Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail, Devil May Cry or any of its characters. Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima and Devil May Cry belongs to Capcom (Cr4pcom, Ca$hcom ?)
"Speech"
"Thoughts"
"Music"
"MEDIC! WE NEED A MEDIC OVER HERE!"
The commotion on the arena was nerve wrecking as medics rushed to help Laxus. While this was happening, no one noticed that the victor had left the stage.
"Make your move, Make your stand. Make the win, Heh, like you can."
Music blasted on Redgrave's earphones in contrast to the clank of his armored boots as he walked through the dark hallway.
"See the war, See me rule, See the mirror…You'll see a fool"
"You know…" turning the player off, Redgrave looked to a specific place amongst the shadows "if you wanted an autograph, you could have just said so."
Stepping into the light, Rose revealed herself "Finally…today's the day you die!"
Looking at her up and down, Dante smirked beneath his helmet "You're a bit too young for my taste. Come find me in a couple of years and then we'll talk."
As he resumed his walk, Redgrave smirked when he felt her magic unleashed.
"You think I'll let you walk away!" Rose's pink locks turned to silver, raising an eyebrow from Dante, as she lifted her sword to charge at him "DIE SPARD…ugh"
In an instant, Rose's devil trigger dispelled, returning her back to normal as she slumped to the floor. Redgrave looked from the unconscious Rose towards the man responsible for putting her on that state.
"Let me guess:" Redgrave materialized a pen "autograph?"
"You can save the act with me, dear brother."
Chapter 44: Clash of Dragonslayers
"A baby!" Lisanna put a hand over her stomach with tears of joy falling from her eyes "We're having a baby."
Embracing her from behind, Natsu put his hands around her while sporting the biggest grin "I'm going to be a dad!"
"Both of us" Lisanna turned her head and kissed Natsu before closing their eyes and resting their foreheads together. The scene was so tender that Porlyusica considered Not kicking them out of her infirmary.
"Five more minutes, then out!" She thought to herself.
As realization hit them, Natsu and Lisanna looked at each other: "We have to tell…"
"…tell the others!" The couple laughed as they said the same phrase at the same time. It was dumb really, but right now everything was perfect in their lives.
"PORLYUSICA!" Gray yelled as he and other Fairy Tail mages came bursting into the room carrying a wounded Laxus while Wendy tried to keep him stabilized.
"Laxus!" the happiness Natsu and Lisanna felt was forgotten as they say the state of the dragon slayer. Before they could even utter a word, Porlyusica kicked everyone, sans Wendy, out of the place so they could aid Laxus.
Once the shock passed, Natsu asked everyone: "Who did this!?"
"Raven's Tail" Makarov answered and, before Natsu sprinted out, he grabbed him with an enlarged hand. "Wait!"
"Let me go gramps!"
"Natsu, calm down and listen" Gildarts said in a calm but commanding tone that Natsu found compelled to obey "I know what you're thinking but don't; Raven's Tail played by the rules this time."
"Are you kidding me?" Natsu struggled to get free from Makarov "The only way they could do that to Laxus was if they ambushed him or cheated!"
"I wish they had" Gildarts expressing hardened "but it was only one man who did this."
"One man?" Lisanna, as well as Natsu, could not believe that the powerhouse that was Laxus was beaten to this state by a single mage, a mage from Raven's Tail no less. "Who?"
Emotions ranged from anger, to impotence and to rage as the mages of Fairy Tail were forced to remember how Laxus was beaten to an inch of his life by the mysterious ace of Raven's Tail. A look of worry marred Lisanna's face while Natsu shook in anger.
"Redgrave!" Natsu's body covered itself in flames, forcing several mages to step back. "He'll pay for what he's done!"
"He will, you can count on that." Gildarts added "but on the games. That way, Raven's Tail humiliation will be far worse when we crush them!"
"YEAAAAAA!"
"Damn straight!"
Natsu looked at his friends with determination before his eyes landed on Lisanna and softened; through the bond Lisanna knew what he was feeling and silently nodded. Laxus's situation was a sour note on their happy moment, but there was nothing they could do at the moment, their announcement would have to wait.
Redgrave led Vergil to a secluded roof and leaned on the railing "Magnificent view, am I right?"
Vergil remained impassive as Redgrave added "And the girls, man; the finest pair I've seen since… let me make memory…Ah! Since Fortuna city! Sigh…where does time go?"
"Are you taking me for a fool Dante" Vergil grabbed the hilt of Yamato "Remove that foolish helmet and look at me!"
Chuckling, Dante did as told and removed the aforementioned piece of armor. "There, happy?"
For a moment Vergil was left speechless, it was indeed Dante. Aside being a few years older since Teme Nu Grui, he looked almost the same. The only noticeable difference was the stern look that his smirk could not hide, not from him anyway. "It seems life has not been kind to you, dear brother."
"Says who?" Dante asked with a smirk "I still look damn good for my age."
Both sons of Sparda stared at each other in silence.
"It is good to see you again, brother." Vergil said in a rare show of affection.
Giving him a cocky smile, Dante replied: "Same here, little brother. Although I did see you on that wedding a couple months back."
"Then thanks are in order" Vergil withdrew the pendant he wore beneath his vest and showed it to Dante, who got the message.
"No problem, it belongs to a son of Sparda." He said, showing Vergil his own pendant. "Little brother"
"Last time I checked; we were born at the same time."
"The flow of time does not stop, little brother" Dante mused melancholically (not that it fooled Vergil) "You could say… I've been around for a while."
"About that" Vergil stated "judging by your appearance, I would say 10, maybe 12 years have passed since we last saw each other, but something tells me it has been far longer than that."
"Right again" Dante replied "It's been…a while."
"How long has it been?"
Dante grabbed his chin "Mmmm, a lot."
Dante's answer did not satisfy Vergil "How. Long?"
"3 or 4 millenia, who knows?" Dante raised his hands in exasperation "I don't remember! Not like I carry a watch or keep a journal."
"You are lying" Vergil said "Even with the blood of Sparda flowing through our veins…"
"Yeah, Yeah, and all that crap about pops." Dante interrupted, earning a glare from Vergil "Let's just say I cheated death. Well, more like death owes me and now he's chocking on debts." Turning his sight on the city below, Dante adopted a serious tone: "The world we knew is gone, little brother. Surely you have noticed "
"I have" Vergil answered "Mages were a rare breed in our time, while here there has been a dramatic increase across the world. What caused it?"
"You know what caused it" Seeing his confused look took Dante by surprise "Wait; you don't remember?
"Remember what?"
It seemed like Dante was about to say it, but his serious expression returned to the carefree one "Know what? I'll let you figure that out by yourself. You do owe me for giving my sword to that firecracker. Why the hell did you do that?"
"Natsu Dragneel, he shows promise" Was Vergil's answer
"Rebellion is mine"
"Was, you left it on that crater…" for a moment it seemed like Vergil was remembering, but the feeling vanished as fast as it came. Noticing, Dante smirked.
"Want a hint to jumpstart the harddrive?"
While Vergil knew he should accept the offer, seeing his smug look overran his reasoning "No. I will remember everything in due time."
"Suit yourself. Still; I want my sword back."
"If you don't want people to grab your toys then don't leave them scattered after playing with them." The look Dante gave him was enough to cause Vergil so smirk. "Besides; you have father's sword."
The annoyed look Dante carried morphed to a relaxed one "This sword is good, maybe even better, but still; I have fond memories of Rebellion."
