Love on Battlefield

A/N: Nothing to say, just enjoy the chapter

Make sure to comment your thoughts, I love hearing reactions to my ideas, both positive and negative.

Everyone except for Ur, Mimosa, and Noelle are shocked at Lucy's revelation, and the guildhall is silent for a moment.

Feeling awaked with everyone being silent, Lucy continues talking. "The Heartfilia family is an oddity in the Fiore kingdom's upper class because they rarely hold high political standings. The family name is always held by the woman of Heartfilia family since birth, and my mother was no different. My mother was a Celestial Spirt Wizard same as me. She was actually part of the Golden Dawn, where she made a name for herself and made Celestial Spirit magic, which is normally seen as a weak summoning magic, highly respected when wielded by her. She held almost all 12 of the Golden Gate keys, which hasn't been heard of in 500 years. If everything went okay, I would probably have joined them except-"

Lucy is about to continue but has to stifle her tears for a second. She then continues, her voice cracking throughout her explanation.

"Unfortunately, she had to retire due to an extreme illness she had. She passed over the title of Wizard King to Julius before she retired as a wizard. It was just me, Mom, Dad, and all the servants in our house when I was young. I enjoyed the stories she would tell me and she even trained me in how to use Celestial Spirt magic. But then, 7 years ago, my mom left for business at the capital, but came back with magic deficiency disease on top of her illness."

Lucy rubs here eyes of the tears that had appeared but continues talking.

"She died not long after that, but she left me with a few of my Golden Gate keys. After she died, however, my father changed. He became cold and distant, and pretty much focused on his work 24/7. At first, I was worried that he was just overworking himself and couldn't accept my mother's passing. Unfortunately, it was worse than that. I can't remember the last time that my father looked at me. I can't recall the last time that either of us had a smile on our face when we talked. Hell, I can't even think of a time that we had a conversation that wasn't about the Heartfilia family or my future as a Heartfilia. I'm pretty sure the only times that he even brought up my birthday was to plan for my arranged marriage. The last straw was when I found out who he was attempting to marry me off to: Solid Silva."

"What?!" Noelle shouts, "You were gonna marry my brother?!"

Everyone turns to Noelle with a look of confusion, making her blush as she realizes that most of the guild didn't know about her or Mimosa's lineage either.

"Oh right," Mimosa says, "Me and Noelle are of the Vermillion and Silva royal families respectively."

As everyone is left reeling by the reveal of the secret trio of young royal woman in their guild, Lucy continues.

"I talked to him once, and I knew that he was the last man on Earth that I'd ever want to be alone in a room with, let alone marry him. I finally realized that if I wanted to be free from my father's control, then I was gonna have to take control of my own destiny. I left my family home a year ago and never looked back."

Lucy laughs mirthlessly, "And you know what's the worst part? Until today, I had assumed that he didn't even notice. He never tried to contact me in anyway, and the first thing he does is try to kidnap me and hurt my friends! I'm sorry that my selfishness was the cause of all this pain. I'll just go home and let this whole thing be over with."

"I don't know about that."

Everyone turns to Natsu, who was the one that spoke. "I can't see you playing the part of a fancy princess, sitting around bored in your mansion. You belong with us, laughing in this dirty old guildhall, going out on adventures, and surrounded by people that care for you. None of us care that you're part of some royal family, you're Lucy of Fairy Tail, and we'll always be there for you. So, you're not going back to that waste who calls himself your father, you're staying with us."

Despite this being the third time that she's cried today, Lucy doesn't fail to start bawling her eyes out once again. Everyone chimes in to try and cheer her up, making Lucy feel better.

(minutes later…)

After Lucy's emotional reveal, everyone began planning a second attack on the Phantom Lord guild.

Natsu was in a corner, being unusually quiet, thinking back to the goon that he interrogated to find Lucy. 'That feeling, it was just like when I found about Lisanna,' Natsu thinks while looking at his hand. 'The only difference is I remember what happened, unlike last time.'

Natsu then thinks of Gajeel and becomes worried. 'I'm really mad at metal-face right now, but I don't want to kill him. I'm gonna have to hope I can control this anger once me and him fight, or else it won't end well.'

Natsu is brought out of his thoughts by someone doing a loud fake cough next to him. "Hey, Big Bro, it's me!" Sting exclaims, shocking Natsu.

