Chapter 25 – Caught

Natsu POV

I continued watching Hope and Walter fight. Although Walter's suit seemed to be empowered with a significant amount of magic, Hope effortlessly deflected, avoided, or stopped each spell he sent flying towards the boy. Another golden streak of light arced towards Hope, silvery flames soon following, however much like all the other Star Streams, Hope held up his hand and diverted the attack behind him, forcing Walter to stop it and focus on another spell. Cyrus had explained to me Hope's abilities as the other two fought; how Hope had his three main powers, plus several unknown magical abilities to boot. Realising the danger I had considered moving Gray's body elsewhere, where it would be safe, however I decided against it as I was worried that might reopen his wounds, or worse mean I missed Walter's cue.

Although it frustrated me greatly to be stuck on the sidelines, every time my eyes strayed to Gray's half naked, unconscious form, I felt a calm wash over me. As long as Gray was safe I didn't care about anything else; I had caused him enough problems already, I didn't want to be the cause of any more. Allowing my eyes to dart back to Gray, I took in his sleeping, motionless face. Unlike all the times I had seen him sleep since coming to the cove, Gray was still, no murmurs or little noises escaping his mouth as he slept. This fact reminded me that he was still in danger, albeit not as bad as it could be now that I could protect him.

Returning my gaze to the fight I noted that both Walter and Hope had ceased fighting, each stopping a moment to catch their breath. "Hah…" Walter panted a little, obviously he was weakened from using magic to reach this place even before he had begun fighting, "I don't recall you being so annoyingly strong, Hope…" he commented, a slight smirk on his face.

Hope shrugged. "Neither do I. But then again, I've never had to go all out before" he grinned cockily, "But regardless… I wasn't slacking off in the time between our brief little battles. Just like you I learned new tricks" he added, nodding his head in Walter's direction. "Although," the young boy pursed his lips in a thoughtful gesture, "I don't seem to have seen you use another Requip or Swift power since you changed into that suit… I wonder…" the Nightmare's voice went more high pitched, mocking even, "Is that because you can't? Or you won't?"

Walter narrowed his eyes on Hope. "More like, I'd rather not change into something I already know is ineffective against you" he retorted. Hope mockingly raised his eyebrows, a very childish gesture given his situation. "No, I think it's more like this…" he began, "Those 'divine' armors are too powerful, and it costs you a ridiculous amount of magic power to change into them. Also, you can't use your other ability whilst you're in one because it gives you access to magic you shouldn't normally be able to use, am I right so far?"

Walter sighed. "Yes, fine, the Divine Garments are a limiting strength. However… they are a strength" he stated.

"If they are as strong as you seem to believe, I wonder what it'd take to make you go all out?" Hope wondered aloud.

"Come at me and see" Walter replied, assuming another fighting stance. I could smell the magic power radiate off of him, it's scent reminding me of Jellal. I wonder if he knows about these guys and the Nightmares? I thought suddenly, before pushing it aside; now was not the time to be distracted on other things, I only had two things to divide my attention, Gray, and Hope.

And only one of those two was going to live through this, I'd make sure of that.

/

A soft golden glow formed around Walter, concentrating mostly to his lower body and legs. "Comet" Walter stated, hovering a few centimeters off the ground. Hope cocked his head.

"How is that going to help you?" he mocked. Walter grinned.

"Whilst you're right I can't use Swift as I normally would, this'll give me a bit of help" he stated, before making a movement to shoot forwards. As Walter moved, the glow intensified, sending him soaring straight ahead, passed Hope, with a trail of light behind him. The spell reminded me of Jellal's Meteor, although it was different in that it didn't seem to allow him to gain much height. Hope looked towards where Walter now hovered, a slight raise of his eyebrows. "A speed enhancing spell?" he queried. Walter nodded.

"Yes, now… get ready for this" he shouted out, orbs of golden light and silver flames forming around each of his fists. With the Comet active Walter darted forwards, moving quicker than even I could see. I saw Hope dodge to the side, impressed by the reactions he showed, as impossible a feat it was. "How could I…?" Hope breathed. "I sped up my time perception but still…" I grinned, it was amusing to see the youth lost for words.

