Chapter 50
Shadow-Stained Iron
"Speech"
'Thoughts'
"Magic"
Flashback you
Location / Date / Time Skip
The group stared at the future Lisanna and gasped in shock at her statement. "WHAT THE HELL!?" Natsu cried out, only to get slapped by Nicholas.
"Get a hold of yourself, man!" He shouted.
"Ten thousand dragons... could it be connected to that graveyard we found?" Wendy asked.
"I wonder the same thing." Carla added.
"So we need to be on the look out for some necromancer or something?" Slate asked.
"I think that's just a work of fiction." Pantherlily replied.
"Anyway, we can't just wait around here!" Natsu declared. "We gotta start prepping for a fight!"
"Are you trying to die!?" Lucy asked.
"You... believe me?" The future girl asked in surprise.
"Of course we do. You're Lisanna." He replied. "You wouldn't lie about something like this." Tears were welling up in her eyes, causing Natsu to wipe it away.
"So, when the dragons attack, what happened to us in the castle?" Carla asked. Lisanna hung her head in shame, scaring the others.
"When the dragons attacked, everything went to chaos." She explained. "I don't know how many days passed, but when I woke up I learned about the Eclipse. I spent a few months gathering the keys before I could even get the gate open. I walk through it, and the next thing I knew, it was July 4th in the year X793."
"Wasn't that just a few days ago?" Loke asked.
"Can't you travel further than that with the Eclipse?" Lucy asked.
"I don't know..." The time traveler replied. "Maybe it was broken or damaged, but that's as far as it spat me out."
'I see... This is the person who advised the princess...' Arcadios thought, hiding that he was awake. 'That doesn't explain why she is lying about the Eclipse. Unless... someone else came through the gate as well.'
"There are surveillance Lacrima all around the city for the games." Lisanna said. "We'll need to go underground until we can meet up with Jellal."
"Jellal?" Natsu asked.
"I told him everything." She replied. "He should be coming up with a strategy right now. I'm sorry... I didn't come here with any kind of strategy. I don't know how to save anyone."
Natsu leaned forward and hugged the girl tight. "We'll do something about it. Thank you, for wanting to save our future." Lisanna started crying and hugged back, crying into his shoulder.
With Gajeel
Gajeel stood over a panting Rogue, a smug look on his face. "Wanna say that again? Who said I'm not as strong either Salamander or Rockhead?" He asked.
Rogue started chuckling, catching Gajeel's attention. "I always wondered why you decided to join Fairy Tail after they defeated Phantom Lord... Now I see why." He explained. "You probably forgot all about me by now, but I was just a kid back then. A snot nosed punk who looked up to your guild. As a kid, my dream in life was to join your guild. But after the war between them and Fairy Tail, they were forced to disband.
"And of all the guild you could have joined, you and Juvia choose the one who ruined my dream. I was heartbroken and angry at you, but I knew there had to be a reason for it. I couldn't figure it out, but now I know why. You wanted friends... The very notion of friends is taboo in Sabertooth. We were nothing but foot-soldiers for our master. If we were defeated, he'd make us pay.
"I don't really know what it's like to be in a real guild, because I don't have any friends. I don't even know what I'm fighting for. That bound you all, it's the reason why we could never measure up. The only exceptions are Minerva and Sting."
"Stand up." Gajeel demanded, confusing Rogue. "You don't understand a thing. That frog is your friend, isn't he?"
"Frosch is a cat!" Rogue shouted, standing up.
"To be exact, he's an Exceed." Gajeel chuckled. "But I'm right, aren't I?"
Rogue hung his head and chuckled. "That's right... Frosch is my friend..."
"ROGUE!" A voice called out and scared him, making him look around. "Look ahead... the enemy is still there... kill Gajeel..."
"Who's there!? Show yourself!" Rogue demanded, confusing Gajeel.
"Idiot..." He turned and looked down as his own shadow started to grow. "I am your shadow. I'll lend you my power. Kill Gajeel!"
Rogue gripped his head in pain as his shadow suddenly rose up and swallowed him. Instantly, marks appeared on his arm before and he swatted Gajeel back. "You don't wanna go down without swinging, do ya?" Gajeel chuckled.
"This is the power we can use together, Rogue." The Third Gen said, his eyes glazed over. "Let us strike him down."
