AN: Hey everybody! Here's the climax hour chapter! Get pumped!

Notice: I don't own Fairy Tail.

Chapter 25: The Truth About Ezra Mathin

Ezra swore and coughed up blood as he staggered to his feet. What was the meaning of this? He'd just beaten his last remaining enemy on the ship, was about to kill him… what had stopped him? Why was it so damn bright?

Gray struggled to raise his head, and when he did, he could not believe what he saw.

Standing over him, his long white cloak flapping in the wind, his hair as fresh and white as new-fallen snow, stood Sic. His body was wreathed in a membrane of golden-white light. He gazed calmly at the beaten and bruised Ezra.

"I don't know who you are," he said coolly, "But I know that you can't be forgiven for what's happened to this guild. I'd advise you surrender to me now."

Gray hoped Sic wouldn't notice Lucy tied to the wall, for the sake of everyone still in the room. He seemed so much more… powerful than before. Was that Heavenly Body magic he was using?

Sic had noticed Lucy. He wasn't sure how to react to it yet. The idea that anyone would possibly stoop so low, that anyone would think that was acceptable… It was unthinkable to him. He knew from his studies that for all intents and purposes he should be angry, but he also knew that in a difficult fight he had to keep himself focused and keep his emotions at bay. Fortunately for Sic, that was significantly easier for him than for anyone else.

Ezra's long tongue was clearly visible as he laughed maniacally. "Oh, really? You got me shaking in my boots. You see what happened to the last two people who said something like that to me?" He gestured to Erza and Gray. "You Fairies are all the same- nothing but a bunch of weaklings. Sure, some of your women are nice to look at-"

Sic didn't know what came over him, but all control he had over his emotions melted away. There was the red-hot hand gripping his heart- and it told him this man needed to be killed. "Heavenly Body magic- Meteor!"

Sic jutted forward into the air at blinding speed, propelled by the magic power of the cosmos. His brother Jellal had taught him well. He darted around Ezra, popping him with several blows per second. Ezra crumpled at first, but soon lashed out and drove Sic back.

"You think you're the only one with a combination attack?" Ezra's body, once again, began to form Steel Whirlwind. "Get ready to be sliced and diced!"

Time for a conjunction move, Sic thought. He concentrated on harnessing the speed obtained from the Meteor spell, then harnessed it and channeled it into a spell that normally would be relatively slow and unwieldy.

He dodged Ezra's Whirlwind attack with ease, and replied with a super-speed version of one of his more powerful spells. "Regulus Impact!" The enormous lion that sprouted from his fists shattered Ezra's body's blades all at once, and sent him sprawling onto the floor.

Ezra struggled to his feet. He was in shambles. His shirt had been completely blasted to shreds, and random chunks of his body were missing where his body's blades had been destroyed. He was bleeding from a deep cut under his lip. Blood trickled out from the golden glow of his facial scars. He definitely shouldn't have been able to stand, but some force seemed to animate his body.

"I- I cannot be defeated! I am Ezra Mathin of the Ten Wizard Saints!"

Sic grimaced and blasted Ezra in the chest with a ray of pure white light. "How many times do I have to knock you down?"

Ezra coughed up more blood and staggered to his feet once again. "No amount of times will be sufficient."

Sic knocked him down again and again, and each time Ezra struggled to his feet once more, slightly more battered than before. His fights with Erza and Gray had taken their toll, and he was in no shape to take on the Paladin of Light.

Sic's next attack was particularly vicious. He flung Ezra into the air, and repeatedly pummeled his body against the ceiling with bursts of cosmic light. He started to let all of his bottled anger filter into his attacks. He remembered what Lucy looked like chained to the wall, and his light intensified.

Suddenly the ceiling exploded again, sending Ezra hurdling to the ground. But he got up much faster than he had before. His entire body was now encloaked in golden-brown light. The voice that emerged from his mouth was not his own.

Foolish human, it said. Now you've forced me to use my own power. I will unlock the full potential of this pathetic human body!

Ezra's skin split open, and a huge burst of golden-brown obscured Sic's view. When the burst cleared, Sic stopped to wipe his eyes. Ezra was no longer there.

Instead, there floated a six-foot-long sword, its point towards the ceiling. Its blade was carved with all sorts of glowing magical runes, the most noticeable of which was simply a golden X. The blade was jagged and curvy, with multiple serifs curling outward from the edges. The guard and handle were huge, ornately crafted, and studded with jewels.

The ultimate bodily requip, said the voice. A full-body weapon takeover.

The sword moved to slash at Sic, who jumped back and barely avoided the blade's strike. Where the blade touched the floor, it sliced through so easily it may as well have not been there at all.

Sic attacked back, but his light burst just glanced off the side of the blade. The blade made a screeching noise that sounded like laughter. You think you can stop an inanimate object by inflicting it pain? I no longer possess any sort of mind, body, or soul!

"That's not true."

What?

