Disclaimer: I own nothing
Chapter 23: "Guild War"
(Year: X784)
Cana's eyes surveyed the battlefield while yelling encouragements to her guild mates. They had been spending the last several minutes fighting against the Phantom Lord mages all the while worrying the magic seal the guild robot was drawing. The robot's massive arms was drawing a spell with enough destructive force to obliterate them all, but they couldn't distract themselves from the current fight worrying about that. They would have to leave stopping the machine to the mages that had infiltrated the Phantom Lord guild.
Like Naruto had suggested, Erza, Gray, Elfman, and Natsu had moved in to help Fu and rescue Levy and Lucy. While understanding the way Lucy and Levy felt about all this, Cana thought that their actions were outright stupid. If there was one thing that Cana could give Naruto, he knew how to objectively look at battle. Lucy and Levy were nowhere near strong enough to fight against the top mages of Phantom Lord.
Still, Cana could sympathize with Levy's desire to show what they were made of to someone they want respect from and Lucy's desire to own up to something she considers her fault. It didn't make them any less stupid, though. Everyone had to know their place to make sure Fairy Tail survived. Even Naruto seemed to know that.
Or at least, that's what Cana wanted to think.
Everyone in the guild seemed to have some kind of fondness for the God Slayer. She could see why. He was handsome, charismatic, strong, and could hold his liquor. That was everything on her checklist for an ideal boyfriend. Yet there was something else. Even when she was young, there was just something about him that put her on edge. She liked to think it was women's intuition, or maybe it was just how all his roaming reminded her of her father.
There was always something, though. Not that she ever thought of him as an enemy. It was just that she couldn't really ever see him as a friend…as a member of Fairy Tail. He seemed to think so too, though. Maybe that's why he never joined, but Cana felt like it just didn't fit his agenda. Naruto Uzumaki always had an agenda it seemed. Even now, he seemed to want to fight the other God Slayer for reasons other than protecting Fairy Tail.
That didn't matter to Cana, though. As long as their goals coincided, then there was no issue. She would leave Arashi to Naruto just like she would leave the rest of Phantom Lord's elite to her friends. As for her, she had a job to do to. Keep everyone else in line.
"Keep fighting!" Cana roared, "We'll win this! For Fair Tail!"
"For Fairy Tail!" Everyone cheered.
Eyeing the large group of people, Cana couldn't help but notice that someone was missing. Loke was just there a second ago. Where was he?
Naruto finished his run by jumping off the branch of a tree and landing into a crouch. He did not allow his enhancement spell to drop, though. There was a good chance that he would need them. Mere seconds after Naruto landed peacefully into the forest, Arashi tore through it on his large black root. While the trees and shrubs seemed to dance and bow before him, the ground did not bend so much to his whim, though. The God Slayer of Nature had left a trail of broken dirt all the way up the mountain.
Near the peak of the mountain, Naruto had a great view of his surroundings. The woods that covered the mountain was thick with shrubbery, but there seemed to be very little wildlife right now. If Naruto had to guess, then their instincts had forced them to run. That was smart.
Looking back where they came, Naruto raised both his eyebrows, "That magic seal…Abyss Break…Jose is really going all out on them."
"He is…very passionate about his goals. But I don't believe that either of us can judge that," Arashi noted while stepping off the root and to the ground.
Naruto nodded, "True. We both could have prevented the war, but we didn't. Just because we wanted to fight each other. The only difference is that you're sacrificing your guild."
Arashi didn't react to that, "So you believe Fairy Tail will win?"
"Even if they do manage to lose, which I doubt it, Phantom Lord won't survive this. Look at what Jose has tried to do today," Naruto shook his head, "He put civilians in danger with those tricks. The Magic Council will have his ass."
Arashi sighed, "You…aren't wrong. I did try to convince Master Jose to use different means, but he's not a man you can reason with. But that's the entire reason I was in the guild in the first place. He desperately wanted someone that could combat you. He risked the wrath of the Magic Council to get me, and for that, he at least has my thanks. Because now I get to fulfill my dream. I get to kill you."
"So confident," Naruto's eyes gleamed in a violent red.
"I have to be. I've sacrificed everything to get to this point," Arashi rolled up his sleeves, "My friends…my guild…my life. All of it is gone after today, but it will be worth it when I see your corpse."
"Sacrificing everything for your dream…Even other people," Naruto nodded, "I can respect that. On the inside, that's not really you, though. I can see it. You're a good person at heart. You actually care about other people. That's why you readily agreed to fight up here. You don't want people hurt. Kaa-san would be happy. Kind…polite…caring…She would have been proud of you."