"Then, you are out of luck, dear brother. Dragneel needs Rebellion."
"For one of your crazy plans?" Vergil betrayed no emotion, but Dante knew he was right "Oh little brother, even after so long I can still see the same old stick-up-your-ass Vergil in there."
"Mock me all you want, It changes nothing; the sword remains with Dragneel."
"Until I say so." Dante countered with a smirk while Vergil remained impassive. Changing subject, Dante asked: "I'm guessing that chick back there is also part of it?"
Vergil could have told him about Rose, how she was an unforeseen asset to his plans, but why tell him. "I will let you figure that one out for yourself."
"You're no fun" Dante pouted. "Guess I'll get answers the old fashion way; by gutting each and every last one of them." Dante's demeanor did a complete 180 from the carefree attitude to adopt a cold merciless tone "Maybe I'll start with that nice little piece of ass. Lisanna, was it?"
In a flash of steel, Vergil drew Yamato and pointed it mere inches from Dante "I will not let you hurt them."
"Hurt Her you mean" Dante smirked as he pushed the tip of the sword with his finger, causing his blood to flow along the blade's lenght "Look at you; joining a kiddie guild like Fairy Tail. You've changed brother, but so have I."
"I am not the only one who has changed." Vergil knew Dante was serious about killing them. "If you will not relent, then I will have to kill you, dear brother."
"Like you could." Dante countered. "But relax: I won't touch your precious fairies, not yet anyw..."
Vergil sliced at the spot where Dante was standing mere moments ago. Looking up, he found his target on an adjacent building.
"Not here little brother! If you want to face me, you know where to find me." With that said, Dante vanished from view, leaving Vergil alone on the rooftop.
Late into the night, Porlyusica deemed Laxus stable enough to recover within a fortnight and decided to leave the dragon slayer to his rest. As she made her way out, a nurse bumped into her.
"F-Forgive me! I wasn't looking where I was going!"
Porlyusica regarded the young nurse with a calculative stare "It's fine. Just be careful next time."
"Y-Yes, I will! Thank you."
As the nurse went her way, Porlyusica said: "Take good care of him."
"W-Wha…?" Meredy turned to look at her, but Porlyusica was already gone. "I thought my disguise was perfect, sigh."
Creeping quietly into the room as to not awake Laxus, Meredy approached his bed and stared at her boyfriend for what seemed like ages but in truth were merely minutes. Deep cut to the chest, 3 broken ribs and a concussion to the head, that was the diagnostic when Laxus arrived, now only his forehead and chest were bandaged thanks to Wendy and her healing magic.
Taking the seat next to his bed, Meredy grabbed his hand: "You big dummy! You worried me back there."
"…sorry about that."
"Laxus!" Seeing he was awake, Meredy jumped at him to embrace him before realizing what she was doing "Sorry! Sorry! I forgot you were injured, Sorry!"
"Don't" Grabbing her petite hand with his larger one, Laxus calmed Meredy "Most of the injuries were healed a while back. I just need some rest."
"Then I guess I'll be going…" Standing up, Meredy found she was unable to leave since Laxus was still holding her hand.
"Stay for a while."
Dozens of excuses crossed her mind, but in the end Meredy gave in: "sure." Moving to retake her seat, Meredy yelped when Laxus pulled her to bed next to him.
"Cute!" Laxus thought when Meredy yelped.
At first, Meredy was nervous due to the proximity between them, but that quickly vanished after a while. For a few moments they remained in silence, just enjoying each other's company.
"I thought I'd lost you."
Laxus opened his eyes and stared right at hers, who shone with unshed tears. "When that man cut you, I thought…I thought"
"I know"
"No, you don't!" Meredy exclaimed "I've lost everyone before, my family, my friends, all gone! I almost once lost Ultear and now that I have you I almost thought I'd lose you too!"
Burying her head on his chest, Meredy left her tears run free while Laxus caressed her head. "I was scared."
Looking up, Meredy's puffy red eyes locked themselves with Laxus's "When his sword hit me…I really thought that was it for me. The pain…It's been far too long since I last felt fear like this."
"Laxus."
In the cover of the moonlight, the young couple shared a tender kiss that carried the promise to never again scare the other half like that. After separating, Laxus finally looked at Meredy's getto and a slight blush covered his cheeks.
"W-Who told you about the nurse thing?"
"What do you mean?"
"N-Never mind."
For once, the mood over Fairy Tail was a quiet one; after witnessing Laxus, one of their strongest members, get brutally beaten to an inch of his life was something that quelled any desire to party from all the mages present.
Secluded in their room, Natsu and Lisanna were still torn between the joy of their first child and back to their friend back at the hospital.
"OH MY GOD! YOU'RE PREGNANT!"
Lisanna tackled Angel and covered her mouth with her hand "Don't yell that!"
"Mph... Why not?" The celestial mage asked as she struggled out "this is good news! The guild deserves to know."
"We don't think that's appropriate right now. With Laxus getting hurt and all" Lisanna replied."And how the heck did you find…"
"The bond, remember?" Angel deadpanned "I stopped drinking the blocking potion a while ago and just now I felt it…Hey! Don't change the subject! This will be the perfect news to cheer everyone out"
"It's not that simple…" Lisanna said with a downcast look.
"Know what: Let's do it!" Natsu's words surprised Lisanna and caused Angel to blush "Let's tell everyone!"
"Oh, you mean that" Angel sighed before smiling "Well, let's get going then"
Grabbing his hand, Lisanna couldn't hide her happiness "Natsu, are you sure?"
"Of course I am!" Natsu added "Laxus will be fine, after all he's a dragon slayer, besides; our nakama's deserve to know about our pregnancy!"
"That's not the way it's said" Angel thought but before she could correct him a loud yell was heard outside the door.
"WHAAAAAAAT! Natsu's pregnant!"
As luck would have it, Happy happened to be eavesdropping and without meaning to, he revealed the secret to anyone nearby to listen, that being the entire population of Fairy Tail.
"Lisanna's pregnant!"
"They're having a kid!?"
"I'm going to be an aunt!"
Wiping a tear from his eye, Gildarts gave the dragon slayer a thumb up "Natsu…you make me proud!"
"What does pregnant mean?" Happy asked while Charle shook her head.
"You're the one that spoiled their announcement and don't even know, jeez."
"Whaat! Spoiled them!" Mortified, the exceed looked at his best friend for confirmation, but Natsu merely grinned at him.
"Relax Happy, no harm done." The dragon slayer said.
"Natsu… is this true?" Still stunned by the news, Makarov asked him.
"Yup!" Embracing his wife, Natsu looked at everyone "We're pregnant!"
For a moment the entire room was silent, when suddenly everyone started congratulating them.
"This calls for a celebration!"
"You… are you sure?" Lisanna still felt bad for Laxus but before she could voice her worries, Makarov interrupted her.
"If you're worrying about Laxus, then don't. This news must be celebrated! Besides, Laxus will be fine in a couple of days; he's my grandson after all!"
Moved by everyone's feelings, Lisanna started to cry. "You guys…thank you."
"No need to thank us; we're family, all of us" Gray stepped next to her and embraced her "Congratulations Lisanna." Then he looked at Natsu "You too I guess."
"What kind of congrats is that! Frozen pervert!"
"More than you deserve, Ash breath!"
From behind a corner, Juvia looked at her object of adoration: "Gray-sama, Juvia will not let you lose to Natsu! Juvia will give you five babies first!"
