"You say you're the most powerful dragon? That you're King?" She asked as her golden eyes pierced through his soul and a smirk across her face. "Then prove your worth, Acnologia! Because I, Lucy Heartfilia the Athena and the Dragon Empress, will finally eliminate you from this world!"
Acnologia roared but Lucy only silenced him with a scratch to the face. Those who had no recollection of Lucy being the Dragon Empress or a dragon began to freak out, wondering if that was actually the powerful blonde woman that had practically disappeared off the face of Earthland. Lucy used her tail to push Acnologia back and once she got her distance, fired a Celestial Fire Dragon Empress' Roar directly towards him. But the chaos dragon only countered it with his own roar, causing a small shockwave to disperse.
As both dragons fought each other with much strength and force, another crack in the sky popped up and two people fell from within. Anna and Ichiya fell into the body of water below them before resurfacing and coughing up any sea water that they swallowed upon impact. The Trimens immediately tended to their superior while Erza and Jellal met up with Anna. Though many were relieved to see the two alive and relatively well, they couldn't help but think that their survival was only short of a miracle.
Once Anna finished her coughing fit, she looked up at the sky to see Lucy and Acnologia clashing with one another. Before Erza could even explain what was going on to the blonde woman, Anna just massaged her temples and sighed. "It seems it was wise of her to stay put all this time for this very situation..."
"What?" Erza and Jellal exclaimed in shock since they heard what she had said. "Anna... you've already met Lucy?"
"I see now... she is the other option you were referring to." Jellal said as the blonde woman nodded.
"I never thought I would meet Layla's daughter anytime soon until after everything was over. However, she was the one who stumbled on me about three months ago." Anna explained. "She introduced herself and told me that she was gathering information on Alvarez. We began talking and that was when I found out she was also the Dragon Empress and a dragon slayer turned dragon."
"What the heck are you talking about!?" Erza asked as she recalled what Lucy told the guild when she first arrived at Magnolia. "Why would Lucy not tell us about all of this when she came to the guild!?"
"No... the Lucy that came to your guild was not her, but her celestial spirit Gemini." Anna continued, making Erza's eyes widened. "Your friend, though just as concerned for Acnologia, was also concerned with saving E.N.D from his fate. She didn't want to stand by and wait to see if this theory of mine would fail to see if she would have to act as Dragon Empress again, so she sent Gemini in her place."
"Save E.N.D!? Zeref's greatest demon!?"
"Is that the reason why she was only able to use just a small percentage of her dragon slaying magic!?"
Anna nodded as she looked up at the two dragons fighting again. "For the past three months, as we continued to plan how to use the Rift in Time, Lucy has been conserving each and every last drop of her newly accumulated strength for this fight. Thanks to one of her dragons on her council, we were able to consider the possibility of Acnologia taking the rift's power for himself and prepared."
Lucy then met eyes with the blonde woman from the air, she quickly turned to Acnologia and casted a White Celestial Dragon's Wing Attack, causing the dragon to grunt in pain. "Anna!" Lucy cried. "Acnologia has already taken the dragon slayers within the rift! You must get everyone to safety so that we can help Natsu and the others from out here!"
"They're inside the rift!?" The Trimens cried after they met up with Ichiya.
"Lucy! What should we do!?" Erza called.
"Erza go back to the guild! Gather everyone! You must come up with a plan to prevent Acnologia's physical body from moving around and destroying Earthland! Once Natsu and the other's defeat his spiritual form that's trapped in the rift, this fight will finally be over! Have Warren tell me where to go! I will lead him to where you want me to!"
Inside the rift, the seven dragon slayers stood in formation, feeling Acnologia out before they tried to attack. They were confused and battered, but that didn't stop them from being defensive. This was the chaos dragon's human form they were up against. The body of his past that came before the dragon. After spending time with the dragons in the Dragon Realm, there were times when the dragon would tell them stories about Acnologia. Stories that they witnessed and stories that they had heard during his rampage of bloodlust.
