Chapter 32

Attack on Fairy Tail

In the forest…

"Carol, wake up!"

Carol winced and groaned as the hushed voice of Pantherlily woke her from her slumber. She opened her eyes and strained to see through the limited light what was going on. She saw at once by the change in shadows of the forest, and the dying embers of the campfire, that she had been asleep for several hours.

She lifted her head with alert when she noticed that Pantherlily was in his battle form, which made him look like a muscular human with a cat's head.

"Lily, what's wrong?" Carol whispered.

"I sense something coming." Pantherlily informed. "Wake the others."

"Right."

As Pantherlily got up to scan the area, Carol ran over to Ash and Ur to shake them both away. They were both groggy, but did their best to wake up when they noticed Carol's mild urgent behavior. They both got to their feet and the whole group stood in a circle with their backs to the campfire and their fronts to the forest around them. Carol and Pantherlily had their Magic weapons at the ready, Ur took a graceful stance and prepared herself to attack with her Water Magic, and Ash already placed his right fist into his left hand to use his Ice Maker Magic.

For a while, there was just silence. But there was definitely the presence of something evil nearby. They were all alert and ready to strike, the question was what they were supposed to be striking.

Then suddenly, something emerged from the bushes. Everyone immediately snapped around and charged towards the spot, ready to attack.

Something flew out of the bushes and stopped each of their attacks.

Meanwhile…

Lucy stood out at the edge of the guild that looked over Lake Sciliora. The night breeze gently swayed her long hair, which was tied up in a side ponytail. She was now dressed in her battle gear. A tight, dark blue sleeveless top with a long white skirt, and brown knee-high boots with white leggings. On her arms were gloves that went from her wrists to just below her shoulders. Around her waist was a brown belt that held her pouch with her Celestial Keys and her Fleuve d'etoiles.

While everyone else in the guild was waiting for the wizards of Sabertooth to arrive, she headed out to stand at the edge of the lake. All she could think about was her family, and the fact they were in trouble. And for the past few hours, she had a horrible feeling nagging at her in the back of her mind. It was bothering her so much that it was beginning to make her heart hurt. She was just wishing she could be where Natsu and Alu were so that she could help them. She wanted that more than anything right now. She just wanted both her husband and daughter to be standing with her now. She wanted to know that they were safe.

Lucy hugged herself, trying fight off the inner chill she felt as well as the outer. As she did, she felt something warm drape over her shoulders. She tensed for a moment in surprise and saw that it was a brown suit coat. She then turned around in time to see Loke come up beside her.

"Loke!"

"Sorry, you just looked cold." Loke said in a low voice. "So, you worried about your family, huh?"

Lucy pulled the jacket around her shoulders and nodded.

"Yeah," Loke sighed, "I figured you were. But if it makes you feel any better, I'm worried about them, too."

"I just wish there was something I could do to help them," she admitted sadly. "I know they're both in danger. I can feel it. But there's nothing I can do right now. I hate feeling this way."

"I understand." Loke replied. "And I wish I knew what to say to make things better, but I just don't know what I can do."

"It's okay." Lucy said softly. "I'm just glad that you're here."

"Heh, you don't usually say that."

"Yeah, well, I just want some company right now. Thanks, Loke."

There was a moment of silence between the two of them. Then Loke gave a peculiar expression, like he was debating with something inside his mind. Finally, he looked up at the stars.

"You know, Lucy," he said, "if the worst should happen, then Alu may be our only chance."

Lucy blinked in surprise and looked at her Celestial Spirit.

"What do you mean?" she asked quickly.

"If Alu realizes who she truly is," Loke said, almost like he was lost in a trance, "then I'm sure we're going to see her reach her full potential soon."

Lucy blinked. It wasn't like Loke to talk so philosophically. In fact, she would say that it was out of character for him.

Why was he talking that way? And what did he mean when he was speaking of Alu?

"Loke, what are you talking about?" she asked.

Loke hesitated for a second. He then suddenly jolted in alert.

"LOOK OUT!" he shouted.

The next thing Lucy knew, the Lion Spirit made a desperate lunge for her and tackled her away. The two rolled for about a yard, and there was the sound of a small explosion. When Lucy and Loke came to a stop, the Celestial Wizard looked over to see what happened.

What she saw made her gasp in terror.

Right where she was standing just a few seconds ago was a dark version of Leo, and his fist was planted straight in the ground. He looked up at Lucy and Loke with a wicked smirk.

"Pretty good reflexes there, lion cub," he said.

Loke stared in shock when he saw his darker self. Lucy shuddered at the sight of that evil Loke. She then quickly gathered her wits and forced herself to stand up again. Loke noticed his key holder's action and followed her lead.

