…
Ultimate Fairy
Chapter 6: Galuna Island
Part IV
…
Ben Tennyson had been on the receiving end of glares from dozens, if not hundreds of people over the years, whether they were from Gwen because he did something stupid, or from one of his enemies because he did something to anger them. As a result, the glare he got from Erza Scarlet barely got more than mild concern from him.
'Though,' Ben thought to himself, 'the sword does raise that 'mild' to a 'moderate'.'
"Ben Tennyson," Erza said, not moving her blade from Ben's throat, "I do not care what your explanation is."
"Aww," Ben mock-whined, still trying to make light of the situation, "but it's such a good story!"
Lucy and Happy, the former sitting on the beach, tied up by Erza, the latter being held by his tail in her free hand, looked at each other incredulously. The mighty Erza had her sword at his neck, but Ben was still acting so carefree! Erza, on the other hand, didn't appear fazed in the slightest; instead, she gestured slightly with her sword.
"Come with me; we are going to get the others and go back to the guild." She then lowered her sword and began walking towards the village. Happy was still in her other hand while Lucy followed, though she had some trouble standing, since her upper body was tied up.
"Hey, wait a second," Ben protested, "Gray's hurt, and Natsu is still-"
He didn't get to finish his sentence as Erza whipped her sword around again, the blade pushed against his throat, her left eye blazing with fury while her right was concealed by her long hair. To the surprise of the Fairy Tail members, Ben didn't flinch.
"We can't leave." Ben said slowly, never breaking eye contact. "Gray is hurt, and I don't think he can be moved. Natsu is off in the jungle doing who-knows-what, there's an evil wizard who wants to resurrect a super-demon, and the villagers here have been living under a curse for three whole years.
"I'll go with you to the village to check on Gray, but I'm not leaving this island until these people can go outside without being afraid of turning into monsters, or being killed by wizards."
Slowly, the wrath in Erza's expression faded to a more neutral demeanor, and she lowered the sword again.
"I will wait until Gray is well enough to move," Erza declared, "and then I will gather Natsu and we will all leave this place. You are not a member of Fairy Tail, and thus I cannot order you to leave. However, it is dark out; for your own safety, I suggest that we do not go after Natsu until daybreak."
Erza hated it when someone defied her, but she knew that she didn't really have any authority over Ben, so the best she could do was try to keep him in one place, at least until she could come up with another way to convince him to leave the island.
Ben didn't want to admit it, but Erza was right; Natsu had told him that he had a plan, but he didn't know what the Dragon Slayer was going to do, nor where he was going and Ben knew that he wouldn't be able to help anyone by fumbling around in the dark.
"Fine," he conceded, "I'll wait until then."
…
The next day, when Gray woke up, he noticed two things; first, that he was in a tent, but otherwise ignorant of his surroundings. Second, the pain in his body had lessened greatly. With some effort, he stood up, noticing that someone had bandaged his torso, shoulders and head.
Stepping out of the tent, Gray shielded his eyes against the afternoon sun. Around him was a mass of tents, similar to the village, but it was clearly located somewhere else.
"Oh, thank goodness," a voice from behind Gray said, causing him to turn and see one of the village girls, "I'm glad you're awake."
"What is this place?" Gray asked, being careful not to stare at the girl's cursed leg, which was blue and almost insect-like.
"It's a storage area, not too far from the village," the girl answered. "Everything was destroyed in the attack last night, so we decided to come here for shelter."
"The whole village was destroyed?" Gray asked, horrified. "That's horrible."
Then he remembered Lyon ordering his lackeys to raze the village and kill everyone in it.
'I can't believe you actually tried to do it, Lyon.' Gray thought, disgusted with his fellow student.
"You know," the girl continued, "it's a miracle that Natsu, Lucy and Ben were here; because of them, everyone in the village survived the attack."
"It's a relief that no one died." Gray said, grateful for his friends' actions. "Are the others still here?"
"Well, Lucy is, but after the fight, Natsu disappeared, and Ben went after him this morning. They wanted you to meet them over in that tent." The girl pointed to the tent in question.
After thanking the girl, Gray made his way over to the tent and walked inside. For a moment, he went cross-eyed, trying to take in several things at once. First, there was Lucy and Happy, tied up and looking thoroughly miserable, and then there was the girl whose wrath haunted his nightmares, Erza Scarlet. Though she sat calmly, her legs crossed and her hands folded over her lap, her eyes told of a very different, very violent mood.
"You made me wait," she said in a calm, yet dark, tone, "not smart."
The only thing that kept Gray from bolting was that he was still exhausted from his fight with Lyon.
"Erza!" Gray desperately wracked his brain for something to take the heat off of himself, "Um, why are Lucy and Happy tied up? And why isn't Ben?"
"Lucy informed me of the situation," Erza replied, not answering Gray's first question, "and Ben is not a member of the guild, thus I had no control over him. He went off to find Natsu."
If Gray wasn't worried that Erza might kill him, he might have noticed that Erza's expression darkened slightly when she mentioned Ben.
"As it is," Erza continued, "I thought that you had been sent to stop these fools, not join them; needless to say, I'm disappointed. However, now that you're up, we're going to search for Natsu and Ben, and then we will go back to the guild."
"But we can't leave the island just yet!" Gray objected, "If Lucy filled you in, then you know what these villagers are going through!"
Erza barely glanced at him. "And what would be your point? I came here solely for the purpose of taking you all back to the guild. I'm not interested in anything other than that."
"Seriously!?" Gray yelled. "Have you even seen the people on this island!?"
"I have," Erza said evenly.
"And you're just gonna turn your back on them!?" Gray demanded, shocked at what he was hearing.
"Their request is posted on the Request Boards of every guild hall. The villagers would be better served by wizards who are cleared for S-Class quests. You, on the other hand, are not qualified."
