A/N: Author's note will be at the end. This is my personal favorite chapter I've written for any story so far, and I hope you enjoy it.
Fairy Tail Guildhall
Defeat reeks of blood and tastes of the worst booze you could imagine. The stench of failure permeated through the basement of the Fairy Tail guild; Lucy, Treya, Happy, and anyone else that was able were tending to the many wounded mages. Fortunately, no one was injured critically, but more than a few suffered sprains, severe cuts, and major bruising that would make any form of strenuous activity more than a bit painful for the next several days.
Mira was attempting to help take care of the other wounded, however, Erza and Lisanna were quite adamant that the white-haired demon needed to rest. Mira had been off active duty for a year, only recently returning, and she was immediately forced into combat, even using Halphas, which was an extremely draining spell. What she hadn't mentioned, however, was why she used Halphas. When the rest of the guild returned, barring Bisca, Alzack, and Makarov, who had gone to Porlyusica's residence, she simply informed them of what she knew; two of Phantom's Element Four had attempted to kidnap her and potentially Lucy and that she managed to defeat Sol while the second had gone in search of the blonde.
Most were furious at the notion that they would dare attempt to kidnap their mages, but none more so than Elfman. If it weren't for his broken arm and the three guild members assigned to prevent him from leaving, he likely would have gone to Phantom alone to beat some sense into them for daring to take his sister away.
Erza felt disappointed in herself; Natsu had left fully confident in them, and what had she done? She let the guild down. She allowed herself to be on the losing end of a battle with Gajeel and she allowed her very own master to go and nearly get killed on his own. These angry thoughts swirled around in her head while she put up her usual stern front to prevent anyone from getting in.
Treya was scared. She had just found her long-lost foster brother, the only family she had left and the most important person in her life, and she had no idea where he was. Caught up in a guild war; scared for her life, scared for the life of the friends she had just made, scared for the life of her favorite dragon slayer, and scared that the gift she had been given would be taken away again. The gift of happiness.
However, the Fairy Tail members are all ones with demons of their own. Their lives had been anything but full of joy; many had been abandoned, had their family killed, or been ostracized because of who or what they were. It is because of this that they are always able to push past any struggle brought to them, and this was simply another hurdle they had to jump. It wouldn't be easy, but they were determined to keep their own safe from any harm that could befall them.
"I can't believe they took down gramps!" Gray growled to himself, slamming a fist into a table. "We were so close to beating them too! I say we go back and finish what we started!"
"Gray! Calm down!" Erza ordered. "No one is satisfied with the outcome, but we simply cannot risk any more harm coming to our members. Do you want to be responsible for their deaths?"
"No, it's just-"
"Then silence yourself. What's done is done, we must prepare for what's to come."
"Has Sol woken up yet?" Mira asked.
"Not yet," Laki responded with a devious nigh evil smirk. "When he does I'll make sure to get some real information out of that pervert."
"Do you have any idea what they wanted with us, Mira?" Lucy asked nervously.
"Not a clue," she replied sadly. "I think we should be glad that Sol got a bit cocky though. According to the other one, their mission was to take you, Lucy. I was supposed to be captured later. If they had gone for you while I had been out…"
"Are you sure we shouldn't at least try to contact Laxus?" Wakaba asked.
"Not a chance!" Cana snapped back. "It's not like he'd help us."
"I agree with Cana," Erza nodded. "I have faith in the members we have here. Besides, we have Natsu on our side."
"Where is flame-brain anyway?" Gray asked. "After they hurt Levy and tried to kidnap Mira, you'd think he would be on the front lines by now."
"I don't think he knows about Mira yet," Erza replied, shaking her head. "And I'm afraid I don't know, but I have faith he'll be here when we need him. He always has been before, hasn't he?"
Grumbles of agreement rang out in response, many members reminded of how he'd helped them in the past. Some were as simple as him helping with rent when jobs were a bit short, some he was a source of friendship, and some, like Gray, he helped with their shattered pasts.
"What about the cat?" Macao asked. "You got any idea where he's at, Happy?"
"There are many fronts to a war. Natsu is simply on a different battlefield," Happy responded wisely for the second time that day.
"..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"DID THE CAT JUST SAY SOMETHING SMART?"
"WHAT DID THAT MEAN?"
"MAN, I'VE REALLY LOST IT NOW!" the guild members shouted in shock at the fish-loving cat, who, until this point, served mostly as a source of amusement for the rest of the guild.
Mira giggled a bit. "I think you guys are forgetting who Happy spends most of his time with."
Several members opened their mouths to protest but quickly shut them again, realizing that she had a very valid point.
"I just hope everyone will be ok," Treya said sadly.
"Don't worry about it," Erza told her confidently. "I'm sure everything will be just-"
RUMBLE RUMBLE
"GUYS!" Nab yelled out, running down the stairs. "Get outside, now! We've got trouble!"
The entire guild ran up the stairs to head outside, only to behold a sight of terror. It was the Phantom Lord guildhall, the same one they had just stormed. A massive castle, sat upon an even bigger set of earth, the bottom covered in stones that jutted out like daggers. Large, metallic legs stuck out from the machine, making it appear as if some sort of spider-like creature had come for them.
Fear. Practically the only emotion felt by the entirety of Fairy Tail was fear. The essence of fear they were well-versed in, and now it coursed through their veins like blood. Here they were; beaten, broken, and without morale, only to be crushed by those who opposed them.
"Well, well, well," a voice echoed out from the guild before them. "I must say, Makarov's pathetic brats are almost better than the flies I had anticipated...almost."
