Disclaimer: You know the drill… I do not own Fairy Tail, Devil May Cry or any of it's characters. Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima Sensei and DMC belongs to Cashcom, I mean; Capcom.
A.N. Hey there my loyal fans (those that still remain with me after so long) It's been a while. You might be wondering why I took so long to update, but I know you wouldn't care to hear my lame excuses, so I'll just skip to the part where I ask you to forgive me for not updating in quite a while and move on.
Someone asked for an update as a Christmas gift but sadly I was preoccupied with…Oh right! I wasn't gonna make excuses, so I decided to at least update before this year ended. Sorry for the late gift anonymous reviewer.
For those that keep up with the manga up to this point, let me just say I have Great ideas for future chapters. Maybe even squeeze a few more girls into Natsu's harem. Who knows?
With nothing more to say for the moment, let's move on with the story:
Unknown place/ unknown year...
In the middle of the night, two figures silently moved through the ruins of a once great city while being careful to avoid detection from the dragons that now called this place their home. Even when their appearance was hidden by a black cape if one paid attention they could see that both figures were female; one young, around 14 with long slender legs and a generous bust, and the other one older, around 40 or more, but judging by her curves and massive chest she could easily pass for 30.
Seeing that the coast was clear, the first one dashed from some debris to another, when a large shadow was cast above them.
"Rose!" the older woman wanted to scream, but stopped herself or else the dragon would hear her. Fortunately for her, the girl (now known as Rose) quickly made herself scarce just in time to avoid being seen by the large beast.
Once the dragon passed, both women released the air they were holding up and emerged from their hiding spots.
"That was close" The woman said as she rejoined the girl. "Are you ok Rose?"
Wiping a strand of her waist length hair, the girl nodded. "I'm fine. We should keep moving"
The duo progressed slowly as to not being seen by the dragons and soon enough they were at their destination; a castle, decayed by years of abandonment where somewhere inside was the one thing that could make things right again. Seven years ago they started recharging the gate, and now their journey here, one that cost them blood and tears, was finally coming to an end.
"Finally…" The girl took a step forward when she felt an ominous presence closing in on them. "He found us!"
Sensing the same thing, the other woman removed her cloak letting her shoulder length hair dance in the air. "Go. I'll hold him off''.
"No, Ultear Oba-chan. We'll fight him together!"
Shaking her head, Ultear turned around and hugged Rose "Remember; only you can cross the gate. Now go"
"But…"
"Now Go!"
Rose wanted to argue but she knew her aunt was right. Adopting a serious expression, Rose nodded and headed inside, but not before saying one last thing:
"I'll bring them all back; mom, dad, oji-chan, everyone, just you wait."
Once Rose left, Ultear smiled sadly as she inspected the silver band on her finger; an ice ring that felt warm and would never melt, the ring her husband gave to her the day he proposed. "Gray, I'll see you soon."
The arrival of another person distracted her from her thoughts. "Hello Ultear."
"Sparda."
Meanwhile, Rose reached the gate that would allow her to mend the world. Withdrawing the 12 celestial keys from her pouch, she proceeded to insert them into the slots when she felt Ultear's life come to an end.
"Ultear oba-chan…" fighting back tears, Rose finished inserting the final key and proceeded to open the gate. A blinding light flooded the room and before anyone could stop her, Rose proceeded to cross the gate.
Chapter 39: Song of the stars
The first rays of sunlight announced the start of a new day, greeting a happily married couple in one of the luxury suites in the Akane resort. Stirring up, Lisanna groaned at first before she felt a welcoming warmth beneath her. Smiling in contempt, Lisanna looked up to Natsu's sleeping form and decided to wake him up with a kiss. It didn't take long for the dragon slayer to reciprocate the affection.
"Mmmm, good morning Mr. Dragneel."
"Good morning, Ms. Dragneel."
Hearing his words made her feel happy "I don't think I'll ever get bored of hearing that."
"Good" Natsu's hands slid in front of him and caressed her breast "And I'll never get bored of touching you, my goddess."
Lisanna suppressed a moan causing Natsu to instantly go hard. The memories of last night plus their foreplay stirred Natsu's lower regions. A thing Lisanna noticed all too well.
Giving him a sultry look, Lisanna said "How about another go?"
"You read my mind."
For the last seven days, the happily married couple enjoyed their honeymoon at the resort just relaxing, hitting the beach and just enjoying themselves. But for the most part the one place they liked the most was the privacy of their bedroom, where they spent hours making love to each other.
"Get a room you two"
A confused Natsu and Lisanna stopped their morning activities when they heard Angel's voice coming from the living room. Once they felt her presence, the married couple got up and went to meet the celestial mage, who was lying down on the couch while reading a magazine
"Angel, when did arrive?"
