Back with the continuation
"speaking"
""thinking""
On with the story
"no way" Gray said in disbelieve
"it's one of the dragons that came out of the Eclipse Gate!" Lucy exclaimed
"but I thought he was sent back to his time" Charla said as Natsu walks towards Atlas
"has it been 400 years, son of Igneel?" Atlas said to Natsu
"yeah" Natsu nodded to him "good to see you alive and well"
"alive? No, not quite" Atlas told him
"He's in a state between life and death." Wendy said. She was still in the middle of the magic circle with her hands clasped. "I was only able to bring him out because of Milky Way."
"it seems….perhaps…I am dead" Atlas stroked his chin with his claw. "it must've happened a long time ago."
"You don't remember?" Gray inquired.
"not so much awareness…my memory….is clouded" Atlas replied "this place…I am….who I am?"
"what do you remember?" Natsu asked Atlas
"I do remember you, son of Igneel" Atlas Flame said as he looks at Natsu
"it must've been the ice" Wendy said as she theorized the cause of Atlas's Memory loss
"Being stuck in that ice for so long would have caused his memories to be jumbled. Even with a will as strong as his, some damage would've happened to his soul"
"ice… it was ice!" Atlas said as he looks around the ice covering the whole village "the world was covered in ice!"
"a man came….and he froze everything…before then darkness overtook me" Atlas said
"Wait, hold on." Gray said as he walked to the dragon. "You said a man did this?"
"Correct." Atlas nodded. "One man, a human, froze the world."
The worlds stood stunned at the revelation.
"So it was an ice make wizard?!" Gray interrogated.
"How could one person do all of this?" Lucy gasped.
"Why would they do such a thing?" Flare asked.
"The man…thought I was devil and froze the village to eliminate me." Atlas explained.
"But how?" Charla asked.
"By using magic meant to exorcise demons. The man…was a devil slayer." Atlas replied
""I knew it, it's this ice is messing with Drac"" Natsu thought as Drac was only be able to be summon when Natsu touched the un frozen part of the ground
"there's a magic to slay devils as well!?" Lucy exclaimed
"I've never heard of such." Charla said.
"Does it destroy them as well?" Wendy asked aloud.
"I can't remember…..what was i?" Atlas said
"You're the guardian deity of the village! The Eternal Flame of the Giants!" Flare shouted at Atlas to everyone's surprise.
She bowed down, her head pressed firmly against the frozen ground as she pleaded once more. "I beg you! Please, shine your light over us once more! Please save the village! Please…O guardian deity…"
"Flare" Lucy looks at the red hair before looking back at Atlas Flame
"I am…..i remember!...i am Atlas Flame, the Giant Flames!" Atlas said as he looks at the frozen village
"I made this village! When my village is unhappy, it pains me. When it feels sorrow, I weep along with it. So, using the last vestiges of my power…I will save this village! For I am the fire dragon, Atlas Flame!" With that impassioned declaration, the Eternal Flame grew brighter. Its heat also increasing and radiating outward.
"It's too hot! Gray, cool me off!" Lucy shrieked.
Gray place his hand on her forehead as cold air started seeping out of his hand
"that's some fire!" Gray exclaimed as the heat was still rising
"His spirit is vanishing," Wendy said.
"It is?" Charla asked in surprise.
"Igneel….The Dragon King Festival…..Acnologia…..Zeref…." Atlas said as he gaze upon Natsu "I remember everything now!"
"END! The most wicked and vicious of all Zeref books! 400 years ago, Igneel tried to destroy it but failed!" Atlas said as Natsu's eyes widen in shock
""Igneel…wanted to destroy…me?""
As Atlas' flames continued to burn, the light shining from began to thaw the ice from the village as the giants unfroze one by one.
"Huh?"
"We're free, but how?"
"This is the warmth of the Eternal Flame!"
"The ice is melting." Minerva said with a grimace.
"They did it!" Erza said. Minerva gritted her teeth in anger.
"Hm. This is a rare sight." A voice boomed from above the two women. "Did humans wander into our village?"
Minerva and Erza looked up to see a giant bent over and staring down at them. He was a menacing presence to say the least. His massive frame towering over the two human wizards. Using this as cue to exit, Minerva made her escape. "I suppose this ends our fun."
"Minerva!" Erza called out.
Minerva stopped running, but kept her back to Erza. "We will finish this some other time." She stated ominously. "You and me…on the ultimate stage!"
Erza mulled over Minerva's cryptic warning briefly before replying. She tried again to get through to the fallen "princess". "Don't let the darkness taint you!" she shouted. "I know you are not that weak!"
