Time to continue the battle of the God Slayers! I hope you all enjoy it!

After crashing into a tree in the forest canopy and falling onto a wide branch, Zale was heavily injured and coughed up blood. As he tried to stand up, he felt something kick him in the chin and he fell backwards until something clutched his neck and slammed him against the tree. Zale opened his eyes to see that it was Zancrow who was still attacking him.

"Pathetic!" Zancrow sneered and glared at Zale. "You let your guard down once and you're already about to die! You don't deserve the title of God Slayer!"

Zale could barely move and breathe as he struggled to break free from being strangled.

"Once I'm done with you, I'm going to burn this whole island and everyone on it to the ground!" Zancrow cackled.

*No…* Zale thought. *Natsu… Gray… Juvia… Everyone…*

The thought of his friends and family in Fairy Tail pained his heart.

"Time to die!" Zancrow smirked deviously. "Fire God Last Supper!"

Black flames like claws clamped onto Zale and locked him in a sphere. The black fire that made up the sphere was burning away at Zale as if it was slowly eating away at him.

*This guy… No… This monster… He's unforgivable… Judgment… needs to be brought down upon him…*

As Zale continued saying those words to himself the muscles in his body were clenching up and his eyes began to glow white.

"You… shall not be forgiven!" Zale spoke as if he and another, otherworldly person were talking at exactly the same time.

"Heh?" Zancrow raised his eyebrow.

"Judgment shall be brought upon thee!"

Zale grabbed Zancrow's arm and forced it away from his neck, finally freeing his neck.

"How is he stil-"

"Water God Kraken!"

Tentacles made of black water emerged from magic circles and ensnared Zancrow in their grip.

"Those glowing eyes… that voice…" Zancrow's voice started to tremble. "How did this weakling obtain… God Wrath?!"

*God Wrath…* Zale thought. *So I'm not falling victim to my other personality. I wonder if this 'God Wrath' is something akin to the Dragon Force I heard Natsu had used. Better finish this guy off for good before he launches a counterattack!*

Zale formed a large, long sword of black water in his hands and leapt at Zancrow's restrained body.

"God Slayer Secret Art… DIVINE OCEAN AETHER!"

He repeatedly slashed Zancrow with the black water blade seven times and on the eighth strike, a downward slash was brought down and Zancrow was sent plummeting all the way to the forest floor, crashing to the ground with tremendous force. Zale used the last of his magic energy to drop off the ground and shoot black water from the bottom of his feet to safely land on the ground. As soon as his feet touched the forest floor, the glow in his eyes faded and he stumbled and fell over.

*So tired…* He thought. *But I can't rest now! My friends need me!*

He tried to move his body, but it was so sore and his body was so drained that he couldn't even move his fingers. Eventually, his eyes were starting to droop.

*I need… to help… them…* His eyes completely closed. *Juvia… I'm sorry…*

When Zale had finally awakened, it was nighttime and the first sight he saw was what appeared to be the ceiling of a tent, which is exactly what it was. He felt around his body and noticed he was wrapped in bandages and his shirt had been removed. As he sat up and examined the area, he saw that Mirajane, Makarov, Gajeel and Evergreen lying unconscious on the ground next to him and Lisanna, Levy, Freed, Bickslow, Cana and Elfman were all sitting around nearby. Every one of them was bruised or injured heavily. The sight of his friends, especially the Master, with such severe injuries was an unsettling sight.

"Well, look who's awake!" Bicklow said.

"What happened while I was out?" Zale asked. "And where are the others?"

"Bickslow, Gildarts and I came back to Tenrou Island the moment we saw the signal flare." Freed explained. "Gildarts found you unconscious in the forest and brought you here."

"Please tell me we won." Zale said.

"Not yet." Lisanna stated. "The only one left is Grimoire Heart's Guild Master. Natsu, Gray, Lucy, Erza, Wendy and the Exceeds all went to his airship to fight him."

"I've got to help them!" Zale shot up, but the sudden rise agitated his wounds and he sat back down.

"You're in no condition to fight!" Levy protested.

Zale looked over the group again and noticed that one person was missing. "… Where's Juvia?"

