Chapter 7: A Power Darker Than Zeref?!

-Lamia Scale-

"The Grand Magic Games are approaching," Obaba, the master of Lamia Scale said. "We always come in second place every year. This is preposterous, it ludicrous!" she yelled as she began to swing her hands in a circular motion. "Not anymore. Jura, Lyon, you two are going to compete and that's final!"

"Well…if master says so, then we can't refuse; right Jura?" Lyon, an ice mage and childhood rival of Gray said.

"A festival every once and a while isn't so bad. Sure, I don't see why not." Jura, of the ten wizard saints exclaimed.

"Jura and Lyon are both competing at the same time!" some random members shouted. "We'll definitely win for sure!"

-Blue Pegasus-

"So, Jura is going to participate this year?" Bob, the master of Blue Pegasus asked.

"Yes. This epidemic is going to make some nasty perfume," Ichiya, the ace of the guild said.

"And her we thought we had a chance to win. Maybe it's time for us to get out the big guns."

-Raven Tail-

"I have waited seven years for this moment." Ivan Dreyar, the master of Raven Tail said with excitement. "The time to pass judgment on those fairies and paint them black has finally come. Makarov, you're going to get what 's coming to you..." he finished with a maniacal laughter.


On to our heroes, the members of Fairy Tail laid against a vacant nearby shack. Depressed as they were, they didn't know what to do.

"How… did we end up like this?" Erza asked to no one in particular.

"All of our precious time…" Gray continued.

"Just flashed by right in front of her eyes," Lisanna finished. They all sat with a blank face as they slumped in defeat.

"If I may make a suggestion, master", Virgo said out of nowhere. "Please, give me more punishment," she demanded as she sat on her legs on a bumpy board and three heavy bricks piled up on her lap.

"Just go back home." Lucy sweat dropped at her spirit's weird desires.

"I guess we're just going to have to let the others fight again," Levy pointed out and Juvia sighed in defeat.

"Alas, the gap between Panther Lily and I has widened once more," Happy said with a tear in his eye.

"Eh?"

"You actually cared about that?" Carla retorted.

"Wait, you guys mean to tell me you didn't get stronger at all?" Jet said sounded surprised.

"The Grand Magic Games is only in five days. You have to have made some sort of achievement," Droy added in as he chowed down on a watermelon.

"We'll it looks like we're unable to compete in our current state. You guys are going to have to take our place." Levy told her personal team.

"And here I thought we had a chance to prove ourselves to the crowd."

"No! We can still put up a fight. If we start train seriously now and for the next five days, we'll achieve something!" Lisanna shouted as she made a confident fist pump.

"Lisanna is right!" Erza shouted, alarming the group. "From this moment on, we'll do a five-day crash training from hell! Get your asses in gear. There won't be a moments rest until we're done!" She announced as a huge comical fire burned behind her.

"Sheesh, all I said is we should start training now, I said nothing about hell training," the platinum-haired woman started to shake out of fright. She was finally starting to understand as to why Erza's team was afraid of her.

"Eeek!" Lucy squealed in fright.

"We are so dead!"

"Somebody help us!" Wendy screamed as she was waving her arms up and down. Out of nowhere, a white pigeon landed on Erza's head.

"Erza look, there something on its leg," Gray notified the armor mage and held the bird so that the attachment could be taken off. Revealing that the attachment on the pigeon's leg was a note, Erza opened it up and read it.

To Fairy Tail:

Come to the old suspension bridge at the deep end of the forest. We shall meet you there.

The group hesitated for a little bit, but finally gave in and decided to head in the forest. As the group walked by, they did not see a single person in sight. "There isn't a soul in sight. Are you sure we should be doing this, Erza?" Lisanna broke the silence.

"Even I'm starting to regret coming here," Erza answered as they walked.

"I'm starting to get a bad feeling about this. Let's head back," Lucy suggested.

"Lucy is right. I'm starting to get under the impression that this is a prank," gray added in.