"Not this again." Gray deadpanned.
"Natsu…" Elfman loomed over the dragon slayer "you got my sister…with child! That's unmanly of you!"
"Nee, Elf-neesan, they're married now, so calm down" Mirajane said with her ever present smile on her face, but her actions betrayed her emotions when the hand she put over Elfman's shoulder sent the larger sibling crashing to the floor "I'm the eldest and still not Married!."
"Let's drink to that!" Cana yelled, referring to their kid, even when she started drinking long before the news was revealed if the empty barrels of beer were any indication.
"Congratulations you two" Lucy approached the couple and embraced them "This feels so weird, you Natsu as a dad. It'll take time to settle in."
"T-They're…having a kid" since hearing the news Erza stayed rooted on her spot, not knowing how to act in a situation like this. Fortunately for her, Lucy decided to help her.
"Just congratulate them. Wish them good fortune, and when the kid is born you can be like an aunt for him or her."
"You're right! We must prepare everything right now! The baby shower! What's they're going to name him or her! The magic he'll learn! What preschool to attend! When he/she is going to have a baby brother! Where…!"
"T-Take it easy; the baby's not born just yet" Lucy tried to dissuade Erza "And those things are for the parents to decide."
"So Lisanna, how long are you into your pregnancy" being one of the few with experience on the matter, Bisca asked the mother to be so she could advise her in the future.
"Actually, Porlyusica-san said I was just well under one month." Lisanna replied.
Making the calculations on his head, Gray said: "But you were married 4 months ago. Don't tell me dragon breath couldn't perform"
"Of course I can't!" Natsu's words shocked everyone, but not as much as his next ones "You don't perform to have a baby! You have sex to make one. Which I did daily with…"
"THEY GET IT! NOW SHUSH DARLING!" Even when it was obvious, Lisanna was still embarrassed to hear her husband say it out loud.
While the congratulations continued to rain on the parents to be, Rose watched them from her secluded spot, still rubbing her head from where Vergil knocked her out. From her timeline, Rose never got to meet her half-brother or sister. How could she? Lisanna was killed not long after the grand magic games ended. Looking at the soon to be mother, something stirred inside Rose; she meant what she said back then. Lisanna was nothing to her, still…
"There you are!"
Rose was broken out of her reverie when Natsu appeared before her. "Fa-Natsu san! What can I do for you?"
"For one, you can call me just Natsu and come join the celebration with us. You're a member of Fairy Tail now! So come and enjoy yourself!"
Natsu's grin was contagious, as Rose was hit with the sudden urge to grin like him "Sure!"
"I made my decision; I will not let Sparda kill anyone from our family dad. I swear it."
Watching them go, Gray said to Cana "That's weird."
"What's weird?"
"I could swear Rose kind of looks like Natsu when she grins."
"Wait a sec" Putting her barrel down, Cana seemed to study Rose before saying: "You were looking at another girl!"
"What! No! Well…yes but that's not the point."
"I can't believe you Gray! You have me and not only do you want a granny…"
Somewhere in the city, the surroundings of a nearby alley turned to ice when Ultear felt a sudden urge to freeze someone. Barely avoiding getting his bits turn into popsicles, Cobra was the first to complain.
"WHAT THE HELL IS YOUR PROB…!?"
Ultear gave him an icy stare that scared the very essence of the dragon slayer "..lem…"
Ignoring the poison dragon slayer, Ultear stated "I'm going for a walk."
Once she was far away, Cobra looked at Jellal "Damn…that was scary."
"Next time you want to complain to her: Don't"
"…but you also want a gothic medieval Lolita too!" Cana finished saying to an embarrased Gray.
Appearing out of nowhere, Juvia added her own complains "Gray-sama, that's not true, is it?"
"Of course not…what the heck are you wearing?!" Gray was shocked to see Juvia in a very revealing Lolita costume that caused a severe nosebleed to those watching her.
"Juvia can be whatever you want her to be" Juvia said while sending teasing looks at him "So pick Juvia instead."
"Well Gray?" Cana loomed behind the ice mage "What it'll be? Pick already!"
Trapped between Cana and Juvia, Gray reached his limit "I don't need this!" Before waiting for a reply, Gray stormed off, leaving a perplexed Cana on his wake.
"Jeez, can't take a joke." Thinking little of it, Cana returned to her drinking, unaware it was all according to Gray's plan. Once outside the guild, the ice mage dropped the façade, but not without feeling bad for deceiving her.
"Sorry Cana"
"There you are!" From the shadows, Ultear emerged covered in her cloak. "For a moment I was worried you stood me up."
"Sorry, got a bit tangled in something. Did I make you wait long?"
"Not really, I just got here myself."
Eyeing her cloak Gray asked "Why are you covering yourself?"
"I'm cold" seeing her answer did not fool him, she revealed her secret "Ok, this is why"
Opening her robe, Gray was flabbergasted when he saw the low cut mini dress she was wearing. "Didn't want anyone to see me in this, well; anyone but you."
"G-Good thinking!" Offering her his hand, he asked "Ready to go?"
Knowing what tonight could mean to them made Ultear hesitate.
"After I win, we'll do the rest"
The words he whispered to her back then echoed in her head, while she knew Gray asking her out tonight didn't necessarily mean that 'that' was going to happen, Ultear herself was going to push it to happen. All those months training under Ur, left them little to no privacy after all. But what really motivated her to move forward into their relationship was an ominous feeling she'd been having since the start of the Grand magic games. One would think that as a member of a guild whose task was to rid the world of dark magic she would be used to it by now…but somehow this feeling made her think her days on this world were coming to an end.
Clearing her head of those thoughts, Ultear smiled and took his hand "I'm ready."
Whatever happened after did not matter, for now she would enjoy every moment that she could spend with the man she loves. "I heard some sort of party going back there."
"Oh that!" Gray thought about Lisanna's pregnant and said. "They're celebrating their future."
"Their future…" Ultear whispered "I wonder what future awaits us"
After his meeting with Dante, the last thing Vergil wanted was to be around people, especially cheerful ones as the likes of Fairy Tail…but he had to warn them.
"There you are!"
Mentally groaning, Vergil directed his gaze to Natsu as he and Lisanna approached him "What now Dragneel?"
Not noticing or simply knowing how Vergil's moods were, Lisanna said "Vergil, Natsu-kun and I have great news for you!"
Softening his gaze, if only a little, Vergil directed his attention to her: "Tell me"
"Lisanna is pregnant!"
Even when Natsu was the one to break the news she was giving him, Vergil let it pass "you are… with child?"
Seeing Lisanna's smile caused Vergil to give her one of his rare and almost imperceptible smiles. "Congratulations, both of you" The smile vanished as soon as it appeared before he added "but I must get going."
"Going? But where?" Lisanna was confused.
"There are matters I must discuss with the guild master" Seeing the look Vergil gave him told Gildarts it was something serious.
"That man is your brother huh." Leaning back on his chair, Gildarts was still processing what Vergil told them. "No wonder Laxus was defeated by him."
"His strength and speed are vastly superior compared to the last time I faced him" Vergil added and giving Rose a glance he added "And no, the man you call 'Sparda' is definitely not him."
"Says you" Rose countered. "For all I know you could be working with him."
"If this is because of me knocking you out, I needed to speak with him alone. You would only get hurt if you acted rashly against him."