"The hell is going-" Gajeel was cut off when Rogue kicked him in the face. "I don't know what happened, it sounds like you wanna do some real fighting? Bring it on. Iron Dragon Sword!" His blade arm launched forward, only for the shadows to wind down and slash him, knocking Gajeel back.
Gajeel stood up and looked around only to get hit from behind with a barrage of shadow slashes, tearing his clothes. Gajeel threw a desperate punch, only for Rogue come from behind and hit him again and again. "Rogue was right, you aren't nearly as strong as Natsu Dragneel." The boy said as he beat on Gajeel even more. "I'd be surprised if you could even beat Bolton. Then again, neither are a match for me now."
The boy suddenly grabbed Gajeel by the throat and lifted him off the ground and started choking him. "It's hard to believe I ever looked up to you. How pathetic... Soon the shadows will have eaten you away, and then this world will be rid of you. You'll vanish into eternal darkness."
He tossed Gajeel on the ground, only to tilt his head in confusion as Gajeel smirked. "Think boulder brain is strong enough to do this." He opened his mouth and started sucking the shadows into his mouth.
Rogue backed away as Gajeel started crawling on all fours. "I don't know who you are, but better get out of his body or else. His name ain't Rogue, it's Ryos. And he's my sworn brother." Gajeel stood up as his arms started turning solid black. "He didn't look up to me back then, he feared me. Maybe you forgot since I'm just a nice guy now, but I'll remind you of that fear."
"It can't be..." Rogue mumbled in shock. "An Iron Shadow Dragon!?" Gajeel smirked before charging forward, forcing Rogue to brace only to suddenly vanish. He looked around before a metal pillar hit him in the back of the head. Stumbling back, Rogue turned into a shadow and snaked away, only for Gajeel to do the same.
The snaked around the ground and batted each other before Gajeel reached over and pulled Rogue out. Smirking, he punched Rogue again and again before throwing him into the ceiling, pulling his head back. "You're done! "Iron Shadow Dragon Roar!"
A massive beam of shadow and iron shot up and blasted Rogue, kicking up a massive amount of dust and debris. Rogue landed on the ground and his marks faded, leaving Gajeel as the one standing. His body returned to normal and stared at Rogue, only to see a dark shadow snake off them. "The hell?"
"Stop!" He turned back to Rogue to see Frosch standing in front of his friend. "Rogue will die. Stop!"
Gajeel watched as tears fell from the cats eyes, making squat down. "The fights over. I'm not gonna do anything."
"Frosch..." Rogue mumbled, making the cat run over and hug his face. "My body... did I lose...?"
'He doesn't remember the fight?' Gajeel asked himself in surprise. 'That shadow...'
Mercusius
"This way, hurry." Lisanna said as she led the group through the halls.
"How'd you know about this underground path?" Natsu asked.
"I spent a little time exploring before coming back here." She replied. "I can lead us out of here without getting caught. It's the least I can do."
"We need to hurry and get out so we can launch the signal flare." Nicholas said. "The others need to know about this."
They entered a hallway only for a storm of royal soldiers to charge them. "The Royal Army!? Why are they stationed here?"
"Don't worry. We'll just show them who's boss." Natsu chuckled as he cracked his knuckles.
"Ain't that the truth." Loke added as he fixed his tie.
"Guys, we've got a problem." Wendy called out. "Arcadios and Yukino are missing."
"How? They were both behind us a second ago." Lucy asked.
"Crap, I'll go find her!" Nicholas said as he turned and ran back into the castle. "I'll come back the second I can!"
"Hold on, we need to stick together!" Slate shouted.
"We just gotta trust him." Natsu growled in annoyance before turning back to the mob. "Ready, buddy?"
"Hell yeah. Let's kick some ass." The spirit declared before they dived onto the fight. They pushed the soldiers back as they soldiers gasped in shock of their strength. Natsu grabbed one and threw him into the mob, scaring the group even more.
A blast of magic hit him in the back and he turned to see an Anti-Magic unit standing behind him. "Alright, Fire Dragon Wing Attack!" Natsu ignited his fists and unleashed whips at the wizards.
Loke unleashed a magic punch and blasted back another squad before Wendy roared a third back. "How are this many here?" Lucy asked as she backed into Future Lisanna.