Arashi's eyes flashed black, "Careful, Uzumaki. Pissing me off with those taunts will only make your demise more painful."
"They aren't taunts. They're the truth. You'll see that soon enough. It's time, Arashi Kazen. Let's end this."
"I couldn't agree more, Naruto Uzumaki," Arashi clenched his fists.
In unison, the God Slayers rushed forward to each other. They moved in a blur, but Naruto's enhancement spells made him the faster of the two. Arashi was expecting this, though. He already prepped his arm with black wood, thorns, and leaves for his attack. Naruto did the same with his black wind. Once close enough, they launched their fists at each other while crying out the names of their attacks."
"Sky God's Strike!"
"Nature God's Strike!"
Then, the area around them exploded in a burst of God Slaying magic. The air seemed to grow thin as the silence was shattered, and the sounds of battle echoed through the forest causing the mountain itself to shake. The elements themselves seemed to shake in fear as the two gods finally met in their deadly clash.
Fu blinked as the group of Elfman, Gray, Natsu, Happy, and Erza rushed in through one of the holes in the room created by her explosions. Well, in Natsu's case, he was carried into the guild hall by Elfman before being tossed to the ground.
"Oh thank Kami!" Natsu's face shifted from green back to its normal tone, "The stupid thing stopped moving…"
Gray shook his head, "You're seriously pathetic."
Natsu stood up and shoved his forehead against Gray's own forehead, "Say that again, stripper! To my face!"
Gray glowered at him, "I already did, dragon boy, but cause you're hard of hearing, I'll shout it this time!"
"Enough!" Erza glared at them, "Now is not the time or place!"
Both men instantly calmed down knowing that the scarlet haired knight was right.
"What the hell happened out there?" Fu questioned, "Everything turned sideways."
"Phantom Lord's manly guild transformed into a manly robot and is now casting a manly spell that will destroy the guild…" Elfman paused for a second before adding, "MAN!"
Fu giggled at that explanation, but Erza did not look pleased, "Elfman, this is serious!"
"I know! But it's so manly!"
The other men in the room could only nod. Having a guild hall that could turn into a robot to fight people? They all dreamed of it at some point in their life.
"He's got a point," Gray conceded.
"Yeah!" Natsu frowned, "How come our guild can't do that?"
"Because you destroy so much stuff that we can barely afford to keep the lights on, Natsu," Happy stated as if it was the simplest thing in the world, "Besides, even if we did have one, you'd break it in five minutes."
"Oh…That's a good point."
"Aye sir!"
"Regardless…" Erza had face palmed so her that she actually hurt her face a bit, "We still have even bigger issues. Levy and Lucy flew into this guild hall somewhere."
Fu's eyes widened, "What? Why?"
"I think Naruto's words hurt their feelings," Erza admitted, "But his plan was the smartest course of action. We must find them while stopping the Abyss Break spell. Once we find them, we'll have Happy fly them out."
"Well, one of the Element Four was guarding the Jupiter Canon's power source," Fu looked over to the unconscious man she defeated, "Maybe the others or the Iron Dragon are guiding whatever's powering the robot."
Gray grimaced, "Or it could be with Jose."
"That doesn't matter. We have to save the guild and everyone in it," Erza gained a determined look, "We shall split up into groups."
"Um…" Natsu suddenly looked nervous, "Erza?"
"Fu will go with Natsu. Elfman go with Gray."
"Erza."
"I'll take Happy and—"
"Erza!"
"What!?"
Natsu pointed down the exit hall, "I don't think we need to look for the water mage!"
It was then that a wave of water swept into the room. Almost like it was living, the liquid grabbed onto to mages and pulled them apart. Caught by surprise, the mages could do nothing as they were swept away by the current of the water. They were all pulled from the room and down the hall where they were separated down three separate halls. In that moment, all of their possible plans crumbled away with the tide of the water.
One mage, however didn't get too far as a muscled arm reached into the water from above and pulled him out. The new figure then pulled a soaked and coughing Natsu into a somewhat empty room that was on its side like the rest of the guild hall. Tossing the fire mage to the ground, the Phantom Lord mage just smiled.
"Hey there, Salamander. Since the God Slayers are playing together, I thought it was only right for us Dragon Slayers to brawl it out as well," Gajeel chuckled to himself, "Fire against Iron. Let's see if your little flames can actually hurt me at all."