"Why you!" Rose stood up to face Vergil, if not for Makarov calming her down.
"What else did he tell you?" Makarov suddenly asked to change the subject "Why is he working for Ivan?"
"That I do not know" Vergil answered "knowing my brother, there must be a reason if he is willing to work for someone below him."
Hearing this, Makarov shared a knowing look with Gildarts, one that did not go unnoticed by Vergil "You know something?"
"It's something we can't openly discuss with you" Makarov looked apologetically at them when Mavis appeared before them.
"What they're after is Lumen Histoire"
"First, you shouldn't!" Makarov started but Mavis stopped him.
"It's ok, it is something only guild masters can know. Do you understand now?"
"Kinda, I guess" Rose answered, a bit unsure of herself, as for Vergil:
"That is obvious. What I don't understand is just What Lumen histoire is?"
Looking straight at Vergil, Mavis said: "Lumen histoire, it is our guild's light." Vergil waited for her to elaborate but after a while she added "That's about it!"
"I don't know what I was expecting" Vergil pinched the bridge of his nose "If you don't want to tell me, that is fine. I just hope it is nothing that can be a problem one day for us."
"I'm sorry, this burden of mine should not fall on your shoulders as well" Without warning Mavis started to sob "I'm really really sorry to cause you this much trouble!"
"Aren't you exaggerating?" Vergil groaned but didn't voice his thoughts.
"Look what you did!" Makarov said while he tried to comfort Mavis "Vergil, quick! Come her and comfort Mavis!"
"I will not"
Leaving the party for a moment, Erza climbed to the rooftop to get some fresh air and to see how he was doing. "You're missing a good party."
"Am I" Mystogan showed her the food and drink Wendy brought for him "I'm just not a very social guy."
"Yeah, I remember" Taking a shrimp from his plate, Erza sat next to him. "Can you believe it? Natsu and Lisanna are going to be parents."
"What's there to believe? Natsu might act impulsively from time to time, but he has a caring heart, the same can be said for Lisanna." Mystogan replied "They'll be great parents."
"I know, it's just that…" Erza was lost on how to say it, fortunately for her Mystogan helped her.
"You'll also be a great mom one day Erza."
"Wha-Where did that come from!?" Blushing furiously, Erza was lost on what to say. Thinking fast, she changed the subject "that reminds me! What should I call you?"
Mystogan blinked at her "Mystogan seems to work."
"Yeah, but I should probably call you by your real name…although that could get confusing when Jellal is around" Erza rubbed her chin, completely missing how Mystogan's shoulders slumped at the mention of his other self "I know! Gerard!"
"Gerard?" Mystogan raised one of his eyebrows.
Standing up, Erza explained it to him "The name is similar to Jellal, so that way it's almost the same. What do you think?"
"I think it's time I do my patrols" Standing up as well, Mystogan grabbed his mask and prepared to leave. Realizing she had offended him somehow, Erza tried to apologize.
"Mystogan, wait…"
"Gerard is fine" Mystogan gave her a small smile before putting his scarf on. Not waiting for a reply, he left leaving Erza behind.
Looking at the starry sky, Erza asked: "I screwed up, didn't I?"
"Now it's two things I've lost to you other self." Mystogan thought as he navigated through the city "My own name… and Erza."
The following morning;
"Damn it, I overslept!"
"Just keep running; you'll get there in time."
Two figures could be seen running through the streets in destination to the coliseum. The first one was holding the other one's hand when she felt him stopping: "Gray, what's wrong?"
"I just realized it; WE overslept" Gray Fullbuster smiled, feeling happy for the events that transpired the night before. Following his example, Ultear smiled as well with a slight blush marring her cheeks.
"Yes, we did. Didn't we?" After last night Ultear felt…complete. Like her purpose on this life was finally reached. And that purpose was to become one with the man she loves. Smiling at each other, they resumed their trip until they reached a crossroad. Gray would head on to the coliseum while she would rejoin Crime Sorciere and watch for any sign of Zeref's dark magic.
Before splitting ways, Gray pulled Ultear and kissed her as passionately as the night before. Only when then need for air was hard to ignore did the couple separate.
"Gray, after this fight perhaps…" Ultear blushed and shyly asked "…again?"
Finding it adorable how she looked at her feet, Gray kissed her on the forehead "Of course" Giving her a smile, Gray kissed her one last time before they headed out again.
"Gray!"
Looking back, Gray smiled as she saw Ultear doing the Fairy Tail symbol.
"I'm not from your guild" Ultear smiled at him "but maybe one day I can join Fairy Tail."
Giving her the same symbol, Gray said "I'll look forward to that day!"
For that day to come, they still had hundreds of challenges to overcome, but right now the couple felt like they could take on the world itself. As long as they did it side by side.
With only two days until the finals, the organizers decided to host tag team battles. Fairy tail was eager to even the score with Raven's tail, Natsu more than anyone else, but when they arrived at the coliseum they were greeted with bad news.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN ONE TEAM!?"
The pumpkin man was sweating bullets as he was pushed against a wall "It's for fair play! Fairy Tail was allowed to have two teams, but now since we're close to the finals they can only have one to represent them. It's in the rules, believe me!"
Giving the rule book a second read, Levy sighed "He's right. Strange, I could have sworn that rule was not there before."
"Don't beat yourself about it" Lucy told her "Maybe you missed it the first time."
"I guess" Levy said, still thinking there was something odd about it.
Natsu was still pissed, but relented "Fine! Just make sure you pair us against Raven's tail."
"Actually…" He knew his next words would get him murdered, but the pumpkin man was determined to complete his job "Raven's tail will get a free pass since they're leading in points and because the teams are an uneven number, so…"
"WHAAAT!?"
Only the combined strength of Erza, Gajeel and Gray could stop Natsu from first degree murder. Once the pumpkin man left, Gildarts gathered everyone: "There's no point dwelling about it, it's time we form a new team to participate."
"Why pick, it's clear team B is the superior one!" Gajeel said.
"You wish!" Natsu countered "Our team's the best!"
"Don't make me laugh salamander! Last time I checked, your team was behind us by 2 points!"
Going face to face with him, Natsu countered "Oh yeah? Well my team wasn't the one that got…" Realizing he was going to mention Laxus, Natsu growled but said nothing else.
"Enough!" slapping both of them in the head, Erza looked at Gildarts "Both teams fought well, so you should pick master."
Thinking about it for a moment, Gildarts looked from Erza to Natsu, Gajeel and Mira. "I think I got it."
"Master, you do remember you can't participate, right?" Mira asked as Gildarts slumped.
"I need more time to think it then"
The second match was just ending when Dante entered the throne room. The first match between Quattro Puppy vs Blue Pegasus ended when Ichiya defeated Baachus and some random mage, and now on the lacryma sphere the fight between Lamia Scale and Mermaid Heel ended in a draw.
"That girls needs a good laid" Dante said, referring to Kagura, while resting an arm on the throne. "I'd be more than happy to volunteer for the job."
"Hands off the throne"
"Ohh, touchy today are we?" Stepping back, Dante gave the 'king' a mock bow "Guess Sayla is to thank for changing the rulebook under their noses."
"Obviously"
"Figures. What I don't understand is why give Raven's tail a free pass to the finals?" Dante looked pissed while the king merely smirked.
"Fair play: Raven's tail was far ahead in points, so give the other teams a chance to catch up. Makes things more interesting, don't you think?"
