Hey guys, I'm back with another new chapter for this story! As previously stated, this chapter will pick up where the previous one left off and will have Gray finishing his fight against Racer and Natsu will reunite with Erza and Lucy.

P.S. Quick little side note, for Gray's fight against Racer I plan on removing the whole motorcycle portion because it feels really goofy and out of place to me. This time Gray's fight against Racer will be a more traditional one. However, Lyon will still be getting involved to tag team with Gray and take Racer down.

**(Important Update, Please Read!)**

P.P.S I think going forward I'll have a new order of sorts when it comes to updating my stories. I'll still post multiple chapters for this fic in a row, but instead of three, I think I'll bump it down to two, for now, the same will also apply to my Akame ga Kill fic. Instead of posting three chapters in a row, I'll substitute the missing third chapter with an update for either my Batman or Spider-man stories. So going forward my update order will be: Pokemon (Betrayal Brings out the Best in x1 chapter), Fairy Tail (Natsu Dragneel the Dual Dragon Slayer x2 chapters), Batman (It's Still Possible to Turn Your Life Around x1 chapter), Akame ga Kill (Killing Your Dark Future x2 chapters), and Spider-man (Spider-man: Love Across Dimensions x1 chapter). Then the order will reset and we'll start from the beginning again. I know some of you will be disappointed not to get three straight chapters, but with this new order it should be easier to work on all my stories, so I hope you all understand.

Well, that's all I wanted to say, so let's get to the fic!

"Speech"

"Thoughts"

Magic

Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail or any of its characters.

(Back With Gray and Racer)

"You've stopped me twice now..." Racer growled, tightly balling his fists before punching the wall of ice blocking his path, causing it to crack and crumble. "You're making it hard for me to live up to my code name." Gray's eyes widened when Racer suddenly disappeared, his body turning into a blur. The ice mage's body went rigid when he heard someone behind him a split second later. "If I really wanted to I could catch up to that pink-haired bastard in a second, but...I won't feel right until I kill you!" Whipping around, Gray attempted to punch Racer, but he ducked under it at blinding speed. Before Gray even had a chance to react, Racer hit him with a powerful kick to the gut, sending the ice mage flying backward. With a crash, Gray slammed into his own wall of ice, before collapsing to the ground. "You might as well give up kid...if you do I'll make your death quick and painless. Then once I'm done with you, I'll have plenty of time to chase after those brats who got away."

"Tch, as if..." Gray scoffed as he spat out a mouthful of blood and got back onto his feet. "I said I'm not letting you get passed me and I meant it...I'll stop you again and again!"

"Fine, just remember that I gave you the option to end this quickly..." Race said, his knees bending as he got down into a sprinter's starting position. "Now let's dance!"

In the blink of an eye Racer seemingly disappeared, his entire body seeming to turn into a blur as he moved at an astonishingly fast speed. Gray attempted to keep up with Racer's lightning fast movements but ended up making himself dizzy in the process. The ice mage was instantly on edge when he lost track of Racer. Taking a deep breath to calm himself, Gray closed his eyes an attempted to pinpoint where Racer was using sound. Moments later Gray's eyes snapped open and he spun around, forming a wall of ice in front of him. However, Racer had expected this and changed course on a dime, dashing around the wall of ice. Gray roared in pain when Racer's heel slammed into his back, sending him crashing through his own ice wall. The power behind the kick sent Gray flying for several feet and he eventually came to a skidding stop at the forest's treeline.

"Damn it...this bastard is gonna be tougher to take down than I thought..." Gray thought as he slowly got back onto his feet, clutching his aching stomach. Turning his head, Gray glanced at the treeline behind him and an idea popped into his head. "I need to lure this guy into the forest, it's to easy for him to maneuver around me when we're out in the open like this..." Seeing that Racer was about to rush at him once again, Gray threw his plan into action and dove into the forest.

"Do you think you can lose me in the forest?" Racer muttered, quirking an eyebrow in amusement. "Nice try kid, but you aren't getting away from me!"