"How can you be so heartless?" Gray accused.
Erza whirled around, furious. "What did you say!?"
As cold as Erza acted, she was far from heartless; she did everything in her power to make sure that innocents were spared from pain and suffering. However, the safety of her guild, her family, would always take precedence over the safety of strangers. If she had to live with guilt over that later, she would, but the guilt would be tempered by the knowledge that those she cared for were safe.
A red magic circle appeared in front of her hand, and a sword emerged. She grabbed the hilt and pointed the blade at Gray.
"If you break the guild's rules, then you will face the consequences."
Gray flinched, but then steadied himself. To everyone's shock, he grabbed the blade and placed the tip over his chest, right above his blue guild mark.
"Do what you must," Gray declared, steel in his voice, "I can't walk away from what I know is right."
For what seemed like an eternity, neither Gray nor Erza broke eye contact. Finally, Erza lowered the sword, and Gray walked to the tent-flap.
"I'm seeing this through to the end… and you can't stop me." Gray proclaimed before he walked out.
After he was gone, Erza trembled in anger, before leveling a glare at the bound Happy and Lucy, causing them to panic. They thought that Erza would take her rage out on them.
"We're sorry!" Lucy shrieked. "We have no control over any of them!"
"Gray's not feeling too good," Happy added desperately, "because he lost a fight with his old friend!"
Faster than either of them could blink, Erza swung her sword, slicing through the ropes that held them.
"These events are intolerable," Erza said, "but we'll deal with the immediate problem first; we're going after them!"
"Hooray!" both Lucy and Happy cheered.
"This doesn't change anything," Erza growled, "You're still going to face punishment."
Their faces fell. "Yes, ma'am."
…
"Oh man, this sucks," Natsu groaned to himself as he finally made it to the temple. "I came up with a great plan, but then I got lost and fell asleep!"
"At least you got here at all!" Ben's voice called out from behind him, causing the Dragon Slayer to spin around. Ben was leaning against a tree, an amused smile on his face.
"Ben? How did you know I'd be here?"
"It was kind of obvious," Ben retorted. "You said that you had a plan to stop the demon from coming back, and Deliora is under the temple. You'd have to come here to do… whatever it is that you're planning. I'm just surprised that you got lost!"
Natsu scowled when Ben started to chuckle. "Hey, it's not my fault. I'm used to searching for stuff from the air with Happy!"
"It doesn't matter anyway." Ben said dismissively, "We're here, so let's wrap this up before Erza gets her hands on you."
"Erza's here!?" Natsu immediately panicked.
"Yeah, but she doesn't really have any control over me." Ben smirked. "So she couldn't stop me from helping you."
"Great!" Natsu grinned and held up his hand, "Let's go! I'm all fired up!"
Ben gave him a high-five. "Yeah! It's Hero Time!"
…
Lyon stared at his remaining subordinate, his arms crossed. "How pathetic," he commented, "you're the only one still standing, Toby?"
The dog-man in question shifted nervously, sweat growing on his brow.
Lyon sat down on a throne made of stone. "Those Fairy Tail wizards, and the Take-Over wizard who was with them… they're quite impressive, and clever too, if they were able to trick you into paralyzing yourself."
Toby flinched, putting one hand against the bandage on his forehead. "Hey, can we keep the whole 'shocking myself' thing a secret?"
A new voice intruded on the conversation. "This unfortunate turn of events could put the resurrection of Deliora in jeopardy."
Toby jumped at the sudden appearance of a small, hunched man who wore red clothes, a gray cloak and a red, horned mask that covered the upper half of his face. His mouth, the only visible part of his face, showed a wide grin.
Lyon hid his surprise well, not even batting an eye. "Zalty, you're as stealthy as ever."
The man known only as Zalty was an enigma to Lyon and his allies; though he had provided them with good information, he never cowered nor groveled before Lyon's power.
"If all goes as planned," Zalty said, "the demon should awaken at some point tonight, but we have to keep an eye on those wizards. If they were to interrupt the Moon Drip ceremony, then Deliora would forever remain entombed in ice. Salamander and Titania are very powerful, as is that Take-Over wizard, and there is a good chance that they could foil our plans."
"As always," Lyon replied calmly, "you seem remarkably well-informed. However, I can't say that I'm worried. Those fools may be strong, but they're no match for me."
"I was hoping you'd say that," Zalty said eagerly, "so it's very reassuring to hear. Still, allow me the honor of joining you in battle."
"Hold up…you're a wizard!?" Toby asked, shocked.
"Yes," Zalty answered, "it's been a while since I used it, but I've dabbled in a particular kind of Lost Magic."
Lyon considered it for a moment. Zalty hadn't done anything to betray his cause. "Sure, we could use another wizard."
Zalty opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted when the temple suddenly began to shake!
"Is it an earthquake?" Toby asked worriedly.
"I don't think so," Lyon said. The shakes were coming in little bursts, not a long quake, and it seemed to be happening on only one side of the temple. Toby, however, hadn't figured it out yet.
"It's all coming down!"
Finally, with one last rumble, the temple suddenly tilted to one side, nearly causing Lyon, Toby and Zalty to lose their balance and fall. They thought that it was over, but then a blast of fire ripped its way up through the floor, nearly frying them.
"What is the meaning of this!?" Lyon demanded. Zalty looked into the hole in the floor and grinned.
"I should have known that Salamander would make the first move, though I would have thought he'd come alone; it seems he brought the Take-Over wizard with him."
Below them, several levels of the temple down stood Natsu. Beside him was an armadillo humanoid with a bulky, yellow-armored body that had grey bolts with black markings on its shoulders. It had jackhammer parts on its elbows, wrists and hands, and had a grey tail. Its head was similar to a Greek Corinthian helmet with two, long grey ears sticking out. The Omnitrix dial was positioned in the center of its chest.
