Time for the battle against Laxus! While I plan to have it as a three-on-one battle consisting of the slayers, I don't intend to take the glory away from Natsu or Gajeel. I already know that's something to watch out for with OC stories following closely to the canon story. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
As the Battle for Fairy Tail progressed, Zale quietly remained in a different alley to recover some of the magic power he used to set up the trap for Evergreen.
"Hopefully, Erza's already on her way to fight Laxus." Zale said to himself.
Something in the sky then caught his attention and he looked up to see hundreds of spheres with lightning bolts inside floating above the town.
"No way!" Zale gasped. "Laxus can't be that desperate, can he?! If that thing goes off, it could wipe out the whole town! Either Laxus has to be defeated or those things have to be taken out."
One of the spheres suddenly exploded and Zale could see a bolt of lightning strike back in the direction of the guild hall.
"Dammit!" Zale said, gritting his teeth. "And he cast Body Link Magic on it, too! There's a chance Erza won't be able to defeat Laxus, even on her own. I'd better go help her. But the question is: Where is he?"
As Zale ran off, he began thinking to himself.
*I think I have an idea.* Zale thought.
A few minutes later as Zale continued running, a series of runes appeared in front of him.
"Looks like Lucy managed to defeat Bickslow." Zale muttered to himself so the townspeople couldn't hear. "She's a lot stronger than she looks."
Another update took its place.
"'Cana vs Juvia: Battle commencing'." He read aloud.
Almost as quickly as the update came, another sphere from Thunder Palace exploded and an electrical shock appeared in its place. He quickly turned back to the update screen to see that there was a new one.
"'Juvia… forfeits'?"
Something in Zale then snapped and he clenched his fists furiously before continuing to make his way to Laxus.
*Damn you, Laxus!* Zale thought. *Damn you!*
Another few minutes had passed and Zale was still running until the sound of a large explosion came from Kardia Cathedral.
*The Cathedral!* Zale thought. *I knew it! I remember seeing Laxus come here all the time years ago, so it makes sense that he would hide there.*
Zale continued running until he arrived at Kardia Cathedral, where he saw that Natsu and Erza had also arrived during the middle of a fight between Laxus and Mystogan.
"Natsu, you managed to get out?" Zale asked.
"Zale?" Natsu asked, turning around to see him.
"You're wide open!" Laxus's voice said.
Zale looked up to see Laxus fire a shot of lightning toward them, but it wasn't aimed at him, Natsu or Erza. The bolt blasted Mystogan right in the face and his bandana blew up. As the smoke cleared, they could make out Mystogan's face, which Erza instantly recognized.
"Jellal!" Erza gasped.
"It's you!" Natsu shouted.
"Uh, I'm a little in the dark here?" Zaled asked with a deadpan expression and raised his hand.
"You're alive…" Erza muttered as she started to tear up.
"So you know him?" Laxus asked.
"Wh-what's going on?!" Natsu exclaimed. "Mystogan is Jellal?!"
"Erza…" Mystogan said. "You're the one person… I didn't want to show my face to." The way he said it didn't sound insulting, but melancholy. "I'm not Jellal, but I know of him."
"I'm sorry. I leave the rest to you." Mystogan said before he disappeared.
"Hey!" Natsu shouted to no avail. "Grr, I don't get this! But never mind that! Laxus, you and me right here! Erza, Zale, you're okay with me taking him on, right?"
Erza didn't respond at all, still in shock from the reveal of Mystogan's identity.
"Erza!" Natsu shouted.
Erza started screaming as she was being shocked by Laxus's attack.
"That face looks ugly on you." Laxus said. "Let me fix that!"
Erza was sent rolling across the ground as Natsu started shouting again.
"Laxus!" Natsu said. "I told you I was gonna fight you, you jerk!"
"Huh?" Laxus asked, casually looking back at Natsu. "When did you get here, Natsu?"