"Lucy, warn the rest of the guild!" Loke ordered. "I'll hold him off!"

"Right!" Lucy nodded. "Be careful, Loke!"

Lucy then made a dash towards the Fairy Tail guild hall. Neo Leo made an attempt to go after her, but he was intercepted by a Regulus punch by Loke.

"Well, this certainly a surprise." Loke said to his dark counterpart. "I didn't think I'd ever have to face off against myself."

"This'll hardly be a challenge." Neo Leo glared. "You're no match for the power I possess."

Neo Leo lunge forward again to attack.

Lucy forced herself to not look back as she ran towards the guild. Although she could hear the sounds of Loke fighting his dark self, she couldn't hesitate. If Neo Leo was here, then that meant that Ivan wasn't far behind. He was bound to show up at any moment.

Just as Lucy thought this, she got a horrible shock.

She had made it to the edge of the pool and was about to head to the guild, but she was cut off by a sudden wall of fire. She let out a startled shriek and staggered back away from it. She then looked around and saw that she was trapped inside a large circle of fire.

"Going somewhere?" a sinister voice asked.

Lucy looked sharply over to her right. Her blood immediately ran cold, and her face turned very pale.

Ivan was just a standing a few yards away from her. The look on his face was one of malicious triumph. And with the fire burning all around them, he had an even more ominous presence than before.

"Ivan." Lucy scowled nervously, grabbing her whip and lashing it out.

"What's the matter?" Ivan jeered. "You look scared. I can't say I blame you."

Lucy swallowed back her fear and grabbed the Lion's Key off of her belt. In a flash of light, she had transformed into her Lion's Star Dress. She then took a fighting stance and prepared herself.

"Seems you've changed since the last time I saw you." Ivan said. "Back then, you didn't seem cable of holding your own in a fight. And you certainly couldn't do that with your Magic."

"I'm not that person anymore, Ivan." Lucy replied sharply.

At that moment, something struck Lucy like a spear.

Why was Ivan even here? And why did he have this look of confidence about him?

Lucy glanced over at the fire that had blocked her before. A horrible feeling began to rise up inside of her when she realized that she recognized the flames. This wasn't just ordinary fire.

It was Dragon Slayer Fire. Only one person could create that kind of Magic.

Lucy then turned back to Ivan. The man seemed to know what she was thinking, and as if to prove a point, he raised his left hand and ignited a small ball of fire in the palm of it.

"I must say," he grinned evilly, "Dragon Slayer Magic is quite amazing. I can see why your husband was such a powerful wizard. His soul is rather incredible."

That's when Lucy realized what was going on. Her chest tightened in horror so badly that she couldn't breathe, her eyes widened to their largest size, and tears began to well up inside them.

"No…" she whispered fearfully. "No…you didn't…"

Ivan chuckled wickedly. He knew that she had figured it out by now.

Lucy winced as tears fell from her eyes. She then looked back up with a vicious and hurtful scowl.

"YOU BASTARD!" she shrieked.

With that, Lucy lashed out her Fleuve d'etoiles towards Ivan. Ivan stepped aside and then charged towards her, his fists alit with fire. Lucy managed to jump out of the way and spun around to kick Ivan in the face with a Regulus attack of her own. He blocked her leg with his fist, and intensified his fire. Lucy let out a scream of pain as the fire burned her shin. She stumbled away from Ivan and looked down for a second to see the extent of her injury. Since she had Regulus activated, the burn wasn't as serious as it could've been.

However, now that Lucy was distracted, Ivan took the chance to pull yet another one of his dirty tricks. He pulled three keys off of his belt and opened the Gates of their Spirits.

But the time Lucy realized what was happening, it was too late. Dark versions of Virgo, Ophiuchus, and Libra were standing right in front of her.

"Looks like you're going to be my third victim of Fairy Tail." Ivan smirked. "Quite ironic that you're all related in some way. Although that second one wasn't much of a challenge. She got what was coming to her. At least you'll get to join her in the afterlife."

That remark made Lucy jolt in shock.

What did Ivan mean by "joining her in the afterlife"?

No.

That couldn't be.

Alu was…

No!

More tears spilled from Lucy's eyes, and her stomach wrenched painfully. First, her husband had his soul stolen, and now her daughter was killed.

She had lost her family once again. The pain of learning that was unbearable. It was like her heart had shattered inside her chest, and its shards were piercing her lungs and other internal organs.

But this feeling of loss and misery changed from defeat to enraged willpower. Lucy straightened herself up and ran forward with a cry of fury, lashing out her Fleuve d'etoiles as she did.

