than Dragon-Fire Wine, trust me I had the misfortune of drinking some and next thing I knew my throat, stomach, and tongue felt like they were melting." He smiled devilishly and said "Now which one of you brave wizards want to have their first taste?" He looked at me "How about you Natsu? After all a little hellfire shouldn't hurt you right?" He said. I grinned excitedly and shouted at the top of my lungs "IM ALL FIRED UP, LETS DO THIS THING!" "All right, just be very careful Natsu." Azrael warned as he handed me the bottle of supernatural wine. "Yea I hear you, be careful with the "Inferno Wine" because it will melt you insides." Azrael grimaced "Not just that, I also want you to be careful because this is the most valuable brand of wine I've made yet, so PLEASE be careful." He pleaded. "Okay I'll be careful, jeez!" I took a deep breath, looked nervously at the bottle of wine "Here goes nothing…" I said. I took a swig of the wine, "This is the best wine I ever tasted, very spicy but tasty nonetheless." I said, my eyes wide with surprise. Azrael smiled "Excellent! Now my signature wine is bound to be a success with the people on Galuna Island!" I declared. Gray's eyes widened "You made that wine for the people of Galuna Island?" He asked. I grinned "Isn't that one of those S-class jobs? Maybe I should go!" I said. I felt a dark presence behind me and, fearing the worst, I hesitantly turned around to see Erza giving me one of her death glare "Natsu, don't you even think about it! You aren't ready for S-class jobs yet unless the Master says you are, got it?" She asked with a terrifying glint in her eyes. "A-Aye!" I whimpered. Azrael, ignoring the commotion, pulled out another bottle "This one I made from…" he said. And in this way it continued, with Azrael showing us different bottles of wine, telling us its ingredients, tell us who gave him the recipe, and giving us samples poured in shot glasses until at last Azrael let out an enormous yawn "I should probably turn in for the night, are you all going home?" He asked drowsily. Lucy let out a quiet yawn "Yea I think I will go home tonight, but I've got to say Azrael your house and city is very comfortable despite its dark and scary décor, maybe I'll come back some time, anyway come on guys it's getting late, hopefully we can find our way out of this maze." She said. Azrael smiled and said "No need, let one of my maids show you the way." He clapped his hands and a beautiful 19 year old woman with very generous "assets" dressed in a black and red maids outfit with small horns, black hair, crimson eyes, and a thin leathery tail with a upside down heart shaped tip, appeared as if out of nowhere and asked in a seductive voice "Do you have need of me, Master?" Azrael smiled and said "Actually Raven yes, can you escort our guests to the front door please?" Raven the Maid frowned, apparently disappointed, but quickly hid it with a bright smile and said in a honeyed voice "Of course Master, anything for you." She turned to us with a bright smile "Follow me please." She asked. And she escorted us through the seamlessly never-ending hallways. When we were out of Azrael's eyesight, her smile melted into a sad frown. Gray noticed the sad look on her face and asked concerned, "Hey why are you sad? Did we do something wrong?" she sighed and said sadly, "No, you did nothing wrong, Azrael is the reason I'm sad. You see, ever sense his wife Titania died he's relied on me for comfort, then one day I realized I was in love with him, but he never noticed because every time I tried to tell him, something important would happen and Azrael would have to leave." "Don't worry Raven I'm sure Azrael will notice how you feel someday." Lucy said gently. When we got to the door Raven turned to us and smiled pleasantly, "Well goodbye, have a good day." When Happy and I got home I said to him "Azrael is actually pretty nice once you get to know him." "Aye, but we should probably get some sleep." Happy said drowsily. I crawled into bed and Happy crawled into his cat cradle, turned out the lights and went to sleep.
Azrael's point of view
A few minutes after Natsu, Lucy, Erza and Gray went home, I went to one of my guards and asked "Are they gone?" The armored ghoul turned to me, "Yes my Lord they left 30 minutes ago." he said with a raspy voice "Good, do you have the map?" I asked with a smile. "Yes my Lord I have it right here." The undead man replied. He pulled out an old map and said "It took some time to find this in the library, but I finally found it." I smiled and said "Good, let's go then." I grasped a torch and followed the ghoul down a continuous flight of stairs that ended at a long torch-lit hallway to a set of double ebony doors locked with black iron chains held in place by a dark iron lock shaped like a skull flanked on either side by statues of the Grim Reaper. I pulled out a skull shaped key with rubies embedded in its eye sockets, inserted it in the lock, turned the key and pushed open the doors. I found myself in a gigantic room with a huge vaulted ceiling, at the very end of the room was a series of steps that led to a pedestal, and floating in the air just a few inches above the pedestal was a black iron necklace, the chains black as midnight, but where the gem would usually be was nothing. I climbed up the steps and when I reached the necklace I said to myself "It's almost time, soon I will find the missing pieces and reclaim what was wrongfully taken from me..." The torches and the candles blow out by a gust of wind, leaving only my eyes and my scar glowing red in the darkness.