Walter seemed to be enjoying it too. "With Comet I can move almost at the speed of light, speeding up your perception of time will not help you. I'm too fast" he replied, earning a scornful look from Hope.

"We'll see about that" Hope stated. Walter nodded, before darting forwards again, spurred on by Comet. Speeding from one direction to the next, Walter drew patterns in the air with his light trail as he darted in and out, attempting to strike Hope. The Nightmare was good, his altered perception of time allowing him to easily dodge all of the spells, however, despite the fact I didn't really understand how his whole 'time power' worked, I could tell he was slowing down. Eventually Walter managed to land a hit, moving out of the way as a burst of silver and golden flames exploded from Hope's side. The Nightmare cried out in pain as the flames enveloped him, before quickly being extinguished, bright blisters and bloody burns clear all over his body. "Damn it… I can't control that… damned spell… too… fast" Hope said, voice showing his concentration as all of the wounds began to close up and heal, his clothes quickly following. Walter sighed. "And you just come back for more… masochist much?" Walter teased. Hope's gaze showed clearly his anger, his scent turning even colder and eviler than before; it made my nose wrinkle in disgust. At least I can tell where he is from his scent I thought calculatingly.

After a moment, Hope gritted his teeth, his arm flicking out the hidden blade once more. "Guess I'll have to fall on more… old fashioned means…" Hope stated, sending a glaring smirk at Walter. The Requip mage shrugged. "That won't be as effective on me as it was on Gray; for one, I'm a faster target" he retorted. Hope shook his head.

"It will when I aim for that cocky face" he said, venom laced in his reedy, child-voice.

Walter laughed openly at the comment. "Well then… guess I'll be keeping you at close range… child" he added as much venom to his own statement as Hope did. Despite the two's opposite goals, they really were quite similar in their tones and their actions. Does that make Walter childish? Or Hope old? I wondered, it was a shame no one was around to hear that great comment, I was sure it would make Gray laugh. Hope leapt forward, the blade aimed towards Walter, who leapt sideways, propelled by Comet. Undeterred, the Nightmare, spun on a hand and re-positioned for another leapt towards Walter. This time Walter quickly conjured up two balls of golden light and silver flames into each of his hands as he dodged the oncoming boy. "Meteor Rain" he barked, the deadly spheres of magic surging forward, growing as they aimed for the Nightmare. Hope growled, holding up his free hand and dispersing the attack before it could even hit him. As the spheres exploded mid-flight Walter stood, preparing another spell. The faint glow of Comet grew weaker, although it was still present. Acknowledging the moment of weakness Hope charged, bladed weapon ready, however as he came close Walter smirked, his eyes trained directly on Hope. A silvery-blue glow enveloped his hands as he called out another spell. "Star Pillar" he howled, an explosion of silver, gold, and red flames erupting around him and propelling the unprepared Hope high into the sky. While mildly singed the boy continued to rise by the force of the spell, until Walter ceased fueling it, probably thinking he was high enough that the fall would kill him. Hope grinned, causing Walter to frown; instead of falling the boy levitated in the air, waving at Walter from on high. "Thanks, now I've broken my Air magic record" the boy called out. Walter growled angrily and leapt up, the stream of light trailing behind him still, although I could see it was getting fainter and weaker. Able to reach Hope, Walter readied his legs to come crashing down into Hope's floating form, however the boy dodged to the side, leaving the Requip mage to fall back to the ground. "I told you I learned some new magic" Hope stated, giving a passive shrug. Walter nodded, before leaping again. Instead of falling this time, Walter stood on a platform of golden light, firing multiple spheres of light at Hope. The boy dodged them with expert movements, sending his own fireballs at Walter. The fireballs did not burn Walter's suit, and instead were absorbed into the lacrima in his shirt and trousers, a smirk on his face as he fell to the ground once more. Hope frowned, "Those will absorb fire and starlight, correct?" he asked. Walter shrugged.