"Let's just walk up to the bridge before we decide anything." The group agreed as they continued to the suspension bridge. As soon as they arrived, there was still no person in sight.

"So, now what?" the take-over mage asked. Out of nowhere, the bridge started to repair it self as all the discarded wood that was rotting and chips that fell below started to fit together like a puzzle. Once finished, the bridge was spec and span, as it looked brand new. "W-what the…" Lisanna was surprised by what she just saw that she didn't even finish.

"This must be our invitation," the scarlet beauty said with a serious face.

"I'm not sure about this Erza. We may be walking into a trap," Levy said.

"Are you sure we should cross?" Gray added in.

"Whatever it is, we must be ready for it. Let's meet whoever this is and get it over with," agreeing with her, the team crossed the repaired bridge. After a minute of walking, the group noticed three figures walking towards them. The bundle of mages took a defensive stance.

"Who the hell are you?" the raven-haired man said as prepared his ice magic.

"You picked the wrong day to annoy us," Lisanna exclaimed as she prepared her magic.

"Reveal yourselves at once!" Erza yelled at the trio of hooded beings.

"Thank you for coming…." The middle figure started as all three of the newcomers started to remove their hoods to reveal their selves. "Fairy Tail", once all the hoods were removed, the group of fairies were in a state of shock at the sight of a familiar raven-haired woman with a glass orb in his hands, a short woman with long pink hair, and the most shocking was a blue-haired young man with a tattoo on the right side of his face.

"J-J-Jellal…?"

"Ultear...?"

"No way," Lucy said in shock.

"Weren't you imprisoned?" Lisanna had nudged Lucy to get her attention.

"Who's that?"

"Jellal was a wanted fugitive that helped us during the Nirvana mission seven years ago. He's actually not as bad as the magic council makes him up to be."

'Oh great, you guys are associated with criminals,' Lisanna thought to herself. 'If we get caught, I'm not with you guys.'

"You haven't changed a bit, Erza." Jellal said to his childhood friend.

"Y-y-yes, so it seems..." Erza went down memory lane as she remembered what was said a few years ago.

Flashback – Three Years Ago

"Erza!" Erza was walking, minding her own business when a male voice interrupted. She turned to see who it was that stopped her.

"Alzack, Bisca, what brings you here?"

"Have you heard the news?"

"No. Unfortunately, I haven't. What is it about?" she asked.

"You fri-" the male gun mage was cut off by his wife.

"Honey, I don't really think this is right for her to know just yet." Bisca said with a worried look on her face.

"She has to know".

"Guys, what are talking about?" the Connell's looked at each other with guilt and stayed quiet for a few seconds, knowing what they were going to say wasn't going to be to Erza's liking.

"Your friend Jellal has escaped from prison." The armor mage's eyes widened for two reasons. One because her friend, whom she grew up with and committed so many crimes, had escape prison. Two, was the fact that someone was able to escape a high security such as the magic council prison. She tilted her head down as her hair covered her eyes.

"I-I-I see."

"Sorry for bringing this up," Alzack apologized.

"No, no, it's okay. Excuse me, guys." the scarlet mage said she silently walked away.

"Man, I haven't seen her this bent out of shape since Natsu's death."

"Well, can we blame her?" the female gun mage said.

Flashback end

"I assume you broke yourself out?" Erza asked the bluenette.

"Actually, it was Meredy and I who broke him out," Ultear corrected.

"I didn't do a thing. You broke him out yourself." The pink-haired woman contradicted.

"Meredy?!" Juvia said in a state of shock of the pink-haired woman in front of her. Meredy heard her and simply turned and smiled at the water mage.

"Juvia. It's been a while!"

'She has finally learned how to smile,' Juvia thought to herself as she smiled.

"Wait...Jellal escaped from prison?"

"I have committed many sins throughout my life," the raven-haired woman began. "Even if I spent an eternity trying to atone for my actions, I feel as if it still won't be enough. So...I thought the least I can do is save as many people as I can. Take Jellal her for example."