Natsu remembered what Gemini had hold him, Gray and Happy - how she was planning on taking on the dragon just like what happened during Tartaros. He clenched his fist. Remembering that fight as if he was witnessing it all over again. The black dragon had injured both Igneel and Lucy to the point it took them many days in the Dragon Realm to recover before they came back to Earthland. He couldn't do anything then. And now, Lucy was going right back to recreate that fight - but alone.
"Why isn't Lucy here?" Wendy asked.
"Now that you mention it... you gathered every dragon slayer except her?" Gajeel added.
Acnologia chuckled with a dark tone. "Once I've destroyed you, my flesh form will slaughter her." He said. "We will fight and finally, truly, see which one of us deserves to be the ruler of dragons."
Natsu lit his fist on fire, anger rolling off his magic in waves. "Like I would let you do do any of that! Destroy the world, kill Lucy, I won't let you do any of it!"
Sting and Rogue dashed instantly, surrounding their own fists with their magic to attack Acnologia, but he blocked them with a single swipe of his arm. Wendy casted a Sky Dragon's Roar but somehow it unaffected him. Laxus and Cobra tried to follow up the attack with their own but the chaos dragon countered with a spell, sending them all the way to the back of the space. Natsu's eyes widened and looked to the enemy in frustration.
The navy headed man smirked which made the fire dragon slayer all the more pissed. "Is that the best you can do? Feeble dragons." He mocked. "You're tempting me to bring in that insolent woman here right now, but I can see her struggling perfectly fine outside."
"Struggling outside?" Rogue asked.
"Blondie is?" Sting couldn't believe that. That Lucy would struggle against the chaos dragon. She's literally the Dragon Empress!
"No way... is she trying to fight his dragon form all by herself this time!?" Laxus exclaimed.
Cobra grunted, getting up from his bruised spot on the ground. "That woman..."
Now, it was Natsu's time to smirk. He may have been against it before, but he remembered to know better than doubt his partner. "Luce once told me, that she believes me. That she will always believe in me and Fairy Tail." He said as fire surrounded his body. "And I made a promise. A promise to never let her die. So once I kick your ass, I know that she will do the same. Just watch us!"
"I'm sorry, you mean to tell me Lucy is fighting and distracting Acnologia, AS A DRAGON!?"
"You know, sometimes I wish most of you didn't lose your memories."
"I thought she was with you and Happy, Gray?"
"Yeah about that..."
"By the way, who's the Lucy look alike?"
Once Erza made it to Magnolia and reunited with everyone else from Fairy Tail and Sabertooth, she explained the situation and brought Anna along since she spent a lot of time with Lucy in the time the guild had been disbanded. Once she told everyone what had actually happened to the dragon slayers, Anna explained what was going on in with the Dragon Empress and what her game plan was.
With the help of the dragons, who Anna was glad to meet again in the Dragon Realm, the two Heartfilias thought of a back-up plan in case Acnologia was able to absorb the Rift in Time's power. They would trap the chaos dragon in a secluded area so that he would be unable to cause more destruction. Lucy had told Anna that there was only one spell she could think of that could trap him long enough for the dragon slayers to win - Fairy Sphere.
Anna would help Levy and Freed look for the book that contains the spell while the rest of Fairy Tail heads to Hargeon to prepare a large ship for the black dragon. Lucy will lead him there and the other mages will make it so Acnologia falls into the ship and get motion sickness. Once he was on the ship, Fairy Sphere would be cast and that should hold him until Natsu and the others defeat his spiritual form.
When everything was settled, Warren reached out to Lucy via telepathy. A distant roar could be heard and a spike of magic energy could be felt from a distance. With the way both dragons were fighting, anyone could think it looked like two squirrels fighting over an acorn. "How long will you be a hindrance, you wannabe dragon?" Acnologia cried.
"So long as you threaten my home and family, I will do everything to make sure that you stay away from them!" Lucy replied.
The Dragon Empress used her tail to whip the chaos dragon in the face. Encasing her left wing with fire and her right wing with celestial light, Lucy casted a Celestial Fire Dragon Empress' Wing Attack. But Acnologia easily countered with his own roar and then went straight onto tackling the golden dragon towards the water. They both crashed in the ocean, creating a large tidal wave that could travel the water's surface for ages.
