Hey there, my fellow Fairy Tail/Yugioh/Fire Force/Arrow/Kill La Kill fans(wow, that was a lot of slashes.) Welcome back to the epicness that is Fairy Tail: War Beyond Worlds!
Still glad to see so many people reading up on this story as it, Power Rangers Dimension Heroes and Anime Avengers(which I plan on working on next) are my biggest multi-crossover stories of all time! Not only is it fun writing how these chapters would interact, but adding or changing the canon has been great(even though I do genuinely enjoy Fairy Tail). Hopefully what I have planned for the next three arcs will be great for all of you.
Enough with the teasing. TO THE REVIEWS!
Messiah of authors: For this first phase. The next phase will have a few champions you guys will love.
TheEmeraldMage: Well to be fair, the Overseer was being real. If they did get sent back in the time when he picked them up, Senketsu would still burn up. Glad you liked the small little changes I made to the story.
TonyMon318: Funny enough, I will start In the Land of Leadale soon.
DB-20: Ryuko… will have some words about Erza when they meet. I promise you that.
Rowlets and Oshawotts: Asta will show up sooner than you think. I just thought this would be a good starting point for Ryuko.
Guest: A friend of mine agrees with that. Ryuko and Erza might have a dynamic like her and Satsuki had early on.
Mastergamer14: Sorry. Already got champions in mind… though one IS a Fate character.
CRUDEN: Thank you.
Shadowwolf1997: Hahaha. Yeah. Lucy and Maki never wanna see a pissed off Erza.
To recap: Things were getting serious for the Fairy Tail group as newcomer Ryuko fought off Roha. Natsu and Maki were able to defeat Toby and Yuki, though Lucy was forced to battle against Sherry. Though Ryuko was in a tight bind, Natsu was able to come in and save her from Roha and the two decided to team up. Just as Lucy was about to be crushed by Sherry's giant rat, Erza, Yusei and Oliver arrived to help, though things would soon get complicated from there.
Will the Fairy Tail crew be able to stop the revival of Deliora? And where are Natsu and Ryuko? Let's find out…
"Gray… Gray… GRAY!"
A gasped escaped a certain ice wizard as he opened his eyes, looking at the ceiling.
'Wait… why does this feel familiar?' Gray thought as he began to look around, finding a room he hadn't been in for years.
"GRAY!"
"Coming!" Shaking away his thoughts, Gray pulled the covers off his body as he ran towards the door, opening it.
The first thing he felt was the cold of the snowy mountains, followed by the blindness of the white snow. However, he quickly got used to it as he ran through the snow, making his way towards the top of the hill, where two people were currently waiting for him.
"You're late." The youngest of the two, a young silver haired boy, told Gray with a mocking smirk.
"Oh shut up, Lyon. I bet Ur had to wake you up too." Gray retorted with a glare.
"You got that right. Had to slap a snowball on his head since he didn't hear me." The older of the three, a young woman with chin length purple hair and black eyes, spoke up with a knowing grin, making Lyon groan in embarrassment. "But… since you woke up late…" Without warning, the older woman threw a snowball at Gray, hitting him in the head as he fell on his butt.
"Hey! That hurt!" Gray shouted in annoyance.
"At this point, getting hit with a snowball should be nothing to you. I guess I need to push you a bit harder." Ur suggested, making Gray scoff a bit. "Come on. I was kidding."
"Yeah yeah…" Gray stood back up and walked next to Lyon. "So, what are we learning today?"
"I just thought we could all just stay here and talk." Ur revealed as she put her hands on her hips, looking out at the distance. "You know, you two are getting stronger every day. Maybe one day, you'll surpass me."
"We can't do that. You're the strongest mage around, Ur!" Lyon countered.
"Even I have my limits. I can't win every fight alone." Ur explained with a smile. "Sometimes, it's good to ask others for help."
"What good can that do? People just get in the way." Gray coldly said, making Lyon look at him in shock. "One day, I'll find that monster and end it all by myself."
"Then what? What will you do after that?" Ur questioned with narrowed eyes. "You have to think about the future, Gray. After all, you got the rest of your life to look forward to."
"I don't care." Gray interrupted as he glared at Ur. "That monster took my parents. I need to kill it."
"Well, you're stubborn as hell. But you should think about it, alright?" Ur walked between the two boys and ruffled their hair, though Gray quickly swatted her hand away. "Maybe you can join a Guild. Hell, make some friends on the way. After all, you don't wanna be lonely…"
"Lonely…"
"Lonely…"
'The next morning'
"Huh?" Gray opened his eyes and found himself in what looked like a storage room, with crates and other supplies scattered around. Pushing himself up, the ice mage groaned as he looked down, finding his chest covered in bandages. "It was a dream…"
The front of the tent suddenly flipped open, with a certain Champion coming inside.
"Gray!" Maki shouted, a towel in her hands. Noticing Gray pulling the covers off his body, she quickly rushed to his side, keeping him in place. "Don't move too much. You still haven't recovered."
"I can't stay down. And where are we?" Gray questioned as he stood up, with Maki helping him.
"A storage tent near the village." Maki explained. "Since the village was destroyed, everyone had to relocate. The others are outside, though Natsu and that other girl are still missing."
"Other girl? Wait, the village was destroyed?" Now Gray was confused. The last thing he remembered was fighting Lyon, and that was it. The two soon exited the storage tent, where they saw several makeshift tents scattered around as the villagers did whatever they could to feel at home.
"Oh. He's awake. I'm glad he's alright." One of the village girls spoke up as she walked up to them.
"How is everyone else?" Maki asked the girl, who smiled sadly.
