SailorStar9: We now continue with Chapter 132 of this fic. (Sighs) Guys and girls, is it too hard for you to leave a review, instead of just putting this fic up on your favorited list and story alerts?

Disclaimers: I own nothing, except for the plot bunny and my OCs.

Chapter 132: Avatar Arc: Ikusatsunagi

"When Ikusatsunagi shakes the earth, the purification will begin." Alok declared.

"You the head honcho?" Natsu asked. "You can't win now. Just give up."

"How delightful youth is." Alok tsked. "I was young once myself. But everyone grows old as they climb the stairs of regrets. Until ultimately, they reach despair." he fired an energy shot at Natsu who simply deflected it with one hand. "You appear to be quite a skilled wizard." he was impressed at Natsu continued charging. "But can you deflect this?" he sent down a large energy bullet from the sky towards Natsu. "Impressive." he noted, Natsu punching the attack off. "But..." stabbing his pointed staff on the ground, he erected several barriers in front of Natsu and sent a barrage of energy blasts at the restrained fire mage as an after attack.

"All right." Natsu managed to dodge the barrage and rammed against one of the barriers.

Seeing Natsu had managed to force his way through, Alok erecting even more barriers to block off the charging Dragon Slayer.

"Get real." Natsu scoffed, barreling through the walls effortlessly. "These walls won't stop me." "Fire Dragon Iron Fist!" powering up his fist with fire, he slammed the punch on Alok's head. "There." he noted. "I beat their boss. Now their Purification thing is finished. What's so funny?" he frowned when Alok started chuckling.

"You lose." Alok mocked. "I burned away my own face for this day. That was the price. I happily burnt my face off. Now, O covenantal God of Battle." he chanted. "Deliver on the price paid and unleash your might for me. Ikusatsunagi, I summon thee!" he shot the summoning sigil into the air and the sky grew overcast.

"What the..." Natsu blinked as ominous dark clouds gathered in the sky.

"What is this?" Lucy was stunned.

"My skin is tingling." Happy shivered.

"Is this..." Gray frowned.

"I sense a vortex of magic." Juvia remarked.

"I don't like the feeling of this." Ulyo warned.

"Wendy." Carla started.

"The air has changed." Wendy reported.

"It's Grandfather's spell." Mary giggled. "Everyone, just die already!"

"What's happening?" Erza demanded when the ground under her feet broke into pieces.

"A foot?" Lucy gaped when a giant foot appeared.

"It's gigantic!" Happy exclaimed.

"Get out of the way." Gray warned. "It's gonna crush all of you."

"His own people..." Wendy gasped in horror as the Battle God stomped on the fleeing Avatar members.

"That's horrible." even Carla was shocked.

"Stop this!" Natsu demanded Alok. "You're taking out your own guys too."

"This is the Purification Plan." Alok bragged. "The souls of the faithful Avatar devotees are the true sacrifice. The city and its people are irrelevant. The souls of those who die for Zeref are the ultimate offering. It is through them that Zeref will appear and bring us forward."

"You bastard." Natsu growled.

"The Battle God Ikusatsunagi will not be stopped until it takes every last life here." Alok laughed.

"Grandfather?" Mary stammered. "Are you going to kill us too?"

"It's huge." Gray gawked.

"What is this thing?" Lucy wondered.

"They summoned of the Eighteen Gods of Yakuma?" Erza realized.

"These guys..." Natsu hissed, the clouds dispelling to reveal Ikusatsunagi in his full form. "They don't give a crap about their own comrades? This ends now."

"So, this is a Battle God?" Briar was in awe.

"The time of purification..." Jerome remarked.

"It's huge." Abel gushed.

"Victory is ours." D-6 declared.

"It's attacking!" Erza barked when Ikusatsunagi raised its sword to strike down.

The single sword strike was stopped in mid-attack when a humanoid being made entirely of water erupted surrounded the deeply concentrating Ulyo.

"Susanoo: Aqua Armor." the water user activated her ultimate defense ability, managing to stop the Battle God from striking the earth.

"Lucy, see that?" Happy pointed to Natsu who was running up the Battle God's sword.

"Someone's on top of the sword." Lucy gaped.

"Man, he's unbelievable." Gray snorted.

"No kidding." Ulyo agreed, releasing the Susanoo armor. "Talaria," she activated the Winged Sandals of Hermes. "Invoke!" navy blue ribbons wrapped around her legs and she shot upwards into the air.

"There is nothing you can do." Alok mocked. "Ikusatsunagi is a God of Battle. His might is beyond human reach. Hear me, my brethren. Offer your souls. Sacrifice yourselves for Zeref."

"Damn you!" Natsu barked. "You don't even care about your comrades' lives?"

"Someday, you too, will realize 'comrades' are but a means to an end." Alok retorted.

"You're wrong!" Natsu shouted. "Friends are people who share the same goal and move forward together. They can even have different goals; they grow to smile together, support each other and trust each other."