"Told you Armodrillo's power would work." The Talpaedan said smugly.
"Yeah, yeah, don't go rubbing it in," Natsu grumbled good-naturedly. "I'm just glad that I had help for this. Usually, I break stuff by accident. I'm not used to destroying stuff on purpose."
"What are you two doing here!?" Lyon demanded, enraged.
"We're knocking this place over," Natsu retorted.
"Yeah," Armodrillo continued, "That way, you won't be able to shine moonlight on the demon!"
Before they had begun demolishing the temple, Natsu had explained to Ben that magic, for the most part, followed the path set by the direction of a magic circle. If the circle from the Moon Drip was tilted, the light wouldn't be able to go straight down onto Deliora; if the temple was shifted far enough, it wouldn't even touch it.
Ben had to admit, it was pretty smart on Natsu's part. After transforming into Armodrillo, the two spent some time destroying the support columns on one side of the temple; Natsu using his enhanced strength and firepower, and Armodrillo using his tremor-powers, causing it to become unbalanced.
"How dare you!" Lyon raged, "Who do you think you are!?"
"I already told you," Armodrillo said cockily, "I'm a superhero!"
Natsu decided not to engage in any sort of banter; instead, fire shot out of the bottom of his feet, propelling him upwards like a rocket.
"Didn't know he could do that," Armodrillo remarked. He then slapped the Omnitrix dial, engulfing his body in an emerald flash.
When the green light died away, standing in Ben's place was a creature that resembled the cross between a Pterodactyl and a glider. It had a yellow beak-like mouth, reddish-orange skin, and yellow wings that were small and similar to a glider that were connected to a jetpack structure on its back. It wore black and green clothing on its shoulders and waist, and green braces around its wrist and ankles. The Omnitrix dial was positioned on its left shoulder.
"Astrodactyl!" he squawked loudly
He then activated his jetpack and flew after his friend.
"What kind of Take-Over is that!?" Lyon asked, shocked by Ben's transformation.
By then, Natsu had wrapped his own body in flames and collided with him head-first.
"Fire Dragon Sword-Horn!" the impact didn't even slow Natsu down; he and Lyon were nearly at the ceiling when the ice wizard's body began to crack like glass and then shattered.
"Dude!" Astrodactyl squawked, having caught up just in time to see the hit. "Did you just kill him!?"
"No, he didn't," Lyon's voice came from behind them. "He hit my Ice Fake."
Astrodactyl quickly slapped the Omnitrix dial again. When the emerald flash disappeared, in Astrodactyl's place was…
"NRG!"
Lyon grimaced, remembering what this form had done to his ice the last time; instead, he focused on Natsu, who was just starting to fall.
"Let's see you dodge in midair!" Lyon held out his hand. "Ice Make: Eagle!"
The flock of Ice Eagles darted towards the falling Dragon Slayer, but Natsu only angled his face upwards and shot a breath of fire, propelling him into NRG's arms and out of danger.
"Smart move," NRG complimented, putting Natsu down, "Using your breath as a thruster; very nice."
"Thanks," Natsu said, grinning; then his smile disappeared. "Look out!"
Another flock of Ice Eagles was headed right at them, but NRG only placed himself between Natsu and the approaching magic. The ice might have been strong, but it still shattered against NRG's armor. In return, NRG shot a blast of radiation from the grille on his helmet, causing all three enemy wizards to duck.
When NRG stopped his attack, Natsu hopped on top of his head in a hand-stand, and then began to spin his legs around, shooting jets of fire from both feet. Lyon managed to dodge again, but in doing so, he ended up in midair, allowing both Natsu and NRG to send their respective ranged attacks at the Cold Emperor.
Just before the attacks hit, Zalty held out a hand, and the floor beneath the two suddenly grew brittle and turned to dust, sending the two plummeting to the lower levels of the temple.
"Very fortunate, Cold Emperor," the masked man remarked, "luck is on your side."
Luck, however, wasn't on the side of Toby, who had been scorched by one of Natsu's attacks.
"Can we keep the whole 'Toby got charred' thing a secret too?" he whined pitifully.
"What did you do?" Lyon asked, suspicious of Zalty's unknown magic.
"Whatever do you mean?" Zalty asked innocently.
"Don't play dumb with me." Lyon snapped. "Your magic had to have caused that hole in the floor."
"Heh, don't you have ever the watchful eye?" Zalty commented, "Please allow me to explain my actions, sir. You're the only one strong enough to defeat Deliora, so it's imperative that you remain safe until his resurrection."
The air around Lyon became dense with a cold fog. "Are you suggesting that I could fall victim to such paltry magic?"
With a twitch of his finger, the floor, walls and ceiling of the room they were in became coated in a thick layer of ice. The only parts that didn't freeze over were the parts of the floor that the three stood on, and the hole that Natsu and NRG had fallen through.
"Leave me," Lyon commanded, just as NRG and Natsu climbed back up, "I can take care of this myself. Once I finally defeat the demon, everyone will worship my name, Cold Emperor Lyon. I've worked too hard to let these two brats tarnish this day."
"A bit full of himself, huh?" NRG asked his pyromaniac friend.
"Yeah," Natsu agreed, and then directed his attention back to Lyon. "Why do you want to fight Deliora? The thing looks half dead already! You're going to all of the trouble to melt that ice just so you can fight it!?"
"When you put it like that, it does sound stupid." NRG commented.
"I must rise above Ur's legacy," Lyon declared, even as he sent another wave of Ice Eagles at the two. "I will not rest until I have fulfilled my dream!"
"Why go this far?" Natsu asked, dodging the attack, while NRG simply endured it. "Can't you just challenge Ur and be done with it?"
"I would if I could!" Lyon snapped. "But Ur has been dead for years, and it's all Gray's fault! If he hadn't challenged Deliora to a fight, Ur wouldn't have had to sacrifice herself to seal the demon away!"