"Fine for now. Though some of them, including the chief, are a little more than a little sad from what happened." The girl confessed, making the two frown even more.
"Lyon…" Just thinking about what his former rival's group were going to do made Gray's blood boil.
"But we are grateful to you, Natsu, Lucy and the Exhibitionist." The girl said to Maki with a more happy smile. "We would've lost more if you hadn't stepped in."
"It's what we do." Maki answered with her own smile, though she tilted her head. "But the Exibitionist? Do you mean that girl in blue?"
"Oh yes! She's been seen on this island for a few days." The girl answered, beginning her tale. "At first, we were wary of who she was, but after she stopped two children from being killed by that giant mouse, we knew we could trust her. Though… for some reason, she didn't want to stay with us, even though we offered her shelter. Maybe it was because of our curse."
"We'll fix this." Gray suddenly spoke up with a serious tone, much to the two girls' shock. "We're gonna stop Lyon and we're gonna figure out a way to help you. That's a promise."
The village girl was surprised, but grateful for Gray's declaration. For some reason, she looked away, her cheeks turning red. Maki, noticing this, smiled a bit in amusement before she helped Gray move towards one of the tents near the forest.
"The others are waiting inside. But…" Maki looked away from Gray with a nervous expression. "Just don't freak out, okay?"
"Okay?" Gray looked at her in confusion before the two entered the tent…
And was greeted with the extremely angry glare of Erza Scarlet.
"You made us wait. Not a smart move." Erza coldly told them with her legs crossed. On her left were a tied up Lucy and Happy, both crying anime tears. And on her left was Yusei, who had his eyes closed while his arms were crossed. And standing on another crate was Oracle, who pecked at her wings.
"ERZA?!" Gray shouted in shock. "When did you get here? And why are Lucy and Happy tied up?"
"Lucy caught me up to speed on what's happening. I allowed Maki to walk free since she was treating you." Erza then increased her glare at Gray. "Am I wrong or weren't you assigned to help find Natsu and the others?"
"W-Well… things happened." Gray bashfully admitted before he noticed something. "Hang on. If you and Yusei are here, did Oliver come too?"
"He did." Yusei answered as he looked at Gray. "When Lucy told us about what was happening, he volunteered to go look for Natsu and that other girl. I wanted to go too, but my Runner wouldn't do well in the forest."
"And it's better this way." Oracle informed the group. "He's what you call… an expert tracker."
'Deep in the forest'
"Are you almost done?"
"Shut up. You know it takes a while for it to… come out."
"We've been out here for 20 minutes. If you can't go, then hold it."
Inside the forest of Galuna stood up masked worshipers, though one was leaning against a tree while the other was going to the bathroom. Since the Moon Drip sleep wasn't going to work until nightfall, Lyon had the worshipers scout the forest for any other villagers.
"I swear you have to find a doctor. Because this condition of yours is annoying." One of the worshipers complained.
"Look, I just… I can't go alone, alright? I don't know why, but I can't. Just… wait a little longer." The other worshiper practically begged before he was finally about to go, allowing him to sigh in relief. "So about that Roha guy."
"I don't trust him." The first worshiper confessed out loud. "He seems normal, but there's something… dark about him. Remember what he did when he came back after failing to destroy the village?"
"Poor bastards didn't see him coming. Just seeing their corpses… it was something out of a horror novel." The struggling worshiper shivered at the thought. "But that won't happen to us, right?"
There was no response.
"Dean?" Confused, the worshiper zipped his pants and went over to where his friend was, only to find nothing. "Really? If this is your idea of a prank, then ha ha. You win."
Again, there was no response, making the worshiper frown.
"Come on. We need to get back to the others. Where are you?!"
*Whoosh*
"AHHH!" The worshiper suddenly slammed against a nearby tree, an arrow pierced through his cloak as it kept him in play. "What the hell?!"
Coming out of the bushes with a hood over his head was none other than Oliver, who glared deeply at the worshiper.
"Who the hell are you?! Get me out of here!" The worshiper shouted, only for Oliver to smack him in the face with his bow.
"Where is the temple?" Oliver asked in his 'Arrow' voice. "WHERE?!"
"You're one of those wizards, aren't you? I thought there were only four of you. Well you can forget it!" The worshiper shouted in response. "I won't say an-AHHHH!"
Before he could finish, Oliver suddenly stabbed the man's left hand with an arrow, lodging it into the tree.
"I don't have time to waste. You are going to tell me your plans for Galuna Island and Deliora, and you're telling me NOW." Oliver told the man in a deadly serious voice.
"Y-Y-You're insane!" The worshiper said in a fearful tone, not expecting such an act from a wizard. Oliver didn't say anything as he grabbed the arrow in the man's hand, turning it as he screamed in pain. "OKAY! OKAY! The Cold Emperor plans to release Deliora so he can destroy it and prove how powerful he is!"
"Why this island? What makes it special?" Oliver questioned.
"I don't know! There's just something about the moon that increases the power of the Moon Drip! I swear that's the truth!" The worshiper answered as he fell on his knees, though his hand was still pierced into the tree. "Please… let me go."
Oliver took a moment to gather all the information the man wanted. Lucy explained the existence of Deliora(which did surprise Oliver, though he quickly got over it) and that this Lyon guy wanted to release it. And now he understood why, though putting the lives of the villagers in danger didn't justify it.
"Anything else you want to tell me?" Oliver asked the man one more time, making him whimper in fear.
"... B-Besides the Cold Emperor, watch out for a masked man named Roha. He's a monster and I don't think he actually cares about releasing Deliora. Not to mention that old man Zalty. A-A-And the temple isn't far from here. Just keep running forward and you should see it. That's all I know. I swear." The worshiper admitted. "Now please let me go."
