Chapter 52 – Pinnacle of Mayhem
Well, from the looks of it, you guys enjoyed last chapter! Still concerned about low reviews, but I'll keep on going. Time for the other huge battle that'll leave you baffled!
To Recap:
After Lysandre reveals how he became who he was now, he and Nic began their battle. Nic was barely keeping up, but was still no match for Lysandre. To everyone's horror, not only did Nic's lower right abdomen get ripped into, but he lost his left eye. When he plunged into the sea, he was visited by Groudon, Kyogre, and Rayquaza in his sub-conscience, where they bestowed him their power. Nic unlocks Legendary Force – Kyogre, evening the odds against Lysandre. After the struggle, Nic was finally able to suppress Lysandre and drive him away for once.
Chapter 52 – Pinnacle of Mayhem
"Geez, you think one fight was enough. If this wasn't a trial in itself, I don't know what is." Gray sighed, sitting on a stump.
Juvia scooted over with hearts in her eyes. "I'm sure you passed those trials with flying colors, my beloved!"
Ignoring Juvia's comment, he turned towards the others, who were all lounging and regaining their strength. "Speaking of trials, what about the S-Class Trials?"
"Yeah! We gotta be real men and finish it!" Elfman shouted, but winced and ached all about.
Evergreen gave a scowl. "Alright, don't overdo it you overgrown ox."
Sophie blinked as she was still applied bandages all over her body, just like every single person on Team Tenrou. As Mira finished wrapping the last bit around her right arm, she turned towards Master Makarov.
"Now that I remember, weren't you guys on your second part when the S-Class Trials were intervened?"
"Yeah, what happens now?" Vanessa asked, her body covered in bandages like everybody else.
Makarov looked down and closed his eyes, grumbling with his mouth shut. "Hmmm." A short period of silence took over and everyone's gazes looked at him. "…that's a good question. I've been giving it deep consideration up to this point."
A sudden tent opening caught everyone's eyes, and out walked Wendy and Carla, but looking a little morose compared to everyone else.
"So, Wendy." Makarov looked at her with a straight and serious face, but his tone was absolute and worrisome. "…how is he?"
They all knew who he was talking about. Juvia immediately stopped fawning over Gray, Laxus and Gildarts turned towards their direction, and Vanessa swallowed, clasping her two hands together and hoping for the best.
Wendy's face looked slightly gloomier, but you couldn't blame her. Her clothing had a little stained blood from trying to wash it off of a certain someone.
Wendy looked back inside the tent, where everyone peeked in. Inside was actually an open area. No tent walls were established except for the one Wendy used to shield from everyone. Tent legs were pinned in all four corners, a blanket underneath. Medical equipment was all around, and off to the side was a folded up gray V-Neck and sleeveless coat.
It was who was inside that everyone paid attention to.
Erza was seen with a concerning frown as she sat on her knees in a blue dress with black edging. She looked down at an unconscious Nic. Nic had the most severe injuries compared to everyone else. His head had bandages that covered his left side. His whole body otherwise was like he was a mummy. Despite his bandaged up self, they all shook a little as Nic's lower right abdomen still showed some red within the bandages.
Wendy looked down in shame. Finally, she spoke.
"Well…the damage Nic took left him in a severe state. He was unstable, and it took me almost all of my Healing Magic to keep his body intact…but…" She was starting to shake, meaning bad news. "But…his right-sided wound and left eye…"
She said no more as the mood became that of a desolate land; lifeless and unhappy. Vanessa looked down, a shadow over her sullen eyes as Sophie put a hand on her shoulder to ease her.
Makarov closed his eyes once more and turned around, not bothering to take note of Mira with a clipboard. "…I see." His voice sounded low and remorseful. "We'll see what Porlyusica can do when we get back to the guild."
"I feel bad we couldn't do anything." Levy muttered.
Lucy turned to look at her. "It's not anybody's fault Levy, you know that." She then turned to look at a cross-legged Gildarts. "No matter who we are, Lysandre was like a benevolent god. It was exactly like he said…only Nic could drive him away…and he paid quite a price."
Sophie inhaled and exhaled deeply, a huge breath taking place as a small wave of calm came from doing so. "Well, talking about the past isn't going to make any of us feel better. The only thing we can hope for is Nic to come around soon."
She looked back at Vanessa, who still had remorse in her eyes. "I'm sure Nic would rather have you looking proud than sulking."
Vanessa looked on, but her expression had turned neutral. You couldn't tell if she was sad or cheered up. They all knew it was a rather poor display of a façade given the mood, but they didn't say anything about it.
Sophie looked down at the ground, trying to think of a way to somewhat ease the startled Vanessa. It soon came. "Hey, how about you show us your new Magic? Right?"
"Get real! You mean Vanessa finally learned how to use Magic?!" Natsu instantly perked up hearing the news.
"Seems about right, though I do have to question the right time and place." Carla stated.
Gajeel had his bandaged arms crossed as he looked at Vanessa. "So, Luminous' sister learned to kick ass, huh?"
Vanessa, seeing as how she suddenly became the center of attention, turned around and looked nervously at everyone. "Ummm…"
"Come on! I wanna see it in action!" Natsu held up a fist. "I'm ready to tu-"
A sudden hammer fist to the head smashed him into the ground, making everyone react shockingly, as it was Gildarts who made Natsu's injured head steam. "Give it a rest, kid. We all need it."
"Well, he's out now." Laxus said with a mild expression.
The Thunder God Tribe rejoiced as they all circled Laxus. Freed especially was overjoyed. Though they all wanted to spring in the air, they also needed to recover, so they just kept grins on their faces while being close to him.
As to where everyone else was starting to get comfortable, Cana was seen clenching her left arm, looking away from Gildarts, keeping her distance.
On the other side of the tent, Erza heard everyone settle down, but she didn't bother joining. She was where she wanted to be. Looking back down at Nic, a wave of relief began to wash over her. There were no words to describe just how happy she had felt, knowing that Nic stared Lysandre in his own face and drove him away; something Gildarts and Makarov were unable to accomplish.
But the more she looked at Nic, the more sadness and regret she began to feel. Her bangs cascaded a shadow over her eyes, replaying the brawl and Nic's right side getting torn, and his left eye getting ripped out in a flash.
'This isn't right. I watched him fall twice, and fatally wounded both times…yet, he got back to his feet. If I were by his side, then…' She knew thinking that way would only consider herself hindering where she didn't belong. She'd never stand a chance, leaving Nic to always save her skin, by sacrificing his.
Her eyes began to mist just thinking back to the recent battles in the last 24 hours. Erza always had to have herself saved; from Azuma, from Hades, and now Lysandre. Nic was always the fall guy, and it honestly broke her heart.
'If only I was stronger, then you wouldn't have been burdened to fight alone, for us all, for me.'
Makarov coughed a little, getting everyone's attention. Mira stood behind with her clipboard and a feathered pen.
As everyone paid attention, Makarov saw the confusion and anticipation. "Listen well, all of you. I have an important announcement to make…"
In space, Dialga and Palkia looked through a portal, seeing the unconscious Nic rest. They acquiescently endured watching the battle, and they were rather relieved knowing that Nic not only was empowered by the new Earth Plate, but the cost of taking down Lysandre that one time didn't mean they were in the clear for too long.
"This is bad. Very bad." Palkia informed.
Diagla could only look on as Nic was comforted by Erza. "Nic Pularis may only need three more Plates, however…"
They both looked into another portal, where the real concern laid upon them. They both took note of something that wasn't as powerful as Lysandre, but was still lethal. They saw the skies of Fiore, where they saw a humungous creature was making way towards Tenrou Island.
"This poses a great threat." Dialga narrowed his eyes, and a long pause took place. "With Nic out of commission, there's a strong chance that him and his friends will suffer a grand fate."
Palkia turned towards Dialga. "So…what do you propose we do?"
"Technically, we can't help Nic in his search for the Plates." He then looked back at the screen, seeing the huge beast make way towards Tenrou Island. "But in this case however, I do believe we're obligated to help since he's currently resting."
The two then looked up at Arceus, seeing that his condition was terrible. The upside was that he was slowly accumulating power from the Plates, but he still looked very terrible. Arceus looked down from the cloud of stardust he laid down on.
Dialga and Palkia both then looked around, seeing as how everyone else besides the pink and blue stardust around them was pitch black, as if they were in a hollow void.
Palkia then turned towards Dialga. "There's no other choice." A long paused passed. "Rally the troops."
Dialga then made a portal and he roared. He flew in and Palkia followed, with the portal closing from behind.
"WHAAAAT?!" Elfman, Gajeel, Gray, and Natsu screamed in unison in the Master's face.
"You heard me right. After everything that's happened, I have no other choice than to cancel the S-Class Trials this year." Makarov informed.
"How the heck is this fair?! We've been through worse!" Gray argued.
"Yeah! C'mon! What gives?!" Natsu barked.
