A/N: Man, it has been quite the week- not a bad one, though. Suffice it to say that I saw an excellent movie, and it's given me some brain juice that I am quite eager to use. I'm also quite eager to know what you guys think of this chapter, as it brings the relationship between Gorun and Azura to a climax that I've been looking forward to for some time. Also, a few TFS references are scheduled to make an appearance (I'm still kind of sore about that being dead) and they made me chuckle- hope they do the same for you.

Please read, review, and most importantly, enjoy!

OP Song: Resister (cover by Studio Yuraki, performed by Kelly Mahoney)

War of the Underowld Arc: Chapter 5

True Saiyan

Magnolia…

The citizens of Fairy Tail's home town had all been in awe of the massive floating cube that had been hovering over their heads for some time now, initially unsure as to what it was. Now though, they were fleeing in terror.

The cube had transformed into a giant squid-like monster made of crystal and stone, with wide, gaping jaws that emitted a roar which reminded all who heard it of death and decay. For indeed, the sound alone was enough to cause many of the buildings in Magnolia to crumble and disintegrate- the mayor's office, the Kardia Cathedral, countless homes… As the terrible creature continued its slow journey toward the waterfront, Makarov looked up from the roof of his guild hall and prayed that one of his children would have the strength to stop the horror that was Tartaros.

Tartaros Base: Interior…

Genora burst into a large, long-running tunnel that had flooded with some green, putrid substance- the origin of which she decided that she would be better off not knowing- and spotting one Fairy Tail wizard surfing on a piece of driftwood, she flew over to join her. There were a few Tartaros soldiers trying to kill the other girl, but she blasted them away with bursts of golden light, sending them into the rancid liquids and leaving them far behind in the fast-moving currents.

"Good to see you made it," Genora said as she came to fly alongside her ally. "Need a hand?"

"Under normal circumstances, I'd be pretty confident about my chances on my own, but this whole day has just gone to show that we could all stand to watch our step a little better in situations like these," Lucino answered, the relief clear in her voice as she recognized the blue-haired Saiyan girl. "What happened?"

"Your guess is as good as mine," Genora answered her as she looked behind them, noticing another approaching group of enemy soldiers. "Kaidon and I were able to get readings on the others that showed them as being alive, though I'm not entirely sure of how long they can survive in the suspended state that they are in."

"Well, it's better than them all just being dead, I guess," Lucino laughed nervously, her face troubled as she blasted one of the approaching soldiers with another Regulus Impact. Genora assisted her endeavor by spamming the rest of them with etherion bolts, killing a few instantly, and leaving the rest to drown in the green water. With them gone, Lucino then asked, "Where is Gorun, by the way?"

"He's more or less gone to give our host a piece of his mind," Genora replied as her scouter alerted her to the rapid approach of a high power level. "Heads up, we've got inbound."

"Where?"

Genora's eyes narrowed as she scanned the tunnel behind them, but seeing nothing yet. Looking down at the stinky liquid, she finally answered, "They're gonna come up from the river."

"Can you handle it while I keep an eye out for enemies ahead of us?" Lucino asked as she held Lucy's whip at the ready.

"Like you have to ask," Genora smirked, a golden magic circle shining under her body as she activated her Super Saiyan transformation. She was getting excited- the power level that was coming for her was much stronger than Minerva, or even Kyoka. At long last, a worthy fight, all to myself!

Just as she had suspected, there was a massive burst of power that heralded the arrival of a huge demon, with bladed arms and rippling muscles underneath purple skin. He resembled a giant lizard, with some elements of a shark thrown in, but that hardly mattered to Genora. He was tough, and he would be going down by her hand.

If the demon was surprised that his sneak attack had been foiled, he did not show it, merely blocking the first punch that Genora dealt him with his left arm, and grunting with exertion as he forced her back with a fist of his own. Grinning with a savage delight, Genora grabbed the appendage that had struck her, and used it to whirl him around several times before throwing him up into the ceiling, where there was a thunderous crash.

As debris rained down from above, Lucino glanced back, asking, "Did that finish him?!"

"Hardly," Genora snorted. "We're both just getting started." Conjuring another magic circle, her power doubled as she accessed Super Saiyan 2. No sooner than she had than did the demon come hurtling down from above, his massive fist colliding with her own smaller one, and sending forth a shockwave that disturbed the waters beneath them. Lucino shouted back at her to be more careful, but the Saiyan had more important things to deal with than a complaint from her guild mate.

"You fight well, for a human," the demon rumbled, his voice matching his stature.

"I could say the same for you, demon," she grinned up at him, right before she slammed a devastating kick up into his stomach, which to her surprise, hardly seemed to faze him.

"I am Torafuzar, one of the Nine Demon Gates," the monster informed her as they began to trade blows at a rapid pace, she flying down the foul river while he used a piece of wood to stay afloat. "It's not often that I care to know the name of my enemy, but in the case of a worthy opponent, I find myself curious to know who and what it is that I am fighting."

"My name is Azura of Conton," Genora replied as she charged a Masenko. "And I am the Saiyan Warrior, Genora! I am the last thing you will ever see! HA!" The yellow laser smashed Torafuzar into the river, sending a geyser high up into the air, which was quickly left far behind.

How long is this tunnel? Genora wondered.

Her thought was interrupted as Torafuzar leaped up out of the river, his speed now seemingly tripled, smashing into her left shoulder with his head, a loud crunch telling them both that the limb was broken. "You speak with no small amount of arrogance," he rumbled as she floated back out of his reach, clutching at her wounded limb, which was already turning an unhealthy shade of purple while blood dripped down to her fingers. "It will be your undoing."