"I will. After your nap." Oliver said, much to the man's confusion.
"Wait. Na-"
*SMACK*
'Back with the others'
"Once Oliver finds Natsu and the girl, we'll leave and return to Fairy Tail for the proper punishment." Erza sternly told Gray, making his eyes widen.
"Hang on. What about the village? What about Lyon and Deliora?" Gray questioned, only for Erza to glare at him even more.
"That doesn't matter. You and the others need to be brought back to the Guild immediately." Erza answered, making the others look at her in shock.
"But we can't!" Maki shouted. "If we leave now, then there won't be anyone to stop Lyon and his lackeys from destroying the villagers. Not to mention Deliora."
"Oh? So it's okay to break the rules if it benefits you? I thought you of all people would understand the importance of rules, Maki. I'm disappointed." Erza shook her head, making the fire soldier clench her fists.
"Erza…" Lucy muttered, only for the knight to glare at her.
"While I respect your determination to keep the rules, in this situation, it's irrelevant." Oracle told Erza, who simply glared at her.
"How can you be so heartless?!" Gray shouted in disbelief. Sure, Erza can be a hardass and even blunt when it comes to certain things. But never in a million years would he expect her to simply leave people to their deaths.
"Excuse me?" Erza requipped a sword and pointed it at Gray, much to everyone's shock. "You know how important the Guild's rules are, yet you're going against it willingly? I thought you knew better, Gray."
"That's enough, Erza." All eyes were on Yusei as he stood up, giving Erza a serious look.
"You too, Yusei?" Now Erza looked in surprise. She thought Yusei and Oliver would be on her side the whole time, yet that proved to be wrong.
"Erza, you heard what they said about Lyon and Deliora. We can't just leave everyone to die." Yusei argued.
"You both agreed to help me bring back these rule breaks. And now you're going back on your word?!" Erza shouted in anger.
"I know. Me and Oliver will help you bring everyone back to Fairy Tail." Yusei softened his gaze as he reached out and grabbed Erza's shoulder. "But right now, we need to focus on saving the villagers and stopping Deliora from being revived."
"Yusei." Erza shrugged off his hand before aiming her sword at Yusei's neck, causing everyone but the two to gasp in horror. "I am warning you. If you betray me, I WILL be forced to stop you."
"Then do it." Yusei then stepped forward, the sword mere inches from his neck, yet he still looked Erza straight in the eyes. "Erza, I've been on Earthland for a week. And I've been a part of Fairy Tail for just a few days, but I know that Fairy Tail focuses on saving lives over everything else. We might not have known each other for long, but I KNOW that you would never let anyone die. You even risked your life to fight Lullaby with us just to protect the Guildmasters." He reached out and grabbed the tip of Erza's sword, pointing it towards where his Guild Mark was. "Don't let this symbol be covered in blood." Most would've assumed Yusei had a death wish, but when you face off against Earthbound Immortals, future terrorists and a VERY pissed off Akiza Isinski, then nothing would really affect him.
Everyone watched in silence as the two continued to stare down one another, with Erza's glare acing Yusei's calm, almost pleading eyes. Most were worried that Erza might actually attacked Yusei for disobeying her… which seemed to almost be true.
However, after a minute long stare down… Erza lowered her sword, letting out a sigh.
"We need to go find Oliver and Natsu. Then secure the new Champion… and stop the revival of Deliora." Erza commanded everyone, causing them all to smile. She walked past Yusei and swung her sword at Lucy and Happy. A second later, the ropes tied around them were cut, allowing them to stand up. "HOWEVER…" A red aura surrounded Erza as she glared at Lucy, Happy and Maki, who all hugged each other in fear. "The moment the village is safe, we WILL return to Fairy Tail. Is that understood?"
"YES MADAM!" They shouted in unison. It was clear they wouldn't be off the hook… though they were hopeful that Makarov was at least a LITTLE merciful.
"Now that that's settled, we need to head out." Yusei told everyone with a serious tone. "Who knows what kind of trouble Natsu and Oliver are in."
"Considering this is Dragneel, we may need to expect the worst." Was Oracle's blunt response.
'With Natsu and Ryuko, some time later'
*BOOM*
*RUMBLE*
The interior of the temple shook violently, with the entirety of the building slowly tilting to the right.
The cause? A certain Dragon Slayer and tomboy with scantily clad clothes.
"Alright! That should do it!" Natsu declared with a grin while wiping away the sweat on his forehead, basking in his work. If one could call the broken remains of an ancient temple work, that is.
"And why the hell did we do that, again?" Ryuko asked, now dressed in Senketsu's sailor uniform mode while twirling her now shrunken Scissor Blades.
"I told you, it's part of my genius plan!" Natsu said with a proud tone. "Since the temple works to bring down that Moon Drip spell to free Deliora, by breaking the temple so it isn't straight, no moonlight will be able to come down, which means Lyon's plan is cooked!"
"That… is actually a well thought out plan." Senketsu confessed, surprised by the rather elaborate plan from the Dragon Slayer. From what he and Ryuko had seen, this Natsu guy was all punch and no thought.
"Not a bad plan, Natsu. But I wish we could've found that creepy bastard from last night." Ryuko grumbled in irritation, the memories of her encounter with Roha still fresh on his mind. If Natsu hadn't been able to rescue her, then Roha would've done things that would make Ragyo proud, which was something Ryuko NEVER wanted to happen.