"I'm of the opinion that weapons can in fact hold souls. In fact, let me show you!" Sic placed his right hand over his heart, and slowly drew it outwards from his chest. "Soul sword of Sic- I invoke you! Come forth, Canvas!" In the space between his hand and chest, a white light began to glow. Eventually, an observer would have realized that Sic was actually pulling something out of his chest. When he was finished, he was holding his own six-foot-long sword.

The sword was made of a swirling, white mist-like substance that only solidified when you focused your eyes on it. It was plain and simple, no ornate carvings, no fancy magic runes.

"As the Paladin of Light, this is my own special technique. I give people's souls manifestation, in the form of an ultimate weapon. I can only do this, however, if I know the weapon's true name. Now, since the weapon is a manifestation of one's soul, it follows that I'd need to know someone inside and out to know their soul's name. It took me this long to understand myself enough to be able to call forth my own. So, stand back and witness the power of my soul-sword- Canvas!"

What an absurd name. That puny relic will not stop me from destroying you.

"Didn't I just tell you? This sword's name is the most important part! Just like me, this sword is a blank canvas- one which I can draw on with whatever I wish. And you know what? I choose to paint that canvas with the holy cleansing light of justice!"

Everywhere, the air turned white. To everyone but Sic, any miniscule portion of air was indistinguishable from the rest. But in the never ending white, Sic saw a palette of hues- an infinite rainbow of emotion.

One slash, and Ezra's body lay on the ground, unmoving, his soul severed from his sword form.

Sic stood over Ezra's body, and raised his divine sword to finish the job. It would finally be all over.

A voice from behind the throne snatched Sic's attention. Peeking out from behind the throne was a little girl. She couldn't have been more than ten years old. She wore miniature overalls over a white blouse streaked with oil and grime. Her head was covered in long, greasy blond hair, pushed back behind aviator goggles.

"M-mister," she whimpered. "Please don't kill my big brother…"

Ezra's rasping voice at his feet murmured, "Sparky… get out of here… please…"

Sic made his decision quickly, without thinking. He pressed his soul-blade back into his chest, causing it to disappear entirely. This man had been defeated, but he didn't need to be killed. Sic promised himself that he would make sure he survived to see his sister again.

Unfortunately, when Ezra saw Sic's blade disappear, he quit his acting and got up, starting to pummel Sic with the last vestiges of his power. Sparky cried out in shock; Sic cried out in pain. He withdrew to regroup, but he knew he couldn't bring himself to put an end to this bastard's life while his little sister was still relying on him. Unfortunately, that seemed to be the only option at this point.

No. Sic needed to remember what he learned from Lucy. Sometimes the correct answer wasn't the most direct or logical one. Sometimes one needed to trust their instincts and emotions more than cold logic.

He stepped further back, and drew his twin broadswords, holding them up in a defensive stance. At a loss for words, he felt himself repeating the same words he'd spoken in a similar position all those years ago: "Whoever you are, I won't fight you. But I will defend myself."

To Sic's surprise, Ezra's knees buckled. The glow in his eyes faded, revealing tears. "Th-those words… Those swords… Your face…"

Sic noticed the other voice was gone. "What? What are you talking about?"

"It… It can't be… I thought I… Is that you, Sic?"

Sic's jaw dropped open, and he dropped his swords.

"I mean, I know it can't be, because I killed you all those years ago… There's no way it could really be you…" His tears began to spill onto the ground. "Both of my brothers are lost forever…"

Sic's own eyes were brimming with tears. "I don't believe it… Azer?"

Ezra's face formed into a sad smile. "It is you. You never could get my name right. Does that mean that… all these years I spent with Hydra Claw have been for nothing? Did I ever really commit that awful crime?"

Sic knelt on the ground and hugged his brother for the first time since that night when his life had been ruined. "I don't care, as long as you're here with me now."

Foolish mortal.

Ezra's eyes were once again glowing golden-brown. He shoved Sic off him and rose back to his full height. Sic lay there on the ground, his current emotional state too fragile and befuddled to think clearly.

Ezra roared as he summoned every blade from within his crumbling body and pointed them all at Sic. I will destroy every last vestige of hope this feeble body has, so he will never again. Then I will control this imperfect body completely, and finally destroy your pathetic guild once and for all!

Sic wanted to close his eyes and give up, but couldn't. All he could do was stare wide-eyed at his impending doom.

"No. I won't let you."

That was his voice, Ezra's voice. The real Ezra. Sic's big brother. Not his possessive alter ego.

"All my life, I've been letting somebody else control me, dictating my own actions as payment for a terrible crime I supposedly committed. Now I know I didn't even commit that crime. It's time I stopped taking orders from others. It's time I stopped wallowing in my past. It's time I started moving my own destiny forward, to protect those I still love."

Just before the blades could be let fly towards Sic, Ezra reversed their direction.

His body was skewered all the way through at a hundred different angles.

Sic let out a terrifying, bloodcurdling scream.

Sic crawled determinedly towards his brother's limp body on the floor, and closed his hand around Ezra's severed wrist.

The flash of light that followed was so bright, all who saw it would have the image burned into their retinas for days.

So...? How was it? I'm DYING to know what you guys think! So let me know! Or else!

By the way, anybody see the latest anime episode? What do you think about the new filler arc?