Natsu remembered Gray telling him that Ur had sacrificed everything fighting Deliora. "I didn't know that she'd died sealing it."
Distracted by the revelation, Natsu didn't notice the Ice Eagle until it was inches from his face; it was only stopped when NRG's fist knocked it off-course.
"Hey man," NRG directed his attention on the spiky, white-haired wizard, "I get that you're angry, but what you're doing is hurting innocent people. I never knew Ur, but if she was willing to sacrifice her life to stop Deliora, I'm pretty sure she'd want you to stop what you're doing."
"How dare you!" Lyon sent a wave of ice at NRG, who stopped it with a concentrated beam of radiation.
Despite being outnumbered, as well as facing an elemental disadvantage, Lyon was doing an admirable job of fending off his opponents, matching them move-for-move. Still, all three fighters knew that sooner or later, Lyon would either make a mistake or simply run out of energy, while Natsu and NRG seemed to have plenty of energy to spare.
"Do yourself, and us, a favor and just give up!" NRG demanded.
"I'd never give you that satisfaction," Lyon calmly replied.
"Oh, you're asking for it," Natsu said, his fist wrapped in flames.
Just as they were about to clash again, the wall next to them began to crack, until it shattered, revealing Gray!
"Good to see you on your feet, Gray," NRG said, surprised that the guy had managed to make his way from the village's storage area to all the way over here. "Where are Lucy and Erza?"
"They're fighting those robed goons. They shouldn't have too much trouble. Now, both of you back off," Gray said to NRG and Natsu, "it's time Lyon and I ended this once and for all."
"No way, man!" Natsu told him. "You already lost to him once!"
"And it won't happen again," Gray countered confidently. "I'm ready this time."
"You seem awfully cocky," Lyon said.
The raven-haired wizard was quiet for a moment. "You were right, Lyon." Gray admitted. "I am responsible for Ur's death."
Lyon's eyes narrowed.
"But you're no better," Gray continued, "You threatened my friends, brought harm to the villagers and now you're trying to destroy what Ur gave her life to create. It's time we faced our punishment together."
Gray widened his stance, stretching out his arms, and then crossing them at the wrists. While NRG and Natsu were confused, Lyon looked absolutely terrified.
"That stance… not the Iced Shell!"
Both NRG and Natsu were shocked; they knew that Ur had used the technique Iced Shell to seal Deliora away. It was also what killed her. Was Gray planning to make the same sacrifice?
"Are you insane?" Lyon demanded. "You wouldn't dare!"
"If you want to live," Gray said, "change the villagers back to their human forms, and then leave this island and never return!" An icy-blue magic circle appeared under Gray's feet. "If you'll agree to that, I'll stop; otherwise, this is the end."
Lyon's confident smirk returned. "Is that so? Well, I don't believe a word of it. You're bluffing!"
In response, a torrent of ice began to spread from the magic circle.
"No, I'm not," Gray responded, his tone deadly serious.
"You'll die!" Lyon tried to use his own magic to block the attack, but it was blown away by the sheer power of Gray's spell.
"Don't do it!" Natsu shouted. He would have been knocked back by Gray's magic as well, but NRG grabbed his arm, his own body too heavy to be thrown back.
"Come on, man," NRG yelled, "this isn't how you should stop him!"
"All these years, I've lied to myself," Gray voiced, "I didn't want to admit that Ur died because of me, but she did, and it's time I took responsibility. So I will, here and now. I'm not afraid to die, if that what it takes!"
"Stop this now!" Lyon was practically pleading.
"What's it going to be, Lyon?" Gray demanded, "Are we going to die, or are we going to live? It's up to you!"
"You wouldn't," Lyon said, a hint of a sneer on his face, "you're not brave enough to give your life! You're too much of a coward!"
"Just watch me," Gray whispered.
'Natsu, Ben, all my friends in Fairy Tail, the rest is up to you,' he thought, 'I don't want to leave, but my time is up.'
"Iced Sh…"
Gray's spell was interrupted when NRG's fist came down on his head with a loud clang. Gray fell to his knees, stunned, giving Natsu enough time to force his arms behind his back.
"What the hell do you think you're trying to pull!?" NRG demanded.
Ben almost never swore, but he couldn't help it in the face of Gray's stupidity.
"What about you two!?" Gray shot back, struggling to break Natsu's arm-lock, "When I got here, the first thing I said was to get back!"
"And I said no way!" Natsu growled.
"I've got a score to settle with this guy!" Gray protested.
"How is killing yourself 'settling a score'?" NRG retorted. "If anything, dying and leaving us to clean up the mess just makes you a coward."
Gray flinched, and then slumped. He hadn't consciously thought about it, but perhaps he really had been using the Iced Shell as an excuse to escape the guilt. While he felt terrible about what happened to Ur, the thought of leaving his friends to pick up the pieces after he was gone made him feel even worse.
Before Gray could apologize, the room began to shake.
"Oh, what now?" asked an exasperated Natsu.
The room, as well as the rest of the temple, had been resting at an angle; however, it was now falling back to its original position. In a few moments, it was as if the damage that Natsu and Ben had inflicted had never happened.
Natsu let go of Gray and began stomping the ground in frustration while NRG was just confused. What the heck had happened?
"This is bad," Gray said, getting back up. "Now the moon's gonna shine on Deliora!"
"Pardon the interruption," Zalty said, entering the room. He had slipped out during the fight between Lyon, Natsu and NRG.
"I should have known," Lyon said calmly, "You did all this?"
"The moon will be out soon," Zalty replied. "So I thought I'd straighten the temple for you."
"That weirdo fixed the temple all by himself?" Gray asked; impressed by the level of power that must have required.