Lucy get out a soft grunt as Levy dropped her onto the floor of the Phantom Lord guild hall. A quick look behind her showed that the door that Levy had drawn on the wall closed and faded away. That was fine, though. Neither of them had any intention of going back. Just like the Solid Script door she had made, Levy's wings faded and forced her to land next to the blonde woman. Now they both stood in what appeared to be a crossroads area of the guild. The small room they were in had several branching hallways that led in many different directions.
"I already regret taking you along," Levy noted, "They're going to try and capture you, you know?"
"I know, but I have to do...something," Lucy argued, "I don't know what. Maybe I can talk Jose down by agreeing to go home. That's probably a dumb dream, but at the very least, I can cause a distraction for them. Hell, even that might be a stupid thing to think. But, I can't just go and hide. I may not be completely responsible, but I am the final straw. I have to take responsibility for that. I have to at least to try something."
"Mou..." Levy pouted, "Lu-chan sounds so passionate that I can't even argue. Just be careful, and...please don't make me regretting bringing you. I don't want to see you get hurt."
"Better me than everyone else."
"Lu-chan...That's both a really cool thing to say and a really dumb thing to say. No one wants you to get hurt for the guild," Levy argued, "We should stick together. We'll-AH!"
Lucy watched in horror as the ground below Levy seemed to reach up and grab her legs. The floor then dragged Levy from the room and down the hall. As the blue-haired girl disappeared, a piece of the ground popped up and blocked off the hallway. Not only that, the other hallways were quickly blocked off as well.
Before Lucy could react to that, wind began to pick up through the room. Knowing that she was closed off from any possible natural wind, Lucy quickly realized that the shifting air wasn't natural. A small tornado appeared in the center of the room revealing a large, somewhat round man. He was dressed in black robes along with religious beads and writings on his clothing. A black top hat sat the top of his head. Oddly enough, the man had a blindfold over his eyes reminding Lucy of Naruto. She had to wonder if blinding oneself was a part of being a wind mage, but those thoughts quickly disappeared once she remembered the seriousness of the situation.
"The little mouse has run right into the cat's mouth..." A deep voice boomed from the strange man, "You have my gratitude, young princess. You're cooperation shall be taken into account while you're being taken back to your home."
"Fairy Tail is my home!" Lucy snapped.
"Not for long," The large man took a battle stance, "I am called Aria...the pinnacle of the Element Four. I shall be the one to capture you."
"Sky God's Clap!" Naruto brought his hands together and sent out a burst of wind that destroyed the dark roots being sent out to him. With the path before him now clear, Naruto rushed forward to his enemy.
Arashi was prepared for that, though. Waving his arms, he sent out an attack of his own, "Nature God's Razors!"
Black leaves burst from his arms and raced to meet the Sky God Slayer. Naruto brought his leg up and prepared to knock all the leaves down. To his surprise, though, the leaves danced around the Sky God's Whip. The leaves the spread out after that and began to swirl around the area. As the leaves swirled around, they cut through the surrounding shrubbery, earth, and air with terrifying ease.
Seeing that an attack in one direction would leave him exposed, Naruto decided to use a wider range attack. Flipping into a handstand, Naruto spread his legs apart and began to spin. Black wind began to swirl around him. As he sped up, the wind picked up as well until Naruto was surrounded by a small twister, "Sky God's Twister!"
All the leaves were quickly caught up in the twister. The black leaves were almost immediately torn up by the concentrated wind tunnel. With the enemy attack now dealt with, Naruto stopped spinning and flipped over just in time to avoid another attack by Arashi. The Nature God Slayer sent out a concentrated wooded fist to strike the Sky God Slayer.
Naruto landed on the wooden fist and ran forward on the extended wooden arm. In the blink of an eye, Naruto was at Arashi. He sent another kick at his enemy's head. Arashi ducked under Sky God's Whip. Then, he broke off his extended wooden arm and fell the ground. Dark shrubbery popped up beneath him to catch him and allow him to look up to the other blonde.
Stuck in midair, Naruto met Arashi's eyes. The two of them glared at each other for a brief second before taking a deep breath and letting out a roar.
"Sky God's…"
"Nature God's…"
"Bellow!"
The roars of wind and plants met in burst of magic. As the attack met, everything around the men began to crumble. The entire mountain shook under the pressure as the combined power of two gods met in a clash for supremacy. As the magic finally died down, the smoke slowly began to settle to show that mountain was now barren and cut apart.
Gray lunged his head up above the water and took a big gasp of air before the force of the water pulled him beneath the surface. Now having a full lung of air, Gray could finally focus a bit even as he was spinning wildly beneath the surface. Smacking his open palm with his fist, Gray manipulated his Ice Make magic to flash freeze the river of water around him. Then, he shattered the river around to finally free himself.
