As he trekked through the forest, Natsu batted away another vine that had brushed against his face. He walked silently through the undergrowth, keeping his senses on high alert for any sign of danger. As he looked ahead, he could see bushes dappled with sunlight. He found himself grinning. Despite a few false alarms from both hanging vines and wildlife, he had managed to make it through. Quickening his pace, he soon found himself pushing through the bushes and out into the open. Across the clearing sat the stone temple in all its glory. Natsu rolled out the kinks in his neck, trying to get loose. He cracked his knuckles, smirking as he heard them. It was time to get to work.
"You're the only one still standing, Toby?" Lyon said with a cold sneer. "How pathetic."
Toby knelt in front of Lyon with his head bowed in shame. He refused to meet Lyon's gaze, afraid of what he would see. However, Lyon simply sat back in his throne, resting his chin on his fist, eyeing Toby with disinterest. Instead, his thoughts wandered to the wizards that had caused so much trouble for him. "Those Fairy Tail wizards are quite impressive," he mused aloud. When Lyon said this, Toby sighed, his ears drooping as he thought back to when he had been tricked into shocking himself.
"The involvement of these wizards could place Deliora's revival in jeopardy. Or at the very least, delay it," Storm said from beside Lyon.
"I agree," a new voice said, speaking up. Lyon looked up, a glint of surprise appearing in his eyes. "Zalty. I see you're as stealthy as ever."
Zalty nodded and swept into a low bow, before straightening up. "I aim to please. Deliora's revival should be finished at some point tonight. But we must keep an eye on those wizards. If they were to interrupt the moondrip ceremony, Deliora could remain trapped in ice forever. Salamander and Titania are quite powerful. The same could be said for the Tempest."
"The Tempest?" Lyon asked, arching an eyebrow.
"Ah yes, I forget you've been on this island the past few years. My apologies." Zalty said. "There is a wizard here with Titania and Salamander. I'm almost positive it's him, although he has yet to use the water magic he's famous for. It's said that he strangled a sea monster that was terrorizing towns along the coast. Those who saw it said the sea was raging, as if a storm had blown in."
"You seemed very well informed," Lyon commented. "Just who exactly is this wizard?"
"The one with green eyes and sword, sir."
"So that's who attacked me atop the temple," Lyon said.
"He's powerful. I can attest to that." Storm gestured to the cracked lens on his mask. "They could easily foil your plans."
Lyon scoffed and held out his hand, letting ice crackled around his palm. "I can't say that I'm worried. Those fools may be strong but they're no match for me." When he heard Storm scoff, his eyebrow twitched in annoyance, but he quickly covered it up by reassuming his cool facade.
Zalty grinned. "I was hoping you'd say that. It's reassuring to hear, but I insist you let me join you in battle. For old times' sake. It's been a while but I happen to dabble in a particular form of lost magic."
"As you wish," Lyon said with a curt nod. He glanced at Storm. "Will you fight with us as well?"
Storm opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by a deep rumbling noise. Within seconds the temple began shaking. Lyon looked up at the ceiling in shock, while Toby leaped to his feet. "It's an earthquake!" Toby exclaimed.
Storm smirked and disappeared in a flash of lightning.
"Where are you going?!" Lyon demanded just as Storm disappeared. He grit his teeth in annoyance and rose, slamming his fist angrily on the arm of his throne. A few meters away from him, the wall was blown open, revealing Natsu, both fists covered in flames. Ignoring Lyon and the others, he shot a stream of flames out of his mouth, towards the corner of the temple's ceiling. They collided with the support beam, destroying it, sending it crashing to the ground. The temple began to shift, sending them all sliding a few feet across the floor. However, Natsu continued his fiery path of destruction, sending a flurry of flames all around him. When he was done, he turned to the others who looked at him with varying degrees of shock. He grinned cockily. "You know, I usually end up destroying things by accident, not on purpose."
Zalty smiled. "I should have known you'd make the first move Salamander."
Lyon glowered at Natsu. "Why are you here?"
"I'm knocking this place down so you can't shine moonlight on that demon ya got down there!" Natsu revealed, settling into a fighting stance.
"You dare challenge me?" Lyon fumed.
Natsu didn't respond and instead ignited flames beneath his feet. He shot forward like a rocket and headbutted Lyon in the abdomen. Lyon's eyes widened in surprised, and Natsu continued rushing forwards until he heard a small cracking noise. Natsu's brow furrowed in confusion just as Lyon's body shattered into shards of ice.
Natsu performed a forwards handspring to push himself back into the air, his foot ablaze, ready to unleash his next attack. "He's fake?" As soon as the words left his mouth, he heard the familiar sound of ice crackling and he spun around to see a flock of icy birds flying towards him.
"Ice-Make: Eagle!" Lyon smirked. "You can't dodge them in mid-air."
Natsu smirked. "Want to bet?" His cheeks swelled as he raised his head towards the ceiling. He spits out another stream of flames. Acting as a jet, they propelled him downwards, towards the ground. Lyon's birds sailed harmlessly overhead, crashing against the wall. Natsu leaped back to his feet and swung his foot through the air, sending a sweeping wave of flames forward. Lyon jumped over them. Natsu did a front flip, once again kicking flames at Lyon. The ice mage dove to the side, dodging it. As he did so, Natsu landed on his hands and unleashed a torrent of flames from his mouth. Just as the flames spewed forth, the ground beneath Natsu's hands sunk. He fell into the sinkhole with a yelp, sending his flames askew.