"And why didn't we feel your presence until now?" Lisanna asked next to Natsu.
"We arrived a few minutes ago." The celestial mage replied while standing up "As for..." Seeing their state of undress (Mostly Natsu's) caused Angel to subconsciously lick her lips. Acting fast, Lisanna grabbed the sheets and covered herself and Natsu, causing Angel to put "Spoilsport, anyway; as your second question:" reaching into her bosom, Angel withdrew a small vial with an unknown potion and showed it to them. "Ta-da!"
"And that is?"
"An isolating potion" seeing the questioning look on their faces, Angel explained "After the wedding I felt your, let's say 'Activities' through our bond."
It took a moment for Lisanna to understand what Angel meant "Oh…OH!"
While Lisanna covered her face in embarrassment, Natsu scratched his head: "I don't get it."
Sighing, Angel continued: "Anyway, after that night, I went to Porlyusica and asked for her help. Fortunately, she had just what I needed."
"OH!" Natsu finally understood and laughed "sorry about that Angel-chan!"
"You don't have anything to apologize, Nat-su-Kun." Angel approached Natsu and ran circles with her finger on his bare chest "I quite enjoyed the 'pleasure' I felt from you, but, I think it's time for the real thing. Don't you think?"
The close proximity, along with Angel's attire: a loose white see-through blouse and miniskirt that left her long legs exposed woke Natsu's friend down below.
"You said 'we' right? Then that means everyone else is here as well" Cutting in between them, Lisanna diffused the situation, much to Angel's dismay "Let's get ready to meet them."
Grabbing Natsu's arm, Lisanna dragged the slayer to the bathroom to get ready (and continue their morning activities in peace) while Angel remained in her spot. If Lisanna thought Angel would be discouraged, she was dead wrong. Angel limited herself to just grin as the married couple disappeared from her sight.
"Soon."
At the lobby, Erza and the others were looking around when Natsu announced his arrival:
"Hey Everybody! Missed us?"
"Natsu! Lisanna!" Happy flied straight to the dragon slayer and embraced the married couple "I missed you!"
"We missed you too Happy" Lisanna caressed the Exceed's head. "Have you been good?"
"You bet!"
While Happy filled Lisanna with everything he had done during these last days, Natsu greeted the rest when he noticed someone was missing: "Oi! Where's ice princess?"
"It's actually a long story" Lucy offered but before she could elaborate, Erza cut in.
"He went to the mountains to train with Ur." The armored redhead said, oblivious of the defeated look on Lucy.
"Is that so?" Natsu felt a bit weird Gray wasn't here, but nonetheless regained his cheerfulness at the prospect of his rival getting stronger to fight him.
"Gray sama didn't take Juvia with him."
Just noticing her now, Natsu and Lisanna jumped when they felt the oppressing sadness coming from the water mage. Taking it into her own hands, Lisanna went to try and cheer Juvia.
"There, there Juvia, you'll see Gray soon enough."
With tears that threatened to flood the lobby, Juvia cried her heart out "GRAY-SAMA DIDN'T EVEN SAY GOODBYE!"
While Lisanna tried to calm Juvia, Natsu asked "What about the rest?"
Before Erza could speak, Lucy cut in: "Laxus and the thunder god tribe left after the wedding to start their training. So did Gajeel and Lily." Pointing to Levy, she added: "Levy wanted to go with him, but Gajeel told her it was a secret training."
"Lu-chan! Don't say that!" A mortified Levy exclaimed, not wanting everyone to hear that.
"But we came with Levy-chan to train with her" Jet and Droy chorused, not that anyone cared.
"I think not going with Gajeel was for the best" Erza gave her two cents "If you had gone with him then none of you would train at all."
"Stop talking like I'm not here!" As Levy turned red as a tomato Lucy said "Says the one that was mad when Jellal and Mystogan left without saying anything…"
"What are you implying?" Adopting her scary face, Erza questioned a frightened Lucy.
"N-Nothing! Nothing at all!"
"That's not all" Wendy easily dismissed the former mages and related how Gildarts left, alongside Cana, Vergil, Mira and Elfman to train. "Master said something about needing a place free of people to let loose."
"He he…Vergil went as well." Natsu imagined the insanely strong Slayer getting even stronger, an image that didn't inspire him. "At least he didn't come here to train us"
"Vergil was quite reluctant to train Elfman, which reminds me; Natsu" Erza retook the conversation "Vergil asked me to tell you he'll be coming here in two months to train you during the last month before the tournament."