"That's nothing more than 'dependency'." Alok taunted.

"Call it whatever you want." Natsu made his way to Ikusatsunagi's head. "But it's that bond that has always been my salvation. Don't underestimate the power of friendship!" jumping right in front of Ikusatsunagi, he slammed a flaming fist on the Battle God's head.

"You can't hurt him." Alok snorted.

"To protect those dear friends," Natsu started on top of Ikusatsunagi's head. "And to never lose anyone else as I watch on. I will get stronger." he swore and fired up a large fireball from his clutched fist. "This is Igneel's flame! Fire Dragon King Destruction Fist!"

"Maximum Invocation," Ulyo, still in the air, powered up the Talaria. "Destructo Meteor!" she shot down upon Ikusatsunagi's head with the speed of a descending meteorite, just as Natsu slammed his flaming fist on the Battle God's head.

"You two have grown stronger." Erza praised, seeing the Battle God was completely demolished by the pair's combined attacks.

"Impossible..." Alok muttered, his Battle God destroyed and the skies cleared. "This cannot be..."

"Our army of 2,000 has been beaten?" Jerome was shocked by the turn of events.

"Wait." D-6 tried to dissuade the remaining acolytes from fleeing. "The Purification Plan isn't over yet."

"We just have to do it our..." Abel started when a steel pole knocked him to the ground.

"This here is forbidden magic." Gajeel took control of Mr. Cursey. "I'm confiscating it."

"You're going to pay..." D*6 swore when he was taken out by Pantherlily's sword from the back.

"You left your back wide open." said Exceed remarked.

"Arrest them all!" Gajeel ordered his troops. "Don't let anyone escape."

"Gajeel?" Wendy gawked.

"And Lily?" even Carla was surprised.

"Arrest..." Juvia gaped.

"Yep, he works for the Council now." Gray confirmed.

"Levy and Lily." Natsu spotted Levy and Pantherlily.

"It's been a while." Pantherlily nodded.

"And a Gajeel look-alike?" Natsu blinked.

"Are you trying to pick a fight?" Gajeel snapped.

"Seriously, the Gajeel would never work for the Council." Natsu pointed out.

"I needed money to eat, and that old tree guy offered me a job." Gajeel grinned.

"I bet Warrod-sama is instantly regretting that decision." Ulyo joked.

"Also, you're under arrest, Salamander." Gajeel declared. "For that nasty look in your eyes. You're under arrest for looking sexy." he told Lucy. "Juvia's under arrest for being clammy. You're under arrest for eating too much fish." that was directed to Happy. "And you two." he turned to Ulyo and Wendy. "You're under arrest for... just because. And you already know why you're under arrest, Gray." he turned to the ice mage. "Don't expect any leniency from me."

"You're certainly acting cocky for someone who looks like Gajeel." Erza clocked the Iron Dragon Slayer on the head.

"I am Gajeel!" Gajeel snapped.

"No, the Gajeel I know would never work for the Council." Erza reiterated Natsu's statement.

"He really is Gajeel." Pantherlily supplied.

"Then this simplifies things." Erza noted. "As you can see, we stopped Avatar's Purification Plan." she informed Gajeel as the rest of the Custody Enforcement Unit arrested the remaining Avatar members. "But the real credit..."

"I know." Gajeel cut her off. "When we stormed their hideout..." he recalled when they had found a tied up Gômon and an ice slab from Gray informing them of the plan's location.

"We never would've found this place without your help." Pantherlily informed the ice mage. "You have our thanks."

"Still, I did cause a lot of trouble." Gray protested. "I'm sorry."

"You had me completely fooled, too." Levy whined.

"You really need to work on your disguises, by the way." Gray reminded.

"Then, why is Erza here, too?" Carla wondered.

"I can explain later." Lucy laughed.

"So, those are Gray's companions?" Jerome gaped as he was led away.

"The connection they share is too much for us." Briar conceded.

On the cliff overseeing the city...

"Oh man, we came here all worried about them." Sting sighed, arriving on site with Rouge.

"And instead, we found they've taken out an entire army." Rouge added.

"Not to mention an insanely giant monster." Sting looked at the charred remains of Ikusatsunagi. "They're just too much."

"They're a sight to behold when they're all together." Lector gushed. "Don't you think so too, Frosch? Frosch is gone!" he exclaimed.

"Why is Frosch mingling over there?" Rouge spotted his partner conversing with the Fairy Tail Exceeds.

"Wait..." Gray spotted the addition. "You're Frosch from Sabertooth. What are you doing out here?" he rebuked. "You're so adorable." he gushed, picking up the green Exceed.

"Er... what?" Ulyo blinked blankly.

Both Natsu and Lucy watched in relief as the eerie glow Rouge's shadow faded.

SailorStar9: Now that's done, read and review.