Chapter 48: Brothers

A/N: Did I say later today? I meant right now! If you are trying to skip ahead instead of reading the last chapter do not do that! The last chapter was all Natsu fighting so go back! And if you are new to the story don't even bother trying to read from her you'll just be confused, go back to the first chapter and start there. Trust me. To those still on this chapter, ENJOY!

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(Mern POV)

"Esoj, take point, I'll be right in after I finish up out here! Go!" I hear Natsu yell as I see Igneel being chased by a bunch of Zeref's dragon beasts, 'Not quite as strong as a real dragon but very close. ' I look to Esoj who nods to Natsu and leads the rest of us inside, all of us piling in after him.

We run down the stairs as fast as possible and reach the bottom soon after, and hear a loud sound behind us. "What was that?" Rai asked and Juvia who was bringing up the rear went back up the stairs quickly and we heard a loud gasp.

She ran back down and looked pale, and said, "The door has closed. Juvia tried to open it with her magic but the door is protected by runes, there is no way out!"

Everyone cursed under their breaths as we knew that the plan had gone to shit without Natsu there to lead us and fight Zeref for us. "Ok, everyone listen up! Here's the new plan!" Esoj said loudly and everyone looked at him, albeit a bit skeptical of what he had thought up. "Ok, Mern. You take care of your brother, you said you two are basically clones of each other and are at the same level in terms of power so you should be able to do it."

'Huh, for once I like his plan. Alright Lawhn, you cocky bastard, I hope you can say hi to Mard for me.' I look at Esoj as I think to myself and nod, agreeing with his plan and praising his memory skills, I had only told him that once, when I first met the Ronin in Naito.

"Ok, then Juvia, Rai, Rogue and Karr will find the rune mages and take them out. Meanwhile Gōsuto, Nena, and I will take care of Zeref." He said, and that last part he spat out Zeref's name and looked angry just saying it, but looked… excited? 'Wait, that's right. Zeref destroyed his hometown, so he probably wants some revenge.'

"Alright everyone, go!" He said and everyone went their own way, I followed the rune problem team as I knew that Lawhn would be near them protecting Zeref's plans like he always did as Zeref's personal bodyguard. We ran for a bit before we saw what we were looking for, a door that was heavily guarded by all of Zeref's elite demons. And as I had guessed, Lawhn was there too.

"Huh? Mern? You fucker, is that you? Tch, traitor!" Lawhn said as he saw me and glared at me. I returned his icy stare and snarled at him, not like he ever cared what I had done before.

"Yes, I betrayed Zeref. You wanna know why? Because I saw the truth! He doesn't care about any of us! He only wants to use us up and then will throw us aside. How is that any way to live?" I asked him and looked at the other demons but they didn't seem to care at all, they were still entranced by Zeref's power.

"Ha! That's only for the failures like you! Now, come! I know why you people are here, so let's dance!" Lawhn said and got into his fighting stance, I sighed knowing talking was useless and got into the same stance he was in. Then I charged and the others followed me and took on the demons gathered there, while Mern and me began to fight. "Thorns!" We both yelled and thorns shot out of the ground and collided with each other, stopping themselves before they even got close to us. "Thorn Sword!" I yelled and thorns shot out of my hand and formed into a sword.

I charged at him as he looked mildly amused at my ingenuity, using my thorns to create a sword. He put his hand and he yelled, "Thorn Bullet!" and thorns came flying at me like bullets. I had to stop charging and start avoiding them, deflecting what I could with my sword. But even that was not enough, as some of the thorn bullets hit me on my shoulders and arms. 'Fuck, I forget how fast he is with everything. Damn Zeref for giving us all one trait we were superior at. Mard had the useless one with intelligence, I got brute strength, and Lawhn here got speed. Shit!' I was broken out of my reverie as Lawhn used his great speed and got in my face, and put his hand right next to my chest, 'FUCK!' and he yelled, "Thorn Bomb!"

A massive explosion came from his hand and sent me flying back, but surprisingly the explosion was small and weaker than I thought it would be. 'Huh? What was that? That was way to weak… Wait now I remember he's just way faster than I am, not as strong as me too! Ok, now I just have to catch him or get in close and stay close, that way I can use my strength!' I looked up from where I landed and saw that I was not that far away from him, "What that all you got? Come on, Zeref's personal bodyguard and you can't even hurt a 'failure' like me?" I taunted and saw that I got to him, his pride was way too big for his own good and he charged at me. He was on me quickly but I was ready and had my fist waiting for him to arrive, and I swung right before he got there and hit him square in the jaw, and he went flying into a wall. 'Yup, I have to let him come to me, then attack him at the right moment. That plan should work.'

He got up slowly and I laughed heartily, "What, that all you got? Come on I thought you were fast? Tch, I guess not!" My taunt worked in making him angry but instead of charging at me he simply pointed his finger at me and yelled, "Thorn Sniper!" And suddenly a thorn bullet came flying at me, fast approaching my head, 'Shit!' I dropped to the ground and the bullet flew over me, but then Lawhn was there as well.

'Perfect!' I thought and, laying on my back, kicked at his leg and made contact with his knee, and Lawhn buckled from the strike. I jumped back up and punched him in the jaw, causing his head to snap to the side and I punched him in the gut this time. He lurched forward from the force of the punch and I used that moment to deliver an uppercut to his chin, which sent him flying into the roof. He hit the roof and came back down to the floor and landed with a thud, and he didn't move for a moment. 'What? That it already? Tch, I knew he was weak but I though he had the same magical power as me… I guess his body is too frail.'

I turned and saw that the others were finishing up the demons, I began to walk over to them to help speed things up. But then I heard some moving and saw Lawhn, bloodied and battered, get up and yell at me, "Thorn Time Bomb!"