"Josè!" Erza roared back. "What is it you want from us?"
"Ah, if it isn't Titania, Queen of the Fairies. I must say, I expected more from you. What I desire is rather simple, but the process in which I acquire it is largely up to you," Josè explained. "You have two options. Surrender Mirajane Strauss and Lucy Heartfilia to me and I shall leave your guild in peace, or be completely decimated by my Magical Convergence Canon: Jupiter!"
"What do you want with them, you filthy beast?" Erza growled back.
"Not that it's any of your concern, Titania, but I happen to have two very wealthy people paying me for their collection. I believe Miss Strauss is to become a bride to a very wealthy corporation, and poor Miss Heartfilia's father simply misses his daughter."
"TRYING TO FORCE MY SISTER INTO MARRYING SOMEONE IS NOT A MAN!" Elfman roared, even more furious than before.
"Why would my father want anything from me now?" Lucy angrily whispered to herself, fist clenched.
"We would never give up our comrades! Besides, you can't fire the Jupiter Canon! The blast runs the risk of eliminating your so-called 'targets,' and we have one of your Element Four unconscious in our guild," Erza declared confidently.
"Are you fully certain of that, Titania? I'm afraid if they fall in the line of duty there is nothing to be done, and you don't honestly think I care about that trash you have holed up in that garbage heap you consider a guild, do you? Failures have no place in Phantom Lord," Josè responded harshly. "Now, either give up Mirajane Strauss and Lucy Heartfilia or say goodbye to all of your guild members and your precious guildhall."
"I'll go, Erza," Lucy said softly. "This is my father's fault. None of you should have to be involved."
"I thought I told you already!" Erza roared, ignoring Lucy. "Fairy Tail is a family, and we would rather die than give up on our family!"
"Protecting your family is the job of a REAL MAN!" Elfman yelled.
"You tell 'em, Red!" Cana cheered.
"Aye, sir!" Happy agreed.
The cheers of agreement continued to ring out from the guild, while Josè sat in his guild seething in rage.
"Happy, take Treya and anyone too injured to fight and get away from here," Erza ordered. "Reedus, go with them."
"Oui," the rounded picto-magic mage responded, and a small group of people began to retreat.
"Oh? All that bravado and yet you're already retreating! Sad to see, really."
"Unlike you, we care about the safety of our members, and many are too injured to continue fighting," Erza shot back.
"Very well, Titania, though your cowardice will not keep you safe. I warned you. Now! Fire the Magical Convergence Canon: Jupiter!" The large, copper-colored cannon that jutted out from the guildhall began to glow with magical power.
"Everyone! Get behind me!" Erza ordered, charging forward. "Requip! Adamantine armor!"
"Is she insane?"
"That's Erza's strongest defensive armor!"
"She's gonna try to block it?"
"That's too much even for Erza!"
"Don't think I'm letting you do this, tin can," Mira said, placing a hand on Erza's shoulder and smirking. "Not alone at least. Takeover: Satan Soul!"
"Glad to have you behind me, demon wench," Erza replied, slamming her massive spiked shields together. The adamantine armor consisted of extremely thick armor, decorated in whites, grays, and dark blues. It sported full-body armor, massive, spiked shoulder guards, a helmet, and two powerful shields, capable of combining into one immensely powerful defense. "Adamantine Full Defense!"
The canon then fired, launching a massively thick black and purple beam of raw magical energy straight towards Fairy Tail. The water beneath it rippled, and waves began to crash against the shoreline from the pressure.
"Soul Extinctor!" Mira yelled, firing an offensive spell to counteract as much of the blast as possible. Though she poured immense amounts of magic into the spell, it had very little effect. Perhaps it was just enough, however, as the defensive spell held by Erza was holding back the blast, though cracks continuously appeared within her shield as it continued to beat down on her.
"They're doing it!"
"Yeah, come on, Erza! You've got this!" The Fairy Tail mages cheered as loud as they could, their previous fear all but eliminated from the inspiring words and actions by their Fairy Queen.
After a rigorous, yet brief, battle against the blast, Erza was shot back by the pressure, though she did her job. Just as her defensive spell was defeated, the blast ceased to fire. She had done it. With the help of an exhausted Mirajane, she had blocked the blast from a Jupiter canon.
Over the roar of approval from the guild, Mira approached the collapsed form of Erza. "Is...that...all you've...got," she asked between breaths. "I could...have done that...all day…"
"Hardly…" she panted back, smirking. "A demon whore...like you...didn't stand a chance…"
Helping her rival to her feet, Mira took the exhausted form of Erza and helped her walk back to the rest of the guild members. "I'm taking Erza with the rest of the injured, and then I'll-"
"You'll stay there," Lisanna insisted. "You've done more than enough, big sis. Let us take care of the rest."
"But, Lisanna-" she tried to protest.
"RAAGHH! A REAL MAN PROTECTS HIS SISTERS FROM GETTING MARRIED!" Elfman roared.
"I hope you don't mean to say that I'm not allowed to get married when I want to, Elfman," Mira challenged.
"Uh, yeah! A real man supports his sister's wishes!" he replied nervously.
"Good! Now if you'll excuse me…" With that, Mira limped away, the arm of a battered knight slung over her shoulder.
"Well done, Titania. And the Demon Mirajane, too. It appears that the rumors are true, she really has come out of retirement. A pity, though, that your last hope just wasted all their precious energy and strength to delay the inevitable. You've bought yourself a measly fifteen minutes before Jupiter is ready to fire again. Until then, Fairy Tail," Josè taunted, a sneer undoubtedly on his face.