"Sorry. I just got sleepy from all the crazy stuff from last night." Natsu admitted while scratching the back of his head. While he and Ryuko were on Roha's trail, for some reason, the bastard's scent disappeared while on their way to the temple. Since Natsu figured Roha would be hiding there anyways, he decided to take a quick nap, which Ryuko reluctantly joined him in. "So, I guess we wait for them to come out and see the temple." Natsu sat down on one of the many broken rocks in the lower level of the temple. Ryuko sat across from him, still twirling one of her mini blades.
"Okay, I gotta ask." Ryuko broke the silence, getting Natsu's attention. "When DID you meet those other Champions? That four eyed freak that brought me here never mentioned anything about them."
"You mean Maki, Yusei and Oliver?" Natsu smiled thinking about his three newest friends. He then started telling Ryuko(and to an extent Senketsu) about how he, Lucy and Happy met Yusei in Hargeon. He then went on to tell her about the reveal of the Champions, rescuing Macao, meeting Maki, fighting Eisenwald, helping Oliver against Alden Drake in Okaiba, and even told her about why they were on Galuna Island.
"Wow… you guys sound crazy." Ryuko said with a chuckle. Then again, she wasn't one to talk considering she was half alien and fought with limited clothes.
"That's Fairy Tail for ya. We always try to help everyone and have fun doing it." Natsu told her with a grin before a thought came up. "Hey. You should join Fairy Tail. We're always taking in new people!"
"Me? A wizard?" Ryuko had to admit the very idea was absurd, though she was from another world and all. Plus, since there were already three other Champions with the Fairy Tail guild, joining up with them MIGHT not be the worst idea.
That… and she really wanted to get away from Galuna.
"Ryuko, I think we should take the offer. At the very least, we'll have a temporary home." Senketsu argued while looking up at her.
But before she could finish…
"WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO THE TEMPLE?!" Came the loud and annoying voice of Toby, which came from the large hole Natsu made earlier.
"Looks like they're here." Natsu told Ryuko, who matched his grin while grabbing the pin on her glove.
"Let's kick some ass, Senketsu and Natsu!" With that, Ryuko pulled the pin, causing her body to be covered in glowing red crosses.
"What in the world is that?!" Lyon demanded as he saw the light from below. He was just getting ready to finish preparations for the Moon Drip ritual, yet now someone was trying to ruin it all. Suddenly, a figure shot out of the dust, flying up to Lyon and his allies' level.
"Senketsu Shippū!" Ryuko flew up to the next fly, with Senketsu's form changing. The back of Senketsu formed what looked like jet wings and the skirt turned into a large jet engine. "You that asshole Lyon?" She asked while glaring down at the shocked Lyon. "This is for trying to kill the villagers!"
Without warning, Ryuko swung her right Scissor Blade onto Lyon's cut… unintentionally cutting him in half.
"Ryuko!" Senketsu shouted, not expecting Ryuko's attack to go through a human that easily.
However, his concern was for nothing as 'Lyon' let out a small mist of icy wind, his body turning into an ice clone before it exploded.
"Son of a bitch! It was a clone?!" Ryuko questioned in genuine shock.
"W-W-Woah!" Toby shouted while taking a step back.
"Don't forget me!" Natsu leapt out of the hole before he kicked the dog man in the face, sending him crashing several feet away. Once he landed on the floor, Natsu looked at Ryuko with wide eyes. "You can fly too?! That is awesome!"
"So you're the one who took Gray away before I was able to finish him." The two turned around and saw Lyon charging his magic in his hand, a glare plastered on his face. "I won't let you or Fairy Tail get in the way of my destiny! Ice Make Eagle!" He launched a barrage of eagle-shaped ice blasts towards the two. "You can't dodge this!"
"Who said we had to dodge, dipshit?!" Ryuko began to spin at high speed, cutting down all of Lyon's eagles, much to his shock. "Why don't YOU get over here?!" Ryuko thrusted her hand towards Lyon, Senketsu's Life Fibers wrapping around the ice mage's leg before she pulled it, causing him to fall on his back hard. "Natsu!"
"Fire Dragon Wing Attack!" Jumping in the air, Natsu ignited both his arms before he brought them down to Lyon.
*Smack*
"OWWWW!" However, before he could actually hit Lyon, a crystal ball suddenly flew in and hit the Dragon Slayer in the head, causing him to fall back down the hole.
"Oh shit!" Ryuko quickly flew down, only to see Natsu fly back up via the flames in his feet.
"That hurt!" Natsu shouted as he landed back on their level, holding his now swollen left cheek.
"Two against one doesn't seem fair, does it?" Standing next to Lyon(who stood back up) was what looked like a short old man with tribal clothing, long wild olive green hair and a red mask covering his eyes. He grinned as he held his hand out, with the same crystal ball from earlier hovering over it. "Why don't I lend you a hand, Cold Emperor?"
"I was handling it, Zalty." Lyon coldly told the newly revealed 'Zalty' before he looked at Ryuko. "Despite how revealing your clothes are, you're surprisingly powerful, girl."
"Yeah? Let's keep fighting and you'll see how strong I am, asshole." Ryuko responded with a glare.
"Why are you trying so hard to bring back Deliora? Don't you know how bad it'd be for everyone if it comes back?" Natsu questioned in a serious tone, making Lyon's glare intensify.
"Have you ever lost everyone because of one person? One monster?" Lyon questioned rhetorically, a wave of ice shooting out from his feet, covering the interior of the temple in ice, though Ryuko was able to lift Natsu up before he was frozen again. "That's what I experienced when Deliora took away my village. My family. My master Ur. All of them were gone. I will destroy that monster and prove to everyone that I am the strongest. They will worship the name Lyon and I will have finally surpassed Ur and Gray."
