Lucy was running on the short end of her fuse. Sagittarius's arrows had failed, just as Cancer's scissors and Taurus's axe had. Aries's wool attack just tickled Panda, causing him to burst into laughter as he rolled about on the ground, nearly crushing Lucy herself.
"Just give up already, human. You can't win against me, especially when I'm in this form," Panda boomed, slowly brushing away the tears that had appeared in his eyes after suffering from the tickling attack.
Lucy gritted her teeth together. There must be something that the panda was weak against. She cast a glance at the rippling river beside her, remembering it's past effects. It was worth a shot, wasn't it?
"Open, Gate of the Water Bearer, Aquarius!" Lucy shouted, sticking her key in the water. Aquarius appeared with the usual furious look on her face. Unfortunately, Lucy knew very well that it wasn't fury directed at the enemy.
"How many times do I have to tell you not to summon me in such filthy water?" Aquarius growled, shooting a glare in Lucy's direction.
Lucy shrank under Aquarius's pressure and mumbled, "I'm sorry… Can you please attack the panda?"
"Tch," Aquarius muttered, casting a glance at Panda. "Just remember you owe me a lot for this!"
She shot a beam of water out of her urn straight at the unsuspecting panda. It sent him tottering into the nearby building. He blinked hard before his form burst into a cloud of smoke, and the man Lucy had seen before reappeared.
"So water is your weakness," Lucy stated, her confidence returning. Aquarius seemed like she didn't like the panda man much either. With luck, they'd be able to defeat him with ease.
The man gave her something that resembled an annoyed look. He growled back, "This panda doesn't like water okay? I didn't count on you to have a water spirit."
"So what'll you do now? You won't win if you stay like that!" Lucy declared.
The man chuckled like he was laughing at Lucy. Before she could demand what was wrong, he snickered, "Perhaps you'll force me to fight in a different form than my beloved panda. Prepare to feel the dragon's wrath, earthling!"
Lucy watched wide-eyed as his form suddenly started growing in size in build, growing scales all along his back and limb, his head forming into a snout. Even Aquarius seemed completely shocked at the sight before her.
"You're kidding me right? A real dragon?" Lucy stammered, starting to feel truly shocked and afraid, though she sent Aquarius back to the celestial world just in case.
The dragon cackled, "What will you do now, earthling? There's no way you can defeat me now! Dragons are the most powerful in this world!"
"Who said?" a voice shouted clearly through the chaotic night. Lucy turned to see Layna and Wendy running up to them. Layna stopped just next to Lucy and asked, "You okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. But how do we beat him? Unless, maybe Wendy and Natsu can use their magic on him?" Lucy suggested, exchanging a glance with Wendy.
"I can give it my best shot!" Wendy replied determinedly, clenching her fist together.
Carla was about to warn Wendy about putting herself in such danger when Layna put a hand on Wendy's shoulder and said, "Stay back and support me and Lucy. I don't want a nice girl like you to get hurt."
"But Layna-san! Your wounds are still deep!" Wendy protested.
"Don't worry. Besides, I can deal with this easily," Layna replied with a smirk on her face. It somehow reminded Lucy of Natsu when he jumped into a battle, a devilish grin on his face.
"Wait, don't tell me you're going to mimic his magic and turn into a dragon, are you?" Lucy asked, glancing over at the dragon. He'd been watching the three of them silently, as if amused by their frantic conversation.
"Like I said, Lucy-chan. Don't worry about it. Somehow talking with Wendy-chan changed my mood. I won't be running away anymore. I'll deal with the stupid idiot the real way. Ready, Lucy-chan?" Layna asked, giving her a grin.
Lucy stared back and let out a sigh. She grinned back and said, "Then let's do this!"
They ran at the dragon, who let out a low growl out of his throat. He grumbled, "Layna-sama, pairing up with earthlings. Pitiful, but there's nothing you can do."
He dropped to the ground suddenly, creating a huge crater in the street, almost managing to crush Layna and Lucy, who simultaneously leapt onto his back. He slowly picked himself up and starting shaking like crazy. Lucy grabbed onto one his horns just in time, but Layna slipped, tumbling down in midair.
"Layna!" Lucy shouted, watching in horror as Layna fell through midair.
Suddenly, she noticed a smirk on Layna's face, an almost crazed glint in her eyes. She shouted, "Panda! This is my war with you! Behold the power of the Dragon Slayer!"
"Hmm?" the dragon muttered, having a difficult time turning around. "And what Dragon Slayer might you be talking about?"
Layna suddenly pushed off the air and settled a distance away from the dragon. She shouted, "You're to stupid to figure that out! Just watch and see as the mighty water mage defeats the dragon once and for all!"
