After the 'Disaster' of the Hot-spring, Layla decided to take matters into her own hands and created a real natural hot-spring in the area.
Because the spring was intended for relaxation, she decided to use the energy recovery of Sky Magic that was removed from the wisps; applying it as an enchantment to the pools to replenishing those that soaked in them.
It was the very last day the group would spend in the dimension, so they made the most out of it by doing absolutely nothing. The first order of nothing was bathing in the newly constructed hot-spring pools.
Gray and Kori had grown rather close and the previous days incident only made it more obvious to onlookers. This caused Lucy to feel some envy as she wished to have the same with Natsu, but he as usual was oblivious to romance and she was too timid to make a move herself, so they were at a stalemate.
Saphira was soon to leave Kori and she was feeling indecisive as a protective parent on what to really do. She knew however, that interfering would only cause a rift between herself and Kori, and she was old enough to make her own decisions. Saphira just wished Kori wouldn't joke around so much on the subject.
Layla also told Saphira, there was no point standing in the way of the heart; she had experienced this first hand almost 30 years ago, during her human existence.
"I have to admit, we can't hold a candle to Layla's hot-spring" Erza said as she stretched in the water
"She cheated though, she used magic to make the water do sky healing" Lucy pouted
"In fairness, we could have done the same, if Kori and I combined our magic" Wendy replied
"Yeah she is just smarter than us" Kori said smiling at Wendy
Suddenly lightning struck behind a wall near the girls position.
Lucy laughed before proclaiming "However, that is the best use of magic I have seen to date!"
Lucy looked at the electrified wall that separated the boys and girls section of the hot-spring; it was designed to shock anyone that tried to peep on either side.
"What are you ladies gossiping about" Saphira said as she and Layla had arrived to join them
"We were just admiring the wall" Wendy replied with a smile.
"I do feel sorry for the boys though" Erza said as she thought about inviting them over
"Oh don't feel bad for them, they get just as much relaxation from the water as us; they don't need any 'extra service'" Layla said with a smile as she and Saphira relaxed in a small adjacent SPA
Meanwhile on the boy's side...
"Are you ok Natsu?" Gajeel asked looking at his charred body
"I thought I was going to die!" Natsu exclaimed as he rolled back into the pool
"Well this water seems to heal, so you can always take another try after a dip" Gray replied, as he enjoyed watching Natsu get electrocuted
"Why don't you just make us some stairs or something over it" Natsu angrily responded
"Because I value my life; the girls would kill me" Gray said with a shiver
As he said that a lightning strike landed on the girls section of the wall followed by a scream
"See they are no better than us!" Gajeel exclaimed
"Well at least it's fair I suppose..." Natsu added
"Still it does kind of hurt my soul as a man" Gray added
Meanwhile on the girl's side...
"Really Kori..." Saphira said as she looked at Kori's charred body
"What... I just wanted to see If I could use an Ice mirror to see over the wall..." Kori pouted
"Well the wall sure showed you" Lucy replied with a giggle
"Actually I had to do that manually. It never occurred to me you would go to these lengths" Layla said with surprise
"I out smarted the system!" Kori proclaimed
"I'm not sure if that's something to be proud of" Wendy said with a teardrop
"Let's not give the boys ideas, they have more to gain" Lucy added
"Oh? Are you saying you wouldn't like a peek?" Kori replied with a grin, Lucy who wasn't ready for the question thought of Natsu and blushed
"I knew it!" Kori exclaimed as Layla giggled
"Really Lucy? Which one caught your eye?" Erza replied somehow oblivious to the obvious
"It's Natsu isn't it!" Kori said with a grin as Lucy turned completely red
"Well you like Gray!" Lucy replied trying to divert attention
But instead, Kori exhaled deeply and said "Gray" with a passionate smile
"Just so you know... This wall doesn't stop sound... we can hear everything" Gajeel shouted over the wall, as all the girls froze in shock
"Gray you stud!" Natsu exclaimed
"You too Natsu!" Gray replied
"WHY AREN'T YOU TWO FIGHTING!" Lucy screamed over the wall prompting Layla to laugh.
