Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or any of its characters.
Fair warning: this fic is rated M for a reason.
"Speech"
"Thoughts"
"I came here…for her!"
Not taking his eyes off of Deimos, Gray stood in front of Ultear to partially shield her "Ultear, go back to the camp while I hold him off."
"Are you insane?! I'm not going anywhere! We'll fight him together!"
"Ultear please" The look Gray gave to her took her by surprise "He's after you, not me! Lyon told us what he did to Jura and I don't want that to happen to you!"
"Gray, I'm no pushover! I can face him!"
"Since you two lovebirds can't decide I'll do it for you" by a wave of his hand, black ropes emerged from beneath Ultear much to Gray's horror.
"Ultear!"
Chapter 33: The Lord of Demons
Not expecting the attack, Ultear fell prey to the ropes and was soon completely tied up. While Gray tried to free her she used her Arc of time to dispel the ropes, but soon realized it was not working.
"Dear child, did Hades not teach you the full extent of your magic?" Ultear glared at Deimos as he spoke "the arc of time is not only unable to affect living things, dark magic is also unaffected by it."
Unable to free her, Gray turned his attention to Deimos "Let her go!"
"No"
"Ice make: lance!" The ice barely left his hands before Deimos blew it away with a shock wave, sending Gray and Ultear to the ground.
"Now then…" a figure covered in lightning slammed hard onto Deimos, sending the cloaked figure crashing into a tree before a powerful spell impacted on him.
"Not bad other me." Jellal complemented Mystogan as he inspected their work. "We make a good team."
"Where not done here" Mystogan raised his staff and pointed to Astria, who until now had not moved even when her master was being attacked. In fact, she didn't seem worried at all.
"Jellal and…Jellal"
Both mages instantly turned to the rubble where Deimos was reincorporating; his cloak was thorn by the combined assault, leaving his red dark armor in full view for them.
"This is quite the opportunity, a shame I'm no longer interested in power such as yours."
Team Natsu plus Ur and Meredy reached the scene and evaluated the situation; while Ur and Meredy went to help Ultear get free, the Fairy mages stood up against Deimos.
"Deimos! You survived!?" Erza brandished her sword and prepared to attack.
"Astria, deal with them." Deimos ignored the Fairy mages and started walking towards Ultear.
"My pleasure" Astria grabbed one of her keys and turned to Fairy Tail "Open the gate of Hell: Belphegor!"
Back at Magnolia, Vergil felt a dark oppressing force close to the city, but more importantly; near the place where his former vessel was meeting Crime Sorciere. Mirajane also felt the strange presence and tensed a bit.
"Mirajane, go to the guild and warn the guildmaster." Grabbing Yamato he sped off to the site, ignoring Mira's call.
"Vergil wait!" seeing he was already gone, Mira did as told and woke Elfman before heading towards the guild.
At Fairy Hills:
"Got any sevens?"
"Go fish"
Lisanna and Angel were bored out of their minds; since Natsu was meeting with Crime Sorciere, Lisanna decided to crash with Angel for the night. The celestial mage agreed with the idea and said they should stay in Natsu's house (to secretly steal a shirt from him) when Elfman put his foot down and told them it was not manly for Lisanna to spend the night at her fiance's house. So both girls opted for Angel's room in fairy hills.
Angel dropped on her bed and asked "What do you think Natsu's doing?"
Lisanna thought for a moment before answering "knowing him, probably fighting someone."
Both girls dropped their cards when they sensed through the bond the oppressing feeling that Natsu was facing.
"Natsu-kun!" Not wasting time, both girls left the dorm and ran towards Natsu's location.
The earth trembled before a wave of fire erupted and the demon Belphegor appeared before them. Reevaluating the situation, Erza left Jellal and Mystogan handle Deimos while she changed to her purgatory armor.
"Natsu! Same strategy as before!"
The dragon slayer grinned and cracked his knuckles "Got ya!" Natsu barely took a step forward and tripped face first to the ground.
"Natsu!" Happy landed next to him and helped him get back on his feet. "What happened?"
Natsu looked left and right until he found the reason of his fall: On his back he carried Rebellion and with the tip of the sword he hit a tree root, which explained why he tripped. Scratching his head he apologized to Erza.
"Sorry, still getting used to carrying it. I'm ready now!"
Erza felt a vein popping in her head but shook it off and lunged towards Belphegor. When Erza's sword was about to collide with the demon, she was taken by surprise when Belphegor grabbed her blade and stopped her dead in her tracks. Natsu ran to help her, but the demon punched Erza and sent her crashing into him.
