Chapter 14: The Final Battle Part 1

Lucy Heart and Natsu's walk to the throne room was silent save for the sound of their footsteps in the snow. Nighttime was coming fast, and Lucy couldn't believe how quickly the day had come and gone. With the warmth of the sun gone, she could see her own breath as the cold became even colder.

This morning, all she could think about was the trial. She had felt somewhat guilty for getting mages from another world involved in their problems, but that guilt had only grown heavier as she was risking their lives for her selfish desire to save everyone. She wasn't sure how King Igneel would react to her impromptu plan. She was instructed to protect Natsu at all costs, including leaving his father behind. It wasn't her place to go and save the King, but how could she leave him to face the wrath of Ur alone?

It's not that she didn't trust his strength or her fellow members of the Court. But with the convenient arrival of her and Natsu's doppelgangers, she could do it all at the cost of their safety. They had been willing to help, but it hadn't been right.

What was waiting for them at the throne room? Lucy could only hope that King Igneel had escaped.

She glanced at Natsu Dragneel, wondering what could be going on in his head. He looked… nervous? Actually, she wasn't sure. He was hard to read, being so unlike the Natsu she knew.

After dwelling on her guilt, she opened her mouth to apologize before sensing Meredy in her mind trying to open a connection. She allowed her to set up a Link and pressed two fingers into her temple to diminish the strength of the oncoming headache.

"I spoke with Erza. She defeated Lyon and is on her way to the throne room."

She smiled at the news. Erza had won! Of course, that stubborn woman wouldn't lose to Lyon of all people. Meredy continued with her status report, describing the state of the rest of Magnolia. She whispered the news of Erza's victory to the fire mage beside her, and he nodded, content.

"Excuse me Meredy, I understand that everything is going well for everyone else, especially with the evacuation effort. But what of the Prince and Lucy?"

A beat of silence. Natsu perked up at the mention of Lucy.

"...That's what I was worried about."

"What is it?"

"According to Erza, the Prince and your doppelganger were taken captive by Princess Ultear. She couldn't save them in time as she was preoccupied with Lyon and her injury."

Lucy's hand dropped in shock and she let out a soft gasp. Natsu stopped walking when he saw she had fallen behind.

"What do you mean injury?" She struggled to stay calm. Of course without even knowing all the details she wanted to run and find Ultear herself. But with the throne room (and possibly Ur) so close, she couldn't turn back now.

"Lyon burned off one of Erza's wings. She said she was able to alleviate some of the pain by, well, tapping into the energy from the tree she's bound to, but it's gone. She, she can't…" Even Meredy was pained to say it. A spirit of nature now broken. She could only hope that the dryad's wing could be restored by magic or other means.

"I got it. Tell me more about this, er, situation with Ultear."

Looking at Natsu trying to hide his worry, she wished she could open her Link to him. He must desperately want to hear about his partner. Of course, it was Meredy's magic, not her own.

Oh. Wait.

"Meredy, wait. Could you open this Link with someone else?" It wasn't done very often, but this was a special case.

Natsu gestured to himself and she nodded. Once Meredy agreed, Natsu had no trouble joining the Link.

"That's amazing, how does your head not hurt?" She couldn't help but ask. Meredy's magic strongly connected people's senses with one another, a sensation that would leave her head throbbing for days if she didn't pressure her temple. Especially in this three way connection, she pressed on her temple harder as she had to deal with the thoughts of a third party.

"Back home we have a telepathy mage called Warren. I'm used to it."

"I suppose my magic is sort of like telepathy, but rather than simply projecting messages I can link my senses with the other per-"

"Yeah yeah, got it. What about Lucy? And Prince Me? What happened to them?"

"They were taken by Princess Ultear. We have no idea where they could be, or how they are."

As Meredy further explained what Erza had said and how dangerous Ultear was to Natsu, both she and Natsu had unconsciously picked up the pace again, walking briskly. The weight of her armor had escaped her mind as she could only think of the Prince in danger. She knew that if cornered, especially if something happened to the other Lucy, he would turn to self-sacrifice and use all his power to save her. What if he couldn't handle it?

The conversation had faded to the background as her worries took over, but a hand on her shoulder brought her back to reality.

"Don't worry, Lucy is strong. I believe in her." Natsu smiled.

"It's not so much her I'm worried about…"

"You shouldn't worry about him either. Like I said, you have to believe in him."

"But he's not you!" She snapped. "You're a mage without any limitations, but he was born with them! He can't do anything about it! You don't know what that's like for him, or for me neither!"