"I ain't leavin' this island till I'm S-Class!" Gajeel shouted.
Elfman turned towards Gajeel. "That chicken must have scrambled your brain! Did you forget you weren't participating?" He reminded Gajeel. In response, the Iron Dragon Slayer grunted and looked away.
Makarov put a hand on his head. "I'm just as disappointed as you, but try looking in my perspective."
Mira took note. "First a Council member manipulated our memories and infiltrated, then Grimoire Heart attacked, and…Nic's critical condition." The last part was hard to say, but she kept herself as composed as she could.
Levy looked down. "With all of that, we really don't have much say."
"Grraaahh! I was so close to being S-Class!" Gray hollered, clenching his own head in utter frustration.
Juvia had a dreamy gaze as she stood by Gray's side. "Don't worry my beloved! Next time you'll win for sure, I'll make it happen myself if I have to!"
Elfman gave a defeated sigh. "I guess a real man knows when to call it quits."
Unlike everyone else, who accepted the Master's say, Natsu was still hyperactive. "Oh come on Gramps! If those babies are gonna throw in the towel, I might as well win by default! Right? Right?!" He started ranting on, and it was beginning to annoy everyone close.
Makarov, seeing as how Natsu wasn't as accepting, sighed greatly. "Alright then, if the boy won't listen to reason…" He looked up at the impulsive Dragon Slayer. "Alright Natsu, I'll make an exception and have you take the final test." He motioned neutrally towards himself. "If you can defeat me here and now, you'll be promoted on the spot."
Natsu was super eager. "Then what are we waiting for?! Prepare yourselves Gramps!" Natsu clenched both fists. "S-Class, here I come!"
Makarov grumbled.
Natsu raced after Makarov and jumped. "I'm all fired u-" A sudden giant arm smashed into Natsu, making him collide with a tree, making a dent in it as well. Everyone spectating all gaped at the sudden spectacle.
Makarov opened his eyes and grumbled once more as he shrunk his arm.
Natsu slowly drifted to the ground, wheezing. "I…was so close."
A huge figure with wings flew through the cloudy skies, the sky blue in contrast with his dark scales. His tail lashed as he caught Tenrou Island in the distance.
While everyone began to settle, Lucy and Cana both took a medicinal herb treatment bath for their injuries. Both Mages winced as the stinging didn't help, but it did prove that they were working.
"Cana."
"Yeah Lucy?"
"How's your arm?"
Cana showed her right arm, where it all clean. Unlike before, her arm no longer had the Fairy Glitter insignia. "The spell wore off, though I do have to admit that my arm did look cool with Fairy Glitter."
Lucy just kept a small smile, which was a complete contrast to Cana's frown. A long period of silence came and went, and Cana was the one to break it.
"Hey Lucy? I wanted to apologize." She sounded very regretful and sorrowful.
Lucy tilted her head. "What do you mean?"
"You know…for ditching you earlier. I was being selfish, and I'm sorry."
Lucy smiled once again. "You don't have to worry, Cana. It doesn't bother me."
"But it bothers me greatly, and it'll do so forever, and it was all because of my selfish ambitions. I betrayed one of my closest friends."
Lucy could feel the self-hatred in Cana's voice, and she really didn't like it. She had to do what she could to ease Cana's sheer discomfort. She continued to keep her smile. "Well, to be honest, I just thought you were doing what had to be done. You were just doing what you could in order to win."
Cana looked up at Lucy, her innocent words reaching her ears.
Lucy continued. "I'm your partner, and I know S-Class is very important. So please don't worry about it."
Cana accepted her words, her discomfort fading away. She looked back down at the medicinal, green water.
"…Thanks Lucy." She then sighed. "Well…even if I failed a 5th time, I still have to do what has to be done, and tell Gildarts the truth."
Two lures were in a river, bobbing up and down along with the silent river currents. Natsu, Happy, and Gildarts all made way and decided to go fishing, though Happy was spectating the number of fish in the basket, practically saturating some in his drool.
Natsu was staring off with a disinteresting face, still bumbed out about not being S-Class.
"Geez Natsu, lighten up over there." Gildarts commented. "You keep that face any longer and the fish might get bored."
"Well I'm bored already." Natsu retorted weakly.
Gildarts looked a little serious. "You need a little spiritual journey. Fishing helps you discover that path to travel on."
"Oh I bet, a pat that travels into my belly!" Happy intervened, reaching for a fish.
"Eating the fish isn't the vitality of the journey." He started to look a little passionate and free-willed. "Don't you see, it's the thrill of the hunt, the unveiling of your instincts, the unison with Mother Nature! This is the playground where strong men duke it out with survival of the fittest!"
Natsu's line suddenly tugged, catching his attention.
"Oh! A bite!" He began tugging.
Gildarts turned with enthusiasm. "Nice job! Now, gently…"
"Hi guys!" The sudden call came from behind, revealing the identity to be none other than Lucy, followed by Cana. Both were adorned in new clothes. Lucy was waving at them as an extra greeting.
Gildarts held up a hand. "Hold on a minute! Natsu's about to discover the true meaning of fishing, so no interruptions!"
"I'm sorry Gildarts, but Cana needs to talk to you. It's rather important." Lucy informed. As Gildarts looked with slight question, Lucy grabbed Natsu and Happy as though they were popcorn and dragged them along, leaving behind a dust trail. "You guys are coming with me!" She shouted happily.
"But my journey!" Natsu shouted.
"My dinner!" Happy shouted as he was whisked away.
Gildarts and Cana were then left in the same spot, alone. Now was the time for Cana to face the music. Gildarts eyed Cana seriously while she looked hesitant. A very long silence was between the two, lasting for ten seconds.
"So what's going on?" Gildarts questioned at long last.
Cana swallowed and looked down. "Well…did you know that…I joined the guild so that I could…find my father?" She phrased nervously.
Gildarts had mild surprise established. "Actually, this is the first time I've heard of it." His eyes widened a little. "Hold on, you mean your old man was a member of Fairy Tail?"
Cana looked away, tightening the grip on her arm. "Um…kind of."
Lucy looked from afar in the shrubs, observing expectantly while a confused Natsu and Happy stared with circled eyes.
Cana closed her eyes. "His name was Gildarts."
Gildarts blinked once. Natsu and Happy gaped their mouths at the realization and Lucy just waited for Gildarts to finally react. The Crash Mage processed it, blinking twice, and it was finally realized.
"AAHHHH!" Gildarts screamed, realizing the epiphany.
Cana looked away in shame. "I wanted to tell you sooner, but things kept getting in the way."
"So, what you're saying is, y-you're my…my…" His shouted trailed off as it came clear.
Cana was his daughter.
"Yeah, it's the truth." Cana muttered, a shadow over her eyes.
"WAIT! Which one is your mother?! Sarah?! Naomi?! Clara?! Phina?! Mary?! Liza?!" He sank to his knees. "No! Hair colors all wrong! W-Wait! Who else?! Emma?! Lyla?! Jenny?! Sydney?! Kte?! The Yugo Sisters?!"
"SISTERS?!" Cana shouted angrily with a scowling face, bearing her teeth. "Just how many women have you been with?!"
Gildarts looked up at her face, still confused. "No wait! It's gotta be Sylvia! She always made that angry face!"
"Are you freakin kidding me right now?!" Cana shouted out to the skies above. "I finally confess, only to realize my old man is a player who can't stop the party that's rampaging in his pants!"
She shot a glare at him as he was having a breakdown. "Whatever! I was just letting you know! Later!" She angrily turned to leave.
As though a wave of nostalgia came about, Gildarts gasped. "Wait, is that…?"
Cana turned around to face him once more. "Don't worry, I won't be moving in anytime soo-" A sudden pair of arms wrapped around her, bringing her closer to the one responsible.
Cana found herself shocked as Gildarts was holding her close.
"Cornelia. That was your mother. No doubt about it." He said softly.
Cana was finally satisfied to know Gildarts knew her mom, but still felt guilt. "Please, just let go." She insisted, but Gildarts maintained a warm embrace.
"Why?" He asked. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"
"Like I said, things kept getting in the way. Maybe I was too afraid if you'd reject me."
"Your mother Cornelia was the only woman I had ever truly fell in love with." He confessed softly. "Marrying her was the happiest time of my life."
Cana's eyes softened.
"She left me 18 years ago because I just worked around the clock. I was heartbroken…and when she passed away, I was like knives were driven into my heart. I still think of her, no matter what."
Cana grinned as her father was expressing his true love for her mother.
"I'm so sorry, Cana. I should've realized all this time."
Cana pulled away, forgiveness all over her face. Her smile being sincere. "It's alright. If anyone's to blame, it's me." She turned away, her hands over her ample chest. "It's just so relieving to know that I finally lifted something off my chest."
A shadow was over Gildarts' eyes. "I had a daughter, this whole time." He was shaking, and looked as though he was going to break down once more.