"Foolish girl, last time I was playing along" Astria mocked Erza and Natsu "But I assure you, this time Belphegor will show you his true power."
Seeing her teammates down, Lucy shook the strange feeling he got from Belphegor and grabbed her own keys "Open the gate of the bull: Taurus!"
By her command, the zodiac spirit Taurus appeared and instantly started ogling at her "Lucy-sama! It's always a pleasure…." Taurus stopped mid- sentence and turned his attention to Belphegor "A demon key!"
"You know them?" Lucy wondered what was the story behind it, but decided to leave it for later "Taurus, defeat that thing."
Taurus seemed to doubt for an instant, but quickly charged against Belphegor; dodging the flame pillars sent his way, Taurus jumped and swung his axe to hit Belphegor, but the demon grabbed hold of him and slammed him to the ground.
"Taurus!"
While Lucy watched as Taurus was being tossed around like a rag doll, Deimos faced the two Jellal's.
"Demonic illusion: corroding mist"
A think mist covered Deimos, courtesy of Mystogan. The mist itself carried a heavy corroding effect that targeted weapons and armors, rendering them useless, which was perfect for this situation. Since organic beings were not affected, Jellal used this chance to enter the mist and attack Deimos.
"Meteor…" Jellal found a hand pressing his neck forcing him out of his meteor mode, act followed by Deimos blasting the mist away with his magical aura. His armor and helmet were unaffected by the corroding mist.
"This has gone long enough" Deimos chocked Jellal into unconsciousness and tossed him away to focus on Mystogan. "I do not care for your little lives; I came here only for her."
"Then you'll have to come trough me" Mystogan turned into mist when Deimos tried to ram him. When he materialized back, Mystogan clutched his chest in pain before falling down.
"I think I just did."
"Mystogan!" Erza brushed the hit from Belphegor and switched to her black wing armor to fight Deimos. While Erza fought Deimos, Ur and Meredy did all they could think of to free Ultear.
"This thing won't budge." When Meredy pulled a black rope, another appeared around Ultear. Hearing a cry of pain, the three girls watched as Erza got knocked out. A small trickle of blood ran down Erza's forehead but she was still alive.
"You put up a good fight" Deimos praised Erza as he inspected the cuts on his armor "Now then…where were we?"
Ur stood in front of Ultear and Meredy as Deimos approached "You will not lay a hand on my daughter!"
After watching what he did to the others, Ultear urged them to leave her "Mom, Meredy, leave me! He's too strong for you!"
"The hell we will!" Meredy stood next to Ur and both prepared to face Deimos.
"I did not come back just to lose you again!" Ur sent hundreds of ice spears at Deimos, forcing him to jump away.
"Is that the kind of thanks I get after reuniting you with your daughter?"
Ur froze after hearing him "W-What did you say?"
"You heard right: I am the one that restored you. And now, it's time I collect my reward."
"Ice make: Geiser!" An injured Gray created several ice spikes in an attempt to impale Deimos "Ur, don't listen to him! Even if what he says is true, that doesn't change the fact that he's trying to get Ultear."
Deimos calmly brushed some ice shards from his armor before sending Gray flying away with an attack while Ultear watched helplessly.
"GRAY!"
Meredy was about to attack Deimos when another blast knocked her out of commission. Watching the pained look in her daughter's eyes after Gray and Meredy got hit, Ur took a step forward and prepared her iced shell.
"Take one more step and I promise you it will be your last!"
"Mom don't!" Ultear struggled against her bonds when she realized what Ur was about to do "Don't do it! Please!"
Deimos was undeterred and continued walking towards her. Ur sent Ultear a sad look, knowing she was abandoning her once again "Forgive me...Ultear. Iced Shell!"
Ultear's plea was painful to hear, but Ur knew there was no other choice. Before her body turned to ice, Deimos snapped his fingers and denied the Iced shell, much to Ur's surprise "W-What!?"
"Did you really think that iced shell would work on me?" Deimos approached the now defenseless Ur "Remember; it was me who restored you. i know Everything about Iced shell." Deimos said, followed by his armored hand slapping Ur away.
Natsu was still fighting Belphegor without success, while at the same time keeping an eye on the fight his nakamas were having with Deimos. He desperately wanted to go help them, but first he needed to take out the demon in front of him.