Nobody answered or even spoke.

"I might not be able to fight, but I at least want to go searching for Juvia." Zale said as he slowly got up.

Due to the seriousness of the situation, Zale didn't notice until just now that he was shirtless in front of everyone and covered his chest with his arms as he went to grab his shirt.

"What kind of man doesn't want to show his muscles?" Elfman questioned.

"One who is self-conscious." Zale retorted as he put on his shirt and walked off.

"JUUUUVIIIIIAAAAAA!" Zale called out as he wandered through the forest. "WHERE ARE YOOOOOOOUU!"

He continued walking as the sun was starting to rise until he saw what appeared to be a young, pink-haired girl and two people Zale easily recognized.

"JUVIA!" Zale shouted upon seeing her unconscious body before turning to the third. "And Zancrow!"

Zale would have readied his guard, but something was off about him. He got closer and could tell that Zancrow wasn't breathing and his eyes were completely lifeless.

"What the hell happened to him?" He wondered before a possibility popped into his head.

He ran over to Juvia and checked her pulse to see that she was still alive, which elicited a sigh of relief from him. He picked up Juvia's limp body and did his best to carry her back to the camp.

*I don't recognize that other girl.* He thought. *She's probably with Grimoire Heart as well. Best to leave before she gets up then. What killed him, anyway?*

"Nnn…"

Zale looked down at Juvia, who was starting to wake up.

"Z… Zale?"

"I know you have a lot of questions, but I have some of my own, too." Zale said. "Like what were those Grimoire mages doing there?"

"Juvia fought the girl… Meredy… a while ago…" She answered like she was groggy. "When we woke up, Gray asked Juvia to chase after her because she was taking Zeref away."

"Hold on!" Zale stopped in his tracks. "Did you say… 'Zeref'? As in the infamous dark wizard?!"

"But that man tried to stop Meredy, calling her a traitor. Something was wrong with Zeref and the only thing Juvia remembers next is waking up in your arms."

*Sounds like I don't need to worry about the girl. And whatever happened to Zancrow must have been Zeref's doing.* "Juvia, for now, let's get some rest."

Juvia smiled and looked at Zale dreamily.

*This is like a dream!* She thought. *Being carried away in Zale's arms like a knight in shining armor!*

In actuality, Zale was having a slightly tough time trying to keep her lifted.

*I REALLY need to work out more…* He thought to himself.

When Zale arrived back at the camp, he saw everyone had regained consciousness and returned from the final battle with Grimoire Heart's Guild Master. As Wendy was healing everyone's wounds, Zale and Juvia were surprised to see that Laxus had come to the island to pay respects to Mavis Vermillion, only to wind up assisting Natsu and the others. However, he wasn't reinstated into the guild. There was also news that Gildarts was Cana's father and she was acting so coldly about winning the trial so he could finally have the guts to tell him. Speaking of the trial, it was cancelled due to the attack.

After getting patched up by Wendy, Zale and Juvia sat against the trunk of a tree, finally getting an opportunity to relax after a long day of fighting.

"Juvia?" Zale spoke up. "Remember Callista?"

"Love rival!" Juvia exclaimed.

"No, she's just a childhood friend."

"Childhood friends always have a thing for each other."

"Yes, in stories. Anyway, I was thinking… once we get back, I want to head back to my old hometown to visit. It's been over seven years since that horrible day. But… that's why I need to go. You've helped me overcome my fears, even if very slowly. I still need to hold the doll you gave me just to make me feel safe. But I want to overcome that fear so I don't have to become that… thing again." It was painful to remember the misery his other personality caused over the years. "Going back home is another step I have to take to do so. And I want you to come with me, Juvia."

"Visiting the town where my beloved Zale grew up?!" Juvia was really excited. "Yes! Of course Juvia will come!"

"Good to hear!" Zale smiled.

"You sleep with a doll?" Gray questioned from nearby. "How old are you?"

"You know, Gray, you can be a jerk sometimes." Zale retorted.

ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRR!

A loud, shrieking roar suddenly shook the entire island. It was so loud that it nearly broke everyone's eardrums.

