Random: Back from my short Vacation in Subic Beach! I have inspiration now…
Mikaila: Swimming was fun (:
Jason: Seeing Mikaila in her skimpy swimsuit was even MORE fun (;
Mikaila: *Blushes* Y-You PERVERT! *Whacks Jason on the head*
Random: Since when were you perverted? I have to fix that…
Jason: *snickers*
Random: Don't make me unleash Andromeda's rage on you…
Andromeda: YES! Do it! Do it now!
Jason: *Shuts up*
Random: Thought so…
Andromeda: Aww…
Random: 43 Reviews… Who knows, we might make it to 50 after all…
Happy: YES! Review!
Erza, Natsu, and Andromeda: OR DIE!
Random: O_O *gulp* um, ehem… right, right, thanks for the reviews and the suggestions… Don't forget about the Poll and I'll see you in the next installment "The Circle of Life" right? No? Suit yourself… Disclaimer anyone?
Mikaila: She doesn't own Fairy Tail… Understand?
{oOo~ Woah! We're on again? I thought you took a vacation [Random: Vacation's over dude, back to work…] Fine, you don't need me to say it anymore because you should know the drill by now but I'll say it anyway… To the stupi- and by that of course I mean supremely intellectual *rolls eyes* people of the council, seriously what do you have against these guys? [Random: They're the entire reason this "event" is happening in the first place!] Wait, doesn't that mean you should thank them because without them there would be no story? [Random: I could work around it even if there was no council of course! They're the bad guys so duh people cuss at them!] You are so insane… [Random: I know, get to work already!] Ok! Go on and read it while you can…. ~oOo}
"The fight is almost at an end… are you sure they can defeat the dragon?"
"I have faith in my Granddaughter… just wait Krios, all good things to those… who wait"
{oOo~ To the Winners of the trial! From the CLIFFY! And whatever… so read? ~oOo}
"Fire Dragon's Roar!" A mass of flame darted towards Devan at an alarming speed.
"Dark Dragon's Fist!" Devan blocked Natsu's attack and wiped the sweat off his forehead.
"A little protective of the Stellar Mage there Fire Dragon Slayer?" Devan flicked his hair arrogantly.
"Get away from her you bastard… you have no right to point out her flaws when you left your own sister in the forest to die. It isn't her fault she was born that way…" Lucy stared at Natsu's angry expression in surprise, but then again this is Natsu… he'd probably have done that for anyone not just her.
She inwardly slapped herself for getting her hopes up.
"You are a very interesting young man as well Natsu Dragneel… It would be such a shame to end your life here. Perhaps you'd like to join me? A Dragon Slayer with your explosive power can easily defeat my weak little sister" Natsu growled at him, disgusted.
"Hear me out… You could be reunited with Igneel, I'll even spare your puny little guild if you help me conquer the world. You could have anything you have ever wanted and more, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity" Natsu continued glaring at him.
"Very well…" he began. "You have left me no choice Dragneel" he smirked as he dashed across the floor making his way towards the unprotected Celestial Mage.
"Lucy!" Natsu's eyes widened.
Even Lucy's Stellar Spirits couldn't stop him from advancing towards their master.
He stood menacingly behind the blonde mage with one arm wrapped tightly around her throat and holding a poisoned dagger in his free hand.
Cathy gasped and realized he had taken her dagger.
"You will help me take over the world and kill my sister or I will murder your little blonde friend slowly and painfully. You won't be able to stop me. I will torture her, and I will make you watch…" his sly smirk was victorious.
Natsu had never looked so torn.
This man had the audacity not only to lay a finger on Lucy but to use her as leverage to gain his service…
He didn't know if he should kill this sick bastard for saying he'd exterminate Lucy or if he should kill him for bribing him with riches to enslave the world.
"Why do I have to have such a sadist older brother?" Devan hissed at Mikaila once she snapped at him with her witty retort but his sister was more cunning than he thought.
