AN: Thanks NinjaFang1331, MDM11, and Goku275. Sorry that it took a bit longer than usual to post this chapter. I general write chapters at the pace of one section per day, plus I didn't write on Thanksgiving.


The final battle began as Natsu's group charged at the Alvarez army, followed seconds later by the various other groups of Fiore mages. The Fire Dragon made the first strike, blowing away a swath of enemy soldiers with an explosive Fire Dragon's Iron Fist.

The others fought with similar ferocity, all of them taking out at least a dozen Alvarez soldiers with each attack. During this, Natsu and Gajeel stayed in human form to avoid becoming large, easy-to-hit targets for any nearby Spriggan.

Despite the clear difference in strength, though, the troops kept fighting, convinced that their superior numbers and the remaining Spriggan 12 would be enough to ensure their country's victory.

The first Spriggan to enter the fray was (the Historia of) God Serena. Creating images of eight dragons that followed him as he leapt out from the sea of Alvarez soldiers, God Serena landed before Natsu and struck a dramatic pose.

"You will come no further!" declared the former Fiore mage. "A God has descended from the heavens… the late God Serena! Sea King Dragon's Encircling Deluge!"

A torrent of water surged from the Spriggan's hands, threatening to swallow up the dragon. Natsu inhaled, preparing his counterattack.

"Fire Dragon's Roar!" yelled the Fairy, unleashing a storm of flames that collided with God Serena's water.

Had this clash taken place a few days ago, the two attacks would have cancelled one another out, producing a massive cloud of steam in the process. But, after using Igneel's flames and fighting August, Natsu's fire burned hotter than ever.

A stream of fire cut through the water, evaporating it so thoroughly that the vapor dispersed before it could get dense enough to be called a fog. However, doing so weakened the flames, so God Serena didn't even need to dodge. His Purgatory Dragon Slayer Magic let him take the hit without being harmed.

"This is going to be a long battle," thought Natsu, grimacing. Overcoming the Spriggan's resistance to fire, especially when he could rely upon other elements, would take a significant amount of time and Magic Power.

Fortunately for the dragon, it was at that moment that a certain Fairy landed between him and God Serena with a crash, producing a spiderweb of cracks in the ground.

"Gildarts!" exclaimed Natsu, his scowl changing into a smile.

"Leave this guy to me," responded Gildarts, eliciting cheers from nearby Fairies. He had come running as soon as news of the war reached him. "Go on ahead and I'll catch up to you."

Natsu nodded and obeyed, leaving Gildarts alone against God Serena. The battle between two of the strongest mages ever born in Fiore began.


Elsewhere, another Spriggan joined the fight with significantly less enthusiasm. He just kept thinking about August and Larcade, no matter how many times he tried to force them from his mind.

"Shrivel up and die!" said Ajeel with forced energy, engulfing a sizable portion of the battlefield in a sandstorm. "As a loyal member of the Spriggan 12, I will carry out the emperor's orders!"

To Ajeel's relief, an enemy attack gave him the opportunity to distract himself from his doubts.

"Line Formation!" shouted Bickslow. The Fairy's puppets gathered into a totem pole, then shot a crescent-shaped blast of energy that cut an opening in Ajeel's sandstorm.

"Fairy Bomb: Leprechaun!" followed up Evergreen. She fired a torrent of explosive powder, condensed into countless needles, at the now-visible Spriggan.

Wordlessly, Ajeel gathered up the nearby sand into a wall between himself and the female Fairy's spell. As each needle hit the wall and exploded, portions of the sand composing it was scattered. However, those grains would rejoin the wall seconds later, preventing Evergreen from making any progress with her attack.

"Too weak!" yelled the Spriggan, firing blasts of sand at the two Fairies. They dodged the attacks, but Ajeel was unconcerned. The amount of magic used by those blasts was insignificant, and he could just command the used sand to return.