Natsu felt humiliated by Laxus's insult, but then charged toward him and ignited his right arm in fire.
"Let's have at it, Laxus!" Natsu said.
"There's no way you can beat Laxus on your own, Natsu!" Zale said as he charged alongside him with black water forming around his arms.
"You're both really starting to annoy me." Laxus said with a bored look on his face.
Laxus tried to shoot a bolt of lightning at them, but Natsu jumped and Zale slid to the side and they both avoided the attack.
"Fire Dragon Talon!" Natsu set his leg on fire and kicked Laxus.
However, Laxus blocked the attack with his arm and Zale tried to use this opportunity to strike.
"Water God Hunter!"
The black water around Zale's hands formed into claws that he tried to swing at Laxus, but Laxus pushed Natsu away and delivered a well-timed kick to Zale in the chin. Laxus turned his attention back to Natsu and kicked him with an electrified foot. He grabbed Natsu by his forearm and started repeatedly punching him in the face with electric punches. However, Natsu started to grip Laxus's forearm and started punching him with flaming fists. The two continued their back and forth punches until Laxus pulled Natsu, forced him to the ground and was about to hit him with another static punch, but Natsu swung his burning foot around to sweep Laxus, but he jumped and stomped on Natsu with an electrified foot, following up with an electric uppercut.
"Water God Bellow!"
Laxus turned to see a torrent of black water being shot at him, but with a charged fist he parted the blast.
*This is going to be a lot tougher than I thought.* Zale thought.
As Natsu was recovering from the blowback of the uppercut, Erza vaulted over him and knocked his face to the ground as she requipped into her Black Winged Armor and swung at Laxus with her sword, which he dodged easily.
"Laxus, what are those things floating in the sky?" Erza asked.
"That would be my Thunder Palace." Laxus answered. "You've heard of it, right?"
"You're dragging the townspeople into this, too?" Erza questioned.
"It's the new rule." Laxus said. "Even though it pains me to do it."
"You bastard!" Erza screamed.
She tried to kick Laxus, but Laxus grabbed her foot.
"There's only two minutes left." Laxus said.
"Natsu, Zale, go and destroy those lacrima!" Erza ordered.
"I can't!" Natsu replied. "Even if I tried, they'd zap me!"
*So he knows about the Body Link, too.* Zale thought.
Laxus lifted Erza upward, but she cartwheeled back and requipped into a new armor.
"Lightning Empress Armor?" Laxus questioned. "You think you can reduce the damage of my attacks with that?"
"What's the deal, Erza?!" Natsu asked. "I told you I'm the one who's gonna defeat Laxus!"
Erza looked back at Natsu and the two looked at each other for a moment.
"Then I trust you to take care of this." Erza said with a smile and ran off into town.
"H-hey!" Natsu shouted. "Where are you going?!"
"You aren't going to try and destroy Thunder Palace, are you?!" Zale asked.
"Can't be done!" Laxus laughed. "Just take out one of those things and they zap you right back! Right now there are like three hundred of them up there! You're out of time!"
"Not if I destroy them all at once." Erza said confidently.
"Even if you could, there's no way you'd survive!" Laxus continued laughing.
"Perhaps not, but at least the town would be safe." Erza said. "Natsu, Zale, I leave Laxus to you!"
"Wait, why him, too?!" Natsu questioned.
"You know, that could be taken as an insult!" Zale retorted.
"And I can trust you, right Erza?" Natsu asked. "I ain't talkin' about what can or can't be done! I'm talking about trustin' you to stay alive!"
While Zale wondered what Natsu was talking about, Laxus came running after Erza.
"I won't let you-" Laxus was about to say.
"Fire Dragon…"
"Water God…"
"ROAR!"
"BELLOW!"
Both Natsu and Zale shot their breath attacks at Laxus and stopped him in his tracks.
"I'm going to be the one to take you down, Laxus!" Natsu said. "Zale can help out."