"You demons are the ones to talk," Genora growled, angry with her herself for letting her guard down so easily. Retaliating with a series of cuts and stabs from a Spirit Sword, she shouted, "Every Etherious that I've come across has been so quick to put down humanity, as if their very existence were a blight on the world!"

"Do you humans not think the same of the insects that you so casually crush beneath your boots?" Torafuzar asked before he vanished beneath the river's surface once again. However, he came back up almost instantly to trade another series of blows with the waiting Saiyan girl.

"Insects, huh?!" she snarled angrily. "You Etherious are all so certain of your superiority over the humans that you've forgotten one basic fact, something any creature that values its own survival would know!" A crystal-gray magic circle shone behind her, and Torafuzar was surprised to realize that her attacks were coming in even faster, and with more weight behind them.

"What is that?" he asked before he repeated his dive and resurface routine. This time, however, instead of managing to get in a solid blow with his superior speed, he found himself being held up in midair by his fist, which Genora had caught and was now crushing with a single hand, having ascended yet again to her mystic form.

"In this world, there's always someone above you," she sneered, a blue magic circle flashing to life above her working hand. "And while I'm not entirely human myself, I wouldn't be who I am without them! So I'll protect them with all that I am, Saiyan and human!" She then released his fist as to brain him with a Savage Strike, sending him hurtling back into the river- only this time, he wasn't alone.

Genora was down below the river's surface in a flash, her power exploding outward so violently that it parted the foul liquid to the point where it could not come near her, swirling past her and Torafuzar, who was getting to his feet in a bit of a daze. It wasn't until his eyesight cleared up that he noticed a blue orb, shining brilliantly from Genora's right side.

"Mark Two…" She growled. "One-handed style, Kamehameha!" She hurled the massive laser forth, swallowing up Torafuzar in its glow, and splitting the river further up as the etherion continued past the monster. She heard his roar of defiance, and knew that it was not enough. Putting an extra burst of power into the attack, the beam of light became a cyclone of raw energy that burned up the river and sent Torafuzar flying back the way that he had come.

Once she was sure that he was a good distance away, she ceased the outflow, allowing the blue light to die out as she returned her grip to her wounded shoulder. "Damn lizard-man," she grunted as the limb began to ache in protest to the abuse it had been made to suffer. She glanced down at the pocket that held the senzu beans, wondering if it would be a good time to take one, but also remembering that they were nearly out.

I haven't lost that much power, and I can keep fighting, even with one arm, she thought. Might be better to-

Her thoughts were cut off as the entire cube rocked violently, even more so than it had when Mard Geer had cast the Alegria. The place was practically falling apart around her as she made to float above the riverbed. Glancing upward, she frowned deeply as she picked up on whose power level was causing the disturbance. "Dammit, Kaidon," she growled. "Pull it together."

Then, much to her irritation, Torafuzar was back, bounding into view and looking even more determined to put her down than before. "You have real strength, Saiyan Warrior, Genora," he rumbled, a blue crystal shard gleaming amid the jagged teeth in his jaw. "I cannot allow it to interfere with the designs of Lord Mard Geer."

Lucino was in a bad spot, that much was clear. She had lost track of Azura when that massive demon had appeared, and now there were two others out to get her. Even worse, one of them was the one that Natsu was supposed to have already defeated in combat- the explosive demon, Jackal.

She had Virgo out to deal with the other demon, an annoying little squirt called Lummy, while Leo was tangling with Jackal. Unfortunately for the leader of the Zodiac, his options were a little limited on what he could do, seeing as any physical strikes that they exchanged would result in an explosion that damaged the Lion Spirit.

Glancing between the two of her spirits, Lucy and Yukino's thoughts raced, trying to determine which spirit would be best to call upon to assist them both simultaneously. Keeping open two gates is hard enough, she thought as she felt a disturbance in the river beneath them. I know I can open up a third one, but I'm not sure how long I would be able to make it last… I've already used up a lot of magic today.

As the wood beneath her feet began to roll unsteadily, she looked back to see that somehow, the river was drying up, which meant that it wouldn't be long before her quickest method of evasion would be taken away from her. She glanced down at the putrid substance that had been filling the tunnel, another idea coming to her.

Quickly selecting another key from her pouch, she plunged it into the dying river, shouting, "Open! Gate of the Mermaid!"

Even as Aquarius' gate opened to admit her entry into the mortal realm, the floating fortress around them began to shake more violently than ever. The mermaid spirit appeared, glaring up at the ceiling as she shouted, "All right, you blond bimbo, what'd you get yourself into this time?!"

Tartaros Base Exterior- One Minute Ago…

"Well, this just goes to show what I've thought about humans was true all along," Mard Geer said as he gazed up at the massive bulk of Gorun in his brown-furred Oozaru form. "You really are just a bunch of big, stinking apes."

Having used the Moon Drip spell to expose his body to enhanced blutz waves with the little moonlight that he had available to him, Gorun had successfully completed the first part of his ascension to Super Saiyan 4, and now he glared down at Mard Geer with undisguised hatred. He was massive, his bulk making him as tall as the Crocus Palace, and every inch of him was rippling with solid muscle, a truly intimidating sight to behold. "Undo the curse, or I will show you a world of pain as you have never known," he rumbled ominously. "This is your only warning." It had been a long time since Gorun had used the Oozaru form, but his control over it was still perfect. Hopefully, that boded well for what came next.

In the meantime, Mard Geer was not impressed. "I'm sensing a power that far exceeds your own experiencing difficulty against one of the Demon Gates," he informed the giant monster. "If they are having such a problem dealing with my underlings, I doubt that you can do much more than entertain me for a few moments."

