Chapter 13: Battle Against a Demon!
The Fairy Tail gang and the Straw Hats were frozen in horror at the colossal demon known as Ashtul before them. Ashtul was not as tall as most demons, but he was still just as terrifying even at a height of a four-story building. He glared down at them all, sending shivers through their spines.
"So, these are the children who thought they could halt my resurrection," Ashtul growled. "How can mere mortals hope to kill a demon like I?"
Natsu stepped forward. "Never underestimate the wizards of Fairy Tail, ya big stupid bastard!" he yelled.
Everyone expected Ashtul to get angry, but instead he let out a loud laugh. "How brash of you, child. I respect your foolish courage, but you should know that I am vastly more powerful than you are."
Drake felt his blood boiling, making him step forward and drawing his sword. "We may not be strong enough alone, but when we stand together, we are more powerful than any army, demon, or anything else!" Drake felt his anger rising so high, he began turning into his Dragon form before everyone, shocking them all; even Ashtul.
"I have not sensed a magic level of this aptitude for a very long time, not since the Dragons roamed the world long ago," he commented. "I will enjoy devouring you when I am finished with you all."
"Like hell you will!" Gajeel proclaimed.
"Dragon Slayers up front!" Nami shouted. "Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, Gray, Erza, you go up front with them. Alzack, Bisca, Robin, you guys take up the rear to cover them! Chopper, Levy, Lucy, Usopp, you guys stay out of range for support. Juvia, Ace, Franky, Brook, you guys take the areas behind our front guys to support them." Everyone took their orders to heart and assumed their positions. Happy and Pantherlily flew to their Dragon Slayers and lifted them up into the air, with Drake following behind them with his own wings. Chopper took the still unconscious Wendy and retreated to the sidelines with Carla to heal her.
Luffy activated Third Gear, making his fist blow up like a ballon and striking Ashtul in the face, knocking him back a couple steps. Natsu and Gajeel flew around Ashtul like pesky flies, striking him with their magi punches when they can, followed by blue lightning bolts from Drake. Zoro and Sanji raced to Ashtul's head with help from Robin and struck him rapidly with their attacks, though they did not have as much stopping power as their friends. Robin made a large foot emerge from the ground and struck Ashtul, sending him backwards further from the group once more.
Drake landed near Erza after having struck Ashtul a couple times. "Erza, climb into my arms and I'll bring you closer to Ashtul," he said, extending his left hand to her.
"No need, Drake," she answered. "I already have something that can match his height." At her command, she switched to her Black Wing armor and materialized another long sword into her hand. With a nod to her for approval, Drake flew off with Erza shortly behind him.
"I'll daze him with a lightning bolt so you can get closer," he told her. Ashtul opened his mouth, generating a glowing ball of energy from down his throat. Drake and Erza realized this and dove down just in time as a ray of dark energy spewed from his mouth and into the jungle, decimating a line of trees.
"Hot damn!" screamed Sanji from Ashtul's shoulder.
"Well said, my cook friend," remarked Drake. He sped for Ashtul, dodging a swipe of his hand and charged up a ball of blue lightning in his hand. He threw the ball, striking and dazing Ashtul for a moment, leaving Erza to attack him directly.
"MOON FLASH!" She moved at lightning speed, striking Ashtul's face in a cross pattern. Erza returned to the ground as her flight ability was soon to wear out. Alzack, Bisca, and Usopp were at the moment, firing their weapons onto Ashtul despite that it seemed to do little to faze him.
Nami and Lucy ran to Chopper's side. There, they found that he used a solution of his to wake up Wendy. She rose to her feet wiping her eyes, then gasped in horror at the sight of Ashtul. She was reluctant to rush to her fellow Dragon Slayers side, but Chopper stopped her, telling her she is still healing.
Gajeel got snatched up by Ashtul and was slowly being crushed in his grip. Sensing his friend's danger, Drake flew up to Ashtul's face, landing directly above his eye. Channeling blue lightning into his blade, he stabbed it into Ashtul's left eye, blinding him there forever. Ashtul roared in pain, freeing Gajeel and allowing everyone to regroup.
"We're just not doing enough damage to him," Sanji noted, dropping his cigarette and stepping on it.
"I can't hurt him enough with my giant pistols either," Luffy remarked, gasping for air.
"And Juvia cannot do much with Ace-sama alongside her!" Juvia said, pointing to Ace.
"There's only one option left," muttered Franky. "Chopper, you need to consume three Rumble Balls and fight Ashtul as a giant."
"But I could end up hurting you guys as well!" Chopper whined.
"Then we will fight you when you finish off Ashtul," Luffy grinned.
"Just have faith in us, Chopper," Zoro told him, slipping him a grin.
"Here he comes!" yelled Erza. The fighters ran at Ashtul, but Drake kept Natsu and Gajeel back for a moment. Wendy stayed with him as well, though she should not. Chopper swallowed down three Rumble Balls and transformed, growling at Ashtul who merely grinned.