"Darn it! Just die already!" Natsu punched Belphegor with his fire dragon's iron fist, causing the demon some pain, but not enough to vanish it. Letting go of Taurus, Belphegor slashed at Natsu, who barely escaped the razor sharp claws.
"Natsu!" Lucy and Happy cried in fear after witnessing the dragon slayer almost getting torn to shreds "Taurus, return!"
"Not before this!" Summoning the last of his strength, Taurus buried his axe on the back of the distracted Belphegor before vanishing back to the spirit world. Act followed by Lucy summoning her strongest spirit, Loke.
The Lion spirit wasted no time in idle chat and immediately attacked Belphegor "Regulus impact!" The attack hit Belphegor dead center, staggering the demon spirit back.
"My turn!" Natsu switched to his fire/ lightning mode and charged his dragon's roar, when he felt Rebellion calling out to him.
"Natsu! Let's take him out!" Loke used his Lion Brilliance to blind Belphegor, leaving the demon defenseless for Natsu's attack.
Grabbing Rebellion, Natsu felt a surge of power similar like when he was still in possession of Yamato causing red flames to surround him. Acting by instict, Natsu rammed Rebellion in a stabbing attack at Belphegor before sending the demon up in the air with a swing of his sword.
"Raienryū no Hōkō" (Lightning Flame Dragon's Roar).
As Belphegor disintegrated in the air, the red flames and lightning around Natsu dissipated as the slayer slumped down exhausted.
"Natsu!"
Lucy and Happy ran to help Natsu while Astria watched them with anger; grabbing a second key she was ready to summon another demon only to be stopped by Deimos.
"Do not waste your energy. I shall end this now."
Loke had little time to wonder how Deimos and Astria were unaffected by his Lion Brilliance before everyone got caught by a dark aura that drained their strength.
Ultear watched in horror as everyone was hit by the attack before Deimos reached her. "What did you do to them?"
"I merely pushed them aside while I collected my prize." Deimos caressed Ultear's cheek; only for her to turn her head in defiance "It is time."
"Let her go!" Gray clutched his bleeding chest while he made his way to stop Deimos; as he stumbled on his way to them, Gray was forced to listen to her screaming in pain as Deimos got what he wanted "ULTEAR!"
"It seems like a bad dream…"
When Vergil arrived, it was too late; only the beaten and bruised bodies of team Natsu and Crime Sorciere waited for him.
"Ve…Vergil"
Vergil turned to find Gray crawling towards him, leaving a trail of blood on his wake. The half devil met him half way and checked his wound.
"It is not a fatal wound, but you are making it worse by moving."
"Forget about me…take Ultear to Wendy…help her, please!"
Vergil cast a glance to said woman to find her convulsing on the ground. He could simply ignore the request; she was not a Fairy Tail mage and so, not his responsibility, but the pleading look he got from Gray awoke unpleasant memories from his childhood.
"Remain here; Mirajane will come with help soon." Picking Ultear, Vergil sped off to find Wendy before it was too late for her.
Since she was in better condition than the rest of them, Lucy tended to the wounded while she waited for such needed help.
"Ultear almost didn't make it, she still hasn't…"
Porlyusica tended to a comatose Ultear while Ur and Gray stood next to her bed. After Wendy healed her as best she could, Makarov decided it would be best if Porlyusica tended to Ultear. Once everyone was back on his feet, the first thing Ur, Meredy and Gray did was burst into the hermit's house to see Ultear, despite Porlyusica's complains.
Ur felt her heart breaking at the sight of her daughter in such condition; according to Porlyusica, Ultear's magic core was forcefully removed, very similar to what happened to Makarov several years ago but with one major difference: her magic core was taken by Deimos, so this time Mystogan could not help gather it back like before.
"As far as I see it, the only way to restore her health is to find this man and take her magic back."
Ur wanted to ask the dreaded question but found unable to ask it, fortunately for her, Porlyusica seemed to sense it and added "the longer we wait, the worst her condition will deteriorate."
Everyone understood the unspoken words; Ultear would die if they didn't find a solution soon. Standing up, Gray asked "is there any way we can do to help her?"
"I'm sorry, but no."
"Actually…" Makarov looked up from where he was meditating and said "If we insert a lacryma into her body, we can stop the deterioration a bit longer until we can find Deimos."
"I know what you're thinking, but it won't work" Porlyusica countered "It worked on Laxus, but only because he was young when we inserted the lacryma on him, as he grew, his body was able to adapt to it, but she on the other hand is too old, her body might not resist it."