"And after all the trouble we went through to mess it up, too," Natsu complained. He then shook his fist at Zalty. "Hey, so what'd you do to fix it, huh?"
Zalty looked at Natsu in surprise as if noticing him for the first time, and then laughed maniacally.
"TELL ME HOW YOU FIXED IT, YOU JERK!" Natsu screamed.
"Well, if everything else is in order, I'll go prepare the Moon Drip ceremony." Zalty stated before running off down a corridor.
"Would you quit ignoring me, you masked freak!" Natsu shouted as he began to chase after him.
"Oh, he is so asking for it," NRG growled, also annoyed with Zalty.
He slapped the Omnitrix dial, and when the green flash faded, he was replaced by a tall, humanoid figure that seemed to be made of magma. His head was surrounded by fire, and his hands were oversized; the Omnitrix dial was on his chest.
"Heatblast!" he shouted in a deep, raspy voice.
Before Natsu left the room, he spun around and pointed at Gray. "Ben and I'll handle that masked jerk. I'll leave Lyon to you."
Gray and Heatblast were both surprised. After Gray had almost killed himself, Natsu was suddenly trusting him to beat Lyon?
Natsu turned around, his back to Gray. "It'll look bad if you lose again."
"Yeah," Gray said determination in his tone.
"Not just for you," Natsu continued.
"I know what you mean." Gray, as well as Natsu, both said, "but for all of Fairy Tail!"
'Wow,' Heatblast thought, 'they take their pride pretty seriously.'
Natsu took off after Zalty. Heatblast gave Gray a thumbs-up, and then went after the Dragon Slayer.
"My, my," Lyon said after they left, "Such a boisterous group you are."
"Let me ask you something, a second ago, when I was gonna freeze us both, were you counting on either Natsu or Ben to stop me before I could finish?" He inquired.
"No," Lyon answered, "the opposite, in fact. I never thought that anyone would be foolish enough to get near a spell like that."
"So you were just going to stand there and take the hit?" Gray asked, surprised.
"Exactly," a smug Lyon said, "Because someone would come to rescue me. You, on the other hand, would be finished for good."
"I should have known," Gray murmured to himself.
"Certainly, it would have been inconvenient." Lyon continued. "However, my allies are as devoted to my cause as I am, and as long as we're on this island, they can use Moon Drip to melt the ice whenever they saw fit."
Gray looked down. "I didn't think of that. I guess the Iced Shell is completely useless here."
'And my sacrifice would have been for nothing,' he thought; at that moment, he was grateful that Ben had stopped him when he did.
"Even so," Lyon said, "you still want to fight? After what happened last time?"
Gray didn't reply.
"Don't fool yourself," Lyon laughed, "you could never…"
"That's enough," Gray interrupted.
"What?"
"Just forget about Deliora," Gray said softly.
"What kind of nonsense is this?" Lyon asked, genuinely confused. "Your threats don't work, so you turn to begging? Does your guild have dentist that removes your fangs, or are you just a coward?"
"Lyon, there's something I have to tell you," Gray said.
"What is it?" Lyon asked, now annoyed.
"Ur… is still alive."
…
"Natsu, slow down a second!" Heatblast yelled as he ran after the Dragon Slayer.
"No way!" Natsu called back, chasing the still-fleeing Zalty. "Not until he tells me how he fixed the temple!"
Finally, Zalty stopped running and pointed his hand at the spot above Natsu; a chunk of the ceiling came loose and fell right at him!
"Look out!" blasting jets of fire from his feet, Heatblast rocketed towards Natsu and tackled him out of the way. "See, that's why you should have waited for me!"
"Sorry," Natsu said sheepishly. He then noticed that Zalty wasn't done. The masked man waved his hand, and the chunk of ceiling lifted back to where it was the damage disappearing like it was never there.
"That's how I fixed the temple," Zalty explained.
"You reversed time, didn't you?" Heatblast asked.
From the way that Zalty whipped his head around to look at Heatblast, he was completely surprised.
"Yes, I did. How did you figure it out so quickly?"
"I know someone who can do the same thing," Heatblast replied, remembering Professor Paradox, "but he's a lot more subtle than you."
"Hmph," Zalty appeared a bit put out, "Still, this magic is extremely rare, rare enough that it is one of the Lost Magics, a type of magic so powerful and dangerous that it has been lost to history."
"Explains the name," Heatblast muttered.
"Your Dragon Slayer magic is another example of Lost Magic," Zalty continued, gesturing at Natsu.
"Wow, really?" Natsu asked.
"Seriously, dude?" Heatblast deadpanned. "I thought people who used magic had to know their stuff before they could use it?"
Before Natsu could reply, Zalty laughed and vanished, much to the irritation of his opponents.
'Why is it that time-users love to disappear like that?' Heatblast wondered.
…
Lyon didn't move a muscle, staring at Gray with wide eyes.
"The Iced Shell doesn't actually kill its caster," Gray went on, "it uses their body to form the barrier; the ice keeping Deliora sealed away, which you've been trying to melt, is Ur. She isn't dead; she lives on in that ice."
Lyon just stared at him.
"I'm sorry that I never told you the truth back then." Gray apologized sincerely. "Ur made me promise to keep it a secret. She worried that if you knew, you'd spend the rest of your life trying to change her back."
"Of course," Lyon mumbled.
"It's over," Gray declared, stepping closer to Lyon. "There's no reason to go through with this anymore."
Lyon raised his hand, but before Gray could react, he placed it against Gray's right side and sent an icicle straight through him! Gray fell to his knees, clutching the wound in agony; it didn't feel like it hit anything vital, but it still hurt.
"You idiot," Lyon said, "I know how the spell works. I can assure you that she isn't alive anymore. That's nothing more than a chunk of ice!"
Gray pulled the ice out of his side and tried to rise. "You… you knew all along?"