Except, to the Spriggan's surprise, he was unable to recall the expended sand. It flew toward him, only to hit a Jutsu Shiki barrier that prevented it from reaching him.

"No sand may enter this area," said Freed, explaining the rule he had created with his magic. The Fairy looked at his comrades. "Bickslow, Evergreen, thank you for distracting him while I set up my Jutsu Shiki. Now, let's show this Spriggan the power of the Thunder God Tribe!"


"I'll just vanish them all," said Jacob as he observed the unfolding battle. The death of Larcade had initially left the Spriggan shaken, but Jacob was ultimately a professional killer. He simply suppressed his doubts and focused on the mission.

Before the Spriggan could activate his magic, though, a Magic Card slammed into his chest and activated, producing a fiery explosion.

Jacob, more angered than injured by the blast, directed his gaze to the source of the card. He glared at the Fairy who threw it, then blushed and averted his eyes.

"H-have some decency!"

"It's funny to hear about 'decency' from you," replied Cana with a scowl. "Your empire took our guild hall, along with all of the alcohol in it! I sobered up because of you, and now I've got a nasty hangover!"

"W-what are you talking about!? Wouldn't that be your own fault for drinking!?"

"I had to drink after what you did yesterday!" insisted the Fairy. "Because of your magic, I ended up being nothing but a burden!"

As Jacob looked at her incredulously, Cana's expression grew serious.

"More importantly, there's the fact that you've abducted Mavis," she said. "So, consider this payback for everything!"

Her declaration complete, the Fairy threw several more Magic Cards at the Spriggan.


"I will send them all…" began the Historia of Bloodman. Using Ezel's Tenga Goken, the Etherious launched a cutting shockwave at a nearby group of Fiore mages. "…to the other world!"

Most of the mages were hit by the blast, but one transformed as the attack approached and jumped over it.

"Animal Soul: Rabbit!" announced Lisanna as she soared through the air in Bloodman's direction. When she reached the peak of her jump, the Fairy extended her foot out in a kick and let her momentum carry her toward the Spriggan.

However, instead of hitting Bloodman's face, Lisanna's foot was stopped by a wall of wind, courtesy of Tempester's Calamity Curse. The Etherious then grabbed the Fairy's leg before she could retreat and slammed her body into the ground.

"Originally, I was a bit annoyed because my current existence as a magical construct prevents me from using my Seals, which rely upon Magical Barrier Particles," stated Bloodman. His face morphed into a cruel grin as he spoke. "But, thanks to that, I'm remembering how fun it is to personally grind my victims into the ground!"

The Spriggan started to activate Kyōka's Enhancement, wanting to hear Lisanna scream as her pain was multiplied, only to get cut off when two fists smashed into him and sent the Etherious flying. In the process, he lost his grip on the Fairy's leg.

"Let go of our sister!" shouted Elfman and Mirajane, both of their standard Take Overs active. With the Spriggan briefly incapacitated, they took the opportunity the check on their sister and help he back up.

"Are you okay?" asked Elfman, his voice full of worry.

"I'm fine," replied Lisanna. She then turned toward Bloodman and shifted into a fighting stance. "Now, let's show this Spriggan the full power of the Strauss family!"


"Ahya hya hya!" laughed the Historia of Wall as he unleashed a barrage of missiles.

His amusement dipped, though, when the missiles were intercepted by giant wooden arms and legs that sprouted from the ground. The missiles all exploded, destroying the wood but not harming a single person.

"Ain't that interesting," commented the Machias with a smirk, his mood rising again as caught sight of the mages opposing him. "It looks like Fairy Tail's D-Team has volunteered themselves to be my toys."

"Rude!" retorted Laki, crossing her arms. She was the one who had stopped the Spriggan's missiles. Beside her was Nab, Vijeeter, Reedus, and Kinana. "We may not be our guild's strongest mages, but we're powerful enough to defeat you!"