"Maybe…" he answered. Before Hope could speak another word, Walter leapt up once more, sending another few attacks towards Hope, however the boy used Wind magic to send all the attacks off course, sailing harmlessly away to disperse before they could hit the ground. "What annoying new tricks you have" Walter comment in an annoyed tone. Hope floated down to the ground, facing off against Walter on equal footing once more. "Guess it's time to bring out the bigger guns" Walter added, before outstretching both of his arms once more, his fingers pointed towards Hope. "Star Stream" he commanded, sending twin beams of golden light and silver fire towards the boy. Hope laughed and redirected the attacks around him as he always had. "Tch…" Walter grunted, before ceasing one of the streams and instead rapidly conjuring and propelling forward a sphere of magic from his hand instead. "Meteor Rain" Walter called out as the attack shot forwards at Hope. The boy did not have time to avoid it as he was pinned down by the other Star Stream, and as the sphere grew it collided with Hope at enormous force, sending the boy backwards into the forest. Walter ceased the Star Stream before he could alight the forest, watching the shadows of the treed area carefully. After a moment Hope stepped out, brushing himself off as if taking the attack meant nothing to him. As usual not a scratch was on him, and no hole or damage could be seen to his clothes either. "Nice timing for a useless attack" the boy stated as he stood off against Walter again.

Walter sighed. "How many times do I have to hit you before you stay down?" Walter said, exasperated with the fight now it would seem.

"More time than we've got. I think it's about time I end this and do my job. Hand over dragon boy" he stated. Walter shook his head, however Hope smirked evilly. "I wasn't asking" he stated, before charging up his magic power. Raising his arms Hope unleased multiple attacks, wave after wave of fire, water, wind, lightning, even light and shadows. Walter gritted his teeth at the sudden onslaught of attacks, however a barrier of runes appeared before they could connect with their target. Cyrus ran up to stand a couple of paces behind Walter. "Thank you Cyrus" Walter said politely, before turning his attention back to Hope. Once more Walter activated Comet, a glow around each of his fists as well. He surged forwards towards the Nightmare, however before he could attack he called out. "Natsu!" he cried out. My ears pricked up at the sound, and I rose to my feet quickly. Finally! I cheered as I used my sense of smell to detect where Hope was; then I unleased my magic, a hail of fireballs raining down on his position.

From the brief glimpses I could gather between the buildings and rubble, I saw Walter and Hope clash with their fists. Hope seemed to be having a hard time avoiding both my hidden attacks and Walter's visible ones, soon the Nightmare was overwhelmed. "Damn it I can't… stop attacks I can't see" Hope said, annoyed, as he sent a wave of wind to push Walter back. It stopped Walter momentarily, however it did not end the fight. "Exactly right. And now that you're pinned down, I'm going to do something very… explosive" Walter stated, I could smell strong magic building in the air. Charing in close to Hope Walter laughed, "Star… Burst!" he cried. I could see through a hole in the wall all of the lacrima on his suit glowing brightly. Suddenly silver and golden flames erupted outwards from each crystal, wrapping around Walter and quickly overtaking Hope too. "Agh!" Hope cried as the spell hit, an incinerating burst of heat taking over the air. Most people would've been burned by it, however I thought it was nothing and continued to observe as the golden and silver flames consumed Hope, damaging him too greatly for him to heal quickly, I hope at least.

Soon I smelt the presence of others; my friends. Stopping my fireball rain, I ran over to the space in between the buildings, greeting Blake, Erza, Lucy, Sting, Rogue… and Lyon and Jura too. When did they get here?

"Hey guys…" I panted, a little exhausted from having to keep up so many attacks. Cyrus stood between us and Walter's starburst, the attack pressing against rune's the brunette must have placed. Probably to stop it doing too much other damage I thought. "Natsu, thank goodness you're okay!" Lucy cried. I nodded.

"Where's Gray?" Erza asked. I pointed behind me, to where Gray lay.

"He was hurt pretty badly, but Walter healed him" I explained.