"Knowing is one thing, believing is another, and if you truly believe that Ur is alive in there, then you're an even bigger fool than I thought."
"You knew the truth?" Gray said through teeth clenched in pain and rage, "And you still did this!?"
"And what of it?" Lyon asked as Gray got to his feet. Before he could react, Gray had covered the distance between them and delivered a punch that sent him flying into the wall.
"I-impossible!" Lyon gasped, "How can you move with that wound?"
"Enough," Gray snarled coldly, "I wanted to save you, but I give up now."
Lyon staggered to his feet. "You want the title of star pupil for yourself? Well I'm sorry, but I have to fight against Deliora soon, and I'd rather not waste my magic energy on you."
Gray took a fighting stance. "Then we'll just use our fists instead!"
"Ha! You want me to fight you without using magic? That's fine by me."
Gray made the first move charging forward, but Lyon moved around his punch and struck him in his wound, nearly making him fall to the ground again.
"Aim for your opponent's weak spot, then hit it with all your might." Lyon mocked. "Ur taught us that, remember?"
"You have no right to speak her name!" Gray attacked again, but Lyon drove his knee into Gray's gut, winding him.
Stunned, Gray was left wide open for a barrage of punches and kicks from Lyon.
"What a shame," Lyon said, sounding bored, "your fists are as weak as your magic."
Every time Gray tried to attack, Lyon would counter, sending him hurtling to the floor or into a wall. Despite that, Gray actually started to smile. His own stubbornness reminded him of all the times that he and Natsu had fought when they were younger. He hadn't given up then, and he wouldn't give up now! He got up one more time; seeing this sent Lyon into a rage.
"I should have killed you when I had the chance!" he yelled, both men's fists hitting the other's face; for a moment, they were stuck like that, before a burst of strength from Gray sent Lyon crashing into another wall.
"You're gonna have to step up your game if you want to beat me!" Gray shouted. Lyon rushed forward again and the two began exchanging hits. "I've never given up before, and I won't give up here! I'm not going to lose to you!"
With a final roar, Gray sent Lyon flying, and this time, he didn't charge back in; instead, Lyon used a chunk of ice to drag himself upright, panting heavily.
"The Cold Emperor," he said angrily, "defeated in battle by the likes of you!? I won't stand for it!"
"Then get over here," Gray panted, "and fight!"
Gritting his teeth, Lyon pointed his hand at Gray. "Ice Make: Ice Dragon!"
A giant dragon of ice flew at Gray, clamping its jaws on the wizard; fortunately, Gray was able to break the ice enough that he was able to fall out of the construct's mouth. Still, it was another painful wound.
"I thought we agreed not to use magic, Lyon!" Gray yelled, getting back up.
"Don't be such a poor loser," Lyon said, "This duel was pointless from the start. Deliora will be revived either way; it's far too late to stop me now!"
"I won't stop trying!" Gray declared defiantly.
"Try all you want," Lyon asserted, "but Zalty is preparing the Moon Drip ceremony as we speak."
"Natsu and Ben won't let him," Gray said, smiling, "The second you underestimate Natsu is the second you lose, and Ben has more tricks up his sleeve than anyone I've ever met. Your friend doesn't have a prayer."
…
Zalty stood before the frozen form of Deliora, his grin in full force.
"At long last," he whispered, before the sound of yelling made him dodge a fiery punch.
"There you are!" Natsu yelled. "I'll burn that stupid smile right off your face!"
Zalty dodged another attack, this time a stream of fire from Heatblast, who glared at Natsu.
"What part of 'wait until I'm in position' did you not understand?" he yelled at the Dragon Slayer.
"I couldn't help it." Natsu protested. "He pisses me off!"
Zalty laughed. "The term 'hot-headed' certainly applies to you, Salamander. By the way, how did you manage to find me?"
"I followed my nose," Natsu answered. "For some reason; you reek of lady's perfume."
Heatblast blinked and gave Zalty a pointed stare. "You have issues, dude."
Zalty laughed it off. "I'd love to stay and chat, but I have other things to do."
"What, like trying on nail polish?" Heatblast joked, but received no reaction.
"Like reviving Deliora," Zalty responded.
"Just forget about it already," Natsu said confidently. "It's not gonna happen."
"Really?" Zalty asked in mock-concern. "Why is that, pray tell?"
"Because Gray is gonna kick that ice-guy's butt." Natsu retorted strongly.
"And we're gonna kick your butt!" Heatblast added.
"We'll just see about that," Zalty said in an almost-serious tone, and then pointed at Deliora.
To the shock of Natsu and Heatblast, there was a stream of Moon Drip hitting the ice!
"Someone's performing the ceremony?" Natsu asked.
"But I thought Gray said that Lucy and Erza were taking care of it?" Heatblast wondered.
"They took out the chanters," Zalty confirmed, "but Toby snuck out during the fighting and is performing the ceremony on his own. It won't be much Moon Drip with only one person, but it will only take a little more to free the demon anyway."
Sure enough, a huge chunk of the ice began to crack and shatter, causing Natsu to panic.
"Ah! I gotta get up there and stop him!" he rushed to the exit, but Zalty used his magic to once again send a chunk of ceiling falling at him. Natsu barely dodged in time.
"I'm afraid that neither of you are going anywhere," Zalty said with a sadistic smile, "I guess chasing me was a mistake."
"No, not getting you to shut up is a mistake!" Heatblast yelled, shooting a ball of fire at the masked man.
"Are you sure you want to do that?" Zalty asked. "You might make the ice melt faster."
Natsu sent a breath of his own fire Zalty's way, only barely missing him. "If the ice could be melted with fire, you wouldn't have had to go through all this trouble! Bluff all you want, but once we're done here; all we gotta do is stop the ceremony!"
"And here I was, thinking you weren't that clever," Zalty laughed, "but it seems that I was wrong."