Cana turned towards him. "It's okay…but if you let me, can I just say this?" Her gaze brightened up and her cheeks blushed with joy from her soft smile. "I'm glad I met you, Dad."
Gildarts looked back at Cana with sheer shock. He stared at her as the realization. His daughter was right before his eyes, this whole time. Looking back, tears were at the corner of his eyes. He saw Cana from the little child she was, sometimes enthusiastic and smiling long ago at the guild when he was around. His tears boiled into small streams as he looked back and saw how much she's changed into a young woman.
He finally snapped.
"CANA!" He wrapped his arms around her once more, tears scrolling down his face as Cana was left unresponsive from the sudden embrace. Gildarts silently wept as Cana began to process and her smile returned, tears in the corners of her eyes as well.
The two shared the longest embrace ever, and Lucy looked with a soft smile from afar, with Natsu and Happy weeping comically.
Gildarts opened his eyes. "I promise you, that I'll always be there for you from now on. I'll never make you sad again, I swear." He sounded like he was pleading.
Tears slowly streamed down their faces, dripping and meeting in the same spot.
"I'll be there by your side; whether it's work or the bars."
Cana tightened her hold on her father. "You can try."
"All I ask…" He shook as he maintained his embrace. "All I ask, is that you give me the right to love you and be the loving father you deserve."
Their silence continued as the skies bloomed with sunlight, and they never let the other go until the longest time had passed.
A massive shadow was over the clouds, and through the clouds, it spotted Tenrou Island, now closer in view. Its enormous wings flapped as the destruction it had wanted was drawing ever so near.
Erza remained right by Nic's side. To her left was a bowl of water for any wet cloth that may needed to be applied. To her right were Nic's sunglasses, and she always looked back at them every ten seconds.
They were like a treasure that Nic had given her. She couldn't even afford a speck of dust. She kept her word and held onto them this entire time, for her and Nic's sake.
The tent door opened, and her gaze drifted up to see Sophie entering. "Am I interrupting something?"
Erza shook her head. "No, you're fine."
"Do you mind if I accompany you?"
Erza showed no reluctance as her gaze drifted down to Nic's closed eye. A short while passed before she replied. "Sure."
Sophie quietly made way around Nic and made herself comfortable on the other side of Nic's sunglasses. Now that she thought about it, Sophie never interacted with Erza as much as she did with Nic. Nobody was ever sure why, and how would they know unless they tried? A small silence followed once more.
Erza turned towards Sophie. "So where's Vanessa? I was sure that she would want to tend to her brother."
Her inquiry made Sophie ease the discomfort in the air. "She's trying to keep herself occupied by tending to her Pokémon. Apparently they took a beating throughout this whole tumultuous event."
"I see."
"I also heard that her Goomy evolved." Sophie added. "She's now Sliggoo."
"Oh really?" Erza was showing mild surprise. "Perhaps I should see Sliggoo soon." A long silence followed in between the two once more. "I heard how you sacrificed yourself to save Lisanna and Mira from Azuma. That was truly brave of you."
Sophie took the painful memory in stride. "Well, I was just doing what any Fairy Tail member would've done. What about you? I heard Nic saved you from Azuma."
Erza's gaze followed back down at her unconscious hero. "…yeah, he did. He actually saved us all."
Sophie crossed her arms. "Hard to tell how many times he saved our skins. He's done so too many times for my good memory to keep track of." The mood suddenly shifted when Sophie saw Erza clenching her own fists that laid on her thighs. She was shaking and had a shadow over her eyes. "Erza?"
"…It's just not fair." She muttered.
"Beg your pardon?"
"Why is Nic cursed like this? He fights so hard, and almost all the time, he gets hurt like this. It's just unacceptable." Her entire body was shaking. "He always wants to protect us, so he handles his fights alone. I try my absolute best to keep up, but…"
Sophie's frowning didn't help, but a serious look took place rather than a saddened one. "Listen to yourself." Her voice made Erza turn to her. "It's just like what I told Vanessa, Nic wouldn't want you moping around like this. What's done is done. You know I get worried too; you and Nic are my friends, and it doesn't sit well with me knowing that there's nothing but discomfort all around."
She turned her whole body towards a shocked Erza. "I stopped by just to check on how you two were doing. It's evident that when one of you is hurt, the other is affected, and not in a good way."
Erza remained silent for a few passive moments before she finally said something. "He loves me."
The sudden remark caught Sophie blinking. "What?"
"He loves me. He truly does love me." A small smile crept on her face as she gazed down at Nic. "When he fought against Azuma, he announced how he was hurt when Jellal was taken. He thought I needed him more than Nic, but…"
"I know." Sophie said softly, looking down at the ground. "I know it all."
"What? You do?"
Sophie's green eyes looked at Erza's brown ones. "He told me everything, just before the Edolas incident. He was too ashamed to tell you, so he endured two weeks of isolation. Cana and I were the only ones who interacted with him during that time period, but even in that case, he was still too uncomfortable to be around the guild."
Erza began to sulk silently with small guilt. "I should've known. I was a fool, to think Nic was hurt this entire time, and I didn't realize it until the fight with Azuma."
Sophie grinned and looked up at the tent ceiling. "You know, love is a concept that I myself can't seem to understand, considering that I never felt it. Sure I've seen some relationships come and gone, including my parents." She tilted her head towards Erza. "But what I see in your eyes is the purest of care, and love."
Erza fell silent thanks to Sophie figuring her out.
"You don't have to say it, I can tell. But it's best that you tell him before it's way too late." She advised with a smile.
The Requip Mage looked back down at him. She watched his chest rise up and down, and she found just how weak she really was compared to Nic. And yet, Sophie tried making her see things differently. Erza was far from weak; she was one of the strongest woman alive, and had one of the strongest of hearts. It's times like these that she had to be strong, for the ones she cared for…for the ones she loved. She had to be strong. Relying on Nic like this wouldn't do good. She'd have to constantly watch him take the fall, and no benefits would come out of it.
"I told myself." She muttered. "After this is over, I'd tell him." Sophie blinked as she was catching on rather quickly. "…I'll tell him, when he's finally recovered."
Sophie smiled and stood up. "Datta girl! But don't keep him waiting too long now." She began to exit the tent with a small skip before she remembered something. "Oh yeah, that reminds me; the ship's about to depart in a short while, so better be ready." With that, Sophie exited the tent, having Erza feel better.
Sophie stood outside the tent, a large grin on her face. 'Well, I vowed to get those two together, and it's working like a charm…huh, I just might be better at this stuff than Mirajane.'
Erza was left to tend to Nic some more, but she now had on a soft smile. 'Nic.'
A sudden low roar that sounded like a jet in the sky made her, as well as everybody else, catching them off guard. It wasn't a good sign to say the least.
"Can somebody feed Lucy already?" Gajeel said.
Lisanna gawked at Gajeel. "Gah! The Lucy in Edolas had a hardy appetite, but this is ridiculous!"
Levy grew a tick mark. "Don't listen to Gajeel. He's just being all-time jerk self."
Gajeel looked away with a prideful sneer.
Mira put a hand on her own cheek. "Oh my, better hope we have enough to hold her over until we reach shore."
Gajeel turned towards her. "Geez! Haven't you ever heard of a joke?"
Vanessa walked on over with a bandaged up Braixen by her side. "Did you guys hear that?"
"Whatever it was, it was manly-OW!" Elfman was halted when he got a sudden fan to the back of the head by a certain someone.
Evergreen had a tick mark as she was fed up with Elfman's manly talk. The former slowly looked over his shoulder with a scowl on his face.
"Please tell me you did that on accident." He growled.
"Nope, that was on purpose!" She began swatting him repeatedly on the back of the head. "Not stop saying 'real man' for the next five minutes or you'll be stone!"
"Why do you care?"
"I don't! It's just annoying!"
Braixen looked down at a cup and saw the water shake a little.
"You're driving me crazy!"
"A real man doesn't take such beatings from a woman!"
Evergreen smacked him even more. "A real man never talks to a lady like that!"
Mira giggled. "You two shouldn't fight when it's close to your wedding day."
"THAT WAS A LIE!" The two bickerers shouted.
The water in the cup settled, which made Braixen's nerves and hair stand on end.
"GRRAAHHHHHHHHHH!" A humungous roar made the reader's goosebumps arise, and the Fairy Tail Mages present covered their ears at the sudden roar that shook the ground.
"What is that sound?!" Evergreen shouted.
"It sounds so manly!" Elfman shouted.
The roar and quaking settled, and Wendy was able to uncover her ears. "That was a Dragon's roar!"
"For real?!" Gray asked.
"A Dragon? You sure that's not thunder?" Lily insisted, covering his ears.
"GGRRAAAHHHHHH!" The massive roar quaked the ground again, having Vanessa and Sophie and a few others cover their ears. It last for another few moments.
Natsu, Gray, Lucy, Cana, Gildarts, and a flying Happy met up with everyone.
"Hey, are you guys alright?!" Lucy shouted.
