Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail.
WARNING: THERE WILL BE SPOILERS! Read at your own risk. There's still original stuff in here, but if you haven't gotten to this point in the anime/manga, then some things may be ruined for you. I advise catching up to the anime/manga if you haven't already (for more reasons than just reading my story)! Thank you and enjoy!
Fairy Tail—The Master and the Dragon
Chapter 36
It was Master Makarov that made the first move. His hands flew at a rapid pace as he went through a variety of signs. "I will purge the darkness, Precht. Make no mistake of that. RAIN OF LIGHT!" His hands settled so that his index and middle fingers were pressed to his forehead. Multiple beams of light then shot out in all directions and made their way to Master Hades.
While Makarov was doing his signs, Hades was weaving signs of his own. When Makarov unleashed his attack, he ceased his signs. "The light cannot shine in the darkness, boy. SHADOW OF ETERNAL DARKNESS!" Upon command, a protective barrier appeared above Hades, preventing him from being harmed while at the same time absorbing the magic from Makarov's attack.
"Impossible. He absorbed my attack?" Makarov said.
Hades smirked. "Here's the proof of the power of darkness, Makarov. Allow me to kill you with your own power." Just then magic power shot from the protective barrier and flew towards Makarov.
Makarov was able to leap away just in time and avoid damage. "Your views make it sound like the darkness is nothing but evil. That shadow can only do harm to others. But you're wrong. One of our own uses the power of shadow and his heart is still pure. You're different, Precht. You have allowed a darkness to corrupt your very soul. Darkness doesn't have to be evil."
Hades' smirk never faded. "One of Fairy Tail's members can use a type of Shadow Magic? Fascinating."
"He doesn't use magic," Makarov corrected.
"Ah, so this boy you speak of must be the one that Ultear was warning me about," Hades realized. "A most intriguing one. I shall have to recruit him when all of Fairy Tail lies dead before me."
"I'd like to see you try! You can never recruit him to your cause and you will never defeat Fairy Tail!" Makarov roared.
"Is that so?" Hades said as he lifted his hand. Suddenly, purple magic circles appeared in front of his outstretched hand.
Makarov's eyes widened. "How is that possible? He cast an Amaterasu spell so effortlessly!"
"AMATERASU: FORMULA 28!" Hades bellowed as incredible Darkness Magic shot towards Makarov, leading to a massive explosion. Hades looked on until the dust cleared, revealing Makarov surrounded by a shield of light. He chuckled. "I would expect no less from my successor."
The shield surrounding him dispersed as Makarov stared down Hades. "Leave this island now!"
"I can't do that," Hades said while thrusting out his hand and creating a magic circle. From the magic circle shot two white magic chains with grappling hooks on the ends. They attached themselves to Makarov, knocking him into the air in the process. Hades then grabbed the chains and flung the small Makarov around. "You see, fate has spoken. I was destined to run into my former guild while working towards my goals and destiny has declared that I be the one to erase Fairy Tail from existence." He flung Makarov into the trunk of a thick tree before slamming his small frame into the unyielding ground.
Makarov stood after the last attack, blood dripping from small wounds that he had acquired. He winced as he put his weight on his legs. "Damn. I can't allow him to defeat me." And then Makarov noticed it. He was surrounded by purple magic circles on all sides. He gritted his teeth. "I won't be beaten here! THREE PILLAR GODS!" From the ground surrounding Makarov shot three massive pillars.
"AMATERASU: FORMULA 100!" Hades said with a smile as immense Darkness Magic bombarded Makarov and his defense. The power of this attack was incredible, creating a massive explosion that rocked the very island of Tenrou.
Elsewhere on the island, a sorrowful Zeref sat in the shade underneath a tall tree. He looked at the blue sky as the feeling of powerful and dark magic reached his senses. Tears stung the corners of his eyes. "Why does it always have to be like this? Must there always be conflict? Why is peace so impossible to achieve?"
The dust cleared after the massive explosion of Hades' Amaterasu attack, revealing a grinning Hades and a wobbly Makarov. Hades chuckled as he began walking towards Makarov. "You really have improved, boy. That attack should have finished you."
Makarov was panting heavily. He hadn't expected his Three Pillar Gods spell to be so easily penetrated. It was his best defensive spell, after all. Suddenly, a sharp pain ripped through Makarov's chest, causing him to clutch at his heart.
Hades looked down at Makarov. "What's wrong, boy? Are you not feeling well? You may have improved over the years, but those same years appear to be catching up to you."
"Please," Makarov begged, "tell me why you went to this darkness. Was it truly your desire to trade in your ideals for such immoral power?"
