Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail and/or Akame Ga Kill. They belong to their original owners.

The Assassins of Fairy Tail

Job Thirteen: The Assassin's Survival

"Zeref! Zeref was there!"

Leone thought she heard that wrong but she didn't. She looked over at the direction where the capital was. "Zeref? The same guy who created all of those Tartaros demons? The same guy who's immortal and is literally death in physical form? The same guy who lived for four hundred years? As if we didn't have enough to deal with in this crazy place."

The others had a similar reaction. "Wait, Zeref's here?"

"On this continent?"

Makarov was still just as surprised as his children. "I had no idea myself that the man who called himself Emperor Spriggan was in fact, Zeref."

Hearing that detail only added to Leone's disbelief. "And the guy's an emperor too!?"

The former guild master looked to all of his children. "And now that you kids are here…did Mest keep you in the loop?"

Erza nodded at him. "Yes."

"We're all so glad you're okay." Wendy added.

Makarov began to shake a little. "It was naïve of me to think that it'd go so well. He never had the intention to negotiate in the first place." He gripped his hand tightly while teardrops were falling on his lap. "All of this, for nothing. How frustrating."

The others didn't think of it that way. "Not all of it was pointless. We've all grown a lot in the span of a year." Gray pointed out.

Lucy agreed with him. "And we're back together again."

"If the drive behind one's actions is the thought for another, then it is never meaningless. This was something you taught us." Erza spoke.

The former guild master looked up to his children and saw Natsu holding out his hand to him. "We're going home, gramps. Back to Fairy Tail."

Makarov was still crying and he took Natsu's hand. "Yeah…"

As touching this whole moment was, there was still a problem among them. "I hate to break up the reunion but we got to leave."

Happy agreed with Carla. "Yeah…"

Makarov had no idea who this new person was in front of him. "Who…is this?"

Chelsea was all for Carla's suggestion. "Carla's right. We're still in enemy territory. We got what we came for so let's just get out of here."

The former guild master finally noticed the three new girls among the group. "Wait…who are you three!"

Leone laughed nervously and tried to put on her best smile. "Hi there. It's nice to meet you and we've heard a lot about you. We're your new not-yet-guild members."

Akame thought this was neither the time nor the place to explain everything. "We'll save the introductions for later. For now, let's just concentrate on escaping."

That was something Mest could agree with but there was a slight problem. "I've used my teleporting skills too frequently today. At this point, I only have enough power to move everyone once more and I'd like to use that to move us back to Sorano's ship. This being said, we still have to return to the previous drop-off point."

Chelsea clapped her hands. "Great. Now let's get out of here before-"

"Aww. What a touching reunion. You going home Makarov?" Ajeel suddenly made his appearance to the whole group. "Got all of your souvenirs yet? I heard mudpacks are a fad now. Care to try one out?"

Makarov didn't expect to see him all the way out here. "Ajeel!"

Mest was trying to figure out he arrived here in the first place. "No way. How did he get here?"

Ajeel raised his hand and sand started to fall from it. "Sand…glorious sand. It tells you so much about the land."

Gray and everyone else sensed the magic power coming from the shield. "This guy's on the same level as that girl back in Caracall Island."

Chelsea was more terrified than anything seeing someone as strong as Brandish. "He must be one of the people Leone and Akame described from before. They're weren't kidding. This guy is stronger than Esdeath."

Everyone tensed up and Natsu gripped his bandaged shoulder again. Ajeel loved their reactions. "Oh, I like that."

Makarov had to stop them before it was too late. "Stop! Don't fight him! He isn't someone you could beat! We've gotta move!"

If he was saying that, then this was an enemy they couldn't take lightly. Natsu still wanted to fight. "But-"

"These are orders from the master! Retreat!"

They really didn't have any other choice at this point. All of them started to fall back. Erza grabbed Natsu and dragged him. "Everyone, move back!"

Chelsea had no quarrels with that. "Sounds good to me!"

Carla pointed out in front. "I've got a magical vehicle ready back here!"