"I have gone through the same path, Ultear. We're pretty much in the same boat." something clicked in Erza's head when Jellal finished his sentence.

"Wait. Then you..."

"Yes I remember. Every. Last. Detail." Erza went eye-wide. She never thought he would get his memory back. "It was six years ago when I got my memory back; and quite frankly, I don't know what to say."

"Please. Don't blame Jellal. I am responsible for what happened at the Tower of Heaven. It isn't his fault."

"..."

"It was either life in prison of the death penalty. I bet you can guess which one they chose for me. Then out of nowhere, Ultear and Meredy broke my out." Jellal said.

"So does that mean that you three have found a goal in life?" Lisanna said, finally saying something after staying quiet for the longest. Jellal gave her a confused face.

"I'm sorry. I don't believe we've met. What's your name?"

"Lisanna. Lisanna Strauss. Nice to meet you," she answered.

"The pleasure is all mine. To answer your question, I wouldn't call it a life goal. Instead, we have created a guild. It's neither an official guild nor a dark guild. We are an independent guild known as Crime Sorciere," the blue-haired mage said while all three mages revealed their guild marks.

"An independent guild?" Levy said in surprise.

"I've heard of Crime Sorciere..." Droy said. "From what I've heard, you guys are responsible for the destruction of several dark guilds throughout Fiore."

"Our only purpose is to..." Ultear began.

"Find and eliminate Zeref...as well as the other dark guilds that exist. We shall not allow the darkness to wreck the lives of innocent people while we exist," Jellal finished.

"How amazing!" the celestial mage said in awe.

"If that's the case then, why haven't you guys become an official guild?" the platinum-haired mage asked the trio.

"I'm still a wanted fugitive." Jellal scratched his head in embarrassment.

"And we're former Grimore Heart members." Meredy sheepishly smiled.

"Conflict between official guilds and dark guilds is forbidden. Creating an independent guild would be the proper solution."

"Jellal, we're getting off topic," the time mage reminded.

"Right, Sorry." Ultear turned to fairy Group.

"Well, self-introductions are not the reason we're here for. I assume you guys are participating in the Grand Magic Games. Yes?"

"Yes, that was the plan."

"Unfortunately, we can't go anywhere near the coliseum. We were wondering if you could do us a favor."

"What is the favor?" Erza asked.

"Every year, we have been feeling a weird and creepy source of magical energy emitting from the arena. We wanted to ask if you can check it out for us." Ultear asked the armor mage.

"But other guilds are competing there as well. Isn't it natural to feel weird magic energy?" Gray asked his sisterly figure.

"Well, normally yes, but the magic we've been sensing matches identically to Zeref," the fairy mages went wide-eyed. They knew Zeref was the most powerful wizard alive, but they had no idea they he was close by. Usually when sensing someone's magic that usually results in that person being near.

"Are you saying that Zeref is alive?"

"No, at least not yet. We just want to see where the source is coming from."

"That doesn't mean we want you to lose focus on games. We will be supporting you guys from the dark." The sensor- link mage assured.

"I guess we could, but it sounds pointless to try," Erza said.

"Are you sure Erza? I mean really want to help them, but it sounds like a wild goose chase." Lisanna sounded cautious about the whole thing. Erza then noticed something that didn't make sense.

"Speaking of which. I wanted to ask you something. If you guys have been feeling this power for six years now, why is it that you are telling this to us now?" the three Sorciere mages are stunned by the question asked. They did sort of expect for that question to be asked, but not so quickly.

"Well..." Ultear and Meredy had a strange looks on their faces. Feeling uncomfortable of the situation, they hesitated a little before continuing.

"W-well, you see..." the pink-haired woman didn't know how to respond to the problem.

"This isn't easy for us to say," the female ice mage said with a concerned face.

"Ultear, Meredy." the girls turned to see Jellal who had stayed quiet after all this time, call them with a straight face and his hand in a clenched fist. He knew Erza nor were the others not going to like what they had found out. "They need to know."