"You really think highly of me, don't you?" Zale sarcastically asked.
"You punks…" Laxus growled.
Natsu and Zale charged at Laxus again.
"Even you two have to realize just how far this guild's fallen!" Laxus said as he fired a ball of electricity at the two younger mages. "I'm going to change it for the better! But to do that, I need to become the master!" He looked at the timer for the Thunder Palace, which would activate in a minute and a half. "What are you waiting for, old man?! Don't you care about the town?!"
"Just stop it, Laxus!" Natsu said. "Nothing's going to happen!"
"What was that?" Laxus asked.
"You've got nothing to gain by breaking the town to pieces." Natsu said. "But now you can't back out, can you?"
That comment seemed to really piss off Laxus.
"But Erza's going to stop it." Zale said. "If there's one thing I can definitely say about this guild, it'd be that we have a knack for coming out on top even when the odds are stacked against us. It must be hard being as pig-headed as you."
"You know nothing, you brats!" Laxus shouted and charged a ball of electricity in his hand.
He threw the ball at them, but they both jumped out of the way and Laxus took another glance at the timer to see it was down to forty-five seconds. While he was distracted, Natsu came in and kicked him in the face while Zale came from behind and elbowed him in the spine.
"Nothin's gonna happen!" Natsu shouted.
"Shut up…" Laxus growled.
However, the sound of numerous explosions came from outside and the runes next to Laxus read 'Thunder Palace: Suspended'. While Laxus was in shock, Natsu and Zale smirked.
"See?" Zale asked.
"Where's this guild you think needs change?" Natsu questioned. "All of these people are in the same circle of buddies. How's a guy who doesn't show any interest in that circle supposed to become Master?"
Laxus started trembling in rage and his body was beginning to generate tremendous amounts of electricity.
"By taking control!" Laxus growled.
"Just stop it, Laxus!" Natsu said. "You're never going to control Fairy Tail now!"
"I should have done this before…" Laxus said. "I don't need to rely on strategy… My power if all I need! Power is my identity! IT'S WHO I AM!"
"Power and strategy are both needed in battle!" Zale said.
"So if I break that power down, you can finally give up!" Natsu shouted as he leapt at Laxus with his fist on fire. "Fire Dragon Iron Fist!"
"Water God Gauntlet!" Zale ran at Laxus with his right fist surrounded in black water.
Laxus caught both punches with his bare hands and smirked. "You two are first. Heheheh…"
An electric pulse sent them both flying backwards.
"Come and get me, Fairy Tail!" Laxus said. "And when I win, I'll do with you all as I like!"
While Natsu and Zale were both skidding across the ground, Laxus grabbed Natsu and threw him at Zale. Just as Zale was about to regain his balance and recover, Natsu crashed into him and Laxus charged at them and delivered a powerful strike with his knee that managed to hurt both of them. Laxus followed up by punching Natsu and then kicking Zale, both in the face. Natsu landed on one of the pillars holding up the second floor while Zale landed at the bottom of that same pillar. Laxus swung his arm and a wave of lightning crashed right into the two young mages. Natsu and Zale managed to stand up, though they clearly looked like they took a serious beating.
"H-he's good…" Natsu said. "But we knew that…"
"I wouldn't even say that." Zale said. "I'd say he's more of a beast."
Laxus began charging power into his left fist, which he raised into the air and the sound of thunder could be heard.
"That roar you hear is the call of lightning to the Earth." Laxus said.
"Crap, not this attack!" Zale said.
"It'll fall from the heavens and turn you to ashes." Laxus said.
Natsu and Zale tried to move, but they took too much damage and they weren't able to.
"Raging Bolt!"
A massive bolt of lightning struck where Natsu and Zale were, resulting in a large explosion of electricity. When the dust settled, there was no trace left of either of them.
"Heheheh…" Laxus started laughing. "AHAHAHAHA! Natsu, Zale, who's the strongest in the guild now? HAHAHA! I guess you can't answer now that you're dust!"