"Hurt, how?" Lyon asked, a little note of brotherly concern in his voice.

"His stomach got slashed by Hope" I said flatly. "After Walter healed him he fought Hope one on one, and well…" I motioned with my head over to where the fireball was still going strong.

"That's Walter's magic?!" Sting said in surprise; obviously the others hadn't seen his God Suit yet.

"Yep. If you guys don't mind though I'm just going to check on Gray" I said, leaving them all gawking at Walter's power.

"You all should be ready for battle incase this doesn't work" I heard Cyrus say to them, his voice cut by concentration. Leaving them to the fight I stood and looked over Gray's unconscious form.

/

General POV

As Natsu went to make sure Gray was alright, everyone else stood dumbfounded by the sheer power Walter's attack gave off. After a few minutes the gold and silver flames began to fade, turning to a normal red colour before fading all together. Walter stood, looking over a badly damaged boy, whose clothes had been all but burned away. "You've been beaten at last… Hope" the Requip mage said, his voice hollow as the attack had cost him a lot of his magic power. He donned a grandiose suit, flickering with lots of little lacrima, a golden cravat and waistcoat beneath the dark blue jacket. The other's all looked in surprise, except Blake and Cyrus, who were both wary of the boy's powers. This boy is Hope? They all thought the same.

"Hmm… it seems… I have" the boy coughed out, each breath and sound a pained noise escaping his chest. Walter smiled in self-satisfaction as he turned and began walking towards the group. "It's done and the threat is over, the Nightmare of Hope is…" Walter declared.

"Not dead" the boy finished, earning a sharp look from Walter.

"Not technically, but you will be… soon enough" Walter said flatly. He was done with any more games. The boy, who lay crumpled in rubble, smirked at him.

"No, I won't be… ever" he retorted. Walter raised a hesitant eyebrow.

"How so?" he asked, suddenly worried. The other's all looked at the boy oddly; there was no way he could survive in the condition he was in, however he sounded confident.

"How so?" Hope parroted, "How so? I'll tell you then, since it doesn't matter now. I won't die because you haven't killed ME" he said. Walter shook his head.

"Fine, I'll kill you now then" he stated, a faint golden light forming around his hand.

"Walter, wait!" Cyrus barked, causing the Requip mage to pause. Hope began laughing, which resulted in him coughing up blood too.

"Looks like the Scribe's Eyes can see my deception, and here I thought you were too weak to use them again tonight" Hope commented. Walter looked to Cyrus.

"What's up?" he asked, fear edging his voice obviously now.

"That isn't Hope" he said flatly, voice devoid of emotion.

"It isn't?!" Walter panicked. 'Hope' nodded.

"Indeed" he stated, "Much the same way Jellal infiltrated the Magic Council, but was not there, so too have I been fighting you without really being here" Walter narrowed his eyes.

"A Projection?" he inquired. 'Hope' laughed.

"Yup, and now it's time to bid you… adieu" he retorted, before fading into the air. The golden light around Walter's fist was sent flying high into the sky in a fit of rage. "WHERE IS HOPE!" he roared, eyes scanning around. Suddenly, his eyes narrowed on something very key; a significant lack of pinkette in the gaggle of wizards gawking panicked at the scene. "Where is Natsu…" Walter suddenly breathed. Lucy looked down the side passage. "I'll go get him" she said, making a move to go after the Dragon Slayer, however Walter shot forward on Comet and stopped her. "Don't" he stated, before looking down the passage. As he did that a disgruntled sigh ran out from the shadows and rubble.

"Aw… and here I thought I might get to slice two fairies in one day" a childish voice sounded out. Walter growled at the sound as the other wizards suddenly assumed defensive stances.

"Show yourself!" Walter demanded. Hope stepped out from behind one of the buildings, Natsu and Gray, both unconscious, being trailed behind him. "Peekaboo" the boy said with a victorious smile, "And lookie here, I got myself a real winner" he pointed down at Natsu.

Walter balled his hand into a fist, letting Lucy go to join her friends. "Give Natsu back" Erza stated. Hope laughed amusedly.