"Smartass"
Ignoring the jab at him, the 'king' looked back at the lacryma where Fairy Tail's match was about to start.
Far away from the city, two figures could be seen watching a lacryma sphere as they waited for the next match to begin.
"Good morning!" Ultear cheerfully greeted them, getting curious looks from Jellal and Cobra.
"Ehmm, morning" Jellal awkwardly greeted her.
After last night, Ultear's perspective had completely changed for the better; after who knows how long she felt…whole. Sporting a huge smile Ultear watched trough her orb as the object of her affection marched alongside his team.
"Geez, you could at least pretend last night you didn't get the best fuck of your life."
"Cobra!" Jellal sent him a look that reminded him about last night, causing the poison dragon slayer to sweat bullets.
"Fuck…!" Risking a glance to Ultear, Cobra could see she simply smiled at him.
"That's not of your business. But I'll let it slide" Ultear cheerfully replied, causing Cobra to relax "However…"
Forming an ice stake, she tossed it into the rock Cobra was leaning. The ice stake buried itself between his legs, mere millimeters from his family jewels and causing Cobra to almost piss himself.
"Keep those commentaries to yourself" Ultear asked a deathly pale Cobra "Is that acceptable?"
Not trusting his voice, Cobra nodded furiously, pleasing Ultear with his answer. "Good. If Meredy had heard your lewd comments however…say, where is she?"
"Good morning!" Meredy cheerfully greeted them as she arrived, this time earning a horrified look on Ultear.
"Meredy, not you too!"
"Me what?" Meredy wondered what Ultear was talking about. Spending the night cuddling with Laxus? Surely that was not something to fret about.
"Can we please get back to watching for dark magic?" Jellal told them, while on the inside he was jealous of everyone getting some. Gathering around the lacryma, Crime sorciere watched as the next match was about to start.
"Hope you used protection"
The silence that reigned a few moments ago was broken by Ur, who looked at her daughter with an amused smile. For her part, Ultear wished so hard for the ground below her to open and swallow her whole.
"Kaa-san…h-how long have you been here?"
"Long enough" Ur took a seat next to her and smiled "I'm too young to be a grandma after all."
"What do you mean by protection?" Meredy asked "Protection from who? The council?"
"IT'S A HEADED ARENA, SO BE SURE NOT TO MISS A SINGLE MOMENT OF THE NEXT MATCH!"
The banners of both guilds were raised as the contestants approached the stadium.
"THE GUILD THAT IS KNOWN AS THE STRONGEST, AGAINST THE ONE THAT HELD THAT TITLE SEVEN YEARS AGO!"
"ENTERING FIRST, THE TWIN DRAGON SLAYERS FROM SABERTOOTH!"
Coming first, the twin dragon slayers from Sabertooth, Sting and Rogue made their entrance. The light dragon slayer raised his arms in premature victory while his teammate remained impassive next to him. Seeing the duo made the crowd go wild.
"Tch, hear that?" Gajeel said to Natsu "Let's go out there and show them real dragon slayers."
"Damn right!" While it wasn't the foe he wanted to face, Natsu was still pleased with the match.
"The dragons that taught us magic…we killed them long ago"
Recalling the first meeting with Sting and Rogue, Natsu was eager to put them in their place for disrespecting their fathers. "Let's go!"
As they marched to the arena, Gajeel spotted someone waiting on the entrance "I'll head out first to give you two a moment."
Lisanna silently thanked him before turning her gaze on her husband "Natsu…"
"I know" Natsu smiled and kissed her on the cheek "I'll be careful"
"Defeat them" Lisanna's said while putting his hand over her stomach "And come back safely to us."
"Of course!" Grinning like a fool, Natsu kissed the top of her head "I'll make them regret looking down on us!"
As he made his way, Natsu turned around one last time and saw Lisanna doing the Fairy Tail symbol. Raising his hand, Natsu did the same and gave her a nod.
"Those two" Angel was glad she decided to stay here at the Fairy Tail boot, sometimes Natsu and Lisanna needed some time alone.
"Angel, please let me go."
"Fine, guess they had their moment by now" Raising her foot, Angel let Happy get back on his feet.
Not far from them, Rose watched expectantly at the arena where her father would soon make an appearance to fight. As a child her mother used to tell her about this battle and Rose was more than eager to see firsthand how her father wiped the floor with the dragon slayers of Sabertooth. The only thing that bothered her was that her mom was nowhere to be seen. Looking to the royal boot, she could only see the captain of the guard, but not her mother.
"Strange…she said she was recruited in the army during this time. Where could she be?"
"Glad to see you accompanying us Rose-chan" Makarov's greeting caught her attention.
"Oji-san" Rose returned the gesture with a smile "I just felt like being around here for a change."
"And because I couldn't stand another moment next to Sparda's brother" Rose mentally added while taking a sideglance to Vergil's spot on the rooftop.
"AND THEIR OPPONENTS! THE DRAGONSLAYER FROM FAIRY TAIL!"
Making his way first, Gajeel stepped into the arena, followed by Natsu. Both dragon slayers looked determined as their eyes landed on their opponents in front of them.
"FAIRY TAIL'S NATSU AND GAJEEL!"
The mages of Fairy Tail, as well as some spectators, cheered loudly for the Fire and Iron dragon slayers. From his vantage point, Vergil kept his eyes on Natsu.
"Time to see if training you was worth my time Dragneel."
"VERSUS SABERTOOTH'S STING AND ROGUE!"
The mages from Sabertooth, as well as most of the spectators, cheered loudly for the twin dragon slayer as if to make a statement to Fairy Tail. Sabertooth's master, Jiemma expected nothing less than a flawless victory for his guild, while Minerva could only think of the fire dragon slayer down there.
On the Raven's tail booth, Flare was the only member of the guild present. Since her team was given a free pass to the finals, the others left to prepare for tomorrow while Ivan had lost interest in the games altogether. All by itself, Flare was glad for their absence so she could ogle her little cherry-head all she wanted.
"I see the fight hasn't started."
Flare was surprised by Redgrave sneaking up to her, but she let it go "Redgrave-san. You came to see the match too."
"Wouldn't miss it for the world" Dante said while leaning on the railing next to her "Let's see what's so special about you, Natsu."
Looking at her husband, Lisanna put a hand over her stomach "I know you'll win."
"Natsu, you don't know how long I've been waiting for this!" Shaking in excitement, Sting smirked at Natsu.
"Then wait no longer." Natsu replied, calm as if this fight was nothing new for him.
For his part, Gajeel stared at Rogue, who just stood there with his arms crossed. "What about you? Aren't you gonna tell me you're pissing yourself in excitement as your buddy there?"
"I'll let my skills speak for me, Gajeel Redfox." Rogue countered.
"NOW BEGIN!"
In the blink of an eye, Sting and Rogue rushed towards their opponents, eager to draw first blood, only to come face to face with Gajeel and Natsu who stole their idea with a well placed punch to the face.
Flipping back on his feet, Sting drew breath for his signature roar "White Dragon's ROAR!"
Natsu dogded the attack, but to his shock Sting was able to redirect it as a laser, forcing him to continue dodging it.
"Salamander!" going to the aid of his partner, Gajeel dropped his guard and almost got hit by Rogue.
"Shadow dragon's Slash!"
"Iron Dragon's Sword." With ease, Gajeel pushed Rogue away "Amateur."
Rogue had no time to recover since Natsu dug his fist onto his face and sent him straight to Sting.