"Jellal, what are you talking about?" All three Sorciere mages stayed silent for a few minutes. It was like their mouths were stuck together with super glue. What they were going to say was going to change the way they looked about whatever it is they were keeping from them. After a few more seconds, Jellal finally broke the silence.

"The...reason we decided to tell you know was because we didn't have a problem with it...until now," Jellal said with a serious face.

"What do you mean?" the elemental mage stood silent for a moment.

"Three years ago, we've been sensing another type of power source," that got the group's attention. "That source...I swear I can't even describe it. After looking deeper into it...we found out that this power...is even worse than Zeref." Everyone except the Sorciere mages grew faces of horror and shock, that didn't mean that Ultear and her guild didn't react. They clenched their fists as they looked down to the ground.

"H-h-how is something like that even possible?" Levy asked in fright. "I've read everything about him. Zeref was the strongest wizard alive. How can something be stronger and frightful than him?"

"That is what we wanted to know, Levy." the male bluenette said. "Due to the new power source, Ultear went to investigate where the power was coming from, but what we found...disturbed us."

"W-what are you saying?" Lisanna sounded worried and anxious.

"...We were able to pinpoint where that other source of evil power...and...we found out...that...that power…..belonged to Natsu". If that last part of Zeref wasn't enough, then this new information was taking a toll on our favorite bunch of mages. All of them started to sweat bullets and began to tremble with fear; even Gray was affected by the news. Was Natsu really the bearer of such a heinous and dreadful power? It just didn't sound like the Natsu Dragneel they know and loved. No. It just couldn't be. Natsu wouldn't have such power; would he? Lisanna couldn't take anymore she slowly fell to the ground and rested on her legs as she held her hands to the sides of her heads as she trembled with fright and stay wide-eyed. She did not want to think that the man that she fell for wielded such power

"P-p-p-please...please...please tell me...that isn't true. Please...tell me..." Lisanna stuttered with fear.

"I'm sorry. There is no way around it," Jellal said as he looked back down to the ground.

"No...I refuse...I refuse...it's not him...it's not him..." she started to cry as images of her beloved dragon slayer killing everyone in sight.

Erza who was baffled and frozen with fear snapped out of her trance as she glared at the Sorciere mages. "Don't lie to me dammit! You're telling me that after all these years we've known Natsu, he has had another source of energy inside of him and we never knew about it!"

"Erza please, don't-"

"That's bullcrap!" Gray yelled at the top of his lungs. "That's not the Natsu we all know!"

"Damn you, Jellal!" the armor mage growled at the bluenette.

"We wanted to deny it too, Gray. But we did the math, that source matches Natsu' energy perfectly; not the mention that a hint of his dragon slayer magic lies within." Meredy felt guilty telling them this. She knew Natsu was like a brother to him. All the mages were still affected by the news. Now Crime Sorciere was regretting telling them the news.

"It still makes no sense! Natsu has been dead for seven years now! The only way to sense a person's magic source is for them to be alive!" Gray was still in rage of the news. "So you're saying Natsu's been alive for those years and haven't known about it yet?!"

"Well…that is a possibility…" Meredy muttered.

"Damn it…damn it…damn it…damn it".

"Natsu-nii…" Levy muttered.

"N-n-no…this can't be true." Happy muttered in fright.

For about the next five minutes of silence and tears of fear, Jellal sighed, seeing how they weren't going anywhere. "Sorry for telling you this. We didn't realize that it would take this much of a tool on you guys. We'll come back tomorrow. Please give us you answer then," all the mages walked away from the group. Now they felt worse than they already did telling them about Natsu.

"Wait!" the trio stopped and turned to see Lisanna on her feet. Though tears of fear flooded her eyes, they were filled with anger and rage. It was obvious that she demanded answers, and the way she was looking at them, she wasn't going to take now for an answer. "I'll help you anyway I can. Just tell me what to do. I need to find out for myself." Finally putting the puzzle together, Jellal finally saw how much this woman cared for Natsu and wanted to prove them wrong.

