We're getting close to the final showdown with Hades!

Hope you guys, have been enjoying so far!

Till then, here's the next chapter!

Chapter 114

Battle with the Devil

After the fight with Rustyrose, everyone decided to take a minute to lick their wounds and regain their strength. Lisanna was tending to Elfman who had fallen unconscious after he had been used by Bixlow's Figure Eyes, while Levy, Bixlow, Freed, and Patherlily stood guard keeping an eye out any other enemies. Lisanna had just finished tending to Elfman when she heard the sound of footsteps coming from a few feet away, behind some bushes. She turned her attention towards there, immediately on guard, but then her eyes lit up feeling relieved.

Out from the bushes came Natsu along with Lucy, Wendy, Happy, Carla, Cana, and Makarov, all of which were just as battered, bandaged, and weary as the others. Natsu was carrying a heavily wounded and unconscious Makarov on his back while Lucy took Cana, who was also passed out.

"Hey! Natsu and the others are here!" Lisanna cried joyfully.

"Well, it's about time," said Levy with relief. "We were worried that something happened to you guys!"

Natsu and his party were happy to see them too, but then saw the five unconscious bodies under the infirmary tent as well as the destruction of the base camp making the relief they felt quickly change to shock.

"Oh, man! What the heck happened here?!" gasped Natsu.

"Everyone's down!" murmured Lucy. "Even Gajeel and Mira!"

"And Willy too!" added Wendy. "But don't worry. I can help them using my healing magic!"

But before she could, Lisanna walked up to the bluenette, stopping her. "Lisanna, I appreciate the sentiment, but don't think that's a good idea," the middle Strauss sibling said to her. "If you do, you're only going to end up pushing yourself too far."

"She's right, child," agreed Carla. "Your magic power's been seriously overtaxed all day, so you need to save your strength for now."

Natsu then took notice of Rustyrose's unconscious body, which was still lying on the ground a few feet away. "Lisanna? What happened here? Please tell us," he said.

"Well, for starters, that man over there attacked us," Lisanna said, while gesturing at Rustyrose. "Then we lost all of our magic power all of a sudden, like we were all being drained at the same time."

"That must have been because of the Tenrou Tree collapsing," said Carla. "I flew up a while back and saw it from above, practically snapped in two."

"It does make some sense," hummed Pantherlily thoughtfully. "It would also explain why you all took so long to get here."

"It's commonly known as the Tenrou Tree," Freed spoke up. "According to the legends I've heard, it blesses those who are members of Fairy Tail."

"Not only that, but if you have the Fairy Tail emblem on your body, the tree's supposed to keep you from dying," put in Bixlow. "At least that's what I've heard according to the rumors."

"Then if that's the case, then all of our wounded members will okay too," Levy said, feeling hopeful.

"But there's one thing that still confuses me," said Lisanna. "If the Tenrou Tree was knocked over somehow, then how did we get our magic power back?"

"I'm not sure, but for the moment, we should stay alert and make sure we completely recover," said Pantherlily.

Lisanna then frowned as she turned back towards Natsu and Lucy. "Anyway, Freed and Bixlow fought as hard as they could, but with everyone injured, we were already at a disadvantage. Not to mention that guy tried to kill Willy, and we were powerless to stop them." She then bit her lip as her eyes filled with tears, while she clenching her fists in frustration. "I couldn't do anything. I couldn't help Mira, and I couldn't help Willy. I didn't know what I could do."

"Come on, please don't cry, Lisanna," Happy spoke surprisingly firm. "We're not allowed to cry because we're going to be okay! I promise you we're going to figure this out!"

Lisanna was a bit surprised by the blue Exceed's determination, but she felt better as she wiped away her tears. "You're right. I'm sorry, you guys."

"Well said, buddy," Natsu growled as he cracked his knuckles. "Those guys are gonna pay for what they did! I'll make damn sure of that!"

"It's good to be determined, but the odds are stacked against us, especially when you consider how many of us are wounded," pointed out Freed. "And we have to include Cana and the Master among them as well."

