Ch. 3- The Cold Emperor

Fairy Tail © Hiro Mashima

Story and OCs © Me

A while later, Natsu and Haru were riding through the jungle on Blue Fang's back. During this time, the Dragon Slayer had explained to the Beast Wizard what his "plan" was.

"Okay, I think I got the gist of it," Haru said. "So, from what I heard from Lucy and from you, this 'Cold Emperor' is trying to revive some monster that Gray's master sacrificed her life to freeze using this 'Moon Drip' spell?"

"Yep, that's basically it!" Natsu answered.

"And your idea is to destroy the temple where this monster is sitting under?" Haru inquired.

"Yeah, that way the moonlight can't get in!" Natsu replied.

"It sounds crazy," Haru said, "but... I guess coming from you, anything is crazy." She then sighed. "You're even crazy enough to break a promise..."

"Oh, come on, Haru!" Natsu complained. "How long are you gonna hold this against me?!"

"Natsu, look, I can't just forget it, just like that!" Haru argued. "While I do understand what's going on here on this island, it doesn't change the fact that you went behind my back!" She then looked forward as Blue Fang kept running. "Natsu... don't you understand how much that hurts? To have my big brother promise me that he wouldn't get into any trouble, but then he goes and does it, anyway?" She then glanced back at him, hitting him with a bitter stare. "And all because he's so desperate to prove that he's better than everybody!"

"I'm... I'm not that desperate," Natsu mumbled, withering under her gaze.

"Oh, please," Haru countered. "Ever since Laxus and Erza beat you in a fight, a long time ago, all you ever think about is proving that you're the best! It's one thing to be strong, but strength only matters when you're smart, too! And now, because of your stupidity, you could get yourself kicked out, along with Happy, Gray, and Lucy! Ever think of that?!"

Natsu opened his mouth to argue... and yet, the words died in his throat, causing him to sigh as he looked away.

"That's what I thought," Haru said as she looked forward, sadly. "Natsu... while I am glad you're okay... I don't want you to leave the guild. The whole reason I joined Fairy Tail was because of you."

Natsu felt his heart sink into the pit of his belly. He knew that Haru would get upset with him for leaving, but... not this upset.

Suddenly, the Dragon Slayer grinned before he raised his arms... and began to scribble his fingers around Haru's exposed stomach, causing her to snort and bite her lip in an attempt to stop herself from laughing.

"N-Natsu, stop!" she cried as she tried to push his hands away. "No! Don't tickle me! You're gonna make us fall off! Besides, that's not gonna work this time! I'm still mad at you!"

At first, that seemed to have the desired effect... for about 2 seconds. Before too long, Natsu was back to tickling her again, and this time, she failed to stifle her laughter. She laughed as she clutched Blue Fang's collar to keep herself balanced while the silver wolf glanced back and smiled as if knowingly. Even Natsu started to laugh before he finally stopped.

"That's not fair, Natsu!" Haru said, breathlessly.

"It cheered ya up, though, didn't it?" Natsu asked.

"This is serious!" Haru argued.

"Yeah, and so am I," Natsu replied. "I'm... really sorry, Haru. For real."

"...I know," Haru said before she chuckled. "I'll tell you this much, you always make it hard for me to stay mad at you."

"Hey, I'm your brother," Natsu said. "It's my job."

Haru smiled, warmly as she gently clutched her brother's hand in her own.

"...You're still in trouble when we get home, you know," Haru began, "but... we'll deal with that when we get back."

"Good," Natsu said before he looked up. "Anyway, we're here."

Blue Fang braked to a stop in front of a huge stone building... a temple, so to speak, covered in vines and moss. It was quite obvious this place had been here for many years.

"So, this is the place, huh?" asked Haru.

"Yup," Natsu replied. "So, you ready to do this?"

"Well... I've never had to break anything on purpose before," said Haru. "Plus, when I do, I'm usually in Beast Mode, so I don't even know what I'm doing."

"That makes two of us," Natsu replied before he cracked his knuckles, "but I think we can give it a whirl just this once, right?"

"Heh," Haru smirked. "I'm gettin' fired up."

"Hey! That's my line!" Natsu complained.

"You ready, Blue Fang?" Haru asked, earning a growl from the silver wolf in response. "Then let's do this thing!"

XXX

A loud crashing sound had caught the attention of Lyon Vastia, a young man with spiky, silvery hair as he heard the sound of rumbling. As he looked up from the throne where he sat, he saw that the room was starting to tilt.

"What is the meaning of this?!" Lyon questioned.

"The temple's about to fall apart!" cried Toby Horhorta, a young man with a cat-like mouth and ears.

"No... it's just slanting!" Lyon replied.

"So," said a mysterious man in a tribal mask, Zalty, "it appears that he has made his move... and he brought a friend with him."

"Observe," said Zalty as he pointed at a hole in the stone floor. "They're right below us."

As Lyon and Toby looked down, they saw Natsu, Haru, and Blue Fang smashing some stone pillars.

"AGH! It's that guy, again!" Toby yelled. "And he brought some green-haired chick and a dog!"

"He's a wolf, ugly!" Haru called out.

"Man, you were right, Haru," Natsu said, panting a bit. "I'm used to breakin' stuff on accident, but actually trying to break somethin' is a different story!"

"You imbeciles...!" Lyon hissed. "Just what do you think you're doing?!"

"You must be this 'Cold Emperor' I heard about," said Haru.

"The temple's tilted, right?" asked Natsu. "Now that it is, the moonlight can't melt the ice around that monster."