"Lisanna, are you sure you want to do-"

"Yes I am." she said firmly.

"I see. If that's the case, you can't do it alone." the pink-haired mage said.

"Who said she's doing this alone." Levy said walking next to Lisanna.

"Levy…"

"I know Natsu is not that type of person. I want to prove them wrong." The take-over mage gave a serious face as she nodded.

"As will I," the scarlet beauty said.

"I'm not being left behind," seeing how all of the fairy mages wanted proof that Natsu was really the bearer of such a horrible power, Ultear smirked at their answer.

"Thank you, everyone," the female ice mage said with gratefulness. "We would do it ourselves, but we can't go near the arena. We shall repay you for your assistance."

"How?"

"By increasing your magic level, with my advanced Arc of Time magic." Ultear said as held out her glass orb. The fairy mages gave a confused face. Ultear simply smiled and went on to explain what she meant. "Ok, think of it like this; every wizard has a container inside of them, which determines the limit to one's magic level. Once that container is empty, the body is entirely worn out and unable to function," the raven-haired woman continued as the group looked at her with fascination. "As soon as the container is drained, the Ethranano in the air gradually fills the container until it is completely full and that source of power is ready for use. However, I stumbled upon a reading saying that there is a second source of power inside the wizard's body that can't be unlocked by regular magic training. This is known as "Second Origin". With your Second Origin released, you can last longer in battle and your magic level will increase dramatically," the group made a sound in surprise as they heard the "gift" they were going to receive.

"You mean?"

"Yes, I will unlock all of Your Second Orgins to put you on par with the other guilds," the fairy mages were happy with what they heard, knowing their power would increase after all. "However… you'll have to go through a world of pain," she finished with an evil smile and glowing yellow eyes.

"Your eyes," Levy muttered.

"You're really scary." Wendy added in.

"Thank you, Ultear." The armor mage thanked the female ice mage. "We are truly grateful for this assistance you are giving us and we will gladly help you in any way we can."

"You're very welcome, Erza. Now let's get started shall we?" Every mage present went to prepare for the awakening of the Second Origin. They were no longer filled with shock and fear, but with rage and determination. Though they were still a little shaky and scared about the new of Natsu possessing an evil source of power, they were still confident that the info was false and are willing to prove Jellal wrong.


"AHHHHHHHHHHH!" Lisanna screamed in pain as her awakening of her Second Origin took place. Gray and Lucy looked at the take-over mage with comical faces of fear as marks started to appear on her body.

"Um…I don't think I want to do this anymore." Gray said while looking at his friend roll around on the floor in pain. Why she chose to go first for the awakening process was beyond Gray's knowledge.

"So…..painful..." Lucy shivered in fear.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Lisanna screamed in louder as the marks started to grow bigger and erode her body. Her body looked like it was going through an exorcism.

"Come on guys," Ultear said. "It isn't easy to bring out one's true potential," she said as she applied more magic into her orb.

"Are…you sure about this?"

"How painful is it?" Gray wondered.

"Want to do a sense-link to find out?" Meredy asked, earning "Hell no!" from Gray.

'Oh Meredy, I'm happy to see you've loosen up.' Juvia thought to herself, remembering the kind young woman was a cruel, and murderous young girl when she was in Grimore Heart.

"d-d-do we really have to go through that," the script mage stuttered.

"I want to cry!" Wendy began to comically cry.

"You know….this doesn't concern us, Droy. Let's head back." Jet whispered to his team mate as they tiptoed quietly to freedom.

"Hold on, where's Erza?" Lucy realized their scarlet-haired team mate was not present.

"She went somewhere with Jellal, don't know where though."

"A-a-a-alone…with Jellal?" the water mage said as she blushed different shades of red. "Juvia wants that to!" she shouted with hearts in her eyes as she tried to drag Gray along with her.