Hades lifted his hand and used magic to create a powerful invisible force that crushed Makarov into the ground. "You must realize at this point, boy. The true power of magic stems from the darkness. Believing that magic is meant for any kind of good is living in ignorance. I can tell that you have chosen to ignore magic's roots of power. By doing so, though, you have chosen to be weak." Hades turned around and began walking away. "A pity, boy. You chose this fate for you and everyone else in Fairy Tail. Now you and all the others will die horrible deaths at the hands of Grimoire Heart."
'I won't take this,' Makarov thought while he used every last bit of his strength to push himself from the ground and launch himself forward. "Damn you, Precht! I will kill you if you so much as breathe on my children!"
Hades turned slightly and pointed his hand at Makarov. "PIERCING BULLET!" Upon command, a beam of Darkness Magic shot out and pierced through Makarov's chest, right where his heart was. "A pitiful final attempt. Lie down and die, boy. Know when you've been beaten." He then turned back around and continued on his way back to the Grimoire Heart airship.
Makarov fell to the ground with a thud, his body refusing to move at all. 'This is the end for me, but it's not over. I leave it to you, my successor. I know that you'll do me proud.'
In the streets of Magnolia, Laxus walked around while grumbling to himself. "Damn it, gramps. I still don't get why you didn't let me be a challenge for this thing. I've been part of the guild for years. I've been S-Class for years. But instead, you had to choose Nikolias." He clenched his fist. "Not only did he steal my spot in this S-Class Trial, but he stole her as well."
While he would never admit it to anyone, he had always had a crush on Mira ever since she joined the guild. She had an attitude, a presence that demanded his attention and he was more than happy to give it to her. She was strong and beautiful and those qualities only grew with time. He honestly thought that he was in love with her. With all that had happened, though, he never saw an opportunity to admit his feelings. And now it was too late. Nikolias stepped in and immediately stole her heart. He felt like someone stabbed him in the heart with a blade when Nikolias admitted his feelings on the battlefield against Bloody Moon and he felt like someone twisted the blade when Nikolias and Mira came out of the infirmary together, holding hands. Even though Nikolias was a fellow guild mate, he couldn't help but feel a little spite towards the Half-Dragon.
Suddenly, a cold chill ran down Laxus' spine, snapping him from his thoughts. He looked up at the sky. "Weird," he thought out loud. "Why did I just get a bad feeling?"
"Now then, let's get started!" Zancrow cackled as he fired a blast of black flames directly at Natsu.
Natsu stood his ground. "C'mon, really? I'm a Fire Dragon Slayer! Your flames won't do shit to me!" The black flames engulfed him and he tried to eat them, but found he couldn't. "What the hell?" he asked as suddenly, he was feeling overly hot.
Zancrow laughed wildly. "Have you already forgotten? You're only a Dragon Slayer. I am a God Slayer, stronger than you in every way! There's no way that you could eat flames that are above your power!"
"Natsu!" Wendy cried from the sidelines. "Hang in there!"
"Incredible," Panther Lily said. "So this is the power of a God?"
"I thought Fire Dragon Slayers could eat any flame in the world," Carla added. "How can he not eat these?"
The flames died away as Natsu swayed a bit. "Damn. I can't even remember the last time fire hurt me."
"It ain't over yet!" Zancrow cried as he summoned an orb of fire and shot it at Natsu. Upon colliding with Natsu, the orb exploded in a mass of black flames.
Natsu leapt out of the black flames and slid to safety. He gritted his teeth while he analyzed Zancrow. "I don't get it. How can his flames hurt me?"
Zancrow sighed. "You really are dense. Allow me to spell it out for you. You are nothing more than a Dragon Slayer. Your power may be strong enough to kill dragons, but such power can't even touch a God. The power to slay Gods, truly divine and powerful beings, lies with me, the Flame God Slayer! How can you hope to slay someone so above and beyond your ability?"
Natsu chuckled as his whole body lit up in bright orange flames. "You know, I've never really listened to people when they tell me I've got no chance. I think that they just don't know what I'm capable of."
Zancrow laughed wildly as black flames surrounded him. "Then by all means, show me this power that will allow you to defeat me."
Natsu charged forward, his fists ablaze. "My pleasure! FIRE DRAGON IRON FIST!" Natsu threw punch after punch at Zancrow, but Zancrow easily dodged each one.
"Is that the best that you can do?" Zancrow asked as he lit his fist ablaze with black flames and landed a punch to Natsu's jaw.
Natsu didn't give up. He charged forward again, trying to land a Fire Dragon Iron Fist. However, Zancrow was easily dodging each strike, so he lit his foot ablaze and swung it upwards. "FIRE DRAGON TALON!"
Zancrow blocked the incoming attack with his arm. "I'm getting bored," he said as he swung his arm, pushing Natsu backwards.
Natsu stopped his momentum and ignited both of his hands. "If you don't keep your guard up, you will get burned! With the flames in my right hand and the flames in my left hand, when you combine the flames together…"
At the same time, Zancrow created a ball of black flames between his hands. "When you burn down the west and you burn down the east…"
"FIRE DRAGON BRILLIANT FLAME!" Natsu roared as he unleashed a massive fireball towards Zancrow.