"Lucy!" Levy shouted in surprise.
Erza rushed out of the tent and saw everyone gathering. "What's going on?"
Gildarts skid to a halt, looking up at the sky. "This roar, there's no doubt about it."
"Dad?" Cana questioned.
"That Dragon…he's coming."
Lily pointed into the sky. "Everyone! Look!" Everyone followed upwards and almost immediately, fright overcame them, just like earlier that morning with Lysandre. Only this wasn't from the power, but the humungous appearance.
Everyone's pupils dilated in shock as they all saw a giant Dragon's shadow emerging from the sky.
"HOLY CRAP!" Gray screamed.
The black claws descended, looking razor sharp. Attached were black arms, and the face bared lifeless eyes. The mouth opened, revealing pointed teeth and another blood-curdling roar shook about. His upper body was black, with spiraling blue markings. His chins, inner tail, chest, stomach, and arms, were a smooth gray. The round head had four huge plates extending back, and the chon was that of an arrowhead. The very long tail ended in a stinger-esque shape. The wings were like an avian's, but not at all friendly.
"Oh god…" Juvia muttered.
The Dragon became making his way down towards them, breaking the sound barrier.
"IT IS A DRAGON!" Bickslow screamed.
Vanessa's eyes were wide. "This is bad." Winds picked up greatly and everyone covered up as the Dragon's wings flapped, making bits of leaves and grass fly in the winds.
The Dragon Slayers' eyes were all shrunk and in sheer disbelief.
"You've gotta be kidding me." Gajeel muttered.
"What's happening?" Wendy shouted.
"They do exist. I knew it." Natsu muttered under his breath.
The winds stopped, and Gildarts turned around to find Master Makarov present. "There's no question. That's none other than Acnologia; The Black Dragon of the Apocalypse."
Gildarts looked ahead. "Yeah." His eyes narrowed. "Thank god we've seen worse this morning. Next to Lysandre and those four that gave them his power, Acnologia is the vilest of his kind."
"Hey, Dragon!" Natsu shouted. "You know where Igneel is?! Tell me! Grandeeney and Metalicana, where are they as well?!"
Gildarts clutched Nastu's shoulders. "Stop Natsu!" He warned. "You mustn't provoke him! Remember? How I almost lost my life?! I was lucky just to lose an arm and leg!"
Natsu looked down angrily, frustrated as no answers would come out of this predicament.
Acnologia's roar caught their attention as he descended down onto the island, more winds brewing.
Sophie and Vanessa's long hair blew as Acnologia descended. "What do we do?! Do we just standby?!" Sophie shouted at Makarov.
"You don't understand." Gildarts' eyes narrowed. "This isn't about sitting around. We gotta get away with our lives, just like with Lysandre."
Acnolgia planted his left arm on the ground as he lowered his head, hot breathing emanating.
"You mean we're not safe?!" Braixen shouted.
Acnologia screeched into the skies above, prompting for Gildarts to swipe his arm. "EVERYONE RUN! NOW!"
They all were on their guard and nerves as they saw Acnologia reel his head back. He opened his mouth and let loose an ear-splitting roar, an enormous shockwave rattling all of Tenrou Island. Whatever trees were left unharmed by Lysandre were tarnished and blown away, along with bits of the earth.
Many tried holding their ground, but a majority fell back from roar's shockwave. A massive dust storm bellowed about as the roar was swallowing up the tet.
Erza looked at the tent and her eyes shot wide in terror. "NIC!" She dove into the tent, grabbing Nic and his sunglasses as she ducked into a barrel role and escaped mere seconds before the shockwave had sent the tent flying off. Erza held Nic tightly and his sunglasses as the dust swallowed them up.
The shockwave stopped, and everyone began to get back to their feet, confusion to the spectacle before them. Natsu's eyes opened and were filled with shock. "No way…the entire forest…"
"Everything that Lysandre didn't destroy – gone." Vanessa shuddered.
Braixen shook along with her Trainer. "That was just from one roar."
Cana was supported by Gildarts. "Just how strong is he?"
Gildarts and everyone saw Acnologia looking down from the air he arose him, a hot breath exhaling steam.
"Not just strong, evil; plain as that." Her father answered. "And I'm afraid…that just now, was but a mere warm-up." He heard gasped from behind and turned around. "Listen up! You can't be freaking out now! If you want to live! Run!"
Erza picked up Nic and had him supported with an arm over her shoulder as she had her left arm around his waist. Acnologia's sudden roar and shadow covering the sun almost made her loosen her grip. She also had to use her forehead to house Nic's sunglasses.
"RUN NOW!" Gildarts screamed.
Everyone began to make a break for the remaining trees left untouched, yet cut down from Lysandre's Psycho Cut from earlier. They made haste, with Erza supporting Nic the best she could and everyone running for their lives as Acnologia followed from behind.
Gildarts and Natsu looked behind to see Acnologia tailing them without even trying.
"Wendy, can you communicate with that Dragon?" Carla asked as she ran.
"Anyone can talk to a Dragon! But this one didn't come to talk!" Wendy was then silenced as Acnologia's shadow sailed overhead and he roared.
Freed and Bickslow were ambushed when Acnologia landed in front. They both gawked up and saw the Dragon's beady eyes showering darkness from his growling. He lunged after Freed and Bickslow, both screaming as they ran.
"No! He's attacking!" Lily shouted.
"Freed! Bickslow!" Evergreen shouted.
"No! He cut off our escape route!" Gray yelled with an injured Juvia on his back.
Wendy shook with fear. "Why…why us! Answer me!"
Acnologia turned his head and growled at her, not so much as one word. His view upon them were nothing more than insects. Insects that were to be squashed. His right hand went crashing down, and everyone jumped out of the way. He snarled as he then raised his left arm and brought it down, making everyone else jump and dodge while screaming, the island shaking with every time Acnologia struck the ground.
Acnologia's tail swung at the ground, making a shockwave that sent Elfman flying. "W-Whoaaaaaah!"
"Elfman!" Evergreen spread her wings and made haste to grab Elfman, to which she was successful, but Acnologia lashed his claws down, making the two scream as they went sailing down to the ground.
Levy was starting to mist in the eyes. "No. It's just like what happened to Nic. Nothing but destruction."
Having enough, Natsu let out a battlecry as he raced ahead, but Acnologia brought his arm down in front, the attack making shockwaves that made Natsu skid back and did a bouncing skidding thud. When he stopped, he sat up and faced the Dragon. "I'M NOT DONE…"
He stopped when Master Makarov had a shadow over his eyes and took off his shirt, casting it aside.
"Gramps?!"
Makaroc glowed a golden aura and began to grow in size, becoming a giant. "To the ship! Now!" His size grew to a massive giant that rivaled Acnologia. Makarov reached and grabbed Acnologia's head, bringing him to a still heading. The Dragon roared as he was halted temporarily.
Master was still having a hard time. Acnologia budged ahead, his strength actually beginning to overpower Master's. But even so, Master Makarov kept his hold.
"That's crazy!" Gray and everyone watched as Makarov held of the creature. "He can't fight alone!"
"Master!" Vanessa shouted.
The land continued to quake as Master remained put, fending against Acnologia. "Get out of here!"
Laxus stood and his eyes showed he was a mixture of perplexed and shocked by his grandfather playing the hero.
"I'll fight by Master's side!" Freed insisted.
"No overgrown lizard isn't gonna stop us now!" Bickslow shouted.
Everyone followed in insisting, though Erza looked down at Nic and stared at his still unconscious state. If she stayed to fight, there would be a chance he might…
The alternatives of the situation were making her very uneasy. She needed to be strong, so as to protect Nic when he can't fight. She wanted to stay just as much as anyone, but if it meant losing Nic's life in the process, then the confliction would be overbearing.
"WILL YOU BRATS JUST HONOR YOUR MASTER'S FINAL WISH AND LEAVE! GET OUT, NOW!" Master shouted.
Mira gasped and her hand covered her mouth. "Final wish?"
Laxus was shaking as he saw the look in his eyes. A very long pause conflicted him, leaving the Lightning Dragon Slayer unable to do anything but turn and wince in his wish.
"I AM A DRAGON SLAYER, GRAMPS! THIS IS WHAT I WAS BORN TO-" Natsu's tantrum was halted when he was being dragged by the scarf.
"Not today, kid!" Laxus ordered, looking away.
Natsu looked back. "Laxus…"
Natsu's eyes widened as small glints were seen, showing that tears were being shed in the winds from Laxus as he dragged Natsu.
As Laxus turned, he was followed by a reluctant Erza, who ran as fast as she could with Nic still being supported.
"…best of luck! Move!" She ordered.
Everyone began to grow reluctant and started to shed tears of sadness. Having Master risk his life was starting to make Vanessa have tears glisten as she ran for her life, which a worrisome Braixen following suit.
As everyone evacuated. Master was left to his final thoughts.