"Then allow me to make a suggestion," said Pantherlily. "Grimoire Heart's ship is stationed right on the shoreline east of here. Therefore, I propose this strategy. We'll split our group up into two separate teams."

"One team being offense and the other being defense," Levy finished, understanding. "Offense will be the team to attack the ship, while defense protects the camp as well as Willy."

"If that's what we got to do, then I call dibs on being offense," said Natsu. "Lucy? Happy? You guys with me?"

"Aye, sir!" agreed Happy with a nod.

Lucy, on the other hand, was surprised. "Hold on. Why do you want me to go with you?" she asked nervously. "I mean, wouldn't Freed be the better choice rather than me?"

"Thanks, Lucy, but I'm needed here at Base Camp," Freed spoke. "My Enchantments will be needed to ward off any enemies that come to the camp."

"So will I," added Bixlow. "We'll make sure that the others can heal up."

"I'll go with Natsu and others too," said Wendy. "I wanna help beat Hades too!"

"Hold on, Wendy! You'll do no such thing!" protested Carla. "It's too dangerous for you!"

"I have to go, Carla," Wendy spoke firmly. "They're going to need all the support they can get in this fight! And I'm the only one who can provide it to them."

Carla still was reluctant to let Wendy go, but she knew that she was right, so she said nothing. Then a timid voice that seemed to tremble with fear spoke out.

"O-Oh! In that c-case, I'll go too. I owe him a b-beating for Gajeel's sake!"

That timid and scared voice turned out to come from Pantherlily who was covering his ears, trembling like a leaf much to everyone's surprise.

"What's the matter with you, Lily?" asked Happy. "You're really shaking over there. What's the matter?"

"I think I might know," chuckled Carla."It seems that he's scared of thunder and lightning."

And at that moment, a flash of lightning flashed across the sky letting out a loud crack which made Pantherlily whimper a little, much to Happy's amusement.

"I'll stay behind and help as well," said Levy. "I can use my script magic to help Freed with his Enchantments."

"Me too," agreed Lisanna. "I wouldn't much help in the battle against Hades anyway, and I want to make sure that Big Bro Elf, Mira, and Willy are safe too."

"Then it seems that we have a plan of action," Freed spoke, a smile tugging at his cheeks. "Natsu, Lucy, Wendy, and the Exceeds will go on the attack while Bixlow, Levy, Lisanna, and I defend the camp and protect the wounded."

"And you can bet that we'll keep everyone safe!" Bixlow spoke, fist-pumping. "Just leave everyone else to us while you go kick some butt!"

"Be careful, you guys," warned Levy. "Hades should be the final opponent left, so make sure you teach him a lesson!"

"Count on it!" Wendy said, bravely. "Let's show him what happens when you mess with Fairy Tail!"

Lisanna then went up to Lucy and holding her by the hand and spoke so only she could hear her. "Lucy, make sure you stay by Natsu's side, okay? When he has his friends by his side, he becomes very powerful."

Lucy then smiled nodding. "Right. I will."

Natsu let out a huge roar feeling pumped and ready to fight. "THEN LET'S GO!"

And with that, Natsu along with Wendy, Lucy, and the Exceeds took off running, leaving the defense team watching them until they disappeared in the forest. As soon as they were gone, everyone then set to work on their respective duties. Lisanna had just turned towards her injured friends about to stand watch when she gasped. Under the infirmary tent, out of the five unconscious wizards that were there, one of them didn't remain, and it wasn't Mira, Gajeel, Evergreen, or Evergreen.

"Everyone! We have a problem!" Lisanna yelled, urgently.

"What is it, Lisanna?" asked Freed.

"Is it an enemy attack?" asked Levy.

"No! Worse!" Lisanna cried. "It's Willy! He's gone!"