"It will" Meredy spoke up "Ultear awakened her second origin, she will survive it."
Porlyusica looked from Meredy to Makarvo and back to Ur before sighing "fine, but we need to find a Lacryma compatible with her body."
"Like this" Mavis appeared in front of them with a blue lacryma in hand. "I overheard the entire conversation and went to Tenrou Island to fetch it. Here; it's an ice lacryma."
Ur and Meredy couldn't see Mavis and wondered where did that shiny lacryma appeared from (and why was it floating it mid air). Gray approached the First and took the offered Lacryma "Thank you, master Mavis."
"Anytime" Mavis replied with a smile "I would do anything for true love like the one you have for this young girl."
Everyone in the room (except Meredy and Ur) looked at Gray as if he had grown a second head: Him and Ultear!? Fortunately for Gray, Ur was unable to see or hear Mavis, so for now their secret was safe.
"The procedure is fast, but very painful for the patient. If anyone wants to skip it, get out of my house." Seeing that no one moved, Porlyusica uncovered Ultear's chest and pushed the Lacryma inside her body.
Lucy, as well as everyone outside got worried when they heard the screams coming from Ultear.
"Gildarts has sent every available mage all over Fiore to search for any signs of Deimos whereabouts; Laxus and the thunder god tribe left yesterday while Mystogan preferred to work alone and headed off to another place the same day. Alzack and Bisca teamed up with Jet, Levy and Gajeel and headed north to search. Jellal and Meredy stayed for a day before parting to join the search. The look on Meredys face as she was forced to leave her surrogate mother was heartbreaking, but she knew it had to be done in order to save her."
"Lyon and Ur's reunion was bittersweet at best; all thanks to Deimos. The Ice mage from Lamia Scale promised to find the man before it was too late for Ultear before he and his team left to search on their own."
Lucy sighed before grabbing the pen once more:"Now, only we remain here; today we also leave to search for Deimos. Wish us luck mom."
Team Natsu, Lisanna and Angel gathered in Lucy's house before leaving on their search. The only one missing was Gray, who hadn't left Ultear's side since yesterday.
"Open the gate of the southern cross: Crux!"
In a puff of smoke, the celestial spirit Crux appeared before the Fairy tail mages.
"You really think Crumudgeon knows about him?" Angel asked a bit skeptical about it.
"Crux knows about what happens in the human and spirit world; he might know something about Deimos and those demon keys." Lucy replied while Crux snoozed away "If he wakes up, that is."
Happy grabbed a stick and popped the bubble coming out of Crux's nose, waking the aged spirit "Ahh! Lucy-sama, it's been a long time. What can I do for you?"
"What can you tell us about Lord Deimos?"
Crux seemed deep in thought before another bubble emerged from his nose. Lisanna thought that Crux fell asleep, but Lucy told her that he was in fact searching for information about Deimos.
"There is nothing about that man" Crux informed, getting a questioning look from Lucy "it's like he just recently appeared out of thin air. Forgive me, Lucy-sama."
Lucy wondered what that could mean when Erza asked a different question "What about Astria, do you know anything about her or her demon keys?"
Crux repeated the same pattern and seemed like he was sleeping when he abruptly woke up "THAT INFORMATION IS CLASSIFIED! I'm deeply sorry, but I cannot say anything else."
A golden light announced the arrival of the zodiac spirit Capricorn "It is alright Crux; meh was told to inform you that the spirit king has decided to disclose this information to Lucy-sama and her friends."
With authorization from the spirit king himself, Crux told them about the demon keys "Very well…Long ago, during the dark reign of Zeref, seven keys were created to oppose the twelve zodiac spirits. These keys came to be known as the seven princes of hell."
Everyone listened carefully to what the cross spirit had to say "These keys proved too much to handle for any celestial mage, they would find themselves being consumed by their dark power, and so, these keys were spread all over the world to stop these demons from resurfacing again. There was a rumor about another set of keys that could suppress the darkness of the seven princes, but no one has ever been able to find proof about their existence."
"But then how is Astria able to summon them?" Lucy asked to Crux, only for the spirit to fall asleep "THIS IS NOT THE TIME TO SLEEP!"
"Forgive me, only non-human beings were able to summon these spirits without falling prey to the darkness." With that said, Crux returned to the spirit world.
"Hey wait! What about those other keys you mentioned?" Lucy was about to summon him again when Capricorn stopped her.
"It's no use Lucy-sama. Even meh do not know much about those keys or about Astria, but Crux still answered your question."