"You want what?"

'Oh dear…it looks like they haven't gotten anywhere with their relationship yet,' the sense-link mage sweat dropped at Juvia's relationship problems. Near the shore of the beach, Erza and Jellal sat in silence on a hill.

"So…you got your memories back, right," Erza started.

"Yeah."

"That means…Simon…"

"I remember. I killed him," the bluenette looked towards the ground.

"What about the Nirvana incident?"

"I remembered that too. I really don't know what to say."

"Can I treat you the same way," Erza asked.

"I would be glad if you would, but if you don't I understand." Silence grew once more between the two. Erza kept eyeing the bluenette with a worried face. "Erza….if you want to take revenge for Simon, I give you permission to do so." The scarlet head hesitated for a few seconds before asking Jellal a question.

"Jellal….why are you still holding that against yourself. I know that it burdens you, but it wasn't your fault. Setting up your own guild to take out the dark guilds and staying with Ultear and Meredy, is it still not enough to redeem your sins?" Erza said softly.

"No…to be honest, I don't think it's possible to redeem myself."

"What?!" Erza's mood changed from calm to rage.

"I feel as if no matter how hard I try, I'll never redeem myself for my past actions." He continued as Erza made her way towards him. "Even after I formed Crime Sorciere, I still as if the answer is still beyond my grasp. I often ask myself…why the hell am I doing this for? Then…I came to the conclusions that maybe…everything will be fine if I stay dead."

SLAP!

Erza's hand came across Jellal's face with a hard slap. How could he talk about himself like that? "So you're just going to throw away everything you accomplished?1" she yelled at the tattooed-faced man.

"I'm not as strong as you."

"So you're just going to give up?!" she yelled even more. "Just because you're not as strong as someone else, means to end your life. Being alive is a sign of strength. How dare you say that to me dammit!" She started to swell up with tears.

"Erza…" Jellal whispered.

"You're not the same Jellal from the before…you're not the young boy who struggled to survive. You're not…..just not." she started to cry.

"You're right but-"

"You bastard! Don't you dare say another word." Erza accidently tripped over a rock and fell into Jellal. Due to the force of the fall, Jellal fell along with Erza and they began to tumble with her. they continued to roll down until they landed on the beach floor.

"Ugh, Erza are you-" the bluenette stopped at mid-sentence as he saw the position both mage were currently in. Due to all that tumbling, he had landed on top of Erza as they both stared into each other's eyes with shock. A bunch of funny looking flowers with faces on their petals began to spit out pollen as both mages bathed in a shower of cotton spores. "You're right, you're always right."

"No, I just struggled to survive, no matter how clumsy I was, that's all," Erza corrected from under the elemental mage.

"Erza…"

"I don't think…..we can see each other after this," the armor mage covered her eyes with her forearm as tears started to roll down her cheek even more.

"I'm sorry…" Jellal apologized.

"I-I-I hate you so much…Jellal..." Erza's voice began to tremble as she cupped the bluenette's face with her hands. Slowly, she started to inch her face towards Jellal's as he did the same. Their lips were closing the gap between the two with every inch, flashbacks of their not-so-happy childhood rose in their minds. Being a slave for a building of a tower wasn't the greatest thing in the world to be, but being able to just be near each other was the only thing that was pushing them forward. A beautiful sunset rested in the background as both mages' lips were closer than ever. It could've been such a beautiful moment, but it didn't last. The elemental mage pushed Erza away, leaving her in a state of confusion and disappointment. "I can't…" leaving her blushing. "I have a fiancée." Erza's eyes went bulging out of her head as she quickly scooted away from the man.

"Ah…no…I…ehh…I didn't mean to…" she stuttered as she began flapping her arms up and down.

"Err no…I'm sorry…" Erza looked at the tattooed faced man for a few more seconds until she gave a blissed smile.

"She very important to you isn't she…?" she asked, earning a nod from Jellal.

"I'm sorry, I forgot it's been three years since you escaped."