WILLY'S POV

I was now running through the trees as fast as my feet could carry me. My wrists were bandaged as well as my midsection, and my body was a bit sore, but I didn't stop. At some point, I had regained consciousness and overheard everything that Natsu and the others had said, including their plan to take down Hades. As soon as I heard enough, I silently slipped away, leaving the camp and was heading towards Hades' ship towards the east coast. I felt a little bad for slipping away without telling anyone, but I wasn't about to stand idly by and let them fight while leaving me on the sidelines.

"It's my fault that things are like this and everyone's hurt. If anyone's going to be taking down Hades, it's going to be me! And I'll do it all by myself if I have to!"

I then looked back behind me seeing nothing, but the bushes and trees.

"I'm so sorry, everyone. I know that you're all probably going to be mad with me for doing what I did, but it's better than letting you all get involved in something I caused."

I refocused my attention up ahead while clenching my fists and continued to run and jump heading towards the east, praying that I would get there before Natsu and the others did. But then, as I jumped down from another tree, running on the ground once more. My body was still feeling a little bit sore from the recent battles, and I wasn't sure how much magic power I had left. Not to mention that I was practically rushing towards my grave, but I didn't care. Everyone had already suffered enough because of me, and I was going to put an end to it, one way or another.

Soon enough, I could see a clearing just up ahead and rushed up to it. Before me, was a large aircraft that was colored black and red, looked a bit like a boat with two more significant parts jutting forward, also having a particular logo on the main hull in front.

"Looks like I've found the ship. From the looks of things, it's deserted, but something's telling me that it isn't."

I hopped from into trees and hopped through one branch to another until I was around the other side of the ship. I then jumped down and hid behind a tree, making sure that I stayed out of sight so that I wouldn't be seen.

"I should be able to use my Aqua Sense to find out if Hades is there along with any other enemies that could be hiding in there. Hopefully, Hades is the only one that's on the ship. And since that I'm not focusing directly on the island, it should work this time."

I closed my eyes and began to focus as I placed my hand on the ground activating the spell.

"AQUA SENSE."

No sooner than I activated the spell, I could see an unfamiliar yet incredible magic power in my mind that was colored a dark violet and appeared to be smoking, oozing with an evil that would make anyone sick to their stomach.

"That's got to be Hades! I know that his magic power would be like this, but... it's something that I've never felt before! It's almost as strong as Gildarts!"

I concentrated a little deeper and tried to sense any others inside the ship. Sure enough, there were several others at the bottom who weren't as strong as Hades was, which led me to assume that they were his foot soldiers like the ones I fought earlier before.

Then I sensed something else inside of there, and it was in the location where I sensed the foot soldiers. It had intense magic energy in the form of a strange formless shape that seemed to move, and to make things even weirder and ominous; it didn't feel human.

"What... is that? A monster of some kind? Or is it...?"

After taking a few seconds of sensing the strange object in the ship, it then occurred to me making my eyes open.

"Could it be? That power I was sensing... That is..."

I knew right then and there that Natsu and the others wouldn't stand a chance against Hades, but that didn't mean the battle couldn't be won. I then clasped my hands together and let my magic power flow as I prepared myself for a fight.

"Alright, it's time for me to cut loose, and I'm going to need a whole lot of water!"

NO POV

Standing just outside of his base in the pouring rain, Hades stood on his ship standing in the balcony just outside of his throne room. He could no longer sense the presence of either the Seven Kin or Bluenote Stinger much to his disbelief.

"I would never have imagined that the Seven Kin and even Bluenote would be defeated at the hands of Fairy Tail," Hades said to himself. "In the end, I suppose I should give Makarov credit for being a better guild master than I anticipated. No matter. Since the rest of my guild is too inept at exterminating their prey, I suppose I'll have to take matters into my own hands, no matter how disappointing."

Then from below, a group of people emerged from the forest and was coming straight towards his ship, which of course was Team Natsu.

"Now then, the playtime for the devils and fairies is now over," Hades continued. "I shall take great pleasure into making them suffer." He then spoke loud enough for Natsu and the others to hear him. "Come and face your destruction, children of Makarov, third-generation of Fairy Tail!"

