Chapter 36 – A Coded Victory

Gray POV

"Damn" I cursed as I was sent sprawling, my father grinning down at me.

"You call that a Rage?" he laughed. I muttered under my breath, standing once more. Since beginning this fight I seemed to have spent more time on my ass than time actually fighting. "You're more annoying than last time, are you really made outta my memories?" I asked cockily, sending a small look to Faith, who stood aside, allowing his illusions to fight as usual. Silver grinned at me.

"I'm Silver Fullbuster, the Ice Devil Slayer. I am immune to your puny ice spells, if you wanna beat me you're gonna have to use that power I gave you" he laughed, before a sudden drop in temperature told me he was going to attack.

"Ice Devil Rage" I bellowed quickly, almost exactly as my father uttered the same words. The two attacks exploded against each other and battle of wills ensued, our powers trying to get the upper hand. Although my father, or rather the illusion of him, was certainly strong, perhaps nearly as strong as he was in life, I was well prepared for a fight like this, and I knew just what to do from last time. Whilst my mouth was busy maintaining the icy stream, I charged a small amount of power to my hands. Ice Make; Cannon I silently commanded, a frozen cannon appearing beside me. Before anyone could notice I loaded it with icy cannonballs, and had it fire. The attacks, although ineffective at hurting him, did have the desired effect, and Silver was distracted enough for me to gain the upper hand with my Devil Slayer spell. "Agh… they're not going to affect me!" he crowed. I laughed a little cockily as I charged forward. They don't need to be effective, one successful attack, one good attack, and I'll be able to break this illusion I thought. Charging forward, beam of Ice Devil Rage keeping me slightly out of my enemy's view, I prepared what I required. Ice Make… I began to think, as I finally leapt up, out of the way of my father's attack. "Cold Excalibur!" I barked, blade of solid ice forming in my hands, mixed also with my Devil Slayer ice. My father seemed to both smile and grimace as the blade surged forth, down to meet him, however it was delayed by something. Or rather, someone.

"Gray!" Natsu called out. I froze for a second, only a second, however it was still all the time my father needed. As my blade crushed the hastily crafted illusion of the pinkette, the illusionary Silver Fullbuster jumped back out of the way. "Well that was close, however… that looks tasty" Silver stated, before I felt his hands grasp the end of the blade. Sinking his teeth into its surface he consumed it all and I had to give myself some distance, or risk remaining in close proximity to another of his Devil Slayer attacks. I swore and glared hatefully at the younger teen whistling nonchalantly in the corner of the battlefield. "If you're going to insist on us fighting, surely you don't need to cheat as well?!" I barked at him. He shrugged and grinned shrewdly, an annoying calmness to his actions. Why do they always seem so cocky?

"I just thought I'd make this a little more interesting, for it to end so soon would mean I'd have to bring out something else for you to fight. Even you probably don't want that… I might just choose to give you the fight you wanted as a child" he stated. I quickly realised to what he was referring, and a new fear rose in my chest. He'd make me fight Deliora… so he must have that kind of power… I thought with dread. "Hey kid, stop spacing out" Silver's voice called to me. I looked back to the illusion, only to find a bow and arrow of Devil Ice being pointed directly at me.

"You get distracted in combat and stuff might happen that you wouldn't like" he laughed. My eyes went wide as he fired the attack.

"Ice Make; Shield" I commanded quickly, a barrier forming to slow the arrow. Using that time, I quickly leapt to the side, and the attack sailed past me into the mist. Silver cursed and called forth another attack, however I began laughing; seeing the icy attack, and seeing the illusion of Natsu had given me an idea. The ice is slowed by my ice… when I struck Natsu it felt weirdly solid despite how flimsy those illusions normally are… and Silver hasn't gone down with all the little attacks I've managed to hit him with. He's more solid and his attacks are too, so… There is a way to beat them!

"What are you smirking at?" Faith asked suddenly.

I laughed at him. "Thank you, that little cheat of yours has given me an idea" I said to him. The Nightmare did not look as amused as he had a few seconds ago. I laughed as I formulated my plan in my head, enjoying the confused looks of the Nightmare too. "Why are you laughing, you do realise that if one of his attacks hits you, it will kill you, right?" Faith queried, gesturing to Silver, who had readied another arrow attack.

