Four months after the last update and I'm back. I'm really sorry for keeping you guys waiting. I've been very busy these past four months and despite the summer break, I found myself so out of time to finish this. Then my files disappeared. So I really had to restart. Sorry for the four month delay. I really am. Anyway, I'll try and catch up on lost time and finish the long overdue story.

Note: I do not own Fairy Tail

Chapter 4

Previously: Ayaka was defeated by Hercules. Team Natsu along with Shorai and Loke had entered the Celestial Spirit World. They split up and began encountering various spirits. Natsu and Happy had gotten past Draco, Gray and Erza had encountered Orion and Perseus while Loke saw Ayaka consume Hercules. What will happen next?

(Ayaka, Red, Loke and Shorai)

Loke was in a state of shock. He had witnessed firsthand, the death of a Celestial Spirit. He had thought he was going to be one of the first Celestial Spirit to die. Loke ran towards Ayaka and carefully carried her in his arms. Her mouth was agape and her eyes were closed. He approached Red and woke him up.

"AYAKA! AYAKA!" Red shouted, flying in circles above Loke.

"Red, Ayaka's here. She's unconscious." Loke replied.

"Oh. But where's big muscular guy?" Red asked.

"He's gone Red." Loke said, knowing Hercules will no longer bother them anytime.

Loke brought Ayaka and Red back to where Shorai was resting. Shorai had gotten a bit weaker than when they arrived.

"Shorai, are you alright?"

"I'm a bit tired. It's nothing. Have you found Lucy?" Shorai asked.

"No but there's something else, Ayaka ate Hercules.

Shorai's eyes widened. He checked on the unconscious Ayaka and began using Spirit Magic. Ayaka glowed gold but showed hints of red.

"Just as I thought, Ayaka is a large threat to the Celestial Spirit World."

"Because she's a Spirit Fire Dragon Slayer?"

"Exactly, Dragon Slayers are known to consume their element. Ayaka doesn't consume spirit fire but the element spirit and fire."

"The same way she ate Hercules? How is the Celestial Spirit world in trouble then?"

"Ayaka is still too young to master control over her magic. During our training, I sensed a large amount of Earthland Spirit Energy trailing towards Ayaka. I asked her if she was using any magic, she said no. I hypothesized that Ayaka has no control over her consumption of spirit energy to satisfy her needs as a dragon slayer."

"Is this why she's so powerful?"

"Apparently, her magic is a constantly fueled by an endless stream of magic. Giving her a much larger magic energy."

Loke and Red were trying to piece all the information Shorai gave them. Loke was then hit by a sudden realization.

"We have to find Natsu."

"Why?" Red asked.

"Ayaka has lost control over her ability as a dragon slayer, in a span of hours, she'll consume the entire Celestial Spirit World, giving her a limitless supply of magic." Loke explained.

"Is she going to be strong?" Red asked.

"She'll die. She'll be overwhelmed by magic and soon join Lucy here." Shorai said.

"We have to find Natsu quick!" Red exclaimed, flying away and returning to Loke.

Loke, carrying Ayaka, Shorai and Red ran back to their starting point and headed towards Natsu. Time was not on their side.

(Gray and Erza)

Erza was still pointing her sword at Perseus who merely smiled.

"Don't be tense, Fairy. Perseus' gave only affects males. Lucky for you." Orion gloated.

"Turn Gray back to normal." Erza barked.

"Who are you to bark commands at me?" Orion lashed.

Orion summoned a wild bear and used it to attack Erza. The bear was strong and fierce. Erza had little difficulty in suppressing the attack of the bear.

"Having a little difficulty, Fairy?" Orion boasted.

Erza grunted and soon, managed to tackle the bear away. The bear retreated a bit but watched Erza closely. Soon, the bear disappeared in a flash of light.

"Being a hunter allows me to summon the creatures I have hunted. It also allows me to have total obedience from all animals, no matter what kind of animal they are." Orion said.

Perseus merely watched. His opponent was already down. Orion had Erza all to himself. Orion engaged in a battle stance. Erza requipped her Heaven's Wheel armor and showed no sign of backing out.

"Beat me Fairy and maybe Perseus will listen to you and release your friend here." Orion smirked.

Erza charged. She began swinging her swords left and right. Orion dodged all of it. Orion jumped away and summoned a magic circle.

"Form Change: Betelgeuse"

"Betelgeuse?" Erza wondered.

Orion's clothes changed into a black fur cloth. He wore a helmet resembling a black bear. The top was a fur vest with a white lining around it. His pants were identical to the vest. His hands transformed into large paws and so did his feet.

"Take Over?" Erza asked.

"Form Change, a fusion of Take Over and Requip Magic." Orion roared.

Orion lunged towards Erza. Erza dodged, only evading Orion's attack by half an inch.

"Quick" Erza remarked while requipping her Flight Armor.

"And lethal" Orion quipped, sending a mighty punch on Erza's stomach.