"FLAME GOD KAGUTSUCHI!" Zancrow called out at the same time as he unleashed a massive blast of black flames.
The two attacks collided and pushed against each other. At first, it appeared that the two attacks were evenly matched until Natsu started to waver.
"Natsu, hang in there!" Happy cried.
"Damn it! I won't let you beat me!" Natsu cried as he pushed his flames as hard as he could against Zancrow's flames.
Zancrow laughed wildly. "Give it up, Dragon Slayer!"
Natsu kept pushing. "Like hell!" He then looked behind him. "All of you get out of here! I'll take care of this guy!"
Carla grabbed Wendy and flew into the air. "You don't have to tell me twice."
"No, Carla!" Wendy cried. "I want to help Natsu!"
"There's nothing that any of us can do against a monster like him," Lily said as he and Happy hovered next to Carla. "Natsu's the only one who has any chance of victory."
"But we can't leave him!" Wendy protested.
The three Exceeds began flying away with Wendy. "We just have to trust him," Carla said.
Zancrow noticed this out of the corner of his eye. "Alright, time to turn up the heat a bit!" And just like that, the power of his flames grew, pushing against Natsu's flames with incredible force. Natsu held it as long as he could, but the power of Zancrow's flames was too much. The black flames pushed through Natsu's flames, crashed into his body, and sent him flying backwards. Natsu's body crashed into the ground as he rolled away.
"Natsu!" Wendy cried.
Zancrow then turned his attention to Wendy and the Exceeds. "I can sense that you're another Dragon Slayer, so you'll excuse me for wanting to destroy you as well!" Zancrow fired a blast of black flames at the retreating group. The attack hit its mark and Wendy, Carla, Happy, and Lily were sent plummeting to the ground.
"You bastard!" Natsu roared after seeing his friends lying hurt on the ground. "You're really starting to piss me off!" He stood up and took in a deep breath. "FIRE DRAGON ROAR!" Natsu unleashed a column of fire straight at Zancrow.
Zancrow, however, made no effort to dodge. Instead, he just chuckled. "Don't you get it yet? It wasn't humans who created fire. The ones who gave fire to humans were the Gods!" Natsu's attack hit him straight on, consuming him in fire.
Natsu panted, but grinned. "Heh, I finally got him." And then Natsu heard a sound that was all too familiar. It was a sound that didn't give him much hope. He looked into his flames and saw that his fears were confirmed.
Zancrow was eating his flames. He ate every last ember.
"No way," Natsu murmured.
Zancrow patted his stomach. "Those sure are tasty flames you got there. I love 'em when they're hot and eternal!"
"Damn you," Natsu cursed.
"Now it's time for you to die," Zancrow said. He took in a deep breath before a dark purple and black magic circle appeared in front of Zancrow. "FLAME GOD BELLOW!" Zancrow released a massive black fireball from his mouth straight at Natsu.
And there was nothing that Natsu could do about it. All he could do was brace himself as the black flames destroyed the very ground around them in a massive explosion.
Wendy, Carla, Lily, and Happy felt the ground collapse beneath them as they fell off of the cliff.
"Wendy, grab hold of my hand!" Carla called out as she grabbed onto Wendy.
Happy looked over to where Natsu used to be only to see him falling off the cliff as well. "Natsu!" he cried.
Natsu was unresponsive, however, as he continued his descent to the ground below.
Zancrow watched the Fairy Tail wizards fall and laughed wildly. "And so the Dragon Slayers fall! How boring, though. They really had no chance. I would have had more fun figuring out what that black winged Fairy was like. Then at least I could have killed something new."
Natsu pushed himself off of the ground with a groan. "Damn it, that hurt!" He stood up and began walking around. "Now where the hell am I?"
Natsu continued roaming around while trying to shake off the pain from his injuries until he came to a fairly large clearing with a large indentation in the middle of it. Curious, he decided to look into what it was. What he saw was Master Makarov, lying still on the ground in the very center of the ground. "No," Natsu mumbled before running over. "GRAMPS!" Natsu ran as fast as his legs would take him over to where Makarov was lying and kneeled beside him. "Gramps are you alright? Oh man, you're hurt bad. Who did this to you? Jeez, where's Wendy? She needs to heal you now! Hey, can you hear me? Gramps!"
Slowly, Makarov's eyes opened. "N…Natsu. Is that you?"
"Yeah, it's me Gramps. What happened?" Natsu asked.
"Natsu," Makarov began, but struggled with every word, "this opponent, Grimoire Heart, is too strong."
'They can't be that bad, Gramps. We can beat 'em, I know we can!"
Makarov noticed Natsu's injuries. "Was it not Grimoire Heart who injured you?"