"How dare you...!" Lyon hissed. "You Fairy Tail upstarts!"

"I don't get it!" Toby cried. "What'd they do?!"

"I believe they destroyed half of the pillars that support these temple ruins," said Zalty. "With the temple tilted like this, the moonlight cannot reach Deliora. That seems to be their plan." He then gave a grin. "The boy seems to be smarter than I thought."

"Quit your gabbin' and fight me!" Natsu shouted, gathering the flames around his feet before using them like a pair of jets to rocket himself up through the hole, hitting Lyon in the process.

"All right! You got him!" Haru exclaimed as she and Blue Fang made it up to the top floor, as well... only to gasp as they saw Lyon's body suddenly shatter into pieces. "An ice clone?! But then, where's the real-"

"Over here!"

Natsu, Haru, and Blue Fang turned to see Lyon, who held his hand out to him as he conjured a flock of Ice Hawks.

"You can't dodge in midair, can you?!" he asked.

"Natsu, watch out!" Haru cried as she and Blue Fang dodged the ice birds while Natsu grinned and used his flaming breath to not only melt one of them but also to duck down to avoid the attack.

"You were saying?!" Natsu asked as he stood on his hands and shot out more flames from his feet, which Lyon dodged while the Dragon Slayer spun around on his palms, creating a tornado of flames.

"I won't fall for a trick like that!" Lyon shouted.

"Wanna bet?!" Haru questioned as she suddenly leaped over the flames and kicked Lyon in the face, sending him stumbling back. However, he managed to recover quickly before he jumped over the Beast Wizard in order to avoid her punch... but that seemed to be what she was hoping for.

"Natsu, now!" Haru shouted.

"You can't dodge in midair, right?!" Natsu asked before he took in a deep breath. "FIRE DRAGON ROAR!"

A huge jet of flames burst forth from Natsu's mouth, preparing to hit Lyon directly... but then, out of nowhere, the floor beneath him crumbled, causing the pink-haired teen to fall right through!

"Natsu!" Haru cried as she and Blue Fang looked down at the newly formed hole. "Are you okay?!

"...Yeah!" Natsu called.

Haru sighed in relief... but then, she gasped as the floor suddenly started crumbling beneath her and Blue Fang, as well.

"Oh, you've gotta be kidding-" she started, only to shriek as she and her wolf partner fell right through the floor, joining Natsu. "...Ow."

"Ugh... you all right, sis?" Natsu asked as he stood up, shoving a piece of rubble off of himself.

"I think so," Haru replied as she held her head while Blue Fang shook his body to relieve himself of disorientation. "What happened up there? The floor suddenly just gave out."

"Come on," said Natsu as he helped her up. "We gotta get back up there and finish things."

Haru nodded before they began to climb back up to the top floor... but when they did, they saw that the whole room was now encased in ice... and Lyon stood in the middle, giving the trio a deadly glare while Zalty stood nearby.

"Brrr...!" Haru shivered. "No wonder it's cold, all of a sudden!"

"Listen well," Lyon spoke. "I am Lyon the Cold Emperor... and I am the only wizard in existence with the ability to defeat Deliora! It will bring shame on my name if I cannot defeat lowlives such as you two!"

"I see," said Zalty while Natsu blinked in bewilderment.

"Defeat Deliora...?" he asked.

"We heard all about that," said Haru as she stood up. "You wanna revive this 'Deliora' demon, right? But why would you wanna do something so crazy?"

"Defeating Deliora is the only way I can surpass Ur!" Lyon answered.

"Ur..." Haru replied. "Your former master, right? I heard about that... how she gave up her life to stop Deliora, right?" She then glared at Lyon while clenching her fists. "But Lyon... reviving Deliora would be like spitting all over Ur's sacrifice! How could you disrespect her like this?!"

"Don't you lecture me, girl," Lyon said. "If it weren't for Gray, Ur would still be alive! It's his fault that I will never achieve my goal!" He then held out his hand, shooting off an Ice Eagle at Haru, who gasped as she braced herself... but the attack never hit. As she opened her eyes, she gasped as she saw Natsu standing in front of her, his left arm bruised and bleeding from taking the brunt of the attack.

"Natsu!" Haru exclaimed.

"Two things, buddy," Natsu said. "First off, no one tries to hurt my little sister... and second, I don't know what went on between you and Gray, and to be frank, I don't care! All I know is that you've been causing a lot of people to suffer, and now you're gonna pay for it!" He then ignited his hands into flames. "So now... I'm gonna wake you up!"

"I'd like to see you try," said Lyon.

XXX

Meanwhile, in the jungle, Gray was leading Erza, Lucy, and Happy toward the ruins, and it was during this time that he began to explain everything.

"Ever since the day I met him," Gray began, "Lyon's made it his life's goal to surpass Ur... but now that she's gone, he believes that defeating Deliora is the next best thing since it was the one enemy that she couldn't defeat."

"I see," said Lucy, solemnly. "I guess... that would be some way to surpass someone who's dead."

"Aye," Happy agreed.

"Actually," Gray said, "there's more to it than that... there's something that Lyon doesn't realize."

"What's that?" Lucy asked.

"...Ur may not be among us, anymore," Gray started, "but the truth is... she's still alive!"

"Huh?!" Lucy gasped while Erza's eyes went wide in slight shock.

"No way!" Happy cried in disbelief.

"And now," Gray began, "if I don't stop Lyon... it'll be like he killed her, all over again!"

Oh, boy...

Review, please!