'Fuck! When did he do that?!' Was the last thing I thought before my shoulder exploded and I was sent flying away, crashing into a wall. 'Fuck, my shoulder! Gah! He must have planted it when he hit me with those bullets earlier! FUCK MY SHOULDER!' I looked at my shoulder and saw the skin was gone basically, leaving my bones bare to the world, the muscles burned as well. "FUCK!" I yelled and looked to Lawhn who was panting heavily now, tired after the beating I gave him and from using such a costly spell. 'I could try and take him at distance but he would probably just dodge it. I need to get back in close to him again, but how? And once I do, how do I fight with only one shoulder? Wait, I'll use that spell!'

"Thorn Cover!" I yelled and my body became encased by thorns, safe from most attacks and covering up my shoulder and beginning the healing process. "Hey Lawhn, you look a little tired there. You alright or did the 'failure' punch you in the face too hard? What's wrong? I thought you were faster than that but even my slow ass fists keep hitting you." I taunted and he glared at me, and stood up a bit more upright so he didn't look any more pathetic than he already did.

He looked at me and I looked at him, both of us staring each other down and not noticing that everyone else was already done fighting and was now watching. No one dared move though because they wanted to see just how this would turn out. Lawhn made the first move, yelling "Thorn Sword!" and came charging at me, I answered his challenge to a sword duel and yelled, "Thorn Sword!" And recalled my sword and brought it up into a defensive position, but I was too slow as he came and ran by me, slicing my side open through my body armor as his sword was very sharp and I yelled out in pain.

He stopped running and turned around, coming at me again and swung his sword at me at a high speed. I blocked it this time, but barely and he began attacking me with his sword at a ridiculous speed. I barely was able to keep up and block his attacks but I did it for each one of his attacks, the longer he kept coming at me the slower he got. 'Good, he's getting tired. Just a bit more and I should be able to finish this.' I let him keep up his onslaught and he just kept coming at me, not stopping but definitely getting slower and losing the force behind his attacks. He swung one last time and then I struck, parrying his sword out of the way and then striking down with my own sword into his stomach. I pierced his stomach and what were most likely vital organs and he howled in pain.

I pulled my sword out and put it right next to his neck as he fell to his knees from the pain. "Wait! Mern, come on man, I know we don't always get long but you're my brother. You wouldn't kill your own brother would you?" He asked and I looked at him shaking my head.

"My, my, Zeref's personal bodyguard and self-proclaimed strongest among the Greer family, begging for his life? Haha, yes this is what vindication feels like! You and Mard were both just so arrogant and smug weren't you? Always kissing up to Zeref and E.N.D., always making me look bad in front of them so you could get ahead of me because I was the embodiment of brute strength, well guess what? They won't be able to save you now. No one will, and guess what else? I know the secret of the family." I said taunting him as he looked up at me in surprise when I said the last part. "Yes I found the scrolls, and now I know. Kill a member of Greer, and take his power. It's a bit barbaric but hey, I'm a neanderthal according to you and Mard, so it falls right into my style. Goodbye brother."

I swung my sword and cut his head off, clean off and it landed next to the door I wanted. I looked at everyone who looked at me confused and I was confused as well, until a bright light came from Lawhn's dead body. The light engulfed me and I felt his power flowing through me, I felt faster and I looked down at him. "Thanks Lawhn, you are a good brother for giving me your power. Now everyone else, let's bring down the rune barrier." I said and walked to the door, everyone else following me.

I opened the door and saw it was a single mage that was doing it all by himself. With the sword I still had in my hand I ran up to him and stabbed him in the back, piercing his heart and bringing down the runes. I looked to Juvia and Rai and said, "Go make sure the barrier is down now and get Natsu. Rogue and Karr, you're with me, we'll be supporting the three fighting Zeref." I said and then felt the ground shake, the source being from where the three were went off to. "Uh, we should probably hurry." I said and everyone nodded and ran off to so their jobs, we ran to where the shaking had come from and see a door there.

I try and open the door but can't, as there is no doorknob or anything we could use to open it with. I try and push it open, but feel myself getting nowhere as the door is sealed from the inside. "Fuck, where's Natsu?" I asked out loud and saw Rogue shrug, Karr sniffed the air and then shrugged.

Then I heard footsteps and looked to see Natsu and the others running towards us and he yells, "Good work on bringing down the runes! I'm guessing Gōsuto, Nena, and Esoj are in there?" He asked and we all nodded and he got to work, seeing as the door was no use for us. He used his fire and melted the door down, but was then stopped as piles of dirt came from the opening and buried him underneath it.

"What the fuck? ESOJ! What are you doing? He must have put earth in the way so no one could get in there, but now he's trapped! Fuck, I just hope that he was able to figure out that he could get Lumen Historie in, or else he's as good as dead." Natsu said and we all looked at the door, praying that he did and that they would be ok.

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A/N: Whew! I'm done for the day! That was crazy and as we can see, Esoj is definitely gonna try and get his revenge now, even if it kills him. Well I hope you guys enjoyed the action, and I hope you guys are ready, because tomorrow is the day! Gōsuto, Nena, and Esoj versus Zeref! Who will win? Will they all survive? Who knows? Oh wait, I do! Hahahaha and I'm not saying a word. Oh and I hope no one realized but after looking it up apparently Lucy's last name is spelled Heartifilia not Heartiphilia, so yeah thanks for telling me… Same with Greer, it's actually Geer apparently, so yeah I can spell well obviously. Hahahaha, oh well. Remember! READ AND REVIEW, OR FAVORITE OR FOLLOW EVEN IF YOU SO PLEASE! ADIOS!