"Good, he took the bait..." Gray thought as he looked back and saw Racer sprinting after him, quickly closing the distance between them. "Alright, let's see if this will work..." Suddenly Gray began to run in an extremely erratic pattern, zigzagging between trees and clusters of shrubbery. However, Gray wasn't simply trying to throw Racer off with his unorthodox path. Every time Gray ducked around a tree or bunch of bushes, he would throw down a patch of ice onto the ground. "Come on...please work..." Gray found out if his plan had worked or not a few seconds later. A satisfied smirk spread across Gray's face when he heard Racer suddenly yell a string of obscenities, followed by the sound of him slamming headfirst into a tree. "Gotcha!"

"You little shit!" Racer roared, picking himself up off the ground, careful not to slip on the ice again. "When I get my hands on you, I'll rip your damn head off! Then I'm gonna kill that pink-haired bastard and that little girl!"

"You gotta catch me first!" Gray taunted as he continued to sprint through the forest, continuing to lay down more ice traps along the way. Slipping behind a tree, Gray stopped for a moment to catch his breath, the sounds of Racer hitting more of ice slicks echoing out in the distance. "I'm really just pissing him off right now...I need to find a way to take him down for good." As Gray brainstormed possible ideas, he heard two familiar voices in the forest ahead of him. "That's it! I'm gonna need some backup to finish this guy off!" Without a second thought, Gray took off sprinting towards the voices, bursting through a patch of bushes moments later, right in front of Lyon and Sherry.

"Gray!?" Lyon exclaimed, his eyes widening in surprise. "What are you doing here?!"

"No time to explain!" Gray yelled as he grabbed ahold of Lyon's arm and pulled him back into the forest with him. "A member of Oración Seis is right on my ass and I need your help!"

"Lyon-sama!" Sherry called out, starting to run after the ice mages.

"Stay back Sherry! We'll handle this!" Lyon exclaimed as he let Gray pull him deeper into the forest. "Cover our backs and make sure no more of those Oración Seis guys show up!" Sherry looked hesitant for a moment, but she eventually nodded her head. Seeing that Sherry was no longer following them, Lyon turned his attention back to Gray. "And you! What about Wendy?! Weren't you and Natsu both looking for her!?"

"Don't worry about it!" Gray said, turning his head to flash a smirk at Lyon. "Natsu rescued her and Happy! They're heading back to Erza right now! But right now I was hoping you could help me take this guy down, I'm kinda running low on magic!"

"Heh, then you should watch and learn..." Lyon said with a grin as he pulled his arm free of Gray's grasp. "I'll teach you the basics of creation magic..." Gray's eyes widened slightly when he saw Lyon using two hands now to cast his magic. "Ice Make..."

"You're using both hands now..." Gray muttered with a small smile, watching as ice magic gathered around Lyon's hands.

"That's the way our teacher taught us, right?" Lyon responded before he extended his arm out towards Racer, moments later dozens of birds made of solid ice materialized. "Eagle!" The ice birds instantly flew towards Racer, forcing him to frantically dodge each of them. "Tch, he avoided all of them."

"Playtime is over!" Racer exclaimed, rushing towards Gray and Lyon at a blazing speed. Both ice mages dove out of the way, barely managing to avoid Racer's attack. As Gray and Lyon dodged Racer's strike, both ice mages pressed their fists into their palms.

"Ice Make Ape!"

"Ice Make Hammer!"

Both ice attacks locked onto Racer, attempting to hit him before he could turn around and attack once again. However, true to his name, Racer used his superior speed to dodge both attacks, even going so far as tricking Gray's own ice hammer into destroying Lyon's ice ape.

"Damn it, I can't hit him!" Gray growled in frustration as he continued to try and hit Racer with the massive ice hammer.

"Keep calm and focus!" Lyon chastised, keep a close eye on each of Racer's movements, barely managing to keep up with him. "If you really concentrate you can keep up with his movements."

"Concentrate...right!" Gray exclaimed as both he and Lyon threw off their shirts simultaneously. "Alright Lyon, on my signal fire everything you've got! He's fifty meters in front of us!"

"I see him!" Lyon called out, pressing his fist into his palm.

"Go!" Gray yelled as both mages ice mages unleashed their most powerful attacks. "Ice Geyser!"

"Snow Dragon!"