Landing in a crouch, Gray looked around the abandoned hall. Ice and snow particles gently fell around him giving the room a rather cold feeling. This didn't bother the ice mage, though. He was too focused finding possible threats.
Seeing that there was no immediate threat, Gray stood. With a sigh, he ruffled his already wild hair. Looks like he was separated from everyone else. Just great. He was lost. His only consolation was the fact that Natsu wasn't around to rub it in his face.
Oh well. The others could handle themselves. He needed to look around for a way to stop the Phantom Lord robot from casting the Abyss Break. All he needed now was to find a Phantom Lord mage to interrogate. That way, he wouldn't be running around wildly.
"Drip. Drip. Drip…"
Hearing the feminine voice, Gray turned around to see Juvia of the Element Four approaching him. He recognized her from Lucy's story. So she was the water mage that separated them. Huh, this might actually turn out alright. Naruto had been right when he said that he would have the best advantage over the woman.
"You…" Gray took a battle stance.
Juvia stopped walking and began to stare intently at Gray.
"Alright, Phantom. Come get some," Gray gave a small grin and prepared his magic.
Juvia just continued to stare.
Gray raised an eyebrow, "What are you doing? Aren't you going to attack me?"
"J-Juvia was o-ordered by M-Master J-Jose to separate the F-Fairies…" Juvia's face became extremely flushed, "B-Bit s-she….she never thought…"
"What's wrong with you? You sick or something?"
Steam began to rise from Juvia's body as she took in Gray's form. She had never seen such a handsome man! He was perfection! When she swept him away, she noticed that he was rather good looking, but now that she looked at him…Her knees instantly went weak. Was…was this love at first sight?
Juvia turned away, "J-Juvia can't fight you…"
"What? You're going to run away?" Gray's eyes narrowed.
"N-No…Jose-sama would be mad at Juvia, but…" Juvia sneaked a peak at Gray's body, "J-Juvia cannot harm you…She…she…"
She had to make him hers.
"Water Lock!"
Gray's eyes widened as he was surrounded by a dome of water. A sneak attack? Coward! He would deal with this quickly.
"Enough!" Erza shouted. In a burst of light, her normal clothes were changed into really revealing scaled armor. Finns jumped from her shoulders and headpiece. Seaweed looking steel barely covered her breasts and sides. The only armor that covered her lower half besides the bikini bottom and half dresser were her green boots.
Using the Sea Empress Armor, Erza stopped the flooding water. In an instant, the pressure of the water wave disappeared. Erza landed on the stone ground gracefully. Her friends were not so graceful, though. Elfman crashed onto his back. Fu landed on her stomach and quickly forced herself up.
"Ack! Cough! Ah…Thanks…" Fu coughed out, "Most bugs…aren't good with water…"
"I know," Erza looked to Elfman, "What about you, Elfman? Are you okay?"
"Yeah…" Elfman groaned and sat up, "Not dead at least. I think that I'll be—"
All three of them froze as they felt a dark, powerful presence begin to press down on them. As the pressure weighed down on them, a large door opened to allow a powerful figure to approach them. With steady steps, Jose Porla approached the soaking mages.
Sneering, Jose spoke, "Good, Juvia brought you to me as instructed. There were too many of you for the Element Four to deal with on their own, so I decided to deal with you two myself. I'll enjoy crushing the Bug Bomb and Titania."
Despite sweating from the magical pressure, Fu still was defiant, "There's three of us, asshole."
"Oh…there is…But trash doesn't count," Jose explained as if it were the simplest thing in the world.
Erza snarled, "No one in Fairy Tail is trash!"
"Well, let's see how long he lasts in this little fight and see who's right," Jose chuckled, "I bet that you two will last a while, but him…I give him five minutes."
Natsu was sent flying into a wall. Before he could smash through the wall, Natsu landed feet first onto the wall. Almost as soon as he landed, he surrounded himself in fire and jumped off the stone wall. He rocketed back towards Gajeel like a blazing firework. Seeing the other Dragon Slayer returning with an attack, Gajeel brought his arms together and created a shield of iron.
With a roar, Natsu sent a flaming fist forward and smashed the iron shield. Even though the shield was destroyed, it did its job and prevented Gajeel from receiving any harm. Grinning, the iron dragon brought his scaled arm up to throw a punch of his own. Natsu was quick to the dodge the blow and try to land an attack of his own.