"Alright listen up!" Cana roared. "We may be down a few S-Class mages, but we're not out of the fight yet! This isn't a fight for ourselves, it's a fight to protect our family! Who's with me?"
A cheer of approval rang out from the guild. Cana's speech was just in time too, as immediately after they began to cheer, dozens upon dozens of Josè's shade troops began pouring out of the hall, as well as their remaining low-mid class mages. The clear threat was the shades, as it was painfully obvious that most if not all of the mages charging them were in no condition to be fighting anything.
"I'm going to take out the cannon!" Gray shouted, making a beeline for their castle.
"Defeating the Element Four is a REAL MAN!" Elfman roared, chasing after them.
"I'll come with you, big brother Elf," Lisanna volunteered, following the two mages.
"The rest of you! We'll hold back the shades!" Cana ordered, getting a cheer of approval.
"Ice-make: Stairs!" Gray called, building a stairwell that led straight to the barrel of the cannon. "Come on, let's go!"
The group of mages charged down the barrel of the cannon, intending to destroy the power source rather than attempting to destroy something that was able to withstand the pressure of a Jupiter blast. Gray led the way followed closely behind by the two Strauss sisters.
Meanwhile
"Here we are, Carla!" a small girl announced, stepping off the train.
"I still don't understand why we're here, child. I keep telling you that you're on a wild goose chase." the girl's companion scolded.
"I know that, Carla. It's not Grandine...but I definitely smelled something draconic, and they got off here! I'm sure of it!" the girl announced confidently.
"If you aren't looking for Grandine, child, what are you looking for?"
"I don't know exactly," the girl admitted, scratching her head in embarrassment. "But this is the closest lead to Grandine I've had since I started looking eight years ago."
"Very well, child, I just hate to see you disappointed…" the companion sighed. "Well, let's go."
Back inside the Phantom Lord Guild
"It's you again!" Gray yelled out.
"Ah, so you remember me!" the man answered, bowing deeply. The group was in a large, circular room. The surface the three Fairy Tail mages were on was slightly above that which the Phantom Lord mage stood. There was a distinct lack of anything interesting in the room, barring the gigantic lacrima crystal that their opponent was standing in front of. The crystal had a diameter that was at least four times the height of any mage currently present, and had an intimidating aura to it, though the crystal itself was a translucent white. "Pleasure to make your acquaintance again. For you two that have not met me, allow me to introduce myself. I am Totomaru of the-"
"Ice-make: Hammer!" Gray yelled out,
Like déjà vu, the same thing happened again. Totomaru simply waved a hand, melting the ice away with very little effort. "WHY DO YOU KEEP CUTTING ME OFF?!" he yelled at the ice mage.
"Because I don't care!" Gray said back, preparing another ice-make spell. "Ice-make: Lance!"
"Beast Arm: Black Bull!" Elfman roared, transforming his right arm into a muscled, black appendage. As the name suggests, it appeared similar to that of a black bull and increased Elfman's strength and power several times over.
"Animal Soul: Cat!" Lisanna announced. She glowed yellow for a brief moment, before revealing her new form. Well, it was less a form as it was an outfit. She wore a blue and black striped bikini, complete with a tail, cat ears, and a transformed arm that bore razor-sharp claws. This form may look adorable, but it increased her speed and allowed her to do incredible amounts of damage with her claws.
While Gray's lances shot forward, Elfman charged past Gray's right side while Lisanna charged past his left, intent on overwhelming the experienced fire mage.
"Tch," he scoffed at the disrespect. "Flame wall!" Constructing a barrier of flames in front of him, he melted the ice lances that had attacked him and used the extra time and cover to easily avoid the attacks from the Strauss siblings. "Fire Wave!"
Lisanna used her enhanced speed to grab her brother, as the two dodged the wave of orange flames that had attempted to char them.
"Ice-make: Sword!" Gray announced, forming a sword of ice and charging the fire mage.
"Swordplay, eh? Very well, young ice mage. Let's duel!" Totomaru declared, drawing a steel sword of his own and meeting the charge.
The two clashed swords, seeming the be equally matched in power, though Totomaru was using one hand while Gray was using two.
"Cat Claw!" Lisanna yelled, dashing at the fire mage.
Totomaru dislodged his sword from Gray's and jumped over Lisanna's swipe, blocking her second with his sword. Gray quickly attempted to capitalize on his lack of an available sword, but the fire-wielder was not one to be taken down easily, creating a solid shield of flames with his other hand to block the ice sword, which quickly began to melt.
"MAN PUNCH!" Elfman roared, rearing back and attempting to strike the fire mage from behind.
Totomaru jumped just before being struck, however, he was now airborne with very little ability to dodge.
"Fury Swipes!" Lisanna called, jumping up to the mage and rapidly clawing at him. He managed to block many of the strikes, but several landed, cutting his arms and torso slightly.
"Ice-make: Ice Hammer!" Gray announced. Not to be confused with his regular hammer, his ice hammer was much larger and spiked at the end. The large weapon was swung down at the fire mage's landing location, dealing a glancing blow as he had attempted to dodge.
"Attention. Attention," a female voice echoed out from some unknown location. "The Magical Convergence Cannon: Jupiter will be ready to fire in five minutes."
"Crap! We forgot about the cannon!" Gray swore. "Elfman, take out the lacrima. Lisanna and I will deal with Totomaru."
"MAN!" Elfman roared, charging the crystal.