"He did? …Great…" Defeated, Natsu's energy vanished at the prospect of training with someone like Vergil.
"Now Natsu, that doesn't sound too bad" Lisanna said, trying to cheer her husband "Just imagine how strong you'll get training with him."
"You're right!" Getting his energy back, Natsu got excited "I'm all fired up!"
"See, I told you it wasn't that bad" Lisanna said to Natsu while thinking "You obviously haven't trained with him, love"
"I almost forgot; he's also going to train you Lisanna" Erza added and then looked at Angel "You too Angel."
"Great…" both girls weakly replied.
Northern mountainside
The cold wind hitting him felt great for Gray; years had passed since the last time he came to this very same place and even when it meant being apart from his team, the ice mage couldn't let an opportunity like this pass.
After the wedding, Ur approached him and Lyon and offered them advanced training in ice molding magic for the games. While Lyon declined the offer, Gray instantly accepted; not only would he be getting special training with his old teacher, he would also get to spent time with Ultear.
"Alright Gray; let's get started with the training." Ur said as they reached the cabin.
"N-Now? We've just g-got here." Meredy replied between chattering teeth.
"So?" Ur asked "We have less than 3 months to train before the tournament. There's no time like today."
"Yeah, guess you got a point." Standing a few feet away from her, Gray got ready. "What's first…H-Hey! What happened to all of your clothes!?"
"Really? Have you forgotten my training method?" Ur stood before him wearing only her underwear like it was the most normal thing to do outside when it was cold like this.
"Is that really necessary?"
"You're one to talk" Ultear pointed out to Gray, who now had a pair of boxers only.
"Dammit, when did this happen?" As he looked around for his discarded clothes, Gray found a more interesting sight when his eyes landed on Ultear, who was wearing a set of black panties that left little to the imagination and a D-cup that looked dangerously close to burst and let her soft, tempting…
Feeling a sudden rush of blood down below, Gray urged a certain part of his anatomy to control itself "Whoa! Down boy, Down!" Not an easy thing to do when faced with a beauty like the one in front of him. Thankfully, the cold helped him control his friend below.
In the end, it was Ur's voice what diffused the situation: "If you're done ogling each other can we get to the training part?"
Embarrased, both Gray and Ultear got more conscious of where they were and with who and paid attention to Ur as she spoke:
"First I'm going to measure your current level…" Ur said in a serious manner "with a fight."
Gray smirked "Fine by me. Let me know when you're ready"
Now it was Ur's turn to smirk as she looked at her daughter "Ultear, fight him."
"Say again?" The crime sorciere mage wondered if she heard right, but seeing the expression on her mother answered her question. Realizing her mother was serious about it, she went and stood in front of Gray, who by now had a doubtful look.
"Are you sure about this?" Gray asked, but Ur didn't show any sign of hearing his question.
"Relax, it's not like you can hurt me, or even touch me with your magic for that matter" Ultear teased him, trying to get Gray to attack her.
"We'll see about that" accepting the challenge Gray started the fight "Ice make: Geiser!"
Getting the desired reaction from her beloved, Ultear dissolved the spikes into water with a wave of her hand. "Just because I unlocked your second origin doesn't mean you have the upper hand against me. Remember, my arc of time is the perfect counter for your ice make."
"Which means you're my perfect training partner then" Gray said to her "what better way to train myself than against the perfect counter-magic."
"Guess we form a perfect match" Ultear sent Gray a teasing look before quickly adding "Don't you Dare use your frozen blood just to bypass my arc of time! I won't have you bleeding out on me!"
"Is that concern what I detect?" Gray asked.
Before Ultear could answer, Ur said: "You can flirt later. We are here to train, so get to it!"
Realizing she was right, Gray and Ultear got serious and continued their fight. After a few minutes of not hitting her, Gray knew Ultear was right; No matter what he tried, how fast he made hand seals or how much magic he put behind the attack he just couldn't touch her.
It ate through his pride, but Gray knew when he was defeated "I give up" dropping on the snow he looked at Ur "I can't defeat her."
Walking next to him, Ultear kissed his cheek "There's nothing to be ashamed of, you did your best."
"She's right, you know." Focusing their attention on Ur, the couple listened to what she had to say "Arc of time is the perfect counter against a creation magic like ice mold, however; there is another ice magic that can beat it."
Wondering what magic she was referring to, Gray and Ultear watched as Ur joined her hands above her and focused all of her magic on them. Without warning, the air around them dropped several degrees as Ur lowered her hands and let loose a barrage of air so cold even they had to suppress a shiver. The wind froze a great deal of the ground and several pines in front of Ur in mere instants, much to the surprise of Gray and Ultear.
