Hello Readers, sorry it's taken ages for an update. My life is on hold at the moment with everything going on. I've had this chapter in my documents for some time, and only now have I decided to continue and upload it. So hope you enjoy.

The Fairytail

Chapter Twelve

Farewell

"Where did that fool run off too?" Gajeel snarled as he ran down the halls of the castle. He was followed by Sting, Rogue and Acnologia, who calmly trailed behind the panicking iron dragon slayer. "Salamander!" he called out, but there was no response. "Oi, I know you're here somewhere!" he clicked his jaw, his iron teeth chomping down and gritting together with determination.

"Can you not smell him anywhere?" Rogue wondered. "I know I can't"

"The fire dragon slayer's scent is everywhere" Acnologia admitted darkly as he pushed his way through the two twin dragons slayers. "If you want to find him, I suggest you sniff out the celestial wizard"

"Bunny girl" Gajeel growled. Each dragon slayer began to sniff the air, a scent of perfume and blossomed flowers tickled their nose hairs, while Acnologia watched with disgust. Gajeel slowly pointed forward, demanding they go straight ahead. "She's that way!"

"No, she's that way" Sting blurted as he pointed to his right. Rogue looked at them both with question as he began to walk to the left. "Where you going?!" the blonde snapped to his comrade.

"She's this way" Rogue admitted.

"You call yourself a dragon slayer, she's this way" Sting snapped irritably. Immediately, the blonde slayer grabbed his friend and tugged him in his direction. "I have better tracking skills than you" Sting bragged as he forced him to the right.

"I know Bunny girl's scent, she's this way" Gajeel roared as he yanked the two to his side. "We're going this way!"

"Hang on!" Sting whined. "She's this way"

"No this way"

"It's this way"

The three of them bashed their heads together angrily, all snarling as they pointed to their own directions. Acnologia watched this with amusement. His dark eyes scanned each direction before taking a deep breath in. A scent, mixed with flames and sweetness. He could taste it on his tongue. Slowly, he span on his heels, looking back at the direction they came from.

"Heartfilia" he whispered.

Acnologia started to walk calmly back the way they came, leaving the three others to stop and stare with disbelief. The ground shook as he walked, his feet crushing against the solid ground. His hair waved as he began to speed up, tracking the scent to a large ballroom. The scent was strong here and hit him with a wave of memories.

'Anna'.

Pressing his large palms against the door, he pushed it open, revealing a room full of fire. The heat was immense, but did not faze Acnologia as he walked in. His eyes landed on the dark wizard, carrying a blonde. Was that Lucy Heartfilia?

Her body was trapped in the wizard's arms, looking weak and fragile. Her white blonde hair waved down to her ankles, with her feet bare.

"Zeref" he chanted. "Release her" he demanded.

Slowly, the dark wizard turned with wonder.

"If it isn't the ultimate dragon slayer" the dark one greeted. His eyes shone blood red as he gripped the girl harder in his grasp. "What brings you to do my empire?" he asked bitterly.

"You"

"Me?" Zeref snarled, an evil laugh escaping his lips. "You know what that would do to you if you hurt me" he advised. "You would turn into a useless human"

"So be it. We have lived long enough- it's time for it to end" suddenly, the dragon king began to change. Black and blue scales rose from his skin, his fangs grew longer and claws ripped through his nails. "Water dragon roar!" a spiral of water darted from his mouth, instantly hitting the dark wizard. "Water dragon wing attack" his arms slapped water, whipping the wizard down. His eyes glowed dark. "Water dragon king's roar" again another blast of water came out like a tornado, shooting Zeref and keeping him down. The impact was deadly, causing Lucy to scream as she held onto Natsu. Her voice distracted Acnologia.

He flinched, looking over at the blonde who cradled the fire dragon slayer. She protected him, holding him dear to her. His chest tightened as he watched her slowly turn to meet his gaze. The face of the Heartfilia. The celestial wizard. He groaned, seeing Anna stare at him. Her bright brown eyes, her blonde shining hair. Her sweet smile and tiny nose. She was bright, special.

"FOOL!" Zeref snapped. He placed his hand onto Acnologia's chest, a black glue like substance stuck to his bare skin. Slowly it expanded, bubbling and spreading. The dark wizard smirked, stepping back as Acnologia let out a mighty roar. He grabbed his hair, pulling strands from his head as the pain shocked him. His scales thickened, forcing him into dragon force with the blue aura. He growled and shouted, shaking his head as his eyes turned black.

"Water Dragon Secret Art: Aqua Elise!" he shouted from the top of his croaky voice as water whooshed around him, pushing everything away from the body, a body that was now turning back into its dragon form. As he grew, the walls instantly caved in, as he stretched his long dragon like neck and roared. The dark mark consumed him as he shook violently, destroying everything in his view. Zeref stunned for words darted, grabbing Mavis' body and fleeing. He yelled, as Acnologia looked down at the blonde celestial wizard. Her eyes watered as she watched the dragon in pain. With nothing she could do, she pulled the heavy body of Natsu away, just in time as the dragon body collapsed to the ground. The ceiling fell from above.