Minerva turned her head to Erza, a sadistic smile on her lips. She wanted to laugh at Erza's concern. She nearly did "Let it taint me? I will plunge this entire world into darkness!"
"Look." Lucy pointed once the light and heat from the flame dialed down to bearable levels.
"The village is back to normal." Wendy stated.
Flare couldn't help but weep with joy. "How warm this feels…"
"Atlas…" Wendy began sadly. "His presence; it's completely gone."
The other wizards looked down in saddened gratitude at the dragon's sacrifice.
"Who knew such a tiny sliver of soul could hold so much power?" Lucy smiled softly.
After meeting up and explaining what happened to Erza, the group returned to the village. Upon arriving back in the village, they were greeted by a group of rather grateful giants. After much urging, the Fairy Tail wizards decided to stay and take part in a party in their honor.
"You say an ice devil slayer was the one who caused this?" Erza asked.
"Yeah." Lucy nodded. "That's what Atlas told us. He said the man who did this thought he was a demon and froze him along with the village."
"So all of this was a misunderstanding? Such slipshod stories irritate me." Erza said
"no, this is a possible act from a dark guild" Natsu told her
"a dark guild?" Lucy said as Natsu nodded
"the last Dark guild of the Balam Alliance" Natsu said "Tartaros
"So, you're saying this was the work of Tartaros?" Erza asked Natsu
"the possibility are 50-50" Natsu told her
Gray nodded. "and I bet anything that the guy that did this was a member of that guild. Succubus Eye was probably just an agent guild sent to play guard dog."
"So you're saying they had another reason to freeze the village?" Wendy inquired.
Charla nodded. "It is certainly a possibility. It feels like there was more to this attack then they let on."
"Well there isn't much to worry about now, right?" Natsu "We finished the job and restored everything to normal. We should be celebrating."
"Yeah. You're right." Lucy smiled. Suddenly her eyes widened and she began to frantically look around as if she had forgotten something important.
"What's wrong, Lucy?" Erza asked.
"You lose your keys again?" Charla inferred.
"No." Lucy retorted. "Has anyone seen, Flare?"
"Flare-san? She was just here a second ago…I think." Wendy said
"Flare?" Lucy called out. Unbeknownst to her the giants began to take notice of her calling the hair wizard's name.
Lucy saw what looked to be a red braid behind one of the trees and her mood perked up. She walked to the tree and just as she thought, there was Flare. "There you are." Flare sat against the tree, a saddened look on her face as she clutched her knees to her chest. "What's wrong? Why are you hiding?" Lucy asked.
Flare gave no answer, but the giants began to speak up.
"Flare?!"
"She's here?"
"Come on out, girl!"
Lucy grabbed Flare by the arm, dragging the sulking girl from behind the tree. "Come on. Don't be like that. You've waited this long to come home, right?"
"I shouldn't be here…" Flare said guiltily. "I…I abandoned the village. I left without so much as a word."
"But no one is mad about that." Lucy smiled. Though that quickly faded into a look a fear when she saw an angry giant staring down at her. "R-right?"
One of the giants - possibly the leader of the village – spoke up. "How was the outside world?" he asked Flare.
Flare looked up at him and the other giants. She began to fidget, looking down at the ground once more before she answered his question. "There were lots of good times…but painful ones, too."
The giants began to grin, the Fairy Tail wizards also joining in.
The giant that spoke to Flare stepped forward and bent down towards her. With a smile on his face, he said, "You'll find that anywhere. For as long as you live." Flare's mood began to brighten as he continued. "Whether or not you're here. This will always be your home. You may come and go as you please. Understand?"
Flare nodded. "Yes."
The giant smiled even wider. "Good. Now, there is only one thing that needs to be said…" He sat down, a couple of the other giants joining him. They all smiled happily before saying in unison…
"Welcome back, Flare. Our dear daughter."
Flare's eyes widen as tears were falling down her eyes
"I'm home!" she said as everyone rejoiced and the party began anew, this time a smiling Flare joining in the festivities.
Somewhere up north
In a blizzard as they were wrecked up buildings everywhere
A lone man was sitting on a broken-up stone and in front of him was a grave marker
"Silver-sama" a soldier wearing a mask approached the man
"the main office is calling a convocation"
"I'm visiting a grave, maybe later" the man named Silver replied to the soldier
"this time every single member of the Nine Demon Gates has been summoned!" the soldier explained to him
"Ice Devil Slayer, Silver-sama! Please comply with their demands of your presence!" the soldier shakes in fear as Silver stands up
"Don't act too scared, I ain't going to bite your head off" Silver said as he turns around to look at the soldier (I'll be skipping the description part)
That's a wrap!
Bye bye