"So you're not just some regular animal," he complimented. "Show me what you are capable of!" The two giants tackled one another, holding each other back with their arms.
Drake took a dagger to his left hand, cutting open a wound that began dripping blood. "Drink my blood," he ordered. "Since you three are Dragon Slayers, my Dragon blood will flow through you, granting you a temporal burst of power." Drake went around each of them, giving them a small drink of his blood. He was hesitant about Wendy, but he could see the fire in her eyes and so he let her suck on his wound. The three Dragon Slayers soon felt the burst of strength in them. Their Exceeds lifted them into the air and flew for Ashtul with Drake behind them.
Weaving in and out of both Ashtul and the transformed Chopper, Natsu, Gajeel, Wendy, and Drake unleashed a devastating Dragon Slayer Fist attack onto Ashtul, sending him backwards and allowing Chopper to knock him down.
"Everyone!" yelled Erza. "Attack Ashtul all at once and finished him now!" Everyone careened onto Ashtul and readied their strongest attack.
"SUPER FIRE DRAGON FIST!"
"GUM-GUM GIANT PISTOL!"
"SUPER IRON DRAGON FIST!"
"TRIPLE WINDMILL SLASH!"
"ICE-MAKE SLAM!"
"DIABLO KICK!"
"SUPER SKY DRAGON ROAR!"
"TRINITY SWORD!"
"BLUE LIGHTNING DRAGON SLASH!"
"FLUER STOMP!"
"FIRE-FIRE STRIKE!"
Everyone hit Ashtul with all their combined power, followed by Chopper landing the final blow. Ashtul screamed in agony then fell silent. Thousands of black bats that resembled Moria's shadows exited his body and evaporated into air. Ashtul's skin then became a blackish color, then his body dissolved into nothing. He was dead once more.
Everyone let out a loud cheer at their victory, but it was short lived since a number of them were injured. Wendy set to work patching everyone up while the strongest members worked to subdue Chopper, who soon calmed down and reverted to his normal self only to be praised by everyone.
When Wendy reached Drake, she saw all his scratches, cuts, and wounds, and instead threw herself at him in a hug, crying into his stomach. He smiled ad embraced her back. "It's so good to see you again, Wendy," he told her in calming words.
"D-D-Drake!" Wendy spat out. "Why did you come here? You had no reason to."
Drake only smiled and raised her chin up to look into her eyes. "I came because I care about you, Wendy. When we first met, I know I wanted to know you better. When I heard that you were kidnapped, all I wanted was to make sure you were alright." Wendy's eyes welt up once more and she cried into his stomach again while he hugged her. Everyone watched the two hug one another with smiles on their faces.
"Oh my Gods, we forgot about Jellal!" exclaimed Erza. "We have to get to the beach right away!"
Everyone raced as fast as they could to the beach. When they reached there, Jellal was lying still on the sand. Erza and Wendy ran to him; Wendy tended to his wounds while Erza tried to snap him awake.
"Jellal, wake up!" she screamed. "Wake up! Wake up!"
"He's lost a lot of blood," Wendy commented. "Even with my healing magic, I don't know if he'll make it."
When Wendy finished her healing, Drake stepped forward, cutting open his hand wound once again. "Open his mouth so he can drink my blood; I've discovered over the years my blood possesses some healing capabilities as well as the strength enhancement to Dragon Slayers. As for whether it can save him, we'll see." Erza opened Jellal's mouth and held his nose while Drake stuck his hand in, forcing blood to go down his throat. Everyone was tense as minutes passed by with no result.
"Jellal, don't leave me like this," Erza whimpered through her tears. "This world needs you still. We need you. I need you." Her tears fell onto his face and ran down his cheeks to the sand. More minutes passed and everyone was beginning to lose hope.
Suddenly, Jellal let out a groan and his eyes slowly opened. Erza's mouth cracked into a smile amidst her tears. "Erza…?" he moaned.
"JELLAL!" Erza screamed, pulling him into a hug. "Oh my Gods, Jellal, I thought you were dead!"
"Erza…" he said again, his hand brushing her scarlet red hair. "…Scarlet? Erza, is that you?"
"It's me, Jellal, it's me."
He looked her in the eyes for what seemed like forever. "Your eyes are still pretty as ever," he moaned. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"
"It has."
Erza helped Jellal to his feet. He stumbled, but he held his ground. He spotted Drake and nodded to him, whom nodded back. Without saying a word further, they returned to the Thousand Sunny with plans to return to Magnolia. Instead of boarding the ship with them, Jellal instead climbed aboard the tiny sailboat Drake took to the island.
"Jellal, what are you doing?" Erza asked, puzzled.
"I'm sorry, Erza," he said as she went to his boat side. "I cannot return to Magnolia, not like this."
"The Council will not condemn you, not if we tell them that you tried to rescue Wendy."
"Do you really think they will believe you after all I've done?"
"But that wasn't of your own will!" Erza screamed, but Jellal hushed her with a finger to her lips.