"How did…how did you do that without hand seals?"
"Kaa-san…that was amazing!"
After expending most of her magic, Ur felt a bit dizzy but still managed to answer them "This magic is called 'Absolute Zero', and just so you know; I haven't learned all of it. This is only a scratch of its full power."
"Only a scratch?" Looking at her work, Gray wondered just how powerful this magic was.
Ur nodded before saying: "And We are going to master it."
"That's great and all, but one question: Can someone PLEASE give me the keys for the cabin!" Meredy yelled beneath the layers of snow above her "I'm freezing in here!"
After resting the day before, the Fairy Tail team hit the beach and started training; whether it was Wendy trying to learn the spells Grandeeney left her, or Natsu sword sparring with Erza, everyone was training to the best of their abilities. Including Angel, who right now was in secluded place training alone:
"Ok, I can do this."
Grabbing one of her demon keys, Angel hesitated for a moment but finally got the courage to raise it above her "Open the gate of hell: Levia…!"
At the last moment, she lowered her hand and sank to her knees. This was the fifth time she tried to summon a demon, and each time was met with the same result; stopping at the last moment in fear, fear of not knowing if she could tame the demon in the key.
"I'm…I'm shaking" embracing herself, Angel was glad that the potion that blocked her from the bond was still in effect or else Natsu would get worried about her. "I'm pathetic. If Vergil saw me now he'd think the same."
"Angel! Where are you!?"
Hearing Lisanna's voice, Angel forced her shaking to stop and stood up to meet the takeover mage emerging from some trees. "There you are! What are you doing here by yourself?"
"I wanted to train by myself for a bit, that's all."
Giving her a reprimanding look, Lisanna said; "Don't you remember we were supposed to meet at noon to spar?"
"Oh! That's right. Sorry about that."
"It's ok, I guess. Come on, everyone's going to take a break to eat, we can train later alright?"
As Lisanna led the way, Angel hid the keys on her purse and quickly followed her.
Meanwhile, at the beach:
"Wow! I'm feeling sooo good!" Natsu exclaimed as he stretched his body, Rebellion strapped firmly on his back.
Stretching as well, Wendy added: "As long as we keep training like this we can increase our magic power in no time."
"Then 3 months is enough to prepare ourselves for the tournament." Erza said while Levy agreed with her statement.
"Hahahaha! Those other guilds jerks better prepare! I'll show them our overwhelming power after these 3 months are over!"
Hearing Natsu's words eased Lucy's worries: "Phew! I'm glad. I was worried that 3 months would not be enough, but now seeing you like this I can say something like "we still have three months left to spare."
"Aye."
"Hime! Emergency!"
"WHAAA!" Without warning, the celestial spirit Virgo emerged from beneath Lucy, scaring her master "Why are you here!?"
"Hime" Looking sad, the maiden spirit told them the reason she was here "The celestial spirit world is in danger of extermination."
"What!?" Erza was dumbstruck "How did this happen?"
"I can't explain here, the King of the celestial realm is waiting on the other side" Bowing down Virgo added "I'm just here to take you there, please help us."
"Of course we'll help you, you are our friends too!" Putting a comforting hand over her shoulder, Natsu gave her a thumbs up "Lead the way Margo!"
"Wait!" Lucy yelled "We humans can't go the celestial world, can we?"
"If you wear these celestial clothes you can enter" Virgo said as a large magic circle encompassed them "Are you ready?"
Looking down at her purse, Angel tossed it with the rest of their gear. She was unsure what could happen if she brought the demon keys to the spirit world, and she was not about to find out today. As the circle intensified, the members of Fairy tail were transported to the spirit world, for the exception of two individuals.
"I think they forgot us." Jet and Droy said realizing they were ditched by Virgo.
After only a few moments the Fairy tail mages arrived at the spirit world, dressed in proper celestial clothes and all, and marveled at the sight around them.
"Wow! Is this the spirit world? It's amazing."
The spirit world was nothing like they imagined; large crystals surrounded the place and illuminated it with a beautiful array of light, the night sky was filled with dozens of small planets and hundreds of stars with several constellations visible to them. While Lucy and company marveled at the sight, a large spirit made his presence known.
"Greetings my friends" The celestial king appeared before them "It is good to see you all."
"you are…?"
"Big mustache!" Happy exclaimed.
"The celestial spirit king!"
Putting aside the introductions, Natsu stepped forward: "Ok then, who's the one causing you problems mostacho?"
"Natsu! Don't call him that!" Lisanna then apologized to the king "Forgive my husband, great king."