"What's that?!" Gray exclaimed.

"It's too loud!" Elfman covered his ears with his large hands.

"It sounds like… a knell…" Zale's voice shook.

"It's the roar of a dragon!" Wendy said.

"Wha?" Levy questioned.

"A dragon?!" Lisanna gasped.

"It's really loud!" Happy complained while holding his ears down.

"It's the same as it was that day…" Gildarts muttered.

Pantherlily looked up into the sky and pointed with a look of shock on his face. "There it is!"

Everyone looked up to see a massive, black dragon with a blue underbelly and blue patterns along its body flying directly above them.

"What IS it?!" Gray gasped.

"It's huge!" Elfman blurted.

"A… REAL… dragon?!" Zale could feel his entire body shaking.

"I knew it…" Natsu muttered. "The dragons are still alive!"

Makarov stood up and walked forward. "It is the black dragon from the Apocalypse Revelations… Acnologia."

"Listen, you!" Natsu started yelling at Acnologia. "If you know where Igneel is, tell me right now! And Grandeeney and Metallicana, too!"

"Natsu, stop it!" Gildarts shouted.

Zale was completely terrified; both his mind and body were frozen in terror. He had read many books on the history and folklore of Fiore, but he was seeing that this wasn't some kind of fairy tale nightmare; this was dark reality. Acnologia finally landed and let out another deafening roar, its foreboding presence finally instilling fear into the Fairy Tail wizards. Acnologia flew up again and Gildarts quickly turned around to everyone.

"RUN!" Gildarts screamed.

Acnologia swooped down and thrust one of its front claws into the ground, breaking the ground and everything within a wide radius apart while Fairy Tail jumped out of its path. Thankfully, Zale's survival instinct came in and he finally managed to stand up and help Juvia get out of the way before suffering any major injuries.

"You gotta be kidding!" Elfman shouted.

"I've never seen destructive power like that!" Levy gasped.

"Even if we weren't heavily injured, all of us together don't stand a chance against it!" Zale said as he let go of Juvia.

"We gotta hurry back to the ship!" Gildarts shouted.

As everyone started running Acnologia thrust his neck at the wizards, but he missed even though the force made Freed and Bickslow stumble a bit.

"RUN!" Erza shouted. "Our top priority right now is to get home!"

"Wendy, can't you communicate with dragons?!" Carla questioned as she ran.

"Dragons are highly intelligent!" Wendy replied. "They should understand human language!"

"If that's the case, he definitely doesn't want to talk!" Zale said.

Suddenly, Makarov stopped running and turned to face Acnologia, motioning his arm as if he didn't want the others to help him.

"Master, hurry!" Zale shouted. "If you don't-"

"Run to the ship!" Makarov ordered as his body started to grow.

Just as Acnologia was lunging, Makarov grew to a size slightly larger than it and tried to use sheer force to hold the black dragon back. He was barely able to keep the dragon back, his wounds were reopening and blood was dripping through his teeth.

"Master! Please stop!" Erza shouted.

"Run!" Makarov shouted.

"We can fight, too!" Freed insisted.

"We'll take it down!" Evergreen agreed.

"Can't you follow your master's orders one last time?!" Makarov screamed back. "You damn brats!"

The words he chose… 'last time'… It brought sadness to everyone. Natsu was about to join the fight, but Laxus pulled him by his scarf and ran in the direction of the ship, a few beads of tears shed from his face. It was at that moment that everyone started to follow the Makarov's final orders and ran away. Even Zale couldn't hold back his tears as they were streaming down his cheeks.

"I don't know what you're here for…" Makarov said to Acnologia. "But you won't take another step! I won't let you harm my children!"

Acnologia roared again and further agitated Makarov's injuries. Just as he was pinned down to the ground and the dragon was about to finish him off, Natsu ran back, jumped onto Acnologia and climbed up its body. The black dragon tried to shake him off his arm, destroying several trees in the process, but he still wouldn't let go.

"Give us Gramps back!" Natsu shouted.