"He got lucky," Natsu said. "Next time, I'll beat him so bad that he'll never mess with Fairy Tail again!"
"Natsu, I need you to do me a favor," Makarov said.
"Sure Gramps. What do you need?"
"I need you to find everyone and get out of here."
Natsu couldn't believe his ears. "What did you say? You want us to retreat?"
"Natsu, listen to me…"
Natsu slammed his fist into the ground. "No, Gramps. I won't listen to you. We're in the middle of the S-Class Trials. We can't quit now. You're the guild master of Fairy Tail. You should be encouraging us to fight, not telling us to run away."
"This enemy is too strong, Natsu," Makarov insisted. "There are times to fight and there are times to retreat. This is a time to retreat."
"No, we can win!"
Suddenly, a comet of black flames crashed into the ground on the other side of the clearing. Natsu stood, waiting to see what was coming. And then he heard a familiar wild laughter.
Zancrow walked away from his crash site. "You're a stubborn one. You should've just died. It would've been far easier for you. Oh well, I guess my little exercise program will go a bit longer."
Sweat clung to Natsu's face as he trembled. "This guy…he's so strong."
Makarov couldn't believe that he was seeing Natsu tremble in fear. As far as he knew, Natsu didn't know fear. "Natsu, run."
"Are you afraid, little Dragon Slayer?" Zancrow taunted. "You should be."
"Natsu, retreat!"
Natsu looked at his hands as he recalled his fight with Gildarts and the words that Gildarts spoke to him. "This is fear, huh?"
"Yes, and rightly so!" Zancrow laughed.
Suddenly, Natsu's entire body erupted in bright flames. "Don't get me wrong, buddy. I'm not afraid of you. I've fought way stronger people. No, I'm afraid that someone else is gonna beat the shit out of whoever did this to Gramps!"
"Natsu," Makarov said.
Zancrow laughed. "Pretty sure Master Hades did that and if you can't touch me, you won't get anywhere near him!"
"I've had enough of you!" Natsu roared as he charged forward. He crashed his forehead into Zancrow's as the two pushed against each other.
"You really are an obnoxious brat," Zancrow said. "You can't defeat a God Slayer!"
"You've got it ass backwards!" Natsu said as he used Fire Dragon Iron Fist to land a heavy punch to the top of Zancrow's head. "You can't defeat Fairy Tail!" Natsu then shrouded his foot in fire and used Fire Dragon Talon to try and kick Zancrow.
However, Zancrow was able to block and fire a stream of black fire at Natsu, sending him into the air. "Your confidence is pathetic! I'll really going to enjoy killing you!" He then collected black flames in his hands as it took the shape of a massive scythe. "FLAME GOD SCYTHE!" he shouted as he swung the scythe at Natsu's airborne body.
Natsu was able to redirect his body midair and dodge Zancrow's attack just in time as the blade cut through a few trees. Natsu then lit his hand ablaze and punched one of the trees towards Zancrow. Zancrow was crushed by the tree as Natsu landed on the lumber.
His victory was short-lived, though, for Zancrow erupted through the wood in a blaze of black flames and landed a powerful punch into Natsu's stomach. "Nice try."
Natsu felt all of the air leave his body as he was sent flying back into the air.
Zancrow summoned black flames around his hands. "Now it's time that you die at the hands of a God Slayer, weakling!" The flames around his hands danced and formed half of a jaw with razor sharp teeth and a red eye on each hand. He slammed them together a few times in excitement before leaping forward. "FLAME GOD SUPPER!" Zancrow slammed his hands together and commanded the black flames to engulf Natsu. "It's only a matter of time before this kills you. Even now, it's breaking down your body! Say your goodbyes, Dragon Slayer!"
"Damn," Natsu hissed through the pain. "I need to get out of here." He tried once more to eat the flames, but found it simply impossible to eat the black flames.
Zancrow laughed while keeping his hands closed. "I can't believe you tried that again! You can't eat a God Slayer's power! It's simply too much for someone as weak as you!" Suddenly, Zancrow felt an incredible vice-like grip squeeze his entire body. "What the hell?" he wheezed before turning back. It was then that he saw Makarov lying on the ground, his arm in Titan form and his hand trying to crush Zancrow. "Hey, let me go!"
"Only if you release him!" Makarov demanded.
Zancrow grinned. "You're trying to cut a deal? How stupid!" Zancrow summoned his black flames around his body. "New idea. You let go of me, you don't lose an arm, and the Dragon Slayer dies."
Makarov winced, but endured the pain. "I refuse! I will not let you hurt one of my children before my eyes!" he shouted.
"Gramps, just let go!" Natsu cried.
"I will not," Makarov refused as he felt the pain intensifying.
"Damn it, let go of me!" Zancrow growled as he increased the intensity of his flames. "You're seriously gonna lose that arm!"
Makarov's arm threatened to yield, but he stayed strong. "I won't let go."
