Hey guys, I'm back!
Sorry for the wait, but work kept me busy as always and I also was totally fanboying the new Disney movie "Frozen"! I'm happy to see that Disney still can bring out wonderful movies like that ;)
And I don't have to start about Idina Menzel's performance with the title song "Let it go", do I?

Also: Did you guys already read the newest manga chapter (377&378)? Absolutely awesome!
Well, I wont hold you any longer, here we go:

-:-

Ch. 6: Shadows of the past

"I will not allow you to lay a hand on them again. I'll challenge you to a duel."

The man only laughed at him. "You? A piece of trash like you? Don't make me laugh! You are all poor idiots who still believe in the light!"

Thalion looked on the ground, his face hidden by a shadow.

"Yes, you are right. Maybe we are idiots. But we are idiots who always stand up again, for seeing the sun rising again. But you... you have much to learn. You should never judge a man by his first appearance. Kansou: Takai-ten no yoroi (Reqiup: High Heavens Armor)."

A gold light surrounded him for a second before he was visible again. He was now completely covered in a golden armor, looking even more intimidating than Erza in her Purgatory Armor. He pointed his sword at the dark magician.

"You will now attend for your sins. I will show no mercy."

"You! It has been quite the time. But you don't stand a chance against me! White Fang!"

Thalion just stood still and let the attack hit him. He didn't even got a single scratch on him.

"You goddamn... White Fury!"

Again Thalion didn't move a single feet.

"Is it just me or is it getting a little cold around here?" he asked. "Is this truly all you've got? I'm disappointed."

He used his sword and slashed the air in front of him, creating a shockwave that crashed towards the dark magician. The man barely dodged the shockwave which destroyed nearly every tree behind him. The members of team Natsu watched in shock at this display of power.

'Just how strong is he?' Lucy thought as he watched the fight continue.

"I see. You are not the same as back then." the man said. "Heh, who wouldn't after that happened?" he chuckled.

Thalion froze. He looked at the other man with nothing but pure hate now. "Don't you dare to say another word."

"Oh, touchy aren't we? Tell me, how is your wife?" the other man laughed. "Oooops. I forgot. She is..."

"ENOUGH!" Thalion roared. "I told you I would show no mercy. You have just sealed your fate, scum."

The ground began to shake and the air felt more and more heavy as Thalion released his magic power. He moved his sword up to the sky and began to chant.

"The road is unmarked for those without faith."

A golden magic seal appeared under the dark magician.

"The road is not marked for those lacking faith."

A second seal appeared above him and the clouds began to form a circle in the sky above them. Lightnings came crashing down and Thalion's opponent looked seriously frightened by now.

"A billow fog blocks the gates of heaven."

His sword began to glow in a golden light as the pressure from the magic release began to grow. Lucy and the others couldn't even stand upright anymore and the Star Dragon Slayer began to hug her boyfriend tightly, her eyes wide in fear.

"The hand of God will cause them to fall from Jacob's ladder."

He pointed his sword at this opponent and opened his eyes again, pulling his sword back for a fatal strike.

"Tengoku no seigi (Heavenly Justice)!"

He moved as fast as a lightning as he charged at the man and a blinding golden pillar of light enveloped them when Thalion rammed his sword through the other mans chest.

When Lucy could open her eyes again, she gasped in shock. The ground where the dark magician stood only seconds before was now black and burned while from the man himself, not a single trace was left. She looked up to Thalion who was still wearing his golden armor and shivered in fear. She slowly started to walk backwards until she felt strong, warm arms enveloped her from behind.

"It's okay, Luce." Natsu whispered. "I'm here."

Lucy relaxed at bit and Natsu let go of her to walk in front of her.

"What did you do?" he asked Thalion.

"Tengoku no seigi. Those who are hit by its magic will be judged by the High Heavens and receive punishment for their sins. This man had committed many unforgivable sins. He was sent to the High Heavens to atone for the crimes he committed. It's a magic similar to Genesis Zero but it has other origins."

His armor disappeared and he was back in his black clothes. The crushing aura of magic power disappeared too and the members of Team Natsu released a breath they didn't even know they were holding.

"Who are you?" Lucy asked.

"As I said before, my name is Thalion. I am a member of Fairy Tail and a S-class mage as well as an old friend of Gildarts and Makarov."

"You know Gildarts and gramps?" Natsu asked surprised.

"Yes. I am a member of Fairy Tail for twenty years now, but I was travelling all over the world most of the time. I used to fight with Gildarts a lot when we were younger." he laughed. "I used to kick his ass every time. What?"

The others were just staring at him with their jaws dropped to the ground.

"Y-You beated Gildarts?" Natsu asked. "Hah! Then fight me! I'm all fired up!"

"This not going to end well..." Lucy mumbled as Natsu ignited his fists with fire and charged at Thalion who just stood still until Natsu was within his reach. One quick punch later Natsu was lying on the ground and Lucy wrapped a bandage around his head where he got a bump from hitting a rock 200 meters away from them.

"I knew it..." she mumbled again. But that was one of the things she loved about him. His ability to charge against into a fight head-on, even when his opponent is a hundred times stronger than him. She moved to bandages carefully around his head and moved a bang of his spiky pink hair to the side, before she catched herself.

'Lucy you idiot!' she thought. 'The others are watching! I- I don't want them to know yet. I would never hear the end of it.'

"Don't you think that Lucy looks even more tender with him as usual?" Wendy asked Erza as they walked back to the campfire.

"Now that you say it. She acts different around him. I wonder if... No. Natsu is to dense for that." she laughed. 'Or maybe ...?' she asked herself. She looked back to her two friend and saw Lucy getting up. She started to turn back around but then a movement from Lucy caught her eye. The Celestial mage bent down and gave the fire-breathing hot head a swift kiss on the cheek. Erza turned around abruptly, her face the color of her hair.