"You think I'd just let you destroy that thing? How low do you think of me?" Totomaru asked, appearing slightly hurt. "It appears I will have to take you lot a bit more seriously than I anticipated. Rainbow Fire: Flaming Rain!" the flame mage called, releasing dozens of multicolored flaming bullets from the magic circle he summoned in front of him.
"Don't worry about it, Elfman! Ice-make: Shield!" Gray yelled, forming a thick shield of ice in front of him.
"MANLY STRIKE!" Elfman roared, confident that his teammate would block the attacks for him. He reared back his beast arm and punched the crystal as hard as he could, causing a noticeable crack in the side, however, the crystal was still very much intact.
"It takes a lot more than a punch to break that, but you won't get a chance to find out how many hits it takes! Rainbow Fire: HALO!" Totomaru yelled, giving himself a strange glowing halo above his head with three multicolored fireballs.
"THAT'S your attack? Giving yourself a stupid hat?" Gray questioned in shock.
"IT'S NOT A STUPID HAT!" Totomaru defended against the three confused looks he was getting. "These are flaming halos! They allow me to do THIS!" he shouted, pointing at the ice mage. One of the fireballs that were a part of his halo stopped rotating as it glowed brightly before disappearing. After it disappeared, a magic circle appeared above Gray and a ball of fire that was just over half the size of the lacrima crystal shot down at the ice mage.
"Ice-make: SHIELD!" Gray yelled, forming an equally massive shield of ice above him just before the fireball landed. It impacted his shield, cracking it and causing the floor to cave in, leaving Gray panting and standing in a pit when the meteor finally dispelled.
"See? It's not just a stupid hat," Totomaru confidently informed them, giving a smug grin.
Elfman looked at him for a moment before turning back to the crystal. "MANLY STRIKE!" he roared, once again punching the crystal as hard as he could. An even bigger crack appeared, and it looked as if even a sneeze would shatter it, but the lacrima didn't break.
"HEY! WHO TOLD YOU YOU COULD PUNCH THAT?" Totomaru yelled angrily.
"Dude…" Gray panted. "You were...monologuing…"
"Yeah, it gets kind of boring to listen to," Lisanna admitted.
"MONOLOGUING IS NOT MANLY!" Elfman yelled, preparing for a third hit.
"OH NO YOU DON'T!" the fire mage shouted back, pointing towards Elfman to summon another meteor. Elfman was forced to retreat from the lacrima quickly in order to not get barbecued by the spell, but Lisanna used the opportunity to strike.
"Fury Swipes!" she yelled, quickly dashing forward and attacking the mage. Most of the hits landed cleanly, shredding his clothes and covering him with cuts. "Cat Claw!"
The second attack was blocked by his sword and the two began trading blows. Elfman took the opportunity to rear back for another strike.
"Ten seconds until the Magical Convergence Cannon: Jupiter fires," the disembodied female voice announced.
"NOW ELFMAN!" Gray yelled, preparing an ice-make spell for the fire mage.
"Right! ULTIMATE FIST OF MAN!" Elfman roared, striking the crystal harder than he ever had before, shattering it into hundreds of shards.
"NO! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!" Totomaru yelled, distracting himself for a moment.
"Checkmate! Ice-make: Ice Geyser!" Gray shouted, slamming his hands on the ground. Lisanna quickly jumped out of the way to avoid the massively damaging spell, which sent a growing wave of ice spikes forward towards the fire mage.
"Son of a-" Totomaru started but was cut off. The ice attack collided with the fire mage and launched him into the air. He came crashing down shortly after, breathing heavily and severely wounded.
"Nice try, but you don't stand a chance against Fairy Tail when one of our own is threatened," Gray declared, walking over and kicking the downed mage in the temple to knock him unconscious.
"Alright!" Lisanna exclaimed, transforming back into her normal form.
"MANLY!" Elfman roared, doing the same.
Outside the fortress, the crowd of battling Fairy Tail mages were cheering loudly at the success of their fellow comrades. The Jupiter cannon was successfully destroyed, and, for the time being, they were relatively safe.
"So it appears you pieces of trash aren't quite as helpless as I expected," mused the Phantom Lord master. "Very well then. I was trying to do you a favor by granting you a swift death, but I suppose I shall have to take the difficult route."
"Come on," Gray said, walking back towards the barrel where they had entered from. "We'd better go get ready to help them. They still have two of the Element Four, Black Steel Gajeel, and Josè."
"Man!" Elfman roared, chasing after the ice mage.
"Deploy the drawbridge!" called the Phantom master. The guildhall which had previously been standing on large spider-like legs walked slightly closer to shore, before setting down into the water. A massive drawbridge extended from their gate, connecting the hall to the mainland. The shades that had previously been attacking the Fairy Tail mages retreated into the dark hall that was the opposing guildhall. Fortunately, however, the low-mid class Phantom Lord mages had been easily dealt with, seeing as the healthiest of them were sore, and the worst off of all of them could barely walk on his own. Needless to say, the Fairy Tail mages were furious at a guild master treating his members so cruelly.
The mages of Fairy Tail used this moment of respite to its maximum, taking deep breaths, grouping with their successful allies that had retreated from the Phantom guildhall, and dealing with any wounds that showed imminent danger. However, in the back of their minds was fear. 'This is it,' they thought. 'Our final stand.'
"So, the sheep have herded themselves to be slaughtered by my hand," Josè sneered, walking across the drawbridge followed by three figures. "It seems as if your time is truly up, does it not? Your master is on death's door, assuming he survived, your S-Class mages are wounded or absent, and the strongest here are all but exhausted."