"Ahya hya hya!" cackled Wall as if he had heard the most hilarious joke ever. "Defeat me? Your reject squad is so weak that I don't even see a point in fighting. My Weakness Troops can take you down all by themselves."

With that, the Machias created five mechanical soldiers, each with different abilities. The first had flames to incinerate Laki's Wood-Makes, the second could use White Magic to counteract Nab's Animal Possession (a form of Black Magic), the third produced a slippery, oil-like substance on the ground around itself to prevent Vijeeter from getting close enough to his dancing-based magic, and the fourth had a high-pressure hose to wash away Reedus's magical drawings.

As for the fifth, Wall just gave it basic enhanced strength. He didn't see a need to add anything else to defeat Kinana, whose Poison Aroma was harmless against the Machias and his machines.

"This trick is getting old!" declared Nab. "Our guildmates already told us about your Weakness Troops and how to beat them!"

Instead of fighting the mechanical soldiers that went after them, the five Fairies targeted one another's opponents. Laki created a Wood-Make: Sculpture that smashed the hose soldier. Nab used a wolf's soul confined in his legs to jump over the slippery area made by the oil-producing soldier and delivered a punch enhanced by a bear spirit to its face.

Meanwhile, Kinana surrounded the fire soldier with her poisonous gas, which exploded with enough force to destroy the machine as soon as the flames hit it. Vijeeter used his Dancer to control the powerhouse into smashing the White Magic user, then Reedus finished off the last remaining Weakness Trooper using cannons created with his Pict Magic.

With the weaker enemies defeated, the five Fairies turned toward Wall. The Spriggan scowled at them, irritated that his own ability's weakness was now common knowledge among his enemies.

"If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself," muttered Wall. Then, he thought about the suffering he would inflict upon his opponents and grinned maniacally.


"Open Gate of the Heavenly Scales!" yelled Yukino, summoning Libra. The Celestial Spirit used her magic to increase gravity for the nearby Alvarez soldiers, allowed Yukino and Sorano to move around unmolested.

The two sisters were currently in the middle of the battlefield. After seeing God Serena's Historia during his dramatic entrance, they realized Neinhart had to be nearby and decided to hunt him down.

Fortunately, after the battle at Hargeon Town ended, Sorano had summoned her Nikora Celestial Spirit (named Nico) and made Nico learn Neinhart and DiMaria's scents in case either of the Spriggan escaped.

"Once this war ends, you are getting so much candy," murmured Sorano as she and her sister followed the dog (?) Celestial Spirit. Although, they soon dismissed Nico after catching sight of the Spriggan outside of the guild hall.

Neinhart — having hit his limit with three Spriggan 12 Historias — had chosen to stay in the center of the Alvarez Empire's forces where it was safest. He would have gone inside the guild hall, too, but putting too much distance between himself and his Historias would cause them to vanish.

"Only a few hundred soldiers stand between us and Neinhart," said Sorano, smirking confidently.

"Compared to the Historias we beat, that's nothing!" cried Yukino.

The two sisters continued their advance, slowly but surely closing the distance between themselves and the Spriggan.


Omake

"Any sign of Daddy or Mommy, Iggy?" asked Blaze. When her brother shook his head, she turned to Asuka. "How about you, Asuka?"

"Nope," answered Asuka, making a popping sound on the p. Next to her were her parents, who were watching guard in case any soldiers came their way.

Early in the morning, before the battle began, Natsu and the others decided that it would be a good idea to keep Blaze a safe distance away from the fighting. They had Happy fly her in the direction of Iggy and the Connell's scents. The Exceed dropped her off and then went back, leaving Alzack and Bisca to watch over the kids instead of joining the battle.


AN: The purpose of this chapter was to set the stage for the next few chapters, which will be mainly fighting. Also, the lineup for the fight against Wall was originally a bit different. After a bit of thinking, though, I decided to give the spotlight to the Fairies who didn't get the chance to shine way back during the conflict against Sabertooth.

That is all. Goodbye for now!