"Sting?! What the hell are you doing here?" Natsu asks. "Me and my friend Lector came here because we heard that you had joined Fairy Tail," Sting explains, "And I figured that you would be glad to have a fellow dragon slayer with you, since you're the strongest ever!"

Natsu laughs at Sting's childish worship before he notices Lector standing next to him. "Wait, is your friend a talking cat like Happy?!" Natsu asks. Sting looks at him in confusion. "You have a talking cat too?"

"Yeah, you bet! Come over here, Happy!" Natsu calls out for his feline companion who flies over. "This is my son, Happy," Natsu introduces, "Happy, this is my surrogate little brother Sting, and he has a talking cat too!"

"No way!" Happy exclaims as he walks up to the red cat. "Do you like fish too?" Lector rubs his head, nervously. "I guess it's okay."

Happy gasps in shock. "What do you mean, okay?! Fish is the greatest thing ever made! I have lots to teach you, my furry friend!"

As Happy begins teaching Lector all about the wonders of fish, Mira slams the door open where she and Cana were trying to contact Mystogan and Laxus. "That arrogant, self-centered, asshole!" Mira shouts as they leave the room. "What happened," Yuno asks, "Did they refuse to help us?"

"Oh, Laxus didn't just refuse, he laughed in my face and said things that I don't think I should repeat since there are children in the room!" Mirajane rants. "Why is he even part of this guild if he hates it so much?" Yuno asks. "Maybe he just likes lording himself over the rest of us too much to leave," Cana says.

THOOM

At that moment, the entire guildhall shakes, leaving everyone confused. Everyone heads outside, only to see an unbelievable sight.

The Phantom Lord guildhall, now sporting giant mechanical legs walking toward them from the cliffside overlooking a large lake. As the moving guildhall nears, it stops before a giant cannon emerges from its walls. The cannon makes a loud sound as it begins charging up, a dark magical orb appearing in its muzzle.

Erza reacts immediately rushing in front of everyone and requipping into her Adamantine Armor, which has two big shields on her arms. "Everyone, get out of the way, I'll stop the attack!"

"There's no way that you can stop a blast of that size and power alone," Noelle shouts, "Even my Sea Dragon's Lair wouldn't hold up against it!" That's when another figure also runs up next to Erza, further shocking everyone.

"Asta!" Yuno cries out in worry for his brother, "What are you doing?!"

Asta already has his demonic arm out, as well as wielding both of his swords. "I'm gonna help Erza block the attack!" Asta responds. "I should be able to cancel out of most the attack with my Anti-Magic!"

Before anyone can discourage them, the Jupiter Cannon fires, a giant laser heading towards the guildhall. Erza focuses her magic into her shields, summoning a large magic wall to block the attack. Asta summons his spectral Buster arm and positions it in front of him.

The laser connects with the two of them, a bright light flashing from the clash. Asta and Erza struggle to keep their footing from the cannon's force. Erza's shields and armor start cracking, and Asta struggles to keep his Anti-Magic arm manifested against such a large quantity of magic.

Eventually, the two sword users can no longer handle the pressure, and with one final pulse, the magic laser peters out, but not before it launches Asta and Erza backwards, Erza's defensive armor having been completely destroyed, leaving her in her civilian clothing.

Natsu rushes their two saviors, who are heavily injured from the laser. As he checks if they're okay, Jose's voice comes out of the walking fortress.

"Makarov has fallen and Erza can no longer stand," Jose says, "Any chance you had to win has slipped through your fingers. Surrender Ms. Heartfilia or be destroyed."

Cries of refusal emerge from the Fairy Tail members, refusing to surrender to his demands.

"What kind of guild abandons their members!"

"We're staying right here, so do your worst!"

"You mess with one of us, you mess with all of us!"

Lucy looks at the remains of the Jupiter Cannon's attack, once again thinking that she should give herself up.

"We would never betray her like that!" Erza shouts, "You'd have to kill us first!"

"That's right!" Asta yells at the top of his lungs, "I haven't been in Fairy Tail long, but I would rather die than let you take a friend of mine!"

"You can quit asking!" Natsu finishes, "The answer won't change no matter how many times you ask!"

Everyone lets out various shouts of agreement, causing Lucy to cry again (she must have very large tear ducts to cry so much in rapid succession).

Unfortunately, their cries do little to discourage Jose. Instead, he escalates, charging the Jupiter cannon once more. "Fine, then!" Jose shouts in fury, "You can all face oblivion together in the next 15 minutes!"

