Chapter 96

The Flames Secret

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

"Magic"

Flashback

Location / Date / Time Skip

The three sat down on a frozen log as Flare hung her head. "When I was little, I was found by the giants of the village." She explained. "But… I didn't like being the only one different. So I left the village fir the first time. Until that moment, I had never meet someone the same size as me, it actually scared me."

"And that's why you joined Raven Tail?" Lucy asked.

"I didn't know how to make money, so I entered Raven Tail without knowing anything." The redhead replied. "That guild hated Fairy Tail, but I thought that was normal."

"It's okay, you didn't know." Wendy reassured.

"I'm sorry for everything." Flare said.

"So after the Games, you decided to come back to your hometown and found it like this?" Lucy asked before noticing the tears in Flare's eyes. "It's okay. Everyone here is still alive."

"You're right." She nodded, wiping the tears from her face. "Maybe the Eternal Flame will be able to melt the ice. Come on, I'll show you where it is!"

Carla panted in exhaustion as Happy lowered his head. "I don't think it saw us." He said.

"What the hell is that thing?" Rose asked in a panic.

"I have no idea." Carla replied, looking up at the circling monster. "But we can't fly with that thing in the sky."

"So we just wait?" Happy asked, earning a reluctant nod.

Natsu and Laki raced through the forest, trying to find the voice Natsu was hearing. "That voice… who is it!?" He mumbled.

"I'm more concerned about getting back to normal." Laki said.

With Erza

Erza blocked an explosion from Minerva, only for a second one to blast her back. "This is exquisite." She chuckled. "You truly are a child before me." Another explosion forced Erza forward before Minerva kicked her in the face. "This is revenge for the humiliation in the Grand Magic Games."

A punk hit Erza in the stomach and sent her rolling along the cold ground. 'I can't fight back in this shape. Do I need to defeat the caster to make this spell to fade?'

With Gray

"Natsu! Laki! Where are you!?" Gray shouted as he walked through the village. He looked down and saw Doriate walking beside him on a lower street. "Hey, you! Are you a friend of those thieves?"

The larger man turned and showed off his canines, scaring him back a few steps. "How annoying. Why do you have to show up one at a time?"

"Who the hell are you? And what's with that mouth?" Gray treidivly asked.

Doriate smile a bit before bursting into laughter. "It's because I'm gonna eat you!" In a puff of smoke, Gray suddenly shrank into a kid form.

"What the hell!?" He looked at his body in a panic before watching Doriate climbing up to him. His eyes played tricks and the giant turned into Deliora.

Screaming in horror, he actually took Doriate off guard as he pulled his fist back. "Looks like it happened again. Sometimes people remember repressed horror they experienced as kids. The best thing to do now is put you out of your misery." Doriate reached up and grabbed Gray's head before he started squeezing.

"I'll tell you one thing before killing you. In this world, there is a place you must never step into. The other side of the Gate to Hades. And right now, you're at the entrance." He laughed in Gray's face before ice suddenly crept onto his arm, forcing him to let go. "What the-?"

"Too many nostalgic things around here." Gray said. "How pathetic of me to just lose control like that. Did you do this to the village?"

"And if I say yes?" Doriate asked.

"Then the magic you're using is messed up." He declared, fists clenched at the larger man. "Let me show you how to really use Ice Magic."

"Don't you get it?" The large man teased back. "The Law of Retrogression doesn't give you back your youth. It lowers your magic power and then adjusts your body to match. You're nothing more than a rabbit about to be caught. So relax and-" A crackling caught his attention and he looked down, finding clear blue ice instead of purple. "The hell?"

"You stepped back, right?" Gray mockingly asked. "I created that step for you. But now, I don't need it." He stepped on the ice and the sheet cracked, sending Doriate tumbling down the cliff. "I might physically be child, but I'm still me." Gray pointed at his head and chuckled.

"If anything, my brain is firing faster than ever. Molding magic is all about creativity. Thanks to you, I'm back to being a kid."

"You little brat!" Doriate started climbing back up before jumping off, landing on the ground. "Where the hell are you hiding?"

"Got you again." Gray chuckled. "That's just a clear layer I made."

Doriate looked down and found himself standing over Gray before the ice broke. He crashed onto a frozen bush and the leafs stab into him, making him cry in pain. "You're pissing me off!" He growled in anger.