For years she watched the prince beat himself up over his weakness, always praising her strength and simultaneously diminishing his own. As his friend - as someone who loved him, that was hard. Magic deficiency was not a thing that could ever go away, it was something he had to learn how to deal with. He had never quite reached that level, but here was his lookalike pretending to know him, and acting like it's not a big deal! Natsu wasn't there all those times the prince was training, or the times he almost passed out from it, and definitely not when he cried as he admitted to her that he thought he could never be a great king so weak as he was.

Suddenly serious, he crossed his arms and faced her. "I have faith in Lucy's strength. That doesn't mean I don't worry, because of course I do! You still have to believe in your friends no matter what! Even if they're on the ground and soaked in blood, you believe in them! Even if their wing is broken, or their spirit is broken. You need to believe in them especially when they don't believe in themselves. You can be his strength."

Shocked into silence, she continued listening to Meredy continuing to explain the details of Ultear's space perception manipulation. Believing in someone because they don't believe in themselves… she was embarrassed to say she never thought of it like that. Had she been contributing to Natsu's self deprecation all this time by her compliance? It was true that she never refuted him calling himself weak. Not on purpose, but she often supported it by constantly warning him about overexerting himself. She warned him because she cared, but it was really just a constant reminder of his limits.

How could she be so stupid?

She took a deep breath, refusing to think about "what ifs" any longer.

"Please don't do this." A masculine voice she didn't recognize spoke up ahead. She and Natsu ducked behind a carriage that had been knocked over and listened.

"Is this a trick? Do you-" The second voice dropped low, and she couldn't make out the words anymore. But that voice could only belong to one.

"End the Link, Meredy. I think we just found Erza." She whispered. She had a hand on the hilt of her sword in case Erza needed back up.

"It's not a trick. I'm on your side."

Natsu stood up. "Gray!" He called.

Lucy froze in shock. Gray? She stood up next and was met with the sight of Erza holding a blade to his throat as, lo and behold, Prince Gray held his hands up in surrender. He looked to where the voice had come from.

"Natsu?!"

Erza saw her next. "Lucy!"

"Erza?" She shook her head. A moment earlier, the prince had admitted to being on their side. She remembered his kindness and was always grateful for his help with her escape, but could he really be trusted at this point? That was so many years ago, when his innocence might have yet to be corrupted by Ur, but this is now. In war, it's not smart to trust your enemies right away.

They walked over to where Erza who, as suspected was in human form, was scowling at Gray. She didn't ease her grip.

"I see now. You must be the twin." Gray said to Natsu.

"I'm no twin. I'm the one and only me!" Natsu said.

"Not in Wonderland, you're not."

"Do you want to fight me, ice-prick?" The insult was automatic for him, but Lucy had no idea where it came from. He did know Prince Gray used fire magic, right?

"Excuse me?"

"Enough!" Erza snapped. "Lucy, he says he is our ally and he has been searching for you. Of course I was suspicious, especially when he said you'd accept his help."

She looked into Gray's eyes for the first time in years. The dark, storm colored eyes brought her back to a time when she lived only in fear of what Ur might do to her. A time when happiness was always out of reach. She shuddered for a moment and pulled herself out of the memory of the little servant girl, sniffling in the arms of the kitchen staff.

In his eyes she tried to see if he was genuine. Had his mother gotten to him, or had he been strong enough to withstand her?

"I already accepted your help once, long ago." She tested. In his smile she found the answer she was looking for.

"He was the one who helped me escape from the Kingdom of Hearts."

Erza finally loosened her grip and Gray took a deep breath when the sword was no longer threatening to slice his neck.

"That's true, but I didn't do it alone. I had help from someone else."

"Who?"

"Jellal. Does the name mean anything to you?"

It didn't. And at the same time, it did. Jellal, her mysterious long lost brother she didn't know about until last night. There were many gaps in her childhood memories, but since Lucy's spirit told her about him, she remembered those moments perfectly. She always thought she was alone, but Jellal was out there and she longed to meet her family. Still, it was like watching someone else, like Lucy from Earthland, in those memories playing and training together. That little girl was not her.

"My brother, Jellal."

Gray raised an eyebrow, but seemed pleased that she knew. "When did you find out? I thought, well, we both thought you didn't know?"

"I didn't until this morning. One of Lucy's Celestial Spirits told me. Er, the Spirits are part of her magic." She clarified. There wasn't really anyone with summoning magic like that on Wonderland.

He simply nodded and addressed the group, finally free to move around as Erza let him go.

"Listen, there's not much time. I was meant to be with Lyon and 'stay out of trouble' but I left as soon as Erza found him. I was also the one who planted the Flame Sword for you."