"What did you do?" Lyon bellowed, throwing a glare in Zalty's direction.
"What do you mean?" Zalty asked, coyly.
"Don't play games with me. I know your magic caused that hole in the floor."
"You certainly have a watchful eye," Zalty commented. "However, I ask that you please forgive me. You're the only one who can defeat Deliora so it's imperative you remain safe until it is resurrected."
"Are you suggesting that I'd fall victim to such paltry magic?" Lyon asked icily. Ice crackled in the air around him. Within seconds, it spread across the floor, coating it in a glistening sheet. "I'll take care of that wizard and defeat Deliora."
"Wait," Natsu interjected, crawling out from his hole, his brow furrowed in confusion. "You're going through all this trouble to resurrect Deliora just so you can fight it? That thing is already half dead. What's the point?"
"I must surpass Ur," Lyon growled, raising his hand. "And I won't rest until I fulfill my dream." He answered with icy conviction. Once again, a flock of eagles fluttered off into the air. Igniting his fists once again, Natsu charged forward with a shout.
After waking up Percy, the group quickly set off towards the temple. They ran through the forest at a steady pace, with Happy flying beside them. While they ran, Gray filled his guildmates in on what had happened since they'd separated.
"Are you kidding me?" Lucy exclaimed, stopping for a moment. Her brown eyes were wide with disbelief. She pursed her lips. "He actually wants to fight that demon?"
"Back when we were kids, Lyon always dreamed of surpassing Ur's magic ability. He always wanted to fight her and win. But now that she's gone he's decided to challenged Deliora and defeat it. After all, it was the one thing she couldn't do." Gray leaned against a nearby tree, staring out into space, his thoughts someplace else.
"That does make sense." Lucy agreed quietly.
Gray nodded in agreement but looked down, his gaze nervously traveling to the floor. He clenched his fist tightly, as his thoughts drifted back to that night.
"Listen..There's something.." He sighed deeply. "Something I never told Lyon. Ur, she made me promise to never let him know. But now, I can't just sit by and let him do this. I need to tell him that." Gray drew in a shaky breath. "Well that Ur is alive."
Two loud gasps were heard from Lucy and Happy, while Percy took a step back, his eyes widening in shock. Erza reached out to steady him, concern in her eyes. "Wait...She is?" Percy asked. The hope in his voice made Gray squeeze his eyes shut, holding back a few tears.
"It's not that simple."
"What do you mean?" His eyebrows knit together and he looked up at Gray, confusion clear in his green eyes.
Gray looked away, his fist tightening, even more, causing his nails to dig into his palms. "Back when Ur was fighting Deliora she ended up using the spell Ice Make: Shell to stop it. The spell is one that can encase something in an unbreakable ice. And the ice, Ur is the ice."
"So the reason the ice hasn't melted is because it is made of Ur's body and spirit?" Erza asked, looking away from Percy to face Gray. Her pressed her lips together tightly and frowned, a line appearing between her brow.
He nodded. He looked away from the four of them but found himself glancing back at them. When he spotted the tears glistening in Percy's eyes, he winced averted his gaze once again. That was until his voice made him look back up.
"Listen, Gray," Percy began, having seen the pained expression on Gray's face. He could tell that he still blamed himself. "Ur wouldn't want you to blame yourself for what happened to her." He placed his hand on Erza's and gave her a small smile before stepping forward and holding his hand out to Gray. "I don't blame you either. Let's just get to the temple and stop Lyon."
Gray smiled and clasped hands with Percy. "Alright."
Percy nodded and opened his mouth, ready to say something, when he heard a faint rustle in the forest around them. A look of alarm crossed his features as he let go of Gray's hand and spun around. "Get down!" He tackled Lucy and Happy to the ground, while Gray and Erza dove to the side avoiding the throwing stars that flew overhead.
"Who's there?" Erza called out as she requipped a sword.
"We tracked you down Fairy Tail!"
The mages spun around and saw a group of Lyon's minions. They were dressed in long purple robes and masks, and carried blades of various kinds.
"We're surrounded!" Lucy yelled, glancing around nervously.
"I'll handle this." Erza said. "You handle things with Lyon."
"That's right." Percy said, requipping his sword as he moved to stand beside her. He nodded in her direction before turning to face the people in front of him.
"We'll fight too." Lucy brandished her whip and turned to face another portion of the robed group in front of them.
"Aye!" Happy agreed, raising a fish and wielding it as if he were holding a sword.
Gray looked at each of his friends, hesitant for a moment to leave them there, but seeing the determination in their eyes made him smile. He locked eyes with Percy and nodded, before turning towards the temple. With a quick blast of ice, he knocked out a few of the robed figures, clearing a path for himself. He rushed through it and raced toward the temple, while his friends began to fight Lyon's men.
A/N: I realize it's been a while since the last time I updated this story, but I have been working on the next few chapters and another story, a remake of one of the first stories I posted on this site. I also plan on having regular updates now. I'm not sure if they will be every week or every other week. Anyway, thank you for reading!