Disclaimer: I don't own FT
"I didn't think you'd do something so stupid," Gray said, taunting the dragon slayer, "you've outdone yourself."
"But it killed him, didn't it?" Natsu grinned, cracking his knuckles as he sat on a table. They were discussing the battle that had occurred the previous day. Though Natsu was still sick, he was no longer bedridden.
"It seems there is no limit to your powers, Natsu," Erza added, "I'm sure you could take out the entire Void Crusaders' army if you wanted to."
"I've never seen power like that in all my travels," Lucy said, "actually, I don't think I've seen any power on the level of Fairy Tail's except for these weird guys attacking now."
"We have to be ready for whoever the woman was, and whoever else there may be," Gray warned, becoming pensive, "if Rune was fighting with his powers being drained, these guys at full strength will be tough."
"Erza," Gildarts called, standing over the armour pieces piled carefully on the floor, "it's time for you to try on some new clothes."
Erza walked to the armour, picking up the boots and inspecting them.
"Do you feel anything from them?" Lucy asked curiously. Erza shook her head.
"Just what I felt when I held the pauldrons, but we all felt that." She responded, the boots disappearing from her hands to her pocket dimension. She had returned her Sea Empress Armour to the real world to make space, figuring it would be the least useful under the circumstances. The guild members watched as the pieces disappeared one by one.
"Is there any chance Erza-san isn't the last descendant?" Wendy asked fretfully, fearing for the safety of the S-Class mage.
"Mary was never wrong with her knowledge." Lucy told the young girl, looking apologetic. Erza placed a reassuring hand on Wendy's shoulder.
"Don't waste energy worrying about me. You'll have battles of your own to face up to when it comes to it," She said, "I'll do my best to defeat Moros. The world depends on it."
"Erza's best is stronger than anything!" Happy chimed in, Natsu proudly nodding in agreement.
"Try the armour, Erza." Makarov ordered, bringing them back to the immediate topic. Erza complied, body lighting up as her normal armour disappeared, replaced by the ivory pieces as they bound around her frame.
"Whoa! Erza looks awesome!" Natsu whooped, fist in the air.
"How do you feel?" Makarov asked, soon noticing something was wrong. Lucy touched the young woman's exposed forearm, unable to move it even a slight amount.
"It's like she's been petrified!" She said, voice quivering, 'Erza...'
"Were the pieces cursed?" Gray uttered worriedly, "Is it possible Moros knew all along?"
Erza could hear their voices and see their faces, including her own.
"Is Gray right? Were the pieces poisoned?" she asked herself, looking at the scene. A deep, hearty chuckle came from behind her. She span around, sword in her hand.
"Of course the pieces aren't poisoned," A tall, muscular man boomed, his red curly beard framing a wide jaw, "I made them myself after all. Nothing can get into them."
"W-who are you?" Erza stammered, raising her sword.
"Hah, put the sword down. I'm a spirit, you can't attack me. This is a vision, you'll be back to your friends when I've finished." he replied, grinning. He was dressed in armour that matched the set Erza was wearing, with the addition of a helmet, ivory like the rest of the armour apart from the visor, which was a dark metal.
"You're Judoc Lysander," The Requip mage declared, finally lowering her weapon, unsure of how she should be feeling.
"And you're the only one of my descendants left. This means my prophecy is coming true," he replied, face becoming solemn, "you're the poor mite who has to deal with it."
"You have a strange way of motivating people." Erza shot back, dismissing her sword and folding her arms.
"When the books said I had a nightmare about Moros," Judoc began, ignoring her remark, "they weren't talkin' metaphorically. I had a one-year long battle with that horror. Hard work for a smith."
"O-one year?" Erza repeated, astounded. Doubt began to crash over her in stormy waves. How could she maintain - let alone win - a battle that could last a year?
"Don't worry about the time. Yours will be shorter, I made sure of it. Mine lasted a year because that's what Moros wanted; we fought on his terms, in his realm. But then I forged the Hellsbane Armour. This time, Moros is fighting on my terms. He can't drag you into his hell-hole if you're wearing that."
"What is special about the armour? What properties does it possess? How has it not weakened over time?" Erza questioned, eagerly awaiting the answers.
"My soul is in that armour. That's why I'm talkin' to you now," He answered, gesturing to her cuirass, "and that's why it never aged."
"But why didn't you defeat Moros properly when you faced him? How could he come back?" Erza continued, "Who is Moros?"
"Moros is the combination of every bad thing on this planet. Fear gives him strength, allows him to become a real thing. When I killed him last time, he had built up from the beginning ages, when emotions were created, finally ready to destroy the world with his demons. But when I defeated him, it was in his own realm. That meant he could just wait again for fear to build up, but someone sped up the process with those attacks. He should be weaker now," Judoc said, hands on hips.
"What's stopping that from happening again if I defeat him? Will he not just come back?"