And with a flip of his cape, he walked back inside much to Natsu's indignance.

"Hey, you old fart! Get back here!" the fire dragon slayer shrieked. "At least give us a way up there!"

"That stuck up bastard," growled Gray. "He's practically mocking us!"

"Don't worry. He'll answer for his crimes soon enough," Erza spoke grimly. "He is the one who injured the Master."

Wendy then turned to Lucy. "So if we beat this guy in time, the rest of them will leave, and the council won't have to fire on us?" she asked her.

"Yep. That's the plan," replied Lucy. "We'll force them to swim to get off if we have to!"

Natsu then spoke to his furry blue best friend. "Hey, Happy. I got a job for you, Carla, and Lily," he said. "You think that the three of you can take out whatever is making this thing fly?"

Happy then smirked mischievously. "Of course. I mean it would be bad if the ship started moving, at least for you."

He was, of course, talking about Natsu's motion sickness, but the pink head didn't say anything more. Wendy then hovered her hands on Natsu as she cast a spell on him.

"Don't worry, Natsu. I'm casting my Troia spell just in case," the sky dragon said.

Natsu smiled at Wendy as a way of saying thanks. Gray then slammed his fist into his palm, releasing a cold blast of air and placed his hands on the ground. A large long set of stairs made of ice shot up from the ground until they connected to the hull of the ship.

"I think we kept him waiting long enough!" Gray spoke. "Let's do this!"

Everyone then charged up the stairs ready for their final battle with Hades, battered and a little weak, but were prepared to end the war once and for all.

"Remember everyone! Hades' power far surpasses our own master's!" called out Erza. "Once we're inside, hit him hard with everything you got, and don't hold back!"

"Don't worry about that!" Gray spoke. "Because I ain't stopping until he's begging for mercy!"

"After everything he's done, he doesn't deserve any mercy!" Lucy said. "This is our last chance to end this war for good!"

"Oh, yeah! We're putting this bastard down!" Natsu roared. "I'll finally get the chance to punch him good! Ready or not, Hades! HERE WE COME!"

They soon reached the top of the stairs and found Hades standing in the middle of the room waiting for them. Natsu cloaked his fist with fire and shot towards him, making the first move.

"I've got a message from Makarov!" the fire dragon slayer yelled. "Choke on it!"

He then unleashed a powerful blast of fire at the eye-patched silver-haired man with a mighty torrent of flames, but by simply holding his hand up, Hades blocked the attack with ease by using only his magic alone.

"You'll have to do better than that!" Hades spoke smirking with confidence. "Try again!"

However, he failed to realize that this was nothing but a distraction, for as the flames cleared, Erza and Gray jumped into the fray much to his surprise. Erza requipped from her Crimson Blossom attire to her Black Wing Armor while Gray using his Ice-Make magic, created a giant sword of ice.

"BLACK WING: MOON FLASH!"

"COLD EXCALIBER!"

Erza attacked Hades with two swipes of her sword while Gray slashed with his sword leaving a trail of ice in his wake, both managing to hit Hades, causing him to take a step back in recoil. Lucy then joined in whipping out one of her keys.

"OPEN, GATE OF THE GOLDEN BULL! TAURUS!"

At her command, Taurus was summoned forth, and with a mighty bellow and a swing of his ax, the anthro bull unleashed a massive shockwave of power forcing Hades to take the full force of it. Wendy now used a spell using her support magic on Erza and Gray at the same time.

"BY THE GRACE OF THE WIND, MAY YOU STRIKE FIERCELY, MOVE SWIFTLY, AND BE PROTECTED FROM HARM! ARMS X ARMOR X VERNIER!"

Now enhanced by Wendy's support magic, Erza and Gray attacked Hades again swinging their swords. This time Hades dodged the attacks by jumping and sidestepping. In retaliation, Hades used his magic to summon forth a chain with a clamp on end to grab Erza by the throat and with a tug and swing threw her into Gray causing the two to crash into each other. However, Natsu was on the attack again, dive-bombing Hades from above.