"Like I said, one warning," Gorun replied, his crimson eyes shining with a bloody light. "Now, takeover: SAIYAN SOUL!" A magic circle the size of Fairy Tail's guild hall briefly shone down on Gorun and the monstrous cube, obscuring the Oozaru in a yellow light before winking out of existence, leaving the giant monkey to radiate his own golden aura.

Mard Geer quirked an eyebrow as he realized that the boy's power had increased many, many times over, though it still posed no threat to him. "Is that all you've got?" he asked condescendingly. "After such a lightshow, I expected at least something a little more substantial in the way of entertainment."

Gorun simply stared down at the demon in silence, unmoving, seemingly as if he hadn't even heard his enemy. In response to being ignored, Mard Geer shrugged and wordlessly sent another barrage of thorns up at the massive ape. "At that size, you've only given me a bigger target," he murmured. "Foolish little boy." Twisted, thorny vines energy sprang forth at his command to strike the monkey down from the sky.

At least, that's what should have happened.

Instead, Gorun ignored the attack like it was spring rain before letting out an ear-splitting roar that shattered the loose rubble that had been scattered as a result of the Alegria Curse into dust, the golden light that had suffused his fur blazing like a star before he swung a massive fist at the Underworld King, too fast for even him to dodge. The blow shattered the face of the cube-monster and sent it careening back the way that it had come, away from the town, and behind a mountain range that bordered its outskirts. Striking the earth with a thunderous crash, the fortress broke into many pieces, some parts scattering far and wide, while the majority just collapsed into a pile of rubble.

The Oozaru loudly declared its dominance and began to beat his chest like wild animal, even as the sun continued its descent into twilight. Had anyone with knowledge of the Saiyans been present, they would have had a cause for great concern. Gone was the light of intelligence from his eyes, to be replaced by an unrelenting, animalistic instinct to assert his dominance as the king of the jungle.

He had overestimated his ability to control the Golden Oozaru transformation, and now Gorun was no longer present. The power of the primordial saiyan form had proved too much for his mind to handle, and now all that remained was the savage shell of Kaidon.

Tartaros Base Remnants…

"Dammit, Kaidon," Genora grunted as she pulled herself out of the rubble. "You overdid it." She sensed that the big demon that she had been fighting was not too far from her, in addition to another foul energy signature to the east of where she was. Grimacing painfully, she gave in and ate one of the few remaining senzu beans.

It wasn't until after she'd consumed the magic item and put her shoulder back into place that she realized that she was picking up on power levels without the use of her scouter. Seems like whatever was impeding our abilities has been taken out of commission, she thought as she mentally retracted the lens on her scouter, no longer having a need for it. Glancing around at the rubble again, she added sourly, Along with everything else in this kai-forsaken fortress. At least all the grunts were wiped out.

She had to give credit where it was due- if Kaidon could get himself under control, he'd be pretty close to unstoppable, if that single blow was any indication of his latent abilities.

Hearing the angry shouts of someone in the direction that she knew Lucino to be in, Genora took flight, deciding to get back to Torafuzar once she had saved the fused celestial wizard. Much as I'd love to give him another dose of humility, I don't think Kaidon can stand to lose another friend today.

She found the merged woman arguing loudly with the mermaid spirit- Aquarius was her name, if Genora remembered correctly- while another pair was keeping the demon known as Jackal at bay, though they seemed to be having a rough time of it. Every time he touched them, or they struck him, an explosion would repel them. However, she did notice that one of them was having a little more success against his foe by blasting him with golden light every few exchanges, which did not seem to trigger the explosions that were otherwise lending Jackal the upper hand thus far.

If I recall, Salamander was the one to beat this freak last time, she mused as she studied his fighting style, her sharp eyes capturing every detail that would allow her to defeat him. Lucy said something about physical touch being a no-no against him. If that's the case…

"Hey, Jackass!" she shouted as she held out her hands over the demon in the shape of a triangle.

The blond demon snarled up at her as he used an extra-large explosion to keep the two zodiacs back for a moment. "The name's Jackal!" he shouted. "What do you want?! Were you the one that destroyed our fortress?"

"No, that was my cousin, whose been having a bad day," she answered as gray-blue magic circle spawned in front of her while her body once again adapted to her mystic transformation. "Trust me when I say that his foul mood is going to make your guild's evening a rather unpleasant one, to say the least."

"As long as I get to torch you stinking humans, I'd say that my day is a good one," Jackal sneered up at her, apparently unaware of the storm about to break over his head. "Now how's about you get down and beg for your life like the ingrate you are? If you make me go up to get you, it's gonna be a way more painful death- and I don't go easy on girls. Just ask your friend back there." As he spoke, he jerked a thumb at Lucino, who had closed Leo and Virgo's gates, leaving only Aquarius by her side.

"You don't hold back against girls, huh?" Genora chuckled. "Neither do I."

"The hell'd you-?!"

"Shin… KIKOHO!" Jackal's indignation was cut off as a massive hole was carved into the flesh of the earth, and the demon was slammed down into its depths from the force of the crushing energy wave. The instant that the flash of light was gone, her keen ears picked up on the sound of a series of explosions coming out of the opening, getting closer by the second. As soon as Jackal's head came into view, she shouted again, "KI! KO! HO!" Each syllable smashed him with another energy blast, drowning out his enraged screams.