She had distracted him enough for him to loosen his hold on Lucy and snatched her right out of his grasp. Who knew the unusually quiet thirteen year old was thinking of a plan?
"Get him Natsu-nii!" she cheered as she carried Lucy away from Devan.
"Thanks Mikaila!" Natsu grinned widely and eyed the yellow orb that was tucked away in his trench coat.
"Fire Dragon's Fist!" Devan only stared at Natsu as he punched him near the gut.
He was flung backwards by the force of his punch but nothing seemed to be broken.
He realized the crystal SightSave that was in his trench coat pocket was shattered and it meant only one thing…
Mikaila had her Celestial Magic back.
Andromeda poofed into view as soon as the crystal ball was broken.
"Natsu-nii! Take it before it's too late!" she shouted running over to Natsu in her Spirit form.
"What are you talking about Andromeda?" Natsu eyed the flames in her hand, the one with her guild mark on it.
"This will help you defeat the Dragon and his Slayer…" she held the flames out to him.
"Golden Flames, just like what Jellal gave me in the fight with Zero…"
~*M~*E~*A~*N~*W~*H~*I~*L~*E~*.~*.~*.~*
"Uhh, Mikaila…" she put Lucy down and turned to Jason.
"What?" she asked hurriedly.
"You'd better take this as well…" he also held out a hand to Mikaila but his hand was encased with ice.
"Jason! You're out of magic! Creating Golden Ice like that could've killed you!" she scolded.
"I made a promise to Andromeda. She knew this was going to happen. She said if we ever get to fight a Dragon and his Slayer that I had to give this to you…" he smiled encouragingly.
"But Jason I might hurt someone an-" Jason covered her mouth with his hand.
"I know, you're scared you won't be able to control your magic. That's why you don't attack at full force, you depend on combination attacks with Andromeda. But this is the only way…" Mikaila reached for the ice, reluctant.
"You need to do it if you want to save everyone…" he took his hand off her mouth and watched as she slowly pulled the Ice off my hand and ate it like a sandwich.
"I've never tasted Ice like this… what kind of Ice is this?" she tilted her head confused.
"Golden Frost of Love…" he muttered to himself, but Mikaila didn't hear him.
The Snow Dragon Slayer charged her older brother looking feral, light blue dragon scales lined her face.
Jason felt useless watching her march into a fight not knowing if she'd survive it.
But as much as he had hope Mikaila could stop it with the help of Natsu he had faith in her, she would come back to him and she would flash him her cheeky smile as if nothing had happened…
[Sound familiar?]
"Good Luck… Mikaila"
~*B~*A~*C~*K~*_~*T~*O~*_~*N~*A~*T~*S~*U~*
Natsu had eaten all of the Golden Flames Andromeda gave him.
What had she called it? Oh right, Golden Flames of Hope…
Natsu felt energized already, feeling the effects of Dragon Force hardening his body, turning some of his skin into dark red dragon scales.
He was no stranger to Dragon Force anymore, he had achieved the level of power before.
And though the transformation was a bit uncomfortable he felt like he was king of the world.
"Take care of my master, Natsu-nii" he nodded as the girl once again disappeared with a poof.
He braced himself and faced the Dark Dragon Slayer, Mikaila stood by him.
Judging by his sense of smell Mikaila had entered Dragon Force as well.
Mikaila's wild facial expression faded for only a moment, enough to give Natsu a curt nod.
They were ready to beat this guy up so bad he'd never want to look at a dragon again.
"Dragon Slayer's Secret Art: Snow Flower: Snow Dragon's Roar!" Mikaila yelled as her snowy breath attack sped across the room towards the dizzy Dragon Slayer.
"Dark Dragon's Fist!" Devan punched through the elegant yet deadly snow storm of a breath attack almost unscathed.
"Dragon Slayer's Secret Art: Crimson Lotus: Phoenix Blade!" golden flames engulfed Natsu's scaly body as he head-butted Devan.
Devan was flung across the room knocking down a wall as he hit it.