"Gramps!" Natsu roared as he began activating his fire. He built the flames up more and more in an attempt to break out of Zancrow's attack.
Zancrow laughed. "Oh, fun! It'll be a race! Who will go first? The old man's arm, the Dragon Slayer, or the God Slayer?"
Natsu continued to push his flames until suddenly, the fire went out and Natsu hung limp in the mass of black flames.
"No," Makarov whispered. "Natsu's magic power…I can no longer sense it."
Zancrow laughed maniacally. "So it was the Dragon Slayer to go first? Can't say I'm surprised."
And then, Natsu twitched.
"Oh, you're still alive?" Zancrow asked.
Natsu lifted his head and opened his mouth.
And then he began to eat the black flames.
Zancrow's grin vanished. "What? Impossible! You can't eat my flames!"
Natsu continued to devour the flames until they were all gone.
Makarov looked on in wonder. 'I don't believe it. Natsu actually emptied out his magic power so that he could act as a vessel for a different kind of fire. How reckless!'
Natsu wiped his mouth. "Heh, I didn't know that there were certain tricks to eating different kinds of fire."
Makarov grinded his teeth together. "Natsu, you reckless moron!" he shouted as he tossed Zancrow into the air.
Natsu grinned. "Thanks for the assist, Gramps. I'll take care of it now." He raised his palm and collected orange and black flames in it until he had a large, condensed orb of black and orange flames. "DRAGON GOD DIVINE PULSE!" Natsu fired the large orb with incredible speed. The orb crashed into Zancrow's body with enough power to force him to cough up blood and send him higher into the air as the orb exploded in flames. Natsu then leaped high into the air until he was level with Zancrow's body. "You're finished now!" Natsu engulfed his right hand in a large mass of orange flames and his left hand in a large mass of black flames. "DRAGON GOD BRILLIANT FLAME!" Natsu slammed the two masses of fire together, engulfing Zancrow completely.
The mighty God Slayer laughed in agony as the flames consumed him. He crashed to the ground, completely unconscious.
Makarov couldn't believe what he had just seen. "Natsu won. I can't believe how much stronger he has become. I can clearly see how much he has grown by fighting and being around people like Gildarts and Nikolias. Well done, Natsu."
Natsu stood on the ground, looking at Zancrow's motionless body, before lifting his fist into the air. "See Gramps? We can win. We can win." And then he fell forward, falling to the ground as he fell into unconsciousness.
"Natsu!" Makarov cried.
"Come on!" Gray shouted as he charged Caprico. "Let's see if you're all talk!" He lunged forward, posed to strike Caprico. However, without even looking, Caprico blocked the punch and quickly redirected Gray's momentum, sending him backwards.
Lucy snapped her whip towards Caprico, but the attack only seemed to bounce off of him. "What the hell? I hit him!"
"This is pointless," Caprico noted. "You cannot hope to defeat me."
Cana took out three cards. "We'll see about that! SUMMONED LIGHTNING!" Bolts of electricity shot out towards Caprico. However, even the lightning seemed to deflect off of him. "How the hell is he doing that?"
"Come on, Loke!" Gray called as he charged Caprico again.
"You got it!" Loke agreed as he charged from the other direction. Both lunged at Caprico in an attempt to land at least one hit.
However, Caprico easily blocked the attacks and landed a swift kick to the two, sending them flying backwards yet again.
Caprico looked at his opponents. "Can you not see how useless your attacks are? This is wasted effort on your part."
Loke grinded his teeth. 'Now I'm sure that it's him.'
"Why are you attacking us?" Lucy shouted. "I don't understand what Grimoire Heart is even doing here."
"It is quite simple. We seek the Grand Magic World," Caprico replied.
"Grand Magic World? What the hell is that?" Gray asked as he struggled to his knees after the kick that Caprico landed.
"It is the ultimate world where only those who can use magic will be allowed to live," Caprico explained.
"That's genocide!" Loke cried. "You realize that only a small portion of the human population actually uses magic. You'd be killing hundreds of thousands, maybe even millions!"
"A small price to pay," Caprico responded.
"You're insane," Lucy hissed. "Why does that bring you here?"
Caprico crouched into a fighting position. "We have two missions that we must complete. The first is to find the Black Wizard, Zeref, who is somewhere on this island. The second is to wipe out Fairy Tail."
"Zeref? He's here?" Cana said in disbelief.
Gray stood and put his hand in his palm as ice began to form. "You think you can wipe us out? Don't make me laugh! We'll kick your asses for trespassing on our turf!"
Caprico grinned. "We shall see."
Gray was prepared to launch an attack with his Ice Make magic until Loke stood up and blocked his path. "Loke, what the hell are you doing?"
"I'm getting ready to cover your retreat," Loke said simply.
"What?" Gray said. "You want us to retreat? We had enough trouble four on one and you want to take him on yourself?"