"Weren't they supposed to be your allies?"
Laxus turned around to see Gajeel carrying both Natsu and Zale in each arm.
"I'd say anybody who'd be happy about blowing an ally to dust has a screw loose." Gajeel said. "But I'm the one who's going to blow away Salamander."
"Gajeel?" Natsu asked.
Gajeel dropped the two while Laxus looked at them with a sadistic grin.
"Looks like more prey has shown up." Laxus said. "Heheheh… Disappear! Disappear! Everyone who stands in my way will disappear!"
"Get outta here, Gajeel!" Natsu said. "You too, Zale! I'm the one who's gonna beat Laxus!"
"I got a personal score to settle with him." Gajeel said.
"As do I." Zale agreed, clenching his fist in fury as he remembered what happened earlier. "But this guy's a monster. Not surprising since he's the Master's grandson."
"I hate the idea, but it's what we gotta do." Gajeel said. "We've gotta team up."
"Don't… Don't even joke about that!" Natsu shouted. "I'm taking down Laxus! Why would I need to team up with you two?"
"Natsu, look at him!" Zale said. "Is that the same Laxus we remember growing up?"
"Hahaha…" Laxus continued chuckling. "Disappear… Disappear…"
Natsu simply stared at Laxus and acknowledged that he wasn't the person he thought he was.
"He's the enemy of the entire guild!" Zale said. "To protect it, we've got to defeat him!"
"Your friend's got a point." Gajeel said. "Everyone else was taken out by Thunder Palace. Do you know what'll happen if we don't stop him here?"
Natsu thought about it for a minute before speaking up. "Wait, you wanna protect the guild, Gajeel?"
"What's it to anybody if I wanna protect or destroy stuff?!" Gajeel growled.
"I thought there wasn't enough room in the sky for two dragons." Natsu said with a smirk.
"It's kind of hard to fly around with all this lightning." Gajeel said.
"Though a god is free to partake in this, right?" Zale asked.
"Yeah, sure, whatever…" Natsu and Gajeel said, both sounding uninterested.
"Dammit, I can never sound cool!" Zale said.
"But this'll only happen once!" Gajeel said.
"Yeah, I got a fight with you later, anyway!" Natsu said. "Let's do this!"
Natsu, Zale and Gajeel charged at Laxus. Natsu kicking Laxus with a flaming leg, Zale slashing at him with a sword made out of black water and Gajeel striking him with a fist covered in iron dragon scales. Laxus tried blocking and dodging all of the attacks, but the three slayers kept up their assault without any sign of letting up. Eventually, Laxus slammed his electrically charged palm on Natsu, sending him flying backwards into Gajeel.
"Fire Dragon Roar!"
"Iron Dragon Club!"
Gajeel shot out an iron club from his arm as the flames of Natsu's breath attack set it ablaze. Zale took advantage of this and jumped onto the edge of the club, the black water around his hands turning into a claw shape.
"Water God Hunter!"
The club kept pushing Zale until he was right in front of Laxus, but he jumped into the air and avoided the attack.
"Iron Dragon Sword!"
Gajeel turned his leg into an iron sword and swung it upward to strike Laxus while he was in the air, but Laxus jumped up and fired a volley of electric orbs at him that exploded on contact. Meanwhile, Natsu got behind him and an explosion of flames from his hands blew Laxus toward the ground.
"Fire Dragon Brilliant Flame!"
"Iron Dragon Lance: Demon Logs!"
Gajeel fired a series of iron spears at Laxus, each attack piercing him. Zale, carrying a sword made out of black water, got behind Laxus while Gajeel was attacking him.
"Water God Aether!"
With an upward slice, the attack struck Laxus and all three slayers puffed out their cheeks.
"Fire Dragon…"
"Iron Dragon…"
"Water God…"
"ROAR!"
"BELLOW!"