"Oh sure… I'll totally do that, just let me stab myself in the head first, since I'd need half a brain to think that's gonna happen" Hope retorted. Erza moved forward, obviously aiming at getting Natsu away from him, however she stopped suddenly. "Ah ah ah…" Hope tutted, holding his blade up against Gray, "Move and the popsicle becomes an ice sculpture" he threatened. This action made Walter even more wary; after all of his effort in fighting the clone, and all of his power wasted, Hope was in a better position than before it had even started.

"How did you make that clone? Why did you reveal yourself, you could've left the clone to fool us and taken off with Natsu to resurrect that Succubus, the Nightmare of Love?" Walter inquired, whilst desperately thinking of a way to get Natsu back from him.

Hope shrugged. "Simple, I made it when you threw me in the forest. The clone fought you whilst I used my illusion skills to sneak around the side. And I called out because I want to see you all suffer as I resurrect her and then kill the damned lizard that cost me so much precious time" the boy said, walking nonchalantly down the side passage with both Gray and Natsu. He stopped two paces from Walter, dropping Gray on the ground with a large thud. The mages all watched Gray's body carefully, before eyeing up the boy. Hope, who seemed to treat their weights as nothing more than a mild nuisance, then leapt up to the top of the relatively unscathed building beside Natsu and Gray's former room, still carrying Natsu in one hand. The feat took him very little effort and he enjoyed the looks of awe he managed to wrangle from a couple of the mages. "Now… I think it's time for the main event" he stated, using Wind magic to propel him and Natsu to a space in front of everyone, with half of Gray's unconscious form still visible. Lyon tried to make a move towards Gray, however Hope called out. "Try that and I'll slow time down, kill him, and then do what I came to anyways. If you want him to survive stay perfectly still, all of you, for the next few minutes" Hope threatened again.

"Do it" Walter enforced, "He really could get away with that, kill Gray before any of us could even take one step".

Hope smiled evilly at their defeated faces. "For those looks the sacrifice of those dogs was worth it" he stated. This made Blake tense, his hands forming fists, before he reigned in his anger to prevent Gray being killed. The act had not gone unnoticed by Hope, however he chose to look down at Natsu, altering his position to one where his arms were by his sides and his legs were together. Then the Nightmare placed his hands on Natsu's muscular chest, "Now… on with the show" he decreed, allowing his power to focus. The magic glowed a pallid white colour as it flowed over Natsu's entire body. Walter, analyzing everything carefully, realised that Hope's power was concentrated solely on Natsu, however he did not act for fear of Hope manipulating time and killing Gray before he could act. He's got us all trapped with a hostage well out of his physical reach… Walter cursed inwardly.

The other's all grew more panicked as the ritual wore on. Lucy and Erza tensed, each ready to leap, however they were stopped by the continued threat to their other teammate. "We could try and jump him…" Sting muttered.

"I could try and morph into shadows and sneak up…" Rogue added. Walter glanced at the others, reading their faces; Erza and Lucy's fear at losing both of their friends, Rogue and Sting's anger at being left powerless, Jura's usual stoic face, and Lyon's worried glances over to Gray. We must do something Walter thought, coming up blank with ideas.

Natsu's eyes snapped open as the pallid white glow changed into a deep red one. "Agh..." Natsu groaned, before letting out a furious roar, obviously he could already tell what was happening to him. The red light then became a crimson mist that swirled up, connected to Natsu by a tiny strand as the rest of it formed the picture of a beautiful women, one that only Walter, Cyrus, Blake, and Gray would recognize. "Ah…" she said, in a refreshed tone, "It's good to be back".

"Succubus" the three Triplet Code members all said it at the same time, silencing all the others, although for Blake it was more of a mental statement.

As everyone went still with dread Natsu continued howling, his eyes glaring angrily up at the woman. Succubus looked down at the small boy who was reviving her. "Shame it's not Joy, he's always such a nice thing to see when I wake up. If you're brining me back, Hope, then you must have some need of me" she said. Hope flicked his gaze to her for a second, before returning to looking down at Natsu.

