Back with the continuation
"speaking"
""thinking""
On with the story
The port town of Hargeon
The Alvarez Forces have made the town of Hargeon their base, but standing in their way were the combined forces of Lamia Scale and Mermaid Heel
"Ice Make!" Lyon exclaimed as he readied his magic
"Titan's feet!"
A giant ice foot came crashing down on the enemy's troops as they were sent flying
"Tenjin no Boreas!" Cheria unleashed a tornado of black wind as the enemies went flying
"twirl around!" Obaba spins around as her spin attacks hits Alvarez Soldiers one by one
"they're a lot better than we thought!" the soldiers then started forming up as they continued their attack
In the town, Wall was standing on top of a tall building as the Machias was locking on targets from a far
"Lock on!" Wall said as large missiles started appearing beside him "go blow 'em away!"
The missiles fired as they exploded at their designated coordinates
"Kagura-chan! Magic attacks are coming at us from the sky!" Milliana exclaimed to the swordswoman
"leave them to me!" Kagura exclaimed as she dashed towards the missiles with her swords readied
"Fugutaiten! Sho no Kata!"
All of the missiles were slashed into half in mid air as they exploded in the air
"amazing as ever!" Cheria praised the swords woman
Kagura then sensed an attack as she swings her sword behind her and managed to block a slash from Dimaria
"oh! A swift reaction time!" Dimaria praised her before the two backed off each other "and your eastern Kimono is very pretty"
"but" Dimaria said as she lifts her sword up "I'll be staining it in red"
All of the sudden an immense magic pressure was unleashed as everyone felt it
""what is this power?! Such magic power…has frozen the battle field!?"" Kagure readied her sword as she can tell that Dimaria is very strong
""is this one of the infamous Spriggan 12!?""
"you remind me of Randi, I'm going to enjoy toying with you" Dimaria said before Kagura's kimono were shredded into pieces
"what!?" Kagura exclaimed in shock
"Kagura!" Simon called out to his little sister while punching away an Alvarez Soldier
At Fairy Tail
In the Infirmary
Brandish slowly opened her eyes as she sat up and sees that she was in the guild's infirmary
"where am i!?" she whipped her head to the side and sees Lucy, Cana and Porlyusica with her
"the infirmary" Lucy replied to her
Brandish then sees that she was still cuffed with the anti magic resistance cuffs
"sorry, but Master insisted that we leave those on" Lucy told the girl
"still…we put them on in front cause we felt kinda bad for you" Cana said to Brandish
"what about Marin?" Brandish asked,
"the guy who tried to strangle you to death?" Lucy said
"he sure shocked us! Appearing out of nowhere, but don't worry he's in a cell" Cana told her
"you were on the verge of death, but these two saved you in the nick of time, you should be grateful" Porlyusica told her
"why did you save me?" Brandish asked them
"why else? We still have a lot of info to get out of you!" Cana told her
"I won't tell you anything" Brandish retorted
"even so, we don't want to see anybody die, not even an enemy," Lucy said to her
"you do plan to torture me, though" Brandish replied
"not at all" Lucy said,
"unless you want us to?" Cana asked while holding a whip that came out of nowhere
"Cana!" Porlyusica scolded her
"I've shared a bath with you. You don't seem to be an evil person to me" Lucy said with a smile
Brandish looks to her before voicing out "you want to know about Layla?"