"You can't hope to defeat him," Loke said. "I'm sure you may have noticed by now, but he's actually a Celestial Spirit. His name is Capricorn."
"That would explain the looks," Cana said.
"Loke, we wouldn't just run away and leave you to fight him alone," Lucy refused.
"You have to. It's because of his magic that you're all struggling so much. It's called Human Enslavement Magic."
"Human Enslavement?" Cana said in fear.
Loke nodded. "Basically, it drains its opponents of combat ability and magic power. As the battle was progressing, you were all losing your strength at a quicker than normal pace. Forunately," he paused as he was surrounded by a bright light, changing him to his Celestial Spirit form, Leo, "this magic doesn't work on Celestial Spirits. I'm the only one who can fight him."
"But Loke," Lucy protested.
"Just get out of here!" he shouted. "Go find the others and the other members of the Seven Kin. I'll take care of this one."
"He's right, Lucy," Gray said. "If this guy is sapping our magic power, we'd only get in the way. We should go find the other enemies."
"But…," Lucy began.
"You trust him don't you?" Gray asked.
"Of course!"
"Then let him do this. Trust that he can win."
Lucy looked at the ground before nodding. "Alright, let's go." The three began to take off running until Lucy stopped and turned around. "Loke!"
Loke turned around in response.
Lucy put her hand to her heart. "Win this! Win and come back safely! Promise me, Loke! Promise me!"
Loke smiled. "You got it."
Lucy nodded and took off after Gray and Cana.
Loke turned back towards Capricorn. "Alright, let's do this. You ready to fight someone stronger than you, Capricorn?"
Capricorn was only half listening. "That girl. Why do I know her face?" He was quickly snapped from his thoughts as Loke landed a Regulus Punch to his face. He flew backwards and into a stone wall. He quickly bounced back, leaping from the dust cloud and landing on his feet. "You truly are as strong as ever, Leo."
Leo smiled. "And it's very unlike you to leave yourself wide open."
Capricorn brushed off some dirt. "A mistake that I can promise will not happen again."
Leo sprang forward, looking to land yet another Regulus Punch. However, Capricorn was fast and was able to swiftly land a hit with his knee to Leo's stomach. He tried to then land a kick of his own, but Capricorn dodged by flipping away. "So how long has it been since you last returned to the Celestial World, Capricorn?"
Capricorn straightened up. "17 years."
"I find it surprising that you could be here for that long under your own power. So tell me, who's your Master these days?"
Capricorn chuckled. "Master? I have no need for a Master. No human controls me. It is I who controls humans!" He summoned a magic circle with two fingers. "SUMMON: HERO OF RUBENGARD, SAN JIAO SHIN!" In a flash of light, a man with a tall spear appeared and dashed forward, striking Leo in the chest with his spear before vanishing.
Leo fell to the ground while clutching his chest. "He summoned someone from another world?"
"San Jiao Shin was a strong warrior in his time. He led his forces to victory during a civil war. He then mysteriously vanished, but in actuality, he became my slave," Capricorn explained. "Now tell me, Leo, what is your Master like these days? It would not have anything to do with that girl from earlier, would it? The blonde haired one? She seemed very fond of you. I would love to make her one of my slaves as well."
"You won't touch Lucy!" Leo roared.
"It may have taken me a while, but I see what you did now," Capricorn laughed. "You used this battle as an excuse to let your Master escape. Very clever."
"I don't know what you're talking about," Leo said.
"It is funny, though. I know I've seen her face before," Capricorn thought until suddenly, his eyes widened. "It couldn't be."
'Shit, he figured it out,' Leo thought.
"Your Master is Lucy Heartfilia, daughter of Layla Heartfilia!" Capricorn bellowed. "She cannot be allowed to live!" He summoned yet another magic circle. "SUMMON: HUNTER OF BELPERASO, SAMAGUI!" In a flash of light, a man with a bow and arrow appeared on the top of the ruins, an arrow already knocked on the string and pulled back.
"Another summons?" Leo huffed.
"The conditions are perfect," Samagui murmured before firing his arrow straight towards where Lucy was running about a mile away.
"No you don't!" Leo shouted as he punched the arrow with his Regulus Punch. However, Samagui had already knocked two more arrows and fired those as well. "Damn it!" he cursed as he maneuvered as best he could to break all the arrows.
Samagui showed no signs of distress as he knocked two more arrows, pulled back on the string, and fired towards Leo.
"I won't let you hurt Lucy!" Leo shouted as he prepared to break the arrows yet again. However, right as they were about to strike Leo, they curved upwards. "What the hell?" Leo said in surprise as he watched the arrows travel. "Did he curve his shot?"
"Samagui is the best hunter there is. He is a master marksman. I am positive that those arrows will find their mark," Capricorn gloated with a smile and crossed arms.