Using a Water Dragon's Roar, she split the water open and flared her wings out to fly again. She bit down on Acnologia's shoulder, the one missing his arm, and soared into the sky. The black dragon roared in pain, biting down on Lucy's neck in return in hopes that she would let go. With her free hand, Lucy used a Poison Dragon's Claws to scratch one of Acnologia's wings.
Another roar resounded into the air and Lucy's eyes widened as Acnologia brought forth many lights around their bodies. She looked to where the dragon's gaze was headed and she gasped when it was aimed straight for the ships that Gray, Juvia and Lyon prepared. She let go of her hold on the chaos dragon and pushed him away with her tail and wings. Speeding all the way to the port town.
"Everyone take over! Now!"
The two ice mages and water mage watched as the water below them tossed and rippled in worry before hearing Lucy's command. They immediately ran away from the dock, urging everyone to back away. When the black dragon recovered, he sent out several blasts of magic that destroyed the ships and hit Lucy, who took the farther ranged blasts to protect everyone else on the ground.
"Lucy!" Erza yelled as she saw the golden dragon fall back into the water again.
"Quick! Lyon. Juvia. We need to make a ship now!"
"Right!"
A Water Sky Dragon's Roar shot out from the water and hit Acnologia with heavy pressure. The black dragon casted his own roar as Lucy resurfaced again and landed on the ice ship that Gray, Juvia and Lyon created. In that same moment, Anna appeared being carried by Happy and everyone else held hands so they could all concentrate their magic power to create the Fairy Sphere. Acnologia shot out another blast of his magic.
Lucy, though looking relieved to see that the plan was so close to being completed, sensed his attack and immediately turned so that she could grab his foot using her tail. She pulled down as she flew in the air, the chaos dragon getting dragged and my no mo falling onto the ship. He choked out something that Lucy could only assume was dragon hurl and gagged inwardly, using the chance to hold his body down with her own.
"G-Get off me... you wench!" Acnologia demanded weakly, swishing his tail sporadically to hit Lucy repeatedly on the face.
"Like I would listen to you!" Lucy replied, before looking to her nakama. "Quickly, concentrate all your magic power together!"
"We need you too, Lucy!" Happy cried. "We need all of us to cast the spell!"
Lucy roared, a glow surrounding her body and sending it to the sky to match the magic power of the mages. This made Acnologia thrash around even more, but that only caused the rocking of the ship to worsen his condition. Lamia Scale, Crime Sorcière and Sabetooth also joined hands with the fairies, sending their magic power to aid in creating the sphere. Soon, a small version of the sphere began to form.
"I will not... let you succeed!"
Acnologia used every ounce of his strength to encase his free hand in his chaos magic and punched Lucy straight in the jaw. Her magic power wavered and she lost balance, allowing him to swivel his tail to grab a hold of her unstable leg and pull it so that she fell into the water. The ship rocked even more, making him fall back down due to his motion sickness. In that moment, Meredy showed up and brought forth the magic of every other wizard in Ishgar, strengthening everyone's magic power.
The Dragon Empress resurfaced again and climbed back onto the ship, clasping her hands together. She concentrated her magic power again and her eyes glowed gold. "Fairy Sphere... Activate!"
A golden glow surrounded both her and the chaos dragon, solidifying into the Fairy Sphere and trapping them inside. "Holy crap... we did it!" Everyone cheered.
"Lucy are you okay in there!?" Gray yelled.
The Dragon Empressed sighed and let go of her hands. She looked down to Acnologia, who was just choking on his own spit the more she shifted her weight. "I'll be fine. Now we wait for the dragon slayers. Let's wait for Natsu and the others to come home."
Acnologia relished in the sight before him. All the dragon slayers, save for Natsu, were sprawled on the ground completely breathless. He had deflected every attack that came from them with ease, enjoying the sight of their pained expressions with every counter that came their way. It was bliss. The more they tried, the more their magic depletes. And once it was all gone, he could finally destroy them all.