Erza sent several of her swords at Ajeel as a means to buy some time. He just stood there and took the attack with dust kicking up everywhere. Everyone quickly made it to the vehicle. "Now's the time! Get in quick!"

Natsu wasn't happy being on the vehicle. "A car…"

Leone didn't waste any time sitting down. "Now let's make like a tree and get the hell out of here!"

Erza sat in the driver's seat with Mest sitting next to her. "SE plug connected." She grabbed the lever and moved it forward. "Let's go!" They drove off as fast as they could.

The dust settled down and the swords did impale Ajeel but they didn't seem to have an effect on him. "So that's Makarov's army, huh." The swords were suddenly being turned into sand. The shield chuckled while he grinned. "Hmm…I'm impressed."

The group kept on driving away from Ajeel trying to gain as much distance between them as possible. Still, Wendy and Natsu weren't fairing any better due to their motion sickness. "Faster Erza!" Mest urged her on.

"I know." She fed more of her magic into the SE plug and the car's speed increased drastically.

Makarov sensed something dangerous was approaching. "He's coming." Gray wondered what he meant by that.

Happy and Carla looked out the window and saw something. "What's that?" A giant shadow covered the car.

All of them saw what it was. "Sand?! A sand monster!"

Leone was certainly not a fan of what she was seeing. "Oh, you've gotta be shitting me!"

"Bastard…" Erza turned the wheel several times to avoid the sand monster's attacks. However, with each attack, they came in a little closer.

Gray knew it would be only a matter of time. "It's no good! He's catching up! Lucy, let's intercept the attacks!"

The blonde nodded to what he said. "Right!" Both of them climbed out of the car but not before Lucy sat on Natsu's head trying to get out. "Sorry!"

Both of them reached the top of the car. "Stop! He isn't someone you can beat!" Makarov warned.

Gray took up usual stance. "Well, we don't know unless we try." He activated his black marking.

Lucy transformed into another one of her new outfits. "Star Dress: Sagittarius Form!"

Makarov was surprised about how much stronger their magic power had become. "What's this? Gray's magic…and Lucy's too? It's nothing like their magic a year back."

Gray took aim at the sand monster in front of him. "Ice Make…"

Ajeel saw what they were doing. "Oh? They're to fight now?"

"Silver…" In an instant, the monster and everything from behind were frozen solid.

Happy and Carla were amazed Gray did such a thing. "Everything's turned to ice!"

Leone whistled at what Gray did. "Damn. That's some good handiwork right there."

Ajeel loved the challenge he was getting from them. "Well-played!" He jumped off his frozen sand monster and summoned more sand in the form of flying monsters.

"The sand's become a monster again!" Happy yelled out.

Lucy took aim with her arrows. "Leave it to me!" She fired all of them at the flying monsters. "Starshot!" All of the arrows struck them.

Still, more were coming after them. Lucy and Gray were trying their best to take out as much as they could. Back in the car, Wendy struggled to see the difficulty her friends were having. "I've…gotta do…something…to help…" Even with the motion sickness, Wendy slowly started to crawl out of the window.

Akame suddenly noticed what the young dragon slayer was doing. "Wendy, don't get out of the-" Her words came too late and sky dragon slayer exited out of the vehicle. She tumbled and rolled while the car continued on.

"WENDY!" Everyone within the car called out.

Erza heard them and looked back. "What are you doing!?"

Mest was wondering the same thing. "Is she out of her mind?!"

Gray and Lucy saw her lying on the ground. "What the hell is she doing?"

"Are you crazy!?" Lucy thought she would never say that to Wendy.

Erza had no choice but to stop the magic vehicle in hopes of getting the young dragon slayer back before something horrible happened to her. Ajeel saw how easy his target made it out to him. "A volunteer huh? Then you'll be the first to die!" He sent his flying monsters at her. Lucy and Gray tried to help her but their attacks wouldn't reach the monsters in time. They were just upon her. "Say goodbye!" Wendy opened her eyes and yelled. In an instant, strong and chilling winds erupted out from her that swept the monsters away. Ajeel expecting her to blow away all of his sand monsters. "What the hell?!"