"What do you mean by…?" Lucy thought for a moment before remembering Crux's words: "only non-human beings were able to summon these spirits! Astria is not human! But then, what is she?"
Deimos (in human form) and Astria are on a train en-route to an unknown place. They are so close to fulfill their goal, and so they decided to lay low while they headed there to avoid anything and anyone that might stop them.
"Her arc of time is indeed impressive" Deimos said while they saw a city far away. Deimos eyes changed as he accessed the magic he stole and tested it: The city started crumbling down all around while the people tried to escape their grizzly fate, only to realize it was a futile attempt when the entire mountainside shadowing the city fell over them in a landslide.
The passengers watched through the train's windows the tragedy while Deimos and Astria didn't even bat an eyelash at it.
It would be only a matter of time before they reached their destination, and she would be able to fulfill her life's purpose.
Ur and Gray were seated at each side of Ultear's bed; while Ur watched her daughter with sad eyes, Gray was currently beating himself as he recalled the fight with Deimos.
"If only I had been stronger, none of this would have happened!"
Similar thoughts crossed Ur's mind as she watched her daughter:
"It was my fault, I'm the one that lead him to Ultear."
Both ice mages stopped their line of thoughts when Ultear started stirring in bed.
"Ultear!" Ur instantly grabbed her hand as Ultear spoke:
"W-Where…am I?" Feeling a cloth on her eyes, Ultear slowly raised a hand to touch the fabric "Mom…what happened?"
"Ultear…there's no easy way to say it but…"
Ultear recalled the fight with Deimos and fear gripped her "What happened? Why do I have this thing over my eyes?"
Ur looked at Gray, wondering how to break the news to her, when Porlyusica said "Deimos took your magic core. I don't know much about your magic, but since arc of time magic is directly attached to the caster's sight, you are now blind."
"WHAT!?" Ultear tried to sit up, only for a sharp pain to force her back down.
"Please, take it slow!" Ur put a hand over hers "Save your strength."
Feeling she was losing consciousness again, Ultear asked "Where's Meredy…and Gray…?"
"Meredy left to find help for you" Gray said while grasping her free hand. Ultear smiled sadly as she squeezed his hand.
"I'd had hoped…to say goodbye…to her…"
"Don't say that! You're going to be fine!" Ur replied "You'll see."
"It's ok mom…I deserve this…"
"Deimos is the one that deserves this!" Gray said to her "I swear to you: I'll find him and get your magic back!"
"Gray…" Using what strength she had left, Ultear tried to kiss him; Gray saw this and leaned to kiss her back, despite the fact that Ur was right there In front of them. "I am glad…to have found love…" turning to Ur she added "and to have…one last chance to see you again…mom…"
Ur was in tears after listening to her daughter; it was like when those bastards took her from her when she was just a child. When Ultear stopped talking, both Gray and Ur feared the worse: "Ultear?...ULTEAR!?"
"She went back to sleep, let her rest" Porlyusica informed them. "Go home and eat something, we shall keep an eye on her." She said, motioning to Wendy.
Ur was reluctant to leave, but Porlyusica convinced nothing would happen while they were gone, and they needed sustenance if they were going to stay here. And so: both master and student headed for the guild.
"Grandeenay…will she be ok?" Wendy (who had been helping her attend Ultear) asked.
"I hope so Wendy. I hope so."
While Gray and Ur headed towards the guild, an uncomfortable silence fell upon them: Ur had witnessed her beloved student and daughter kissing like a couple deeply in love, but isn't Gray involved with Gildarts daughter, Cana?
Gray knew their secret was out, but he didn't care. The only thing in Gray's head now was to find Deimos and kill the bastard.
"How long have you and my daughter been together?"
Gray stopped walking and turned to face her "A few days actually."
"A few days?" Ur gave him an incredulous look. The way they kissed suggested otherwise.
"It feels longer" Gray explained "Ultear has been on my mind from way back since we first met."
"I know" Gray looked surprised by her confession "I remember bits and parts of Tenrou island when you two fell on the ocean. But that doesn't change the fact that you're cheating on her with Cana!"
"It's not like that. I love Ultear and Cana!" Gray stopped mid sentence when he realized what he said "I love them."
Gray was so focused on his new found revelation that he didn't see the punch that sent him to the ground. Grabbing his chin, Gray looked up to see an angry Ur.
"You two timing bastard!" Ur grabbed Gray by the collar of his coat and raised him "How could you do this to her? To both of them!?"