"Rogue!" Forced to end his attack or else hit his partner, Sting caught Rogue when Natsu lunged at them.
"Karyu no Tekken!" Natsu demolished the entire area around them in an impressive display of power that left the audience gasping.
"Not bad" Minerva licked her lips as Natsu continued to impress her.
Groggily standing up, Sting and Rogue regained their bearings "As expected, you truly are strong"
"Did you really beat your dragons with that level of power?" Natsu asked them.
"Not beat" Sting raised his arm "Killed with these very hands."
"They were your parents" Natsu's words fell on deaf ears.
A white and black aura surrounded Sting and Rogue "That has nothing to do with you. Now we'll show you the power that kills dragons."
"White Drive!"
"Shadow Drive!"
With their speed and strength doubled, the twin dragon slayers easily landed their attacks on their prey. Natsu and Gajeel tried to retaliate but to no avail, Sting was just too fast and Rogue was like a shadow that could not be captured.
Natsu was doing his best to avoid the coming blows while Sting ranted "I've always looked up to you, and I aimed to surpass you! Now that time has come!"
Lisanna and Angle cringed by the fierce blow they felt Natsu receive "Natsu!"
In the spot Sting hit him, a white rune appeared. "The white dragon's claw is a holy attack; a marked person has his freedom taken away!"
With Gajeel, the fight was not going any better: each of his attacks were useless against Rogue.
"The dragon that becomes shadow hides itself" Rogue said behind him but when Gajeel turned, Rogue was already gone "Surely hunting its prey."
As his attack was about to connect, Gajeel stopped him with one hand to Rogue's dismay "Hunting a prey you said." Gajeel cracked the bones in Rogue's hand "Tell me again how that goes."
Sting sent all his strength behind his attack when his eyes widened after hearing Natsu's laugh. The slayer from Sabertooth fell face down when Natsu connected his fist to Sting's face. Wiping the blood from his lip, Sting glared at Natsu "The seal…how could you remove it?"
Looking at his chest, the seal was burned away by Natsu's corporeal heat. "You're pretty good, but not good enough."
"Don't get too full of yourselves" Gajeel elbowed Rogue in the face "And don't look down at our guild!"
Seeing the dragon slayers from Sabertooth down was something the announcer could not fathom "THESE…THESE DEVELOPMENTS! WHO COULD HAVE EXPECTED THIS!?"
"THE DRAGONSLAYERS FROM SABERTOOTH CAN NOT EVEN LIFT A FINGER AGAINST FAIRY TAIL! WILL THE MATCH END LIKE THIS?"
"As if…it would end like this." Rogue muttered.
"I knew this wall would not be surpassed so easily" Sting struggled to raise himself.
"Sting-kun." Lector and Frosch looked worried by now
"I know lector. It was a promise" White light started emanating from Sting "I won't lose! I CAN'T LOSE!"
"What?" Natsu uttered.
"This magic…" Gajeel said in disbelief.
"I'm sorry my dear Natsu" Minerva smirked "but tremble before the power of third generation dragon slayers."
"They can activate it by themselves!" Jellal remembered his fight with Natsu, how the fire slayer could only reach that level after eating etherion.
After a boring start, Dante interest was renewed. Looking at his brother, Vergil seemed unimpressed by the turn of events "Your puppet has more up his sleeve then, huh?"
"The power to face dragons' Dragon Force"
Even after Mavis confirmed it, Lisanna and Angel seemed as calm as Vergil. "Even if it was only 3 days, we were trained by Vergil. Natsu won't lose!"
"Gajeel, I believe in you" Levy was confident that Gajeel could pull through this.
Back at the arena, Sting stepped in front "Rogue, I'll handle this! Don't get involved!"
"FROM BEING ON THE LOSING SIDE A ONE O TWO CHALLENGE!"
"He's that confident huh" Jahima added his two cents.
"Looking down on us" Gajeel said, followed by Natsu.
"This feeling…they're strong"
Like before, Sting's speed and strength was vastly increased, but this time to an absurd level. Lunging at Natsu, he made short work of the dragon slayer while still being able to handle Gajeel like a ragdoll.
"WHITE DRAGON'S…HOLY BREATH!"
The floor of the stadium caved in after Sting's powerful attack, for a moment the fate of Natsu and Gajeel were uncertain until a Lacryma sphere showed the bottom of the chasm.
"Natsu!"
"Gajeel!"
Amongst the debris, the two dragon slayers appeared unconscious while Sting loomed victorious above them.
"INCREDIBLE! WHAT A COMEBACK FROM SABERTOOTH! IS THIS THE END FOR FAIRY TAIL?"
"The generations are changing" Rogue solemnly said. "The span of seven years has allowed us to grow into true dragon slayers."
Images of Laxus defeat at Redgrave's hand, and Sting's singlehandedly defeating Natsu and Gajeel formed in Rogue's mind" The time of the old generation has ended."
"Natsu-nii! Get up!" Romeo screamed.
"Don't give up Gajeel!" Juvia yelled.
"It's over" Sting said while dispelling his dragon force "You were really strong…"
"Hold on!"
Sting froze after hearing Natsu. Looking back, he could see a bruised but still recovering Natsu as well as Gajeel "Not bad…but I still saw through all of your attacks."
"What!?" "How!?"
"The timing of your attacks, the position of your body when you defended, the rhythm of your breathing. We saw it all" Natsu declared.
"Impossible, I was in dragon force!" Sting countered but there was no doubt Natsu seemed confident on his observation. "There's no way you could have seen all that!"
"But I have, like when you pivot your body at 11 o clock"
"It was 10 o clock" Gajeel interrupted Natsu.
"It was 11 o clock!"
"It was 10!" Gajeel was getting pissed "I'd let you go with 10:30, but 11!?"
"IT WAS 11 O CLOCK!" Act followed by Natsu engaging Gajeel in a fight, to Sting and Rogue's shock.
"Those two, to fight at a time like this." Erza facepalmed.
"Shut up!" Pushing Gajeel onto an empty cart, Natsu sent the iron dragon slayer deep into the tunnels below.
"Damn you! Ugh,.." With the nausea kicking in, Gajeel was left with no option but to enjoy the ride. With his partner out of the way, Natsu looked at his opponents.
"And now I'll take you on by myself!" Flames erupted in Natsu's fist "You're all fired up right now, aren't you?"
"By yourself!?" The idea seemed absurd to Sting "You're messing with us."
"I have no business with you" Rogue added "My fight is with Gajeel."
"Go after him" Surprisingly; it was Sting who said that.
"Sting, are you sure?"
Looking at his partner, Sting reassured him "You've been waiting for years for a chance like this, go; I'll show Natsu here not to mess with us."
Rogue was still debating to either leave or stay; for one side Sting was right about his business with Gajeel, but on the other hand Natsu had proven to be more than capable of handling himself. Another thing that worried him was the fact Natsu hasn't even used the sword strapped to his back or his lightning fire mode.
Seeing him hesitate, Sting added: "You might not get another chance at this, go and face Gajeel."
With his mind set, Rogue dashed past Natsu (who didn't even looked at him) and followed the path Gajeel took. With his partner gone, Sting focused entirely on Natsu: "You let him go rather easily, where's all that bravado about facing us both of just now?"
"I'd figure I owed that bastard for pushing him into that cart" Natsu said referring to Gajeel "Don't worry, I'll go easy on you."