She then raised up her cuffed hands to them as she wanted them off
"two conditions, first, take these off and second I want to talk to Lucy alone"
"You think you can dictate the terms!?" Cana said with an annoyed glare at Brandish
"it's alright, it's alright Cana" Lucy told the Card Mage
"I'm sorry about this, Porlyusica," Lucy said as Porlyusica and Cana left the infirmary
"I'll undo the binding spell, but the cuff's stay on," The guild medic told her
"if she tries anything, just shout for us!" Cana told her friend as Lucy nodded before turning her attention towards Brandish
A minute of silence passed before Brandish spoke out
"my name is Brandish Ur. My mother's name was Grammi" Brandish then looks to Lucy "she was one of the servants of your mother, Layla"
"Wha?" Lucy said in disbelieve
"when Layla retired as a Celestial Wizard…she relinquished three of her golden keys to her three most trusted servants" Brandish continued to explain
"Capricorn's key went to Zoldeo, Cancer's was given to Spetto"
"Spetto-san?!" Lucy said when she referred to her housemaid
"and to my mother, Grammi…she was given Aquarius' key" Brandish finished her explanation
"my mother really looked up to Layla, and she respected the key, too….she polished it every single day"
"but" Brandish then clenched her fists on the bedsheets as anger started to swell up in her heart " Layla, your mother betrayed my mother!"
"what did my mother do?" Lucy asked her
"tell me…who gave you Aquarius' key?" Brandish asked Lucy
"my mother" Lucy replied,
"and why do you think she still had it, if she had already given it away?" Brandish asked her as her face darkens
"Layla came to take the key back and murdered my mother in doing so!"
"Wha? That can't possibly be" Lucy tried to retort but Brandish cuts her off
"you're so naïve," Brandish told her before she lunged herself at Lucy "you only believe in the world you see!"
The two then fell to the floor as Brandish muffled Lucy's mouth and put her in a body lock
"that naivete makes you too quick to trust people!" Brandish told her as she started to strangle Lucy who was trying to break free
"I have nothing against you personally….but this is the only way I can do this"
"mmmggh! Mgggh!" Lucy tried to break free but Brandish' grip on her was too strong
"the only way to avenge my mother…is to take your life!" Brandish said as tears started to fall down her eyes "sorry, but….please die!"
Lucy was starting loose air really quick as she was suffocating
But all of a sudden, the spilled water suddenly attacks Brandish and pushes her away from Lucy
"what were you saying about my key?"
A voice spoke as Lucy opened her eyes and sees a long lost to be thought friend
Tears welled up in her eyes as they quiver in joy and sadness
"Aquarius!"
The mermaid in name smiled to Lucy "it's been a while, Lucy" Aquarius told her
Lucy then lunged towards Aquarius as she hugs her and started crying her heart out
"you came back to me, Aquarius!" Lucy said in joy
"no" Aquarius replied "I can't stay"
"in the year since we parted, a new key to the Water Bearer Palace has been born somewhere in your world" Aquarius explained
"and to celebrate that… actually, it has nothing to do with it, but the Celestial Spirit King has temporarily opened my gate to this world. Meaning that I don't have much time in this world"
Lucy shook her head and smiled to her "but being able to see you again…..means so much to me"
Aquarius smiled back before turning her attention towards Brandish who was looking at her
"long time no see, Brandish" Aquarius greeted her
"you know each other?" Lucy asked her
"you heard her. Her mother had my key for a while, we used to play together a lot, didn't we Brandish?" Aquarius replied back as Brandish looks to her in the silent
"hey! I asked you a question! Where's your answer, you brat!" Aquarius shouted at Brandish who squeaked in fear
"p-please forgive me, Master…" Brandish apologizes to her
"Master…, huh?" Lucy said in confusion
"what a bad girl. You'll never get a boyfriend with that attitude!" Aquarius said as she clamps her hand on Brandish mouth "right?!"
"yef mr'rm" Brandish replied muffledly
"since it's been a long time, I'd like to hear you bark again," Aquarius said with a smile as Brandish started making dog barking sound
"there, there! Good doggy!" Aquarius petted Brandish's head as the woman smiled in joy
"Master~," she said before she got slapped by Aquarius
"but that won't get you off the hook!" Aquarius shouted to Brandish who smiled in joy to the slap
"thank you very much! Master!"