'…What good brats. It's very hard, I know it is, but it's what must be done. It's these times that prepare you for the future, knowing that the shedding of tears is wasteful to trouble over. Is death caused by sadness, or is it the other way around? That answer is for you to decide, within your hearts…my blessed children, GROW AND LIVE!'
Master was in a sheer power struggle as Acnologia was beginning to move haphazardly in his hold, his tail violently swinging about, destroying any trees it slammed on.
"You foul creature!" Makarov yelled, maintaining his hold and moving Acnologia back a little. "I don't know why you're here, but there's something that is certain!"
Acnologia continued to growl as his head was right up to Master's abdomen.
"My children are back there, and you won't lay another claw on them!"
Acnologia shot his mouth open, his round head plunging into Master's abdomen and making him gag blood. Acnologia began to drive Makarov back as he screamed. The Dragon growled loudly as he used his legs and pushed, making Makarov screamed louder as he fell on his back. The Dragon drove his left claw onto Makarov's chest and squeezed, rushing it.
Makarov let loose even more agonizing screams as Acnologia was towering over him, his chest bleeding from being crushed. Acnologia's claws were embedded into his skin and not releasing as his mouth had all teeth bared.
Slowly, Master stopped screaming, which somewhat confused Acnologia. The Black Dragon reared away, still left claws on chest, but what surprised him was Makarov smiling. Pretty soon, his smile broke into a laughter, or a light chuckle.
'This is what a father does for his children.' He thought as his gaze was hazy and Acnologia opened his mouth once more. 'I have nothing to forget. I can die as a happy man…'
A sudden pair of running footsteps made him shoot his eyes wide, which also caught Acnologia's attention.
A certain pink-haired boy ran past the Master and after Acnologia. The Dragon lashed his tail. But Natsu tumbled right and dodged.
"Natsu!"
Natsu jumped onto the tail, and then onto the left arm. Acnologia peered down and Natsu was up close, tears in his eyes.
"We're getting ramps back! No matter what!"
Acnologia lashed his arm, still embedded into Master's chest. He swatted left, dragging him and crashing him into the side of a cliff. Dust blew all about, and the Master began to shrink ad return to normal size, coughing some more and clutching where Acnologia embedded his claws into him.
He opened his eyes, seeing Erza in her Heart Kreuz Armor. "Erza?"
Beside her was Nic, but he was still out, lying against a rock.
Erza looked back at Nic, staring. 'Now it's our turn to protect you.'
"You know." Laxus was in front of Makarov, looking at Acnologia. "I was down with the evacuation, but you know what?" Laxus turned around, smiling. "Your guild doesn't allow geezers to die on their watch."
Erza pointed a sword at Acnologia. "Attack!"
Everyone came back and let loose a battlecry as they all began bombarding Acnologia with spells and attacks, giving it their all.
Makarov began to tear up. "…you…you stupid brats."
Laxus began to grow extremely muscular as the ground quaked. His eyes and mouth were shown to have lightning surging, as well as the rest of his body. "GRRAAAHHHHH! ALRIGHT GUYS! HIT HIS OVERGROWN LIZARD WTH EVERYTHING YOU HAVE!"
Natsu, still clinging to Acnologia's arm, looked down at Laxus. "Laxus?"
"You better get away, Natsu!"
"Hang on, I'm not ready-"
"Attack! Now!" Erza commanded.
"I HAVEN'T MOVED YET!"
Laxus then brought his arms forward, unleashing a grand lightning bolt. "Raging Bolt!"
"Requip!" Erza glowed and shifted into her Heaven's Wheel Armor. "Blumenblatt!"
"Ice-Make: Super Freezing Arrow!"
"Water Nebula!"
"Memory-Make: Piercing Frigid Darkness!"
"BRAIXEN! NOW!" As Vanessa let out a battlecry and let loose a beam of aura, Braixen brought out her stick and let loose Psyshock, purple beams combining with the beam of teal aura.
"Solid Script: Fire!"
"Now! Sagittarius!" Lucy summoned Sagittarius, who let loose a barrage of arrows.
"Evil Explosion!"
"UNLEASH THE THUNDER GOD TRIBE'S FULL POWER!" Freed swiped his lance, sending beams at Acnologia.
"Baryon Formation! LET'S ROCK BABIES!"
"Fairy Machine Gun: Leprechaun!"
All of the attacks combined, making a gigantic wave that rattled the entire island as it traveled towards Acnologia. A glint was seen, revealing Happy carrying Natsu.
Acnologia was then swallowed up by the catastrophic wave of Magic.
From afar, a young woman with pink-feathered protrusions were in her long, wavy, yellow blonde hair that reached down to her feet. One strand protruded from the top. Her green eyes had no irises, and had peachy skin and a child-like build. She wore a frilly pink robe with a red bow at the neck. Starting from the chest were three diamond patterns outlined in hot pink. She's also bear-footed.
She watched on as Acnologia was still caught up in the attack.
Laxus grunted as Acnologia was seemingly unharmed as the attack raged on. "Are you kidding me? All of that and he's still not even scratched! Alright then, you guys! Take him out!"
Above, the Exceeds carried their partners through the air as they got at a high elevation. The Dragon Slayers all went up and readied.
Natsu grew a tick mark. "I still owe Laxus a butt-whoopin'." He muttered.
"Not now." Happy responded.
As they drew closer, they unleashed their attacks.
"Iron Dragon's Roar!"
"Sky Dragon's Roar!"
"Fire Dragon's Roar!"
All three roars combined the Dragon Slayers' combined assault releasing a huge torrent of fire, iron, and wind that hit Acnologia head on. The Black Dragon skid back some, and then lost his footing and shot back against a cliff. A massive burst of rock flew all about, and a massive geyser shot up in place of Acnologia.
In front of everyone was destroyed island, not left but whatever.
Erza looked back at Nic, seeing how he was unharmed, and then back ahead. "Did it work?"
"Of course not." Gildarts responded.
"What?!" Natsu shouted.
"That Dragon isn't using half of the power he used to fight me. He's toying with us."
With that comment, the ground beneath shook, and it soon cracked. Everyone jerked back as the ground shattered, and Acnologia burst from the water, rising up with a roar; his shadow blocking out the sun from above.
"He's back in the air!" Vanessa shouted.
"All of those attacks, and not a single scratch." Sophie said in disbelief.
Wendy dropped to her knees. "No, we gave it everything we had." She looked down as hope was being drained away. "Our entire guild and three Dragon Slayers was still not enough!"
Natsu dropped to his knees and pounded the ground. "No! This can't be happening! I'm a Dragon Slayer! Why didn't he go down?! Why-"
He was cut off by a sift sobbing from close by. His ears didn't lie. He slowly looked over and saw Lucy. Lucy was silently sobbing into her hands.
"So is this really it?" She said into her hands. "What's gonna happen? Why is this happening to us?"
Natsu just stared at her, and then looked back up at Acnologia.
Erza, Vanessa, and Braixen all grew stiff as they were all in front of Nic, shielding him from any possible disaster that Acnologia was gonna attempt.
Acnologia's mouth opened as he started taking in a huge amount of energy.
"He's gonna use a Dragon's Roar!" Gajeel roared.
Cana looked up with nerves at their peak. "Is it gonna wipe us out in one blow?!"
"Oh god." Evergreen muttered.
Sophie swiped her arms. "We gotta use as much defense Magic as possible!"
Freed looked down at his hands. "But I don't have time to write an Enchantment!"
"Script Magic can supply a copious of defensive abilities!" Levy pointed out.
"Yes, that's true!"
Bickslow intervened. "Think of one, fast!"
Erza grunted and looked to everyone. "Everyone, concentrate your Magic Power towards Sophie, Freed, and Levy!"
"Everyone hold hands!" Mira advised.
Natsu reached down to Lucy, who stopped crying as she saw Natsu's hands. She looked at his serious look.
"We're not gonna go out crying." He said. "Come on, Lucy."
He grabbed her hand and she blinked. Lucy swallowed and she started to show confidence once more. "Fairy Tail never throws away the towel.
More hands began to join, and Team Tenrou was holding hands. Natsu's other hand connected to Erza, who supported Nic as best as she could. On the other side on Nic was his sister. Vanessa held onto Braixen's paw with her left arm, and Braixen held hands with Sophie, who was connected to Cana, then Gildarts, until everyone was joined in the circle.
When Laxus reached to his small grandfather, Makarov started crying and accepted Laxus' hand. "Okay kids…let's go back to Fairy Tail."
With (most of) everyone holding hands, they all looked up at the impending doom that was Acnologia as he was all charged up.
"We're all going home to Fairy Tail!" They all shouted in unison.
Acnologia's mouth light blue and he let loose a huge Dragon's Roar that shook everything as it began to swallow up everything, the light of the roar beginning to descend.
It was then that Nic's eyes winced and slightly open.
A sudden spatial portal, a super large one, opened up above Tenrou Island, taking in the entire Dragon's Roar.