From the Fairy Tail booth, Rose was perplexed by this change of events. Her mother told her that her father faced both slayers but here was Natsu letting go Rogue to face Sting alone. "Did my arrival to this timeline create these unforeseen ripples?"
Ripples or not, if these changes could prevent her doomed future then so be it. Directing her attention to the fight below, Rose was certain that her father would win this fight.
For their part, Lisanna and Angel were not worried for their dragonslayer, after all; Natsu was still to show his full strength. "You can do it Natsu!"
"LOOKS LIKE THIS FIGHT IS GETTING INTENSE!" At the commentator's booth, the announcer continued his rant "DON'T WORRY FOLKS, WE HAVE A LACRYMA CREW ON STANDBY SO YOU WONT MISS A SINGLE MOMENT OF ROGUE VS GAJEEL!"
Looking at said crew, the lead technician gave him the no go sign. "it seems were having technical difficulties…BUT ONCE THEY FIX THEM WE'LL SHOW IT!"
At the feet of the royal booth, Arcadios knew there would not fix anything unless he said so "The secrets below the stadium are not for ordinary people to see just yet."
Gajeel continued to descend deeper into the tunnels as he was unable to escape the bane of dragon slayers; a moving vehicle.
"Damn you…ugh…sala…mander."
Without him noticing it, a shadow materialized into Rogue, who kicked the cart Gajeel was riding, effectively ending his unwanted trip. Taking a moment to regain his senses, Gajeel looked at his savior. "Che…never expected you from all people would be the one to help me."
"I wasn't" Rogue leveled Gajeel with a cold stare "however; I am against fighting someone who is handicapped." "And I understand your aversion to…transport" Rogue added as an afterthought.
Cracking his neck, Gajeel prepared to fight when he noticed their surroundings "Are those…"
"Yes, they are" Rogue answered "I'm as surprised as you, but I have to admit it is a fitting place to put an old dragonslayer to rest."
Gajeel heard what Rogue told him, but he was unable to pay attention to him due to the countless dragon bones around them. Only when Rogue attacked him did Gajeel refocused on the match
"Shadow dragon's Slash!" Moving with an impressive speed, Rogue attacked Gajeel who blocked him easily.
"Nice try" Repelling his attack, Gajeel countered with an iron pole that repelled Rogue "but you're still too green for this fight"
Emerging from the pile of bones, Rogue attacked with the dragonslayers signature move: "Shadow Dragon's Roar!" The attack engulfed Gajeel and devastated everything on his path. Thinking the battle was done, Rogue was caught by surprise by Gajeel's vicious strike that sent the shadow slayer crashing through several dragon bones. Emerging from the rubble, Rogue stared at Gajeel "I see…not only was Natsu hiding a second form."
"Heh! If you think salamander is strong" Gajeel, now in iron scales form, said to Rogue "You haven't seen anything."
"To think you can hold your ground against me" Rogue replied "But make no mistake: you are still inferior to me."
"Is that so?" Gajeel cracked his knuckles "Then I hope you're hungry, because I'm gonna shove all that bullshit down your throat."
Back to the arena, Sting prepared to fight with all his strength once he saw Natsu reaching for his sword "That's right, use that sword; it will make no difference!"
Unsheathing Rebellion, Natsu stabbed it in the ground next to him and cracked his knuckles "Let's go!"
"Huh!? You're not going to use it?"
"Nah, that would make this fight too boring"
Natsu's reply infuriated him "He's mocking me! Fine, have it your way!" moving lightning fast, Sting traded blows with Natsu.
Blocking every hit, Natsu asked "Is that all your power?"
"This power was the one that killed Vicelogia!"
"Is that so" unimpressed, Natsu punched him in the face with ease "Then I'll use my power to fight for my friends that you laughed at!"
After several more tries Sting was unable to land a hit on Natsu, no matter how hard he tried. Changing tactic, Sting gathered air.
"White Dragon's Roar!"
"Fire Dragon's Roar!"
The two attacks collided and for a moment it looked like Sting's roar would hold its own against Natsu's, but Sting's reality came crashing down when the flames vanquished the light and hit him head on. "This can't…be…"
On the Sabertooth booth, the mages from said guild were shocked by how badly Sting was losing; no one was more shocked than Lector. "Sting-kun…"
For his part, Frosch stared at the tunnel where Rogue and Gajeel went "Rogue…"
"Say again; who's the inferior one of us"
Panting, Rogue tried to stand up but it was futile. Gajeel had easily bested him while he had been in dragon force, as he was now there was no chance for him to defeat him. "I'll admit…pant…you're stronger than me."
A grin formed on Gajeel's lips after hearing this.
"I'm beginning to understand your motives on joining Fairy Tail."
"What the hell are you babbling?"
Pushing himself to a sitting stance, Rogue said: "Of course you wouldn't remember me; some little boy wet behind the ears…Why would you? Phantom Lord's ace would not look at someone as low as I'd been…"
Gajeel listened intently at what Rogue had to say "that is why…I strived to become strong…so I could join your guild. But after being defeated by Fairy Tail, the guild I admired crumbled to dust. But what was even harder for me to accept was the fact you joined the very same guild that destroyed yours."
"There had to be a reason for you to join Fairy Tail, and I finally see what it was." Looking directly at him, Rogue added "Friends…a foreign concept at my guild. The source of strength of Fairy Tail."
Flashes of how his master humiliated Yukino flooded in Rogue's mind "We are nothing but tools for master, while you are surrounded by friends. That explains your strength."
"You don't get it"
Looking up, Rogue looked expectantly at Gajeel "That cat, Frosch, what is he to you?"
"Frosch? He's a cat!"
"I know, he's an Exceed" Gajeel looked disappointed "Is that all he is to you?"
Rogue pondered his question before reaching to a conclusion. "Frosch, he is…my friend." Thinking back, Rogue smiled at his answer. "My friend."
"There you have it, now stop being such a wimp and get up." Gajeel said as he offered his hand to him. Looking at it for a moment, Rogue made to grasp it when his head started pounding.
"Hey, you ok?" Gajeel could only watch as Rogue grabbed his head in pain. Unknown to them, a strange eye formed in Rogue's shadow and started speaking.
"RoGue! ThE mAn bEfoRe yOu iS tHe EnEMy! dO nOt relax wHiLe yOUre iN tHe cROsShAiR!"
"W-Where? Where are you?" Rogue looked up all around until the shadow revealed itself.
"foOl dOwN heRe!" Looking down, Rogue and Gajeel saw the strange eye before the shadow enveloped Rogue.
"The fuck…?" Gajeel was dumbstruck on what was happening when out of nowhere Rogue resumed his attack on him. The first hit caught him off guard, forcing Gajeel to counter, only for his attack to hit an incorporeal shadow.
"This magic!" Jellal looked at Ultear and confirmed his suspicions.
"No doubt about it: It's the same as Zeref." Separating their gaze from the lacryma screen, Crime Sorciere looked at the city in the distance.
"As I suspected" Shadow Rogue appeared behind Gajeel and slashed at him from one side, Gajeel tried to counter but as before he could not seem to hit him. This went on for a while until Rogue got bored and decided to end it.
"Shadow dragon's crushing fang!"
The attack hit Gajeel square in the chest, sending the Fairy tail mage down. Looking down at him, shadow Rogue laughed: "pathetic! You're not even at Natsu's level….then again as I am right now, he's nowhere near mine."