As the cannon starts charging, Erza and Asta try to get up only to finally pass out from their injuries. Mimosa rushes to them and begins to heal them, but everyone knows that they're not getting up in time to block another attack.

To make things worse, shades wearing Phantom Lord cloaks fly out, all made by Jose's Shade Magic. As Natsu and Happy fly into the cannon, Gray, Yuno, Noelle, and Elfman go in as well to infiltrate the headquarters.

Mirajane and Ur pull Lucy aside as the rest of the guildhall begins to engage the shade soldiers. "We have a hideout that you can stay in until all of this blows over," Mira says as she drags Lucy by the arm.

Lucy shakes of Mira's grip, refusing to go with her. "No!" Lucy responds, "It's my fault that we're in this mess, so I'm going to stay and fight too! I'm not just going to abandon my friends while they're out there fighting for me!"

Ur puts her hand on Lucy's shoulder and gives her a sad smile. "I knew Layla very well before she died," Ur says, "and if she was in your situation, I'm sure she would have the exact same reaction as you are right now. If Layla could see you know, I know for a fact that she would be proud of the woman you've become. However…"

As Lucy is distracted by Ur's kind words, she doesn't notice that Ur is about punch her in the gut until she is passed out. "Your mother also wouldn't want you to die here, so I'll watch over you in her stead."

Unbeknownst to the two women, Sting, Lector, and Romeo had been watching them. "Hey guys, I just had a great idea," Sting says with a smile on his face. "Was it go and help protect Lucy because your shadowy friend will probably sent to get her?" Romeo asks.

Sting's forehead gets a tick mark at Romeo guessing his plan. "Stop taking all my ideas, I'm the leader of this group!"

"Since when are you the one in charge?" Rome argues. "Since I'm the one who was raised by a dragon," Sting says as if that explains everything.

(Fifteen minutes later…)

Natsu succeeds in blowing up the Jupiter Cannon, but then to everyone's horror, the guildhall then turns into a giant mech and begins drawing a magic circle in the air. The invading Fairy Tail wizards split up to try and stop Phantom's new destructive weapon.

Yuno and Elfman had run off together until Yuno suddenly stops. "Hold on, Elfman," he says. "I just felt a strong source of mana nearby."

That's when the ground in front of them morphs into the form of the Frenchman, Sol. "Salut, my dear friends, you shall meet ze end here and now."

(A/N: The French Accent will now stop)

Elfman rips off his jacket as he and Yuno prepare to fight the Earth wizard. "Hey, weirdo, how the hell do you stop this thing?" Elfman asks, the Earth wizard wiggling in response. "Why, you must simply defeat us Element 4 members, but I don't see that happening anytime soon."

"You wanna bet? Beast Arm: Black Bull!" Elfman uses his magic to turn his arm into one bigger and bulkier. Sol just laughs at him, however, and doesn't find him intimidating at all. "Oh ho, I see that you must be one of the Strauss siblings," he mocks, "You had a little sister, didn't you?"

Elfman charges in frustration at Sol, slamming his fist into the ground. Sol dodges it before surrounding them in a stream of sand. "Sable Dance!" Elfman and Yuno are blinded by the sand, but thankfully Yuno counteracts the miniature sandstorm with a gust of wind. "Don't forget you're fighting two of us."

However, Sol had disappeared, becoming one with the floor once more. "Oh my, a wind mage, you must be new because I've never heard of you," Sol's voice taunts from underneath them, "Young upstarts like you must sometimes be brought down to earth. Roche Concerto!"

The ground underneath them suddenly erupts, rocks pelting them as they fly into the air. Yuno manages to use his wind to softly land them on the ground. Sol takes that moment to emerge from the ground, this time using his soft, earthy body to wrap himself around Elfman like a water hose.

Yuno watches as he's unable to attack Sol without hurting Elfman, who tries to pull Sol off before the earth wizard kicks him in the head. "Swift White Hawk!" Yuno summons his wind eagle to attack Sol, who dodges it by diving back in the ground.

'I can't just launch my attacks at him, or else he'll just keep dodging.' Yuno thinks as he actives another spell. "Wind Creation Magic: Zephyr Blade!" Yuno uses his heightened mana sense to form the air around him into a physical form, a gray broadsword appearing in his hands.

Yuno then stabs his sword into the ground. "Oh, are you giving up," Sol's voice echoes throughout the hall. "I thought that sword would be more impressive?" Yuno just smiles before the ground starts rumbling.