Leo gritted his teeth as he leapt into the air. He then kicked a pillar, sending debris out in all directions. Two chunks of rock were able to break the arrows.
"He stopped my arrows with the debris!" Samagui said in shock.
"Do not just stand there! Go and kill the girl!" Capricorn ordered.
Samagui took off running. "Of course, sir. A hunter never lets his prey escape."
"Like I'd let that happen," Leo said as he landed a Regulus Punch to the side of Samagui's face, sending him flying into a pillar and causing him to disappear in a flash of light. He chuckled as he fixed his tie and glasses. "As good a shot as Samagui is, he's nothing compared to Sagittarius."
Capricorn growled as he threw out his hands. "I will kill the daughter of Layla Heartfilia!" In a flash, several knights appeared and charged Leo.
Leo waited patiently for all of the knights to get close before unleashing a fierce kick in a sweeping arc, knocking them all away and causing them to disappear. Leo stood up. "What happened, Capricorn? According to Crux, you had a pact with Layla Heartfilia 20 years ago. I don't know what you two discussed, but you should be contracted to her daughter, Lucy. So why are you against us?"
Capricorn gave a slight grin. "It is the price to pay for breaking a taboo."
"A taboo?" Leo echoed.
"All magic has a set of rules that should never be broken. I broke those rules and now look at me! I'm a goat!" Capricorn laughed.
"What are you talking about? You've always looked like that," Leo said, confusion written all over his face.
Capricorn gave an evil grin. "You know, Leo, I have been desperately missing my human body. I would like to have it back." He held out his arms as darkness spread throughout the area. "HUMA RAISE!"
Leo stood on guard. "You should know better. This magic won't work on Celestial spirits."
"That is where you are wrong," Capricorn's voice came from all directions. "This magic can only be used on humans. However, if used on someone who is not human, the user will fuse with their target. That is the taboo."
Leo looked around, finding himself surrounded by shadows in the shape of Capricorn. 'When did I fall into his trap?' He narrowed his eyes. "So is that what happened? Are you a human who fused with Capricorn?"
"You would be correct," said the shadows. "However, now I will have your body, Leo the Lion."
"No you won't!" Leo exclaimed as he charged up his Regulus power and fired it in a radius of light, eliminating the shadows. He then leapt forward and landed a Regulus Punch into Capricorn's chest. Capricorn fell to the ground, knocked out cold.
"Too late," said a voice in a mocking tone.
Leo gripped his head in pain. He groaned as he fought against the pain, but soon it ended. He removed his hand and an evil grin plagued his face. "Finally," he said, "a human form!"
Sure enough, Leo's skin had turned bluish-purple as he was now possessed by the shadow.
Lucy stopped and turned around. "Loke."
"Lucy, what is it?" Cana asked.
"Shouldn't we go back and check on Loke?" she asked.
"Lucy, we went over this," Gray said. "Loke's got this. We'd just be in his way if we fought by his side. Besides, it seemed like there was some bad blood between those two that they needed to sort out. Just trust Loke. He's a Fairy Tail member. Don't forget that."
Lucy nodded. "Yeah I know."
"Come on, Lucy," Cana said. "We need to see if anyone else needs help. What if Natsu needs help?"
"Yeah, you're right. Let's go," Lucy agreed as the three took off running.
Gray chuckled. "I highly doubt flame brain is in trouble."
Lucy smiled. "Yeah, you're right."
Leo examined his human form in delight. "It's been so long! I had nearly forgotten what it was like to have a human form." He looked at Capricorn's motionless body. "Thanks for the rental, Capricorn, but I don't envy you. Leo really did a number on that body. Alright, now that I have a human body again, I must take care of that Heartfilia brat. It's easy enough to get close to her since she trusts this form. Now how should I do it? Should I make her my slave? Yes that could be a lot of fun. But wouldn't it be better if she was just dead? Yes that would be good as well. Damn, I hate choices. I wish I could have it all. Maybe I could enslave her for a bit and then kill her. Yes that works for me. Yes. Now I just have to find her!"
And then, sharp pain shot through his body. He screamed as a blast of light erupted through his abdomen.
"No!" he screamed. "What is this?" He turned his head and his eyes widened. "Capricorn?"
Sure enough, Capricorn was kneeling behind Leo, his hand to Leo's back as the beam of light dissipated. "Regulus is fully charged, Zoldeo."
Leo's eyes widened even more as his body began to shiver. "No! Don't call me that name! You know what that does!" Suddenly, a shadow shot out of Leo's body, causing Leo to fall limply in Capricorn's arms. The shadow hovered as it continued to scream in agony.
"Are you alright, Sir Leo?" Capricorn asked.
"Yeah," Leo groaned. "I'm fine."
"I apologize for having to use such a vulgar method," Capricorn apologized.
"No, it's alright," Leo assured. "It was the only way to separate us. Thank you, Capricorn."