"YOU'LL PAY!" she raged. "I'LL MAKE YOU PAY!"

"Go on and try." Ivan jeered, taking delight in what he was seeing.

He then turned to his three Dark Spirits.

"Apprehend her," he simply ordered.

On that command, Neo Virgo, Ophiuchus, and Libra launched in to attack. Lucy braced herself for the attack that was to come.

"IRON DRAGON CLUB!"

Something charged through the flames struck Neo Virgo, Ophiuchus, and Libra with a giant, metal hammer. Lucy stopped dead in her tracks stared in shock.

"SOLID SCRIPT MAGIC: WATER!"

Lucy looked over to see the wall of fire being extinguished by a torrent of water raining down. As soon as it was put out, two figures emerge from the shadow.

"Gajeel! Levy!" Lucy cried.

And it wasn't just Gajeel and Levy standing in front of her. The commotion from outside had alerted everyone inside Fairy Tail, and the strongest members of the guild rushed out to see what was happening.

Gray, Juvia, Erza, Elfman, Mirajane, Lisanna, Cana, Wendy, Carla, Romeo, and the Thunder Legion were all standing there. In front of all of them was Laxus.

The group ran over to Lucy and took defensive positions.

"Lucy, are you alright?!" Erza asked.

Lucy didn't answer. It was now that Erza became aware of the tears streaming down the blond woman's face. But Erza knew that Lucy wasn't crying because of any physical pain.

"What happened?! Did Ivan hurt you?!" the Requip Wizard said urgently.

The moment Laxus saw Ivan, the two stared at each other with intense looks of resentment.

"So, you finally decided to show you ugly mug here." Laxus growled. "You got a lot of nerve to show your face here, old man."

Ivan narrowed his eyes.

"I was just waiting for the right moment to strike, my boy," he said callously. "And now that I'm close to obtaining the ultimate power, I thought I would test it out on you and this guild. So, where's the retired Makarov? I'd very much like for him to watch as I destroy his precious children."

At the mention of his grandfather's name, and by the way that Ivan said it with such mocking distain, Laxus gritted his teeth and tensed his muscles. Yellow lightning static began to flicker around him, showing his anger building up from within.

"I'm the master of this guild now!" he declared. "If you want to destroy Fairy Tail, then you have to go through me! I beat you once before, and I'll do it again!"

Ivan's face spread into a dark grin.

"That was years ago. Time changes people, you know. And thanks to the power of your former Fire Dragon Slayer, my strength has increased tenfold."

Ivan then reached for five keys underneath his cloak.

"And thanks to that Celestial Wizard from Sabertooth, I have an army that can destroy you all!"

Everyone braced themselves as Ivan opened five more Celestial Gates.

Alu stared into the black void around her.

Where was she?

She felt so small. Helpless.

This place. It's so dark. She couldn't see anything. She was blind, and unable to move.

And yet…she wasn't scared.

This place. It was so warm. Warm and comfortable. She felt safe here.

But…how did she get here? What was this place?

"Alu!"

"Alu! Wake up!"

"Please wake up!"

Alu grimaced and winced as something shook her awake. She struggled to open her eyes, but her strength was almost completely gone. She felt like her body had been run over by a train. Still, she managed to bring her vision into focus and saw that Violet and Happy were standing right beside her. She gripped her head as it throbbed with pain.

"Violet? Happy?" Alu whispered, her voice weak and shaky. "What happened?"

"Don't you remember?" Violet asked. "Your…Your father…"

It was then that Alu realized that both Violet and Happy were crying. Happy was the worst of the two. He was sobbing out of control and tears were falling down his cheeks.

In a single moment of horrible clarity, Alu remembered what happened just before she fainted. Her eyes widened with horror and despair.

Just a few yards in front of her, lying motionless on his back, was her father. He was now ash pale, almost as if he really was dead. Of course, he would've been better off dead. But now he was just an empty shell; his soul stripped clean away from him.

Tears welled up in Alu's eyes. She struggled to hold back the whimpers that so desperately wanted to escape her throat. She began to tremble as she somehow found the strength to get to her feet. She then shakily limped over to Natsu's body. When she reached him, and looked down on his lifeless form, her spirit broke like a burning twig.

She fell to her knees.

"What have I done?" Alu whispered painfully. "What have I done?!"

Alu's shoulders trembled and her breathing staggered from the cries that wanted to get out of her mouth. Finally, she couldn't hold it in anymore. Nor did she want to. She let her tears fall like they were unstoppable waterfalls and she fell over onto the Dragon Slayer.