It almost devolved into a game for the Saiyan from then on. Each time that Jackal would try to get out of the hole, she would send him back down into the depths of the pit she had made. His Dragon Cry shard gave him incredible resilience in addition to his already-considerable Etherious strength, for him to not be obliterated by the first shot, but it wasn't as though he was exactly making headway against her, much to his mounting fury.

"KI!"

"Dammit!"

"KO!"

"Stop that!"

"HO!"

"Agh!"

She paused, allowing herself a moment to breathe- the Kikoho was a powerful technique, made more so by her transformation, and while she was nowhere near running out of power, having just taken a senzu bean, it was still draining on her mental faculties, maintaining the fierce concentration needed to wield such a devastating spell.

Jackal seemed to be taking this as a sign that she was finished, because he shouted up from the hole, "Are you done?!" When all he was met with was silence, he added, "I'm coming out now! And if you do that again, I swear to Zeref, I'm gonna blow your guild off the-!"

"Kikoho."

BLAM!

"Ack, DAMMIT!"

"I'm not going to break your key!" Lucino insisted as Aquarius gave her a furious look, made more intimidating by the powerful explosions that Azura was creating in order to deal with Jackal lighting up the background. "I won't sacrifice one of Lucy's friends like that!" The watery woman had informed her that there was a way to summon the most powerful celestial spirit of all, the ruler of their realm. The issue was, it came at the hefty cost of destroying one of the golden zodiac keys, meaning that whichever spirit was selected would never be able to answer the call of their wizard again.

"Not even to save everyone else?" the mermaid demanded. "The Celestial Spirit King has fought Mard Geer before- he knows how to counter him better than anyone. I'd even be willing to bet that he could undo this Alegria curse, and free all of your friends! Isn't that worth it?! Break my damn key!"

"I said no!" Lucino said stubbornly. "There's another way, I know it!"

"There isn't!" Aquarius insisted. "It's the celestial law that we are all bound by!"

"Then I'll rewrite it!" the girl shouted, a massive magical pressure building up inside of her, so much so that it startled Aquarius. "I don't care what it takes, I won't trade away one of our friends! I'm the greatest celestial wizard that's ever lived, and I'm gonna prove it, right here, right now! Now close, gate of the mermaid!"

"Don't be an idiot, Lu-!" In a soft glow of golden light, Aquarius was forced back into her home realm.

"Lucy is gonna have some words for you later," Lucino muttered, her hair beginning to drift upwards as she prepared to tap into all of the magic power that she had left. "Second Origin, release!"

Clenching her teeth, she willed her power to fill her entire body, but did not let any of it escape yet. As she held in the energy, her eyes and hair began to glow with a light identical to the shade that heralded the arrival of the zodiac spirits, while a halo made up of fourteen symbols hovered behind her head in a vertical pattern. Thirteen of them matched the zodiac symbols, while the one that crowned the rest was in the shape of a star like the one on the king's head.

"If Lucy or Yukino are capable of summoning them, I can assimilate their gate," she murmured as her hair settled down, though she retained the golden glow and halo. "So… With this power, I now resonate with the gate of the KING!" The star on the halo shone brighter than its brothers as she cast a spell not seen in all the history of celestial wizardry. Instead of calling upon the ruler of the stars to aid their plight, she borrowed his powers to use as her own.

Driven by the instincts that guided her in the use of all the zodiac's powers, she smashed her right fist into the ground, sending forth a wave of multi-colored energy that spread out in every direction, covering every inch of Tartaros Base's remains before dissipating. Grinning to herself as she stood up, she released the immense power that she had called upon in order to carry out her promise, causing the halo to fade away with the glow of the zodiac that had enveloped her body.

"Let's see if that doesn't turn the tide back in our favor," she said tiredly before she sagged to the ground, completely spent. "Here's just to hoping that we all survive whatever made this place crash in the first place…" The last thing that she saw before she fell unconscious was Azura standing between her and an infuriated Jackal.

Mard Geer stepped out of a cluster of rocks, brushing the dust off of his shoulders as he kept ahold of his precious tome. Looking around, he felt the stirrings of something in his gut, an emotion long since forgotten, lost in the depths of his unfathomable intellect.

The Underworld King was annoyed. It would appear that I miscalculated the potential of these strange warriors that Silver warned us about, he thought as he fixed his eyes on the distant figure of the Golden Oozaru, which was now roaring at the rising moon with unfettered hatred. Glancing around at the remains of his once-proud fortress, Mard Geer felt that twinge in his stomach once more as he saw his home lying in ruins.

He then frowned in surprise as he felt the presence of a magic that he had not encountered in many, many years washing over the remnants of the fortress, covering them all in an iridescent light before winking out of existence quicker than he had appeared. Was that the old fool? He wondered, his mind drifting back in time to his encounter with the Celestial Spirit King. Interesting. I hardly would have thought that there was anyone here capable of summoning him. After a few seconds, however, the magical power vanished, and the demon found himself shrugging indifferently. It would seem that the endeavor to have him aid these fairies was ultimately fruitless.

Then there was no time for reminiscence, as the ground beneath his feet rumbled with the sound of an avalanche, heralding the arrival of the giant beast that had replaced Son Gorun. Apparently, having sensed the formidable magic of the Celestial Spirit King, he had come to destroy anything that might threaten his dominance. Seeing only the Underworld King, he bellowed his challenge anew.

Silly monkey, Mard Geer thought as his lips twisted into a cold smile. That old fool couldn't even last a few seconds in this world- besides which he should be your last concern. As long as I am here, no human will leave these grounds alive. Pointing up with his fingers at the monster, he unleashed huge burst of black-and-silver energy that smashed into the Oozaru, sending him reeling backward. A twitch of Mard's fingers saw his enemy tightly bound with a nest of giant briars that began to force his magic power to leak out of him. If he was held for long enough, he would be deprived of not only his magic power, but also his very life essence.