"W-what is happening? What did you do?" Sol screams. "Simple, my sword is made by drawing in the air around me to make it. By stabbing it into the ground, I'm sending my wind throughout the floor, which lets me…" Sol then explodes out of the ground in a giant tornado of wind, groaning once he hits the ground. "Do that." Yuno finishes.

"Good job, Yuno! I'll finish this guy off!" Elfman says, cheering on his friend before he charges at the recovering Earth mage. "Beast Arm: Iron Bull!" Elfman's fist is about to connect with Sol, until a figure appears in front of him, causing him to stop in his tracks.

"Elfman, what are you doing?! Attack him, that person isn't real!" Yuno cries, but Elfman doesn't respond. Elfman looks at the figure, which is a young woman with white hair like his. "L-lisanna?"

Yuno gasps as he realizes that he's looking at the visage of Elfman's and Mira's younger sister. "That's Lisanna, but I thought she was-" "Dead?" Sol finishes. "Yes, this is simply a form I created by scanning this dumb brute's memories. The earth remembers everything, and so do I remember the memories of those who step on me while I'm one with the earth. Would you like to revisit your past as well?"

Sol then forms another person out of the floor beneath them in front of Yuno. The wind mage's eyes widen when he sees who it is. "You… it can't be!" In front of Yuno is a woman with black hair in a nun's outfit. "Yuno, it's been so long."

"Sister Lily?" Yuno says in astonishment. More figures appear around them, some being copies of Lisanna, the others people knew from his village in the orphanage, such as Father Orsi and the other orphans he grew up with. The rock copies then begin talking to them, reminding them of their past.

"Big Brother, why?"

"Yuno, this isn't you?"

"Why did you hurt me?"

"Stop trying to be someone different."

"It's all your fault big brother Elf."

"Stop trying to be Asta."

"You killed me."

"He's better than you, Yuno."

"Hahaha," Sol laughs cruelly at their breakdowns under their false loved one's words. "You two are nothing more than posers, putting on an image of inflated ego because you think that will hide your pain. When in reality, you are nothing more than a monster who murdered his sister, and a coward who did not try to help his brother. Now for my most powerful spell, Sonate Platree!"

Sol summons a giant fist made of rock, launching the two into a wall and causing a large explosion. As the two of them recover, they hear a voice calling their names. "Elfman, Yuno, No!" The two of them look over and are shocked by the sight they see.

"Mirajane, what the hell are you doing out here?!" Yuno cries. "Oh, Mademoiselle Mirajane tried to fool our master, so she is currently being punished by our master, but soon she'll be crushed. But before she does, she shall witness you two be turned to stone."

A tremendous pressure slams down on Yuno and Elfman, who put their hands to their head as they start screaming in pain. "This spell allows me to seal my opponents into the earth, where they shall relive their pain over and over again!"

The last thing Yuno thinks before he's sucked into his consciousness, is Mirajane's cries of pain, and the pain she must be feeling.

Yuno wakes up surrounded by fog, confused by what's happening until he hears a boy crying. He turns to the voice, only to see a younger version of himself on the ground. "This is…"

"Hey, Yuno!" Another young voice calls out, this one coming from a young Asta, who helps Yuno up. "Geez, you're such a crybaby. Don't worry, I'll always be there for you." Older Yuno just watches in confusion. "I remember this day, it was when…"

His surroundings then fade to a cold winter night, where a young Yuno is running through the city. "I should hurry home, or else I'll freeze in this weather."

"No, don't go that way!" Yuno tries to warn to his younger self as he runs into a large man that's clearly drunk. The young man kicks Yuno in the chest before yanking away his necklace. "I bet I can make a bunch of money off of this."

"Give it ba-" The younger Yuno says before he gets kicked in the stomach again, this time throwing up due to the pain. Yuno begs with tears in his eyes, but the drunkard doesn't relent. Yuno's past self tries to summon a miniature tornado in his hands to threaten his attacker. The attacker laughs in his face. "Go ahead, but if you attack me with that spell, then you're dead."

"Don't listen to him, you can beat him! He's just bigger than you!" Yuno cries, "Stop being a coward and just do it!" Unfortunately, the child is afraid of the much larger man and deactivates his magic. As the drunkard prepares to swing at the crying child, a voice calls out in the darkness.

