Chapter 5: The Legend of the Two Heroes

***A/N***

Hey everyone, thank you for all your support! I know that I haven't updated in like, forever, but school has just been really hectic for me. In all honesty, I wrote this chapter right after chapter 4 (which was released eons ago) but never had time to upload it. This quarter has just been crazy for me, but once I'm done, i'll definitely start writing again! For now, I hope this chapter will suffice until around the middle of June!
Thank you so much!

Gray hazily woke up as the sunlight illuminated his room. Well, technically, not his room, but the Duke's room, but since he was living with him and his daughter as a body guard, it might as well be considered his room. He lay down on his back and stared at the ceiling, letting his stream of consciousness drift. How was Levy doing with progress? Was the Duke going to be suspicious? And Juvia…

Just as his thoughts were concentrated on the blunette, he heard two light knocks on his door.

"Gray-san?" asked a familiar, yet timid voice.

"Yeah. Come in," Gray responded, his voice slightly breaking due to his morning grogginess. He sat up on his bed as the door widened.

"Good morning! I hope you had a nice- Gray-san, your clothes!" Juvia screamed, quickly turning around from Gray's bare body.

"What? You don't sleep naked?" he asked, befuddled at the idea of why anyone would wear anything to sleep.

"N-no! Err, breakfast is downstairs!" Juvia disappeared from the room in a flash, but not quick enough to cover her embarrassed facial expression.

Gray shrugged and put on his uniform. He freshened up and headed downstairs to find Juvia dressed up casually, like the first time he met her.

"Shouldn't you be dressed up a bit fancier?"

"Juvia doesn't need to dress up fancy to show Gray-san around town. Besides, we aren't going to be near the castle. There is no need to dress up so frivolously."

Gray only nodded as he was handed a plate of food from Juvia. A steaming bun and scrambled eggs were held before Gray and Juvia sat down to eat with him.

"Where's Duke Jose?" Gray asked. He didn't really want to know, as he was fine with just having breakfast with Juvia. But due to formalities, and him being the bodyguard and all, he was obligated to ask.

"Father is still sleeping. He normally doesn't wake up until around noon."

"But it's seven in the morning. We could have gotten more sleep," Gray yawned.

Juvia giggled. "I have to show you around town, remember? And I always get up this early. I have a few things to take care of before the Duke wakes up."

The two finished eating breakfast and Juvia excitedly grabbed her woven basket, the same one she held when she first encountered Gray, with the pie she made from last night. Gray was curious, but thought it was best to remain silent. He was going to find out soon enough what they were doing.

Juvia rushed out the house, with a large grin on her face, leaving Gray to play catch-up.

"Come on, Gray-san! We will be late," Juvia said, as she grabbed his arm to pull him faster toward there destination.

As the two walked to their destination, Juvia pointed out the essentials; the best places to eat, the markets, the roads that led to the castle, parks, and many other useful areas to know of. Juvia soon stopped shuffling her feet as she arrived to the rickety building in front of her.

Gray couldn't take it anymore. He popped the question that was long lingering on his mind.

"Is this the place we are going to? What is it?"

"It's the orphanage! They will love you here. Come, come in!" Juvia said delightfully. She pulled him into the building and soon they were both surrounded by kids.

"Juvia-nee! We've been waiting for you!" Meredy cried joyously. She ran up to hug Juvia's leg.

"Juvia-nee, who is this man?" Wendy asked, as she rubbed her tired eyes awake.

"Baka! Isn't it obvious? He's a prince!" Romeo yelled, running up to Gray and prodding at his sword.

Gray gave a hearty laugh as he drew out his sharp sword for Romeo to see.

"I'm no prince, but I do work for the King. I'm a soldier palace, and currently helping out Juvia and her family." Gray seemed to be enjoying the attention from the kid, with his eyes sparkling as he held out his sword.

"Wow, cool!" Romeo responded. "Do you fight dragons? Can you show me how to use a sword?"

"No problem, kiddo!" Gray brandished his sharp weapon, weaving it through the air to and fro. He almost sliced off a piece of Romeo's stray hair.

"Gray-san! Put that weapon down! You are going to hurt the kids!" Juvia screamed, clutching onto Romeo's head as she used her magic to squirt water onto Gray's face.

The soldier withdrew his sword and blinked several times to process what had just happened.

"You can use magic?" he interrogated.

"Huh?" Juvia remembered that she never mentioned her lackluster ability to Gray. "Oh, yes. Juvia has the power to use element of water. But she is still having trouble controlling it. Juvia can only do menial tasks."

Gray dark eyes lit up, with obvious pleasure on his face.

"Well, guess what? I can use magic too." Gray proceeded to extend his hands out and place his fist on top of his other palm. Instantaneously, a miniature ice sculpture Ur appeared in this hand.

"Wow, that's so pretty!" Wendy cried, tiptoeing to see Gray's art.