"It really doesn't bother me." The celestial king replied "as for the message Virgo gave you…I'm afraid it was all a deceit to get you here."
"What do you mean?" Erza asked getting a bit worried. "for what?"
Chuckling lightly, the spirit king started laughing as all of Lucy's celestial spirits appeared to greet them.
"SURPRISE! WELCOME BACK FROM THE SEVEN YEAR TIMESKIP! LET'S PARTY!"
Frozen in place, the Fairy tail mages "….ehh?"
"So…the extermination thing…" Lucy turned to look at Virgo who was smirking "IT WAS A LIE!"
"Sorry for deceiving you, Moo!"
"It was with the intention to celebrate with you Hebi."
"We all wanted to celebrate with you" Lyra informed her, followed by Caprico.
"But we all can't go to your world."
"It was with the best intentions, please forgive us."
"It's a special occasion" Aquarius said while holding on to Scorpio.
"Long time no see, just jump into my arms Lucy!" Loke said as he spread his arms, causing Lucy to blush.
"You wish."
"COME ON! LET'S CELEBRATE ALL NIGHT LONG!" The celestial king announced "EVERYBODY DRINK, DANCE AND REJOICE WITH FRIENDS OF OLD!"
"If you insist!" Natsu and the others quickly joined the celebration "LET'S PARTY!"
The trip through the gate drained Rose more than she thought, a testament of it was the way she dragged herself across this city she was now at, however, that didn't stop her from going on.
The streets were filled with merchants as far as the eye could see, a sight Rose had never seen before. From where she came, most people (well, those little few that still remained) avoided grouping up and most definitely would not go out in plain sunlight for fear of the dragons and Sparda's legions.
Sparda, thinking about the man that killed her Oba-chan, as well as her parents, infuriated her. Shaking her head to clear her mind, Rose tried to focus on her mission but it was becoming increasingly difficult to do for each step she took.
When her strength finally gave out, Rose stumbled to a knee and had to use her hands to stabilize herself.
"Hey, are you alright?" A man asked while others watched in concern for her. "Are you injured?"
"I've felt better" Rose said but sounded more like a whisper to them. Seeing her ripped cloak and black light armor, most people were afraid to approach her thinking she was a dark mage. The only thing that told them otherwise was the fact no dark mage would never paint their hair pink.
"You don't look so well" another woman said but Rose dismissed her. Standing back up, Rose barely took a step forward when she collapsed in the middle of the street.
"Someone help her!"
As a group of onlookers gathered around her, Rose slowly closed her eyes.
"…games…I need to get…grand…"
One night, after Meredy and Gray were fast asleep after a long day training, Ultear helped her mother clean the dishes, and so both mother and daughter worked in relative calm.
"Mom, can I ask you a question?"
"Sure" Ur said with a smile. "Shoot."
"What was dad like?"
Ur stopped scrubbing the dish on her hand and looked at her daughter, who waited expectantly for her reply. Sighing, Ur stopped what she was doing and plopped in the living room's sofa, motioning her daughter to come join her.
Once Ultear sat next to her, Ur spoke:
"Guess I owe you that much" with a longing expression Ur started her tale: "Your father was a strong, brave man. The strongest Ice mage I've ever met. He actually was the one that taught me Ice molding magic. Although he didn't call it magic."
"Really?" Now Ultear was intrigued.
Nodding, Ur smiled "He was a strict teacher, a bit emotionless at times, but deep down he was a good man. " Embracing her daughter she said "I'm so sorry you never got to meet him."
"What happened to him?"
Ur's smile slowly vanished "One day he left on a quest and never came back. I was heartbroken at first, but then I found out about you" Ur's smile returned "And I knew that I'd always have a part of him with me."
Tears started falling from Ur's eyes, knowing the reason of them Ultear said "It's ok mom, we're finally reunited once more. And nothing will ever change that. Got that?"
"You're right." Wiping the tears, Ur smiled cheerfully. "Let's put the past behind us and focus on the future from now on."
As sleep slowly got to her, Ultear cuddled next to her mother "Tell me how you met dad?"
Smiling, Ur told her the story behind it; "One day I was exploring the snowy fields when I stumbled upon your father. He was wearing the strangest armor, a bit shiny for my taste, and seemed like he had been on one hell of a fight…"
As Ur went on with her story, she heard light snoring and looked to her side to find her daughter asleep, a smile adorning her face. Smiling herself, Ur kissed Ultear's cheek and covered her with a blanket.
"Sweet dreams, my daughter."
Raven's Tail Guild
"Finally, our time is at hand" Ivan Dreyar, master of Raven's Tail, was ecstatic and with good reason; in mere days he would finally get his revenge, but most importantly Fairy tail's greatest secret:
Lumen Etoile.