"Ice-Make: Hammer!" A small hammer dropped onto the giants head. "…Oh well. Ice-Make: Snow Cone!" A slushie of ice dropped down the larger man's shirt, making him shudder. "Looks like I was right. A real ice wizard would feel that. So you weren't the one who froze the village. You're not that tough. That's why you make your enemies kids. It's the only way you have a chance against them."

Doriate said nothing, only growling in anger as his skin started changing.

With Erza

Minerva stood over the fallen child, the redhead's sword in her hand. "Beg for your life." She demanded, the blade at Erza's neck. Ask me for mercy, and I might just let you live."

Erza opened her eyes and stared at the dark wizard. "Don't lose your pride as a wizard." She declared, shocking Minerva. "Your magic exists to protect your friends and loved ones. It's not too late, you can still get out of the darkness."

"H-how dare you lecture me!?" She shouted back, pulling the sword away. "You wasted your chance, now die!"

She swung the blade as a mist swathed over Erza, her body returned to its normal state. Wasting no time, she moved out of the way and kicked Minerva in the face. A reverse enziguri hit her again and forced Minerva back. "How could Doriate lose!?" Minerva asked in shock.

"Then again, I'll find it much more satisfying when I beat you this way." 'I know how to beat her Nakagami Armor. I can win.' "But don't you think you should cover up first?"

Erza looked down and pulled her shirt down as hard as she could before a smirk covered her face. "So should you?" Minerva looked down and found her skirt was missing, now in Erza's hand. "I'll admit it was an accident."

With Gray

Gray stared at his normal body for a second before Doriate let out a deafening roar. He charged Gray and swung his fist, sending Gray crashing into a frozen tree. "What the hell? Is it like Satan Soul?" He asked before his eyes went wide. "No way."

Doriate had bulked up even more, his size becoming larger and his muscle mass gaining growing, especially in his arms. His skin changes color, becoming darker, and his now loose hair grew into a mane, with two light streaks extending some inches up from the sides of his forehead. His eyes were blank, his canines even larger and his ears gained needle-like protrusions. The legs were now reminiscent of a bird's, complete with five large talons. His clothing exploded off of him, leaving only his pants intact.

"This guy… he's a real demon." Gray mumbled as he stepped back in fear. "Just what the hell is he?"

The monster slammed its fist forward, sending Gray flying backwards through a few trees. "Damn, he's strong. And fast for his size, too."

Doriate opened his maw and unleashed a deafening roar that echoed through the woods. Gray instantly returned to his child form, much to his annoyance. "This again!?"

With Natsu and Laki

The two tripped and crashed into each other, Laki on top of Natsu's back. "What the heck?"

"We're back to normal now?" Natsu asked. Seconds later, they shrank again. "Are we freaking yo-yos now?"

With Erza

Glaring in annoyance, Erza could only look at her shrunken body. "It seems Doriate is still alive and kicking." Minerva declared. Erza looked up and tilted her head, causing Minerva to look down. "Why was I effected!? Has he gone completely mental!?"

With Lucy's Group

"What the heck happened?" Lucy asked as she held her clothes up.

"We're so tiny." Flare said.

"Is this because of someone's magic?" Wendy asked, her skirt haven fallen to the ground.

"You're really cute as kid, blondie." Flare chuckled.

"Thanks, you too." Lucy replied.

"Is this really the time for that?" Wendy asked.

With Gray

A trio of cries caught his attention before he looked to see the Exceeds fall from the sky. "Why can't we fly anymore?" Happy asked.

"More importantly, what happen to you, tomcat!?" Carla asked in surprise..

"Gray, you're a kid too?" Rose asked.

"Did he use his magic and affect the whole village?" Gray asked. The cats looked over to Doriate and screamed in horror before running behind him. "I gotta stop him before he kills everyone in the village!" Gray fired a shotgun blast of ice at his foe, only for the monster to just walk through it. "Not even a flinch."

Doirate jumped into the air and kicked Gray in the face, sending him flying back. "What the hell? That was a single hit." His eyes went wide as he remember Doriate explaining his magic. 'If he hits me again,…' Doriate rocked back and forth before launching himself forward. 'I'm screwed!'

"GRAY!" The Exceeds launched themselves at him and picked him up by the arms and head, pulling him away from the crushing fist.

"Thanks guys." He said.