"Yuno!" Asta cries as he charges the older man, who just kicks him off his leg. "That belongs to Yuno!" Present-day Yuno looks away as Asta keeps charging at the older man, only to be beaten back every time.

SMACK

"Give it back!"

SMACK

"I'm not done with you!"

SMACK

"Still not done!"

SMACK

"I'm not done yet!"

SMACK

"Help him you coward!" Yuno cries to his younger self that just watches, unable to believe what he's seeing. "I get that he's amazing, I understand that you want to be just like him, but you can't stand there and do nothing!"

Yuno is suddenly surrounded by a green aura, destroying the illusion around him. "Stop just watching him get himself killed and crying about it! This is why we made our promise! So that no one would ever have to cry like this again!"

The illusion then explodes in a blinding flash of green, freeing himself from the illusion.

Yuno wakes up from his dream around the same time as Elfman, the both of them covered in rock from head to toe, leaving only their faces exposed. The first thing both young men see is what sets them off.

"Yuno! Elfman!" Mira cries, tears streaming down her face. The two Fairy Tail mages take notice of her tears, Sol in the background celebrating his victory, unaware of the turnabout happening behind him.

"She's crying."

Suddenly two bursts of mana shout out of Yuno and Elfman, ripping the rocks off of them in a big explosion.

"I promised to never let anyone else cry…"

"I promised that my Big Siter would never cry again…"

"So who the hell dares to make you cry!"

"Full-Body Takeover: Beast Soul!" Elfman's whole body begins to morph while Yuno summons Bell from his grimoire. Sol can only watch in awe as the two power up in front of him. "This cannot be! No one has ever managed to escape my sealing spell!"

"There's a first time for everything, so how about we break new ground?" Yuno says as Elfman fully turns into a gigantic beast before proceeding to punch Sol away. However, as the Frenchman flies away, he's hit by a huge blast of wind, bringing him back in to get pummeled even more.

'This is impossible!' Sol thinks while being sandwiched between Elfman's giant fists and the hurricane strength winds , 'This young man is able to control mana! How did I lose to these weaklings!'

"Wind Spirit Magic: Sylph's Breath!" Yuno cries, drawing in the surrounding mana to increase his spells power. Sol cries out in pain, having passed out once the two's combined onslaught ends.

"I'm glad you snapped out of it, Yuno," Bell says, rubbing up on Yuno's face. "Well, I'm glad that you were there to help me at the end, or else that move wouldn't have worked. I need to be able to do Mana Zone on my own, that's the next step on my path to be the Wizard King."

Mira watches her brother warily from her place in between the robotic fingers. 'Is Elfman okay? Is he still there?' Elfman jumps out onto the arm that's holding Mira, making her scared until he simply opens the arms to free her.

Yuno uses his wind to keep Mirajane from falling out of the air and floats the two of them back inside. "I'm sorry, sis," Elfman says once he's fully human again, "I bet that you didn't want to ever see that form again after what happened to Lisanna."

Mira shakes her head and gives Elfman a hug. "You don't need to worry about it, Elfman. You tried to get stronger after what happened, while I just stewed in my self-doubt. I'm so proud of you for finally taking control of your full beast form."

Elfman's face explodes into tears (when asked he would say they were manly tears), and Mira does the same, the two siblings feeling a weight lifted after so long. Yuno focuses on Mira's face a feeling of discomfort appearing in his chest.

'I don't know why, but I really don't like that expression on Mirajane,' Yuno thinks. However, before he can dwell on that feeling he just moves on. 'I guess that's just my desire to become the Wizard King growing stronger.'

Elsewhere in the walking fortress, Gray helps pull up Noelle to get on top of it. "And why are we climbing up out the window?" Noelle asks in a frustrated tone. Gray rolls his eyes at Noelle's haughty attitude. "You know, that rich girl persona isn't gonna help us here. Why did you come here anyway? Wouldn't you have been better to help protect the guildhall with your barrier spell?"

"Well, I can't just sit around and do nothing!" Noelle shouts at him. "The rest of Black Clover has been getting stronger, even Mimosa with her God Slayer powers! I need to do this to prove to myself that I'm worth something!"

Their argument is interrupted by the sky suddenly turning gray, rain immediately accompanying it. "What the… it just rained when the clouds were completely clear a few minutes ago?" Noelle asks in confusion.

The two are then alerted by nearby steps, revealing the cause of the rain. "I am Juvia, the rain-woman of the Element 4." Noelle gasps at her declaration. 'She's a member of the Element 4? Her magic is so powerful she can manipulate the weather with no problem!'