"This is too easy. Can't the fairy scum have anyone worth fighting?" Gajeel groaned.
"Truly sorrowful! Those who live by the light of their namesake simply fall by the hand of the dark," wept Aria.
"Drip drip drop. Juvia apologizes, but she must follow orders from her master. Juvia hopes you understand," Juvia apologized.
"And so what?" Cana announced. "We'll keep fighting for our family until our dying breath! And after we're dead, we'll keep fighting!"
A cheer of approval rang out as the remaining mages got set for battle.
"Who said we're out of S-Class mages?" a voice announced proudly. "I don't recall you finishing me off earlier."
"Mirajane! You're supposed to be resting!" Lisanna yelled.
"And let my family fall? I don't think so!"
"I may be low on power and severely wounded, but I shall not sit idly by while our fellow mages fall," Erza announced, standing next to Mira.
"Yeah!"
"Fairy Tail fights together, and Fairy Tail falls together!"
"You tell 'em!"
"Let's do this!" shouted the injured mages behind Erza.
"If we fall today we will die fighting!" Erza roared.
"YEAH!" shouted all of the mages.
"ENOUGH!" shouted Josè. "If you wish to die so badly, then so be it! I'll grant you the death you wish!"
"That's quite enough, Josè," came another voice that appeared to come from nowhere and everywhere at the same time. "You've dealt your damage, and you've made the strength of your guild known. I shall give you the option to turn away now before I punish you for the deeds you have committed here today."
"Who is that?" yelled the Phantom Master. "Show yourself!"
"Now why would I do that?" the voice asked. "I much prefer staying in the shadows and watching those who oppose me tremble in fear."
"Who the hell is that?"
"It's on our side, right?" the Fairy Tail mages whispered in fear. A few select mages smirked, as they had a fairly good idea of a mage who was rather proficient in scare tactics.
"Looks like the cavalry's arrived," Erza said with a smug look.
"About time too. I was getting worried," Mira admitted.
"You guys know what that is?" Treya asked in fear.
"Don't worry about it. Everything's gonna be fine," Mira reassured.
"Trembling in fear? You have the wrong person!" Josè confidently declared.
"A phantom has come to haunt the phantoms? How sorrowful!" Aria wept.
"That's weird, I can't smell anything different," Gajeel noted suspiciously.
"Drip drip drop," Juvia commented, still rather uncaring about the situation.
"I'm afraid I've run out of time for your games, Fairy Tail. Meet your end! Dark Pulse!" he shouted, swiping his hand horizontally across his body. This caused a series of explosions to ring out in front of him, blowing up dangerously close to the front line of Fairies, knocking them back a bit.
"And I suppose you think that's an attack?" the voice mused. "Perhaps I shall show you the meaning of attack."
"Do your worst!" Josè snarled, preparing to launch another army of shades.
"And thus I shall," the voice answered. No further words were spoken, but a spell was cast. It started as a spark, a small yet noticeable flame halfway between the Phantom Lord, mages who were standing on the shoreline, and the Fairy Tail mages that were standing protectively in front of their guildhall. The spark grew into a small flickering flame, and then to the size of a campfire, and then to the size of a bonfire, and soon there was a roaring inferno of blistering heat.
The fire seemed alive, dancing as it steadily grew larger and larger, both sides feeling immense heat. Most of the Fairy Tail mages looked in fear, while the battle-hardened Phantom Lord mages looked at the sight with wary and anger.
The fire changed forms again, appearing as a massive bird, easily twenty feet in height. The bird was made up of orange and red flames, that swirled along its body and wings which stayed down by its sides. Above its head was a simple crown that glowed not in orange and red flames but in a brilliant, almost holy, white. It stared at the group of Phantoms, its gaze piercing their souls.
"Perhaps I was not clear in my earlier request," the voice spoke, not coming from the phoenix that was staring in front of them but seemingly coming from all directions around them. "Leave or you shall face wrath unlike you've ever seen before."
"You think this creature scares me?" Josè demanded. "Juvia! Put this house fire out."
"Yes, master," Juvia replied flatly. "Rain." With that simple declaration, the sky filled with dark clouds and rain began to fall on the battlefield.
The phoenix did not seem concerned about this and simply continued to stare at the group. "Very well. I have warned you," the voice spoke. The phoenix reared its head back and unleashed a massive cawing noise, before it disappeared, leaving a lone figure in its wake. The figure stood alone in a simple cloak covering his entire body, and he appeared taller than average, but not by too much. "Prepare yourself, Josè."
"Well, well, well," mused Josè. "If it isn't the infamous White Crown. I thought you were a bounty hunter, not some lowlife Fairy."
"I am rather impressed that you recognized me, Josè," the White Crown answered. "You are one of the first to properly identify me before falling by my hands. I'm even more impressed that you recognize that spell. Might I ask how you know of it? I've only used it three times over the course of my career. Care to enlighten me?"
"D-did he s-say...the White Crown?" Lucy stuttered out in fear.
"Who the hell is that?" Macao asked.
"He's one of the strongest and most well-known bounty hunters in Fiore," Levy breathed out, eyes huge. "An incredibly powerful fire mage. He could even be a match for Natsu."
"That strong?" Macao questioned, now equally as scared. "He's on our side, right?"
"Don't worry about anything," Mira reassured. "Just watch."
"It's rather simple really," Josè answered. "You murdered my brother!"
"Did I? Shame, really. I never mean to kill," the White Crown answered simply.
"You slaughtered his entire guild!" Josè sneered.