The shadow began to take a human form as it fell to the ground. It was a small man with bushy black hair and black lines near his mouth. He looked at Capricorn with timid eyes. "How, Capricorn? How can you move?"
"When Sir Leo struck me with his last attack, he transferred his magic to me," Capricorn explained.
"No way," Zoldeo said. "That was a magic transfer?" He gave a small laugh. "Well what does it matter? I have my old human body again!"
"I would not be so sure," Capricorn said.
Zoldeo raised an eyebrow, but soon started to feel as if his body was disintegrating. He screamed in agony as he noticed small holes appearing and expanding all over his body. "What's happening? It feels like my body is disappearing!"
"This is your punishment for breaking the taboo, Zoldeo," Capricorn said. "Accept your fate."
"No! I don't want to disappear! No!" And those were the last words Zoldeo said as his body completely vanished from existence.
Leo breathed a heavy sigh. "I'm glad that's over."
"I must apologize again for what happened," Capricorn said.
Leo looked at him. "Tell me what happened with Layla, Capricorn."
Capricorn looked out at the sunset. "20 years ago, Lady Layla Heartfilia and I made a pact. Should someone from her bloodline decide to follow the path of magic, I would help to guide them down that path. However, things changed a few years later when Lady Layla was unable to use her magic anymore. Because of that, she gave her three keys to a servant of hers to give to her descendent when the time came. My key fell into the hands of Zoldeo, by no means an evil man. However, it was not long before Zoldeo was banished from the Heartfilia household and forced to wander. It was during this time that he was exposed to the dark side of magic and consumed. He broke the taboo of magic and because of it, my body was fused with his."
Leo listened to the story intently. "I see. That explains it. So tell me Capricorn. What do you think of Lucy?"
"I can tell that she is a kind girl like her mother. It is also clear to me that she cares for her Spirits deeply and her Spirits care deeply for her," Capricorn responded.
"So will you fight with her? She could really use your help," Leo asked.
"I am afraid that I cannot do that, Sir Leo," Capricorn said. "I cannot give my power to Lady Lucy."
"Why not?" Leo asked.
Capricorn chuckled. "Because my power is already hers to use." He looked back to the sunset. "Finally, I can return to my original Master."
Lucy, Cana, and Gray were running though the woods when a flash of light appeared where Lucy's keys were. They stopped as Lucy grabbed Leo's key and smiled.
"What's up?" Cana asked. "Was that Loke?"
Lucy nodded. "Yep. Loke won! He also said that Capricorn decided to join up with us!"
"That's great. See, I told you we should trust Loke," Gray said as he returned the smile.
"Yeah, you were right. Also, Loke said that the fight took a lot out of him, so he's gonna rest up a bit in the Spirit world," Lucy said.
"That four eyed bastard!" Gray shouted. "How could he ditch me like that?"
"Oh calm down," Lucy said.
Gray crossed his arms in annoyance. "Well you can tell that asshole that I don't need him to help me to finish the S-Class Trials!"
Cana's eyes widened. 'That's right. The S-Class Trials.'
"You don't have to get all bent out of shape, Gray," Lucy giggled.
"You know guys, I was just thinking about something. There are six more of those Purgatory freaks out there and we need to find them all and quick. So let's split up."
"No way! I don't wanna risk fighting one of those guys alone!" Lucy refused.
"Yeah, we're a lot stronger fighting together," Gray added.
Cana smiled mischievously as she grabbed Lucy's breasts from behind. "I get it. You just wanna stay with us in case we compare cup sizes. Unbelievable. If only you were a gentleman like Nikolias."
"Cana!" Lucy screamed in embarrassment.
"That's not it!" Gray shouted. "Alright, fine! We'll split up." With that, Gray stormed off.
Lucy forcibly removed herself from Cana's grasp. "What the hell, Cana?"
"Sorry, Lucy. I just think it's better this way so that we can cover more ground. The sooner we beat these freaks, the sooner we can get back to the S-Class Trials," Cana said.
"Fine, you're right. I do want to try and find Natsu before something really bad happens."
"Alright," Cana said with a smile, "then let's get going!"
Hey everyone! Sorry for the long update again. Work is kicking my ass.
Anyway, I need your help with a decision about following up the Tenrou Arc. As you know, I love writing this story and I love writing in general, but I'm also writing this story for you guys. So I'd like your opinions on how to follow this arc. After Fairy Tail returns after Tenrou, would you guys be more interested in reading:
1) an original arc mainly featuring Gracie's past
2) the Key to the Starry Sky arc
3) both
Whatever you guys decide will go between the Tenrou Arc and the Grand Magic Games Arc. Private Message me or mention in a review your votes/thoughts. Remember, while I have my own opinion for this story, I would like to hear back from you guys to see what you would all enjoy reading.
Thanks for reading everyone!