"... Are you shitting me? THAT'S WHY YOU DID THIS?!" Ryuko shouted while gritting her teeth. "Just so you can get an ego boost?! What about everyone who that bastard killed?! Aren't you gonna avenge them?"
"Why bother avenging the fallen? They don't matter anymore." Was Lyon's heartless response.
However, he failed to realize just how much those words affected Ryuko.
'They don't matter anymore…' Those words kept repeating in Ryuko's mind as she began to remember the day her life went upside down.
The sight of her home in ruin.
The noise that drew her attention inside.
The sight of her father against the wall, a Scissor Blade impaled in his stomach.
Just thinking about that brought the feeling of despair and anger back into the tomboy's mind.
"You… are the worst… most arrogant… heartless… PIECE OF SHIT I'VE EVER MET!" A burst of steam shot out of Senketsu as Ryuko looked at Lyon with a glare that could even outmatch Erza. "The dead don't matter? It's all about being the best? WHAT A LOAD OF HORSESHIT!"
"Calm down! Otherwise, you might go berserk again!" Senketsu tried to reason with Ryuko, though she ignored him.
"I wouldn't expect a brat like you to-OOOOOOOFF!" Before Lyon could finish, Ryuko moved faster than anyone could see, punching Lyon in the stomach with enough force to send him crashing into the icy wall.
"LYON, NO!" Toby shouted as he prepared to run after Lyon… only to freeze at the intense look on Ryuko's face.
"No matter what happens now…" Ryuko looked at where Lyon crashed and aimed her blade at it. "I'll make you regret talking shit about the dead!"
'With the rest of team Natsu'
The trek to the moon temple was surprisingly simple for the group of Fairy Tail wizards. Some of them expected to run into some of Lyon's cronies, yet much to their surprise, no one had even come close to stopping them.
"Okay, this is weird." Maki was the first to speak up, looking around.
"I know what you mean. Where are they?" Lucy said next, trying to find any sign of the worshipers.
"Perhaps Natsu and Oliver were able to stop them." Erza summarized with a hand under her chin.
"Maybe… hang on." Yusei looked in the distance and noticed something odd. Running a bit ahead of the group, his eyes widened in surprise. "Guys, look!"
"What is it, Yusei?" Maki asked as the group made it to where Yusei was… only to widen their eyes as well.
Sprawled on the forest ground while moaning in pain were several of Lyon's worshipers, their bodies impaled by several arrows. Some seemed to have simply broken their bones while others were trying desperately to pull the arrows out.
"Hmmm. This is clearly Oliver Queen's work. Very thorough, I admit." Oracle confessed with an impressed tone, which most would exactly call what happened in front of them.
"Woah… Oliver really is scary, isn't he?" Happy muttered with a nervous gulp. He and the others knew how good of an archer Oliver was, but even this seemed a bit more extreme.
"Monster… he was a monster…" One of the worshipers were able to mutter as he tried to pull out the arrow lodged in his right leg.
"At least we won't face too many obstacles along the way." Erza wisely spoke up as she and the others ran past the fallen worshipers.
However, Gray seems to lag behind. Something Yusei noticed.
"Gray? Something up?" Yusei asked as he slowly lowered his pace to match Gray.
"... There's something I gotta tell you guys." Gray stopped running, which forced the others to halt their sprint as well. "I wasn't being honest when I told you about Iced Shell."
"The spell that was used on Deliora to freeze it? What about it?" Lucy asked with a worried tone.
"...The truth is Ur's still alive." Gray finally admitted to the group, causing a majority of them to gasp in shock.
"Hang on. I thought you said Iced Shell sacrifices the life of the caster." Maki questioned with a frown. "How can Ur still be alive if her body's gone."
"I believe I can answer that." Oracle spoke up while landing on Gray's shoulder. "You see, while Iced Shell does technically use the caster's life force, it also means that their very being is encased within the ice. So in a sense, Ur IS alive."
"Oracle's right." Gray sighed as he looked at the group. "It was ten years ago…"
'With Natsu and Ryuko'
"Ice Make Ape!" Lyon casted his magic once again, only this time, he created a large ape-shaped ice creature. It let out a roar before it charged at Ryuko.
"I swear if you start throwing frozen shit, I'm gonna lose it!" Ryuko shouted before she dodged the ice ape's punch, prompting her to slice through it with her Scissor Blades. However, Lyon once again launched his Ice Make Eagles at her, much to her annoyance. "For a guy who can make animals out of ice, you're not very creative!"
"Very well. I'll show you how creative I can be!" Lyon shouted as Ryuko cut down his eagles once again. Putting his hands together, Lyon slammed them on the ground. "Ice Make Snow Dragon! And Ice Make Tiger!" Emerging from the ice were a large ice dragon and a tiger, each roaring in anger before they rushed towards Ryuko, who grinned in amusement.
"Now this is what I'm talking about!"
As Ryuko faced off against Lyon's ice creations, Natsu was facing off against the strange old man Zalty and the idiotic Toby.
"Come on! You ain't gonna dodge my claws!" Toby shouted as he kept slashing at Natsu, who kept jumping back to dodge.
"Can you just shut up already?! I gotta kick that Lyon guy's ass!" Natsu shouted back as he ignited his fist, ready to sock Toby clean in the face.
"I don't think so~" Zalty laughed as he moved his hand a little.
*Slip*
"What the?!" Natsu suddenly slipped and fell on his back with a thud. Groaning in annoyance, Natsu quickly lifted his arms to grab Toby's wrists, his long claws inches from the Dragon Slayer's chest.