"I know he can hurt me, he's more solid than your other illusions… kinda real" I stated. Faith nodded and a slightly prideful look touched his face for a moment, however cut him off before he had even began speaking again. "However… I'm ending this… now!" I shouted, charging my magic up for another spell. Faith went wide eyed, obviously interpreting my moves and predicting what I wanted to do. "Ice Make; Silver" I called, using my spell a little quicker than he was able to command his illusion to fire.

At my command, and the sharp swipe of my right hand, a wave of freezing power was unleashed, quickly striking the illusion of my father. The ice crept around the area, and as it touched the mist I saw exactly what I expected; the mist froze and disappeared, as did my father and Faith, who each dissolved into little snow-like, misty tendrils. I knew it… the Devil ice in my sword froze the Natsu illusion as it struck, that's why it felt like striking icy water I thought smugly. Turning around I saw the mist was swiftly dissolving back, leaving a large area frozen over, but otherwise fine and clear. Eventually it receded to reveal another person; the real Faith.

"Well… without my cover, and with my illusions gone you've managed to locate me. Well done" the teen Nightmare stated sarcastically. "You've got an annoying ability to learn… however I am not beaten yet" he added.

I nodded smartly. That training against Walter in the forest was worth it… at least I can control my freezing power a little better I thought, memories of seeing the bloodied form of the Requip mage still fresh in my mind. "I'm ready, let's fight" I said. Faith laughed.

/

Natsu POV

A shadowy substance had quickly overtaken the women before us. Sting and I scented the air, and both scrunched our noses up in disgust. "I… am so much… stronger…" the Nightmare of Fear wailed. The four spider legs in her back seemed to elongate, her form becoming more fluid as it changed shape. We were all transfixed by the sight, and although it only took a few seconds, it felt so much longer. At the end of the process the women emerged as a much more horrific creature. Where there had once been human legs, she now had a bulbous spider-body with six clacking talons. Her upper half held a human torso, with her body only loosely covered by a few remaining scraps of cloth, but perhaps most disturbing was the twin snake heads that towered out of each of her shoulders, vicious vipers that bellowed forth a torrent of hisses. The women's face was twisted into a wicked smile as she unveiled her form, all the poise and fake smiles gone in favor of this horrible shape.

"She's… huge" I breathed. The Nightmare cackled.

"Was that a reference to my weight?" she said sharply, before a spider leg came assailing down on my position. I leapt swiftly out of range, looking to Sting, who whistled.

"She's got a worse temper than m'lady" he stated, before balling his hands into fists, "However she's much slower, and a lot easier to hit" he added. I smirked and allowed hot balls of flame to form around my fists also. Cyrus observed us both, a faint smile on his face. He quickly whispered an instruction to us before we charged, "Give me some time".

Nodding, Sting and I faced off against the so-called 'Spider Queen'. "I still owe her for those stupid illusions of me and Gray" I shouted, rushing forward and trying to strike at her human form. Before my attack could hit one of the snakes intercepted it and sent me sprawling back to the ground as Sting tried another tactic. "White Dragon's Roar" he bellowed, a stream of pure light surging forward towards the creature.

The Nightmare of Fear laughed. "Pathetic" she cackled, before the other snake shot out. This time it opened its mouth and a sudden eruption of concentrated white mist was forced forwards to counter the attack. Sting, who had already ceased roaring and had prepared another offensive, ran up towards the spider-women and charged his magic. "Holy Ray!" he barked, although he was too slow and was knocked away by a sudden spider-leg to his side.

I used the opportunity to get close. "Fire Dragon Brilliant Flame" I commanded, flames forming a sphere in my hands. This time I anticipated my opponents counterstrike and leapt up in enough time to fire the spell. Fear's smiling face suddenly turned to one of surprise, and she used her much larger form to jump just out of reach of the subsequent explosion my attack caused. Turning to face me, she scowled gravely. "I am growing increasingly bored with you, Fire Dragon Slayer" she stated, sounding too much like Erza when she was scolding me for my liking, "I think it's time I unveil my second power…"

