Chapter 80

The Ugly Fairy

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

"Magic"

Flashback

Location / Date / Time Skip

Walking into the palace, Zeref was met by a man standing at attention. "Welcome home, your majesty."

"Hello to you too, Invel." The 'emperor' said coming to a stop. "Do you think you would be able to gather all the 12?"

"It would take some time." His shield replied. "Had I known you were returning today, I'd have them already assembled."

Two more shields walked up, one a dark skinned man, the other a blonde woman. "Dimaria, Ajeel, you two look as cheerful as always." Zeref said.

"You two, show the proper respect!" Invel snapped back.

"Am I to take it your travels have ended?" An old man asked walking up from behind. "You seem to be in very good spirits, M'lord."

"I suppose I am, August." Zeref said with a smile. "Now, shall we prepare for our battle?"

"Your majesty…" Yajeel stepped forward and bowed at his ruler, Makarov standing behind him. "I believe you are aware that a messager from Ishgar arrived while you were away. He is insistent on meeting with you as soon as possible. Perhapse you could humor him with an audience."

"I'd love to." Zeref replied before leading himself and Makarov to a secluded garden.

"I'm puzzled. Do I call you Zeref or Emperor Spriggan?" The Guild Master asked.

"Both will suffice for this situation." The cursed man replied. "For four hundred years, I wandered alone, looking for a meaning in this world. But at the same time, I also prepared for the Dragon King Festival. A hundred years, I made the decision to create a country here. It was a small one at first, but then it flourished into a thriving empire."

"All of this, just for obtaining the Lumen Histoire…" Makarov mumbled.

"There is no need to hide it. I'm after the Fairy Heart." Zeref declared.

"It makes so much more sense now… Alveraz wants the Fairy Heart because of who you are." The master said.

"That is actually the second reason for this." The emperor declared. "I'm actually planning to kill Acnologia, your country is just a necessary victim."

"I take it you're not open to negotiations…?" Makarov mumbled.

"Unfortunately." Zeref stated. "Though, they were always doomed to fail."

"Do you plan to start a war?" The master asked.

"An extermination." Zeref corrected before blasting Makarov with magic, trapping him in a sphere. "I'm just a bit thankful for you raising Natsu. You'll feel better soon. I'll send your body to Natsu. He'll get so angry he'll want to destroy me. Any last words?"

The elderly man gasped in pain as he glared at Zeref. "You vile demon!"

"That was close." Zeref confessed. "Spriggan is the name of an ugly fairy." He watched as a man suddenly appeared and grabbed Makarov before the two vanished from sight as the spell collapsed inward. "…Natsu."

Mest landed on the ground as the others huddled around the Master. "Zeref was there!" Mest declared, making Natsu turn to the castle.

"Zeref is here!?" Brianna asked.

"I had no idea that the man called Spriggan was also Zeref…" Makarov mumbled, tears falling from his eyes. "He never had any intention of negotiation. Everything I did was for nothing."

"Not for nothing." Gray declared. "We've all grown a lot in the last year."

"If the drive behind one's actions is the thought of another, then it is never meaningless." Erza declared. "You taught us that, remember?"

"Let's go home, Gramps." Natsu said, offering him a hand. "Back to Fairy Tail."

The master nodded as a slow clap caught their attention. "What a touching reunion, you going home, Makarov?" Ajeel asked. "Got all your souvenirs?" The members stepped up to fight, impressing him. "Oh, I like that."

"Don't fight him! He isn't someone you can beat! We've got to move!" Makarov shouted, much to their surprise. "You heard your master! Retreat!"

"Damnit!" Natsu growled as Nicholas grabbed his arms and pulled him back.

"Everyone, fall back!" Erza ordered, launching swords at Ajeel.

"I've got a Magic Mobile ready to go!" Carla shouted.

An explosion of sand erupted from the impact as the car drove away. As the dust settled, Ajeel stood standing with blades in him. "So that's Makarov's army, huh?" The blades turned to sand as the holes in his body closed up. "I'm actually impressed."

As the sick Dragon Slayers hung out the window in pain, Brianna drove the car as fast as she could. Pumping more magic into the system, the engine shot out pure energy, launching it forward. "He's coming…" Makarov declared, confusing Gray.

"Am I the only one seeing this!?" Slate shouted, looking out the back.

A massive monster of sand and stone rose up, slamming its hands down. Lucy was forced to dodges as best she could as Erza climbed up to the roof. "Gray, you're with me!" She ordered.

Gray nodded and stepped on Natsu's face as he followed her up. "Stop! He isn't someone you can beat!" Makarov shouted.

"We won't know if we don't try." Gray said, his Devil Slayer mark growing on his body. "Ice Make… Silver." Everything behind the car turned to solid ice.

"Well played!" Ajeel chuckled as he jumped up the frozen creature. He waved his hand and more sand flew at the car.

"Dance, my blades!" Erza shouted, donning her Heaven's Wheel armor before launching her blades, slicing the monsters into nothing.

"Very good, very good!" The sand user suddenly vanished before a giant sand pit opened up underneath them, swallowing the car.

"Everyone out!" Erza ordered, making everyone flee from the sinking car.

"I can't move!" Lucy shouted, pulling on her leg.

"Do you know how many people have been killed by this spell?" Ajeel chuckled. "This Ant Lion Pit is my version of hells door. No one has ever escaped it before. You Ishgar wizards don't stand a chance against us! All your gods have abandoned you! It's only a matter of time before Alvarez rules everything!"

Fire erupted from the center and the sand evaporated into nothing. "Abandoned by the gods, huh?" Natsu asked, the false guild mark burning off everyone. "At least we still have the fairies." He rushed forward and punched the surprised Ajeel in the face.