"I know. That's why I'll make it right." Giving her a determined look he said "I'm going to find Deimos and kill him! Then, when Ultear is fine again…I'm breaking it off with both her and Cana."
Ur gave him a hateful look before letting go of him. Gray was unable to meet her eyes as he added: "They deserve better; if I choose Ultear, Cana will be devastated, the same thing will happen if I pick her over Ultear."
"Cocky bastard." After calming a bit, Ur asked: "You really do love both of them, don't you?"
"Yes, I do." Gray raised his eyes and met hers. Even after he screwed up, at least he wanted to make it right.
"I respect that. A shame Ultear is going to be devastated."
"I know" Gray looked miserable "I didn't want to hurt them, either of them."
"But you did." Ur said before adding "you will."
Without either of them noticing, Cana had overheard their entire conversation. She had known about the thing between Gray and Ultear from the start (and figured that Ultear also knew about them), but after hearing Gray's speech, she knew there was only one option left.
Team Natsu headed out on their search for Deimos and Astria after Crux's revelation. During the trip they felt Gray was quieter than usual, which might have something to do with Ultear, but wisely decided not to say anything about it. If he wanted to speak about it, he would.
Cana was supposed to go with them on the search, but at the last minute she backed down for unknown reason. Gray had a feeling why, but he no longer cared. His mind was already set: He would cast that spell he created to kill Deimos when they find him.
As for the wedding, Natsu and Lisanna decided to postpone it until further notice; with everything that's been happening, they felt it would not be the most appropriate time for a wedding.
As for Deimos:
Deimos and Astria reached their destination without any setbacks. Hades library had seen better days; it seemed that the remnants of Grimoire Heart abandoned the place when their master was defeated, but the duo still found what they were looking for.
"Let us begin"
Ur was sleeping peacefully in the chair next to her daughter's bed while holding one of her hands; Porlyusica went to check on them to see that both mother and daughter were sound asleep before calling Wendy.
"Wendy, can you help me gather some herbs in the forest?" Porlyusica asked before grabbing her herb basket. "I need some to prepare a special tea for Ultear."
The young wind dragon slayer nodded before seeing the basket "Are you coming too? But, who will stay with Ultear while Ur-san is sleeping?"
"Don't worry, we won't take long, besides, Ultear is fine for the moment."
Accepting her answer, Wendy exited the house first followed by Porlyusica. Before leaving, Porlyusica said to the figure inside her house.
"You may speak with her, but be brief."
Cana thanked her before heading towards Ultear. The Crime sorciere mage felt another presence next to her and woke up.
"Who's there?"
"It's me, Cana"
Ultear felt a bit uncomfortable after learning it was her love rival, but decided to give the younger girl the benefit of the doubt "Why are you here?"
Cana took the free seat next to her, the one Gray occupied not long ago, and said: "its due time we had a chat."
After setting camp for the night, Natsu, Lisanna and Happy were currently sharing a tent. After the exceed fell asleep, the petite girl cuddled next to Natsu while he embraced her.
"Do you think we'll find that man?"
"Of course we will!" Natsu replied in a heartbeat "Everyone's searching for him. Even Vergil's out there."
Lisanna smiled after hearing him "Of course he is, deep down Vergil is really a nice guy."
"Yeah…nice guy" Natsu replied as he recalled his last conversation with Vergil.
Flashback:
"Why the hell not!?" Natsu asked after Vergil refused to help them in the search for Deimos.
"It is a waste of my time Dragneel" Vergil turned his back on him and proceeded to leave the guild. "You should be training with Rebellion instead."
"Hey! I'm not done!" Natsu went to grab him, but Vergil dodged him with relative ease while the slayer crashed into a wall. Getting up, Natsu glared at him "Ultear is a nakama, and she needs our help!"
Vergil was getting fed up with Natsu's endless Nakama speeches "That woman is not even part of your guild."
"OUR guild!" Natsu corrected him; to the slayer's credit, Vergil didn't deny it or contradict him.
"Nevertheless, she was your enemy years ago and now you want to save her?"
"So were you. And even so, I still think of you as one of my nakamas." Standing in front of Vergil he added "It's called moving on. You'd think someone like you would relate to that."
Brushing his hand over Yamato, Vergil removed it as he thought about what Natsu said to him. Even when it didn't seem like it, Natsu was growing more mature as time went on. Vergil realized the pink head was right, but that didn't mean he was going to follow his order.
"Vergil, are you ready to go?"