Gajeel tried to raise himself, when suddenly shadows started grabbing him from beneath.
"Shadows will slowly consume you, until you vanish into darkness" Rogue explained "embrace the darkness."
"Heh, if salamander can pull it off…so can I"
Rogue wondered what he meant when Gajeel started eating the shadows "What! What are you doing!?"
With more of the shadows Gajeel ate, more of Rogue's dark persona and power started vanishing "STOP IT!"
Rogue ran towards Gajeel but it was too late; standing up, Gajeel licked his lips and sent Rogue a look that chilled him to the core: "not bad, now time for dessert"
The papers now turned, it was Gajeel who viciously attacked Rogue, whose only option was to defend himself (or better said: try) from the onslaught of iron and shadow.
"Now, I don't know what the deal is, but get out of his body" Gajeel told him.
"Whose? Rogue's"
"That's not his name" Shadow Gajeel brutally kicked Rogue, cracking a few ribs in the process. "His name is Reyos, and he used to be my disciple."
"…"
"You never admired me…I was never someone to look up to." Gajeel confessed "You feared me! So let me jog your memory!"
On the arena, the fight was not going Sting's way. No matter how hard he tried, what he tried, Sting could not land serious damage to Natsu, while the fire slayer seemed to be holding back. Trying once more, Sting reached his limit when Natsu simply sidestepped his attack with no problem.
"Damn it! ATTACK!"
Natsu regarded Sting, who was panting heavily, and said "There's no point; this fight is over."
Sting gnashed his teeth in frustration. "Hakuryu no Tekken!"
Granting him this final attack, Natsu answered with his own fist "Karyu no Tekken!"
The impact of both fists sent shockwaves across the arena; while Sting's fist packed a punch, it couldn't hold a candle to Natsu's and was sent flying back. The crowd grew silent waiting what would happen next when, to their shock, Sting dropped to his knees and grasped his arm.
"Natsu…to think you were at this level" Nursing his hand, Sting looked at him. "What makes you so strong?"
"My family, my nakamas, they are the ones that give me my strength." Natsu looked at Fairy Tail and exchanged stares with Lisanna, who rubbed her abdomen "Because I fight for them, and all those coming in the way" Looking back at Sting he added "You, that killed his own parent, his family, will never reach that strength."
Watching him go, something snapped inside Sting "Family, Friends, Don't give me that! This is not over!" Dashing towards Rebellion, Sting grabbed it and attacked Natsu's back.
"Watch out Natsu!"
When the blade was mere inches from him, Natsu turned and grabbed the sword while sending a jolt of lightning through it. Sting's body was sent crashing into the ground before stopping several feet away from Natsu.
"Sting-kun!" Lector cried as he saw his friend get defeated.
"So strong…and that was only a glimpse of his…lightning…mode…forgive me…Lec…tor…" those were Sting's thoughts before darkness claimed him.
The moment Sting was down for the count, the announcer declared Natsu as the winner "WHAT AN AMAZING FIGHT! WITH STING DOWN AND ROGUE NOWHERE TO BE FOUND FAIRY TAIL WINS!"
Fairy tail, as well as most of the crowd started cheering while Natsu celebrated with them. Sabertooth's spot on the scoreboard changed from second to third as Fairy Tail tied in points with Raven's Tail.
"WHAT AN AMAZING FIGHT! WHO WILL TAKE THE CHAMPIONSHIP THIS YEAR? JOIN IS TOMORROW FOR THE BATTLE ROYAL AND FIND OUT!"
While the celebration was going on, on Sabertooth's booth Jiemma was downright furious. The mages around him quickly gave him a wide berth after witnessing the negative magic emanating from the guild master.
As for team Sabertooth, Frosch asked: "Where's Rogue?"
"Not bad kid" Redgrave acknowledged Natsu's victory before heading out, seeing this, Flare ran after him.
"Red-san, wait!"
Stopping his pace so she could catch with him, Redrgrave resumed his way: "Let's go Flare. We have a big day ahead of us." Looking up, Dante locked eyes with Vergil in a silent promise "Tomorrow, little brother."
"Tomorrow it will be, Dante" Vergil mused before returning his gaze to the celebrating Natsu, who was quickly joined by Lisanna and Angel. To say he was pleased by the level of strength Natsu displayed was an understatement; with Lisanna and Angel, and soon to come the unborn child of the young couple, Vergil was setting the pieces in motion for his rise to power.
After all, why else would he be revived than for this?
A.N.
Well, here we are again. I guess I should start with an apology for being away for so long, but I don't feel like it is appropriate. Why you ask? I'll tell you why:
I feel apologies are used not because someone feels bad for what he's done, but just so that the person who they are apologizing to forgives them, and in turn make one feel better. Now, don't misunderstand; I do feel bad for abandoning this story and leaving you out of the loop for so long, but what I say to you is that you are free to hate me for it, I deserve it after all. No matter the reasons, I should have continued writing, but I didn't. For that I am sorry.
But I will make it up to you by continuing this story to the end! I'll have to thank all of you who continued to follow me and asking me to keep writing, especially you who made me come into reason:
Guest chapter 1 . Aug 31
Demonwithasoul I have something to say to you you are amazing and by amazing I mean incredible you have done what only few people could do you made a good fanfic and good does not begin to describe what you have created there are no words to describe the greatness of what you have made you are a person with a mind for writing fanfic the words you weave into the beautiful fabric of your story are one of a kind you have a mind that fanfic writer cannot match sure people write stories that have like 300 chapters but you can write as much of a story in one chapter when you write your mind open up a world that can only be described by you through your worlds through your fingertips you've created a whole new world a world of love a world of sorrow a world that people adore what you've had created here is a landmark among fanfic but your story is not yet finished when you finish your story no one will forget the author by the name of Demonwithasoul many people may call you a failure but that is because they envy your enormous imagination so keep on writing and don't stop until finished Demonwithasoul your are a star among diamonds and a galaxy among planets farewell and continue your story.P.s you must make a decision between Ur or Mirajane to win Vergil over cause with natsu having five girls after him and gray having three we can't afford to bring Vergil into this so decide also another thing I am personally rooting for Mirajane cause come on white hare cute smile beautiful personality and can keep a guy In line when he acts up what's not to love she the perfect girlfriend cheers hope you finally decide to make your next chapter XOXO
Whoever you are, I thank you. And I promise this story will be finished no matter how long it takes.
Well then; with that out of the way, I'll see you on the next chapter. I cannot say how long it will take me, but I will promise you that this time it will be faster than a year.
Until next time.
Demonwithasoul
P.S. Feel free to check my new one-shot series that will expand Bound by fate, especially if you wanna see what just happened between Gray and Ultear. That reminds me… I Do owe you a certain wedding scene too.
After Gajeel fused with the shadows, it was a one-sided battle again in favor for Fairy Tail's slayer. The iron dragon slayer did what he wanted with Rogue, who was reduced to nothing more than his personal ragdoll. Grabbing the shadow slayer by the neck, Gajeel considered crucifying him to a wall with iron spikes when he recalled that day when he did the same to Levy.
With a thud, Rogue crashed to the ground, having lost consciousness long ago.
"The man I was back then is not who I am now." Dispelling his Iron-Shadow mode, Gajeel was hit full force of the strain and fell face down to the ground, but before that happened he caught a glimpse of a shadow leaving Rogue's form.
"Weird…but who cares" Gajeel moved his head to see a dragon skeleton "They will surely want to see this."