"Who is that? Can I have it?" Meredy asked, with her eyes pleading.

Gray laughed lightheartedly.

"Sure, you can have it. But it will melt eventually. This is Ur, my mentor who taught me icecreation magic."

"Gray-san, you must be very good with your ice creation magic, since you were appointed by the King," Juvia said in awe, examining the ice sculpture in detail.

"Well, I guess I owe it all to Ur," he stated, with a slight hurt look. "I trained as much as I could growing up, and now I'm here, working for the king."

"That's so cool!" Romeo shouted. "This is just like 'The Legend of the Two Heroes!'"

"What's that?" Wendy asked, her eyes huge with curiosity.

"A story! It's the best story ever! A long time ago, a legend told that these two heroes beat up a big, mean, scary dragon! And um, how does it go again? Juvia-nee, can you tell us the story?" Meredy requested.

"Of course. We can all enjoy the pie I brought while I tell the story," Juvia giggled. She was as excited as the kids were. After all, this was one of her favorite legends.

The group gathered around and sat on a tattered carpet, all with a generous proportion of savory pie on their plates, while Juvia seated herself on a dilapidated chair.

Gray sat with the kids, legs crossed, as Meredy seated herself on his lap, and Wendy and Romeo clutched either side of his arm, all poking and prodding at his armor or grabbing his silky hair, waiting for Juvia to start the story. Gray gave an exasperated sigh, letting it be known to Juvia that he wasn't sure what to do when it came to children. Juvia gave an encouraging smile, and although Gray didn't want to admit it, he was enjoying the presence of a younger generation admiring him.

"Well, now that everyone is settled in, are we ready to listen to 'The Legend of the Two Heroes?'" Juvia asked excitedly.

"Yeah!" the three children responded in unison.

"Well…Here we go! Once upon a time, before even time itself was recorded, there lived a strong and beautiful woman, named Erza…

"Stop right there."

The brilliance of the sharp-edged sword gleamed in the sunlight, as it pointed at the throat of the petty thief.

"How did you pull out that sword out of no where? D-do you know who you are pointing this sword at?" the thief said in a hoarse voice. "I'll show you!"

With that, the thief began to summon the earth, and large boulders of rock began to hurtle toward the sword wielding woman.

She smiled.

The scarlet haired woman materialized yet another sword, and in a swift yet graceful motion, she sliced the rocks in half, leaving the thief speechless.

In a low voice, the woman replied.

"I know who you are; you are a disgraceful human being. A shameful, reprehensible person who's thoughts can only be entertained by the idea of stealing money from the elderly." She pressed the rigid sword against the skin of the thief's neck.

"Y-you're..you're…" he stammered.

"I'm Erza Scarlet." With that, she subdued the criminal with a whack on the head with the side of her sword, leaving the authorities to deal with him later. She quickly returned the wallet to the victim and began to walk home.

She noticed flyers posted everywhere as she walked, warning townfolk of the dangers and devastation that was brought to several cities not too far from where she resided. Erza grabbed a flyer nailed to a neighboring fence.

Attention!

The town of Magnolia has just been plunged into calamity due to Acnologia! The dark dragon has awakened again, wreaking havoc onto all districts. Beware and be on alert for any town signals of evacuations.

Take only the necessities and be ready to leave at any times notice!

Erza shuddered at the flyer. Acnologia- the deadly dragon that was unlike any other dragon she'd heard of. Acnologia did not get along with humans- but strangely enough, mystics told that the dragon spawned from the absolute darkness that consumed the human flesh, transforming the person into the dark dragon itself. It was this dragon that Erza focused her life around. Her town was destroyed and burned to ashes when she was a little girl, wiping out her family and friends. She swore, that from that day forward, she would destroy the monster that claimed her family.

"You should relax, you know. Your face might get stuck like that forever," A man's voice whispered, as he took Erza's side. "Not that you wouldn't look any less beautiful."

Erza's eyes softened at the man's voice. Beside her stood Jellal, the only other person to survive Acnologia's attack on her village ten years ago. Only when both had lost everything did the find each other in the midst of the rubble and dust that dispersed in the air from the raid. From that day on, they were inseparable, both seeking revenge on the dark dragon. They trained day and night together, and as the years past, they accumulated such great magical power that they were well known throughout ancient Magnolia.

Jellal entwined his hand around Erza's. All those years of training together not only brought forth great magical power, but a relationship between the two that not even Acnologia could break.

"Let's go home," Erza said, blushing with a smile on her face as she squeezed Jellal's hand. "We need to train."

"You didn't have enough training already? You almost killed that thief earlier today," Jellal teased.

Erza gave him a swift and playful shove.

"You know I'd never kill someone. Aren't we saving that for a certain dragon?" she replied.

"Yeah..." Jellal murmured, as they walked hand-in-hand back to their home.