Just thinking about it brought a smile to his face. Everything was in motion, and nothing, Nothing would stop them now. As he reached his office, Ivan's joy changed into confusion and then to anger when the saw someone, an uninvited guest, already inside.
"You got some nerve coming to MY guild uninvited."
The intruder chuckled before coming out of the shadows "Is that a way to treat a guest?" As he came into the light, Ivan's expression changed from anger to fear when he saw who it was. "Especially after all the effort we did to turn your pitiful guild into an official one?"
As he watched the man come into the light, Ivan slowly recognized him: red coat, white hair, sword strapped to his back, there was no doubt who it was. Dropping to his knees, Ivan pledged for his life "P-Please forgive my words, sir! I had no idea it was you!"
"Forget about it" Dante walked past the kneeling Dreyar and sat behind the man's desk to explain the reason of his visit, but not before raising his feet on top to get comfortable "Get up, we have matters to discuss."
"Of course, tell me what you need sir."
"For one, you can stop with the sir crap"
"Y-Yes sir, I mean! Yes, as you say" Ivan stuttered while Dante shook his head.
"Anyway, your guild is going to compete in the Grand Magic Games, am I wrong?" Seeing Ivan nod was the answer Dante was looking for "Good, have you picked the mages that will participate yet?"
"Of course" Ivan felt a sense of pride at his next words "I've specially selected my best four mages for the occasion. Our opponents won't know what hit them."
"Che!" Dante's gesture confused Ivan "seeing what your 'guild' has to offer regarding mages, I wouldn't be surprised if only one or two mages from your lot are even worth my time."
"You're right, as always." Dreyar's dumb smile annoyed Dante. "My mages are not even worthy of being in your presence. We are but dirt beneath your feet sir."
"I told you to cut the sir crap!" Dante's words made Ivan cringe "also, stop with the boot licking, I already got the polished."
Standing up, Dante approached Ivan's bookstand and lazily navigated through it "You mentioned four, who's the fifth mage in your team?"
This time, Ivan answered without waver "To ensure our victory, I will personally compete in the tournament in disguise as the newest ace of Raven's Tail; Alexei."
If Dreyar thought Dante would be impressed, he was wrong; Dante's only response was to yawn while browsing through a book, infuriating Ivan, not that the guild master would ever show it.
"That won't do"
"W-what do you mean?"
"What I mean" Dante abruptly closed the book on his hand, making Ivan jump in fear. "it's a good idea... just the wrong man for the job."
Approaching Ivan, Dante smirked seeing that the man trembled a bit "I'll do it."
"Do it? I don't understand?"
"I'll take the fifth spot in your rag in the ass team." Dante's answer got a curious look from Ivan "Don't worry; we have no interest in Lumen Etoile."
"H-How did you…?" Ivan's question was cut off by Dante.
"It's our job to know" Dante replied with a grin.
Nodding, Ivan said "Well, if you insist then it's settled! You can take my spot at the tournament."
"Like there was any doubt" Dante said before adding 'Although, Alexei just won't cut it."
Curious, Ivan waited for Dante to elaborate: "I think the name 'Redgrave' is more suited for the job."
The sound of celebration could be heard in the background, but Lucy preferred to gaze at the reflection of the moon (one of them) in the pond before her. Leaning against the rail separating her from the pond, the celestial mage breath the air in contempt.
"What's a pretty lady like you doing by herself at this hour?" someone said while embracing her from behind.
"I'm waiting for someone" Lucy informed him "my date for the night."
"Oh! Is he handsome?" Loke asked.
Feeling his body molding next to hers, Lucy supressed the desire to moan. "Yes, very much." Turning around to meet his eyes she asked "Have you seen him?"
"Perhaps I have" Loke answered while taking a sniff of her fragrance "You smell delicious tonight, Lucy-hime"
"Stop" the blond mage blushed as she felt his hands roaming down below her skirt. "Someone might see us."
"I don't care"
"But..." silencing her pleas with his lips, Lucy slowly relented and allowed herself to get lost in his mouth. The memories of the wedding came flooding back to her; the way he kissed her, caressed her body while he undressed her, pleasured her in ways she didn't imagine. But more importantly, the words he whispered to her that night.
"Was it true" Lucy asked uncertainly "Did you meant it?"
Giving her a longing look he spoke with truth: "Yes, I love you Lucy. I love you with all my heart and soul."
From the start she knew this was wrong, it was taboo for a celestial mage to fall in love with a spirit, but she couldn't help it. she loved him so much to deny her feelings for him.