"Don't laugh Momma, it's embarrassing!" Lucy pouted
"We could always invite them over" Erza replied
"Seconded!" Kori immediately added
"Third!" Gajeel yelled from over the wall
"Noooo!" Wendy and Lucy screamed
"Sorry boys it wasn't unanimous" Layla replied with a laugh
"I'm surprised you let it get this far" Saphira said as she looked at Layla
"It's our last day here, I guess I'm just trying to have fun also" Layla replied with a smile.
"Still... Being cooped up for so long, this pool does little to release the stress on my seals" Layla said as she stretched
"Your seals? The things you were changing for our sparring?" Erza asked slightly concerned
"Yes, and that did help, but I haven't released some of the larger ones for a while" Layla replied
"Does that mean you need to release 100% again momma?" Lucy replied slightly terrified
"100%" Wendy said as she shivered in fear
"100%? Is it really that bad?" Kori asked in confusion
"Terrifying" Gajeel shouted from over the wall
"What you're scared too Gajeel, but you're a Dragon Slayer!" Kori replied
"Kori... Citrine at full power... Scares me" Saphira replied with seriousness
"Really?" Erza replied surprised that another Dragon would be scared.
"I guess you will all have to judge for yourselves!" Natsu exclaimed from over the wall.
"You are all strong enough now so I'll show you all before we leave. You need to know so you understand the threat Obsidian poses" Layla replied with a reassuring smile, but a seriousness
A few hours had passed; they had all done a final clean up of the place ensuring it was ready for the next group, and everyone was now gathered outside the accommodation building.
Each of them took turns cycling through the Magic Analyser for a final time, however they hadn't really gone up too much since the first week. However there was some progress for all of them so they were happy.
Saphira was talking with Layla a little down the grassy hill, regarding her plans with releasing the seals. As Saphira turned and made her way back to the group they all noticed the worried expression on her face.
"What was all that about?" Lucy asked concerned
"Yeah, you look worried Mom" Kori said with some confusion
Saphira answered with some sighs of worry "Citrine is going to 'show you' her power"
"But we have already seen her form at 100%" Natsu replied confused
"Yeah it's scary but what's the big deal this time?" Gajeel added
"She is going to use an attack... she want's you all to brace yourselves..." Saphira said with fear in her voice.
"WHAT!" Lucy exclaimed in horror
"Are you serious!" Natsu said with fear
"I take it I should be terrified" Gray said sweating
"She never went above 20% vs me, so if she is going to be 5x that... I'm concerned" Erza said with a tremble in her voice
"Well I doubt she will let anything happen to us" Kori replied with a smile
Layla shouted from down the hill "Okay I'm starting!"
Layla closed her eyes, and soon all the visible blue wisps of air in the dimension drew to her like a magnet as they began to swirl around her. Sparks of white lightning flickered in the wind like static electricity and the sky filled with ominous dark clouds...
A massive pillar of green fire erupted; much like Erza had seen earlier but the intensity was significantly greater. The blue wind that had gathered swirled violently around the fire and became thicker, soon rising creating a solid blue tornado.
Multiple giant arcs of white lightening poured out from the clouds above striking the flames 25 meters in the air and as they did a shockwave of magical energy erupted outwards.
The air suddenly grew thick like a liquid around the onlooking wizards, and fear began to seep into their souls. A blinding light shone from the maelstrom as all the other elements finally dissipated.
"I DON'T HAVE LONG" Citrine exclaimed as her Golden Dragon form was revealed.
Citrine raised her right palm towards the group and a thick green dome shield appeared over their position
"You guys weren't lying!" Gray said petrified by the crushing sensation of Citrine's Magical presence.
"How are we meant to fight something like that?" Kori replied in terror
"Together" Erza said with a reassuring smile.
"Even under this shield I'm scared of what comes next" Lucy said shivering as she held Wendy
Citrine extended her wings and multiple balls of energy seemed to condense along its length, the yellow light swirled into them as they all grew in size...