"I have no idea what's going on," Lucy said with a deadpanned voice
"I am your master! And Lucy is my master! Understand what that means, Brandish!?" Aquarius told to Brandish who was kneeling down to her
"yes but…even so…I still…cannot forgive Layla for killing my mother!" Brandish told her
"Lucy isn't Layla, is she?" Aquarius told her before the whole room started to glow
"for that matter, Layla didn't kill Grammi either. The reason why I'm here is to tell you what happened"
The whole room then flashed as Lucy and Brandish were transported to a different area
"well..more "show" than "tell"" Aquarius said as Lucy and Brandish were in space and they were mermaids
"what is this!?" Lucy said as she looks at her fish-like tail
"I'm a mermaid!?" Brandish exclaimed before seeing Aquarius in front of them
"wait! Where are we!?" Lucy said as she didn't have any idea on where they were
"this is Star Memory, an archive of the memories experienced by the Celestial Spirits" Aquarius explained as the three started swimming in space
"you can think of it like dreaming if that's easier, but everything you see here is actually what happened"
They then started to see someone of the distance and sees a woman who was identical to that of Lucy
"her name is Anna Heartfillia, she's Lucy's distant ancestor. She was a great Celestial Spirit Wizard" Aquarius started explaining
"and this is 4 centuries ago, the Black Wizard, Dragons, and Celestial Spirit wizards developed a plan and put it into operation"
"Zeref?!" "Emperor Spriggan?" Lucy and Brandish exclaimed in shock
"that plan was to send warriors into the future to battle Acnologia"
They then see the Eclipse gate coming into view
"to accomplish this, they created Eclipse. One of the Celestial Magic"
"Anna opened the door…and generation after generation of the Heartfillia family watched over it until it was to be opened once more"
"what does that mean?" Lucy asked Aquarius
"normally you need a celestial wizard at both the entrance and the exit of the Eclipse door, without them, you get accidents like what happened at the GMG" Aquarius replied to her
"your family knew the door would need to be opened at some point in the future, and so they deiced to wait patiently guarded it for hundreds of years" Aquarius continued explaining as they started swimming in the space
"and when it was time to open the gate, it was on Layla's generation to open it"
They then see Layla coming into view as she was standing in front of the Eclipse gate
"to open the door, you need 12 golden Zodia keys in order for the gate to be opened, Layla managed to get Cancer's and Capricorn's keys but not mine"
The scene changed to that where we see Brandish as a child with her mother
"Grammi had already crossed to the western continent and could not be reached. So, Layla made up for the missing key by sacrificing her own life force and managed to open the gate"
"but that…" Brandish said in disbelieve
"as a result, an incident occurred and one of the warriors went missing" Aquarius said as they see four shooting stars flying away and Anna walking out of the gate
"and as for Layla" Aquarius continued her explanation as they now see Layla on a bed with a sick and tired look "she paid the price and fell ill"
"words finally came to Grammi seven days later"
The scene then changes where they see Grammi visiting Layla
"Layla-sama, how can I ever apologized enough?" Grammi asked in a voice of regret and sadness
"please! There is nothing to apologize for, Grammi" Layla told her friend
"I am not fit to possess this key" Grammi said as she pulls out Aquarius' keys "please let me return this to you.."
"I can't use Celestial Magic anymore…" Layla told her a bit weakly
"then give it to Lucy-sama!" Grammi told her "I'm sure she'll follow your footsteps and become a fine Celestial Spirit Wizard!"
Brandish looks in disbelieve as all this time, what she thought was wrong.
"The mission of my family, passed through the generations was opening the Eclipse Gate, that ended with me. I want my daughter to have the freedom I did not have" Layla told Grammi
"oh tell me, is Brandish happy and healthy?" Layla asked her
"yes, very much so…but I imagine that she will miss Aquarius a bit" Grammi replied to her
"she's about the same age as Lucy, right?" Layla asked as Grammi nodded
"yes, next time I come; I'll bring her with me" Grammi told her
"I hope they become friends," Layla said to Grammi who nodded with a smile
"I'm sure they will!"