"FIRE DRAGON WING ATTACK!"

He unleashed a stream of flames from each of his hands swinging them and blew Hades back high into the air. But Hades was quick to counter not only landing on his feet, but also unleashing another chain and making it clamp onto the back of Natsu's head. He swung him around and around, making the Fire Dragon Slayer dizzy and was about to smash him into the wall. Erza requipping into her Crimson Blossom attire saw Natsu was in trouble and drew her sword to cut the chain setting Natsu free much to Hade's disbelief.

Natsu now flew straight towards Gray who used his Ice-Make magic to create a large hammer catching Natsu by the flat of it, and with a mighty heave swung it sending Natsu towards Hades again. At the same time, Wendy let her magic power flare as she took a deep breath puffing her cheeks while Lucy whipped out another key.

"SKY DRAGON ROAR!"

"OPEN, GATE OF THE SCORPION! SCORPIO!"

Wendy unleashed her breath attack in a big green tornado while Lucy switched Taurus out for Scorpio who unleashed a powerful blast of sand from his stinger, both attacks merging, much the leader of Grimoire Heart's surprise and disbelief.

"A Unison Raid?!" he gasped.

Natsu then cloaked his body with fire as Lucy's and Wendy's Unison raid surrounded him as he continued to shoot towards Hades.

"FIRE DRAGON SWORD HORN!"

Using the force from the tornado of sand and wind, Natsu in a blinding speed landed a powerful headbutt right into Hades' sternum sending the man flying into his throne and through the wall with a mighty crash, the impact causing a vast blanket of smoke and dust. Team Natsu seemed to be standing tall despite their injuries, thinking that their joined effort had to have caused some damage. However, Hades' stepped out of the smoke, his armored arms crossed, and his demeanor calm and collected, appearing to be unscathed with only his cape missing.

"I'm told that the mistakes that young people refer to their mistakes as experience," he spoke as he stopped just a few feet in front of them. "But true mistakes do not yield experiences as there is no coming back from them, and the biggest mistake you all have made is by opposing me which in turn will leave your futures in the grave."

"No way!" Lucy gasped, her eyes wide with disbelief. "All of that and we couldn't even scratch him?!"

"You've got to be kidding!" Gray yelled with frustration. "We poured everything we had into that!"

Even Natsu couldn't help but be stupefied. "His magic power's unreal! How are we supposed to beat this guy?!"

Hades then gazed at Team Natsu; his face filled cold malice as his body began to emanate strange waves of his power. "Now then, I believe I'm done warming up. It's time for me to get serious."

"Be careful, everyone!" Erza warned. "He's coming!"

But Erza's warning came too little, too late, for, at that moment, Hades let out a bellowing yell as he looked straight at Wendy.

"KATSU!"

At that moment before anyone could react, Wendy suddenly and mysteriously disappeared, leaving only her clothes behind. Everyone was frozen, not comprehending what had just happened as her clothes fell to the floor.

"WENDY, NO! ! ! ! !" Natsu screamed in horror.

"She's... she's gone..." murmured Lucy disbelief.

"Eradicated with a trace, eh? How trifling," Hades spoke, his face neutral. "That was nothing more but a mercy kill. She got off easy."

"You bastard! What did you do to her?!" Gray demanded in anger.

"What does it matter to you? You'll be joining her soon enough," Hades asked coldly. "For from this point forward, each of your deaths will be just as gruesome than the one before."

Then as Team Natsu glared grimly at Hades, still reeling from the loss of their comrade, they all heard an unfamiliar voice which came from above.

"Hey, everybody! I'm okay! Please calm down!"

Everyone, including Hades, then looked up and were surprised to see a strange being, latched onto the ceiling. It was practically a large grandfather clock with long black arms and legs, and a small face on top with slit eyes a long black mustache. Lucy recognized the being immediately, realizing that it was one of her spirits.

"Horologium, it's you!" Lucy gasped. "Is Wendy really in there?!"