A couple more months passed as Jellal and Erza continued to train vigorously in preparation to defeat Acnologia. Jella nearly mastered his Heavenly Magic, while Erza advanced to perfection with her ex-quip magic. Everywhere they walked in Magnolia, hopeful eyes laid upon them. Everyone knew the couple was planning to take down the wretched dragon, and the town had finally given thought that they might, just might, be able to put the dragon to rest. Many brave souls have tried to conquer Acnologia, but none had compared Jellal and Erza. The two walked down the streets of Magnolia only to see more flyers posted, detailing more sieges on local towns.

"Jellal…When will we fight this beast? We have trained for the past ten years. We've read everything there is to know about Acnologia. We are ready," Erza stated, with no sign of fear in her voice.

"Soon, Erza. Even if we have all this power, we still don't know where the dragon resides. We need to attack it while it is vulnerable," Jellal replied, as the two walked down the streets to buy their groceries. He pulled her in closer to him, placing a firm grip on her waist.

Erza nodded, blushing at his gesture. Even though Erza was known for her serious attitude, Jellal always knew how to make her feel unsteady. But her thoughts were interrupted; just as Erza was about to speak, they heard a menacing roar above the sky.

Erza's eyes widened at the shriek. The whole town seemed to go quiet- the lively street the two were walking down on immediately froze. All people could do was stare upward and the unfolding event before them. Then, the sirens began to rang.

"Attention! Attention! This is not a drill! Acnologia is about to attack on Magnolia. Be calm and evacuate NOW! Direct yourselves to the city's escape route and-"

The loudspeakers around the town were cut off by another destructive roar, with an explosive sound following right after.

Jellal was the first to respond.

"Everyone, leave now! Follow the escape route!" he yelled, with a slight panic in his voice.

The wizard's voice brought the townspeople out of their trancelike state. In an instant, screams began to fill the silent air and the pounding of running feet hit the pavement.

"It looks like you got your wish, Erza," Jellal remarked. "Because we have to fight Acnologia, now."

Erza stood her ground, with a fierce look on her face.

"It's now or never, right? We either die from Acnologia or defeat him. Let's go."

She began to run toward the dragon, with its black, sleek body embroidered with blue streaks, flapping its enormous wings above the center of Magnolia.

"Wait," Jellal shouted, grabbing her arm. He pulled her in and gave her a soft kiss on the lips. "Don't die."

"The same goes for you. Live, for me."

The two stared intensely into each other's eyes. A million words could have been said in the midst of the chaos, but silence fit perfectly as they looked into each other's souls.

Another explosion.

Erza looked up, changing her loving expression to a hard glare. Jellal carried her into his arms and using his magic, ran at lightening speed toward the dark dragon.

Acnologia had landed onto a small town square, just on the outskirts of town, ready to produce another devastating attack onto Magnolia.

"Ex-quip: Heaven's Wheel Armor!"

With that, Erza's casual wear transformed into a silvery armor, with white wings spread on her back. A metal plated breast piece covered her top while an armed skirt flowed down her legs. Quickly, Erza began to fly toward Acnologia, with hundreds of sharp swords thrashing into the dragon's tough scales.

Jellal followed suit, and ran toward the dragon. With complete concentration, he began a series of heavenly magic.

"Heavenly Body Magic: Grand Chariot!"

Seven pillars of light formed above the sky, and all at once, the devastating beam began to rain upon the black dragon.

Swords and beams of light flew everywhere, with explosions hitting against the body of the reptile. Erza called forth her Trinity Shot, while Jellal continued his strike with his Heavenly Arrows. A series of painful screeches from Acnologia echoed in the now deserted town. As the dust cleared, Jellal and Erza stopped their combo attacks to see if they defeated the beast.

Jellal's eyes did not deceive him.

Acnologia, seemingly unscathed, appeared to have an evil grin on his face as it stretched its wings to fly. With a growl, the dragon began to take in a deep breath.

"Watch out! It's Dragon Roar is coming!" Erza screamed.

The assault was so sudden that Erza and Jellal barely had any time to react. Erza fell immediately to the attack, groaning at the burning sensation that traveled down her spine. Jellal, using his meteor, had just dodged the attack, only to be barraged by the whip of Acnologia's tail, sending him smashing into a wall.

The two could barely move, but through sheer will, forced themselves to their feet.

"Er-Erza… Are you all right?" Jellal said weakly, with the taste of blood invading his mouth.

"No, but that is what I expected," coughed Erza, soaked in her own blood. "We have to do it! We must unison raid now! Another hit like that, and we might be dead!"

Jellal agreed and ran to Erza's side as fast as his body would allow him to. He held onto her tightly before placing his hand in hers.

Acnologia flew up into the sky, showing its deadly claws and giant wings. The dragon finished breathing in, as if preparing to release it's Dragon Roar.