"Rather similar to what you're doing, isn't it?" he asked. "Might I ask what guild it was?"
"Nightwing. My brother was Barreth Porla. I've been waiting a long time for this day, White Crown! Today is the day that the Flare Blitz of Rösch falls by my hand!" snarled Josè.
"Barreth...was...your brother?" he asked clear suppressed rage in his voice. "That creature...that abomination...that foolish, Acnologia-worshipping MENACE WAS YOUR BROTHER?"
"AND WHAT OF IT?" Josè roared back. "His guild did a lot of work for Phantom Lord, yet you slaughtered them all!"
"Then I sentence you to the same fate that he incurred," he answered simply. "DEATH!" With that declaration, the battlefield filled with power. One was of an angered guild master and wizard saint, the other was of a widely feared bounty hunter.
"This one's mine," Josè informed his mages, receiving nods in response as they stepped back. "Shade Army!"
"Pitiful," the Crown responded, holding up a hand towards the impending horde of shades. "Fire Dragon's FLAME WAVE!"
The wave of flame overwhelmed the shade troops rather quickly, forcing Josè to dodge. "You insignificant brat!" Josè snarled. "Living Shade: Giant!" Rather than an army of small flying shade troops, this time the Phantom master summoned a singular mass of shade. It was humanoid in appearance, however, it lacked any sort of a face. Simply a twenty-foot tall mass of shade magic in the form of an extremely muscled humanoid.
"I expected a Wizard Saint to be worth my time," the Crown answered sadly. "White Fire Dragon King's ROAR!"
"That's Natsu's magic!" Gray exclaimed.
"Do you think they're related or something?" Macao asked.
'So that's it…' Levy thought, her eyes widened in realization.
The shades punched back against the roar, providing a short struggle before they were overwhelmed and burned down.
"If you're not going to try, kneel before me so I may kill you quicker," the Crown stated.
"Very well. You have earned a chance to see my true power!" Josè announced, closing his eyes briefly. He reopened them shortly after, releasing a shockwave of power that felt vile and sickening. It was like a cloud of negative emotions was released onto the field, causing some of the Fairy Tail mages to gag and one or two of the already injured ones began to get sick. His eyes were now revealed to be pitch black with tiny golden pupils.
"What is this magic?" Mira asked, covering her mouth trying not to gag. "It's so vile!"
"That's Josè," Erza replied stoically, glaring at the Wizard Saint.
"DEAD WAVE!" Josè called, firing a thick purple beam at his opposing mage.
"White Fire Dragon King's Destruction Fist!" yelled the Crown, striking forward with a powerful right. The two attacks battled briefly before exploding, neither having been successful. Being primarily a close-ranged fighter, the bounty hunter used the debris from the explosion to close the distance quickly. Igniting his fists in bright orange flames, he engaged in melee combat.
Josè was more adept in hand-to-hand combat than anyone knew, and matched the bounty hunter strike for strike. The two clashed for over a minute, neither able to land a strike on the other, before Josè finally managed to land a kick on the bounty hunter's chest, pushing him back several feet. "I'm impressed, White Crown, however, I was not given the title of Wizard Saint to be bested by a mere weakling! Shade Armor: Reaper Form!" the Phantom master called, cloaking himself in black and purple shade magic. It coated him in a similar attire to what the White Crown was wearing; a long, full-body billowing cloak. The form was a little known magic by the Wizard Saint, but an extremely powerful one. The shade magic increased his power tenfold and made him nearly too fast for the eye to see. "Come! Let's see how you survive this!"
The two charged each other clashing once again, however, with his new magic, Josè was clear to be on the winning end. After a brief conflict, the two met in the middle, each throwing a full-strength punch. The two struggled in power for a moment before Josè overpowered the bounty hunter, blasting him back in a show of power.
"DO YOU SEE NOW? YOU COULD NEVER HOPE TO DEFEAT ME!" Josè roared. "AND IN RETRIBUTION OF MY FALLEN BROTHER, I SHALL KILL YOU MYSELF! DEAD WAVE!"
"NO!" Mira yelled, trying to run forward.
"Stop, it Mira!" Lisanna shouted to her sister, grabbing one arm while her brother held the other. "Don't go in there! Save your energy!"
"We can't just let someone else die for us!" Lucy said. "We have to help him!"
"You will stand and continue to watch," Erza declared. Her voice was confident, but her mind was truly fearful. She knew he was fine in her heart of hearts, but that didn't stop the overwhelming sense of guilt and fear she felt at being too injured and too weak to help.
"But Erza-" Lucy tried to protest.
"No!" Erza shot back, a single tear dropping from her eye.
"Oh, how the strong have fallen!" Aria wept.
"Tch...and that guy was a dragon slayer? Pathetic," Gajeel scoffed.
"Juvia wants to know why Gajeel thinks this mage is a dragon slayer?" Juvia asked.
"I know a dragon's flames when I see them," Gajeel said back. His words were confident, however, his thoughts were completely different. 'Those flames were white...don't tell me this dude's a dragon king…'
"So, now that your savior has fallen," Josè snarled, glaring at Fairy Tail. "Who's next?"
"I'm afraid that wasn't nearly enough to finish me, Josè," the bounty hunter said, the smoke from the explosion clearing. The cloak that he was wearing was torn in multiple places, nearly enough to reveal his face, but little to no true injuries were showing. "Your level of power is impressive, however, it pales in comparison to my own."
"You impudent brat!" Josè shouted. "Why are you helping these Fairy scums anyway?!"
"And why do you feel the need to attack these 'Fairy scum'?" he answered, opening his cloak slightly, appearing to attempt to retrieve something.