"Oops! You took a tumble, huh? Well don't worry! You ain't feeling anything after you get a taste of my Paralyzing Jellyfish Claws!" Toby declared confidently, only for Natsu to knee him in the stomach and send him tumbling back.
"Let's try that again!" Natsu rolled back on all fours and prepared to rush in… only to fall forward once again. "What the hell?!"
"It seems you've got cold feet, Salamander." Zalty cackled in amusement as Natsu looked at his feet, only to find them frozen on the ground.
'How'd that happen?! Lyon's fighting Ryuko and these other guys don't have ice magic!' Natsu thought in confusion. 'Come to think of it… how the hell did I slip before? It felt like I ran on water.'
"HERE I COME!" Toby leapt in the air with his arms open, a big grin on his face. "Toby Secret Claw-"
*Stab*
"OOOWWWWWW!" Before Toby could finish his little rant, an arrow suddenly came out of nowhere and stabbed his left shoulder, causing him to crash next to Natsu while groaning in pain. "That's cheating! You shot me!"
"I didn't shoot you… wait." Natsu looked at the arrow lodged in Toby's shoulder before he grinned. "He showed up."
Another arrow shot through one of the openings from the temple, landing in front of Zalty.
"What in the-"
*BOOM*
Zalty was forced to jump back as the arrow suddenly exploded, though he wasn't harmed. Jumping inside the temple with a bow in hand was none other than the Green Arrow, who quickly shot at an arrow at Lyon. However, he tilted his head to dodge, though he was cut on his cheek.
"Natsu. Are you alright?" Oliver questioned with a serious tone as he drew another arrow, aiming it at Lyon.
"Oliver! You actually showed up!" Natsu shouted in excitement, glad to see one of the Champions show up. However… he soon realized something. "Hang on… if you're here, then does that mean…"
"Yusei and Erza are here too. They're gathering the others to find you." Oliver explained, making Natsu go pale. He should have known Erza would show up… though it didn't make him feel any better. Oliver took a moment to analyze the area and soon set his sights on Ryuko, who was looking back at him.
'This is the guy Natsu talked about? He looks like freaking Robin Hood!' Ryuko thought before her red bang suddenly began to glow, much to her shock. 'Well shit.'
"It seems we encountered another Champion." Senketsu rhetorically stated.
Oliver didn't say anything, though he briefly looked down to see his Bratva tattoo start to glow. 'So this is the girl Lucy mentioned. She's definitely different from Yusei and Maki.' The Green Arrow thought, though he had to keep his questions for later.
"Another annoying bug is trying to thwart my plans? Pathetic." Lyon said while wiping the blood off his cheek before he looked over to Zalty and Toby. "Go prepare the ritual. I want Deliora ready when I finally destroy it."
"If that's what you want, who am I to argue?" Zalty responded with a shrug before he began to run towards the doorway to Deliora. Toby stood up and with a groan, he tore the arrow out of his arm, snapping it in half as he ran the other way.
"Hey! Don't run away!" Natsu shouted as he ignited his feet, slowly melting the ice around it.
"Natsu, focus on Lyon." Oliver practically ordered before he drew a wire arrow, firing it towards Toby. The dog man's ears picked up the sound and quickly turned around to cut it. However, the arrow opened up and Toby was wrapped in several wires, causing him to fall to the ground.
"Oh come on!" Toby shouted as he tried hopping out of the temple, though it seemed like he was crawling more than anything.
"I'll go after the other one. Whatever you do, do NOT let Lyon out of your sights." Oliver told the Dragon Slayer before he ran after Zalty.
"I don't like people telling me what to do… but I was gonna do that anyways." Natsu muttered as he was able to free himself, glaring at Lyon.
"Give it up, shithead. There's two of us and one of you." Ryuko warned Lyon with a glare.
"WRONG!" Ryuko jumped back as three magic daggers struck the ground she was standing on. Looking up, the Kamui wearing widened her eyes as Roha jumped down from the ceiling, a magic scythe construct in his hands.
"Look out!" Senketsu warned her as Ryuko blocked the attack with her Scissor Blades, though the force from it cracked the ground underneath them.
"Oh dammit." Was all Ryuko said as the ice and ground broke, causing her and Roha to fall inside.
"RYUKO!" Natsu ran after her, only to dodge another barrage of ice eagles.
"Like your archer friend said, you should really focus on me." Lyon warned Natsu, his hand extended forward.
Natsu growled in anger as he prepared to fight Lyon…
*Crack*
However, one of the ice walls suddenly exploded, catching Natsu and Lyon's attention. Standing in the freshly made hole was none other than Gray Fullbuster, who had a look of pure determination in his eyes.
"Lyon…" Gray muttered as he glared at his fellow ice mage. He then glanced over to Natsu while walking in the open. "Leave him to me."
"Hey, no way! I saw him first! Besides, you're not healed yet!" Natsu whined childishly, though he noticed Gray wasn't joking around. "Gray? You remember he beat you before, right?"
"This won't be like last time." Gray answered in a determined tone as he fully faced Lyon. "I'm ready to end this once and for all."
"You're rather confident, aren't you?" Lyon pointed out with a smug tone.
"Look… you're right. It's my fault Ur died." Gray confessed while clenching his fist. "But you're no better." He got in a stance while glaring at Lyon. "You hurt my comrades. You almost destroyed the village and everyone in it. And now you're trying to destroy what Ur gave her life to make. It's about time we both paid for our crimes."
"Gray, what the hell are you saying?" Natsu questioned with a deep frown. This didn't sound like the Gray Fullbuster he knew. He sounded like a guy who… gave up on everything. His eyes widened as he saw Gray put his arms out, getting in a stance that made Lyon panic.