Lucy and everyone else at the car were in awe at what they were seeing. "Wen…dy?"

The young dragon stood up looking completely different as if she had changed. "CHANGE MODE! ICE SKY DRAGON!" She glared angrily at the shield.

Ajeel was caught off guard for a second but laughed. "So you want to play huh? Then let's play!" He sent more of his sand monsters at Wendy.

"NOW, MASTEMA!" The disks on her legs suddenly moved to her back and large white wings came out of them. Wendy took off into the air and the monsters had missed her. She was now at eye level with Ajeel.

Her new accessory left almost everyone baffled at what they were seeing. Lucy had never seen the younger with wings before. "Why does Wendy have wings!?"

Gray had more questions about what he was seeing. He recognized this familiar sensation he was feeling. "Is she using ice?"

Mest was the same. "I don't understand. How is Wendy doing that?"

To Erza, she had never seen Wendy do such a thing before. "Pure white wings and a power similar to what Natsu could do. What happened to you, Wendy?"

Ajeel was a little perplexed by this but decided to ask questions later. "Whatever you're up to…it's pointless!" He sent out a horde of his sand monsters at the young dragon slayer.

Wendy growled at him. "TRUMP CARD ACTIVATE!" Her wings suddenly transformed into light. "DIVINE WINGS!" Wendy's wings grew in size and crossed her arms. Her wings followed suit and closed in on all of the sand monsters. The wings left nothing behind once they opened up. Wendy wasn't done yet and spread her arms apart. "DRAGON SLAYER'S SECRET ARTS REVISION!" A barrier of ice and wind surrounded her and Ajeel.

Mest was now worried about what Wendy was doing. "What the hell is she thinking!?" One thing he did know; this wasn't the same girl he partnered with back at the S-Class trials.

Ajeel looked around not knowing what was happening. "What the hell are doing!?"

"SHATTERING LIGHT: ICE SKY DRILL!" Wendy turned her arms around and the wind and ice inward toward Ajeel. Ajeel screamed as he was hit with the full force of Wendy's massive attack. It went straight through him and everything else behind the shield. When it was over, all that was left was the trail of destruction caused by Wendy's attack with no sign of Ajeel at all. Everyone was in awe at what Wendy had accomplished. She ended her Ice Sky Dragon Mode and flew back to the car. The young dragon slayer landed on top of the car with Lucy and Gray. "Erza, drive now!"

Erza registered what the younger girl said and looked forward. "I'm on it!" She started up the car again and they drove off. With it moving again, Wendy succumbed to her motion sickness with her wings withdrawing back into the disks.

Lucy caught her before she fell. "I got you." She sighed in relief but was also a little miffed about what the younger girl had down. "What'd gotten into you, Wendy? I expected Natsu doing something as reckless as that."

"And what's with the wings?" Gray asked. He looked down and saw the disks there were on Wendy's back. He saw them before when Wendy was wearing them on the side of her legs. "Where did you get those disks."

Mest looked back at the rest of the car. "Does anyone have an idea of what Wendy just did? I've never seen her have that kind of power before."

"I've seen it before." Everyone heard Happy speak. "Back at Margret town, Wendy used that same form on that Blue Note guy from Grimoire Heart. She beat him with only one attack."

"She beat that guy back on Tenrou Island!?" Lucy didn't expect Wendy to do such a thing. She thought of something else. "If you knew about this, then how come you didn't tell us before if you were there!?"

Natsu was trying to spill out his stomach. "I forgot to ask."

Mest was just as surprised. "Blue Note was second in command back in Grimoire Heart and Wendy defeated him with only one attack?"

Makarov thought the same. "I never would've imagined Wendy's magic had grown so powerful in only just a year."

Leone laughed at their victory! "Atta girl! That sand creep didn't know what hit him! I knew she could do it."

"No. I didn't…. beat him" That was something Leone really hoped she wouldn't hear. "All I did was…buy us some time. It was…the only thing…I could…think of."

Akame could only pray for the best. "Let's hope it paid off."

Makarov suddenly gasped and looked down. "Below you! He's hiding under the sand!"