Natsu, on the other hand, glared at the blue headed man before him. Bruises and scratches littering his body in all shapes and sizes. He tightened his fists, anger rolling off of him in waves like his magic energy. It swirled violently, moving his hair every which way it could go. He was just as breathless as the others, his magic dangerously low. But that didn't stop him from slowly surrounding his body in fire in one last final attempt.
"Are you lot ready to surrender?" Acnologia taunted. "Because if so, I would like to go and destroy that wench now."
The fire dragon slayer growled. "Ain't no way I'm gonna let you harm Luce any more than you've already had, buddy."
The chaos dragon chuckled, his magic slowly surrounding his own body. "It matters not whether you try to stop me." He said. "Once I'm done with you, I'll be free to finally kill off the final dragon once and for all."
The flames surrounding Natsu grew larger. The image of Lucy dying, similar to when he had used Dragon's Redemption on her over a year ago, left a sour taste in his mouth. Yes, he had ultimately saved her, but he would not let something like that happen to her again. Gemini had asked him not to let her do anything too reckless. Nashi had countlessly told him to believe in her. And he promised his future self he would never let Lucy die. He promised.
"Sorry to say this but you're way in over your head." Natsu said, his glare turning into a cocky smirk. "Even if you fight Luce, like hell I would even let you, you're gonna be the one that's losing. Because Luce is a true dragon; Strong. Kind. Noble. There's a reason why she's the Dragon Empress. Unlike you, you wannabe."
Acnologia flinched at his words. Unable to comprehend the words that came out of the fire dragon slayer's mouth. Flashes of his past flew through his mind's eye. The screams. The destruction. The torment. The despair. All the pain he helplessly witnessed because of the dragons, he could not forget it. Their kind destroyed everything; his livelihood, his hometown, his friends and family. Nothing was spared. And he shall spare no one.
"Strong? Kind? Noble? No, dragons could never be like that!" He cried, getting ready to unleash another attack. "Dragons took everything from me! And I will stop at nothing until I kill every single dragon! Starting with that stupid wench!"
The chaos dragon casted an explosion spell towards Natsu and a bright light encased everyone's vision. When the light cleared, Acnologia went from smirking to gasping. His own vision shaking being faced by the silhouette that greeted him. The pink headed slayer stood unharmed and unmoving. The fire surrounding his body acting as a barrier of magic power. The flames grew larger, until they all gathered at his fist. His pupils also mirroring the his flame.
"Like you're one to talk!" He shouted as his magic energy grew. "You became a chaos dragon, you threw away your humanity! And now, you're the one threatening and taking everything form everyone else here!"
"Silence! You insolent-"
"Luce became a dragon but she's still fighting for our nakama! And like I said, true dragons are like that!" His flames grew until a large fireball was created. "And just like humans, there are all kinds of dragons! Some are good and some are bad. Some need protection and some will fight. And me, I will be the one who will kick your ass."
In that moment, many different colours of magic energy began to gather around Natsu's body. The fire dragon slayer looked behind him to see Wendy, Gajeel, Laxus, Cobra, Sting and Rogue transferring their own magic onto his flames. The different colours melding together into one beautiful flame of seven colours. Not only could he feel his strength returning, but he could also feel the power of his nakama waiting for him.
"I transferred all our magic to you, Natsu!"
"Hit him with everything you got, buddy!"
"Show 'em the strength of seven dragon slayers!"
"I can hear your power rising, so give it everything you got!"
"Natsu! You've got this!"
"Let him have it!"
The fire dragon slayer's grin widened as the rainbow flames surrounded his body. "You see this power? I got it from my nakama. And now, I'm gonna show you the power of seven fire dragons."
Acnologia growled. He started charging his magic power to match Natsu's and let out a roar. "Go ahead and try! I'll show you the power of a Dragon King!"
"I won't let you!" Natsu roared, unleashing his attack. "Seven Flame Dragon's... IRON FIST!"
Outside the Rift in Time, Acnologia's body started to struggle profusely. A loud roar left his mouth and Lucy had to use all her weight and strength to hold him down. But his wings and tail were unable to to be restricted. They began to swing around wildly, hitting the Fairy Sphere at all directions, causing cracks to form on the surface. The mages gasped and began moving away from the dock, worried that it would be a matter of time before the dragon was close to escaping.