Lucy's point of view
When I woke up the next day, I was surprised to see that Natsu wasn't in my bed like he usually would almost every night. 'Strange, why isn't Natsu in my bed...Wait am I starting to LIKE having Natsu in my bed every night?!' I thought incredulously. After I got dressed and went outside I saw Natsu, Happy, Azrael and Uriel waiting for me. Natsu gave me his signature smile and said "Morning Luce!" 'It's so strange that Azrael has a little sister, I never thought the Archangels were related. But I can see how Azrael and Uriel are siblings, their practically twins!' I thought to myself. "Lucy? Lucy?" I heard someone say. "Huh?" I said shaking myself out of my thoughts to see Uriel staring at me. "Uriel, why are you staring at me like that?" I asked nervously. "She loves you!" Happy teased. "I DO NOT, WHAT ARE YOU SAYING YOU STUPID CAT?" Uriel and I shouted angrily, blushing like crazy. At the same time, surprised we looked at each other and laughed. A few minutes after we arrived at the guild, I started to feel strangely sleepy, I drowsily looked around to see that everyone else except Uriel, Azrael and Master Makarov were getting sleepy, before I fell asleep I heard light footsteps and saw the silhouette of a cloaked man at the guildhall entrance.
Azrael's point of view
When everyone started to fall asleep I sensed a strong magic presence enter the guildhall. I turned around and saw a man completely covered by a dark blue cloak and hood, with a number of staffs on his back, and with bandages on his arms and legs. When the strange man turned to me and Uriel he regarded us with interest, "Interesting, it seems that you two can completely resist my sleep spell…what are your names?" He asked. "My name is Azrael and this is my little sister Uriel, and who might you be if I may ask?" I asked. The hooded man didn't seem to smile but I saw amusement in his eyes, he said with a nod of his head "It was a pleasure to meet you Azrael and Uriel." He then walked over to the Request Board and chose a job. He then walked over to Master Makarov, "Mystogan…" Makarov muttered drowsily. I arched an eyebrow 'So this is the famous Mystogan I've heard so much about.' I thought to myself. Mystogan turned to Makarov and said "Master, I'd like to take this job if you don't mind." When he began to leave Makarov turned to him, "Wait, remove your sleep spell first…" Makarov asked drowsily. "Very well." Mystogan replied and he began to walk out, counting down to himself "5, 4, 3, 2, and 1." When he reached 1 he was already out the door and everyone immediately woke up. "Was that Mystogan?" Droy asked drowsily, "That jerk, he could at least not put us to sleep when he come to pick a job." Jet complained, "What just happened?" Lucy asked drowsily. "That was Mystogan." said Erza. Lucy looked at Erza with confusion and asked "Who's Mystogan?" "He's one of the most powerful wizards in Fairy Tail, and like me, is an S-Class Wizard." Erza replied. "S-Class Wizard?" Lucy said with a confused frown. "S-Class is a ranking bestowed by the Guild Master to the strongest members of the guild. It's also the ranking of jobs that S-Class wizards take, they are located on the second floor, that's the reason why the Master won't let us go up there." Mirajane explained. "That's right! And no one in Fairy Tail besides Master Makarov has ever seen Mystogan' face." Erza said with a nod. "That's not true, I've seen his face. Mystogan's just shy." Said a voice from the upstairs balcony. I looked up and saw a tall muscular man with slicked-back blonde hair and a lightning bolt shaped scar over his right eye. He was dressed in a purple shirt and black jeans, with a black overcoat that had white fur trimming on the collar and wrists of the coat. "Laxus? This is rare, you're never here!" Said Droy. "And here is another S-Class wizard Laxus Dreyer." Erza said with a frown. "And besides, the strongest wizard in the guild isn't some masked freak, an armor wearing chick, or even an Archangel. You're looking at Fairy Tail's next Guild Master, and when I take over the guild my first order of business is to kick all of you losers out of the guild!" Laxus said with an arrogant smile.