"That was you? How did you know I was coming?"

"I didn't know it would be you, although I'm glad it was. I assumed that one of the members of the Court would find him, so I left the enchanted weapon we use to train our fire magic there for them."

He took a shaky breath and composed himself. "I met Jellal at a very young age and learned of Ur's plans. Him and I have been planning this for a very long time, and tonight we might finally defeat her. If you know about Jellal, I'm assuming you also know about who you really are?"

"Somewhat. Somehow Ur usurped my mother and father and erased my memory of my family. She also locked up Jellal, which I'm unsure of why."

Gray nodded. "All of us were very young when it happened, so we can't figure out how she, she… Well, you know. But she did lock Jellal up because she needed him. The original Heart family had the power to summon an artifact known as the Scepter of Light. We don't know what it does, but only a Heart can summon it. Jellal can't do it on his own, so Ur ended up keeping him alive with the plan to capture you, combine your magic, and use the scepter's power for herself."

"I remember something like that. Something about an artifact. Loke talked about it." Natsu said. All eyes turned to him expectantly.

"What? I don't remember much. I was trying not to die in that carriage." He turned pale at the memory and Lucy rolled her eyes.

"Do you have a plan?" Erza asked.

"Yes. Ur has Jellal in a cage, with the key in her coat pocket. If she apprehended the King indoors, she would take off her coat. We can get to the key and defeat her altogether. However-"

"Oh boy." She sighed.

"We'll have to get through some knights of the Lamia Court first, who are acting as her bodyguards. They would've gone with Lyon, but he said he could handle himself." Gray smirked. "Arrogant jerk got what was coming to him. At any rate, there's three - Yuka, Toby, and Sherry."

Natsu punched his hand. "We'll be fine."

"I hope so. Get through them, then we can save Jellal. If you'll accept my help once again."

Lucy remembered Cana's words, telling her to combine celestial magic… now she understood. Cana meant to tell her to join Jellal and summon the Scepter of Light. With it, they could defeat the false queen. It wasn't an easy task, and Gray has already proven himself to be an ally.

"Of course I will."

"After speaking to Jellal and learning about what Ur did... I felt guilt, Lucy. Tonight, I'll set things right. For everyone's sake.

Lucy and Prince Natsu found themselves hopped up on adrenaline and ready to fight. Especially Natsu, who had set a new limit for himself in the fight with Ultear. They arrived at the throne room's door.

The doors slid open like they were made of ice, and Lucy's jaw dropped at the sight of the interior. This truly was the Diamond Palace, as the whole room seemed to sparkle. It wasn't really made of ice or diamonds as she might have imagined, but the silky fabrics and smooth flooring in various shades of blue made her think it was.

The actual throne was at the very end of the impossibly long room, but high above them on a platform accessible by a winding staircase. Something was draped on the throne, it looked like a coat but she wasn't sure. Lucy looked up at the skylight, but the high ceilings made her dizzy. The darkness of night was starting to set in, and she couldn't see too well.

She could see the Prince's eyes shifting nervously, as there seemed to be nobody in the room. Had everyone been wrong about where the King was all along?

Candles lined the sides of the dark carpet which set a path from the door to the stairs and up to the throne. One by one the candles lit on their own, which shocked Lucy into grabbing the prince by the sleeve and hiding behind a pillar.

"Relax, they have a spell that activates their light in the dark-" The prince closed his mouth when he heard the door creaking open on the left. One of the side entrances, Lucy figured. A rider wearing the Hearts emblem entered the room frantically, dashing up the stairs and into a room to the right of the empty throne. She hadn't seen it before, but the door was open. It was hard to make out what was being said from so far away, but she caught a lot in the silence.

"-and Ultear both defeated by Fairy Tail."

"-Incompetent- Gray?"

"-whereabouts unknown. Please-"

The following thud startled Lucy, and even the prince jumped. After a moment, Queen Ur herself stomped out of the room.

Of course, Lucy had never known the Ur on Earthland. But by her aura, she knew that they were nothing alike, because Wonderland's Ur was pure evil. Slightly taller than average, pale, and dark hair. Still, there was something about the way she carried herself, the way she spoke and walked that made her shiver. This ordinary looking woman had been responsible for so much death and destruction. She thought about the queen holding the knife to Jellal's throat in that memory. And the pure contempt in Lucy Heart and Erza's voice when they spoke about her. Looks were deceiving.

Ur cursed to herself and disappeared into some other room at the left of the throne. At that moment, the main door they had used to get in opened. She placed her hands on her keys as she turned to look, but made eye contact with Natsu instead. As in Natsu Dragneel, her partner. She grinned at the familiar face, and the quartet rushed to meet them, also ducking and trying to hide behind the pillars as much as possible.