"Two of the Element 4 have already fallen, but I will not fall as easily as them," Juvia says in her emotionless tone. Gray doesn't flinch under the pressure however and responds accordingly. "I don't care if you're a woman, child, or an old crone, if you try to hurt my friends, I'll beat you down regardless."

…

There's nothing but the sound of the rain dropping as the two sides standoff, until Juvia blushes faintly before turning on a dime. "I see. Very well, you win."

…

"WHAAAAT?!"

While the two Fairy Tail mages are shocked by the rain woman's sudden surrender, Juvia gets lost in her own head. 'What is this feeling in my heart? It's beating so fast?'

"Hey, what up!" Gray yells as he runs after her, "How the hell do you stop this giant thing?" Once his hand grabs her shoulder Juvia immediately turns around and surrounds him in a sphere of water. 'Oh, I must make him mine!' Juvia cries in her head, 'I can't let this chance slip away from me!'

"Get away from him!" Noelle shouts as she lifts her wand, firing a blast of water at Juvia. To her shock, Juvia doesn't even react, her body just absorbing the water. "How the hell did she do that?"

Juvia then realizes that Gray is still in an orb of water and can't breathe. "Oh dear! What do I do now? I should probably release him before he drowns!" While Noelle is confused by the rain woman's words, Gray freezes the water around him before smashing himself out of the ice ball.

Juvia is mesmerized by Gray's display of power. 'Ice magic? I've never seen such a beautiful sight before, and he made it out of my water! We must be destined to be together!' Juvia then sinks into delusions of her and Gray cuddling.

To make things even more confusing, Gray then takes his shirt off, making Juvia swoon even more. 'Oh my! We just met and he's moving so fast! Maybe we should slow down!' Juvia's thoughts sink into depravity after seeing his athletic build.

Noelle, meanwhile, watches Juvia freak out in fascination. 'The way she's acting, I swear it seems so familiar.' Noelle searches her memories for a moment before realizing the connection. 'Oh my god! It's the same way that Mimosa acts around Asta! That means… she's in love with Gray?!'

Completely oblivious to both girls thought processes, Gray gets in his signature stance before shooting out his attack. "Ice-Make: Lance!" A group of lances appear out of his palms before flying at Juvia, who again doesn't bother to dodge the attack, simply letting the attacks phase through her water body.

"Juvia's body is made entirely of water," Juvia says, once again in a monotonous tone, "Physical attacks do not hurt me, and inferior water magic such as yours will have no effect on me."

Noelle becomes fearful at Juvia's explanation. 'How the hell am I supposed to be of help here then? If I'm going to hit her I need to put even more power into my attacks, but if I do, I might mess up like back when I met Asta?'

"Leave me and my prince's battle alone, you harlot. Water Slicer!" Noelle barely gets out of her own head in time to barely dodge the slices of water coming at her, which then proceed to slice off a metal chunk of the building. "Water can cut even steel when it is given the proper amount of force."

"Ice-Make: Battle Axe!" Gray shouts as he swings his axe horizontally through her body, but it simply reforms. "Damn it! How do we beat her with our magic!"

"Simply hand over Lucy Heartfilia," Juvia says, "If you do that, I'm sure I can manage to convince our master to call of his attack."

"Don't give us that crap," Gray responds, "You guys are the ones trying to kidnap an innocent woman and bring her somewhere she doesn't want to be."

Noelle nods her head in agreement. "That's right. I came to Fairy Tail to get away from my family too, and they're just as bad if not worse than Lucy's. So, there's no way that I'll make her return to that hell."

"Lucy's one of us. I'd rather give my life than surrender her to you." Gray finishes.

Juvia's daydreams shatter upon hearing Gray's words. 'He'd give his life… his life… life," Her thoughts echo, "Lucy's my rival, Lucy's my rival, Lucy's my rival!'

Juvia wails in heartbreak, her dreams dashed at the discovery that Gray 'loved' Lucy. "Oh the pain! Fate is so cruel!" Steam then erupts off of her, her emotions making the water in her body steam up. "Lucy Heartfilia must pay! She is not allowed to live after what she has taken from me!"

"Huh?" Gray responds in confusion. Noelle's jaw drops at Gray's obliviousness. 'How stupid is he to not realize what her feelings mean?'