Without needing to communicate, Lucy leapt off the dragon's head, calling out Virgo, who for once failed to make a side comment and directly deepened the crater under the dragon's feet, firmly trapping him in place. Before the dragon could realize what was happening, Lucy and Wendy watched in awe as Layna shot up above his head and held out her arms out wide like a pair of wings. She shouted, "Water Dragon's Wing Attack!"
A huge wave of water suddenly materialized around her arms as she swerved downwards, heading straight for the dragon. Her wings of water flapped together to assemble the furious attack right at the dragon's core, causing him to emit a long roar of pain.
"Layna-san…So she was a Dragon Slayer…"Wendy absentmindedly mumbled, watching as Layna attacked, again and again at the dragon, who seemed unable to withstand her attacks.
Just as he was tottering in the trap, Layna suddenly shouted, "Lucy!"
Lucy could clearly see the raw underbelly of the dragon. She grinned and shouted, "Leave it to me! Taurus! Leo!"
Her spirits, fully healed, emerged with a flash and set into action, striking the underbelly with one quick, sharp motion. The dragon howled again and suddenly vanished in a puff of smoke. Lucy shielded her eyes from the sudden gust of wind, unsure of what had happened? Did they win?
The smoke finally cleared, revealing the man standing firmly in the crater, glaring up at Layna, who was panting but with a grin on her face. He shouted, "Why are you doing this? You would do this to your own home and family?"
Layna let out a long sigh and replied, "I agree, Panda. Grim Reaper used to be my home, but that home is now Fairy Tail. It's with them that I discovered my true family, one worth protecting from all who dare to challenge it!"
Lucy, Wendy, and Carla joined Layna at the edge of the crater, where the man sat down and stared up at them, seemingly unwilling to get out of the hole. His gaze suddenly softened, like he was remembering something. He sighed, "Very well then. I understand your desire to protect the people you love, but remember this, Layna-sama. There will always be times when no matter how much you try, the people you want to protect will still fall anyways. Power always determines a battle, not emotions."
Laughter escaped from Layna's lips. She asked, "So I can accept this as your words of defeat?"
The man sighed again and scratched his head lazily. He replied, "I see no more use in fighting you. After all, you're stronger than me, both in mind and power. Fighting you would do nothing to improve my current situation."
"Then good. Because that's the difference between you and me, Panda. I love everyone in Fairy Tail, and I'll fight to protect them as long as I can. And no matter what enemy challenges us, we will always win. After all, we 're Fairy Tail, and we never give up, not if we still have a family and home to protect!"
With that, she left the crater behind her, closely followed by Lucy and Wendy. Wendy glanced back and asked, "Is it really okay to leave him like that?"
"Oh, don't worry, he'll leave when he wants to. He has enough magic to fly out," Layna replied. She turned to Lucy and said, "Great work, Lucy-chan. That was amazing, wasn't it?"
Lucy smiled just as Gray and Juvia appeared, both heavily injured. They shouted, "Hey! Is everyone alright?"
"Now look who's talking?" Layna asked as Wendy rushed over to heal their wounds. Seeing the grin on Layna's face, Gray asked, "So, you defeated another one?"
"I'm supposing you guys did too?" Layna asked back. "So that's how many down now?"
"I got some brat called Ray, and we just beat a crazy woman who could use wind magic thanks to Juvia," Gray replied, completely oblivious to the happy blush that appeared on Juvia's face.
"So that's three down, right?" Lucy thought aloud.
"Make that four," Erza replied, followed by a lavender haired girl. Both of them looked equally battered, but neither showed it.
"Lilac! What are you doing here?" Layna hissed, leaping back into a fighting pose.
"Relax," Erza said. "She's on our side now."
"What?" they all stammered, staring at the stranger who gave them a bored look in return. She said, "You have proved to be good people. I will help you in driving the Grim Reaper out as atonement for my sins."
After a long silence, Layna finally said, "So…that leaves the question of where Natsu went, doesn't it?"
"Probably to where Rune is," Lilac replied in a monotone.
"Then what are we waiting for?" Lucy asked. "We don't have time to waste, do we?"
The group grinned and they headed off down the street, ready to face the last enemy, together.
A/N: I can't tell if this chapter was long or not... But I managed to finish it. That's all that matters.
So since I'm bored, next chapter we might as well take a small break and look into Panda's mind. Then maybe I'll think of some great epic battle that might take more than a chapter for once.
I won't jinx this, but it might be ending in a few chapters. Depends on what I think my lucky number as. I'm aiming for under 20.
Thanks to everyone for reading this far! I couldn't have gotten here without all you readers, so thanks!