"No, I'm sorry, Erza. It would be wrong to kiss you like that."

"Yeah. It would upset her right?"

"Yes…but it would be worse…since you still harbor feelings for Natsu." The armor mage's face grew all shades of red, giving the 'oh crap, how did he find out?' face.

"I-I-I don't like him!" Erza protested.

"Yes you do." Jellal retorted.

"How can I love someone who more stupid and younger than me?"

"No, he was the same age as you; and what's wrong with loving someone younger than you?" the male questioned.

"Nothing, but..." Erza crossed her arms and legs as she tilted her head to her side. "Now that I think about it, how old was Natsu?" she said with a question mark on top of her head. After a few more seconds of thinking, Erza's face grew serious as she asked a question the Jellal was expecting. "Jellal…..do you really think that power you sensed belongs to Natsu still?"

"….Yes."

"How come?"

"Natsu's power is bright and warm. That I know, but…" he paused for a moment before continuing. "That day….in the Tower of Heaven, when we fought…..I felt something, something that didn't feel human. It shook my very soul with fear. I don't know exactly what Natsu has inside of him, but if he wanted to, he could kill anyone of us in a heartbeat." Jellal said as he got to his feet. "let's just hope that we never have to feel it again, and if he is alive, pray it doesn't resurface," with that, he left Erza on the beach floor by herself.

"Natsu….please tell me that isn't true…"


Later…

Lisanna, who had finished her Second Origin awakening, accompanied Erza on the beach. They stood in front of a small shack that contained the other fairy mages going through the awakening process.

"Ugh, I never want to experience that again." Lisanna shuddered as she hugged herself in memory of the pain she was in.

"Well, it looks like on one came move; thanks to you." Erza playfully blamed Ultear.

'How can you not feel anything?' Ultear sweat dropped at Titainia's immune to Pain.

"Due to the nature of our guild, we can't stay in one place. We must mow take our leave." Jellal announced as he put his hood on.

"Good luck with the games; and if you have any information for us, please contact us via carrier," Erza nodded to Meredy's words.

"We must leave now girls. We wish you good luck in the tournament and thank for your assistance". The raven-haired woman put on her hood and turned to Erza.

"Please, take care of Gray. You know how he can be sometimes," the Sorciere mages took their leave. Before completely disappearing, Jellal turned to Lisanna.

"Lisanna."

"Yes?"

"Judging by your reaction about the news about Natsu, I can tell you deeply care for him right?", the platinum beauty nodded softly. "I'm sorry, but there's no going around it. That power belongs to him, no matter what, which can make him a threat."

"Yeah….I know", she sighed deeply.

"But I also know that he cared for you deeply as well and he would never hurt you, regardless of the situation," he assured. A little surprised at first, Lisanna's mood changed quickly and gave a big smile.

"Thank you, Jellal." The trio finally disappeared, leaving both women on the beach alone. "So, you like Natsu too?" she asked Erza.

"N-n-n-no…how can I…wait…how long were you there for?" Erza squealed in embarrassment.

"Right when you guys almost kissed,",Lisanna teased her guild mate. She giggled at her reaction, seeing she got her answer. "Don't worry, I don't blame you for liking him, I mean he grew in quite the man we all knew he would be but…" Lisanna stopped for a moment. "If he was alive right now, I would've killed you first before you got to him," the take-over mage smiled innocently, but gave off a menacing aura that would put both Erza's and Mira's to shame.