With the might of the dragons enhancing us for as long as magic remains in this world, we Etherious will reign unchallenged, especially by such lowly creatures, he thought as the Oozaru bellowed angrily at him. He smiled up at the monster, assured of his victory- after all, while he had granted his Demon Gates mere shards of the Dragon Cry to use against the humans, he had retained the greater portion of the ancient staff's energy for himself. Not even the powers of the Emperors of Ishgar combined would be able to stand against him now. What hope did one lowly wizard have against him, the Underworld King?

The Oozaru let out another howl and flexed his muscles, shredding through the vines that had bound him like they were made of wax paper, then heaving a massive breath attack that Mard Geer batted away like an annoying fly buzzing about. Interesting…

With another flick of his fingers, the demon sent forth a storm of vines three times as thick as the ones from his initial assault, directing them to wrap around the beast's neck before tightening them viciously. Before the Oozaru could rip the deadly briars away, Mard Geer used more of them to bind his massive hands to the ground, and finishing his assault by tying his feet together and forcing him onto his back, causing the earth to shake beneath his weight.

Poison Jelly Valley…

Wendy was sitting in the cave that had once housed Face, waiting for Rachel to reawaken, when the appearance of one Doranbolt startled her, though he quickly assured her and Carla that he was not there to cause trouble. Once the both of them had calmed down a bit, Carla asked him, "What did possess you to come all the way out here? We're nowhere near civilization, and the Magic Council was dissolved."

"I'm here because I was searching through the remnants of the council's research, hoping to find a way to defeat Tartaros, when I came upon something," Doranbolt said gravely. "We're all still in the very grave danger of having our magic power taken away from us."

"But we destroyed the Face," Wendy said as she indicated Rachel, who was sleeping on the ground. "She erased it from existence, completely. There's no way for it to detonate now."

"I can see that, but I have proof that the task of destroying this weapon is far from complete," Doranbolt insisted. Holding out his hand, he said, "Let me show you."

Carla hesitated to trust this man, but as Wendy had pointed out before, he had helped their guild more often than not, sometimes at great peril to himself. Besides that, she wasn't getting any premonitions about him trying to harm them, so she nodded to Wendy, who reached out and took the man's hand, even as he touched Rachel on the shoulder, next to where Carla was leaning on the unconscious girl.

They were instantly transported above ground, where a horrible sight greeted their eyes. "Oh no…" Wendy said hoarsely. "How can this be real…? Please tell me that this is some kind of joke."

"If it is a jest, it is in very poor humor," Carla told her friend, though she too sounded horrified by what she saw.

"One Face bomb has the power to wipe out all magic in Fiore," Doranbolt said as they gazed out at the desert, which was now pockmarked by dozens of Faces. "With the number scattered across the country right now, all of Ishgar- and likely the rest of the known world- can say goodbye to their magic power altogether."

"But…" Wendy said despairingly as she continued to look out at the rocky expanse. "It took everything that we had just to destroy one Face. How can we possibly hope to counter all of these…?"

"I need to get to Fairy Tail." They were all startled to hear Rachel's voice as the girl picked herself up, grunting with the effort as she made herself sit. Wendy reached out to help her up, which she gratefully accepted. As she got to her feet, she added, "The key to stopping Face is in the midst of the battle against Tartaros."

"Are you sure about this?" Carla asked her worriedly. "You hardly look like you should be heading into a warzone."

Rachel grinned tiredly as she answered, "That's sweet of you to be concerned, but I don't have a choice right now. If I don't make it back soon, all could be lost to the depravity of Tartaros."

"Er… Who is this?" Doranbolt asked of no one in particular.

Tartaros Ruins…

Genora and Jackal were eyeing each other warily, both of them trying to gauge which one of them would be the first to make a move, when a small figure suddenly burst into the space between them. This startled both the Saiyan and the demon enough that it wasn't until a certain raven-haired girl had blasted him toward the horizon with a Double Sunday that Genora realized who had come to her aid.

"I had that," she grumbled.

"I'm going to deal with him," Rachel asserted, surprising the older girl. "Wendy healed me enough to walk, but I'm not in any condition for a drawn-out fight just yet. If you've got a senzu, I could use it." Before the blue-haired Saiyan could give a response, the younger girl added, "I also know about Gorun trying to reach Super Saiyan 4, and I need you to help him reach it. It… won't work unless you call out to him."

"Ha! Like he'll listen to me," Genora scoffed, scandalized by the notion, not to mention the kid's audacity for giving her orders. "We barely get along, and you expect me to be the one to call him back from the depths of the Oozaru's insanity?" In order for a Saiyan to regain control of their conscious self after they had been lost in the raw power of the Golden Oozaru, they needed something to jog their core memories, the times that they held closest to their hearts. So it was only natural that she found it ridiculous that anyone would expect her to be the one to bring Kaidon to his senses.

"He may not like you, but he respects you, even if he doesn't always show it," Rachel insisted. "That aside, you're an integral part of his past, a solid connection to his core memories. He will return at the sound of your voice."

Genora frowned at that, eyeing Rachel critically as she muttered, "And just who are you to know anything about that? I've had my suspicions about you ever since you came into the guild hall, and even now, neither Kaidon nor I believe that you've told us the full truth about who you are. Why should I believe anything that you say?"