'T-t-t-they... So there is something going on with the two of them.' she smiled. 'I'm happy for you, Lucy.'

She turned to Thalion as they all had returned to the campfire and eyed the beautiful crafted sword at his side. "Where did you get a sword like this? It looks like it was crafted by a true master."

Thalion smiled at her and laughed. "Hah! Sure, the famous Titania would like to have a look at my sword. Sadly, I have to disappoint you. You wont find a sword like this on the face of earth. It's name is El'druin, the sword of Justice."

"El'druin?" Lucy exclaimed. "I've read of it somewhere. The legends say that it can't harm a living being that hold good and pure intentions."

"It's true." Thalion said. "This sword is old like the world itself and was forged at the beginning of the creation. It's bound to its wielder, so no other person but me and my master can use it."

"Your master?"

"Yes. The one who taught me to fight like this and the true wielder of this weapon. He is a wonderful being, the pure aspect of Justice itself. I'm searching the land because I hope that one day, I will find him and can finish the quest the leads me on my way to life." he smiled sadly.

"So tell me," Thalion exclaimed, changing back to his cheerful attitude. "What are mages of Fairy Tail doing so late in the night on the Capital road?"

"We are on the way to Crocus. Fairy Tail is going to be a part of the Grand Magic Games." Erza answered him.

"Hm. The Grand Magic Games. I've heard of them on my travels across the land. Maybe I stop by and watch you fight." he laughed.

"Wont you come with us?" Wendy asked.

"No. It would be too easy if I would go with you to Crocus. You'll need to earn the title of Fiores guild No. 1, not win it with cheating. My journey continues, but I'm sure we'll met again soon enough. Farewell my friends!" he said as he got up and walked towards the forest again. "May the light guide you on your path!"

And with that, his figure disappeared into the darkness.

"Well, now that scare is over, I'm going to hit the hay. Night guys." Gray yawned.

"Juvia will sleep with Gray-sama!"

"Argh! Back away you crazy woman!"

"I'll go for a walk." Lucy said. "I want to clear my head. There are memories coming back now and then and I want to order my thoughts before I sleep."

"Be careful, Lucy."

"Don't worry" she smiled. "I'm never alone, remember? she said, touching the keys at her belt.

She walked into the forest and towards a small lake she saw earlier on their travel. She stripped of her clothing and walked into the chilly water. She cringed when the water touched her bare skin but she relaxed soon afterwards. She swam around for a while, before she just decided to let her body float. She closed her eyes as her suppressed memories flooded her mind.

-"Ithil! Can I hunt with you today?"-

-"Look what I made for you, daddy!"-

-"Where are you, Ithil?"-

-"I want you to always remember, Lucy. No matter where I am, no matter what happens to me, I always be with you."

"How?"

"I always be in your heart, my child. For now and all the days to come."-

A lonely tear was running down her face as she walked back to solid ground and picked up the towel she brought with her to dry up. When she finished changing, she grabbed her key belt at took the key ring in her hand. It was too long since she called one of her friends from the Spirit World. She grabbed three of her keys and decided to test her newly awakened powers by calling out all of them at once.

"Gate of the lion, gate of the waterbearer, gate of the goat, I open thee! Leo, Aquarius, Capricorn!"

Three golden flashes of light later, her three strongest spirits stood before her. She didn't feel much of her magic drained of her. This was a lot different from before. Lucy smiled at her friends.

"It's good to see you again. I'm sorry for not calling you out in the last few weeks."

"It's good to see you good and healthy as well, Lucy-sama." Capricorn replied in his usual formal ways.

"Tch, better make this quick, brat. I have a date with my boyfriend." Aquarius said, laying empathy on the last word.

"Princess, you are beautiful as always." Loke smiled, same playboy as ever.

"I told you to stop this Loke." Lucy said embarrassed. "I'm..."

"You -?"

"Never mind." Lucy quickly covered. 'I'm such a goddamn idiot! I nearly told them that he can't act like this anymore because of Natsu! Stupid, stupid, stupid!'

"You don't have to hide it, princess." Loke smiled. "I know."

Lucy looked flabbergasted for a second. "H-how? Who? When?"

"I have my ways. I'm still a member of the guild, remember?"

"Don't tell my the fire idiot finally got the courage?" Aquarius asked. "The brat finally got a boyfriend, I can't belive it."

"My congratulations, Lucy-sama."

"S-Stop it!" the blonde cried in embarrassment. "I need to go back now, but I promise I call you more often from now on, okay?" she smiled before she closed the gates of her friends and returned to the camp. Natsu went from knocked out cold to sleeping soundly, apparently a unconsicious attempt to snore louder than Gray. She looked up to the stars as she reflected on the events of this day.

'Thalion. There is something with him he didn't tell us, I could feel it. And the names and places he talked about... I heard them somewhere before, but where? El'druin, The High Heavens, the aspect of Justice... where did I hear something like this?'

Thoughts like that kept her mind busy until finally sleep enveloped her and she laid down beside Natsu, her head on his warm chest. Unbeknownst to her, she was watched by Erza who decided to take the first guard tonight and was sitting on a tree near their campfire. The redhead smiled sadly as she too looked up to the sky and let her thoughts drift to a certain blue-haired mage, wandering the vast lands of Fiore at the very moment.

-:-

And finished!

Cookies for those who know the games/movies/stories I got the names from!
(Which probably means cookies for the most of you ^^)

Next chapter will take most definitely the same amount of time as this one, so don't panic. Star Citizen will release its Dog Fight Module on the 15th of April (If I'm correct), so I will play this for over Eastern ;)

Until than and Happy Eastern in advance!

Please review!