Vergil and Natsu looked to Mirajane as she appeared at the front door and spoke to them "Elfman already left with Evergreen and her team, it's time we head out too."
"What are you talking about?" The half devil narrowed his eyes in suspicion.
"What else: you're coming with me to help in the search." Mira said with a smile that made Vergil feel uneasy. "You are coming, right?"
Vergil remained quiet for a long moment before answering "Let's go."
Natsu just stood there dumbfounded after watching the interaction between his future sister in law and Vergil.
"What just happened?"
End Flashback
"Vergil really surprised me, I thought he would refuse to aid us in the search" Angel said to him "I wonder what changed his mind."
"Beats me" Natsu nervously laughed.
Lisanna agreed and snuggled into Natsu's chest before opening her eyes in an instant "Angel!"
"Yes" Angel smiled sweetly while cuddling next to Natsu. By the looks of it, the celestial mage was enjoying her position very much.
Lisanna controlled her jealousy and asked as calmly as she could "What are you doing here, in OUR tent?"
"I kinda forgot mine, and so I thought I could sleep here tonight." Even without the bond between them, Angel knew Lisanna was controlling her anger, but Angel didn't care "It's no problem, right?"
"Of course not" Natsu cheerfully replied. Lisanna sighed before giving up.
"Fine, guess I should get used to this."
"Then it's settled" Angel lied on Natsu's left side while Lisanna remained on his right. Each embracing one of his arms, both girls and slayer decided to sleep; tomorrow they would continue their search for Deimos, and something told them it would be a long day.
"I hope we can help Ultear" After learning her story, Angel felt related to Ultear. Both girls had their innocence taken from them by Zeref's followers, something that marked them for life.
"I hope so too." Lisanna treasured her nakamas just like Natsu, and couldn't help but feel sad for Gray. No one actually said it, but after Gray's actions regarding Ultear, almost everyone knew that both Gray and Ultear had a thing going on between them.
Kissing both girls on the head, Natsu said: "Don't worry; no matter what it takes, we'll stop Deimos and cure Ultear." Natsu would never admit it out loud, but Gray was his closest friend, and he would be dammed if he just sat there and do nothing to help him.
While the trio slept in relative calm, Deimos and Astria began their plan.
The first thing Natsu felt was a cold draft.
"Lis-chan, close the tent." Turning to his right he looped an arm around his fiancé, only to realize there was nothing at his side. Thinking she had gotten up earlier, he turned around and did the same with Angel to find that she was also missing.
"Lis-chan? Angel-chan? Happy?" As he slowly woke up, Natsu realized though the bond that both Lisanna and Angel were not next to him; in fact, it felt like Angel was far, far away, while Lisanna's presence felt like a whisper in the back of his head. Getting up in a start, Natsu realized he was not only outside his tent, in fact, he was in a deserted place very different from where they set camp with a familiar sky up above. Looking up, Natsu's eyes widened, not believing what he saw.
"What…What's going on!?" While he didn't had the best memory, Natsu still remembered what he was seeing. "The Anima!"
It all look eerily familiar to him; the anima above him and the deserted place looked just like back then, seven years ago. Before he could ponder about it, someone approached from within the fog.
Even when he was still out of sight range, Natsu's keen nose identified the person "Mystogan!"
The edolas counterpart of Jellal felt another presence in the desert of the once great city of Magnolia and went to check who had survived the anima, after walking for a bit he saw someone with a large sword strapped on his back calling him. Mystogan studied the person before him when he recognized him "Natsu?"
"Mystogan, what the hell happened? Why is the anima open again?" Natsu looked worried, thinking where could Lisanna, Angel and his other nakamas had gone, while Mystogan narrowed his eyes "I asked you a question?"
"How do you know about the anima?" Mystogan was slowly reaching for one of his staffs when Natsu's response stopped him.
"Don't you remember? You told us!" Natsu started explaining everything about Edolas, the fact Mystogan was the counterpart of the Jellal from earthland and all about how he, along with his team, helped him overthrow king Faust, Mystogan's father. "Did you forget all that?"
By the end of Natsu's explanation, Mystogan was in disbelief "Natsu…how do you know all of that?" The last part about the king puzzled Mystogan, but everything else was something no one knew asides him.
Natsu looked at Mystogan's cloaked face before noticing something "Hey, you look a bit younger than before." a cold feeling swelled inside Natsu "W-where am I? What's going on?"
"Natsu, I still don't know how you found out about me. But, if my memory serves me well, this is the first time I've seen you in two years."