All of Team Tenrou looked up in sheer shock as a sudden portal was taking in the entire roar. The land still shook from the pressure, but everything stayed as it is. The Dragon's Roar went into space, sparing all of the island.
"What…what just…" Gildarts was unable to comprehend as to what had just happened just now.
"What that a spell to absorb the roar?" Freed wondered.
"No way." Gray muttered. "That looked just like one of those space holes that Lysandre used, but this is different!"
The Dragon's Roar came to an end, and every bit of it went into the portal. Acnologia reared back some in slight shock and confusion what just happened.
"Mmmm." A slight moan came from Erza's left, and to her shock Nic began to come around. "What happened?" He moaned.
Erza gasped in Nic's sudden awakening. "Nic!" Her little relief was then broken when Nic winced and yelped, forcing him to a knee.
"What?"
"He's awake!"
"Nic! You're okay!"
Everyone began to gather around as Nic was panting, having since he hasn't fully recovered. His body felt off as he looked up, everyone looking down at him. Vanessa was right by his side, as was Erza. The two stayed close as he remembered what happened.
Everything went flooding back, and Nic remembered how his right side was ripped, hence the stinging sensation. He then remembered the part about his left eye. If he could sigh lowly, he would. It was a shock, but he'll cope with it. Being a hero means paying heavy prices.
"You're finally awake. What a relief." Braixen said.
"Hang on." Nic muttered. "What's going on?" He slowly looked up, and his right eye shot wide with shock at the sight of Acnologia. The Black Dragon stared down, still surprised from earlier. "What-what is that?"
Erza looked up and narrowed her eyes. "That's Acnologia. He's been attacking us while you were blacked out. He's too strong." She really didn't like the last part, but it was the truth. Even at full power, Acnologa wasn't even scratched.
Laxus looked. "That aside, what was that just now?"
Everyone looked up and saw that there were two smaller portals forming on either side. Acnologia snarled and from the portal on his lower right shot a large, pink crescent blade. From the lower left portal, out came a super immense indigo beam.
The two attacks both struck Acnologia, which made contact. At first, there was a light ripple, which exploded into a full-blown shockwave, swallowing the skies above in pink ad indigo. Team Tenrou below covered up as the shockwaves from both attacks made the ground underneath crack, making small rocks fly.
Erza and Nic both covered up and they, along with everyone else, heard nothing but constant rumbling from above. The clouds in the nearby area all parted from the sheer force applied. Acnologia roared violently as the two attacks actually felt painful. The Black Dragon's roar bellowed as the skies all around were lit up in sheer light from afar.
It soon came to an end, and everyone looked up once more. They saw the smoke, indigo, and pink all slowly fade, along with the rest of the clouds from the attacks.
"Whoa…" Natsu was too shocked to even say one word after that. The force behind both attacks would've been enough to obliterate Tenrou Island twice if possible.
Acnologia roared as everything cleared, the air shaking from his roars. You could tell by the sudden few scratches on his smooth gray abdomen that the two attacks did left him feeling that.
"Hold on." Elfman said as the quaking from the roar stopped. "Those two attacks did more damage than we ever did. Just what shot those?"
Nic's eye widened a little from the remembrance of the energy flowing about. "No way…did they…"
Acnologia looked down and saw that he suffered actual damage. Surprisingly both attacks were super effective, and he still felt some slight stinging sensations all about. He roared once more, much angrier than before.
From his right side, pink stardust flowed out of the portal as Palkia had arrived. On Acnologia's left was blue stardust lowing out as Dialga emerged. Both Pokémon roared upon arriving in Fiore.
"You've gotta be joking!" Gajeel exclaimed.
Levy covered her mouth as she gasped. "What are they?!"
As Happy and Carla were left gaping their mouths, Lily stepped forward, seeing both draconic beings floating high in the air and facing Acnologia. "Now hold on. Don't you recognize them?"
"Huh?!" The Exceeds exclaimed.
Nic was supported by Erza and Vanessa, all three looking up with shock. Nic especially. "Dialga. Palkia."
Gildarts and Makarov turned towards Nic, hearing their names being repeated by him. "Nic, are you saying you know those two?" Gildarts questioned.
Nic weakly nodded. "Yeah, they sent me to Fiore. They're the rulers of time and space; Dialga, and Palkia."
"Rulers of time and space?" Freed repeated.
"Man, just when things couldn't get any weirder." Bickslow commented. "Glad those guys are on our side."
Wendy looked up with slight awe. "Not only that, but they also managed to put a mark on Acnologia!"
Natsu stared into the sky with his eyes dilating, but not just in awe, but frustration that they laid some hurt and Fairy Tail did nothing. "Just how powerful are those guys?"
Dialga and Palkia both stared up at Acnologia, who growled at the two, looking ever so angrily. Acnologia roared once again, shockwave rippling through the air and making everyone below cover up if possible. The Black Dragon went to attack Palkia by lunging his right claw at him. Palkia, however, made no attempt at moving.
The pink pearls on Palkia's shoulders lit up, and the area in front of him became distorted. Acnologia's attack was then deflected, and his arm jerked back as he roared at Palkia.
Dialga opened his mouth and roared, in which he formed a blue sphere, which was none other than Aura Sphere. Dialga fired the attack, landing an explosive blow in Acnologia's face, making a light blue explosion as the Dragon let out another roar of anger through it, turning attention towards Dialga.
Acnologia was superior in size, so he swung his huge tail to knock Dialga down, but to everyone's astonishment, Dialga's diamond on his chest lit up, and emanated light blue ripples took up the area ahead of him, in which Acnologia was actually slowing down gradually.
"I don't believe it!" Gray shouted.
"He's actually slowing down time." Juvia muttered.
With his powers, Dialga was able to slow down Acnologia enough to easily evade the tail swing and open his mouth, firing a light blue and white beam of energy and struck Acnologia once again, making another explosion that swallowed up the Dragon.
Acnologia roared once again through the explosion, and with one flap of his wings, the explosion was lifted, and the air shook with his raging fury. He eyed the two before him, feeling their Spatial and Temporal powers, and he sought to destroy them.
The three had a long standoff, and below, Nic called up to them. "Dialga! Palkia! What are you doing here?!"
Acnologia let out another excessive roar, which was a sudden break before either one could answer.
After the roar, Dialga replied without looking back down at Nic. "We have come because this is of dire time."
"We have been watching you, and you are of no condition to quarrel." Palkia picked up. "While we can't help you on your search for the Plates, we are obligated to keep you alive."
Nic only remained silent as he stared up at the two.
Acnologia, Palkia, and Dialga all let out loud roars that send shockwaves through the airspace, making the sea below them swish back and forth gradually.
The Black Dragon attempted another Dragon's Roar. He opened his mouth and energy began to surge to an extreme level. The roar was finally let loose, and it went beaming after Dialga and Palkia.
Dialga's diamond on his chest glowed once more and he emanated blue ripples, which actually slowed down the Dragon's Roar. Palkia proceeded next by having the pearls on his shoulders lit up, and space in front of them began to distort gradually. The roar then proceeded, but the distorted space in front made the attack angle upwards into atmosphere, missing the two entirely and it beamed into the stratosphere above.
Everyone below was in deep awe as the two were actually fending Acnologia off, something they failed to accomplish. Gildarts, Makarov, and the Dragon Slayers especially were in deep shock. They all went after him, yet those two floating in the sky were fending him off by using time and space to their potential.
"Those are Pokémon?" Makarov asked as he continued gazing above.
"Yeah." Nic answered before wincing, in which Vanessa and Erza both had to support him.
"Nic, please overdo it." Vanessa warned.
The roar in the sky stopped, and Dialga and Palkia were both left unhindered. The two looked at the other with concerns on the rise.
"Dialga, if we keep this up, we'll only be stalling." Palkia reminded him.
Dialga looked ahead at Acnologia. "Yeah, you're right. We can only combine and block; furthermore, we can't stay here for too long since Arceus is vulnerable without us…Palkia, summon them."
Acnologia let out another agitated and blood-curdling roar at the two before him.
Palkia nodded and continued to look at Acnologia. "Nic Pularis. We have come with the purpose of enlisting help for this battle."
Nic was taken back and looked surprised. "What?"
"Help?" Happy asked.
Lily crossed his arms. "Yu mean rather than fight this themselves, they've come to provide help with the use of other Pokémon." He confirmed.
Makarov gasped. "What's this?! You mean there's more than just those two?!"
"Trust me, you have no idea." Braixen said. She turned her head back up at the scene in the sky. "Something tells me we're going to have to step back."
Palkia's pearls began to glow and he let out a rippling screech all about. Acnologia let a low growl utter and Dialga let out his own growl in defense.
Palkia spread his arms out, in which a space in the sky, and two spaces in the sea, began to crack, as if it was an illusion of sorts. The cracked spaces shattered like glass, and each one represented a different kind of area. The one in the sky had a picture of the ozone layer, one in the sea resembled the core of the earth, and the last one resembled the ocean depths; the dark trenches.