"Because Fairy Tail will die if you don't," Rachel asserted, giving Genora pause. "Believe me or don't, but if you don't give me a senzu bean so that I can fight Jackal with any chances of victory and go to your cousin in the next minute, this guild's fate is sealed. And as much as you hate the fact that you were exiled here, I don't think that your hereditary pride will allow you to act in a way that sees all of your comrades dead at your feet."

Holding out her hand, but never breaking eye contact with the other Saiyan girl, Rachel asked, "What's it gonna be, Genora?" There was tense moment of silence, in which both felt uncertain about the decisions to be made that day.

Then, at long last, Genora pulled out a single bean from the little pouch and said, "You get one, because I know you were the Super Saiyan god that destroyed Face. I know that the Supreme Kai of Time and the other higher deities wouldn't allow someone to obtain the divine power that held malice in their heart, especially after what happened with Zamasu. But when Tartaros is dust beneath our feet, you will tell Kaidon and I everything that we want to know."

"I will gladly make that deal," Rachel said with a huge sigh of relief as she took the bean and ate it, grateful for the sensation of her aches and energy depletion washing away. That done, she pointed toward the source of Gorun's immense power signature and added, "Get going. He's not going to last long without you."

Genora firmed up her jaw and blasted off into the sky, leaving Rachel behind to stand guard over Lucino.

The younger girl watched just long enough to make sure that Azura was going to stay on track before she turned around to see five of Nine Demon Gates standing before her; Jackal, Keyes, Torafuzar, Tempester the Disastrous, and Silver, the master of Ice Demon Slayer Magic.

"Gentlemen," she said as she planted herself firmly between the five demons and the unconscious celestial mage. "Nice evening, isn't it?"

Jackal growled at her and snarled, "You wizards, all day today! One after the stinking other- you're like a plague!" She could tell that he really wanted to go after Azura, but since he lacked the ability to fly, he would have to go through Rachel to get her.

"You have no one to fault for your situation but yourself," Torafuzar informed his comrade, much to Jackal's irritation. "You should have just killed the girl when you had the chance, but you let your sense of fun interfere with what needed to be done."

"Say that again and I'll blow you sky-high!" Jackal roared. "The others are gonna be picking you out of the walls for weeks!"

"To do that, you'd need walls in the first place," Rachel pointed out mildly, indicating the destroyed fortress.

Silver laughed smoothly, his eyes sparking with genuine humor. "This kid's got spunk," he grinned. "Not too many people that'd be able to keep so composed in the presence of five Gates."

"She's full of nothing but bravado," Keyes asserted, sounding bored. "Let us be rid of her so that we may hunt down the rest of these pests. For some reason, the Alegria curse seems to have lost its power, and now we're back to square one in the extermination of these humans."

"I'd say that we're more like a bad habit than an infestation," Rachel quipped. "Just when you think we're gone, we come back more stubborn than before."

"Then I guess we'll have to consider this an intervention," Silver said, stepping forth and unleashing a subzero blast of ice at the girl, intent on killing her as quickly and painlessly as possible- after all, he didn't like fighting girls in the first place, and he'd hate to see what would happen if one of the others got to her first.

"Yes," Rachel nodded right before she was buried in the ice. Silver's victory was short-lived, though, because the girl blasted out of the rose-colored ice amid a raging aura of fire that emitted no trace of detectable magic power, her eyes and hair having turned bright red. "We'll call this a divine intervention."

A wave of her hand saw explosions lighting up beneath the feet of the Demon Gates, their enhanced reflexes just saving them from her magic. Before any of them could unleash a counterattack, they found themselves besieged by another barrage of magic. Ice, water, dragon iron, and fire all blasted at the dark forces, the latter two elements actually doing more damage than the demons had expected.

"Yo, sorry it took us so long to get here," Natsu grinned as he and Gray stood abreast to face down their opponents. "We were lookin' for Lucino, and I caught her scent. Didn't expect to find these guys, too."

"Late help is better than no help," Rachel replied, unmoving from her position about twenty feet up in the air. "Good to see all of you."

Gray looked like he wanted to say something, but his eyebrows were drawn downward, and the orbs beneath them were focused solely on Silver, who seemed equally intrigued by the boy's presence.

"Hey Salamander, didn't you say that you already torched that guy?" Gajeel asked as he and Juvia took combat stances. "Looks like you're blowin' nothing but smoke."

"Shaddup!" Natsu scowled at his guild mate. "Now that I've beat him once, I can do it again in half the time! I'll bet that I can even beat two for every one that you knock out!"

"Is that right?" Gajeel grinned toothily. "Those are some fightin' words, Salamander. "Let's see you back 'em up. Hrah!" Black iron scales covered his body as he tapped into the dragon force, intent on ending the demons before they could really get started.

"My pleasure," Natsu grinned, red scales covering his arms, cheeks, and brow as he answered his rival's challenge. "Get ready, Tartaros! Cos I've got a major fire in my belly!"

A laser blast shot through Keyes, but he merely regenerated his wispy body as he craned his neck to see a young woman with purple hair standing on top of a pile of rubble opposite to the side of where Rachel was floating. A red aura surrounded this one, too, but the demons could still feel her magical presence. And yet…

It seems as though fate has intended for more than one reunion this night, the necromancer thought, deeply intrigued. Father will be pitted against son, while child and-

Ka-BOOM!

The demons all went flying away from each other after a massive blue ball of fire and etherion exploded in their midst. Silver disappeared amid the smoke and rubble, and the Fairy Tail mages quickly realized that Gray was missing from their number. As the dust settled and the Gates of Tartaros picked themselves up, a new voice shouted, "All right, hell spawn freaks! Which one of you wants to throw down with Fairy Tail's newest Saiyan wizard?!"