Natsu's eyes widened "Two years ago… the anima…this place…Deimos took ultear's arc of time!" As the pieces started falling in place, Natsu realized where he was "I'm back in the past!"
A.N.
There you have it! The reason Deimos took Ultear's arc of time was so he could reach the world of magic and go back in time. Why is Natsu there, where is Lisanna and Angel and what is the real reason for Deimos wanting to go back in time will be revealed in the next chapter.
I was going to update tomorrow, but felt it would be a better fit if I updated today, one day before the one year anniversary of when I started writing Bound by Fate. Can't believe it's been a year already; I would like to thank the people that have followed my story from the beginning, as well as those who are following it now. Regarding what I said in the last chapter, forgive me if I sounded ungrateful for all the people that added this story as favorite and didn't leave a review. As a writer, my greatest joy is to read the reviews you leave, but I also appreciate the favorite ads. If you can't leave a review or don't feel like it, that's fine; as long as you enjoy the story.
I know Erza, Mystogan and Jellal fell too easy to Deimos, but I did this to move things along. Still not convinced? Remember that Deimos absorved Jose porla's power as well as part of Deliora's into himself, that makes him a powerful opponent. Besides, Team Natsu still doesn't have their second origin awakened.
I think only two more chapters before the wedding, and after that, the grand magic games arc will begin. Take in mind that while I will follow the manga story to a certain degree, there will be some changes I will implement to the story.
For those who follow the manga, in chapter 303 it is revealed that Yukino had an older sister that was kidnapped by Zeref's followers. It is not clear who Yukino's sister (Sorano) is, but the hints in the chapter tell us that Angel is in fact Yukino's sister. If you're wondering how it will play out in this story, fear not; I have a solution.
Now then, onto the reviews:
Digital-Mail: it might be weird for them to get married so soon, but Natsu and Lisanna had known each other for most of their lives. Besides, at 17 years it's not too young (in manga) to get married. When are you going to update Burn?
Xgensean: Glad to see you're interested in the Vergil x Mira mix. Natsu won't get possessed by Rebellion like when he had Yamato. Why you ask? It will be revealed in the grand games arc.
Kittypaw330: The wedding will be in two more chapters (more o less), if you want to help me with an original song for Lyra to sing for them, send me a PM.
Ryvius: don't remember if I answered your questions by PM, so here they go:
Ur knew Ultear was alive because when she and Gray fought at Tenrou island both fell on the ocean where Ur was, and both mother and daughter's thoughts flowed through each other.
Natsu won't be able to awaken Rebellion; unless he gets help from 'someone'.
Lisanna and Angel are more comfortable with each other as time passes (and because the bond makes it easier for them to accept each other). The question is: What will happen to Angel during Natsu and Lisanna's honeymoon?
Damn! I should have used remorseful instead of saw, but what the heck; what's done its done. About why Vergil is more lenient with the rest of fairy Tail, take in mind that his reason for wanting power and revenge (Mundus) is dead.
Gray's situation will get (somewhat) solved by the end of this arc. And of course you will appear in the wedding, that you will actually be able to enter is a completely different story.
Guest: I would prefer if you called me 'Demon' instead, DWAS sounds… strange. Thanks for the song suggestions (whoever you are).
Djohnson2: Glad to see my story is your number one….scratch that; tied for the first place with another story. I'll admit that I got the inspiration from dragonslayer by shinjiikari to write mine, so it's ok. There's no point to fight what story is better, let's agree that both stories are good.
Majestic Star Arceus: Natsu will awaken Rebellion's powers in due time my friend.
Reatssa: Natsu will have ample opportunities to test Rebellion in the following chapters.
JacksBlade: No need to apologize, as I said before; if you feel like leaving a review, that's fine, if not, that's fine too. I really appreciate your effort of leaving a review.
Extemeryohei: O-K…I don't think Laxus is like that (maybe when he was a douche, but he's changed). Anyway, Mira will be paired with Vergil. Thanks for the review.
Max Tiger: Sorry, but I just don't see Laxus x Mira working out, besides; what will poor Freed feel if his precious Laxus-sama is taken? Heheheh. Thanks for the review.
Trivolt: thanks for the review, next chapter is now.
StarCaptain: Your suggestion of Vergil vs Kagura is quite good, consider it done! Thanks for the review.
That's it for now, until next chapter
Demonwithasoul
Beginning of Bound by Fate: October 16 – 2011
Updated: October 15 - 2012