Makarov sat up as his body reverted back to its normal size. "… Natsu…"

"Everyone! ATTACK!" Erza commanded the rest of the Fairy Tail wizards to attack Acnologia.

Zale couldn't believe what he was seeing. It was a fight he knew would be unwinnable, but his friends decided to stay and fight for the man who raised them like they were his own children. It was at that moment he realized that at this point, they didn't care if the odds were against them; they would do whatever it takes for a member of their family, even if the chances of success were zero.

"… Water God…" Zale took in a deep breath and puffed out his cheeks. "BELLOW!"

Along with other attacks from the rest of Fairy Tail, Acnologia was struck with enough force that would have destroyed an entire fortress in one shot. However, it didn't even leave a scratch on the black dragon. Eventually, Acnologia managed to knock everyone who was close to him with the wind from his movement.

"It just survived an attack from at least a dozen powerful wizards, three Dragon Slayers and a God Slayer and it didn't do a thing." Zale analyzed. "I knew this thing was a force to be reckoned with, but this… isn't like anything I've ever seen…"

Acnologia flew up high into the sky.

"Do you think it's finally going home?" Happy wondered.

"I highly doubt it." Carla replied.

Acnologia started to inhale.

"A breath attack!" Gajeel shouted.

"Is it trying to destroy the entire island?!" Cana questioned.

"Anyone with defensive magic, give it everything you've got!" Erza ordered.

"There's no time to write an Enchantment." Freed stated.

"But there are a lot of defensive word-based spells!" Levy pointed out.

"Everybody, concentrate your powers on Freed and Levy!" Lisanna shouted.

"Let's join hands!" Mirajane shouted.

All of the Fairy Tail wizards stood in a circle and held hands. To Zale's right, he held hands with Gray and on his left was Juvia. Even Laxus and Makarov joined in. At those final moments, Zale's tears resumed their fall from his eyes.

*Even if we die…* He moved his eyes to his right to see Natsu, Gray, Lucy, Erza, Cana, Levy and the rest of his dear friends he grew up. *I'm glad it's with my friends…* He then motioned his eyes to his left at Juvia. *And the woman I love…*

Acnologia's breath attack was finally unleashed and the last thing on the island saw was a bright, white light. An in instant, Tenrou Island was completely erased from the sea as if it never existed and Acnologia flew away, ignoring the Magic Council ships that had witnessed the island's destruction.

A day later, Callista was walking around the town of Hargeon and dragging an unconscious man to the nearest Rune Knight station to collect a reward. However, something caught her ear from some of the townspeople.

"Did you hear about Tenrou Island? It was wiped off the map!"

"What?!"

"I don't know all the details, but I think I saw some of the Fairy Tail wizards go there the day before."

"Did they ever come back?"

"I don't think so."

Callista froze in place, possibly thinking that her childhood friend had perished, and the unconscious man started to wake up groaning.

"Go back to sleep!" Callista regained her composure and punched the man in the back of the head, knocking him unconscious again. "You can wake up once you're in your cell."

Callista continued to the Rune Knight station and dropped off the man. After she collected her reward, she figured she could ask him a few questions.

"Can I ask something?" Callista asked the Rune Knight who rewarded her. "What's this about Tenrou Island?"

"The news will go public soon, so I guess there's no harm in telling you." The Rune Knight responded. "While some Fairy Tail wizards were there, it was attacked by a Dark Guild and a black dragon. That dragon completely obliterated the island. Not a trace of it was left and no survivors were found."

"Was one of them…" Callista struggled to ask. "Named 'Zale Aeon'?"

"Um… I'm not entirely sure, but based on the list one of our agents gave us… It does sound familiar. If this 'Zale' was one of your friends, I am deeply sorry."

Callista lost all feeling in her body and dropped the bag of Jewel she was holding.

"Zale…" Tears started falling down Callista's face. "No… You can't be…"

A/N: I made this chapter a little longer because I wanted it to end as Tenrou Island vanishes. I also wanted to show Callista's reaction to the news without resorting to flashbacks. The beginning of the next chapter will also focus a bit on Callista after the timeskip as well as a new OC I'm introducing. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed! Stay tuned for next time!