Behind the combatants, the frozen body of Deliora began to shake; the vibrations were strong enough to make the entire temple shudder.
…
"Why do I get the feeling that that wasn't Natsu or Ben?" Gray asked, feeling the temple shake.
"The ceremony is nearing completion," Lyon said triumphantly, "the ice sealing Deliora is melting away."
'Ur…' Gray thought.
"There's nothing you can do," Lyon bragged, "it's too late to stop it! You and your friends have failed!" an icy mist gathered around him. "Do you have any idea how long I've waited for this, Gray? All these years, I've been gathering allies and obtaining knowledge; it was fortunate that I found this place." He sent a flock of Ice Eagles at Gray, who barely dodged them. "It wasn't an easy task, transporting Deliora to Galuna, and the Moon Drip has taken three years!"
Backed into a corner, Gray raised an Ice Shield, letting the Ice Eagles shatter against it. "You've been working on this stupid plan for three years!?"
"Stupid!?" echoed an outraged Lyon, "How dare you say that! You've spent the last ten years peddling your life away in some foolish guild!"
Finally, Lyon's barrage broke Gray's shield, but he was able to dodge Lyon's latest attack. "Because I put my faith in what Ur taught us! She said that in the western countries, there were lots of strong wizards to teach me; so I went west, and I joined Fairy Tail. I asked Master Makarov if he knew any way to break the spell, but he said there wasn't, except for one way; he wouldn't tell me what it was, but I bet he was thinking about the Moon Drip."
Gray looked at Lyon with cold hatred. "After everything Ur did for us, taking us in, raising us, training us… you'd still kill her without a second thought. You make me sick."
"Say what you will, I don't care," Lyon responded. "My entire life has led up to this moment. Our master is long dead; if we want to prove that we have surpassed her, what can we do in her absence?" a dragon head surrounded Lyon's hand, and he lunged at Gray. "There's only one answer: Deliora! I will surpass our master by defeating what she could not!"
Gray bobbed and weaved, avoiding Lyon's attacks. "I'll admit, that's a pretty ambitious plan, but I can't help but think that you missed the point along the way!" Gray quickly created a sword of ice and shattered Lyon's dragon-fist. "Someone as blind as you could never be better than Ur, not in a hundred years! Wake up, Lyon!"
Gray slashed his sword across Lyon's chest, but instead of falling to his knees, Lyon shattered into a pile of ice; it was another Ice Fake!
"Fooled you, didn't I?" Lyon said from behind him, "Ice Make: Snow Tiger!"
A giant tiger of ice leaped at Gray who, despite his wounds, did an impressive back-flip over the beast and pointed his palms downwards.
"Ice Make: Prison!" An ornate cage appeared around the tiger, trapping it.
Gray stood on top of the prison and glared at Lyon.
"You see this, Lyon? This is what you are," he said, "a beast in a cage, lashing out at a world he barely knows!"
"Utter nonsense," Lyon snarled, waving his hand. "I'll make quick work of that ice!"
Despite his claims, the tiger within the prison could not get free, no matter how much it struggled. Lyon stepped back in shock as Gray jumped down in front of him.
"Single-handed spellcasting is too unbalanced; your creations will let you down when you need them the most."
Gray placed his hands together, and a magic circle appeared under his feet. When he separated his hands, a large bazooka appeared in them, which he then aimed at Lyon.
"Ice Cannon!"
The cannon fired the blast so powerful that it blew a gaping hole through the side of the temple. Lyon fell to the ground, his clothes shredded and his body covered in wounds. Gray lowered the cannon, slightly disappointed. He had only glanced Lyon with that shot, though whether Lyon had managed to dodge at the last second or if he'd subconsciously missed on purpose, Gray didn't know.
"Thanks for teaching me that move, Ur." Gray said softly, and then groaned in pain. He looked at the wound Lyon had inflicted with that icicle, and then used his magic to freeze it shut. "Ow, I knew I should have sealed this sooner."
He would have relaxed, but a noise rang out throughout the temple. It was a noise that haunted his nightmares, even though he hadn't heard it in ten years; it was both a high-pitched screech and a low growl that nearly paralyzed him with fear.
Deliora.
…
In the depths of the temple, Natsu and Heatblast tried to block out the noise as the ice around the frozen demon cracked and fell apart.
"Yes!" Zalty shouted exuberantly, "It's free!"
…
"Was that the demon?" Erza asked, as she, Lucy and Happy made their way into the temple, after they'd defeated Lyon's troops.
"Oh no," Lucy gasped, "they brought it back to life!?"
"Hey, wait," Happy pointed at a purple column of light, "if the demon is back, why is the Moon Drip still coming down?"
"Perhaps Deliora isn't completely revived," said Erza, tapping her chin in thought. "Which means that we can still stop it; come on!"
…
"Oh crud," Heatblast remarked, "this can't be good."
"I'm done wasting my time with you!" Natsu exclaimed. He charged toward Zalty, but a green sphere collided with his head, sending him flying. The sphere flew towards the small masked man, where it orbited around his wrist.
"Ready when you are," Zalty said, grinning.
"Why, you…" Natsu charged Zalty again, and the green sphere headed right at him. This time, Natsu shattered it in a single blow. Before he could celebrate, however, the pieces came back together, reforming the sphere!
"He's doing that time-reversal thing, Natsu!" Heatblast yelled. His eye sockets widened as an idea popped up in his head. "Dude, I've got a plan. I'll take care of everything else. You just get ready to attack again!"
"Got it!" Natsu replied.
Heatblast slapped the Omnitrix dial once more. After the usual flash of green, he had now transformed into a large, copper robotic humanoid with long, thick arms, stubby legs and a clock-winder sticking out of the top of his head. The Omnitrix dial was on its chest.
"Clockwork!" he cried out in a German accent. "You're not the only one with time-powers, jerk!"