"That stance… YOU WOULDN'T!" Lyon shouted in genuine fear. "You'd use Iced Shell here of all places?!"
"Iced Shell? Isn't that the spell… son of a bitch!" Natsu finally realized what Lyon meant and needless to say, he was horrified.
"You wanna stop this, change the villagers back to normal and get the hell out of this island! Otherwise…" A magic circle appeared under Gray, causing a burst of cold wind to shoot out. "This is the end!"
"No… you're bluffing." Lyon got some of his courage back as he smirked at Gray. "You couldn't have learned that spell, let alone mastered it."
"Do I look like I'm bluffing?" To prove his point, Gray increased the output of his magic, causing Natsu and Lyon to step back.
"YOU'LL DIE!" Lyon tried countering the spell with his own magic, yet it was quickly destroyed.
"GRAY, NO!" Natsu shouted, not wanting to see his rival and reluctant friend to sacrifice himself.
"All these years, I lied to myself, thinking it wasn't my fault that Ur died." Gray started as ice began to spread out of the magic circle. "But she did! And now it's time for me to accept responsibility!"
He gave one last look at Lyon before speaking. "I AM NOT AFRAID TO DIE!"
'With Ryuko, around the same time'
*Crash*
Several rocks crashed on the bottom floor loudly, with a large dust cloud following soon after.
However, two people landed on the ground, each wielding their respective weapons while glaring at each other.
Without warning, the two rushed each other, Scissor Blades and an energy scythe clashing against one another.
"I'm glad to have finally caught up to you, Ryuko." Roha confessed in a gleeful tone. Ryuko noticed he was wearing a new white mask and his arm seemed to be fully repaired.
"Yeah? Well I didn't miss your ugly ass!" Ryuko rudely responded before she kicked Rhoa in the stomach, sending him skidding a few feet away. Launching her hand, Ryuko sent several Life Fibers towards Roha before swinging it harshly to the right. However, he seemed to have noticed as he ducked down, allowing the threads to cut through several rocks with ease. "For the love of-!"
"HAAAA!" Roha threw his scythe at Ryuko, with the magic construct spinning like a chopper blade.
"Woah!" Ryuko quickly ducked under it, causing the scythe to cut through several pillars before it broke through a wall. Roha didn't give her a chance to recover as he created twin energy tanto blades, swinging them at the tomboy.
"Come on! Let me take your power! I WANT IT!" Roha shouted in a rather sadistic tone, something that confused Ryuko.
"Roha's different from before." Senketsu pointed out as Ryuko was pushed against a pillar, the energy from Roha's weapons crackling close to her face.
"No… shit… SHERLOCK!" Ryuko shouted as she rammed her foot into Roha's stomach, her heel digging deep enough to crack the armored man's stomach. "Decapitation Mode!" Like before, Ryuko's Scissor Blades extended into their Decapitation Modes before she rushed towards Roha. "Let's go, you pervert!"
"I was hoping you'd do that!" With even more sadistic glee, Roha deactivated one of his blades and extended his left hand towards Ryuko, ready to absorb her magic and feel her body.
"DANCE MY BLADES!" Before the two could get close enough, several swords suddenly came out of the darkness, forcing Ryuko and Roha to jump back. One of the swords, however, actually cut off Roha's left index finger.
"AHHH!" Roha held his new bloody hand as he glared at where the swords came from.
"Great. Now what?" Ryuko questioned in irritation. She was about to pull a 180 on the situation, yet someone decided to butt in, which is something she always hated.
"I assume you are the one called Roha." The sound of metal clanging echoed through the room as a figure walked into the light, revealing themselves to be Erza Scarlet, clad in her Heaven's Wheel armor.
"Who the hell are you?" Ryuko asked with a glare. Erza stopped walking and noticed Ryuko, raising a brow at her attire.
"Interesting. If it isn't Erza Scarlet of Fairy Tail. Many people talk about how powerful you are, but they never talk about your beauty." Roha said out loud, despite the pain in his hand.
"Erza… that's the name of one of Natsu's allies!" Senketsu realized out loud, making Ryuko widen her eyes.
"Seriously? Huh. The way he talked about her, I thought she was a giant or some shit." Ryuko confessed, imagining someone like Gamagori with a set of armor and red hair… though the thought did make Ryuko want to hurl.
"And I assume you're one of the Champions that lives on Galuna." Erza spoke up before she turned her attention back to Roha, aiming a sword at him. "What you and your allies have done to the villagers here is unacceptable."
"Yes… to tell you the truth, I know Lyon will fail." Roha finally admitted, much to the confusion of the two women. "Honestly, the very idea of reviving a demon from the book of Zeref is idiotic at best. I only really helped him to find some new food… and play things."
"Oh you are digging an even deeper hole, you creep." Ryuko growled in anger.
"Yes, yes. I suppose it is considered frowned upon, but can you even trust the Magic Council anymore? After all… they tried to use you as a scapegoat, right Erza Scarlet? Not to mention your friend Yusei Fudo." Roha slowly walked to the left, though both women didn't take their eyes off him.
"How do you know all this?" Erza demanded sternly. "Tell me."
"I would… but I'd rather not spoil the master's plan." Roha darkly chuckled as he used a magic blade to burn the wound from losing his finger, ignoring the searing pain. "Right now, I have two extremely attractive girls to drain. That takes priority over everything else."
Erza narrowed her eyes towards Roha, disgusted by what he was implying. Not to mention the fact he KNEW Lyon wouldn't be able to kill Deliora raised a lot of questions, especially that line about his master. Despite that, she knew he had to be stopped, as well as the rest of Lyon's forces.