"Wait is that like Ophiuchus?!" Erza exclaimed
"But that attack was gigantic!" Gajeel said in fear
"There are at least 20 of them!" Natsu said in terror
"Oh god..." Saphira added as even she was terrified much to Kori's horror as she watched the row of lights
Suddenly all the balls of light vanished and Citrine let out a terrifying roar; it alone sent out a shockwave that demolished the accommodation building only meters from the group.
Citrine flapped her wings and quickly rose into the sky and started to hover about 100 meters from the ground with an ominious yellow aura of fire, before she spun facing away from the group towards the desert.
Multiple arcs of lightning struck her suddenly across the entire span of her wings, and like pulling a trigger, an array of yellow comets shot out from her wings in a wide 270 degree arc covering the mountains desert and ocean area in a single sweep.
As the comets made contact, the ground cracked around the shielded group and they found themselves almost blinded as multiple massive explosions filled the entire scope of their vision. The entire area was reduced to ash.
About 10 seconds passed where they couldn't hear anything but a ringing noise in their ears and they all continuously blinked to get the flashes out of there vision. All they could see was brown dust and black smoke on the outside of the shield, so they couldn't gauge the aftermath, but all of them knew... It was apocalyptic in scale.
Without warning Citrine in her human form walked in through the bubble with only her wings now out and a smile on her face. The group just stared at her completely frozen in shock before Lucy screamed "WHY" as she began to freak out.
"You all now understand why we can't fail" Layla said
A blue torrent of air formed outside the shield blowing all the dust away, revealing to the group that all that was left outside the shield was darkness. They soon realised that they were now standing on a small floating chunk of rock encased in the green sphere shaped shield.
Another smaller bubble was visibly floating near their position in the nothingness, which contained the doorway back to Earthland; much to the relief of those present.
"How are we meant to fight that?" Gray asked in horror
"With all your being" Layla replied
"What scale of attack was that" Erza bluntly asked.
"On the analyser, that would've been about 1 million" Layla replied with seriousness in her eyes.
"AWESOME!" Natsu exclaimed as everyone else just blinked in shock
"As devastating as that was, this dimension is no substitute for Earthland. Unlike here, there would be a significant crater instead, but not much else." Layla clarified
"So what of this place now?" Gajeel asked as it was no longer useful
"I'll repair it for the others, but it will be out of operation for a few days" Layla said with a smile
"What do we do now?" Kori asked with some confusion and as she did the other bubble carrying the gate merged with theirs like a separate module.
"We take our leave, and report back to Fairy Tail" Layla said happily.
"Remember, you are all significantly stronger now! So don't do anything stupid back there" Saphira added
"I'd also recommend you don't boast about your new readings from the analyser... As it may scare some people. I'll be informing Makarov of your progress personally" Layla added
"Okay" Erza replied with a nod
"Yeah let's go, it's been fun" Gajeel said
"Right!" Lucy said regaining her confidence
"Seeya's on the other side!" Natsu exclaimed as he walked through the portal the rest of the group following except Saphira and Layla
"Do you think it was wise to show them that Citrine?" Saphira said with worry
"I needed them to be scared now, so that they will overcome that fear. When the time comes that they face Obsidian, they will not go in blind" Layla replied
Saphira sighed but Citrine was right. Saphira understood the gravity of the situation but still couldn't help be worried.
"I just wish I didn't have to destroy this place to show them, but that's my fault" Layla replied with a sigh
"How long will it really take you to fix this place, there isn't much left" Saphira asked
"Well it will actually take me 6 months, but because of the time difference that's only 1 week outside" Layla responded
"We should catch up with the group, I need to inform Kori that I will be leaving soon to find the others" Saphira said with some sadness.
"You still haven't told her?" Layla said surprised
"I didn't want her distracted during training. But now I think, with the bond she has formed with Gray, that my leaving will result in the two being closer" Saphira said a little concerned.
Layla giggled "Well, Gray has proven himself to be kind and caring; he has a warm and protective heart for his friends, she would be hard pressed to find better" Layla said with a reassuring smile to Saphira
"I guess you are right, at least she wont freeze him to death... That boy has a remarkable resilience to the cold" Saphira said with a smile as she walked out of the portal.
Layla looked around at the nothingness "I'll be back to fix you up soon" she said to the void, before stepping through the portal herself...
