Poll closed!

24

Recap: "Natsu, let me take care of him."

"What! No way, you lost to him last time! Besides, I'm fighting him," Natsu said.

"That may be true, but I don't plan on losing to him again," Gray said with a face of determination.

Natsu didn't say anything, but Harry looked worried. "What about your injuries?" he asked with concern. He didn't want Gray to fight because of his wounds. He looks over to Natsu, wondering why he's not saying anything; he knows that the fire mage isn't going to give up his fight that easily.

"They're fine." Gray's voice brought Harry's green eyes to look back over to him. "I don't even feel my injuries." Harry made a face at that. He feels like he heard that before.

{Yeah, you said it yourself. Kind of. When you get hurt, you would say you're fine and try to leave the hospital wing,} Fawkes answered his silent question. Harry didn't know what the phoenix was talking about at first, but after he said hospital wing, he had a flash of a white, stone room with lots of beds, and an older woman making him drink potions that were disgusting. He shivered at the memory. He could tell that he did try to get away, just so he didn't have to sit in bed all day and take those things.

"Thanks for that horrifying reminder," Harry whispered irritably. He turned back to Gray and Lyon.

"You really think you can win this time, Gray? Maybe you should listen to your friend there," Lyon said mockingly.

Gray didn't say anything for a moment, but then said, "It was my fault that Ur died." Harry heard how Gray said the word 'died'. It made him remember what Fawkes told him. Ur wasn't really dead. Gray starts talking again. "However, I cannot forgive you for hurting my friends, the villagers, and trying to melt that ice." Gray spreads his legs and crosses his arms. This confuses both Harry and Natsu, shocks Lyon, but there was also a look of pure disbelief in his eyes, and Fawkes looks surprised; he didn't think that this stance was still known.

He knows that humans still knew about ice-shell, and used it, but he didn't know that it was the same stance as the other, more powerful version to it. Fawkes decides that he's going to watch what happens, knowing that Harry is getting more confused with what he's thinking.

"It's time that we both got the punishment that we deserve, Lyon," Gray said coldly.

"That stance…! Are you really thinking about using Ice-Shell?" Lyon demanded.

The moment Harry heard the name of the spell he couldn't help but think Gray is an idiot. 'And he calls Natsu stupid,' he thought. He could tell that Natsu just remembered what Ice-Shell did, and sees his eyes widened. Harry didn't need to be a mind reader to know that he's also thinking Gray an idiot.

"Are you out of your mind!?" Lyon added to his demand.

Gray ignored him. "Turn everyone back to the way they were, and then take your men and leave this island. This is you last warning," he ordered.

Lyon smirked. "So, that spell is just being used as a threat. A bluff." Harry wasn't sure if it was a bluff, since Gray normally doesn't bluff, and to prove his point, Gray starts to activate the spell. The icy winds toss Harry and Natsu away from Gray, and Fawkes tried to fly through it, but he found himself being thrown all over the place.

"I'm not bluffing," Gray said. "I'm very serious." Lyon also got thrown into a wall, making Harry happy that they weren't the only ones. "Ur died because of me, and that will never change. I need to take responsibility one way or another."

Natsu and Harry's eyes widened. Is Gray's really going to – in a way – kill himself just to repay Ur and stop Lyon? 'He's being a complete fool!' they thought as one.

"I'm ready to die. So, what's it going to be, Lyon? We can die together or live together."

Lyon smirked at Gray. "Do it. You don't have the guts to anyway." To prove him wrong, Gray's magic got even stronger. He was about to do the spell.

"Ice…" What Gray should have done was not forget that two of his friends were still in the same room as him. Natsu ran up and punched him as hard as he could in the face, and Harry threw a powerful stinging hex – which he cast on pure instinct – at him, making Gray shout in pain from both attacks.

"You moron!" Natsu shouted what he and Harry were both thinking.

"Natsu…" Gray started, but was cut off.

"I don't remember telling you it was okay for you to steal my fight!" He turned to Harry. "Did I tell him, sure you can have him!?" Harry shook his head in answer, but knows that Natsu isn't really angry about his fight being stolen, but Gray almost killing himself. Natsu turns back to the ice mage while pointing to Harry. "See? I didn't. So, stay out of this!"

Gray was speechless for a few moments, but then his face morphed into a fierce scowl, grabbing Natsu by the scarf. "Stay out of this?! I have to be the one to end this! This is my fight, my business! You're the one that needs to stay out of this! I'm ending this, even if it means I have to die for it!" he shouted.

Natsu hits him again, and glares into his eyes. "All you're doing is running away," he growled.

Harry adds, "And leaving us behind. Think about how we'll feel if you die for something that has other answers to ending it."

{This human isn't worth your life, Gray. He's a child that never grew up from a dream that is impossible to reach if he never moves on from it. Do you want to give your life for someone so pathetic?} Fawkes said, with Harry repeating word for word.

Gray didn't say anything to that, but Lyon heard what was said about him. "I am NOT pathetic, or a child! I thought my dream was impossible, until I found out Deliora is still alive! I will achieve my dream!"

Fawkes decides that he doesn't want to hear the man-baby anymore, so he flaps his wings, charges at him, and with his talons swung in front of him, he slashed down the right arm that Lyon used to block the attack that was aimed for his face. The phoenix thinks that the man deserved the new wound that will scar, so he doesn't heal it with his tears.