The elements of fire, water and iron blasted Laxus and a massive cloud of dust enveloped the entire area. They all just stood where they were for a moment until they heard something come from the crater they created.
"The three of you together and this is the best you can do?" Laxus asked.
They were all shocked to see that Laxus was still standing after all those attacks.
"You should be ashamed to call yourselves slayers." Laxus said, his shirt and coat now missing and revealing his muscles.
"No way!" Zale gasped. "There's no way he could have taken all of our attacks at once!"
"I don't care how strong he is, all that magic should have knocked him out!" Gajeel said.
"But the answer's obvious." Laxus said. "I didn't want to tell you this because I hate the old man's lectures, but I guess I can show you."
Laxus's front teeth became sharper and scales appeared on his muscles.
"Y-you gotta be kidding me!" Natsu said.
"This can't be real!" Gajeel said.
"I never even once considered this." Zale gasped.
"Lightning Dragon…"
"You're a Dragon Slayer, too, Laxus?!" Natsu asked.
"ROAR!"
All three of them were caught in a powerful electric blast. When Zale could finally make out what was going on, he saw that Natsu and Gajeel were lying on the ground.
*I… I can't move…* Zale thought.
Zale's vision started to fade and he was about to lose consciousness.
*Juvia… I'm… I'm sorry… I couldn't stop him…*
Zale finally lost consciousness and he blacked out.
When Zale finally woke up, he found himself in the guild's infirmary with bandages wrapped around his head, arms and legs.
"Wait… I'm still…" Zale muttered.
"Zale, you're awake!"
Out of nowhere, Juvia started hugging Zale which really hurt because of his wounds.
"Juvia is so happy you're all right!" Juvia said.
"Ow! Ow! Feeling incredible pain here! Ow!" Zale said.
"Sorry." Juvia said, backing off with a blush in her face.
"It's okay…" Zale said, blushing as well. "Wait, where are Natsu and Gajeel?"
"Their injuries were much worse than yours, but they're fine."
"And Laxus?"
"Natsu defeated him and the Master kicked him out of the guild."
"I'm not surprised. After everything he's done, I'm sure that will finally get his head out of his ass. And the Thunder Legion?"
"The Master only expelled Laxus."
"I'll have to ask him about that later. Will I still be okay to partake in the Fantasia parade?"
"Well, Natsu's still going to be in it so I think you should be fine."
"… I'm sorry…"
"For what?"
"I originally wanted to fight Laxus so I could help the others, but when I noticed you were taken out by Thunder Palace… I just got so angry I wanted to slug him in the face…"
"I didn't want to fight Cana. I love being in Fairy Tail."
"I appreciate it, but that doesn't change the fact that I failed to defeat him." Zale closed his eyes. "I must look pretty pathetic to you now, don't I?"
He felt something grab onto him in a warm, caring way without agitating his wounds. He opened his eyes to see it was Juvia.
"Juvia will never think of you as pathetic, Zale." Juvia said. "Juvia doesn't care if you're weak or strong, she will never think you're pathetic."
Zale didn't know what to say. All he did was simply enjoy the warmth of her hug and gave a gentle one back, being careful not to aggravate his injuries.
Later that night at the Fantasia parade, Juvia and Zale were on the same float wearing regal costumes that made the two look like a princess and prince, respectively. The two of them were controlling streams of water, Juvia's being blue and Zale's being black, and swirling them around their float. At the top of it, they formed the letters for 'FAIRY TAIL' so that every letter alternated between colors. Along with the sparkles from the water, the sight was something to behold for those looking at their float. However, it wasn't the smiles of the crows Zale was paying attention to. The only thing he saw was Juvia's wide smile.
*She looks so happy.* Zale thought. *I'm glad she joined our guild.*
A/N: Starting next chapter is original content I created just for this story! I don't know what it'll be yet, but I'll think of something. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this! Stay tuned for next time! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!