"Yes. My automatic danger detection mode was activated just in the nick of time," spoke Horologium.

Everyone was felt except for Lucy, who was more annoyed.

"Is that a fact? Then why didn't you show up after all the other instances we were in danger?! Especially me!" she demanded crossly. "Sounds to me that your danger detection thingy needs a major overhaul!"

"My apologies Ms. Lucy, but while you were indeed in danger, your life was never really at risk," Horologium explained. He then spoke for Wendy, who was still inside of his case. " "Oh, thank you so much, Mr. Horologium!" The girl says graciously."

Natsu was then puzzled. "So... if Wendy's okay, then why didn't her clothes go with her?" he asked.

"As it was an emergency, I only had time to save her physical body," replied Horologium.

Gray then blushed beet red. "J-Just her body?!" he exclaimed. "Hold up! Then does that mean... That inside, Wendy is...!"

" "Kya!" The girl screams in embarrassment," Horologium replied. "Do not worry; I will provide her with some new clothes."

"Regardless, we're just glad that she's alright," Erza spoke. "Thank you very much for your help."

"Unfortunately, this is the only time I'll be able to protect you," Horologium cautioned. "Please, take extra care, everyone."

"Don't worry," Lucy reassured. "We will."

And with a puff of smoke, Horologium disappeared back into the Celestial Spirit World, and Wendy landed back safely on the floor with her friends, now wearing a black top that looked like a suit with a small skirt and large sash holding them together, and black stockings with brown shoes.

Hades, who had been keeping quiet this whole time, couldn't help but feel a bit intrigued by what he had seen. "So, this is what Makarov's generation Fairy Tail is made of," he mused. "Well, I give you this much, you lot certainly are entertaining."

"Hold on a sec, how do you know, Gramps?" Natsu scowled.

"You don't know? I'm surprised that he hasn't told you about me," Hades smirked while stroking his long beard. "I suppose he must have expunged my existence from the records in the guild's library. To put it simply, if you're addressing Makarov as Gramps, then I suppose that makes me Great Grandfather. I was Fairy Tail's second master known as Precht."

Everyone flinched in shock from Hades' confession not believing their ears, except for Natsu who immediately became enraged.

"That's a filthy lie!" the pink head roared.

"Whether you like it or not, it's true," Hades went on. "In fact, it was I who nominated Makarov as the guild's third master."

Natsu became more enraged than ever, so much so that he charged at Hades refusing to believe a word that he said. "Stop screwing with me!" he bellowed. "There's no way in hell that Gramps would ever have anything to do with you!"

Hades then held up two fingers making quick motions with them and made numerous magic seals appear and engulfed Natsu in a powerful explosion which blew him back. Then with another wave of his hand created another explosion just in front of Gray and Wendy blowing them away too. Finally, while using his chain magic, made two shoot forth and wrap around Lucy and Erza tightly making them explode around them. Natsu came rushing at Hades again, but the elderly yet powerful man saw him coming and while mimicking a gun with his hand, fired a magic bullet right at Natsu's left leg which caused to cry out in pain while he fell to the floor.

"Now, dance for me!" Hades cackled with glee as he mimicked a gun on his other hand too. "Dance and understand the error of your folly!"

He continued to fire piercing all of Team Natsu with his barrage of bullets while he reveled in their cries of pain having a splendid time, while Team Natsu took the full force of the attack unable to defend themselves.

Now Hades was the one standing tall while Natsu and his friends were all on the floor in agony and battered. The leader of Grimoire Heart, seeing that his prey was down, walked over to Natsu and stomped his foot right on top of his head grinding it to the floor.

"Do fairies have tails? It's an eternal mystery and thus an eternal adventure. That is how the guild's name came about, correct?" Hades spoke to no one in particular. "But as far as your journey goes, it will be crushed under the heel of my boot. The first master, Mavis entrusted her will to me, and I, in turn, passed my will to Makarov, which was, of course, one of my biggest mistakes, no thanks to him changing the guild by bringing light out of the darkness in magic."