Holding up her human hands above her head, she called forth her second ability. "My sticky webs will keep you tied down" she stated, before webs formed in her hands and surged forth, wrapping around mine and Sting's torso's and pinning us on the ground. As soon as I felt the cold substance around me I struggled, to no avail. Turning to search for Cyrus, I caught a few glimpses of him through the new web-wall that had formed between the sides of the street. "Now with you two trapped here, I can really have a bit of fun" Fear giggled. Sting looked to me worriedly, as two figures stepped out of the mist; Gray and Rogue. Illusions… not again… I thought, as a pang of protectiveness shot through my chest. It didn't last long, however, as the two illusions were quickly killed by the sudden emergence of some giant worm-beast that swallowed them, chewing up their forms gruesomely. Gray! I screamed internally, despite knowing it was another illusion. Fear delighted in our reactions, and as the worm dissolved into mist yet another pair of figures emerged into view. Gray and Rogue.

"Let's see how many times I can kill them before you break…" Fear mused. I watched in horror as Gray was suddenly split in two by an axe-wielding demon, Rogue swiftly following.

"Rogue!" Sting called out. I glanced over to the blond, who was struggling desperately in his web cocoon. He's just as bad as me… I thought solemnly; this was a cruel punishment for a mated Dragon Slayer. As another Gray was killed before my eyes I felt a sudden surge of anger. I should be protecting Gray… he needs my help… even if he isn't really here, he's still out there fighting and I gotta help him… the thoughts quickly took root. Instinctively I drew out flames, powered greatly by my anger.

The crimson burning overtook my form quite quickly; however, it was only then that I felt the constricting feeling release. "The web melted?" I voiced, leaping up quickly. Fear's head snapped around to stare at me, a fierce gaze in her eyes as she saw me freed. "You've escaped?!" she hissed, entire form turning to face me, no new Gray or Rogue clones emerging from the mist as her attention was driven elsewhere. I smirked.

"Yup, looks like your webs aren't any match for my fire!" I stated, before rushing over to Sting's side and freeing him also. Sting looked up to me hopefully.

"Thank you, Natsu. I thought I was gonna go crazy for a second there" he smiled. I nodded.

"Me too… well… I did kind of go crazy, but that's how I got free so it's okay" I laughed. Sting laughed a little, before turning to our opponent once more. "That's five times now you've made me see Gray die… so I'm gonna kill you five times too!" I growled at Fear. The Nightmare smiled.

"Pathetic. You may have escaped one of my webs, but I have others, whilst you're still pathetic enough to be fooled by mere images of your mates. How do you ever think you're going to win against me as you are now?" she smirked.

Before we could even offer an answer, another voice interjected. "Because they followed what I said" it called out. Suddenly Cyrus landed, having sliced his way through her web wall. His eyes were cold and steeled, clearly her appearance did not bother him one bit. "I think it's time I do something" he said, before he slammed his hand down on the ground. This pose was familiar, and as another vast array of runes overtook his arm, a deep mixture of blue, green and black, all sinking down rapidly into the earth, we remembered his abrupt attack on Hope earlier. "Rainbow Script; Ruling of the Torrent" he called out.

At those words a great rumble was heard all around us. Sting and I looked around confused, our confusion growing as the temperature of the air suddenly dropped. Cyrus just smiled as Fear screeched, a sudden burst of icy water erupting forth directly beneath her. The force of the water attack assailed her high into the air, however she recovered quicker than we expected, using her sticky webs to pull herself out of the attack before it was complete. Cyrus sighed, before smirking again, as the women Nightmare, now well drenched, clambered back towards us. "Natsu, use your flames. Now!" Cyrus barked at me flatly. I was startled by his sudden command, however I complied; something about his tone told me I had no choice in the matter. "Fire Dragon Secret Art… Crimson Lotus: Exploding Flame Blade!" I roared, flames rapidly enveloping my fists as I unleashed one of my strongest attacks in the vague hope it hit its target successfully, ending the fight once and for all.

Unfortunately, that did not happen, and as Fear screeched once more, a wall of green webs stopped my attack. "My second web… Constricting Webs" she panted, as my most powerful attack was completely negated. I pouted in frustration, quickly returning to Cyrus and Sting's side. "This web is immune… to all magical attacks…" she continued, in a few breaths. I noticed her change in demeanor, and another thought struck me. Why did she not scream when we attacked her before, but screeched so loudly when me and Cyrus used our attacks… she obviously could save herself from them… I was left with lingering questions.