"There's three of us, but this is as high we can go." Rose said.

Gray looked back and found the fist had stopped just inches of the purple ice. 'That's it! Whatever this ice is, it had magic properties that can actually hurt this thing. If I can hit him with the power of this stuff, I can beat him!'

The cat's magic gave out and they bounced along the ground as Gray pushed himself up. Doirate roared and charged the trio and Gray leaned back, his rear hand touching the ice. "I'm lending you my body for a spell! Channel yourself through me!" The magic of the ice pushed through him and blasted the demon in the chest.

The beast roared in pain before he flew backward, crashing through several frozen trees. He crashed to the ground ans his body returned to normal, as did the cats.

"What the heck is up with this ice?" Gray asked himself. "How could it travel through me? And why does it feel so… familiar?"

"You opened it…" Doriate groaned out, catching Gray's attention. "The Gate to the underworld. It can't be undone, and I'll see you-"

A massive, one eyed bird creature suddenly landed behind him and bit down, eating the giant. "WHAT THE HELL!?" Happy shouted in horror as the creature turned its attention to the group.

With Natsu and Laki

"Makin' us big, making us small…" Natsu grumbled in annoyance as he fixed his scarf. "If it wasn't for that, we could have beaten the crap out of him."

"Natsu!" He turned around and found Laki feverously searching the ground. "It's gone!"

"What's gone?" He asked, only for her to hold up her finger. "The ring!?"

"My hand was too small for it, so it must have fallen off!" She replied.

"You two lost the ring!?" The couple turned around to find Lucy and Wendy with Flare hiding behind them. "We can find it later. Right now, we need to focus on saving Flare's home."

"She's from here?" Natsu asked in surprise. "Does this mean she's gonna turn into a giant?"

"No, she was just raised by the people here." Wendy replied.

Natsu walked over and stared at Flare, making her flinch in fear. "So this village situation must be pretty tough for you." He said stepping away. "Fairy Tail's reputation is stake, so we'll definitely get things back to normal."

Flare stared him in shock, a small blush on her face. "The Eternal Flame might be able to get the village back to normal…" Wendy said.

"So Flare is going to lead us there." Lucy continued.

"I could have sworn I heard a voice coming from this mountain." Natsu said as he stared up at the frozen structure.

"That's not a mountain." Flare said, catching the group off guard. "That's the village's guardian… that's the Eternal Flame."

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"WHAT!?"

"How is that not a mountain!?" Natsu asked in shock.

"The Eternal Flame is frozen solid…" Laki mumbled. "That's why it looks like a mountain."

"We placed our hope on the Eternal Flame returning the village to normal." Lucy added. "But even the Flame is frozen…"

"RUN FOR IT!" Everyone turned to the side to see Gray and the Exceeds running from something. A massive cyclopic bird ran after them, scaring the group.

"What the hell is that!?" Lucy asked in horror.

"I have no clue, but it definitely wants to eat us!" Carla shouted back.

"Gray, knock it out or something!" Natsu shouted.

"I can't use magic power I don't have!" He shouted back. "But I think I have a way to melt the ice around here!" He looked ahead and almost double taked at Flare. "Isn't she from Raven Tail?"

"We'll explain later!" Natsu shouted as he and Laki ran forward. "We'll take care of this freakin' bird!"

"That mountain is the Eternal Flame! You need to melt it!" The fiancé added. "Let's do this!" The trio traded high fives as Natsu unleashed a burning punt to the creature right in the eye.

The bird flew backwards before it opened its wings slowing the momentum before it dived and pinned Natsu under the its talon. Laki unleashed her whip spell and pulled it back, inadvertently launching Natsu into the air. "Eat this!" Natsu ignited his firsts and slammed them into the eye.

Gray raced forward and clasped his hands in the flame before the entire thing started glowing. "Come on, change back!" The entire 'mountain' started glowing brighter before the entire thing just vanished, shocking the whole group.

Yeah, this was the bit where shit started getting scary for this arc. I mean, I can't tell when I crapped my pants more: When Doriate went Beast Mode, or when that freaking chimera bird popped into view. Also skipped over some minor stuff here and there, but the overall chapter is still pretty good. See ya next time.

P.S, there's a poll up on my profile about another FT story I have. Feel free to vote on it if you want to, I can't force you.

Beta read by General Feng Xiang