"I'm sorry, Erza." Erza began crying again, but Jellal disembarked and took her into his arms. "Erza, there may be a day when I can come back as a good man, but not now."
"Jellal…"
His hand caressed her scarlet red hair again. Without saying a word, he closed his lips against hers in a kiss. Erza was surprised, but she then accepted it, putting her arms around him. When they broke apart, tears were still falling from her eyes. "I will always love you," he whispered into her ear.
Without a further word, Jellal boarded the sailboat and disappeared into the horizon. Erza fell to the sand as the tide brushed against her legs, but she paid it no heed. After wiping the tears from her eyes, she boarded the Thousand Sunny with the rest of her crew and they sailed out onto the open sea.
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Everyone returned to Magnolia via the Thousand Sunny feeling happy at their victory over the Nightstalker guild, minus Erza, still muzzling over Jellal/ Out of everyone, Drake spent the most time close to Wendy during the trip, as if he has been away her whole life and wanted to catch up. When they disembarked the train in Magnolia, Drake left the entire group. "I just have something to care of, but I will be back," he promised before running off.
When everyone returned to the Fairy Tail guild hall, everyone erupted into cheers when they saw Wendy safe and sound. Food and drinks were passed around as a large party commenced. Luffy, Natsu, Ace, and Gajeel began an eating contest, Nami and Cana had a drinking contest rematch to test their mental, and everyone just started having a good time. Sanji himself flirted with some of the ladies of Fairy Tail, proclaiming his many daring fights against Nightstalker, though a few seem changed by his words.
Sometime later, after Wendy ate her fill of food and drink, four surprise guests entered through the front doors; Drake Firenze followed by Izlawake Nascele, Miari Skye, and Ellie Morin. Wendy ran up to him smiling. "Drake, you're back," she noted.
'I have, but I won't be here for long," he said, kneeling down to her level. The guild hall grew silent to witness this event. "I'm going to be leaving real soon." he held back a tear in his eye. "I have a gift for you." Drake reached into his knee pocket and pulled out a lovely pendant containing a small sapphire.
Wendy accepted the pendant into her hands. "It's lovely, Drake. Where did you get this?"
"That sapphire came from Raziel's treasure trove that I took, remember from my story? Out of the remaining portion I took, I kept all the gems for they are my most precious treasure; Dragons love treasure more than anything. I decided to give you one of my sapphires as a necklace." Wendy noticed that his clothes have been sewn up as well.
Wendy felt so happy that Drake would entrust her with something so precious. "Thank you, Drake," she told him, slipping the pendant around her neck. It came down to the end of her neck, ensuring that it cannot fall off her neck.
"Of course, you're my most precious treasure now," Drake whispered to her, drawing close to her. Wendy blushed a little. "I will always love you like a little sister, something I never had." He drew close to her and kissed her forehead. "Become a great wizard and a great Dragon Slayer one day, Wendy."
Wendy nodded and embraced him in a hug. He hugged her back for what seemed like forever. When they separated, tears were running down Drake's eyes. "Promise you'l come back one day and share some of your new adventures?" Wendy asked him.
"I promise." Drake went back to Izlawake. Ellie came back over after sneakily stealing Nami's wallet full of Jewels, which she will not notice until that night. "Good bye, Wendy Marvell. Good bye, Fairy Tail and Straw Hats," Drake called. "May we meet again someday."
"You are welcome back anytime, Drake Firenze," stated Makarov. "You have earned more than your place here at Fairy Tail."
"Thanks, old man, but I am more content to just traveling with my friends." With a final glance at Wendy, Drake and his friends exited the guild and headed for the train station. Aboard the train heading east, Drake could only stare out the window while thinking of Wendy.
"You miss her already, don't you?" Ellie asked him.
"I do," he answered.
"We will return to Magnolia again one day, I promise you that," Izlawake told him.
"Thanks, Izla."
"Besides, I know she will be thinking of the man who went across the sea to rescue her even though they knew one another for just a couple hours."
"That's the sorta thing about Dragon Slayers," Drake told him. "We can feel attached to one another with mere words." The train continued along its destination.
Back at Fairy Tail, the party continued well into the night. Soon, everyone went home when the moon rose into the night sky. Natsu, Lucy, Gray, Erza, and Happy accompanied Wendy back to her house; the little girl constantly touched the sapphire pendant around her neck.
"You miss Drake already?" Erza asked. Wendy nodded. "He wouldn't have given you that pendant unless he wanted to see you again one day."
"Drake was so cool!" Natsu exclaimed. "I wonder if I can turn into a half-Human, half-Dragon thing like he can one day." Natsu threw his fists at the air mimicking Drake's fighting style.
"Only if you train hard one day, Natsu," Erza told him, raising a finger to him.
"He surprised me the most with his Draconic abilities," Lucy admitted.
"He seemed kinda cocky to me," Gray remarked. "but he was a pretty cool guy."
Team Natsu each departed for their homes after escorting Wendy to hers. Who knows what will await them and the amazing Straw Hat crew the next day, besides an adventure?
CHAPTER END.
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