In a blur of motion, the two dragons traded blows. They each sent out punches and kicks that were simply dodged and blocked. Fire and iron burst out in the exchanges leaving the room a torched and gashed mess. Eventually, the two dragons pushed each other back, but this did not last long. They lunged at each other once more with a punch ready.
"Fire Dragon's…"
"Iron Dragon's…"
"IRON FIST!"
The two attacks met in a blaze of magic. Fire and iron met in a brutal struggle. Neither gained an edge on each other. The two magics just continued to push against their enemy. As this continued, the room began to crumble. The walls and ceiling cracked as the backlash of the two dragons violently tore through the area.
Eventually the two attacks died down. Natsu and Gajeel were left panting with their fists still extended leading to a strange fist bump. Neither of them were willing to look away even as the room began to collapse.
"Not bad, Salamander," Gajeel admitted, "This is going to be fun."
Despite the guild war feud between the two of them, Natsu could only grin, "Yeah, this is going to be an epic fight."
"One that I'm going to enjoy winning."
"You wish!" Natsu grabbed onto Gajeel and pulled him out of the room as the ceiling collapsed. They both managed to get out and into a hallway without getting crushed. Gajeel didn't thank Natsu. Instead, he pushed Natsu away and let the Fire Dragon gain his bearings. He could have attacked Natsu in the moment of weakness, but that didn't seem right.
"Come on, Salamander!" Gajeel was grinning like a madman, "We're far from done here!"
Levy rapidly moved her finger to write in the air. Her magic followed her as she wrote out the word 'katana.' Grabbing the letter sword, she then cut through the piece of earth dragging her along. Once freed, she cartwheeled away, and tried to run back the way she came, "I'm coming, Lu-chan!"
"Non! Do not turn your back me! Roche Concerto!"
Levy cried out in pain as several large stones smashed into her back. Ignoring the new bruises that formed on her back, the Solid Script mage rolled to the side to avoid the follow-up stones. As she landed into a crouch, she let out a hiss of pain from her back. Looking around, she didn't see who attacked her. The earth mage was hiding. She had to draw him out, "It's not polite to strike a lady from behind."
"Non!" Sol popped out of the ground, "Non! Non! I give you non times thee! You were impolite first, mademoiselle! Running from battle like a coward! I say NON!"
"Alright, I'll deal with you first then I'll help Lu-chan," Levy stood up and took a defensive stance.
"Hahahahaha! Oui! I laugh at you!" Sol bellowed out, "I am Sol of the Element Four. You may call me, Monsieur Sol, Levy McGarden. But you should know that you don't stand a chance."
"We'll see," Levy rapidly moved her right hand to write a word in the air, "Solid Script: Fire!"
"Aha! Terre Mur!" Sol created a large wall of earth right in front of him that stopped the wave of fire being sent out at him. As soon as the flames died down, Sol sent the rock wall towards Levy.
Levy looked up from writing something in her palm to see the wall coming towards. She tried to jump out of the way but let out a gasp as the bruises on her back prevented her from moving. With a frown of anger, Levy used her free hand to write in the air, "Solid Script: Push!"
The force she created immediately met the wall and forced it to stop its approach. Temporarily hidden from Sol, Levy opened her closed palm and smacked the ground. She then lunged to the wall to press her palm into that wall as well.
"Mur Éclater!" With a wave of a hand, Sol caused his earth wall to explode. The gravel and dirt slammed into Levy. She managed to raise her arms to cover her face, but the flying debris did make contact. She was instantly tumbled back covered in a new mass of bruises and cuts. After a few rolls, Levy landed by the opposite wall she was on before the attack. She placed her palm on the wall and used it to bring herself up to her feet.
"Weak!" Sol noted, "I thought the mages of Fairy Tail could take punishment! But you…You look terrible! Such a weak body, and you think you can beat Monsieur Sol? Non! No wonder Uzumaki looks down on you!"
Levy glared at Sol, "Don't talk about something you know nothing about."
"Non! I do! Arashi spent years learning everything he could about Uzumaki, and he told me! Oui!" Sol chuckled cheerfully, "Arashi thought you were interesting at first because Uzumaki actually brought you to the guild, but he figured out that it was done out of pity!"
"Shut up…" Levy hissed. Her legs shook from the damage she obtained.
"Uzumaki looked out you and saw a crying kitten!" Sol mocked, "So he brought you to Fairy Tail to shut you up! Through the years, you tried to gain attention and approval of your 'Nii-san,' but he ignores you! He found a better girl to guide! How pathetic, non?"
"I said to shut up!" Levy snapped and forced herself to run towards Sol. Despite the pain in her body, she ran at full speed to the mage.