"I love you too Loke, and nothing will change that."
Remembering everything Ur had taught them over the last month, Gray practiced without end to learn all there was about the Absolute Zero.
"Ice make: Dust!" Throwing a punch, Gray sends an icy wind that froze the tree before him but also completely drained him. Looking at his work he groaned in frustration "That's all?"
With his molding magic he could easily freeze the entire forest if he wanted, that's why seeing that he only got some frost on a tree disappointed him. "Ur said this technique was powerful. Then why can't I use it?"
"Don't give up Gray" Ultear encouraged him from the sideline "It's hard, I know, but I believe in you."
"Easy for you to say" Gray countered "you froze two trees after the third try."
Giving him a knock to the head, Ultear added "And not a single one more after trying again. Remember that I've had more time to increase my magic over these last 7 years. For you two learn the basics of Absolute Zero in a month is a great accomplishment."
Rubbing his head, Gray focused one more time "Ok, I can do this. Focus my magic power in one point and send it to my target. No hand seals."
Fighting the urge to make hand seals, Gray concentrated his power on his right fist "Ice make: Dust!"
The wind created by Gray left a path of ice and snow all the way to his target. The unfortunate trees that stood before the wind were quickly frozen from base to tip in crystal clear ice.
"You did it!" Ultear's celebration was cut short when Gray punched the snow beneath him.
"That attack… drained me completely" Gray explained while he regained his breath. "What use is this technique If the user can't even remain standing after casting it. If I am to learn this technique for the tournament, I need to increase my magic power."
"But I've already awaken your second origin."
"I know, and I am grateful for it Ul-chan" Gray offered so it didn't sound like her was blaming her "just wish there was another way to increase my magic power even more."
Ultear seemed deep in thought before saying: "There might be another way."
Looking up, Gray waited for Ultear to elaborate. Reaching into her lacrima storage where she kept her crystal ball, Ultear withdrew a lacryma.
"Is that…?"
Ultear nodded "The ice lacryma that you used to save my life. I've been holding on to it in case the day we needed it would come, and that day is now."
Taking the lacryma Ultear offered him, Gray examined it as a myriad of thoughts flashed through his head; with this he could become as strong as Laxus or even Natsu, hell, if he wanted he could even start training to become a second generation dragonslayer, a second line of thoughts crossed his mind like the fact he could create a bond like the one Natsu shared with his girls, but he quickly returned to the real reason he wanted the lacryma.
Looking at the lacryma Ultear gave him, Gray made his choice.
At the celestial world, once the celebration came to an end everyone said their goodbye:
"Goodbye! Take care you all!"
"Remember, you can call upon us anytime!"
"Please take care of Lucy!"
"Goodbye!"
With his cape flowing in the wind, the celestial king said his farewell: "May the stars guide you all, my friends!"
With that said, the celestial spirits vanished, leaving only the Fairy tail mages and Virgo to escort them back to the human world.
"We had a good time!" Erza said.
"And great food too!" Natsu added.
"Don't tell me you ate them!" Angel eyed Natsu like he had grown a second head.
"You have good friends Lucy" Lisanna said to her "They seem to really love you."
"Yeah, they do." Lucy slightly blushed, remembering her moments with Loke. "They are all precious to me."
"Ok then! It's time to retake our training!" Natsu said to them "We still have 3 months to get ready!"
Hearing this caught Virgo's attention "That reminds me! Time flows different here in the spirit world."
"No way!" Natsu exclaimed "Does this mean we found our perfect training ground!?"
"Imagine: one year here could be a day at our world." Erza imagined the possibilities.
"Actually one day here…" Virgo returned them to the human world "Equals three months on your world."
Natsu, Lisanna, Angel and the others stared at Virgo with empty eyes.
"Hey you all, you're finally back" Jet greeted them "We've been waiting for a very long time!"
"The grand magic games will be held in 5 days" Droy added "I bet you got really strong training at the spirit world!"
Realizing their time was over, Natsu, Erza and Angel fell forward into the sand while Lucy yelled at the sky.
"BIG MOUSTACHE I WANT MY TIME BACK!"
Just as Lisanna helped Natsu back to his feet, the dragonslayer felt an oppressing feeling looming above them. "Oh crap"
"Natsu Dragneel"
Realizing who it was, Natsu nervously looked behind him to find Vergil, who was now wearing a dark coat with a high collar and scrollwork sewn into it. "I have been waiting for a long time."
Knowing he was screwed, Natsu dropped back into the sand and wished the earth would just open and swallow him whole.
"Vergil!" a cheerful Mirajane came running behind the half devil carrying a hat on her hand "You forgot your fedora!"