"Why did I pick this way?" The girl asked.
"Stay back, you two!" Slate declared to Carla and Happy as he threw a kunai at the mob. "Me and Lily will handle this."
The ground started to melt and forced to the larger cat to pick up the three smaller cats and rolled. Neeba chuckled as he chugged his drink. "You again!?" Pantherlily complained.
"I have a job to do, pussy cats." The executioner chuckled.
Plants rose up and tried to strike Wendy, only for her to jump out of the way. "Hello again, cutie." Cosmos chuckled as she rose out of the ground. "Sadly, this is the last time we'll ever meet."
"Who are these guys?!" Future Lisanna asked as Kamika reformed before her and Lucy.
"Don't underestimate the kingdom's executioners." The paper mage declared. "This is where you pay for your transgressions."
Uosuke sat on a stand as his servants carried him in. "I understand what compels you..." Natsu turned around as the scythe user stepped forward. "Regardless, I must carry out my orders. For your crimes against the kingdom, I will be collecting your heads."
"Again with this head hunting?" Natsu asked.
With Erza
Minerva watched as Erza dropped into a fighting stance. She waved her wrist and a spatial tendril wrapped around her bad ankle before she swung it, sending Erza crashing into a few pillars. "This is where you fall, Erza. The more you fight back, the worse it'll get." She declared as Kagura and Milianna glanced at the red head.
With Gray and Juvia
Gray jumped back from one of Lyon's attacks before glancing down at the river. "Juvia!" The water woman raised her hands and a stream of water rose up. Gray clasped his hands together and combined her magic with his own.
Black wind tore through both elements before Chelia landed next to Lyon. "Why the heck are you just standing there?"
"You'd really use Juvia's magic against me? You'll pay for that." The older mage growled out before unleashing an ice dragon on Gray.
"Why the heck are you just attacking him? Go after Juvia, too!" Chelia shouted.
"I'm leaving that to you." Lyon replied. "Be careful, you're not allowed to hurt her."
Gray came to a stop as he smirked at the concerned Juvia. "He might be strong, but he sucks at teamwork." Gray chuckled as he placed his hands together. "Let's use that against them."
With Laxus
Jura walked forward and stared at the two lightning users. "Come on and join the party. I'd love to have you fight for real." Orga chuckled as he his hands out, lightning arching off his fingers. "Let's see you try and stop this. I'm gonna give you a taste of my full power, old man. Let's finally see who's stronger; a Saint or a God-Slayer."
"I'll play." Jura chuckled.
Orga smirked as he pulled his hands back. "Lightning God Charged Particle Cannon!" He thrust his arms forward and a railgun shot out, only for Jura to suddenly rush forward and slam Orga into the ground by his face.
Everyone in the arena stared in shock as Jura stood up. "I remember you now." The Saint said. "You fought on the first day. That fight ended with one blow as well." He turned to Laxus and smiled. "Now that that's settled... I had been hoping for the chance to spare with you, the grandson of Makarov."
"Stop right there." Laxus said, dropping his cloak off. "Forget about that fancy title and who I'm related to. Right now, we're just two men."
"So be it." Jura smirked as the wind picked up. Laxus charged forward and Jura clapped his hands before chopping Laxus into the ground. "In this world, there is always someone above you."
"Yeah, you're right about that." Laxus declared, shocking Jura as he pushed himself up. "But what you've seem to have forgotten is to pay attention to who's at your feet!" He covered himself in Lightning and punched Jura in the jaw.
Mercusius
Arcadios walked down the hall in silver platted armor, shocking the soldiers standing at attention. "Where is the princess?" He asked, shocking the troops. "I'm ordering you to tell me."
"Sir, she's on the top floor!" One answered, making him walk away.
'I need to clear up something now.' He thought as he walked down the hall. 'Those were not the tears of a liar. Which means that it's the princess that is lying.'
Holy shit, Iron Shadow Dragon was freaking awesome! Finally, Gajeel has a badass moment in the show!
Yep, the threat is extremely credible and I removed alot of the stupid stuff in this chapter. Looking at you, dolphin boy. Seriously, why the hell was that put in? Who's the moron who created that thing? Well, the fights are picking up and I have nothing else to say. See you all next chapter.
Beta read by General Feng Xiang