The Dragon Slayer hissed at them as he composed himself and charged.
"Dark Dragon's Roar!" the breath attack was aimed at Natsu.
"Dragon Slayer's Secret Art: Crimson Lotus: Fire Dragon's Fist!" he punched the breath attack repeatedly to keep it from harming him.
"Dragon Slayer's Secret Art: Snow Flower: Arctic Excalibur" the temperature in the room had dropped so low so fast it had Gray and Natsu shivering.
String-like wisps of ice and snow grew from Mikaila's hands, she slashed at Devan who was too busy with his breath attack to notice.
Devan was confused.
If he dropped his breath attack Natsu would pound him, if he didn't and the breath attack faded Natsu would pound him and Mikaila would beat the daylights out of him with her icy blades.
Suddenly, Natsu and Mikaila stopped attacking him.
Which of course confused Devan even more.
"Shall we?" the younger Dragon Slayer smirked.
Natsu nodded and they calmly positioned themselves.
"What the hell?" Gray was the first to speak ever since the two full-fledged Dragon Slayers charged Devan.
"How is this possible?" Erza examined the stance and the magical ability of the mages in question.
"This may be the deadliest combination ever concocted" Jellal said bluntly but worried for his traveling guild member.
"Natsu, what are you doing?" Lucy whispered, Happy hovered beside her thinking the same thing.
Much to the other Mage's surprise and protest the spell's name was announced like a bomb that had exploded.
"Unison Raid!"
Devan could only watch in terror as the Golden Flames and Golden Ice melded into a single extremely lethal yet beautiful ray of Magic.
For Fiore, Magnolia, Fairy Tail, Happy and… Natsu grinned at his thoughts.
"For Lucy…" Upon hearing the Fire Dragon Slayer say those two words the Snow Dragon Slayer nearly broke the spell to do a happy dance.
Her senior had finally understood what she was trying to tell him, well more or less, but he knew something was there and she could definitely work with that.
The loud BANG had startled her, bringing her back to reality.
They let go of each other and frantically checked on their victim.
Their eyes widened.
Devan was gone… and so was Acnologia.
The other mages caught a glimpse of the Dragon leaving but they didn't know anything about what happened to Devan.
"Congratulations S-Class Mages! You have defeated the final test! You are officially the S-Class of Fiore!"
They stared at the speaker disbelievingly.
"The council would like to thank you personally fo-"
"Oh shut up!" Mikaila hurled a shard of Ice at the speaker and it exploded into tiny crystals, probably from the lacrima inside.
The doors were opened and vehicles had been lined up outside for their trip back to their guilds.
"We're free…" they thought in unison.
Though they were free it was hard to leave all of it behind. They had been through so much together, so goodbyes took longer than they expected.
"Well I guess this is it… Hinagiku, Edge" the couple nodded at Jason's blunt goodbye.
"Take care of yourself Jason…" Edge slipped an arm around Hinagiku's waist which earned him a small squeal, a punch, and a kiss all at the same time.
"It took you guys long enough…" Jason smirked.
"Yeah whatever, at least I can get my girl… you can barely talk to yours" Edge pointed out.
"Believe me Edge, I'm working on it…"
Edge watched Jason calmly flee the scene. He was determined to woo the girl he had so valiantly protected for years. At some point he saw himself in Jason and was sure he would succeed.
Had he not succeeded he would have questioned why he had scored the girl he had been eyeing for years.
She smiled at him and his mind went completely blank.
She was the world to Edge, and nothing could take her away from him.
And to Edge she's what matters…
"It was fun fighting stuff with you…" Natsu chuckled.
"Goodbye Natsu-nii…" the younger girl hugged her senior and skipped off towards Misha and Jellal to the fading shout of 'Good Luck with Lucy-nee!'.
"Bye Mikaila!" he felt a blush crawl up to his cheeks but ignored the tingly sensation.