"I have a favor to ask you." Erza suddenly said to Ryuko, making her raise a brow.
"Yeah? What?" Ryuko asked.
"Can you help my friends in stopping the revival of Deliora? I know it isn't your business, but if it's released onto the island, so many will die." Erza explained the situation.
"And what about ugly over there?" Ryuko asked while referring to Roha.
"I will defeat him." Erza simply declared, making Ryuko widen her eyes a bit before she growled.
"Hell no! This bastard tried touching me last night! No way in hell am I letting him get his ass kicked by someone else!" Ryuko shouted in anger.
"I understand. But you know this island better than me. Besides, being a Champion means you must have powerful magic." Erza countered with a serious tone. "We can't waste time."
"If I may, I don't mind having both of you for myself." Roha confessed out loud with a flirtatious tone, making both females briefly glare at him.
"While I understand the need to take revenge, we have to think about everyone else." Erza reasoned with Ryuko. "You saved Gray from death, and I'm grateful for it. However, if Lyon and his plans succeed, then more people will die. Please. Help them."
Ryuko hated being told what to do. It was one of her flaws, especially when she had to deal with all the batshit crazy rules back in Honnouji Academy. However… she had to admit that Erza did have a point in stopping all this stupid ritual crap.
"Ryuko, you can move much faster to stop the Moon Drip ritual than anyone here. We need to do it before that monster is revived." Senketsu told his partner while looking up at her. "You know I'm right."
"I know… I know, dammit!" Scratching her hair in frustration, Ryuko sighed before she pointed her Scissor Blade at Erza. "Listen up, Red! You better not lose or else I'm kicking YOUR ass, got it?!"
Erza actually blinked in surprise by Ryuko's sudden outburst. Honestly, it kind of reminded her of Natsu in a way. She then let out a small smile as she nodded. "Very well. I'll see with the others… ummm…"
"Matoi." Ryuko once again changed Senketsu into his Shippū form, looking at Erza once again. "Ryuko Matoi."
"Erza Scarlet." Titania revealed as Ryuko gave her a simple nod before she flew upwards once again. "... I didn't expect that."
"Shame. I really did want to feel her body a bit more." Roha confessed with a disappointed tone as he watched Ryuko fly away. He then looked back at Erza, creating another magic scythe. "Still… she can't compare to the goddess that is Titania Erza."
"You won't have the privilege." Erza told him as she got into a battle stance. "Today, you fall!"
'With Oliver'
The Green Arrow was making his way through the passageway, arrow drawn as he slowly walked forward. While most would think it'd be better to simply run through, he knew better than anyone that a trap could be set, especially in such close quarters.
'Lucy said that this is the way to Deliora. But how long would it take to actually free it?' Oliver thought to himself as he continued to walk forward.
Once he was out of the path… his eyes widened in shock.
"Oh… that's not good." Standing before him in all its might was the frozen body of Deliora, with a bit of the light of the moon slowly illuminating it through whatever holes were left. While he had seen some wicked shit in his time(especially the Dominators this past year), seeing an actual demon in front of him was genuinely unsettling for the archer. "Judging from the puddle underneath, it's close to being free."
Suddenly, Oliver heard a rock being kicked behind him, forcing him to turn around and aim his arrow at…
"Woah! Friendly! Friendly!" Maki shouted with her hands raised in surrender, having come through the path she and the others had taken yesterday.
"Maki." Oliver lowered his bow, though he kept an eye on the fire soldier. "Where are the others?"
"Erza said she'd try and find Natsu in the temple while Gray went off to fight Lyon." Maki started to explain. "Yusei, Lucy, Happy and Oracle went to stop the last of the worshipers from using the Moon Drip spell, though you did take out a lot of them on the way here. Kind of brutally, if I'm being honest."
"Considering they're trying to revive THAT." Oliver pointed at Deliora. "They were lucky I didn't paralyze them." Maki couldn't exactly disagree with Oliver, though the amount of arrows used were-
*Rumble*
Suddenly, the area began to shake, much to their horror. "W-W-What's going on?!" Maki shouted in pure confusion. Then, the hole that was above Deliora suddenly began to restructure itself, allowing the full light of the moon to bounce off the frozen demon.
"Someone just rebuilt the hole." Oliver muttered with a serious tone. He had seen Damien Darhk use magic similar to this, though seeing an entire cave being rebuilt was something entirely new.
"It seems you've arrived too late." The two Champions looked up and saw Zalty float down, his crystal ball next to him. "Admittedly, I didn't expect Fairy Tail to send a muscle bound woman and a green archer after me."
"What'd you call me?!" Maki shouted with a tick mark.
"How did you repair the temple? Natsu and that girl destroyed it." Oliver questioned with a sharp tone.
"Oh that? It was a simple matter for my Arc of Time." Zalty explained with a grin, much to Oliver and Maki's surprise. "Surprised, aren't you? Well… you won't be alive long enough to tell anyone!"
And with that, Zalty sent his crystal ball towards the two Champions.
The final battle for Galuna Island has started! And the matchups are set!
Not gonna lie guys… I like how this chapter was made. From the confrontation between Yusei and Erza's ideals to Natsu tag teaming with Ryuko to even Oliver and Maki facing off against Zalty/Ultear. And believe me when I say that the next chapter will somewhat deviate from the story as it will be an even more emotional fight for Gray.
It's not that I didn't like the Galuna Island arc per say… but honestly, it isn't as interesting as it could have been. Though that could probably be because I wasn't much of a fan of Gray until the Tartaros arc. Still, we gotta get through it now before the good stuff comes in.
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Next time: Frozen Fate.