A giant sand appeared suddenly formed underneath the car. "Ant Lion Larva's Pit!" Everyone screamed as the car fell into the pit. Ajeel laughed as he emerged from the sand. "I'll give you points for effort little girl! Now all of you have my undivided attention!" He laughed at all of them. "Would you look at that! You guys look great now!"

"Get out of the car!" Everyone escaped from the doomed vehicle. Once all of them were out, Erza saw it sink into the sand. "The magical vehicle, damn it!"

Carla reached out to Happy. "Happy! Are you okay?"

"Sand's getting into my mouth!"

Everyone struggled to break free but the sand trapped them all. All Leone could do was yell. "Goddamnit! This freaking sucks!"

All of them were headed toward the center of the pit. Natsu popped out of the sand. Ajeel grinned devilishly at all of them. "Let me tell you how many I've killed and towns I've swallowed with this. This ant lion larva's pit is my version of Hell's Door. No one's escaped it before. So listen really closely since it's the last thing you'll hear before you die! I eat wizards like you for breakfast! You never stood a chance! We're just too different in level you worms!" Ishgar's now a land abandoned by gods! It's only a matter of time until Alvarez takes control of it! You frustrated? I'm sure!" He cackled at all of them. "Very good! I love the faces you're making right now!"

A powerful pillar of intense fire suddenly blew up and destroyed the attack. Ajeel had never seen anyone do that before. "Abandoned by gods? Just nice then." Natsu's and everyone else's guild marks returned to normal. "At least we have the fairies."

Chelsea sighed out of relief as they were out of the attack. "That was way too close."

Ajeel still couldn't believe what happened to his attack. "The sand evaporated…" In the next second, Natsu punched him the face with everything he had. An explosion occurred and Ajeel was sent away from the group. He tumbled around before standing back up. "Ha ha! It's been too long since I've felt a punch that good!" He roared as the sand began to shift all around him. "Very good! Bring me all you've got!" The sand was headed right toward them.

Gray ran out in front and slammed his hands on the ground. "Freeze!" He froze the sand in front.

To Ajeel, it was a futile attempt. "And…dry up." The sand overtook the ice and engulfed them.

Chelsea screamed at what happening. "Not again!"

"Damn you!" Makarov jumped and enlarged his fist. He sent it over to where Ajeel was and it was just enough for the sand to let go. The former guild master then increased his size and grabbed everyone. He held them tight to his chest. "I WON'T LET YOU LAY A HAND ON MY KIDS!"

Within Makarov's hands, the space was very tight for all of them. Natsu yelled within. "Stop, gramps! We can still fight!"

"Natsu, stop shouting!

Leone found hard to breathe. "It's…a little tight…in here."

Ajeel thought his attempt was futile. "Oh…did you really think you could protect all of them like that. You don't seem to understand, do you? The power of the Spriggan Twelve!" Makarov heard a loud rumbling and looked to see a giant sandstorm heading toward them. "Let the sands of death swallow you whole!"

The sand storm was almost upon them. "Mest! Teleport us away!"

"Where!"

Chelsea at this point was freaking out. "I don't want to die in a place like this!"

Despite the situation, Makarov refused to move. "I'll protect you lot no matter what happens. No matter what!"

The end was nigh for all of them. "This is the end! Anyone that comes in contact with this sandstorm dries up from the inside!" The sandstorm came in close. "Ta-da! Mummified fairies!"

Everyone at this point was begging for Makarov to run. All of a sudden, a lightning bolt came out of nowhere and destroyed the sandstorm. Makarov and the rest looked up to see none other than Laxus on board Blue Pegasus Christina. The former guild master was expecting to see his grandson of all people here. "Laxus!"

Erza was impressed by what Laxus had done. "He took out that sandstorm with just one attack?"

Gray grinned at his arrival. "Flashy as always, isn't he?"

Leone had never felt so happy to see someone rescue them. "Hey, it's the lightning guy! Just in the nick of time."

Lucy caught what the other blonde. "Wait, how do you know Laxus?!"