Natsu then glared up at Hades while pushing back his foot slightly. "And what's wrong with change?! That's how Fairy Tail does things!" he growled fiercely. "We aren't rotten heartless people like you and your guild! We live with our lives on the line and aren't afraid to do so every day and every moment! So you can go ahead and stew in that hellhole you call darkness all you want, but we ain't afraid to change things! If you're don't have to courage to change things, then you might as well be dead!"

Hades now subtlely angry began using his Bullet Magic again, relentlessly firing a barrage of bullets at Natsu's body all over making the dragon slayer scream in agony and pain.

"Such disrespect. You annoy me, you little brat," Hades coldly spoke, not letting up. "If you're looking to be angry at someone, blame Makarov. After all, it's his fault that you have to suffer and die in utter agony."

"No! Stop it!" cried Lucy.

"Leave me alone!" shirked Erza.

"Natsu!" yelled Gray.

But the rest of Team Natsu's pleas fell on deaf ears as he continued firing at Natsu despite him being unable to fight back. However, not wanting to give up, Natsu sat back up, battered and weary, but refusing to go down.

"I won't... let you," the fire dragon gasped weakly. "You ain't... getting away... with hurting Gramps."

Hades then pointed his fingers at Natsu and began charging power into his fingers, preparing to deliver the finishing blow. "I've heard enough of your idle chatter," he spoke. "Now begone as you die a horrible death."

"DON'T DO IT! ! !" Lucy shrieked hysterically. "DON'T KILL HIM!"

But just before Hades could finish Natsu off, there was a powerful boom of thunder as a bolt of lightning broke through the roof and struck Hades on his arm making him grunt in pain, while saving Natsu, much to Team Natsu's surprise. The lighting stayed here for about a few seconds or so; then everyone heard a voice that was coming from the lightning.

"So this is the old man who took out, Gramps? Right, Natsu?"

The lightning cleared, revealing a tall man with simple clothes comprised of a large, tan, cloak with a white jacket, and black clothes underneath, loose black pants, and gray boots. The man's most predominant features, however, were his slicked-back yet spiky blonde hair with a tuft on his forehead, a lightning bolt-shaped scar on his right eye, and a pair of headphones around his ears. Everyone was at first surprised but then felt relieved for they knew who this man was.

"Laxus!" murmured Natsu in an awestruck yet joyful gasp.

"I can't believe it... It's really him!" Gray spoke incredulously.

"Wait... Laxus? You mean as in the master's grandson?" asked Wendy.

"You bet he is!" Lucy smiled, wiping her eyes. "I never thought I'd be this happy to see him."

The only one who didn't say a word was Erza, who just stared at Laxus in shock.

When Hades saw Laxus, he first thought he was nothing more, but another opponent for him to crush. But as Laxus scowled reeling back his head; Hades gasped for he had seen that scowl on his face somewhere in the past.

"The boy?!" the old man gasped.

Laxus, seeing that Hades was distracted, then attacked by giving him an electric charged headbutt on the forehead which made Hades recoil a step. At the very same time, someone shot past of Team Natsu and jumped into the air and dove straight towards Hades, cloaking his leg with water.

"WATER DRAGON TALON!"

Hades looked up in time to see the person's leg connect squarely in the middle of his chest making him skid backward a bit, and using him as a springboard, the person jumped into the air while doing a couple of flips and landed back on the floor in a three-point landing right next to Laxus. Upon seeing him, Natsu and the others were shocked as was Laxus.

"It's Willy!" Wendy cried out.

As Willy straightened up, he glared at Hades, his eyes full of hate and anger as he cracked his knuckles.

"So, I heard you were looking for me," he spoke. "Be careful what you wish for, because not only will you get it, but you're going to end up paying for it with your life!"

The final showdown with Hades has begun, and it's about to get crazy!

If you liked what you read or if there's something I need to improve on, leave a review!

If you have any questions for me or if you want to draw some fanart, feel free to PM me!

Dragoman, signing off