She sobbed loudly and gripped her father's coat so tight that her knuckles turned white. His body, which was once warm with comfort and hope, was now cold and empty. She dug her face into his chest, like she used to do when she was a child had woken up from a bad dream.

Only this was a bad dream she couldn't wake up from. And Natsu's comforting arms didn't rise up to embrace her; to wrap around her and assure her she was safe. They remained at his sides like heavy stones.

"I'm sorry, Dad!" Alu cried. "I'm so, so sorry! This is…! This is all my fault!"

"It wasn't your fault, Alu." Violet whimpered. "Ivan did this to him. You can't blame yourself for this."

"Yes, I can!" Alu choked, her voice breaking in anguish. "Dad was only trying to protect me! It's all my fault! I jeopardized my family and all of Fairy Tail! How could I have been so selfish?! I should never have left home! If I never left, Dad…none of this would've happened to him! But he's gone and it's all my fault! I…I just wish…I could take it all back! I want my dad back! I don't care if I have to give up my Magic! I just want my dad back!"

Alu sobbed even harder. Sadness, guilt and regret twisted together inside of her to the point where it felt like unbearable physical pain. All she could think about was how badly she messed up. She put her own father in danger, all because she couldn't accept the fact that she was just a weak wizard. His soul was stolen away from him, all because he sacrificed himself to save her, even though she knew she should've been the one to have suffered that horrible fate instead.

"Please, forgive me, Dad!" Alu wailed, her voice consumed with despair. "I never wanted this! I'm so, so sorry! I…I don't know what to do!"

At that moment, one of her Celestial Keys began to glow. In a whirl of light and water droplets, Aquarius appeared in front of her. Her expression was one of sympathy and determination when she saw Alu in such emotional pain. She knew Alu would react this way.

Aquarius then changed her expression.

Aquarius then hovered over the Alu on the opposite side of Natsu and lowered herself down so that she was sitting.

"Get up, Alu." Aquarius said to the crying girl. "You still have work to do. You must stop Ivan."

"I can't!" Alu sobbed, still keeping her face buried in her father's jacket. "Ivan's too powerful! I can't take him on!"

"Yes, you can." Aquarius sounded more serious. "You never gave up before, so why should you start now?"

Alu clenched and sat up to look at Aquarius with a pained scowl.

"Are you blind, Aquarius?!" she wailed. "My dad's soul is gone and it's all because of me! I'm just a pathetic weakling of a wizard who can't even save the lives of those I care about! There's nothing I can do! How do you expect me to…?!"

Aquarius brought her hand up and slapped the young girl's cheek. Alu winced as the hit stung her cheek, but Aquarius didn't remove her hand from Alu's face. Instead, she kept it there and forced Alu to look her in the eyes. Alu's expression turned from pained to shocked. She then saw that Aquarius was looking at her, not with annoyance, or even contempt, but with some kind of honest conviction.

Violet and Happy both fell silent as they watched the scene before them. Both of them quivered and waited to see what Aquarius would do next.

"Stop your blubbering and listen to me, Alu." Aquarius said, her voice was strong and sincere. "Only you can defeat him. Because only YOU can open the Gate of the Dragon."

Alu held her breath as Aquarius continued.

"Did Ivan really think that just stealing the souls of a Celestial Wizard and Dragon Slayer would be enough to make him the Celestial Dragon Slayer? He's so consumed with hatred for Fairy Tail that he's become delusional. He even threw way his humanity just to get the power he has now. He can't open Draco's Gate even if he got his hands on his key. But you can. You have it in your soul. You always have since before you were born again."

"B-Born…again?" Alu said, her voice shaky.

"You thought all this time you were just some weakling?" Aquarius replied. "Well, I got news for you, you're not. Your powers are weak, yes. But there's a reason for that. Your soul is incomplete."

Alu's stomach clenched at that remark.

Her soul was incomplete? How was that possible? What was Aquarius trying to tell her?

"And this transformation you're going through," the Water Spirit continued, "it's not a Dragonification. It's proof of who you really are. It's the result of your soul returning to you."

"Aquarius, what are you talking about?" Alu said slowly. "What do you mean?"

"If you want to know the truth," Aquarius said, "then open the Gate and summon Draco."

Aquarius removed her hand from Alu's cheek. She reached into a pocket on the right side of her skirt and pulled something out. Alu's eyes widened and she caught her breath when she saw that it was another Celestial Key. But this one was different than any other key Alu had seen before. It wasn't silver or gold. It was pure diamond. It had a fiery motif to it, and Draco's symbol was engraved in emerald green on the hilt.

Alu was surprised. She had seen that key before in one of her visions. She remembered seeing it.

It was the exact same key.