No matter what, though, she knew there was some truth to Sol's words. Levy remembered when her mom first told her about the pair of mages that helped her. Naruto and Gaara were their names. That was the first good deed the pair did, but it was not the last. Levy saw their names pop up a lot in newspapers after that first incident. The Sword and the Shield. Two mages that went around saving people without asking for any reward.
"Non!" With scoff, Sol pointed up. The ground beneath Levy's feet exploded.
She was certain that the two of them were heroes. Levy had built a borderline shrine to them in her room when she was little. The bluenette kept every article there was on the two mages. For years, she imagined meeting them. Two gallant heroes racing in to save the day. They had to be great people. Unfortunately, Levy did get to meet them...but in the worst way possible.
"What?" Sol's eyes widened as Levy got a Solid Script word out even as she was being flung through the air like a ragdoll. The red word 'target' stood on the front of his chest.
It was some dark guild that was trying to make a name for themselves. They attacked her village. No one was safe as they tore through the buildings, dragging people onto the street to execute them. It was only a matter of time before they got to Levy and her mother. The dark mages decided to deal with her mom first. Gagged and beaten, her mother couldn't even say a word of love or encouragement to her daughter before they slit her throat. Levy still saw her mother's horrified face and bleeding neck in her nightmares.
Levy crashed into the ceiling, but that was what she wanted. Slamming her hand onto the ceiling, Levy activated all the words she left on the other parts of the room, "Solid Script: Zero Gravity Room!"
By the time, the dark mages got to her, Levy was sobbing in despair and having a near mental breakdown. As one man's bloodied and dirtied hands wrapped around her tiny neck, Levy cried out to anyone…any god willing to listen to her...for help. To this day, she was surprised that she didn't piss herself when the man draped himself over her tiny body and began to choke the life out of her. In that moment, she was sure that she was going to die.
"Ah!" Sol shouted in shock as he floated up and away from the ground that gave him power. He tried to reach out with his magic to control the stone but was shocked to see that the solid script seals stopped his magic from working on the stone below him, "Non! Non! NON!"
The next sight Levy saw was the man above her having both of his arms broken at the elbows. Naruto Uzumaki held up his screaming form and began to beat at his face with savage punches that shattered teeth. Other dark mages tried to save their friend, but sand popped up and shattered their forms as well. When Levy's attack was punished to Naruto's satisfaction, he dropped the barely living man and turned to the other evil men. To Levy's absolute shock, he didn't even seem to care or recognize her mother's corpse. In fact…he just stepped over her body like it was a useless fallen log.
Levy threw a punch. She didn't care the direction because the Solid Script: Target instantly directed her punch towards Sol. The thinner mage flew towards the Phantom mage at rapid speed and landed right on his chest. They both began to spin wildly around the room.
What occurred next was a certified beat down. Naruto and Gaara dispatched of the mages like they were nothing. All of the enemy was left a beaten mess, much to Levy's satisfaction. Still, she couldn't bring herself to enjoy their punishment. All Levy could do was drag herself to the mother's corpse and look down at glazed over eyed and horrified face. She couldn't stand the sight, so she used the magic she learned to create a blanket over her mother's body before sobbing into the corpse's chest.
"What was that about me not standing a chance?!" Levy snapped in rage. She hooked her legs around Sol's torso. Using both her free arms, she began to create a massive word to use against Sol, "Solid Script: Bazooka!"
"You can use magic?"
Shocked by the words, Levy's tear-filled eyes looked up to see Naruto standing in front of her. Her pure, innocent eyes were met with the crimson orbs of a demon.
"Please! Mercy!"
"If you wanted mercy, then you shouldn't have messed with Fairy Tail!" Levy pointed the bazooka at Sol's chest. With a twitch of her finger, she fired the weapon. In a burst of magic and fire, Sol was sent flying downward and to the floor. Then, he went through it…and the next floor…and the next one…before he finally landed into a crater down below, defeated and broken.
"Hey, Naruto, we're done here," Gaara called out to his friend.
"One second…" Naruto's eyes had yet to leave Levy's gaze. There was many things Levy expected him to be. Handsome, strong, and heroic were all the first things to come to mind. That's not what the crimson eyes showed, though. No, this man was not in any way a hero…but he wasn't a bad person. Levy knew in an instant what he was.
He was a broken man.
Levy crashed onto the floor below as soon as her gravity seals wore off. She landed back first onto the stone. There was no grace in her landing. The injuries and lack of stamina on her part made that impossible. That was fine, though. She was happy, because she did it. Levy McGarden had defeated an S-class mage.