Zalty sent his orb at Clockwork, who simply held out a hand, where a green beam of light shot out. As soon as it hit the orb, it froze in place.
"I can freeze time, sucker!"
Zalty snarled, and then used his power to undo what Clockwork's power did. The Chronosapien, however, only froze it again. This continued for several minutes, with both fighters looking more tired with each attack.
"It would appear that we are at a stalemate," Zalty said, smirking.
"Maybe," Clockwork replied, "but I know something that you don't know."
"What's that?"
"I can use more than one hand at a time!" Clockwork raised his other hand, and a beam of green light struck the wizard, pausing him in time. "Natsu, now!"
"All right!" the Dragon Slayer charged forward. "Fire Dragon Iron Fist!"
The blow sent Zalty flying, though his body was still stuck in the same position. Clockwork's power would wear off in a little while, but he was no longer an issue.
The roaring Deliora was, however.
…
On top of the temple, Toby fell to the ground in pain, Erza standing over him with a raised sword. Even though he'd been defeated, Toby still looked triumphant.
"You're too late! The ceremony is already completed; Deliora is free!"
…
With a twitch of its shoulders, Deliora shook off the last of the ice that had entrapped in for ten years and took a step forward.
"No," Gray's voice caused Natsu and Clockwork to turn and see the limping ice wizard walking towards them.
"Sorry Gray, we couldn't stop it. I guess our only choice is to take that thing down." Natsu stated.
"What he said," Clockwork said. Suddenly, the Omnitrix dial began to blink red. After a few beeps, Clockwork transformed back to Ben in a red flash. He collapsed to his knees in exhaustion.
"I…guess…" he huffed, "Clockwork's power drained what power remained in the Omnitrix…"
The roar of Deliora sounded again, making everyone flinch.
"None… none of you are strong enough," Lyon's voice weakly called out behind them, and they saw the Cold Emperor dragging himself towards the demon, an insane smile on his face. "But I am… I will defeat Deliora."
"Dude," Ben panted, Clockwork's power tiring him out more than he'd expected, "right now, you couldn't defeat a wet paper bag."
"S-silence!" Lyon shouted, "I am going to surpass Ur… at long last."
"You can't fight," Natsu said incredulously; even he wasn't this stubborn. "You can't even get up off the floor!"
Lyon ignored them, continuing to drag himself across the ground; then, with titanic effort, he hauled himself to his feet.
"My dream… will be… fulfill—ugh!"
Gray didn't allow him to finish, knocking Lyon out with a single blow to the head.
"Thank you, he was really annoying," Ben said, feeling his own energy return; while some of his aliens drained his energy and timed out the Omnitrix faster, he always recovered quickly. Though in this case, the Omnitrix might not recharge in time to fight Deliora; after all, it required at least five minutes to fully recharge after being drained. He doubt they were going to get that much time with Deliora now freed.
"I just wanted him to stop. He's done enough damage." Gray stared up at the demon. "Ben, you were right."
"About what?" Ben asked.
"About how killing myself, and letting my friends finish the fight, is cowardly. I'm not going to run away like that ever again." He grinned at Natsu and Ben. "I'm gonna fight this freak. You guys want in?"
Natsu grinned right back. "Oh yeah! Let's do this!"
Ben smiled, but then glared at the white and green watch on his wrist, slapping it a few times. "Come on, you stupid watch, I need you right now!"
Deliora took another step forward, the single act enough to shake the entire cavern. Ben, who was still shaky, fell forward, landing right in front of the demon.
"Ben!" both Gray and Natsu yelled, running forward to help their friend.
Deliora raised a fist to crush Ben, who instinctively held up his arms. The demon's fist flew forward, but it was met by the combined fists of both Natsu and Gray; amazingly, the giant fist was held back, even though the fist was bigger than either wizard's entire body.
Then, before their very eyes, Deliora's hand began to crumble into dust! The effect traveled up the demon's arm, until the entire monster had literally gone to pieces.
"Whoa," breathed Ben, "either you guys are a lot stronger than you thought, or that thing really didn't live up to all the hype."
"No…" Lyon muttered, "Deliora was already dead. For ten years, Ur's spell was gradually depleting the demon's life-force; what we just saw was its last breath."
"Wow," Natsu said, patting Gray on the back, "your teacher was pretty awesome!"
"Yeah," Gray said, a few tears falling down his face as he realized that his nightmare was finally over, "She was."
For Ben, the next few minutes became a blur. First Lucy, Happy and Erza arrived, the latter causing Natsu to freak out. In an act of compassion, Gray had helped Lyon out of the temple; Lyon himself looked almost peaceful, as if the destruction of Deliora caused his manic obsession to fade.
"Oh yeah!" Natsu cheered as they exited the temple, "We totally finished an S-Class quest all by ourselves!"
"You're right!" Lucy said excitedly. "Do you think Master Makarov will let us onto the second floor now?"
The celebratory mood was shattered by Erza's glare; even Ben, who knew he wasn't really in trouble, felt unsettled by it.
"Isn't there something you're all forgetting about?" Erza demanded, "You came to this island to help the villagers; the request was for you to return them to their original forms. This quest still isn't completed."
"Aw, man," Ben moaned, "can't it ever be easy?"
…
A/N: Edited 1/15/2016
Yeah, not much has changed in this chapter. Sorry to disappoint you if you were expecting a lot more detail like there was in Ch1-3, but I didn't see anything to really alter here.
So, that's it. Chapter1-6 Revised is complete! Also, I've gone back to Chapter 16 and edited Ben's confrontation with Laxus since he had already met Laxus in Chapter 2. I also changed up the Way Big scene in the Phantom Lord arc (chapter 11) since I did some more research on Way Big's abilities.
Again, I'm sorry if you were expecting big changes in this batch of revised chapters. Hope I didn't disappoint.