"as close as us?" Layla asked
"Layla-sama! I would never presume.." Grammi said to her
"no, I've always considered you a good friend, Grammi!" Layla told her
"Layla-sama…"
The scene then changed as they see Grammi walking away from the Heartfillia manor with grieve in her heart
ZWORSH!
As she walks away, she felt pain seeping on her back as she was pierced with a dagger by Zoldeo
"mother!" Brandish gasped in shock
"it's your fault" Zoldeo said in tears "you did this to Layla-sama! Because of you, she!"
"Zoldeo-san" Grammi looks to her old friend as she gives him a weak smile
"stop!" Brandish shouted out
"yes…it is my fault…..i should pay the price," Grammi said with tears in her eyes
"you've killed Layla-sama…you…!" Zoldeo shouted
"I have…one request….Zoldeo-san" Grammi told him "please…don't hurt my daughter…..promise me you won't…take it out on Brandish…I will give up my life for what I've done…so please honor my dying request"
"aaaahhhh" Zoldeo backs away as reality finally hits him on what he has done
"MOTHER!" Brandish shouted out in tears before she was embraced by Lucy as they were back in the infirmary
"can't you and I be friends? Like our mothers were?" Lucy said to her as she hugs her
Aquarius smiled as she lets the two be
Southern of Fiore
In the battle for Hargeon's liberation
Mermaid Heel and Lamia Scale were forced to retreat as the Alvarez' forces were too many
In the base camp
"what a force! I've never seen the likes of this!" Lyon said as he looks at the laid-out map
"we can't even get close to the town" Cheria added in
Kagura was sitting in her tent with a stern look on her face
"Kagura-chan? Are you alright?" Milliana asked the swordswoman who remembered her humiliation that Dimaria made her go through
"I am not right at all" Kagura replied
"suppose not" Milliana said with a sweat drop as some of the men were goggling at Kagura before getting kicked away by Simon and Risley
"the hell you perverts are looking!?" they shouted out
Northern of Fiore
The combined forces of Sabertooth and Blue Pegasus were also forced to retreat by the god of death, Bloodman who mowed down their forces with ease
"we've taken too many casualities" Sting said while he and his comrades were sitting around a campfire
"they have too many troops" Lector added
"Fro thinks so too," Frosch said
"but we have to stop them!" Rogue told them
"yes" Minerva said with a nod
At Fairy Tail
Lucy and Aquarius were at the roof of the guild as Brandish had been escorted back to her cell
"Lucy" Aquarius called out to her "remember when I said that my key is reborn?"
Lucy nodded "sure"
"that key is somewhere in this world" Aquarius told her "in my be in Ishgal, or in Alakasita or maybe in another continent other than the two"
"I can't give you any hints so.." Aquarius said before Lucy finished her sentence
"I know" Lucy told her "I'm going to find you! You're one of my best friends after all!"
Aquarius smiled back before she started to glow
"thank you….i look forward to that day" Aquarius said before she teleported back to the Celestial Spirit world
Lucy smiled before she looks towards the setting sun
Eastern of Fiore
As the two sides went onto the retreat on their battle
In the eastern location, a battle was drawing to a close
God Serena's back was to us before the rank 1 Wizard Saint fell back to the ground by END who poked at his forehead
Jura and the rest of the Four Heavenly King has fallen as END looks at them bored
"i was expecting a bit more from you, God Serena" END said as he yawns
"not..possible" Hyberion said in disbelieve
"how…p-powerful!" Wolfheim looks in shock as END's power was unmeasurable
"not even God Serena-dono…could stand a chance" Jura said as he tried to get up "so this…..is END"
"Mavis…." Warrod called out to his old friend as he had tears in his eyes "I wish….i could have seen…your smile…one last time"
END looks at Warrod before scoffing as the man turns around and started walking away
""as one of the founding members of Fairy Tail!"" Warrod looks up as roots started to spread out near his hands
""I will not let you get to the guild!""