"Indeed, Love, although… don't divulge any secrets yet" he stated. She frowned at him, before looking down at the angry face of Natsu. "Oh, aren't you pretty, all angry like that. You're positively gorgeous, Dragon Slayer, although… I think I might enjoy conquering you all over again" she stated, biting her lip. This made Natsu howl once more.

"Don't you dare…" he growled at her.

"I don't have to dare; my power will make you beg this time" she retorted. Natsu snorted, however she leant down, her face only inches from his. "You will be my slave" she added, getting even closer, "And you'll love it" she then moved to kiss him, however Natsu panicked, tried to move from the touch, however, he was completely paralyzed by Hope's powers, allowing the Nightmare of Love to attack his mouth fiercely, before standing up once more. He growled and roared at her, however she gave him a scornful look, looking out over all of the other mages assembled. "It's a shame that Ice mage isn't here, he would be a perfect slave too" she commented. Natsu narrowed his eyes, all of the hatred in his soul being directed at this one woman; he was only thankful that Gray hadn't been there to see him kissed by another being. "Regardless, I can see a lot of other handsome young men out there" she said, eyes trailing over Sting, Rogue and Lyon's bodies. "Yes, they'd all make excellent slaves" she analysed.

"Be quiet, Love" Hope stated, voice edged with concentration on trying to revive her.

"Well if you hurried up I might be able to move on to making slaves of all these men instead of simply gawking at them, Hope" she retorted. Hope made no response, his spell was nearing completion and he had to focus completely now, otherwise she'd fade again, and the power left over would be removed from Natsu with no benefit to his designs at all. Grinning victoriously Hope managed to quickly finish off the spell, the Succubus's form becoming more solid that it had been. She looked down at herself and joined in his grinning. The wizards all stood in fear, worried for Natsu, as the Nightmare was being reborn, however suddenly a giant spear of ice flew overhead. All of their heads turned to Lyon, who stood equally as confused as they were. "Ice Make; Gungnir" a call sounded out. Looking up, they couldn't see anyone, however they all recognized the voice; Gray.

Hope looked around confusedly, only moments, mere seconds, away from completing the revival. He could tell it was Gray who said that, however his body was still visible on the ground. Suddenly, Hope's eyes went wide as he realised; Gray had left an ice clone. Cursing at his stupidity the Nightmare realised too late that the spell had been expertly sent with no hope for him to defend; it struck him in the arm, sending him crashing back. The image of the Nightmare of Love looked out surprised as the raven haired Ice-Make Wizard stood out, clutching the side of the building opposite the one beside Natsu and Gray's room. He was clearly weak from the wound he had suffered, however a great anger boiled deep in his eyes at seeing the Succubus once more. Natsu groaned, seeing Gray's anger he realised that the Ice mage he loved must have seen him kissed by that dreaded woman. "Gra… ay" he whimpered. Gray's eyes softened as they refocused on the pinkette. "Don't worry Natsu, you're gonna be okay" he reassured the Dragon Slayer.

The other wizards, who were only know catching on as to what had happened quickly spurred into action. Hope got up from the ground a short distance away from Natsu. "Damn you! Damn you, all you had to do was stay down!" he cursed aloud. In the moments before the impact to his arm, the boy had managed to reinforce his spell, allowing it to freeze where it was up to, but not progress until he resumed it, however even he could see it was unlikely that he would get to resume it. Walter smirked at Hope, "Everybody, he's weak and his magic's still focused on Natsu. Attack now!" he barked. Prepared for violence, everyone reacted. Lucy looked to Loke, who had reappeared only moments before Gray's timely arrival, the Lion grinning wickedly before charging forwards, alongside Erza. Sting and Rogue each charged their magic, preparing the largest roars they had used yet, and Jura prepared to encase Hope in a significantly stronger version of his magic cancelling stone. Lyon was the only one not attack, as he had rushed over to help support Gray. Blake stood alongside Walter and Cyrus, observing the onslaught carefully.