Harry flinched, knowing how sharp his familiar's claws are, but unlike Lyon, Fawkes healed his cuts. "Thanks for shutting him up. If I hear him saying anything along the lines of his dream again, I was going to hit him myself," he said gratefully.

Natsu returns his glare back on Gray after Fawkes landed back on Harry's shoulder from attacking the other ice mage in the room. But before he could say anything, the temple starts to shake, and after a minute the old building was leveled out again.

Harry looked like he was disappointed. He worked hard to blast those pillars, and Natsu isn't looking any better, as a matter of fact he looked worse. He was stumping on the ground as if to tilt the temple again, but Harry knows that's a pointless task.

Not long after the temple fixed itself, Zalty came running in. "All fixed, sir!" He jogs up to Lyon, who is still nursing his arm. "We can continue with the moon drip again," he paused after seeing his boss' arm. "What happened to you?"

"It doesn't matter," was all Lyon said.

Harry's eyebrow rose in confusion. 'When did he even leave in the first place?' he asked Fawkes mentally. 'Please teach me how to use telepathy so I know for a fact that you are listening. I'm just thinking to myself here.'

{I'll do so when you find your animal and can transform. As for where Zalty went, when Gray was about to use Ice-Shell and threw everyone around the room, Zalty was sent flying out of it. He didn't come back in,} Fawkes answered. Harry was satisfied with the answer and to know that he'll learn to use telepathy, and not have to worry if Fawkes is reading his mind at the time or not.

Natsu turns his now glowing green eyes of rage that Harry missed due to not looking at him, at Zalty with his teeth bared. "You…" he hissed quietly in fury.

Zalty heard him and turned to look, but when he saw him, he laughed and then took off after he started to chase him.

"Natsu, where are you going?" Gray called out urgently.

Natsu faced him, still looking angry, but no longer at his friend. "I'm going to beat the heck out of that little man! You just take care of that frost bite!" he said before continuing on chasing his prey.

"I should have seen that one coming. At least now Gray will be able to fight Lyon," Harry said with a shake of his head and sighed.

"Harry, go after Natsu!" Gray ordered, making the young wizard turn his attention to him with a tilt to his head in question. "I need you to keep an eye on him, so he doesn't bring the temple down on top of everyone while he's fighting," he explained.

Harry nodded in understanding. "Right, I'll try my best." He points to him. "You just make sure you win and not die doing so." With that said, Harry turns on his heels, and leaves the room.

Once outside and away from Gray and Lyon's fight, Harry pauses and looks from side to side in search of Natsu, but not seeing him. He wondered where he went, so he asks Fawkes if he knows where they went.

{I sense them going down toward Deliora. Knowing Natsu, they'll wind up there at some point, so we should go there and wait for them,} Fawkes answered.

Harry nods, and starts moving to the stairs. It took him a few minutes to get to Deliora, and when he looks around, he realizes that he is going to have to wait. His familiar was right, Natsu wasn't there yet.

So, Harry leans back on a rocky wall, and studies the giant demon in front of him. The first thing that pops into his head when looking at it is that the creature is both creepy and kind of cool looking. He wonders if Zeref designs what he wants his demons to look like, or if he has no control of that and they just come out looking like they do. 'It's not like I could ask him. He's kind of dead,' Harry thought.

Harry didn't have to wait much longer for Natsu to appear. One moment he was studying the demon again, and the next, the wall not that far away from him is blasted inward with Natsu flying through it. Shortly after Natsu comes through, Zalty jumps in with an orb floating next to him.

The two don't seem to realize that he's there, so Harry and Fawkes make eye contact, and Harry says, "Well, they're here. I'm guessing we're just going to watch and make sure they don't make the building fall on top of our heads, right?" Fawkes nods in agreement. So, the wizard and phoenix turn their attention back onto the fight in front of them and Deliora.

TBC

This is not a very long chapter, but I feel like I'm going crazy this week, and I didn't really feel like writing. I hope you guys still enjoyed the chapter thought! :) By the way, I have to ask, do you want to see Gray fight Lyon? In the next chapter, I'm going to have Natsu VS Zalty, but if you want to see Gray VS Lyon, I'll do that fight first, and then the one with Natsu. So, that would make two fights in chapter 25. Let me know by the end of next week please, thank you.

Harry: I'm remembering spells instinctively now. :/

Natsu: That's a good thing though, isn't it?

Harry: Well, I guess. :)

Natsu: We also found out where Zalty went before he fixed the temple. I always wondered how he got out of the room without anyone noticing.

Enj/Dark: Tell me about it. No one sees him leave, so I decided that he got tossed out of the room thanks to Gray's Ice-Shell power up.

Zeref: That's smart; although, he most likely just left while everyone was focused on Gray coming into the room in cannon.

Harry: That's also a possibility. Anyway, where did Voldemort go? :(

Everyone: *Looks around the room.*

Enj/Dark: He must have snuck out when no one was looking. Darn it, FIND HIM! He might kill someone!

Zeref: Wouldn't he want to kill you? :/

Enj/Dark: He might, but he knows he can't. So, he might be trying to find a way to do that, or find a way to not die like I do, or just kill someone while out there because he hasn't killed anyone since the end of Lullaby.

Harry: Or he might be trying to kill me again. Let's go hunt him down. I'll go this way.

Enj/Dark: Wait, make teams! Harry and I will go that way, *points right* and Zeff and Natsu will go that way. *points left*

Zeref: Sounds like a plan.

Natsu: Please review! :D