Cyrus, I noticed, was observing me carefully. "You've realised?" he asked me as I returned. I furrowed my brows.

"Realised what? That she screamed?" I asked confusedly. The brunette nodded.

"Yes… you see… there's a little bit more info on this Nightmare than what I've said so far" he began. Sting looked confused.

"There is, what do you know then?" he asked Cyrus a little impatiently. The Script mage broke into a smile.

"The Nightmare of Fear, as she is, is a master illusionist… however, her name is not ironic. She does not just do what she does to cause fear in other people… she herself has nearly every phobia imaginable. Even the form she's taken now is just a manifestation of her own personal fears" Cyrus explained. I took this information in, but was still left confused, and with my own questions.

"Why did that make her scream though?" I asked the Triplet Code member.

"As a point of interest, when Walter and I last encountered her we attempted to see just how many fears she had. Three of her biggest fears are our advantage in this fight; Thanatophobia, or the fear of dying, is her biggest and means she will never put herself in harm's way, however she is also strongly afflicted with both Cheimatophobia, or the fear of feeling cold, and, more amusingly, Thermophobia, the fear of feeling hot" Cyrus chuckled.

I absorbed once more what he was saying, and a grin broke out over my face. "So you used cold water… and then got me to use fire so she was afraid" I looked for confirmation from the brunette, who nodded.

"Yes, when she is properly afraid, she will not fight to her best ability. Now we've gotten her scared it will be easier to beat her" Cyrus stated, before looking over to the Nightmare we faced.

"Are you done… book worm?" the women stated, now back in her human form, but looking significantly more ragged. Cyrus nodded with another chuckle.

"Yes, let us end this" he said to her. The Nightmare nodded in agreement.

"I couldn't have put it better myself" she laughed, before her four spider legs each arced out of her back, "I think it's time to use my final web… the web of the Puppeteer" she said.

Cyrus shot a warning look to each of us. "Be careful" he stated, before our fight began again.

/

General POV

Erza, Lyon and Rogue all made their way cautiously through the mist. Every few steps Rogue would scent the air again, checking for any sign of Gray, before they would continue again. "I don't think we're going to find Gray from in here, we might need to try observing from outside and then picking a path through" Lyon commented as the trio continued their search. Erza shook her head, grasping the sword in her hand tightly.

"If they are as powerful an illusionist as Cyrus said, then it's likely us splitting up will cause more problems" the redhead stated. Lyon nodded understandingly, looking ahead. Suddenly a great chill overtook the three. "Did any else just feel the temperature drop?" Erza questioned quickly, as the wave of cold passed. Lyon smirked.

"Seem's Gray is definitely in here, who else could have caused such a freeze" the Ice mage said. Erza turned in place, observing Rogue, who was still trying to find the Ice mage with his nose. "Can you smell anything?" she asked the Dragon Slayer.

Rogue shook his head. "The mist dampens the smell… Sting and I aren't as good with our noses as Natsu is, but… I don't think it matters, look" the Shadow Dragon Slayer stated, gesturing for them to observe ahead. Following the wave of chill air, the mist itself seemed to be fading, and the path ahead became more clear. "I think I see someone" Rogue said. Erza and Lyon squinted, before they too began to see the movement ahead of them.

"Let's go. That could be Gray" Lyon stated. Erza nodded, however she did not proceed without a great level of caution.

"Be careful for any illusions though" she stated.

Moving on the trio neared an area completely devoid of mist, with only two figures standing within; one was Gray, whilst the other he faced off against was a teenage boy with dark red hair, his silver eyes glittering with mischief. "Gray!" Erza called out to her teammate. The ice mage glanced over in her direction, before a smile formed on his face.

"Just in time guys… don't worry about any illusions, I dealt with all them, and now you can help me deal with him" Gray stated. Erza nodded and immediately flicked her gaze at their opponent.

"Who are you?" she demanded flatly. The young boy grinned.

"Well… I'm known by many names; however, my designation is the Nightmare of Faith" he replied. Erza nodded, as Lyon and Rogue came to stand on either side of her, Gray slightly ahead of them. "Regardless of their intrusion…" he continued, eyeing Gray up, "How the hell did you figure out that freezing my creations would cause them to dissipate?" the boy asked.