"Oh god, she even scares me," Erza trembled before getting lost into her thoughts. Thoughts of Natsu popped in her head for the umpteenth time. She remembered that day, when he rescued her from the Tower of Heaven, carrying her bridal style towards the shore, then scolding her for the stupidity she committed that day. Then, instead of letting her go, she imagined him pinning her down, trapping her between the sandy floor and his well-toned body and giving the deepest kiss any man had ever given to a woman. She would pretend to struggle, acting like she wouldn't want it to happen, but only because she wanted him to hold her down and give her more love. "Natsu, I wish you were here with me," she put a hand to her chest and gave a blissed smile. Despite her want, she was having a big epidemic; she was in love with two men: Natsu and Jellal. Natsu might be gone, but she would never let him go, but Jellal was still alive and kicking, but he was constantly on the move and that wouldn't be good for the child if it ever came to it. Thinking about Jellal made her remember what he said at the beach earlier. "A fiancée, huh?" She easily saw through his lie. "You were always a terrible liar, Jellal, but I can't help...but feel happy that it isn't true." She said to herself.

"Erza, Lisanna, look!" Happy got the attention of both mages. The Exceed drew a heart broken in half and covered his mouth to stop him from Laughing. Knowing the joke was directed towards her, a tick mark appeared on the scarlet head and conically kick the teasing Exceed up into the air probably into the moon. "WAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"Happy!" Lisanna screamed as he reached out for her 'son'.

"Don't worry, Lisanna. He'll come down." Erza said to the platinum-haired mage and walked away.

"You...kicked...him..." she muttered with a comical shocked face. The Grand Magic Games were upon of favorite band of mages. Even though they received a power upgrade, they still were not completely satisfied and had agreed to spend the last five days training like there is no tomorrow. Lisanna had looked up at the night sky, wondering if he'll ever see the man of her affection. After hearing the grim news of Natsu having a power stronger and worse than Zeref himself, she felt uneasy about the whole situation. "Natsu, please...if your still alive, come back to me. I want to be in your strong arms once again...and I want to prove what Jellal said about you is wrong." Far away from behind a palm tree and out of sight, a man with hood and trench coat watched the young woman from a distance.

"Lisanna, you've sure have grown...haven't you?" he whispered with a thin trail of blood rolled down his cheek. "I'm sorry...Natsu hurt you so much, but now...he got what he deserved...to fall into the pits of hell and remain there for all eternity...for all the sins he committed in his past...as well as making you cry for sacrificing himself to stop that bastard, Acnologia.",the man walked away, and a symbol of a dragon on the back of his coat shined in the moonlight. He slightly turned his head towards Lisanna direction again, only to be interrupted by a glow that came from then man's pocket. he took it out, revealing a communication Lacrima.

"Yes?"

"Dude, where are you? you were supposed to be here right now." a voice said through the crystal.

"Sorry man. I lost track of time. I'll be there in a minute," the communication disappeared as the man put the Lacrima back in his pocket.

Though life is nothing, but a mind game...we can overcome it...and conquer it." the red clothed man started to walk away. "The time will come when our paths will cross again...until then...sleep well...my beloved tigress." With that the man's body started to fade into a black aura and disappeared into the night.

(To Be Continued...)


Um...Wow, I think I went a little too deep in that last part, but hey I love a good tragedy. Anyway, here is the seventh chapter of the story. Sorry I took so long for update, but I had SAT's so I had to take care of that, but I made time to type this chapter. Now that I am here, I'm going to bring some things up, first, the whole Wendy thing, guys she is 19 in my story. I agree that it would be wrong at her original age, but that is why she in 19 here to avoid that problem. Second, I always wondered why do people say Natsu is younger than Erza. I mean, it's not a bad thing, but Natsu's age was never really given and I hope you remember that during the Fantasia arc, Freed's Rune prevented anyone over 80 years from leaving the guild building and Natsu wasn't able to pass. I guess that is one clue to his age. For just some reason, hearing about Natsu's age really annoys me. And last but not least...THE REVIEWS! PLEASE PEOPLE, REVIEW. I LOVE READING WHAT YOU GUYS HAVE TO SAY ABOUT MY CURRENT PROGRESS. PLEASE...PLEASE...PLEASE LEAVES REVIEWS. I BEG YOU! Well I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. The Grand Magic Games are nearing, the action is about to start and these mages are not holding back. Well, that's the end for now. Next chapter coming soon. Ja-Ne!

-HeartlessAngel96