"He's trying to capture me and Lucy," Mira responded for him.
"Oh, you should not have said that," Erza sighed.
"He deserves it," Mira shrugged.
"I'm not following," Cana deadpanned.
"Just watch…" Erza sighed again.
"What?" he growled, halting movement.
"And why should you care?" Josè demanded.
"I'm finished with this," he replied simply, throwing dozens of pennant-shaped flags into the air. "The secrecy. The lies. I have enough family now that knows of who I truly am, and I care not if others choose to fear my past."
"Are those…?" Cana asked, eyes widened in shock.
"Phantom Lord's subdivision's flags," Levy breathed out.
"But what is he talking about?" Lucy asked.
"I think Natsu's finally ready," Mira smiled.
"Eh?" the rest of them asked.
"YOU! HOW DID YOU GET THOSE?" Josè roared in anger.
"It's time I stop cowering in the shadows, Josè. The life I lived was ruined by your brother and his followers, so in retribution, I took their lives. Perhaps it was a foolish act, and I often wonder whether I would change my actions could I go back, however, those thoughts are in vain. The path I walk burns, leaving ashes in my wake, and I cannot reform what it is I have burned."
"WHAT ARE YOU BABBLING ABOUT? SHADE BLAST!" Josè yelled, firing a barrage of shade bullets at the slayer.
"Burn," he said simply, and each blast ignited in white flames before disappearing. "And thus we have come full circle. Here I am face to face with the last remnant of who I was, not who I will become. I'm done hiding in the shadows, done hiding in the lies, done fearing what I've been. I shall face you not as the White Crown nor the Flare Blitz of Rösch, but as myself." He ripped off his cloak, revealing his true identity. A wild mane of half-pink half-white hair, black scale earrings, a shimmering scaly white scarf, and a dragon talon necklace. "I am Natsu Drakeneel; the Dual Salamander of Fairy Tail!"
"THAT'S NATSU?"
"NO WAY!"
"HOW DID WE NOT REALIZE THAT? THEY USE THE SAME MAGIC?"
Questions rang out among the Fairy Tail mages, while Erza and Mira just smiled at him, proud that he was done hiding.
'Well done, Natsu…' Mira thought.
'You're finally ready…' Erza added.
"So, the White Crown is really the Dual Salamander of Fairy Tail, is he? All the more reason to slaughter you here and now!" Josè sneered.
"To the person hiding behind the rubble over there, please come out," Natsu called, before turning back to face Josè. "I require your services."
"Um...hello," the small person said shyly. She was a young girl, probably no older than 13 years old, with waist-length dark blue hair set in dual pigtails with red hair ornaments. She wore a green dress with a scale-like pattern and a gold armband on her right arm.
"You're sacrificing a girl? I'm not sure what your game is, but don't think I won't strike her down to get to you," Josè declared confidently.
"FIRE DRAGON KING'S ASCENSION!" roared Natsu. Very similar to his royal dragon force, the slayer sprouted massive wings on his back, horns from his head, and talons on his hands and feet. In addition to these appendage changes and his development of scales, Natsu sprouted a long, scaly tail complete with an arrowhead tip that looked sharp enough to pierce steel. It was a brilliant white in color with various red swirls adorning it.
"Si relgr acht wer relaaam; origato wer svanti kiwieg sia altiuiri, origato wer edar astrexi sia dastudr, origato wer guawysverni nymuer sia vebren, vur origato wer bekifi di uoinota ocuir sia ixen. Si relgr acht thee vur ascuudin ekess wer rex di wer daar," Natsu chanted, his voice deepening slowly as his power increased to incredible levels. The ground beneath his feet trembled and the magic was so thick it was near visible. "Darastrixi ghoros ve, nymuer sia relgr; jihai ve lae dout daar usv relekihl sia rex." (I call upon the realm; let the skies feel my wings, let the earth acknowledge my strength, let the heavens hear my roar, and let the depths of hell see my fire. I call upon thee and ascend to the throne of the king. Dragons before me, hear my call; accept me as your king or challenge my throne.)
Everyone began to back up or collapse; many of the lesser mages were near unconscious from the sheer magical pressure alone, while the greater mages looked on in fear. Even Josè took a step backward at the display.
"What is this?" the Phantom master shouted. "What are you doing? What is this power?"
"Si anyui dout relgr, o' janikup daar di ibafarshani; si, Wendy Marvell, hianag di wer jennu svant darastrix Grandine, jihai dout shiic di janik. Origato dout tuka qe versvesh vur fyrr," Wendy spoke, approaching the dragon slayer. With the conclusion of her speech, she kneeled before him, bowing as a show of respect. (I answer your call, o' mighty king of flames; I, Wendy Marvell, daughter of the great sky dragon Grandine, accept your show of might. Let your reign be strong and fair.)
"What are you doing, child? Get back here this instant! That man is dangerous!" scolded her companion, now revealed to be a small white cat, though this one, unlike Happy, wore a yellow shirt and a pink skirt.
"Origato sia apprecci qe shiinah, Wendy Marvell, hianag di Grandine. Si nishka woithe ekess qe fyrr persvek filki persvek sia kult," Natsu answered before turning to the Phantom Lord mages. "Gajeel Redfox, deevdru di wer janikup usk darastrix Metallicana; tir wux huven ekess suub ekess sia kult usv nishka wux relekihl sia rex?"