Gray smirked cockily. "When you used that illusion of Natsu to slow me down I figured it out. As my sword hit, it felt weird, kind of like hitting the thin crust of ice on top of water, and I figured that by freezing the illusions, since they are made from mist, they would disappear" Gray explained. At this announcement, a sudden realisation hit Erza and the others; the cold blast was Gray destroying the mist and illusions. Lyon nodded at Erza, preparing his magic just in case. Faith sighed, before a smile broke over his face.

"That is one annoying ability you have there" he mused, before a movement behind him diverted everyone's attention.

"Unfortunately for you, I had time to prepare a few backups" a second Faith announced as they emerged from a doorway.

"And like your father we aren't going to be as easily destroyed" a third Faith continued, appearing from a side alley.

"So-" another said, as five more appeared from various side alleys and buildings.

"Get-" another said, quickly followed by the appearance of more copies of the Nightmare.

"Ready-" another said, as dozens of Faith clones now stood against the four wizards.

"To-" another parroted, followed by the appearance of yet more clones.

"Fight!" a final clone finished stepping out to join the ranks of nearly one hundred Faith clones.

"So many…" Erza breathed, although numbers were not something she was usually fazed by.

Gray quickly scanned the ranks of Nightmares, who all stood grinning. "Looks like you really were just in time guys…" he said, before calling up his magic. The army of Faiths all took this to mean the fight had started. "Ice Make; Sword" Gray commanded, blades of ice appearing in each hand as he rushed forward, Erza and Rogue not far behind.

"Shadow Dragon Roar" Rogue quickly barked out, a wave of shadows striking the Faith clones and destroying nearly a dozen. "We need to find the real one quickly" he stated as he dodged a few clumsy punches from the Nightmares.

"Ice Make; Dragonfly" Lyon commanded, a swarm of icy insects surging forth from his back-line position, making short work of a few more clones. Gray used his swords to slice through another two as their forces clashed.

"Requip; Heaven's Wheel" Erza's voice roared above the others, swords dancing through the air as she sliced through clone after clone. "He's not here!" she called out, cutting down her eight clone. Gray looked around, the very faint outlines of mist were still present, but were not receding as he thought they might after his attack. "Erza, I think he's using these guys as cover" Gray called out after another thought struck him. The red head fought through the throng to get to her guildmate.

"They aren't very challenging as fighters," she noted, "It is possible he's trying to escape, or at least retreat and recover energy" she agreed quickly after finishing off another clone. Rogue rushed through in his shadow form as Lyon landed beside the pair.

"One of us needs to focus on finding the real one whilst the rest of us fight these guys off" Lyon stated. Rogue looked to the group.

"I can find him, his scent's everywhere because of the clones but… I think I'll be able to track him down. He can't have gone far" the Shadow Dragon stated, looking to Erza as proxy-leader for confirmation of this plan. She nodded and he quickly dissolved into shadows and slipped away, slicing a few clones as he went.

"Alright, whilst Rogue's gone, we need to finish off all these clones" she declared. Gray smirked at Lyon.

"Ready Lyon?" he asked his childhood friend. Lyon nodded.

"This isn't a game Gray, try to take it seriously" he retorted, before the three charged forward, breaking through the ranks of clones with relative ease.

After a few moments of battle all the clones vanished in a giant puff of mist, a scream quickly sounding out as this happened. Erza and the others all followed the noise and found Rogue sitting on top of Faith, pinning him down. The Nightmare's usual smile was replaced with a pathetic, whimpering face. "Y-you got… me…" he huffed, "Fine I was… trying to escape… I'm no good with… direct combat…"

Rogue got off him as the others approached. "I caught his scent on one of the nearby streets. He was sitting down, trying to hide" he explained. Erza nodded, and glared down at the Nightmare.

"Where is the lacrima with the poison spell, if you give it to us now then we might let you live" she demanded quickly. Faith sat up, and shrugged, all his whimpering gone, although he was still visibly shaken.

"Why should I, the Triplet Code will still kill me…" he stated. Gray felt anger rise in his chest, seeing this pathetic, sniveling boy, trying to defy them. Before anyone could stop him, he grabbed the teen by his collar and held him up.

"Give us that damned lacrima and tell me where the hell Natsu is, now!" the Ice mage screamed. Faith looked down on at him, his silver eyes still showing a bit of defiance.