"I told you they'd be alright." Natsu said.

"I may have underestimated the both of you." Lucy Heart said, donning her golden armor. Lucy never wore armor herself, but it did look pretty good on her. The knight hugged the prince tightly and sighed. The prince hugged her back. Even Natsu was caught up in their emotional reunion and pulled her into him with an arm around her shoulders. Lucy blushed, but focused her attention to the new member of their party standing next to Erza.

"This is weird. I mean, when I heard there were doppelgangers this is what I expected, but it's also just weird." Gray said.

"Tell me about it." Erza said.

"Now that we're grouped up, let's find King Igneel. Ur doesn't seem to be here."

The group of six made their way up the stairs and Lucy could now see into the mysterious room Ur had left earlier. It turned out to not be a room on its own, but a short hallway leading to a large viewing room.

In the hallway was a knocked over stand, with candles dripping wax on the ground. The messenger from earlier was out cold on the floor, a big bump on his head. Lucy winced, now knowing the cause of the sound from earlier.

"Ur was here just now, but left." She alerted the rest of the group to what they saw.

"We'll have to hurry then." Lucy Heart said.

The room was full of large windows, tall bookshelves, and a fireplace at the the accent stone wall. Behind the seating, a body was slumped over the table.

"Father!"

"Your Majesty!" The knights called in unison.

Prince Natsu ran over to his father and pushed Igneel so he was facing up.

"He's human." Natsu Dragneel said, amazed.

He was indeed a man. But if Lucy had to imagine Igneel as human, this is exactly what she expected him to look like. The unconscious man had a thick beard and dark red hair like Igneel's scales, and he looked old and wise, with a stern face and wrinkles. But his tattered cloak was stained with blood. When the prince noticed, tears welled up in his eyes.

"Father?"

There was no response.

Everyone froze, the only sound being the soft sobs of his son who tightly clutched his father's cloak. Lucy looked to her Natsu. He was frowning, and Lucy grabbed his hand. He squeezed it so tight that it hurt, but she thought that he needed it so she bit her lip and endured.

Then Igneel stirred. He slowly lifted his hand to his son's cheek, who stared at him in shock.

"Don't cry Natsu."

"What happened to you?"

The king pushed aside his cloak and showed off the ripped shirt underneath. There were deep gashes in his skin, with a mysterious bubbling green liquid dripping from the wound. Erza broke the tense silence and moved toward the king, lightly pushing Natsu aside. She ripped her own clothes and dipped it in the cup of water on the table. She tried to clean the the wound, careful not to let the poison touch her skin.

"Erza…" King Igneel groaned in pain.

"I will not stand here and do nothing! You can't expect me to let you die on us!"

"Do you like what we did to him? I thought his clothes needed a pop of color." A high pitched female voice said.

Three knights had entered the King's private room. They were… Lamia Scale? Or the Wonderland equivalent she supposed.

"Ugh, they're here." Gray said.

"Prince Gray? You traitorous bas-" Yuka said, narrowing his eyes and emphasizing his ridiculous eyebrows.

"I got it." He interrupted. "Shall we do this?"

Erza, Lucy, and the prince were occupied with the king on the verge of death a few feet away, so the remaining three took it upon themselves to deal with Ur's knights. Both Gray and Natsu ignited their hands, but found themselves blocked by a blue shield.

"Damn you Yuka." Gray grit his teeth as his fist met the shield of anti-magic.

"I never liked you."

Just like that, Lucy found herself in a standoff with Sherry again as Toby slashed at the prince and Natsu, who found themselves stuck. They couldn't touch either of them, as both the anti magic and poison claws prevented it. She wasn't too worried about it, because she knew Natsu had defeated the both of them before.

What she was worried about was having to face the giant rat again. She almost laughed at the memory, wondering how a giant rat would even fit in the room. On a serious note, she might find herself stuck as well, as she wouldn't be able to summon spirits lest Sherry control them.

"How's Angelica?" She asked.

"She's great! In fact, she can't wait to meet you." Sherry cackled.

Lucy covered her face with her arms as something shattered the windows, showering the room in glass.

Wow this ended up a lot longer than I thought haha. I originally wanted to end at 15 chapters, with 15 being the epilogue but it'll probably end at 16, with 16 being the epilogue instead. We'll see.

I did have a trend of changing everyone's magic for their Wonderland versions, but for Lamia Scale (or the Lamia Court rather) their magic is essentially the same.