Despite using her Flight Armor, Orion: Betelgeuse was still faster. Orion: Betelgeuse gave quick punches to Erza and Erza tried to dodge and evade almost all of them.

"He's too fast. I can't keep on dodging all of his attacks." Erza thought.

Erza slid past one of Orion: Betelgeuse's arms and requipped her Black Wing Armor and attacked Orion. Orion was sent flying away. Erza chased Orion using her Flight Armor and went ahead of the flying Celestial Spirit and quickly requipped her The Giant's Armor and smashed Orion to the ground using the spear. Erza stepped back and requipped her Heart Kreuz Armor. Dust filled the air as there was a large hole in front of Erza. Light shone from the hole and came out a badly bruised Orion.

"You…Fairies are tough…" Orion said as he limped out of the crater. He was holding his shoulder.

Perseus walked towards Orion but Orion stopped him.

"I said, I'll take care of this Fairy Queen. It has been a while since I fought a challenge." Orion smirked.

Perseus stepped back and looked at the stone Gray.

"FORM CHANGE!" Orion shouted.

A large magic circle appeared underneath Orion. It was followed by a magic circle at his waist and above his head. The bottom magic circle glowed green. The middle magic circle glowed yellow and the top magic circle glowed red. Suddenly, lightning erupted from the three magic circles forcing Erza to requip her Lightning Empress Armor.

"Tch" Erza said, blocking a large amount of lightning from the three magic circles.

Orion began to glow. The lightning became much stronger and slowly pushed Erza back. Erza tried to hold her ground but the lightning was too strong.

"Fairy, let me show you my power" Orion roared.

Orion's voice was animalistic. It echoed and only a faint version of his original voice was heard. Perseus stood motionless as he watched Orion power up.

"Form Change: Mintaka, Form Change: Alnilam, Form Change: Alnitak" Orion shouted and a bright white light shone from him.

The lightning stopped as the light shone brighter. Erza shielded her eyes from the bright light.

"Triple Form Change: Orion Warrior" Orion growled.

Erza was shocked. Orion was fully armored. He no longer resembled the hunter constellation but more of a hunter-knight hybrid. His shoulder pads resembled a lion's head. His greaves were wolf heads. His breastplate resembled bear skin. He had a fur cape and his helmet was a tiger head.

"Did you really believe Leo was the strongest Celestial Spirit?" Orion boasted.

Before Erza could speak, Orion was already behind her.

"I'm far stronger than a human cat." Orion whispered.

Orion delivered a strong punch to Erza. Orion followed the punch with another kick. Orion began beating Erza down. His attacks were far stronger and faster than Orion: Betelgeuse.

"Face the power of the Celestial Spirit Orion! Warrior Rush!"

Orion produced multiple copies of himself and simultaneously attacked Erza. It was a relentless onslaught of punches and kicks. Erza's Lightning Empress Armor was being shattered.

"ICE MAKE: LANCE!"

Out of nowhere, long icicles attacked Orion and his copies. All the copies disappeared and Orion was hit with several icicles. Erza fell down on her knees and looked at the direction of the icicles.

"Gray" Erza whimpered.

Gray stepped out of the shadows and his shirt was gone. Gray wore ice glasses, as protection from Perseus' Gorgon Eye.

"Now, would you face me or would you rather face a weakened opponent?" Gray bragged.

"I'll handle him, Perseus"

"I take you both on." Gray said.

Erza noted there was something different from Gray. His body was emitting cold air. It was the first time she saw Gray that cold. She noticed that even Gray's breath was freezing. Erza slumped back to the ground and tried to rest. She had to leave everything to Gray.

"I'll take him on first, he is my opponent." Perseus said.

"If you wish" Orion replied.

Perseus stepped up and assumed a battle stance. Gray assumed his molding stance and eyed Perseus.

"Flash" Perseus said.

In a blink of an eye, Perseus disappeared.

"Where'd you run off to?" Gray asked.

"Here" Perseus replied, kicking Gray in the back.

Gray dropped forward and received another kick from Perseus, this time from the right.

"I am just here, Fairy."

Perseus continued the invisible assault on Gray. Gray was lost. He kept looking around in hopes of finding some sort of clue as to where Perseus will strike next. Gray moved slowly, trying to anticipate the next attack. Gray turned and was shocked to see Perseus right in his face. His hands were raised. Gray froze in his tracks.

"Nova Persei"

Perseus released purple energy from his raised hand and it hit Gray. Gray tried to dodge it but his arm was still hit. Gray look at the damaged arm and saw it turn to stone.

"Not again" Gray remarked.

"I do now know how you did it but you'll never do it again." Perseus said.

"What makes you say so?" Gray said behind Perseus.

Perseus was taken aback. He looked at the Gray he attacked and saw it turn into ice. Erza was surprised Gray could do that. Their last mission together was the one regarding Croda. Since then, Gray had been teaming up with Juvia and going on inter-guild missions with Lyon.

"Gray had been getting stronger." Erza remarked.