"I'm going to stop that from happenin' again," The smith vowed, "when you defeat him this time, I'm taking him to the heavens to be purged. I've been waiting many centuries for this, my soul is restless. When I get to him, he ain't coming back."
"What if I lose?" Erza said. The man chuckled.
"Lysander's don't lose! We get back up again when we're knocked down! You should know that, you've done it enough times on your adventures," he replied, placing a large hand on her shoulder. The touch was what Erza imagined fatherly love to feel like.
"But my battle against Moros is mine and mine alone. Nobody can help me."
"Nonsense. I'm right here with you." Judoc assured.
"What was it like to battle him?"
"He'll use dirty play and trickery to try drive you insane. The worst part is the illusions, the worst fears you can think of bein' played in your mind. You have to remember to stay with the light. It's just fear, ignore it and remember your happiest times. That's how you beat him," the smith divulged, hand slipping away, "there are also some things I need to give you."
He removed his helm, revealing a mop of flattened auburn hair. The object glowed and reduced in size in his hands. He gently placed it over Erza's head. A large shield materialised in his right hand, glowing around the edges. The dominant colour was brown, a hammer and anvil decoration the only ivory present. Erza took it, noticing it was light as a feather.
"If anyone else other than my bloodline picked that up, they'd have a hard time liftin' it," Judoc explained, "now you're all set to kill the darkness. Good luck."
He turned and began to walk away.
"You're the only blood family I've known," Erza called after him, feeling reluctant to let him go. He stopped and looked over a broad shoulder.
"That ain't true. Your name might be Lysander, but I damn well know your true blood lies in that guild," he said, gesturing at her worried friends, "but should you need something when they aren't around, just look inside yourself. I'll always be watchin' over my family. Especially you, Titania."
With those words, his back finally disappeared.
Erza glowed for a second upon being returned to the physical world, now donning the helm and shield.
"What happened?" Natsu asked, looking at the two new arrivals confusedly. "How did you get those?"
Erza smiled fondly as she was bombarded with questions. She stood with the help of Lucy.
"Enough," She ordered, quieting the curious murmuring, "a friend paid me a visit and told me all I need to know."
"The armour... it feels different," Lucy commented, "stronger somehow."
"All the pieces are together," Gray noted, he too feeling the energy, "so now it's complete. Is this enough to kill Moros?"
"I'll make sure it is," Erza said confidently.
"Shouldn't you have a sword or something?" Carla asked, noticing the lack of weapons.
Erza responded, "My own sword will strike down the heart of evil, I don't need anybody else's for that."
Levy rushed into the guild hall clutching the dark book to her chest.
"Did you find something, Levy?" Lucy pried, seeing the panicked look in the girl's eyes.
"I deciphered the book, they'll fully attack on the fifth night next month!" She relayed. Lucy counted the days in her head before gasping.
"B-but that's exactly a month away! There's no way we'll be ready in time!" The Celestial Spirit Mage cried.
"Fairy Tail doesn't give up," Makarov said calmly, "we have to be ready for this as much as we can be. So stop being lazy, and get yourselves in shape for war!"
"You should go tell the Council, Gramps. You can return what's left of the Soutirer scroll while you're at it," Laxus said. Makarov sighed.
"I suppose I should. You kids behave yourselves while I'm gone. And train!" He commanded, shuffling out of the room to pack his belongings.
Natsu cracked his knuckles, grinning widely, "I'm gonna take them all out. Rune was nothing!"
"Rune had you sick as a dog yesterday," Gray retorted, "don't think you can succeed with the same thing twice."
"I wonder how Moros will present himself?" Lucy said, hand on chin. Levy smiled as she interrupted the exchange.
"The book says Erza will be transported to the Hall of Echoes to fulfil the prophecy." She told, finger trailing down the page.
"Huh? Where's that?" Natsu asked. Levy shrugged.
"When Judoc Lysander fought Moros the first time, they fought in Moros' dimension, which is a mirror-image of Earthland, but everything is desecrated. The Hall of Echoes existed there, but the book doesn't tell the location."
"Probably to stop anybody else finding it and interfering." The Requip mage said, equipping her Heart Kreuz armour again.
"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's train. Fight me, Erza!" Natsu nagged, running at her with a ball of flame in his fist. Erza merely used his momentum against him, dodging the punch and grabbing his arm, flipping him over and slamming his back against the floor.
"You should be resting," she chided as he groaned in pain, "not exerting your energy. Our training begins tomorrow."
Lucy admired the natural leadership the young woman seemed to emit, realising that the guild seemed a lot more confident when she, Natsu and Gray were. Erza may have been the pillar holding the world together at that moment in time, but she and her closest friends were also pivotal to the running of Fairy Tail. Little by little, Lucy could sense her feelings becoming stronger, unsure as to whether that was a good thing or not. She looked at the mage who was currently berating Natsu, and could say one thing for definite:
'Erza Scarlet, you are really something.'