Sting and Rogue fired first, their mighty Dragon Roars mixing into a beautiful swirl of black and white that Hope only just managed to defend against. Loke and Erza, who wore her Black Wing armor, were next, Loke's golden lighted fists pummeling into Hope's small, child form, quickly followed by a few stabs from Erza at his legs and arms. The four mages all came together standing between Natsu and Hope, watching as the child grimaced, his power waning. "No… No… NO!" the Succubus screamed, fading away to nothingness.

Broken and defeated Hope tried desperately to crawl away, a few pained groans escaping his mouth. Erza raised her sword to strike at him, as Jura prepared to entomb him, however Walter held both of their shoulders, shaking his head. Confused they ceased their assault as Blake and Cyrus joined them. "What is he…?" Erza began to ask the Script mage, who shook his head. Watching carefully, they all saw how Walter, clad still in his Divine Garment Astraeus, walked up to a space slightly in front of the Nightmare. "You had been defeated now… Nightmare of Hope" he stated to the child. This did not stop Hope, who still continued struggling to crawl, now on his stomach. "I will… defeat you…" he panted.

Walter shook his head. "No, you won't" he argued back. Hope stopped and glared up at him from the floor, despite his deadly nature, in his defeated state the Nightmare appeared as nothing more than a child, desperate to survive at all costs.

"Go die" he said flatly, "I don't want your company. Walter" he added. Walter sighed and looked over to the others.

"I know how hard he is to kill, give him a second and he'll regenerate. I will end this, everyone, get back" he said to them all. Cyrus shared a nod with Walter, before ushering everyone back. Despite the protests from Lyon, Gray lifted Natsu up and carried the Fire Dragon Slayer away to a safe distance. "Gray, you're injured…" Lyon tried to argue, to no avail.

"In one moment you will be dead and gone, Hope. Although I admit you were a nuisance, you were always fun. Any last words" Walter said, the magic already beginning to glow around him. The boy continued to glare up at him, however Walter noted the slight softening of his eyes. "Yeah, I guess it was always fun, but here's a nice classic line I'd like to go out on" the boy said, "I'll be back" he smirked wildly.

Walter chuckled a little. "I hope not" he said, before his eyes went cold, "And now it ends. Good by Nightmare of Hope" he stated. Hope closed his eyes and sighed.

"Good bye" he replied.

Walter charged his power all around him; this would be the last spell he would need to cast against Hope, and he would make it spectacular. "Ultimate power of the stars I beseech you, incinerate the world, and cleanse the cosmos. Nova D'Stella" Walter chanted. As he spoke the magic intensified, a great swath of golden flames erupting forth from the lacrima on his suit, bathing a great area around him in flames. Cyrus erected a barrier to prevent the spell from going anywhere but upwards, to which Walter was grateful. More flames erupted forth, not burning Walter, but incinerating Hope. Golden quickly gave way to silver, and then finally a towering inferno of fire, swirling with golden, silver, crimson, and pale pink flames burst upwards, an explosion to rival the fiery birth of a star, yet it did not burn anything, save the ground beneath and the body of the boy once known as Hope.

Watching on with amazement, all the wizards marveled at the tower, not least Natsu, who wondered what the flames tasted of. Only Walter got to see Hope's form disappear, not just melted but vaporized by the intense heat. One more Nightmare gone the Requip mage thought, before finally deciding to dampen his magic power, the tower of fire finally descending until the spell ceased entirely.

Once it was gone, Walter returned to the others. "The Nightmare of Hope is now gone, dead to the world" he declared. Everyone did not cheer hearing this, however, as Natsu had slipped into unconsciousness.

"Natsu!" Gray cried out, kneeling above the Fire Dragon Slayer on the ground.

/

Everyone turned their attention to the mage they had been assigned to protect. "Natsu!" Gray cried out, "Wake up you idiot!"