"Ice Make: Geyser"

Ice appeared below Perseus and impaled him upwards. The tower continued to rise and Gray was using an ice grappling hook up the tower. Gray climbed the tower first and began preparations for another spell.

"Ice Make: Ice Cannon"

Gray fired at Perseus and he was impaled between two ice attacks. The ice geyser shattered at the impact of the ice cannon. Perseus fell on the ground and Gray landed safely.

"It's not over yet, Fairy." Perseus weakly said.

"I didn't say I was finished." Gray replied.

Perseus looked at Gray and his eyes showed determination.

"This was for turning me into stone!" Gray shouted.

Gray summoned two magic circles from the palm of his hand and grabbed Perseus by the collar of his armor.

"Freeze" Gray said.

Slowly, Perseus was being covered with ice. Starting from the neck, the ice moved towards the rest of his body, freezing him. Gray released Perseus and allowed him to freeze. Gray looked at Erza and at Orion.

"Where is Lucy?" Gray asked.

"Perseus was the weakest among us." Orion commented, walking towards Gray.

"I said where is Lucy?" Gray asked, his fists emitting cold air.

Orion smiled and charged towards Gray.

Gray received a powerful punch from Orion. Gray was pushed back and received a connecting kick to the head. Out of nowhere, an ice wall separated Orion from Gray.

"Your wall will do nothing to stop me, Fairy." Orion remarked.

Orion placed his hand on the wall and it shattered into fine dust. Gray was shocked. Orion merely smiled.

"Luck must be on your side as you faced me instead of Hercules. He would have obliterated you in an instant." Orion said.

"Ice Make: Ice Wall"

Orion's lower body was frozen in ice. The ice was slowly creeping up him. Orion tried breaking the ice but found it a bit difficult.

"Don't bother trying, as long as I'm performing magic, the ice refreezes itself." Gray said.

Erza stood up and approached Gray. She requipped her Hearts Kreuz Armor and pointed a sword at Orion's neck.

"Where is Lucy?" Erza asked.

"Do you think you can kill me? Despite your Spirit Mage giving you a taste of Spirit Magic, you simply cannot kill a Celestial Spirit in the Spirit World." Orion gloated.

Aquila soon came dashing towards Orion and saw him under Erza and Gray's hands. Nevertheless, Aquila approached Orion and delivered news.

"Terrible news! Hercules is gone!" Aquila exclaimed.

Orion reverted back to his normal form and has a shocked look in his eyes.

"What do you mean gone? Has gotten lost in the Spirit World again?" Orion asked.

"No, the Spirit Fire Dragon Slayer ummm… ate him."

Eyes widened at Aquila's words.

"Ayaka" Gray muttered.

"Where is the Dragon Slayer?" Orion asked.

"With Leo, I also overheard a conversation with the Spirit Mage. The Celestial Spirit World will be lost if we are unable to remove the Dragon Slayer here. She is beginning to consume the Spirit Magic in this world."

"That could explain why I felt a bit weak with my battle with these fairies. The Celestial Spirit World must be slowly decreasing our own Magical Power to sustain itself. I fear for those with weak magical powers." Orion thought.

"Gray, we should find Lucy and Natsu fast. If this Spirit is telling the truth, we have limited time here." Erza said.

"Shouldn't we find Loke first? He has Ayaka and Shorai is with him. Surely, he knows where Lucy probably is." Gray replied.

"I asked him if he knows where Lucy is. He said Capricorn changed the location. It could be anywhere. I believe if we have a chance to find Lucy, we should look for Natsu." Erza replied.

"That hot head could be anywhere!" Gray exclaimed.

Both Gray and Erza ran away from Orion and Aquila. They relied on luck that Natsu would be somewhere near.

(Natsu and Happy)

Natsu entered the castle-looking building being guarded by Cephus and Draco. They were greeted with walls adorned with various murals, each with a constellation right above.

"Natsu look! This celestial mage has the constellation of Loke right above!" Happy said, looking at a mural of a Celestial Mage with blond hair.

"I wonder who she is?" Natsu said.

"Maybe she was Loke's former master." Happy replied.

"Maybe Lucy has a mural here too!" Natsu said, running through the halls.

At the end of the hall, there was a mural of Lucy. She was wearing a silver long gown, her arms were covered with matching gloves that reached the elbows. Her hair was tied to a bun. She had a faint smile compared to the ones she usually gives to everyone.

"Something is different with Lucy here." Natsu noted.

"The constellation above is Capricorn." Happy said.

"That is not Miss Lucy." A voice boomed.

"Then who is she?" Natsu asked.

"That is Miss Layla Heartfilia, Miss Lucy's mother." Capricorn replied, coming out from the end of the corridor.

"Lucy's mother?" Natsu questioned.

"The Celestial Queen herself." Capricorn answered.

To be continued.

I am really sorry for taking this long to update. I've been sidetracked (my fault), busy (I dunno who's fault) and had my files erased (someone else's fault). Anyway, I'll try to catch up on lost time and finish the story as soon as possible. Again, I am really really sorry.