"This is Draco's Key." Aquarius said firmly. "Take it, Alu. It's yours again. Hurry and open the Gate of the Dragon. You're the only one who can do it."

Alu stared at the key for a moment, unsure of what to do. Finally, she narrowed her eyes in determination and nodded. She then reached out and took hold of the Diamond Dragon Key. She looked down at her father's lifeless form, reminding herself that she had to do this for his sake. She was afraid of what might happen, but she had to do it.

Clutching onto the Dragon Key with both hands, Alu brought it close to her heart and inhaled deeply, mustering up all of the Celestial Magic she had. She had a feeling she was going to need every last bit of it for this one.

Then, holding the key high up in the air, she shouted, "OPEN! GATE OF THE DRAGON! DRACO!"

Alu waited with baited breath for something to happen. But to her dismay, nothing came from that command.

"OPEN! GATE OF THE DRAGON! DRACO!" she shouted again, even louder.

Still nothing. Panic and despair began to well up inside her chest at a horrifying degree.

"PLEASE!" she wailed, tears spilling from her eyes again. "OPEN! GATE OF THE DRAGON! DRACO!"

Still nothing.

Alu dropped her arm and began to sob once again. All the hope that she had gained just moments before had dropped like a sack of stones into her stomach and vanished completely. Aquarius just looked on with sadden confusion. Even she couldn't understand why the Gate wouldn't open. Happy and Violet both turned way to conceal the tears they were crying.

All hope was lost.

"Please," Alu whimpered, clutching the key tighter. "I just want to save my dad. Am I really so weak I can't even do that? Please…open the gate…Draco."

There was a long silence. A single tear fell from Alu's eye and splashed onto the diamond key. A second later, the key began to glow a faint but pure white light.

"Alu."

Alu jolted in shock and then froze. That voice. It was strong and radiant. She had never heard it before.

And yet…it was familiar. Very familiar.

"It's been a long time, my dear."

Alu snapped her head around for the source of the voice, but she just saw Aquarius, Happy and Violet, and Natsu's soulless form. There was no one else. But she knew she heard someone.

"That voice," she whispered.

Aquarius looked up.

"Alu?" she whispered.

"It warms my heart to know you're alive again. And to see how much you've grown."

"Draco?!" Alu cried out suddenly, looking around franticly. "Draco, is that you?! Where are you?! I need you!"

That got everyone else's attention. For them, they couldn't hear a voice. Alu just seemed to be calling out to no one.

"Alu?" Happy whined. "W-What's wrong with her?"

"There's no one else here." Violet said.

Aquarius narrowed her eyes in a kind of hopeful suspicion.

Alu wasn't paying attention to any of that though. Her focus was solely on the voice that only she could hear.

"Fear not, little one. Open my Gate with your combined Magic."

"Combined Magic?" Alu blinked.

Of course! Why didn't she think of it sooner? This was the DRAGON Key! Alu couldn't just use her Celestial Magic for this! She had to use her Dragon Slayer Magic, too!

She had never done this before, but if it meant saving her family, then she was going to take it. And this time, she knew that it would work.

With an eruption of willpower returning, Alu forcefully wiped the tears from her face and got to her feet. She then swiftly raised the Dragon Key high into the air once again. This time she summoned both her Celestial and Dragon Slayer Magic and forced them to collide together. With the clashing of two different powers at once, an aura of alternating aqua and orange began to shimmer around her.

But this process hurt worse than anything Alu had ever felt before. Both her Magic Powers were pulling towards each other, but also repelling against each other. As much as she tried to contain it, she couldn't hold back a cry of agony between gritted teeth.

But Alu fought through the pain. She could get through this. She was strong enough. This wasn't the time to be doubtful.

She was going to get through this.

A strange power began to slither down Alu's right arm, looking as if it entered her bloodstream. It was just like those other times when she got a boost of energy. Only this time there was much more of it, and it felt even stronger. The power raced down her arm with incredible speed and stopped for a moment in the center of her chest. It then branched off and continued to grow until Alu was one shining white image.

With that third power added, the two powers inside of Alu that had clashed against each other for so long, finally merged together with ease.

The Diamond Celestial Key flashed into a bright ball of starlight that began to swirl down, up and around Alu like a large, endless ribbon of stars. The force it gave off was so great that it sent both Happy and Violet flying through the air. Aquarius struggled to keep herself from being flung back, while also trying to keep Natsu from tumbling across the floor.

Alu keeled over and clutched her chest. Her heart was beating hard and fast. It beat so fast that Alu was starting to feel sick. She stared with wide eyes at the light swirling around her.

She couldn't scream. She couldn't even breathe.

Reality became a huge blur before fading into darkness.