Juvia shoots out a blast of steaming hot water, pushing Gray back as he winces in pain. "This water, it's boiling hot!" Juvia then turns her entire body into a stream of water that flies at the Ice-Make wizard. "Shera!" Gray tries to form an Ice construct, but is forced to dodge her attack before he can finish. "She's so fast! I don't know if my magic can keep up!"

Noelle tries to summon her barrier, but is also stopped by Juvia's jet stream attack, sending her sliding across the ground. Gray reacts immediately, forming a hand of ice to catch her before using it slam through a window on the floor that leads back into the hallway and proceeding to jump in with her.

"Fighting her up there is madness!" Noelle screams as the two run down the hallway, "We need to figure out a plan to deal with her steaming water!"

"I think I have something that can give us a leg up, if necessary," Gray says as he looks at his right arm, "But it would be great if you could also help on the offense front. You're a royal, so just put some more power into your spells, and we should be fine!"

"It's not as simple as that!" Noelle snaps before a stream of water shoots through the ceiling. Gray manages to form a shield before the water hits them this time, but it starts to melt from the hot water.

Before it dissipates entirely however, Noelle summons her Sea Dragon's Lair to protect them. "Her water may be able to melt ice, but can it evaporate my water?" As Noelle smiles confidently, she then notices something that she can't believe. "How is that even possible?!"

Juvia's watery face seeps through her shield, passing through it like a knife through butter. "Like I said, such paltry water magic has no effect on me! Now get away from my darling before I take even more drastic options!"

Noelle's shield is then broken in an explosion of water before shooting them back outside. "Well if her entire body is just water, then I can do this!" Gray shouts as he punches his hand into the water before activating his magic. The jet stream stops as Juvia's entire body becomes ice, though Gray's hand is stuck inside.

"Now that's how a real Fairy Tail wizard solves things. Hey, Noelle-" Gray's words are cut off by Noelle's flustered expression. "What's the matter, are my pants off too now?" He looks down to check, but they're still attached. He then looks back up to see Noelle pointing in his direction before turning back and realizing the issue.

His hand that was still in the ice was grasping one of Juvia's rather large breasts, a blush on her face from being groped by her new crush. Gray immediately undoes the spell, letting Juvia drop to the ground harmlessly. "I'm really sorry about that, I didn't realize that would happen! Let's just start over, you seem like a nice girl."

Juvia's heart is once again reignited by Gray's act of kindness. "Juvia cannot harm you," she says, making Gray confused. "Do you mean that you can't win?" he asks.

"Juvia is stronger than Lucy and that girl next to you," Juvia says, (Noelle squawking indignantly in the background), "Juvia can protect you." Gray just looks at her with a bewildered look on his face. "Why would I need you to protect me? I'm plenty strong already."

"Um, well, what Juvia means is," Juvia stammers, leaving Gray to stew in his confusion. Noelle cannot believe the level of stupidity on display by her ally and how familiar Juvia is becoming to her. 'Now she doesn't just remind me of Mimosa, she reminds me of myself!'

While Juvia fails to convey her feelings, Gray realizes that the rain is coming down harder. "Man, the rain is just coming down harder all of a sudden. It's so freaking gloomy."

Gloomy…

gloomy…

gloomy…

Juvia once again erupts into steam, her anger coming back twice as hard. "I thought you were different, but you're the same as all the rest!"

"What is up with guys and being so stupid around girls?!" Noelle complains. "Who the hell are you talking about?" Gray asks in response, making Noelle flustered. "Oh, um, well, no one in particular!"

While the two bicker, they are then hit by another stream of water, this one even hotter than before. Gray tries to freeze it, but finds himself unable to do so in her current state.

"Juvia needs no one's love!" Juvia cries as Gray and Noelle are dragged within herself before spitting them out on the ground. "Juvia does not need compassion! Love is worthless to one of the Element 4!"

"You're wrong!" Noelle cries, "Compassion is not worthless! Compassion is what gives us strength, and what gives us something to live for! A life without love…" Noelle then remembers her childhood of abuse and harassment by her older siblings. "Isn't a life worth living!"

Noelle's heartfelt realization causes her grimoire to glow, a new spell appearing in it. Noelle raises her hand as Juvia heads straight for them her magic power growing in her wand.

"Water Creation Magic: Sea Dragon's Roar!"

Out of Noelle's wand spawns a giant dragon made of water, that collides with Juvia's attack head on, stopping her in her tracks. "What! This girl was nowhere near this strong a minute ago!" Juvia shouts in shock.