Acnologia and everyone watched as the two spatial cracks in the sea poured out ocean water, and the other being lava.
The lava portal began to pour out onto the sea, making a cloud of steam, which cooled down the lava. More lava poured on as something stepped through the torrent of lava. The lava soon dialed down, revealing something drenched in lava. The creature showed his scaly body and growled as the lava cooled into hard rock.
Everyone's eyes shot wide from the creature as he roared up to the sky, the lava beginning to drip off of his body.
Nic was caught with a dilated eye filled with shock. "No way…Groudon."
The other portal continued to gush ocean trench water, and through it, something swam through into the oceans of Fiore. The sea spill stopped, and something arose with a large wave as the second creature arose.
"Kyogre. If those two are here, then…"
A draconic oar was heard through the last portal through the sky, and Acnologia and everyone looked as the air shook, with the arrival of the final participant swerving upwards out of the portal and into the skies above.
"Rayquaza."
Rayquaza swerved himself downwards, with Dialga and Palkia joining. Rayquaza roared as he made way and passed over Team Tenrou, all of them unable to comprehend what was happening as Rayquaza's shadow cascaded over them.
"What are those things?!" Cana shouted.
Rayquaza roared once more as he swerved and remained stable over Groudon and Kyogre as all three of their portals closed. Dialga and Palkia were at a little higher elevation as the Weather Trio were before them, facing the threat in the skies.
The three before everyone gave off tremendous pressure as they growled forebodingly at Acnologia, who in turn growled back. His cold glare was focused solemnly on the Weather Trio, and everyone looked in awe and fear as Groudon roared as he stood on the cooled lava, steam rising. Kyogre eyed Acnologia with sheer intensity, and Rayquaza was no different.
Nic was pleasantly surprised knowing that Rayquaza and the other two were enlisted to help, yet from what he's seen, it was hard to tell if those three would be enough for this fight. "I can't believe it. They've actually come."
Makarov turned sharply towards him. "Nic, you mean you know those three?"
Nic nodded and looked back at the scene before them. "Yeah. They're the ones I met in my sub-conscience during y fight with Lysandre. If it wasn't for them bestowing their powers onto me, I'm not sure that I would've survived." He took a pause before continuing. "They're known as Groudon, the personification of Land. Kyogre, personification of the Sea. And Rayquaza, the personification of the Atmosphere."
Makarov looked back ahead with curiosity hidden behind his cold front. "So these three are here to protect us from Acnologia, huh?"
Natsu clenched his fists and grunted, slightly anticipating the huge battle that was to come, but also angry that he couldn't stop Acnologia.
Rayquaza roared. "We are assigned to protect the wielder of the Plates!"
"Protect Nic Pularis!" Kyogre shouted.
Groudon let out his own roar, shockwaves emanating. "For the sake of all that has entity, we shall stop Acnologia and save the Plate wielder from harm!" Groudon's gaze then followed back at Nic, his yellow eyes looking into his one and only eye. "I'm still rather peeved of how you assessed the problem from before with Kyogre's power."
Vanessa, using her spare arm, reached into her big, brown purse she had on at the time, and took out a Pokedex. He held it up and a hologram of Groudon appeared.
"Groudon, the Continent Pokémon. Said to have expanded the lands by evaporating water with raging heat. It battled titanically with Kyogre."
"To expand the lands?" Makarov repeated with utter shock.
Vanessa continued to examine with her Pokedex.
"Kyogre, the Sea Basin Pokémon. A mythical Pokémon said to have swelled the seas with rain and tidal waves. It battled with Groudon."
Lucy gasped at the realization. "Say, that's exactly what Nic did when he battled Lysandre before!"
"Rayquaza, the Sky High Pokémon. Rayquaza is said to have lived for hundreds of millions of years. Legends remain of how it put to rest the clash between Kyogre and Groudon."
Bickslow turned towards the Pokedex with shock. "For hundreds of millions of years?!"
"Which means they're far greater in age than the Dragons from 400 years ago." Freed analyzed.
Kyogre glanced over to Groudon, who turned towards him. "This has nothing to do with the past now. We can worry about that problem some other time."
Groudon made the land underneath rise and expand, fresh hot land shooting up and expanding in a small area, which made Kyogre take action and move towards his right.
With more battleground for Groudon to use, he looked back at a peeved Kyogre, eyeing him with slight animosity. The Legendary Ground-Type opened his mouth, steam flowing out. "You care to try?"
"SILENCE!"
Rayquaza roared, sending loud and vast ripples in all directions, getting Groudon and Kyogre's attention. "We are here to do as told! Work as one and defeat Acnologia!"
Acnologia, in return, roared once more and flapped. Not wasting anymore time in disbelief, the Dragon made way after the three, making giant waves fly as he sailed after them.
Rayquaza let out another draconic roar as Acnologia advanced. The Dragon and Flying-Type lunged after Acnologia, zipping through the air while glowing light green, streaming light green behind him, in which made fast and powerful waves as he traveled at blinding speeds into Acnologia. Rayquaza screeched as Extreme Speed met its mark at the base of Acnologia's head, making a giant ripple upon impact. Below, water swayed violently from the shockwave produced.
Acnologia's advance stopped as he remained in place and still in shock. Rayquaza swerved up into the sky with great speed and looked down, letting out another roar as his open mouth fired a multicolored dragon-shaped beam at Acnologia. Rayquaza's Dragon Pulse beamed through the sky downwards, exploding upon impact with Acnologia's roundhead.
Through the smoke cloud that covered his head, the Black Dragon roared, shaking the air, revealing that he didn't have a scratch unlike Palkia's Spatial Rend and Dialga's Roar of Time earlier.
Rayquaza roared back from above in response.
"Our turn!" Kyogre announced. He opened his mouth, where a light blue ball was generated. "Ice Beam!" A massive multitude of icy blue beams went racing after Acnologia, freezing the water in a trial as it sailed after the Black Dragon.
"Solar Beam!" Groudon glowed a faint green-yellow, and numerous light green balls formed around him as a larger one formed in his mouth. The ball then fired a powerful green beam after Acnologia.
Both Ice Beam and Solar Beam went racing along after Acnologia. The Black Dragon looked and saw the attacks heading his way and flapped his wings and ascended high into the sky. The Ice Beam and Solar Baem both continued their course, reaching out to the sea afar. In the distance, there was a slight pause, and then a field of light blue and green exploded.
Everyone still standing on Tenrou Island watched the catastrophic duel between the Legendaries and Acnologia, unable to comprehend what was happening.
Acnologia looked down at Rayquaza and the other two, a snarl escaping his mouth. He let loose a powerful roar that made everyone stand stiff. The Dragon opened his mouth and began to take in more energy for another roar.
Rayquaza descended as quickly as possible, swerving all about through the air and hovering above Groudon and Kyogre. "Fire!"
As Acnologia opened his mouth to let loose his Dragon's Roar, releasing a light blue beam of destructive force, The Weather Trio made their move as well.
Rayquaza opened his mouth and everyone could feel a great swell of pressurized energy that made the sea quake. The energy formed into a black and dark purple. He then released it in one go. "Hyper Beam!" A massive beam of black and dark purple went shooting with such destructive force.
Kyogre roared as the waves bounced. He formed light blue orbs in front, just like Nic did earlier. "Origin Pulse!" Each individual orb shot a powerful beam ahead.
"Eruption!" Groudon fired several fiery rocks from his mouth that burned with the intensity equal to that of magma.
All three attacks went rushing at the Dragon's Roar. When they met, a very massive and cataclysmic explosion eruption. At first it was a light and massive ripple, but a super heavy shockwave went all about, and followed by an expanding explosion.
Everyone covered up from the shockwave that almost made them lose footing. Palkia's pearls on his shoulders lit up once more and screeched. The entire are surrounding the island began to distort, and the explosion continued expanding around them.
"What?"
"That dragon. He's shielding us with his space powers!"
"Oh wow!"
"That's so manly!"
Even through the distortion, Tenrou Island still shook violently, as though an earthquake were happening. The explosion soon began to settle, and Acnologia was seen in the skies, growling down at the Weather Trio as they managed to intercept.
Rayquaza let loose another catastrophic roar that sent shockwaves all about. The Dragon and Flying-Type then zoomed with a green streak behind as he raced up at Acnologia in the blink of an eye. "Extreme Speed!" He darted right into Acnologia, passing him, and making a small burst of green that rattled the airspace around Acnologia's abdomen. The Black Dragon roared as he felt a small sting and turned around, looking to find Rayquaza in the air high above.
With Acnologia roaring high up at Rayquaza, Groudon got the distraction he needed. "Eruption!"
His attack went out of his mouth and up towards Acnologia. The fiery rocks went shooting through the air with intense fury and exploded upon contact with the Dragon's back. Acnologia let a small roar escaped and he turned to look down at Groudon and Kyogre.