This was when both parties were supremely surprised to see Cana approaching from the same direction as Natsu and the others, Romeo and Sorano keeping back as to avoid the raw energy pulsating from her body. Apparently Gorun's lachryma had taken full effect in her body, and while she was no Super Saiyan just yet, it was clear to all those present that she was a force equivalent to the likes of Jura Neekis.

With a confident grin and a dangerous light in her violet eyes, Gildarts' daughter held up a trio of tarot cards and said, "I'm gonna enjoy this a lot more than I probably should."

Begin Song: You Say Run (by Yuki Hayashi)

"Begone, primitive beast," Mard Geer muttered as he watched his vines continuing to strangle the stubborn monster that had profaned his home, despite its violent protests. He was lasting longer than the demon had expected, but he sensed that it wouldn't be long now before the spark of life would finally depart from this destructive interloper.

An explosion took him by surprise, hurling him several yards away from where he had remained planted since ensnaring his enemy. Who dares to interfere with the will of the Underworld King? He thought as he picked himself up off the ground, his tome still in hand, and his curse unbroken.

"Seriously?!" A woman's voice rang out over the ruins of the fortress, causing Mard Geer to look back and see a female wizard with cool blue hair standing atop the remnants of a support column, her gaze fixed on the giant monkey behind him. She looked angry, but not at him, Mard thought. No, she seemed quite livid with the brutish monster currently struggling for his life against the Underworld King. His thoughts were confirmed when she screamed, "What the hell is going on with this lack of self-control, Kaidon?!"

The giant Oozaru continued to thrash against the bindings that were choking him, but his eyes did seem to be drawn toward the girl, even as Mard Geer took stock of this newcomer. He recognized her as the one that had been fighting Torafuzar and Jackal, and his eyes narrowed in irritation as he brushed the dirt out of his clothes that she had put there with her sneak attack.

Genora could feel her entire body trembling with rage as she gazed upon the sight of her cousin at the mercy of a mere demon, all because of his overconfidence. She had always thought that his hubris would be his undoing one day, but actually witnessing it was enough to make her want to vomit. Shouting so loud that spittle flew from her mouth, she screamed, "Damn it all, Kaidon! I did everything that I possibly could to surpass you! I worked so much harder than you did, and it still wasn't enough! The more I trained, the more I fell behind, and you never even gave it a second thought! And the whole time, my anger at you could only fester and grow!"

Memories flashed through Genora's mind, quicker than lightning- days spent training with Kaidon and Vegeta, the two of them encouraging each other through their initial exams for the Time Patrol, the pride and happiness that she had seen in her cousin's eyes the first time that she went Super Saiyan, the years where they began to drift apart, he beginning to long for a destiny separate from the Time Patrol despite having the favor of the Supreme Kai of Time, and she spending her every waking hour in an attempt to show their superiors that she was just as valuable as he, to no apparent avail. She recalled the day that she had first tried to fight him in a true battle, and how much her Saiyan pride had been wounded when he refused to acknowledge her challenge, saying that there was no point to a fight between the two of them. She remembered the rage that she had felt upon learning that he had run away from the Patrol, turned his back on his life and those that were a part of it, all to pursue a mere dream. Last to come to the forefront of her mind was the memory of the two of them joining forces with Fairy Tail- the new family that Kaidon had found in this world- in order to fight side-by-side once more against the Immortal Phoenix.

I could never have accomplished all that he has on his own, she thought as she drew in a deep breath to call out to whatever part of her cousin still existed within the Golden Oozaru. Then, from the depths of her soul, she did call out, "Stand up, Gorun, and show him why you're BETTER!"

Gorun felt as though he were wading in a sea of light, aware of nothing but the golden energy encompassing his very existence. Sound did not register, his skin avoided the sensation of contact, and memories no longer meant anything to him. He wanted for nothing, and nothing wanted him. For all he cared, his very existence might have just been a dream, a fleeting fantasy of Zeno's- inconsequential and insubstantial. He should have been perfectly content- yet something did not feel right.

Something was tugging on his spirit- something from a time where he had been burdened with cares and desires. He was tempted to simply let it fade away from his dim awareness, but he felt that for some reason, he would not be content unless he made sense of it.

"…I possibly could to surpass you!"

It was a voice, and a familiar one at that.

Where do I know that voice from?

"The more I trained, the more…!"

The voice was getting louder, and the stirrings of the memories associated with it grew stronger. Who is that?

"…my anger at you could only fester and grow!"

Who hates me…? He wondered. Something flickered in the glow that had surrounded his consciousness. Something blue. I know that color…

Blue hair. Azure eyes. A fiery temper that fueled a hatred for him and what he had accomplished in what seemed like a thousand lifetimes ago.

Azura…

As soon as he thought of the name, more memories came flooding back to him. Days spent in the Time Patrol, growing stronger and more discontented. The day that he had come to Fairy Tail and met Kinana. Weeks spent remastering his powers, uncounted quests in the service of his guild, and the love that had grown between him and his best friend. He remembered the joy of his guild when their lost members were returned safely to them, and how they had worked together to win the Grand Magic Games and defeat the dragons that threatened the peace. And he remembered his cousin, and how despite her animosity toward him, she had joined forces with him to defeat a monster that would have reduced everything that he loved to ashes.

"Stand up, Gorun, and show him why you're BETTER!"

Gorun? He thought, the glow around him beginning to dissipate as his memories continued to return. That's me. My name is… Son Gorun. Gathering every ounce of willpower that he had, he willed the fog clouding his mind to be banished from his consciousness, so that he could do what needed to be done.