"Blood! I need more blood and destruction!" The chaos dragon repeated again and again. "More! I can't let it end this way!"
"Well too bad, because it's over!" Lucy replied, her celestial and fire magic gathering behind her to create a dragon. "It's time for you to rest now, Acnologia!"
"Damn you!"
The mages at the dock had their jaws dropping in awe. Those who remembered what Dragon's Redemption was but hadn't seen when Natsu casted it a year ago looked to the dragon made of magic energy and couldn't believe that the fire dragon slayer really learned how to cast the exact same spell. The dragon was the same height as Lucy and the magic pressure that came with it was suffocating, even if it was inside the Fairy Sphere.
The black dragon continued to struggle against Lucy, and the dragon empress couldn't help but curse the dragon slayers in the Rift in Time for probably going overboard on Acnologia's spiritual form. "Dragon Empress' Secret Arts... DRAGON'S REDEMPTION!"
Acnologia was about let out his dragon's roar once more, but Lucy was faster. The dragon behind her roared itself before going over her head and diving straight into the chaos dragon. The ice ship they were on split into two, and Fairy Sphere broke into a million pieces while Acnologia vanished along with it. His overwhelming magic energy ceasing from the world. The battle was over. The dragon slayers had defeated his spiritual form and Lucy his physical form.
Everyone cheered in celebration. Finally, everything was done with. No more threats to worry about. Everyone hugged each other, cried and shouted out their relief. Now they all wanted nothing more than return to their homes and get some much needed rest and relaxation for a couple of days. It was safe to assume they deserved it. A crack in the sky made itself known and soon, out came falling all seven dragon slayers meeting with their nakama again.
All the while, Lucy exhausted more than ninety percent of her magic power and her body reverted back to her human form. She fell into the water along with the ice ship, with no signs of coming back up. Natsu, Gray, Erza and Happy noticed this and shouted her name in worry, but their bodies refused to move. The adrenaline had left their muscles and their magic power completely depleted.
Juvia was able to get up, ready to jump into the water and get her but Happy was able to muster enough magic to use his wings and dove after the blonde. "Lucy!" He cried.
Natsu, who was barely able to move his body after falling from the sky, gasped as he watched his blue exceed follow his blonde partner into the water. Everyone waited in silence. They did not resurface right away which meant Lucy fell deeper into the water than they had thought. But after one minute, a big splash was heard and Happy had his tail wrapped around Lucy's unconscious body. A sigh of absolute relief leaving everyone's body now that everything, for sure, is alright.
Once the blue exceed was right above Natsu, his wings gave out and both he and the dragon empress fell right on Natsu, a struggling yelp leaving his mouth as they aggravated his injuries. But he was able to sit up and fix the blonde into a proper laying position. Lucy, on the other hand, coughed up a bunch of water and found herself looking up at her pink headed partner grinning at her. The amount of injuries on his body mirroring her own.
"What's up, Luce? Long time no see!"
She smiled, deciding to Lucy Kick him and Happy all the way across the port for leaving without her a year ago later. They had all the time in the world now. "Hey, how've you guys been?"
Happy giggled. "A little battered here and there but what's new?"
"Seriously, you three..." Erza sighed while crossing her arms and smiling at the cute scene before them.
Gray looked to Juvia, who moved back to him after Happy dove into the water. "Lucy, you owe us big time for using Gemini to deceive us like that."
The blonde empress let out a heartfelt but tired laugh. "Speak for yourself." She said. "First, you all owe me for disbanding the guild without me."
This caused everyone to laugh as the sky cleared of clouds and the sun shone down on every single one of them. The battle that had just transpired and the war now way behind them. Everything was finally as it should be. No worry of their livelihoods on the line. No wars. No dragon. And their guild, though just as battered as them, stood tall and proud. Waiting for all of them to return to Magnolia again. Natsu pumped his fist into the air.
"Alright everyone! Time to go home!"