"Mirajane I told you...I AM NOT WEARING THAT!"
Opening her eyes, the first thing Rose realized was that she was in a bed looking at an unknown ceiling. She tried to rise from bed when she realized restrains kept her bound to it, so she struggled against them.
"Relax, you'll only hurt yourself." Looking to the origin of that voice, Rose found a man she deducted was a council mage due to the cape and clothes he was wearing. "We mean no harm."
Looking at her binds Rose said "Could have fooled me."
"Those are more for your protection; we didn't want you to hurt yourself during your sleep." Seeing the incredulous look Rose was giving him, the man decided introductions were in order "My name is Doranbolt, a member of the council."
"Doranbolt" Rose recognized that name from the stories her dad used to tell her, but decided not to reveal that. Years of experience trained her to conceal her reactions, so the only response Doranbolt got from her was a disinterested look. "am I under arrest?"
"Nothing like that" Doranbolt inform her "however, the test results we got from the hospital were 'peculiar' to say the least."
"Great" Not wanting to give away more about her origins, Rose tried to release herself but her magic failed.
"Those restrains negate magic." Standing next to her bed, he asked "It's best if you tell me about yourself?"
"Magic huh" Rose sighed "Then there's no point hiding it."
To Doranbolt's amazement, Rose started emitting flames that started disolving her binds "How!?" Before he could get his answer, the binds, bed and Doranbolt himself were blasted away by the power Rose exerted. Leaning against the wall for support, Doranbolt got a glimpse of platinum before his eyes focused on the pink haired girl. He barely got up when there was a flash of light and a double edged claymore buried itself on the wall mere inches from his head.
"I don't know how much info you got from me, but I won't let you stop me." Pulling the sword out, Rose quickly made haste in her escape leaving Doranbolt perplexed.
The results they got from her revealed traces of eternano similar to the one Deimos used during his time travel fiasco; not wanting another repeat of that incident, the council was keeping a close eye on this sort of magic, but it seems Doranbolt found something, or rather someone much more interesting.
"Just who are you?"
A.N.
I'd like to thank all my readers for sticking up with me during these last few years. As a gift to you, here are some scene I have in store for future chapters. Happy new year!
Next Year:
"WHERE THE HELL IS YOUR MASTER!"
Sting, Rogue and most of Sabertooth could only watch in shock as Natsu beat any mage that stood in his path. Making his way through the crowd, the imposing master of Sabertooth asked:
"What do you want, boy?"
"You are the master" Natsu said more like a statement than a question "You kicked out one of your members out for one failure."
"Ah, it's about that loser, Yukino" Jiemma realized.
Hearing him refer of Yukino like that, made Natsu want to punch the living daylights out of him "If I defeat you, you'll leave this guild!"
"The rest of Fairy Tail might be a filled with gullible fools, but you can't fool me."
Rose stopped and listened to what Vergil had to say:
"You are Natsu's daughter. Am I correct?"
"Ladies and gentlemen! The next fight of the preliminary rounds will face Fairy Tail's Laxus!"
The crowd cheered for the resident lightning dragonslayer from Fairy Tail while pumpkin man announced the other contestant.
"Facing off against the Ace of Raven's Tail...Redgrave!"
Receiving an equal amount of cheers, Dante smirked beneath his helmet: "Showtime!"
"Dante"
The half devil turned away from the onslaught below and greeted his guest "Hey bro, long time no see"
Vergil kept his hand on the hilt of Yamato as he circled his twin "All this destruction, is it necessary? Why are you doing this?"
Dante looked at Vergil like he was a complete stranger "who are you and what have you done to that prick of my brother?"
"Enough with the jokes!" in one fluid move, Vergil held the tip of Yamato at Dante's neck "Answer me!"
"Look at you; joining a kiddie guild like Fairy Tail. This is not the Vergil I knew" Dante pushed the tip of the sword with a finger, causing it to bleed "You've changed brother. But so have I."
"If my life is what it takes to return this world to it's original form then so be it!"
Giving one last look to the fight being waged between mages and dragons, Ultear whispered; "Goodbye Gray..."
"Arc of Time: Last Aegis!"
"Am I good to go, Porlyusica-san?" Lisanna asked while getting ready "Natsu and the others are waiting for me."
"Actually, there is one thing" The look she was getting from her told Lisanna it was something important. "you are no longer fit to fight on your condition."
"What do you mean by that!?" Lisanna started panicking "Everyone is counting on me to help them!"
Putting a hand on her shoulder to calm her, Porlyusica said: "Lisanna, there is something you and Natsu should know."
To be continued in 2014
Demonwithasoul