While the two water users are locked in battle, Gray looks at the situation before realizing what he can do. "Noelle, let me help you and I think that we can beat her right now!"

"That would be a great help because I'm almost out of magic power!" Noelle responds, her hands shaking from holding so much force in her hands. Gray puts his hands on top of hers, activating his Demon Slayer magic and coating the dragon in pink ice.

"Unison Raid: Demon and Dragon's Roaring Geyser!"

Their combined magic power is so much that even the rain around them gets frozen solid. As the dragon turns into ice completely, the same happens to Juvia, turning her entire body into ice before it all shatters around her.

'This cannot be. I lost' Juvia thinks despondently as she falls to the ground, her body limp as she admits defeat. 'Now I will fall to the ground and splatter like a raindrop. What a fitting end for a rain woman.'

'Goodbye, gloomy Juvia.'

But just as she accepts her doomed fate, two hands reach out and catch her before she can fall too low. Juvia looks at her savior in absolute confusion, not able to believe her eyes at the sight of Noelle and Gray holding her arms and saving her from death.

"We're not going to let you die!" Gray says as the two of them pull Juvia back up before they all fall over in exhaustion.

"Why did you save me?" Juvia asks. "Well," Noelle says, "You reminded me a lot of myself not too long ago. I thought you deserved a chance to live a better life."

Gray just smiles as he sits up. "Well, I don't need a reason to save someone's life. If anything, you only gave us reasons to save you. Now get some rest."

Just when Juvia started to believe things couldn't be any more unbelievable, the rain ceases, the clouds above them part, and the clear sky above them reveals itself to her for the first time in her life.

"The blue sky," Juvia says breathlessly, the air from her lungs taken at the sky's beauty, "It's so beautiful. I feel that it's so pure it's even clearing my heart."

"Well, the sky is fair, and it will always be over everyone's head, no different," Gray says. He then turns back to her, the sun illuminating his face before he utters the final words that cement his place in her heart forever.

"Wanna go at it?"

Juvia's heart can't handle all the emotions she has felt in such a short time, it shooting out of both her heart and mouth before she passes out, her eyes turning into cartoon hearts.

"Ah, what happened! Juvia are you okay?!" Gray freaks out, worrying that her wounds were more serious than he thought. Noelle simply shakes her head in disbelief before passing out herself from using too much magic.

'The one that taught me about compassion,' Noelle thinks just as she starts to lose consciousness, 'Asta… I hope that you're doing okay. I know that you won't just sit back and let us fight on our own but be careful.'

Back in the guildhall, Mimosa is tired and laying down on a bed. "I used all the magic I had to heal you two," she pant, "So please, help the others."

A gloved hand pats her on the head making her blush. "You don't have anything to worry about" Asta says, he and Erza fully healed and ready for battle, "We'll make sure that everyone gets out of this okay."

So much romance two chapters in a row? Don't worry, it ain't stopping next chapter either.

So we finally get the full backstory of Lucy's life before the guild. Man, her dad sure was the worst wasn't he. Well, we know how that ends and I can't wait to write that scene.

Of the two fights this chapter, let's discuss the Yuno and Elfman Vs Sol (the Frenchman, not the lesbian). We got to see even more new power from Yuno with his 'Zephyr Blade,' a precursor to his later attack in Spirit Dive.

We also got to see Yuno' flashback of the incident that sparked the promise between him and Asta. I'm glad that I can show a more vulnerable side of Yuno by having him around more. I love righting him like an action movie hero, giving cool one liners when he wins fights. I also am excited to right more of Yuno with 'Harem protagonist syndrome,' where there will be several girls crushing hard on him but he won't have any idea until someone points it out to him.

I wonder who you guys think will be in a relationship first in this series, besides Natsu and Lisanna, who's currently 'dead'. There are still plenty of ships lift to sail.

We also got to the iconic battle of love between Noelle and Gray and Juvia. I'll say this upfront. I love delusional Juvia, and while it will still be a while until they actually go out, it will be happening sooner in this story than in canon where Gray realizes his feelings for her. I think their relationship spends a bit too long as just a joke, but I do find the jokes funny.

Next chapter should be the end of the battles this arc has, but it might become two parts if I feel it necessary for what's coming soon. I'm super excited to show you guys, so just stay tuned for the epic conclusion to

Next Time: "Dragons Clash, an Angel Shines"