"I'm afraid you'll have to be disappointed, I don't know where your boyfriend is" he smirked. Gray glared at him, losing all control very quickly. Punching him in his gut, he threw the boy down in disgust, calling out "Liar!". Erza watched the display before she stepped in.

"Give us the lacrima" she reiterated more calmly than Gray. Faith shrugged from his position on the floor.

"Well that's going to be difficult" he stated. Gray's head whipped around to look at him again.

"Why?" he asked suddenly, eyes still furious that he was being kept from Natsu.

"Because… well… see ya" he grinned, before a portal appeared underneath him, sucking him down quickly. Realising what was going on Gray and Erza leapt forward, going to grab the boy before he could escape, however they were too late, and he vanished into the gateway.

"Fuck… I'm going to kill that portal making bastard when I see him" Gray exclaimed. Erza looked around in surprise, Lyon stood watching this carefully, obviously waiting for her to make the next call, whilst Rogue stood in usual quiet. She patted Gray's shoulder, "Come on Gray, let's get back, then we can figure out where Natsu is" she said, her tone unusually caring. Gray glared at the Requip mage for a second, before yielding.

"Alright, let's go" he mumbled, anger bubbling way to despair that he still hadn't found Natsu.

/

Natsu POV

Fear stood with her spider legs arching out of her back, power concentrated to the taloned tips. Sting and I stood panting, our attacks having missed the Nightmare every single time, even Cyrus' powerful spells failed to reach their mark.

"Hah, is that all. You won't beat me with that puny magic my dears" the Nightmare giggled gleefully. I gritted my teeth in anger.

"Oh yeah… how about this, Fire Dragon Roar" I barked, sending a column of searing flames directed towards my opponent. The Nightmare sighed, as a web of sickly purple shot out form one of her legs.

"Pathetic" she muttered, as the web made contact with the spell and it quickly turned to the sky, sailing harmlessly upwards, well above its target. "My Puppeteer webs can control anything they touch, from spells to people. Your attack will have no effect, so why not just give up?" she reasoned with us.

"Because you hurt Gray!" I shouted back.

"You know that was only an illusion" she retorted. I sighed and shook my head.

"It doesn't matter to me… that was still a Gray you hurt, whether he was real or not" I stated, before looking beside me to Sting. "Ready?" I asked him. He nodded.

"Yeah, I've recovered enough magic power for another fight" he grinned. Nodding in agreement, we charged at the Nightmare again. For her part, Fear just sighed.

"Not this again" she muttered, before she used her webs to send Sting and me crashing into the walls of two buildings, making another two dents on the structures. Cyrus sat watching us from afar, throughout the whole fight he had only sent off a few attacks, and as me and Sting continued trying to just get close to the Nightmare, he did nothing.

After another beating, Sting and I retreated to the Script mages side. "Are you ever going to do anything?" I asked him, a slight note of annoyance in my tone. Cyrus looked at me.

"I've been observing you fight for a reason, Natsu. But if you want my help I think I've figured out a way to beat her" he said, "I just need another bit of time to prepare it, if you're willing to give me that" he added. I rolled my eyes and glared at the Nightmare once more.

"Fine, so long as I get to punch her in the face for all the stuff she's done" I stated. Cyrus nodded.

"Okay, request granted. If you two fight her, when I'm ready I'll call out. When that happens, Sting, you've then got to use all the power you can, use as many attacks as you can. You don't need to reserve any magic for this" Cyrus explained. Sting nodded.

"That sounds easy enough" he agreed, before looking to Natsu, "But Natsu, give her a punch from me too, okay?" he added.

I smirked and nodded. "Okay. When Sting attacks, what do I do?" I asked Cyrus.

"You'll know" Cyrus stated, before looking over to Fear.

"Done chatting, because I'm getting bored" she giggled menacingly.

"Go, wait for my signal" Cyrus stated, before we all turned to Fear. I nodded at Sting and we charged again. As we rushed forwards, we each opened our mouths, shouting out.

"Fire Dragon Roar" I called out.

"White Dragon Roar" he said beside me.