"Bunny girl!" Gajeel shouted. "This way, quick!" the impact of the large oversized dragon torn up the ground, as Lucy attempted to escape with Natsu. The iron slayer pounced towards her, flinging Natsu over his shoulder and following the blonde. Sting and Rogue grabbed her hard, pulling her away from the chaos. "RUN!"

Her heart raced as she and the dragon slayers ran through the halls, the ceiling collapsing behind them. The rubble dropped dramatically from above them.

"Quick! Quick!" the walls erupted, the ground violently shook and all that Lucy saw now was chaos. She ran as fast as she could, but also keeping close to Gajeel's side. Her eyes drifted to the unconscious body of Natsu, her best friend who was draped over Gajeel's shoulder, his arms waving side to side from the frantic running. It torn her apart.

"Lucy this way!" Rogue shouted as he pulled her away from the falling rubble. She yelped, her chest hurting and her feet sore. "We need to get out of here, go this way" he pointed down towards the doors, as all four of them charged out, crashing to the hard solid ground. Lucy squealed, her eyes facing the falling castle. Dust exploded in front of them, covering them all head to toe. She coughed heavily, her eyes wandering to her friends.

"Is everyone ok?" a voice they known often emerged. The voice of Gray Fullbuster. Lucy looked over, as the ice mage quickly rushed to their aid. "What the hell happened?"

"We lost Acnologia" Gajeel coughed out, rolling Natsu's frame from his body. "The dark wizard cursed him" Lucy whimpered at this, recalling his soft eyes of despair.

"And Zeref got away with Mavis" Sting mentioned.

"Dammit, what about Natsu?" Gray questioned, looking to the dragon slayer. Lucy bit her lip at this, crawling over to his side. Her delicate hand touched the side of his face lightly, causing a soft tingle to escape from her finger tip. A golden glow worked it's magic on his cheek, brightening as it overtook his body. Her lip wobbled, keeping her eyes completely fixed on his closed eyelids. "Is that healing magic?" Gray wondered, slightly puzzled by the new additional skill his friend had developed. The blonde nodded.

"Celestial healing magic, I don't know how I learnt it. I just…did it" she whispered sweetly. Cautiously, Gajeel looked to the ice mage with alert.

"Where's the others?"

"Around, we managed to take on the forces. But when the castle began to collapse, they retreated. That's when I saw you guys" Gray admitted. He shrugged his shoulders, his eyes falling to the twin dragon slayers. Sting and Rogue were dusting themselves off, admiring the castle's destruction.

"What now?" Rogue asked his partner. "Our guild has been destroyed. We have no idea where the other guilds are"

"I know" Sting muttered sadly. "We lost some remarkable people so far" he dropped his head low. "Our family, people we love…" there was pain in his voice, the others noted that. Silence from that moment, as everyone dropped their heads low in follow suit to Sting. The pain of losing his comrades was like losing his brothers and sisters. They had been through so much together. The laughs, the tears. The fights, the games. He clenched his fists tightly, a single tear escaping his eye. He hadn't heard word of Yukino or the exceeds. Were they even alive?

"We…will get revenge" Natsu spoke softly, the words coming from his gritted teeth. "I promise you, we will win this war" his eyes fluttered open and close, his head pushed back and staring up at the muggy grey sky. Everyone over these painful years had lost someone close to them. But it had all been planned out by Zeref. Even his name made Natsu burn up inside. This dark wizard who was supposed to be his own blood, his brother.

The silence drew in the pain. The castle was destroyed, their guild was separated, and comrades were injured. Gajeel had eventually shuffled the group to shelter. His body straightened as he guarded the area, his eyes out on alert. Somewhere, the others were close. He folded his strong arms and inhaled sharply. Someone was on his mind.

He blinked, imagining the short blue haired woman stand in front of him. Her eyes glossy and her lips pursing into a glorious smile, it was if she was happy to see him. He smiled back, staring into thin air and yet believing that Levy Mcgarden's presence was real.

"So what do we do now?" Gray weakly hobbled to the iron dragon slayer's side. "The forces are way too strong, not even my devil slayer magic is enough"

"Hm" Gajeel murmured.

"It seems everything we do…they hit us back five times as hard" the ice maker bowed his head lowly. "And now Zeref has the first master" there was fear in his voice as he gripped his arm, rubbing it. "I've not been this cold since before I met Ur" he said calmly.

"You're an ice wizard, how the hell can you be cold?" Gajeel groaned. "Just get back to the fire will ya, I'll keep watch" Gray frowned at his guild mate's temperament. His eyes drifted to the fire located behind them. Sting and Rogue were a distance from it, arched over from their sitting position with their hands clamped together in front. They hadn't said a thing. Nor did they want to. Rogue's black hair hid his face, as he leant forward, drawing marks into the dusty ground with a piece of bark he had found just for amusement. Gray sighed, his gaze falling on a sleeping blonde. Her hands pressed together, supporting her head as she laid on his jacket, separating her from the mucky ground. She had her own cloak wrapped around her, hugging her sides as her chest rose with every breath. The fire that burned in the centre of their 'camp' died down, spitting sparks as a gust of wind blew in their direction. They knew from that moment, it was going to be a cold night.