All of a sudden, giant tree roots sprouted out of the ground and wraps around END
"you're coming with me! END!" Warrod shouted out
"heh? You still had some fight in you, Warrod" END said before seeing Wolfheim getting on his feet as the old man transforms into a green beast
"gouaaaahhhhh!" Wolfheim jumps up the tree roots and towards where END was as the man sends an uppercut at him
END smirks before seeing dozens of stone fists exploding out of the ground and punches him relentlessly
"is the best you can do, Jura?" END asked before he was forced down to the ground by Hyberion
"what is that?" Jacob asked
"Vampire Magic, and without any direct contact, I'm impressed" August said before he sees his uncle breaking free of the magic hold
"END!" God Serena shouted as a green like glow menace through the land
"hoh?" END said before the earth's plate suddenly rumbles and shatters
"Gankutsuryu no Daicihi Houkai!"
The whole land exploded as END was sent flying up
"so, you had this with you?" END asked as he landed before seeing flames gather around God Serena
"Rengokuryu no Ennetsu Jigoku!"
A torrent of red flames burns through the land and at END who swiped his hands and made the flames disappear
"have you forgotten that flames won't work against me?" END said to God Serena
"then how about some water!?" God Serena shouted
"Kaioryu no Suijin Hoen!"
A blast of water exploded from the ground and blasted END to the sky
"earth, fire and water, he has three Dragon Slayer magic?" Jacob said
"no" August replied to him
"Bofuryu no!"
God Serena was about to unleash a wind attack but stopped as the wind that was gathering around him suddenly disappears
"what?" Jacob looks up ahead and sees END appearing behind God Serena as the Etherious was holding up Natsu's Gauntlet Sluggers
"too bad so sad" END said as he lifted up one of the sluggers and licks the blade that has blood on it
God Serena then fell down as blood puddled the land
"God Serena-dono….has fallen!?" Jura exclaimed in shock
"even if he was a Dragon Slayer with eight Dragon Lacrimas in his body, he would never be able to stand a chance against an original Dragon Slayer" August said as END swings the sluggers around and wipes off the blood
END then grins as he turns around and walks away
"let's go to Fairy Tail now. I don't think these old men are in any shape to fight back anymore" END said as he walks past the fallen Wizard Saint
""we can't! we can't let him get to Fairy Tail! We need help!"" Warrod tried to get up before he sensed an enormous amount of magic coming
"change of plan" END said as he stops walking and turns around
his face held a furious and angered glare as his fangs started to sharpen and get longer
"You two go, I'll be handling this monster" END instructed August and Jacob as he started walking towards the sunset where a shadow was seen walking towards END
"who?" Hyberion said before a man wearing a cloak appeared
"END" the man in the cloak said as he and END stood face to face
"Acnologia!?" Jacob said in surprise
"yo" END greeted the Bringer of Destruction as the land suddenly rumbles and shakes
"it is time for us to settle the score, demon"Acnologia spoke out
"took the words right out of my mouth" END replied before the land settled down
A moment of silence filled the area before END and Acnologia sends their fist against each other as a shockwave rumbles the land and cause a crater to form under the two
"you are not here, are you?"Acnologia asked
"just because I'm not here, doesn't mean that I can't take you down myself" END replied as he and Acnolgia headbutt each other
"let's see who's the strongest!"