Our roars resounded as we charged at our opponent, conjuring forth twin tornados of blazing fire and white light. Fear raised an eyebrow, but did not budge. Instead, she sent out two purple webs and redirected our attacks around her, making them strike the ground and send up an eruption of stone and earth. Sting and I were not deterred by the failure, and we pressed our assault. "Fire Dragon Iron Fist" I yelled as I charged, leaping to the side to avoid the predictable stream of purple webs that emitted from another of her spider legs. Unfortunately, Sting was not as quick as I had been, and his leg was caught with the web. Cackling with glee, Fear had Sting run directly into my path, and I had to jump back at the last moment to avoid striking the White Dragon Slayer. "Damn it, sorry Natsu" Sting apologised to me as he was sent flying into a wall again. I shook my head.

"It's fine, this bitch isn't playing fair" I stated, earning a slight smile from the blond. Before either of us could make another move, Cyrus' voice raised above us all. "NOW!" he bellowed. Sting's ears pricked up at the sound, and he smiled viciously.

"Okay then… White Drive" he stated, as the white patterned markings formed over his body. Fear turned to face Sting head on, however with his Dragon Force active he was much more powerful than previously, ad he closed the distance between them in a matter of moments. I stood and watched in amazement, ready for whatever cue I was supposed to 'know'. As Sting fought with Fear, the Nightmare was noticeably losing ground. Her spider legs were able to block most of Sting's light-infused fists, but the odd attack got through. Eventually she screamed in frustration and threw her arms up. "Enough!" she said, before two of her legs emitted that vile purple thread, wrapping around Sting's right arm and left leg, and holding him up above her. The White Dragon Slayer struggled with all his might, however it wasn't until I saw Cyrus nearing that I realised what he was going to do.

"Red Script; Blaze. Blue Script; Freezeburn" Cyrus commanded, a stream of flames erupting forth from symbols in his right hand, whilst icy blue flames shot forward from his other hand. Fear looked with great fearfulness at the oncoming attack, and she sent out her last two spider legs to stop them. As the purple web connected with Cyrus' continuous assault, the Script mage smiled at me. I nodded and charged.

"This... is… for… Gray" I growled, leaping up into the air. Fear turned her head and looked at me, but she was too late, and without any legs left to stop me I crashed down on top of her, pinning her beneath me. Grinning savagely, I wrapped flames around each of me fists and sent them assailing down in a flurry of punches to her too-perfect face. During my assault Fear struggled, but the position I kept her in stopped her from escaping. Eventually I stopped, panting heavily. The bloodied form of Fear whimpered, as Cyrus and Sting stood over me and her. "Agh…hhh…nn…" she moaned in pain. Sting grinned at me.

"Don't you think you went a little overboard?" he asked me, not a shred of sympathy in his voice for the Nightmare. I stared up at him.

"Would you not do the same?" I asked him. Sting shrugged, with an amused smile; we both knew he would. Cyrus analysed Fear carefully, and after a few moments he spoke.

"She's weak, but she'll live. I'll finish her off, you two can head back to the guild" he stated, matter-of-factly. I turned to eye the Script mage carefully.

"She hasn't told me where Gray is yet. I won't let her out of my sight until she does" I began to argue, before I felt a shift beneath me. This was quickly accompanied by a coughed laugh from the Nightmare beneath me.

"And… I'm… not going… to" she wheezed. Glaring down at her, I got a sudden feeling of de-ja-vu, before something opened in the ground beneath us.

"What the-" I began to say, before the feeling of falling over took me. Not another fucking portal I thought, looking up in time to see the surprised faces of Sting and Cyrus.

Then I fell into unconsciousness.

/

Waking up a little later I looked around, head throbbing with pain. "Where… am I?" I mumbled, confused by the change in scenery. The memories of the battle with Fear rushed into my mind, and I soon remembered the portal. Damn it, he moved me to stop me from finding Gray I thought angrily, as I surveyed the scenery to work out where exactly I was now. "This is… Kardia Cathedral…" I said with realisation.

"Yes, it is" a voice said in reply. Craning my neck to the side, I saw the blond boy I now despised more than anything, leaning against the wall with a smug look on his face.

"You" I barked, struggling to get up, before looking down at the rope binding me. I could see it was made from both the green and white webs of that woman, and I quickly realised I could not escape from it; although that still didn't stop me from trying. "Yes, me. That is to say the Nightmare of Hope, of course" he laughed, moving so that he was standing where I could see him more easily.