Ajeel rolled on the ground before coming to a stop, a bruise appearing on his nose. "Nice shot! It's been forever since I took a punch like that!" He laughed. "Very good! Bring it on!" Sand exploded outwards as Natsu was forced back.

Gray quickly froze the sand only for it to turn back into the particles, pushing the group back. Makarov jumped up and expanded his fist before slamming it down. Ajeel jumped away from the attack as he grew in size, grabbing the teens before holding them to his chest.

"I won't let you harm my children!" He shouted in defiance of their protest.

"Is that so?" Ajeel chuckled. "If you think you can protect them, you don't understand the power of the Spriggan 12…" The ground began shaking as Makarov turned to see a giant wave of sand crashing towards him. "You'll die together, drowning in my sands of death!"

"Mest, can you teleport us out of here?!" Lisanna shouted.

"I need somewhere to go first!" He snapped back.

Turning his back to the wave, Makarov gripped the wizards even tighter. "I will keep you safe if it's the last thing I do!"

"This is where you die!" The sand wizard shouted. "Everything that gets in the path of this sandstorm dries up from the inside out! You're gonna be a bunch of fairy mummies!"

As the sand fell over the master, a massive bolt of lightning crashed down. The wave dissipated into nothing as the surprised duo looked up at the sky. High above them on a gaudy ship, Laxus looked down at the shocked master.

"He obliterated the sandstorm with one attack!?" Erza asked in shock.

"Yo, we're retreating! Get on the ship!" Gajeel shouted over the mic.

"Hold on, how come you and Laxus aren't puking your guts out?" Natsu asked as other voices were shouting on the radio.

"This is a ship that's customized to carry dragon slayers…" Levy explained.

"Mest! You're there, aren't you!?" Cana asked. "Teleport up here, now!"

"Coming up!" He declared before teleporting the group.

"You can't run from me!" Ajeel sent a spiral of sand after the ship, intent to pull them down.

"It's not running away. We're just going home." Laxus declared, clenching his fist as more lightning crashed down, creating a shockwave that blasted them away from Alveraz.

The dust settled on the ground as a panicking Ajeel fell to the ground in shock. "Man, that was intense…" He panted out. "They really are taking this serious…" Footsteps caught his attention as he turned to the side. "I guess you put up that barrier as a favor to me, huh?"

"It is a painful thing to lose a comrade, Ajeel." August declared.

"Did you really think I'd die from something like that?" The Sand user chuckled. "You must've gone senile, August…"

In the bow of the Christina, the group crashed onto the deck before Juvia pulled Gray away. "What are you all doing here!?" He asked.

"You didn't think you were the only one who wanted to save the Master, did you?" Mirajane asked. "We had to come come and help."

"You got some nerve, leaving without us!" Gajeel growled at Erza.

"It was a secret mission." She snapped back.

"Woo-hoo! So this is what it's like to ride a ship!" Natsu cheered as he ran around like a child.

"Everyone…" Makarov mumbled as he stared at his guild members. "This is the best family one can ask for!" Tears fell from his eyes as the ship flew over the ocean.

"I'm here, too…" Ichiya spoke up.

Magnolia

Fairy Tail Guildhall

Loud cheers echoed out of the new building as the guild celebrated Makarov's return. "Welcome back, Master!" Romeo cheered, sparking a debate about who was actually master now.

"You can call him 'Master'. I'm quitting." Erza declared, ending the confusion.

"I guess I'll have to do this job until I die." The old man huffed, making Elfman laugh.

"So you were in Blue Pegasus the last year?" Lisanna asked as Freed poured her a drink. "What was that like?"

"Serving customers wasn't so bad." He replied.

Natsu blinked in surprise before turning to the blonde. "Wait, does that mean Laxus was-"

"Don't finish that sentence." Laxus warned.

"Did you ever get in contact with Sorano?" Carla asked Mest from a table.

"Yeah, she's still not over it…" He chuckled.

"Seriously? How is pebble breath the only who doesn't get motion sick now?" Gajeel complained, causing Wendy to sulk.

"Hey, don't make her feel any worse than she does." Brianna declared.

"Everyone id do noisy." Lucy chuckled.

"But at least everything is back to normal." Levy added before Cana placed a mug in front of the blonde.

A series of taps caught everyone by surprise and they turned to Makarov. "Everyone, I'm sorry." He declared. "I won't make any excuses. It was I who lost our home. I'm truly sorry. In the end, my plan was a failure anyways. Alveraz is going to attack. A massive force is marching towards the guild."

"So what!?" Natsu shouted from the mob. "No matter how strong the enemy is, we can still fight back! So we can all still laugh with each other, we have to fight! That's what makes us Fairy Tail!"

Everyone else nodded as Lisanna stepped up and gripped his hand. "It seems our choice is clear." Makarov replied. "They will regret challenging our family! We shall strike back!" His words inspired a massive cheer from the member before Makarov tapped the floor again. "There is one more thing I need to tell you before the battle. The official name of the Lumen Histoire is 'Fairy Heart'."

"I shall explain, sixth." The master turned see Mavis appear behind him, shocking the guild. "It's time to reveal the truth. This is the story of a cursed boy and a cursed girl, and the single magic they were pursuing…"

Skipped a lot of stuff that… honestly didn't need to be in the story. We didn't need to see FT going to Blue Pegasus, we could have easily figured that out ourselves. Speaking of skipping, going to do that with the Mavis and Zeref backstory. Seriously, not insulting you guys like that plus it changes nothing if was in or not.