Chelsea didn't know how much more she could take. "Can we go home now? I've had enough of this."

Only Akame questioned Laxus' sudden appearance. "Why are they here?" She was still appreciative for what he had done.

Laxus smiled at his grandfather and the rest of them. "You've grown old, gramps."

He wasn't the only one on board. Gajeel grabbed the mic. "Alright, we're retreating!"

"We're still on enemy grounds." Lily spoke.

"Get on the ship!" Levy added.

Ichiya was also on the ship. "Uh…this is my ship."

Happy wondered why those three were here. "Gajeel? Levy and Lily too?"

Natsu saw something fishy. "Hey, that's a ship ain't it?! How is it that Gajeel and Laxus are completely fine!?"

There was a fight over the mic on the ship. "My darling! Juvia's here too!"

"Let me talk too!"

"Elfman, stop it!"

"This is a ship that's customized to carry dragon slayers as well!"

Bickslow laughed at the young dragon slayer. "Hey there Wendy! Nice to see you again!"

Freed smiled at her. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"How've you been doing?!" Evergreen asked.

Wendy giggled awkwardly. "Okay, I guess."

Now Lucy really didn't understand. "You saw each other before?! When did that happen!?"

Cana took the mic this time. "Mest! You're there, aren't you!? Get everyone on board now!"

Mest smiled at the idea. "Coming up!" He started to transport everyone up to the ship.

"Like hell you are!" Ajeel sent a pillar of sand to chase after Mest and the rest of the group.

"We're not running away." Laxus lifted his hand. "Just going home." He unleashed a massive lightning attack onto the shield. The lightning exploded into an enormous lightning sphere. "It's getting late and we're not missing dinner." The Christina flew away with the attack still present behind them.

When the dust clear, Ajeel was breathing heavily after the attack somehow unharmed him. "Man, that's was a scare. They were freaking serious." He noticed somebody behind and it made sense to him now. "So it was your barrier that protected me, huh?"

August stared back at the other shield. "It's a painful thing to lose a comrade…Ajeel."

Ajeel scoffed at that. "Do you think I'd die over something like that? You've aged August."

Back at the palace, Zeref overlooked the capital. "It's starting, Natsu."

Over to the Christina, everyone in the group fell down onto the ship's floor. "You guys alright?" Elfman asked.

Evergreen was proud for what they did. "Great job guys."

Bickslow continued to laugh. "Operation: Save the Master a success."

Wendy groaned at the rough landing. "Yeah…I think we're oka-" She suddenly realized that here hands were grabbing something particular soft. Wendy looked down to her horror that her hands were groping Leone's breasts. Her face instantly turned bright red and screamed.

Wendy looked away from the blonde and everyone else. Carla went up to her to see what was wrong. "What happened Wendy? Why is your face all red?"

Leone couldn't help laugh awkwardly at what just happened as she stood up. "Well…at least we're safe now."

Chelsea groaned at their whole experience. "How about we never do that again? I seriously thought I was going to die."

Akame had thought of the same. "We all did. Let's just be thankful that Gajeel and everyone else arrived when they did." What they all went through was the closest they had to their death. "I did think that was going to be the end of us."

Juvia was happy to see Gray again. "My darling! You're okay!"

The ice mage tried to move away from here. "Why are you people here?"

Lisanna smiled at the other group. "We've done our own to save the master too."

Mirajane smiled as well. "And one is Laxus."

Gajeel scowled at Erza. "How dare you sneak behind us."

Erza had her reasons for doing so. "It was a secret mission."

For the first time, Natsu was impressed by what transportation could do. "This ship is the best! I'm not even sick!" He turned to Laxus. "Oh hey, let's fight Laxus!"

It wasn't even five minutes and already Laxus didn't want to deal with Natsu's inane challenges. "Shut up."

Makarov never thought he would see all of this children again right in front of him. "Everyone…" All of them smiled at him. Even Wendy when she had to get over her embarrassment from earlier. Makarov smiled back at all of them while crying tears of happiness. "The best family one can ask. Fairy Tail!"

"I'm an outsider, though." Ichiya spoke in the background.