He was going to miss the little girl, she was like another less innocent Wendy. But they were both sure they'd meet again someday so Natsu had added her to the ever growing list of family/nakama he had, right in the group that was labeled 'Dragon Slayers'.
"Good luck finding Charyne…"
They all felt loss, his Dragon Slayer family understood him in those terms. And despite the friendly brawl every once in a while they were family.
And that's what matters…
"Bye, see you someday…" Gray stalked off.
"Bye" the two Blue Pegasus girls chimed at the same time.
"Oh and Gray…" Gray turned to look at Cathy surprised to find a smile on her face identical to Lucille's.
"Your clothes…" panic set into the Ice-Make Mage as he looked frantically for his clothes.
The girls who were once impossible to amuse were laughing their heads off.
It took on perverted stripper to make them open up, come out of their shell, and appreciate life since you only live once ;)
And to them… that's what matters.
Crystal, Shiruku, and Kazu didn't need to say goodbye, they were all planning on traveling together and taking down Acnologia.
Revenge was what brought them together. But other than the burdens they bared understanding had made them promise never to grow apart.
Some even thought they were only looking for a chance to stay together and were faking revenge.
Revenge, though sweet at first, was a burden in itself and they realized maybe all they needed was someone who understood so that the void would be filled with happiness instead of angst.
Revenge was no longer the word for it, it was friendship that changed them, molded them into something better…
And that's all that matters…
Erza didn't need to say goodbye, he was well and he was out of jail…
… though she silently prayed to all the deities to keep him safe.
She shook the thought away as she approached her team.
Jellal could take care of himself, he was completely healthy, and he was doing something that made him happy… She dare not think of his "Fiancé".
She ignored the urge to roll her eyes at his obvious lie.
As long as he's happy…
To Erza, that's all that matters…
Lucy had already said her goodbyes, it was the other two that found it hard.
Miki and Amelie tried to find the right words to say but they knew the other well enough to know their goodbyes wouldn't end sound.
"I guess I'll see you around…" Miki made the first move.
"Yeah…" she stared at the strangely silent Amelie before turning to leave.
She was about to start walking when Amelie turned her around and hugged her.
"I'm going to miss you" the two girls held onto each other as they cried.
No one could deny the fact that they had grown fond of each other due to the rocky beginning of their friendship.
They knew no distance could separate them or tear their bonds of friendship apart so they help strong, promising the other they'd write or visit.
Friendship knew no bounds and they would forever be the best of friends…
And that's what mattered.
They mages of Fairy Tail were heading home after five days of exhaustion.
As usual… Natsu was passed out on the floor, Happy was hovering over him worriedly, Gray was idly making sculptured out of ice in his hand, and Erza was silently staring into space.
Lucy sighed.
They just manage to stay the same after all they've been through while she was having a massive headache.
The information she had gotten from Devan had left her unable to think.
The Dragon Slayer winced and barfed on the floor of the vehicle which instead of making Lucy yell at him for once had made Lucy laugh.
The Dragon Slayer hadn't noticed her of course but she still felt a little guilty for laughing at his misery…
Natsu Dragneel…
His name just sent a-whole-nother wave of sensations in her mind.
He stood up for her back in the fight with Devan, she seemed to understand him more than anyone did at this point.
She decided to leave her thoughts about the dragon slayer to a later date, she just wanted to relax as she traveled back to Magnolia…
Back to her guild, Fairy Tail.
And that's what matters…
{oOo~ What matters most? The sequel or your reviews? BOTH! So watch out for the sequel and REVIEW! ~oOo}
Mikaila: How exhausting!
Random: Wait! I'm not done yet!
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"It's over…"
"On the contrary Krios, it's only just begun…" Guran smiled proudly as he watched the replay of his Granddaughter helping Dragneel beat the Dark Dragon Slayer.
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Random: *Gasp* What! Shocking? Not really cuz I already said there was a sequel… :D
Erza: No strawberry cheesecake?
Random: It depends Erza… So for the final time, vote and review…
Happy; DO IT!
Random: Bye!