Most people would have been afraid of the man before her. His eyes were truly fearsome to most, but Levy saw past that. As he gazed at her kneeling over her mother's body, Levy was reminded of a disheveled dog she once saw roaming through the streets. Her mother pulled her away from the dog and explained that its family had died. With nothing to give it meaning, the dog roamed around in an almost feral manner, chasing vehicles it had no way of catching.
The dog never accepted anyone knew into its life, but Levy always tried to be friendly to it. When its growls and barks failed, the dog turned around and ran. Levy didn't know if it was out of fear or stubbornness, because she knew that the dog only wanted to be happy but was unwilling to trust anyone to help him find that happiness. She remembered the last time she saw the dog. It had finally caught one of the vehicles it chased. The owner killed it without a second thought.
Levy smiled. Even if she was too tired or hurt to move, she was happy. She finally proved Naruto wrong about something. It filled her with joy.
"Do…do you have any other family?" Naruto asked.
"N-No…" Levy sobbed.
Naruto looked at the corpse of the little girl's mother. Levy saw sympathy roll over his features for a brief second as if he understood the pain she was going through, "Then…I think I might be able to help you. Have you ever heard of Fairy Tail?"
For the life of her, Levy would never be able to explain why she wanted to help Naruto so much…why she wanted him to admire and respect her as an equal. She wasn't attracted to him like Erza. She didn't have the odd connection to him like Fu and Gaara. She didn't even want to surpass him like the other men in the guild. No, she…she just wanted to see Naruto as the hero like she had when her mother first told her about him. It may be a stupid desire, but Levy would never be able to change that.
…Maybe…this would bring her one step closer to that…
"Sorry, Lu-chan…" Levy muttered as she slipped into unconsciousness, "I won't be able to help you…"
Juvia cried out as Gray froze her torso to the wall. After breaking free from her Water Lock, he had quickly learned that using projectile attacks was useless against her with her water body. The Fairy Tail mage quickly adapted, though, and attacked her body directly. This proved to be extremely effective.
Unfortunately for Juvia, after her initial attack, she lost her will to attack. The reason was very simple. Gray took his shirt off. Juvia could only drool at the sight of Gray's toned torso. She couldn't even bring herself to react as she was frozen to the wall.
"Alright, what is up with you?" Gray glared at the rain woman, "First you say that you won't fight me. Then you sneak attack me. But now you won't fight me anymore. Is this a trick?"
"N-no…Juvia is not trying to trick you…" Juvia's face a flushed crimson, "She...she…She just can't bring herself to fight you for real."
"Why? What's your angle?" Gray eyed her skeptically.
"B-Because…because…" Juvia gulped, "Because Juvia likes you!"
"…Say what now?"
Juvia trembled from nervousness, "P-Please go out with Juvia."
"I…I don't know how to respond to that," Gray rubbed the back of his head, "You aren't trying to trick me, are you?"
"No! Juvia would never try to trick you…um…"
"Gray."
"Yes, Gray-sama."
Gray scratched his chin. Well, the woman before him was definitely good looking. She did seem a bit temperamental, but endearingly honest. But… "Sorry, but I can't accept. You're still the enemy. Right now, I have to focus on beating Phantom and saving Lucy."
Juvia froze. Lucy? He was concerned about Hearfilia?
"Plus, because of you, my friends are missing. Fu's not really good with water…"
Fu? The Bug Bomb? He cared about her too?
"Course Erza's with her and Elfman, but Levy…"
Another one! How…how many love rivals did she have?! This…this fiend was a player! He was playing games with her heart!
"You…" Juvia trembled in rage, "How dare you?!"
One giant burst of water surged from Juvia. It slammed into Gray and forced him through the far wall. To Gray's shock, he was now outside the robot. He had no idea he was so close to outside. Before he could fall too far, he created an ice platform connected to the side of the guild hall. As he righted himself on the platform, he realized that he got one more surprise.
"What?" Gray looked up as rain violently fell from the heavens, "When did it start pouring like—Woah!"
Juvia turned to water and quickly jetted out of the opening in the guild hall and chased after Gray. The ice mage was force to jump away and create a new platform. His enemy, however, quickly reacted to this and chased the man by repelling off the ice. Her anger caused her water magic to boil to the point that the ice platform completely melted.
Cursing under his breath, Gray kept retreating. He constantly made ice platforms and made his way to the robots massive arm. Landing, he turned to see that Juvia was already on him. Once again, the water smashed into him. To his shock, the water was boiling hot enough that it actually burned him a bit. That's impressive considering that his bouts with Natsu had built up him immunity to heat.