August and the rest watch the battle as END and Acnologia exchange blows after blows in a blur
Jacob tightens his glove but was stopped by August
"stop" August told him "you're no match for him"
"we must hasten our pace to Fairy Tail. Leave Acnologia to my Uncle" August as he started walking towards the direction that will lead him to Fairy Tail
"we must offer the heart up to the emperor"
Nighttime
Forest
Erza's team were getting near to Hargeon as they were resting for the night
"we'll arrive at Hargeon tomorrow, rest as much as you can," Erza told the others as she was looking at the map of their location
"yes" Wendy replied
"Gray-sama! I thought we could use this! A sleeping bag built for two!" Juvia said as she held up a sleeping bag that was pink and was in a heart-like shape
"no" Gray replied while biting on a chocolate bar and Juvia cried in tears
Northern of Fiore
Everyone was asleep except for a certain Iron Dragon Slayer who was sitting on a cliff and was looking over the silent hill
"can't you sleep, Gajeel?" Levy came in and asked the Dragon Slayer
"huh? As much as you can, clearly" Gajeel replied to her while not taking his eyes off the hill
"yeah…I got the feeling I won't be coming back from this one, that I'll never see the guild again" Levy said with a scared look
"the enemy this time is like nothing we've ever faced. And I'm… not really strong like everybody else..so I'm feeling a bit scared"
Suddenly Iron logs started sprouting out of the ground and surrounded Levy in a bar like prison
"Gajeel!" Levy tried to scold the man who suddenly got to her face
"the hell are you saying?" Gajeel told her "you're getting back to the guild even if I have to drag you back there"
He then smiled to her "you can count on it"
Levy smiled back as she sighs "okay"
Next morning
Southern of Fiore
The battle to liberate Hargeon continues again as Kagura and the others charged towards the enemy
"we will take back Hargeon today! Forward!" Kagura ordered out as everyone attacks the enemy
"after the humiliation I heaped on her yesterday, I'm surprised that she's still in such high spirits" Dimaria said with an amused smile while Wall laughs his creepy laughter
"but today…I'll be taking someone else," Dimaria said with a smirk
In the battlefield
"Tenjin no Boreas!"
Cheria unleashed a wind attack as the enemy soldiers went flying away
"what's with this little girl!?" "she's strong!"
"Tenjin no!"
Cheria was about to fire another wind attack but was stopped as her clothes suddenly got ripped to shreds
"eh?" Cheria said before she sees Dimaria in front of her
"Dimaria-sama!"
"this one is mine" Dimaria said as she held up her sword
"no! stop!" Cheria tried to hold her shredded clothes while trying to cover herself
"I really dig girls with looks like yours" Dimaria said with a smile "so I thought I'd play with you like the one the other day"
"or at least that is what I thought" Dimaria added in as she readied her sword
"today's fun will be different for a healer like you" she then dashed towards Dimaria as she swings her sword back
"if I let you live, you'll just cause me trouble! So why don't you just die!"
Dimaria was about to slash her sword at Cheria if it weren't for Wendy who came and kicked Dimaria on the face
"Wendy!" Cheria smiles in joy to see the Sky Dragon Slayer
"sorry to keep you waiting, Cheria!" Wendy said with a smile
"you kicked me…" Dimaria slowly gets up while holding her bruised cheek "in the face?!"
Gray and the others came in as they started helping everyone in the fight
"Lyon! We're advancing to the front line!" Gray told his old friend as he started freezing the soldiers upon sight
"let's give it one big push!" Juvia exclaimed as she strikes at the soldiers with her water claw
"Gray?! Juvia!? What are you two doing here!?" Lyon exclaimed
"this was our fight from the beginning…you and the other guilds just had to stick your noses in"
Erza replied as she swings her sword and takes down 10 soldiers in one strike
"For which we are immensely grateful!"
"Erza…" Kagura saw the Scarlet knight as she nodded to her
"follow me!" Erza said as Kagura nodded with a smile "I will"
Wall was looking over the fight as the Machias was scanning for potential targets
"really? You came to us, Fairy Tail?" Wall said before he was sent crashing down the building by Laxus who appeared behind him
"so, you're the one who did a number on Freed and the others?" Laxus said before Wall grabs Laxus' hand and had his glow red
"who're they?" Wall asked as he sends his fist at Laxus who intercepted it with his other hand
"they're my friends!"
That's a wrap!
Bye bye