"Err… Gray…" Walter said, making his way past everyone to stand beside the kneeling Ice mage. "Natsu was affected by Hope spell, if it is unfinished I don't really know what will happen to him. But I don't think he'll die. Let him rest" Walter explained. Gray looked up at the dark haired mage, eyes slightly dampened with tears.

"But Natsu… he's not breathing very much…" Gray stammered. Walter's eyes trailed over the Dragon Slayer, analyzing him critically.

"You're right… perhaps… the spell affected him more than I suspected" Walter spoke without thinking, only realising too late as Gray desperately bent over and hugged Natsu. Stunned by the display all the other wizards watched on from the sidelines.

"Gray…" Lucy breathed, although the Ice mage did not hear her.

Natsu was injured, dying perhaps, and all because he could not protect him. "Natsu… please… just wake up" he sobbed, reaching down to stroke a hand through the Fire Mages hair. Seeing the Succubus once more Gray's mind was thrown back to that time, where he saw Natsu consumed by her powers, nearing the verge of death. Tears falling down his cheeks Gray leaned in close to Natsu, silently begging the pink haired man to wake up, to look him in the eyes and tell him he was okay. No matter what he prayed, Natsu did not awaken, and Gray grew more frantic. Leaning in close he did the one thing he never believed he would do in front of anyone. He kissed Natsu.

/

Natsu POV

I could feel something warm pressed against my chest, something familiar. When Hope's spell had failed I remembered seeing Gray hoist me up to carry me away, I saw Walter's inferno, thought about how tasty, how beautiful the flames looked; then I fell unconscious. Within that blackness I could hear words, curses being sent at me by the quickly dispersing remainder of the witch's power, sneering back at them I cheered once they finally vanished, knowing that meant we had at last won.

Despite knowing this, I found I could not awaken. I soon realised that the sensation was familiar; a feeling of blackness trying to consume me, just as it had attempted to in that tower, what felt ages ago. Don't worry, Gray will save me I thought reassuringly, however no 'help' came. Gray loves me, he wouldn't let me die I thought again, falling deeper into the darkness.

Gray…

Then there was a soft, warm feeling pressed to my lips, a friendly, reassuring scent filling my nostrils. Gray…

The kiss, sweet and full of compassion and love, dragged me once more out of that darkness. I couldn't move to clutch the man I loved, however I felt reassured to feel him clutching me, his hand in my hair. I kissed him back. As soon as I did that I felt my eyes flutter open, the evening sky overhead an orange glow, back dropped to the scene I was always happy to see; Gray above me, holding me tightly.

"Natsu" he said breathlessly, his eyes obviously moist from tears.

"Gray" I replied, a great happiness in my chest.

"You're an idiot" he said, leaning down and resting his head on my chest. Soon I felt his body relax, the hand ceasing its little motions in my hair. As Gray fell asleep I felt my own mind begin to drift off too, happy that it was only going to sleep and not anywhere else. Gray saved me… again… I thought.

Then I fell asleep.

/

General POV

Everyone was stunned to see Gray and Natsu suddenly fall asleep together, right after kissing no less. "Does that mean…?" Lucy fumbled for words looking at the red head beside her, Erza smiled contently. "I think it means the guild might be quieter from now on" she replied.

Sting and Rogue each shared a look. "I think we're gonna need to talk to them later" they whispered at a volume only they could hear. Cyrus and Blake walked up to Walter's side, Blake quickly drawing a potion from his belt and opening the stopper. A pale blue mist rolled out over the pair, ensuring they were only going to be sleeping that night, as it passively restored their magic.

THEY'LL BE SAFE NOW

Blake wrote. Cyrus nodded and looked to Walter. "Do you think we should deal with this mess now, Walter?" the Script mage asked.

Walter shook his head. "No, I'll sort out all of the rubble in the morning. And I don't think they'll make much of a fuss over what they just saw either" he stated with a smile. The silent thought he made in his head remained private; I knew they'd tell someone before they got back to the guild, I just didn't think they'd tell EVERYONE.

The nosey Requip mage couldn't wait to see how the two dealt with the others.

Chapter 25 End

Next Chapter; Explanation