"It seems you caused my friends no end of trouble, you and your boyfriend" he mused. I glared up at him, before I noticed the other two forms behind him. One was the Nightmare I had fought, although she looked like an old woman now, whilst the other was a teenage boy, and despite his supposed 'defeat' he didn't look like he had a single injury on him. I smirked at their angry looks. "Hah, I knew Gray could deal with anything" I chuckled. This caused the teenage boy to pout.

Hope smirked over at his 'friend', before looking down at me. "You never learn though, you and your friends… that illusion I left at your guild had you all fooled, and then my simple little lie about those lacrima gets you all into a panic" he smirked. I stared up at him, still wriggling in my bindings. Hope sighed, "If you keep trying to escape then I will kill Gray… slowly. You know I have the power to teleport him away, so I could easily do that" he stated, in a tone that almost sounded like he didn't want to do it. Almost.

I settled. "Fine, I'll stay here. Just don't do anything to Gray" I said, a great sense of loss in my chest at having been practically forced to say those words. Hope nodded with an amused look on his face.

"Good boy... now… I've got a death to plan for Walter, since he's still living and all. I think I'll-" Hope started, before he turned in place, staring at the opened doors. "Impossible?!" he barked in sudden surprise. I stretched to try and see what he was looking at, however it was only when I caught the ripped red cloth that I realised. No… it can't be…

"Hello Kibou, sorry I'm late" Walter grinned, striding into the cathedral like he owned the place, despite the bloodstained bandages wrapped around his torso.

"You shouldn't even be able to walk, shouldn't be conscious… how are you here?" Hope asked. The other two Nightmares were on their feet now and moving to corner Walter. The Requip mage laughed.

"Your poison wasn't as strong as you thought, and I've come for a little payback, Kibou" he stated. I was confused by his attitude, however a quick scent of the air told me the poison was still very much in his system. He's just pretending, he can't really be going to fight these guys… I thought, before I noticed Hope's scowling expression.

"I am Hope. 'Kibou' was just some made up character I used to get close to you. It was all just part of my plan" he said to Walter, "Although now that you're here I guess I can speed things up and kill you in front of Natsu, instead of sneaking into that guild again and killing you discreetly" he added. Walter's smiled faded.

"Don't lie Hope. DON'T LIE ABOUT KIBOU" the Requip mage snapped, before he looked passed Hope to me. "Are you okay Natsu?" he asked quite calmly. I nodded, although I was slightly afraid by how quickly he went from shouting to calmly asking me questions. Walter took my response in, before looking around him, taking in each of the Nightmares in turn before returning to looking at Hope. "Seem's you've got me surrounded" he stated. Hope smirked.

"Don't worry about it… it's not going to be long now before you're dead" he replied.

"Well… that could happen, however I just wanted to say one thing…" Walter laughed.

"What?" Hope asked sharply, I could see the other two Nightmares were ready to attack at any given moment. Be careful Walter… I silently warned.

"I never thought I'd have to use this power again, but I will… for Kibou" he stated. Hope's face warped in anger.

"DON'T CALL ME KIBOU" he barked, before he gave the signal for the other two to prepare an attack. As the other Nightmares readied, my breath caught in my throat. No! Walter! I thought fearfully. "What power do you have that you think could even stand a chance against us?" Hope questioned Walter. The teen smirked, and I saw his eyes go cold.

"My name" he stated, before a stillness filled the air.

"Your… name?" Hope said confusedly, before his face went from angry to afraid. "Kill him, kill him now!" he ordered.

I stared as the three all pounced at Walter, however the Requip mage remained still and calm; his eyes were cold and hardened like I had never seen them before. Then a bright light erupted forth from his person, and I had to close my eyes.

The only sound I could hear were shouts of anger from the Nightmares, and one little whisper, Walter's whisper of "I'm sorry".

After that there was silence, and only a lone image that lingered in my mind; the almost inhuman look in Walter's eyes as he activated whatever spell he had cast.

Chapter 36 End

Next Chapter; A Full Explanation

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Author's note; Hey Guys, just wanted to say how happy it makes me to see all the nice reviews and comments that are left, and I wanted to give a big shout out to all those people who read and support my fics. It makes me pretty damn happy, so thank you ^^