"Heaven's Wheel Armor: Blumenblatt!" Erza shouted against the loud wind.

"True Heavenly Body Magic: Sema!" Jellal yelled.

"Union Raid!" the two cried together.

Erza's hundreds of swords began to pierce up toward the heavens, into Jellal's large, dark cloud that rumbled louder than Acnologia's roar. An astronomical sized beam of celestial light that contained the legion of winged swords, several times bigger than Acnologia, then fell from the sky toward their enemy.

Erza and Jellal shut their eyes from the blaring glare of their unison raid. Any trace of magial power previously contained had left them. But just as the beam hit the monster, Acnologia performed its last dragon roar toward the defenseless heroes.

The two opposing attacks simultaneously occurred, producing a blast that could have been felt thousands of miles away.

Then there was nothing. Only silence and dust remained after the catastrophic attacks.

As the people of Magnolia came back to their site a week later, they witnessed something unbelievable.

In the heart of the city laid a man, dead. His back was scaled, matching the design of Acnologia perfectly. The sides of his arms had reptile-like features, and his eyes looked that of a dragon. Around him were torn pieces of shriveled up skin, resembling wings.

There was no sight of the two heroes.

"What happened to them?" Wendy cried, with tears in her eyes.

"No one knows. Some people say that they never even fought, and evacuated the city just like everyone else, and simply never returned. No one was there to see anyone fight the dragon. Others, mainly the people of Magnolia, say they knew Erza and Jellal defeated the dragon. Many cities and neighboring towns didn't believe them, saying it was impossible for two mages to slay that dragon," Juvia replied softly, her eyes getting watery.

"I've heard this story many times. My grandparents used to tell me that Erza and Jellal were placed in the heavens after defeating Acnologia. The man who looked like the dragon was supposedly the man who had his soul completely consumed by darkness, and then transformed into the dragon. But there are many different variations of this story," Gray explained.

"That's so sad!" Meredy sniffled. "Maybe they are still alive! And they just were playing hide and seek!"

Juvia giggled at the comment.

"This story was passed down hundreds and hundreds of years ago. For all we know, this could just be a simple fairy tale. No one knows if The Legend of the Two Heroes is real or not," Juvia rendered. Juvia warmly hugged Meredy and Wendy to stop their tears.

The three orphans were so exhausted from the excitement from the story that they soon fell asleep.

Juvia glanced at Gray and gave him a smile.

"We should be going now," Juvia whispered.

"Are you sure it's okay to leave them alone like this?" Gray asked, scratching his head.

"Oh, is someone getting attached already?" Juvia teased, trying to stifle her laughter so no child would awaken.

"N-no! I hate kids," Gray proclaimed. A light shade of red on his face was accompanied by his embarrassment. "But what you do is really admirable. The kids must really appreciate you." Juvia reminded him of Ur's compassion and care for Gray, due to his parents being constantly busy.

"O-oh, is that so?" Juvia replied, blushing at his praise. "The children are the ones Juvia appreciates. They are so full of life, Juvia fell in love with them the day she met them,"

Gray smiled kindly at Juvia. Not only did the kids appreciate her, but he did too. She was making his mission to avenge his family a bit more comforting. Constantly thinking about his family and Ur sometimes was too much for him. Juvia was like a refreshing raindrop that allowed him to breathe from time to time.

She nudged Gray forward. "Now let's go home. You can help me make dinner if Duke Jose doesn't need your protection tonight."

Gray nodded and gave a slight smirk. Why couldn't I just be a bodyguard for her? Instead I have to deal with that bastard Duke Jose. His smile faded as he thought about how he had to face Juvia's father soon. Gray began to get heated up from just thinking about the Duke. His thoughts were interrupted by Juvia's stammer.

"G-gray-san! Not in front of the kids!" Juvia said with mortification. She quickly tossed her cloak to Gray and shoved him out the door, even though the kids were all swiftly asleep, with eyes shut tightly.

"What are you talking about?" he asked, a bit annoyed at her push.

"Y-your clothes!" she screamed as they exited the building. Her pale hands proceeded to cover her cerulean eyes.

"S-shit!" Gray shouted. "When then hell did that happen?"

A/N

Hey guyssssssssss! Trying to pump out some more stuff, but school's getting pretty busy lately. And I know what you are thinking:

"What the hell, GreenTeaCakes! Y U PUT RANDOM STORY WITHIN STORY, DAWG?"
Well, it's an important part to develop my plot. And some of you might say, mannnnnnnn, GET ON WITH THE PLOT! And I'm trying, but I just feel like I have so much shit wrapped around this story that I have to put out all of my ideas. This can either go terribly wrong or somewhat decent. So, a big THANKS to all the folks who have stuck through these chapters so far. I'll be trying my best to make this story awesome for you all!

Thanks for all the support and help3

-Cakezzzzz