(Let my appreciation be shown, Wendy Marvell, daughter of Grandine. I shall strive to be fair and just in my rule. Gajeel Redfox, son of the mighty iron dragon Metallicana; do you wish to submit to my rule or shall you challenge my throne?)
Gajeel looked back at Natsu, clear fear written on his face before looking back at Josè, who had noticed the two's stares, and turned back to his ace. After looking at the two for a brief moment, the slayer clenched his fist and approached. "What are you doing, Gajeel?" snarled Josè.
"Living," he replied simply, before kneeling next to Wendy. "Si anyui dout relgr, o' janikup daar di ibafarshani; si, Gajeel Redfox, deevdru di wer janikup usk darastrix Metallicana, jihai dout shiic di janik. Origato dout tuka qe versvesh vur fyrr." (I answer your call, o' mighty king of flames; I, Gajeel Redfox, son of the mighty iron dragon Metallicana, accept your show of might. Let your reign be strong and fair.)
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING, YOU FOOL?" roared Josè. "YOU DARE BETRAY PHANTOM LORD?"
"Quiet, old man!" Gajeel grunted back. "I don't have a choice here."
"Origato sia aprecci qe shiinah, Gajeel Redfox, deevdru di Metallicana. Si nishka woithe ekess qe fyrr persvek filki persvek sia kult," Natsu replied, before looking back towards Josè. "You stand before the Fire Dragon King, Natsu Drakeneel. I am the son of Igneel, the Fire Dragon King before I, and the proud fire dragon Draco. I find you guilty of treason, murder, and the orchestration of a conflict against royalty, among various other crimes committed during the war you started. The combined sentences of these crimes is death. May Bahamut have mercy on your forgotten soul."
"You? You think you can kill me?" cackled Josè. "Very well, Salamander! I don't know how you convinced Gajeel to betray me, but don't think I'll bow before your little puppet show!"
"Does anyone know what's going on?" Cana asked as the guild's members watched on. Fortunately, due to Natsu's incredible magical control, none of them fell unconscious from the display, however, more than a few collapsed.
"I'm not entirely sure," Mira answered.
"How did he get Gajeel to bow to him like that? And who's that other girl?" Lucy asked.
"I'm sure he will explain everything after, shut up and keep watching," Erza ordered.
"Yes, ma'am!" they replied quickly.
"Your overconfidence will be your downfall! Living Shade-" he started, before getting interrupted.
"Fire Dragon King's Punishing Arts: Peklenc's Eternal Damnation," Natsu announced, forming a passive pentagon of flames into the air. "Goodbye, Josè."
A/N: Oh, snap! A cliffhanger! So, if you're wondering why I chose to do this note at the end instead of at the beginning, you shouldn't. If I do it at the end, it's to not spoil anything. Duh. Anyway, back to the notes.
Firstly, I'd like to talk about the conflict against Totomaru. One thing you may have noticed in the anime/manga is that Phantom Lord's S-Class mages were only about as strong as Fairy Tail's high class/S-Class contestant mages. I think that's stupid because the guilds are supposed to be roughly equal in power. Therefore, the S-Class mages of Phantom Lord in MY story will be more powerful than the non-S-Class mages of Fairy Tail, and slightly weaker than the S-Class mages like Erza and Mirajane. To give a rough estimate, it would take two-three Grays to defeat any of the Element Four except Sol, who is by far the weakest since he primarily uses Merci La Vi to fight, which is a mind game rather than power. That's why the 3v1 against Totomaru went relatively well for him, if only for a short time. They aren't weaker, he's just stronger in my story. He also would have put up a better fight if he wasn't defending the crystal, though he sucked at that, to be honest. The man couldn't focus properly... I got some of the attacks from other sources; Totomaru's I got from Agni in the video game Smite, and Lisanna's I took Fury Swipes from, you guessed it, Jojo's Bizarre- Pokèmon...obviously it's from Pokèmon... I don't feel the need to explain Elfman's, since it was kinda just writing the word 'manly' in front of something that sounded like an attack.
Next, I wanted to talk about Erza and Mirajane. Halphas is an extremely powerful form and is very draining to use. In addition, Mira was injured slightly against Sol and went through some mental trauma that I will get more into later. All this combined with the fact that she took a yearlong break from missions made her a bit weaker than normal, but in no way is she weak. She is a very powerful S-Class mage in her own right, so I wanted to make absolutely sure she wasn't a delicate flower who was easily kidnapped. Erza blocked a full Jupiter blast after being on the losing end of a fight against Gajeel, so she's incredibly exhausted and rather injured herself. Those are the reasons the two did not participate any further in the Phantom conflict. (This will come into play later, but Gajeel is also stronger than in cannon. He was Phantom's ace, and proved to be weaker than an exhausted high-class Fairy Tail mage? LAME! My Gajeel would barely edge out a victory over Mira and Erza together if he was taking it seriously. So, equal to or slightly weaker than Laxus.)
Now, you probably have all sorts of questions regarding what in the holy hell happened with Natsu, Wendy, and Gajeel. Why did Wendy accept someone she didn't know as her king? Why was Gajeel freaked out? All will be explained, don't worry. It has to do with the dragon culture I've established, and I will do the best I can to explain it in the next chapter.
Finally, my parting words! As I mentioned, this is probably my favorite chapter of any story I've written so far, and I truly hope you enjoy it as much as I did. If you agree, leave a review! If you think this doesn't make any sense and I just used plot convenience to solve my problems for me, I mean...kinda cold...but leave a review anyway... Thanks to everyone who read this, left their thoughts, and I hope I made your day a little better! See you next time!
~ Ad Vitam, Ad Mortem ~