Angry, the Dragon roared down at the two.
"Is that all you have?" Kyogre asked. "We'd expect more of a fight from what Dialga and Palkia had told us."
The Black Dragon raced down towards them, his fury immeasurable. He raced at high speeds and descended after Groudon and Kyogre.
"Hydro Pump!"
"Solar Beam!"
Releasing a massive volume of pressurized water, Kyogre's attack went shooting alongside Groudon's Solar Beam. The two attacks met up as they went shooting after the incoming Dragon and fused into a green beam with blue, spiraling, icy streaks that caught Acnologia off guard. The Dragon came to a halt before being swallowed up in the attack, which exploded into a huge sphere of a mixture of green and light blue.
Nic looked from below, along with everyone else, shock and curiosity, and a tint of fear as they saw the raging battle before them. Erza turned her head towards Nic, seeing how he had a serious fixation despite his bandaged self.
'He actually has this kind of power within. To go head-to-head with Acnologia; Pokémon, just how much power can they possess?'
The explosion in the sky settled into thin air, and Acnologia spread his wings and roared violently, taking the whole attack and maintaining hardly even a single scratch; all they really did was agitate him.
Rayquaza opened his mouth and fired another Dragon Pulse. The Dragon-Type attack traveled in a blitz down towards Acnologia, whom read the attack when he turned around and ascended so as to evade. The attack was missed, and it shot into the water below, sprinkles of seawater in the air.
Rayquaza saw Acnologia in the air and remained silent before he bellowed. In a sudden fury, Acnologia opened his mouth once more and fired a Dragon's Roar, turning his head in all directions, sending the single roar's beam in a random direction; through the seas, through the sky, and almost hitting the Tenrou group.
Everyone covered up and screamed as shockwaves from all around sent violent winds that pounded against them, forcing them to step back deeper into the island. Groudon covered up and turned away as the roar almost struck him, obliterating apart of the land he'd just created. The shockwaves made forced the molten land to crack, and Groudon began to plunge through, falling into the seas beneath.
Kyogre leaped from the water and dodged the beam that almost struck him. He dove back into the water, deep underneath to keep from harm.
Rayquaza swerved about through the air as the immense blast went ballistic and traveled all about with Acnologia's fury. Unfortunately, the beam traveled too close, and Rayquaza was grazed when trying to swerve, his right side in one of the lower segments being hit by the side of the roar, which made him screech as his side was smoking as he fell out of the sky.
Acnologia snarled as Rayquaza was finally hit and he swung his massive tail, sending it like a wrecking ball into Rayquaza. Upon impact, a loud shockwave quaked, as it the ground itself was hit. Rayquaza screeched as he shot down from the skies, diving into the water with a loud splash.
Acnologia descended downwards and waves from either side emerged when he began to hover over the seas. He let a low growl loose as he examined the water and found no trace of them surfacing. The Fairy Tail Mages all got nervous looks as they thought they all must have suffered major damage.
Acnologia stared down into the sea, and a sudden incandescent sharp stone coated in lava emerged from the water, stabbing Acnologia in his abdomen. The Dragon felt the harsh attack tipped in lava and roared as he was engulfed in a heated, lava-like explosion.
Natsu's eyes shot wide as Acnologia was hit with an abrupt attack, which left him with a small scorch mark as he jerked back up into the air. A sudden Dragon Pulse and Hydro Pump shot from out of the water that Acnologia had to dodge. After dodging, Acnologia let out a violent roar, and that was their que.
Team Tenrou witnessed boiling from where Groudon fell through, and something orange was down beneath them. The orange expanded and surfaced, and out came bursting Groudon, roaring upon his rising.
Following him, two figures came bursting out of the water, making giant geysers. Kyogre bellowed went reaching the pinnacle and fell back into the water, and Rayquaza shot straight up and roared, swerving into many arcs and coming to a stop above Groudon and Kyogre.
The Weather Trio roared Acnologia in unison, making the Dragon in turn roar with as much fury.
Rayquaza ascended and Acnologia, opened his mouth. The Dragon began gathering energy and he fired one more Dragon's Roar, which went beaming after the Weather Trio.
"Hyper Beam!" Rayquaza let loose yet another of his incredible black and dark purple beams.
"Solar Beam!" Groudon lit up yellow-green again and little light green balls appeared as a larger one in his mouth let loose a massive green beam.
"Ice Beam!" Kyogre made a light blue sphere and he fired several beams of light blue at the Dragon's Roar.
One again, the attacks met in the middle, where a humungous explosion erupted once again, ever expanding with great force that was like a supernova to Team Tenrou.
Palkia screeched as he made a spatial distortion once again, the entire island enveloped in distorted space, keeping all of Tenrou Island from getting swallowed up in the cataclysmic explosion. The island still shook from the explosion and everyone was driven to their knees from the pressure given off.
"Man, just what kind of battle is this?!" Lily shouted from the ground.
"I don't know!" Happy shouted.
Everyone uncovered and the distorted barrier returned t normal, revealing Groudon, Kyogre, and Rayquaza all without further harm, aside from a few scratches on their bodies. Acnologia roared down at them once again, having no scratches from the explosion as he was unharmed from the interception.
Rayquaza screeched up into the air, shockwaves emanating. He glared back at Acnologia. "Now this is more like it."
"Things are strting to heat up, so we better try and get some more hits in to keep the distance." Groudon warned.
"We'll be sure to leave him a serious mark when we're done." Kyogre assured.
Dialga turned towards Palkia. "Palkia, the battle is escalating far more rapidly than we'd indicated."
Kyogre fired an Ice Beam, which beamed through the skies and struck Acnologia's right arm that he used to block. The Dragon swiped his arm and the ice shattered, and he proceeded with another roar.
"Yes, Dialga." Palkia responded. "If this keeps up, Tenrou Island and Nic Pularis will be caught up in the assault more times than we can save them."
As Groudon used Eruption, the fiery rocks missed as Acnologia ascended. The Black Dragon looked and saw Rayquaza shooting a Dragon Pulse, and he moved left to dodge.
"What's more, is that we can't remain here for much longer. Arceus is far too vulnerable with both of us not present."
Dialga remained silent as they all saw a fiery explosion that came from Groudon's Solar Beam getting its mark, yet Acnologia roared and was seen still in the air. As they looked on, with the Weather Trio still in battle, Dialga's eyes narrowed.
"It would appear…there's no other choice."
Palkia turned towards Dialga. "Dialga?" They both looked at each other, and Palkia could see the look in Dialga's eye. Whatever was coming next, it was going to be a one-way trip.
Palkia looked back at the area ahead. "Very well. I'll leave behind enough power for them to escape."
Nic was confused. "Wait. Dialga, Palkia-"
Both Pokémon screeched and made shockwaves from their screeches. Dialga was enveloped in his blue aura, and the diamond on his chest glowed. The light blue on his body began to shine.
"This is what has to be done…Nic Pularis!" Dialga let loose a roar as the entire Tenrou Island began to sparkle blue. Everyone looked around and saw that the entire island and everyone in it was enveloped in a field of indigo.
"What's happening?" Happy shouted.
"Dialga's must be using his powers somehow!" Carla figured.
"For the sake of the Plates and Arceus, Nic Pularis, we must travel far from this danger!" Dialga's diamond chest flashed and the entire island began to flash a bright light.
All of a sudden, much Acnologia's surprise, the entire island behind the Weather Trio had flashed and disappeared completely, leaving only a few blue sparkles in its place.
The Weather Trio looked back and saw that they were clear, as nothing but open sea was present. They then looked back at Acnologia, and their expressions grew ecstatic.
"It would seem Dialga and Palkia have safely took Nic Pularis and the Plates to safety." Kyogre said.
Rayquaza growled as Acnologia roared at the Weather Trio.
The Sky High Pokémon's yellow eyes looked like they were filled with pressure that was ready to be unleashed. Even Acnologia could feel the Weather Trio's power somehow developing, which made him feel all the more anxious to rip them apart. Their gazes were all onto Acnologia, and Rayquaza let a snarl escape as he swerved in place.
"Good…now we can finally cut loose."
I'm sure that a variety of you are either gaping at the screen, or are in a mental breakdown from the exceeding awe that I have written, but the second half is to be finished next chapter, so try and keep yourselves from that mental breakdown of sheer awe after said chapter.
I added an extreme twist with the fight against Acnologia, and it's not done yet! Also, instead of Fairy Sphere, I rather had an alternative with Dialga, so expect any possible questions to be answered next chapter.
If you guys want the breakdown of this chapter; the parts before Erza and Sophie talked was over 3.7K, the Acnologia scene was around 4.6K, and the island saved by Dialga and Palkia onwards was at least 5K.
Also, leave a Review if you guys liked those NicxErza moments, and anything else before Acnologia's appearance!
Please Favorite, Follow, & Review this story and/or chapter if you guys are loving this Pokémon and Fairy Tail crossover!
Next Time: Primordial Prowess