Being forced back, Gray was forced to make a dagger of ice to stick into the side of the arm to keep himself from falling off the robot. Flipping up, Gray slammed his fist into his open palm and met the nice burst of boiling water with his ice, "Ice Make Shield!"
To Juvia's shock, the ice held against her boiling water. Gray, however, just smirked. Natsu wasn't the only one that listened to Naruto's advice. He wasn't going to let himself fall behind the hot head.
"Is this rain because of you? Lucy mentioned it before…" Gray watched as Juvia twitched at Lucy's name, "Smart. It give you the advantage. Especially with how depressing it could be."
"De…pressing…" Juvia's insides snapped, "How dare you?! Juvia thought you could be different!"
Several different spears of water were sent at Gray. Each one was frozen before they could touch him.
"You're just like everyone else!" Juvia blindly set out different swipes of water that Gray easily dodged, "They always lead Juvia on, and then criticize Juvia! It's not her fault that it always rains around her…"
Juvia paused in her attacks and silently began to cry. Gray just stood and watched the woman.
"Juvia…Juvia…" Juvia clenched her fists. The rain stopped in midair and began to swarm together to form massive spikes of water, "Juvia is sick of it!"
The spikes fell downward to Gray. The ice mage just calmly took the stance that his master taught him, "Ice Make…Freezing Rain!"
Juvia's eyes widened as every bit of water around her froze over. Her water spikes were icicles. The water beneath her feet was solid ice. Her breath came out in blue smoke from her mouth. She couldn't move, even as Gray rushed forward for the final blow. He…he…
He hugged her.
The ice around them shattered.
"Shh…It's okay. Cry and let it out," Gray gently whispered into her ear, "I know how much the pain of feeling alone can be, but bottling up…It's causes more problems than it solves. It's a curse for us elemental mages."
"But…Juvia is a rain woman…" Juvia sniffed, "Rain defines her. If rain is depressing…then Juvia is depressing."
Gray paused in how to think of how to word what he wanted to say, "Not…a lot of people like rain when it's around. But if it's gone for too long, then everything starts to die. In its own way, rain creates everything beautiful in the world. I mean, just look around."
Juvia did just that. She looked around and saw a beautiful rainbow cutting across the clear sky, "Juvia…did that?"
"Yeah. It's beautiful, right?"
Beautiful? Gray-sama thought the rainbow was beautiful. Juvia created the rainbow. That meant Gray thought she was beautiful. If he thought she was beautiful, then he wanted to date her. Dating led to getting engaged. Engaged means that two people are married.
Gray-sama…wanted to marry her?
Juvia fainted on the spot.
"Woah!" Gray looked around in surprise, "Um…What…What should I do?"
Naruto eyed the area. Every tree in the immediate area was overturned or cut down. With the shrubbery destroyed, the ground was exposed and revealed the deep gashes that were created from their battle. In that moment, Naruto was certain that isolating themselves was the right decision. Neither Fairy Tail nor Phantom Lord would have survived this battle.
"So this is what happens when God Slayers truly fight," Naruto mentioned, "And we haven't even gotten serious yet."
Arashi nodded, "Maybe we should have went further away?"
"Maybe, but it's too late now. We already ruined this mountain," Naruto mentioned.
"Ruined? Please, this was what I wanted."
To Naruto's shock, all the shrubbery and plants around the mountain began to rapidly decay. As the plants decayed into a black mush, they sunk into the ground. Almost immediately after the old plants sunk into the earth, black grass jumped up from the dirt.
"Did you know, Uzumaki, that no Sky God Slayer has ever defeated a Nature God Slayer? We've always had the advantage over you," Arashi smirked, "Shall I show you why?"
For the record, I realize that there is now Naruto filler showing the origins of Kaguya. As of right now, I'm throwing all that out the window. No one's brought it up yet, but I want to establish this early. Kaguya will have a different origin in my story. Considering that her origin in the anime is filler, then I'm not sure if this counts as making this even more AU than it already is.
Also, I wanted to address the 'goddess' of time that appeared in the manga. Now, I have no idea what Hiro intends to do with the gods overall. You never know, I might actually be pretty close in my guess. Ever since the God Slayers showed up, though, I've been kind of disappointed in what he's done with them. Obviously based on this story. Right now, I'm willing to go with what little Hiro set up, like making the gods that showed up so far as minor gods or something. Later, though, when Hiro finally decided to do something, I'll probably have to throw it away. But, hey, this is fanfiction. I think I can get away with it.
Thank you all for reading and please remember to...
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