You're wrong, Azura, he thought as he began to reassert his dominance over his conscious self. I'm not better than you… I may have been born with the tail, but you are the true Saiyan here.

Mard Geer was just about to obliterate the blue-haired intruder when he sensed a change in his prey's energy. Instead of being wild and completely out of control, the raw, unbridled power began to draw in on itself, centering itself on the Golden Oozaru, which promptly began to shrink in stature. This was accompanied by a savage roar that slowly turned into a raw-throated war cry that sounded like a blend between a raging animal and a man declaring a challenge to his enemies.

Even as Mard Geer and Azura watched, the golden hair dulled and lost its luminance, changing into a deep red crimson akin to blood, while in certain places, deeply tanned skin began to show through, such as on the abdomen and pectorals. Atop the head grew wild black hair, deeper than the darkness cast by a shadow dragon. The eyes remained closed, though something akin to bright red eyeliner surrounded the skin covering the orbs. White pants with dark boots and greaves clothed the body just in time for it to reach a human size, the massive briars that had been holding it retreating into the ground at the command of their shrewd master.

When at long last the transformation was complete, Gorun opened his eyes, revealing them to be the same purple as that of the Hakai technique. The intimidating gaze was focused on Mard Geer, but it was to his cousin that he said, "You brought me back." His voice reflected his appearance, a bizarre mingling of the Oozaru and his humanoid vocals.

"Let's be real, Super Saiyan or not, Kinana would've killed me if I'd let you stay as King Kong," Azura replied, the barest hint of a grin on her face. She tossed him his scouter, which he swiftly caught and placed on his left ear once again.

"But you didn't have to save me," he replied, his tail swishing back and forth behind his back as he spoke. "Thank you, Genora."

"Thank me by killing that guy," she said as she pointed at Mard Geer, who scowled at them both. "By the way, the celestial girls did something to undo that curse that trapped all of our guild mates. They're safe, relatively speaking."

"Good," Gorun said quietly. "Now get out of here. I'm about to teach this demon a few manners."

"Fine, I got a score to settle anyway," she chuckled as she began to float upwards. "Have fun."

It was with a vicious smile that Gorun replied, "Oh, I will."

Mard Geer ignored this and pointed his fingers at Azura, who neglected to look back as he murmured, "Who do you think you are, daring to strike me without fear of retaliation? You humans will yet learn to fear my Curse of-"

Crack!

Mard Geer looked down as a hideous pain exploded from his wrist, where Gorun had suddenly appeared to crush it, one-handed, and with seemingly no effort at all. "I'm gonna enjoy breaking you, demon," he said in a low voice. With two brutally quick movements, he yanked Mard Geer forward by his ruined hand before smashing him with an axe kick that put a hole in the ground roughly the size of Kardia Cathedral.

"Now the Etherious will the bugs crushed under my boots," he said as he tossed aside the hand that he had held onto, even after the rest of the body had been torn away from it. "It's time for this world to learn who the ultimate life-forms really are."

Mataras: So? What'd you guys think?

Gorun: You turned me into a monster!

Azura: That's actually probably the best thing he's done to you since this story began.

Gorun: Hey!

Azura: Much as I wish it were me embodying the essence of the Saiyan's might, I imagine that our resident writer has other plans for me.

Saiki: If the restored cover art is anything to go by, I imagine that it's safe to assume that you will be travelling further down the route of Saiyan divinity.

Azura: The real question is, how far will I go? Ultra In-

Mataras: No.

Gorun: You said that rather quickly.

Mataras: Ultra Instinct is not on the table for either of you, let me just lay that out right now.

Azura: And why not?!

Mataras: Neither of you are truly instinctual fighters. You may have been born talented, but you've had to work hard to develop those powers. Such warriors can't hope to attain Ultra Instinct, as seen by Vegeta.

Gorun: Then what about Super Saiyan Blue Evolution?

Mataras: First off, that name is almost as ridiculous as Super Saiyan god Super Saiyan. Second, I prefer the title 'Super Saiyan Sapphire. Third, I'm not handing out spoilers.

Saiki: You literally have a preview section right below this.

Mataras: Huh. Yeah, I guess that's right.

Azura: Next time- Destroyers

Gorun: Wait, what?! Destroyers?! Plural?! Is Beerus coming back again?!

Mataras: Get ready for the longest chapter I've ever written, people! It's gonna be a doozy, and it's coming out in just a couple of weeks! Don't miss it.

Next time on Saiyan Tail...

"You're the runt that ruined my guild," the man rumbled as he took a heavy step toward Gorun. "My guild was the mightiest that had ever walked Fiore, until you and your friends filled their heads with fantasies about love and camaraderie, as if that made your path the right one to walk. Even worse, your rhetoric was mired in hypocrisy! You stand alone now, and you are stronger than I have ever expected you to be. So now you will pay for ruining the name of Sabertooth!"

"Ha! Like father like daughter," Gorun laughed at him. "Both so confident in their strength- both so stupid to believe that they actually possessed the ultimate power."

"I am power, boy," Jiemma growled menacingly. "And once I'm done snapping you like the toothpick you are, I'm going to make sure that Tartaros recognizes me as its proper master."

"Hmm," Mard Geer laughed softly. "I see that attitude of his still needs adjusting." Shrugging to himself, he added, "No matter. I can tend to that after we've dealt with you."

"So it's to be two on one, is it?" Gorun asked as he took a ready stance, his scouter beeping as it alerted him to a massive power level coming in hot. "I've gotta say, these are pretty bad odds."

"Yeah," a familiar voice said as a tall figure bounded into view. "They don't stand a chance."