Both towering ice attacks launched towards Racer, seeming impossible to avoid. But to Gray and Lyon's astonishment, Racer leaped into the air and sprinted up the ice dragon, climbing higher and higher. However, as Lyon watched Racer go higher and higher, something in the air caught his eye. The gears in Lyon's head began to turn and he soon realized what Racer's magic truly was, and how to defeat him.

"Got you!" Racer exclaimed, suddenly appearing both ice mages and hitting them with powerful punches. Both Gray and Lyon yelled in pain as they went flying through the air, crashing down several feet away. "You can try to hit me all you like, but you'll never hit me. You'll never be able to match my speed! Now I think it's about time to end this, then I can go after that girl and pink-haired prick!"

"Gray, I'm going to need your full attention right now..." Lyon said as he got back onto his feet. "I know how we can beat this guy, I've discovered his weakness." Leaning closer, Lyon whispered his plan into Gray's ear.

"Are you serious?!" Gray suddenly exclaimed, his eyes widening in surprise. "There's no way-"

"Just trust me, this will work..." Lyon said quietly so only he and Gray would be able to hear. Without another word, Lyon encased Gray's entire in a pillar of ice, the tower rising higher and higher into the air. "I won't be needing your help anymore!"

"Lyon...you little..." Gray grunted, doing his best to go along with Lyon's plan. "Why would you do this?!"

"Just stay quiet and watch," Lyon said with a smirk as he turned back to face Racer.

"Oh, looks like I got to see a fight between friends," Racer said, crossing his arms over his chest. "You two seemed to be in sync, I'm quite surprised."

"Don't get the wrong idea..." Lyon said with a chuckle as he slowly shook his head. "He is not my friend. We simply had the same teacher...that's all. Now come at me, I'll take you down all by myself."

"Geez..." Racer said, releasing a heavy sigh before he shot towards Lyon. "That arrogance of yours is why you're going to lose! Well, you never had a chance of winning in the first place!"

"Your weakness is that you have no real attack power," Lyon said as he slammed his fist into his palm. "No matter how fast you're going, you only have one attack." Moments later Lyon's body became surrounded by razor sharp spikes of ice. "Ice Make Hedgehog!"

"What the?!" Racer exclaimed, coming to a skidding stop only inches away from being impaled on one of the ice spikes. "Cheeky little shit!"

"What's the matter?" Lyon asked as he took off running away from Racer. "Come at me with your superior speed!"

"You really are underestimating me..." Racer said with a smirk, before rocketing towards Lyon at a blinding speed, a sonic boom echoing throughout the forest. Lyon gasped in pain when Racer's fist smashed into his stomach a half second later, destroying the protective ice spikes around his body. "Do you really think I'd show all my tricks to weaklings like you?"

"Damn it..." Lyon growled as he turned tail and tried to run away again. "I've got to get further away!"

"Why are you still running!?" Racer asked with a sadistic laugh, kicking Lyon in the back and sending him tumbling to the ground. "It's pointless! Just accept your fate and die already!" Despite the taunting Lyon got back up once again and continued to flee away from Racer. "Oi! Oi! Where's that cockiness from earlier!? I thought you were gonna take me down all by yourself!" Laughing wildly, Racer assaulted Lyon with a series of lightning fast attacks. Eventually, Lyon collapsed to the ground and Racer crouched over him, a dagger pressed to the ice mage's throat. "Earlier you said I only had one attack, huh? But for attacks like this, my little dagger is best. With my speed, no matter what type of magic you use, my knife will still pierce your throat. You young brats always act all tough and arrogant, which is fine I suppose. But you really messed with the wrong guy this time. I'm a member of Oración Seis! The six demons! The six prayers! The six pillars that will never crumble! Whenever someone times to shake those pillars...they always die!"

"Heh, I knew it..." Lyon muttered which caused Racer to quirk an eyebrow in confusion. "Earlier when I saw that bird flying off incredibly fast...it was then that I figured out what your magic actually is...Your magic doesn't make you faster at all. It reduces the speed of everything within a certain area." Lyon noticed Racer's entire body stiffen and he knew he had guessed correctly. "In other words, all you did was lower my speed. As long as your magic only works within a certain range, anybody who sees you from outside that area can take away that speed!"

"What are you-" It was then that Racer noticed a glint out in the distance, coming from the tower of ice Lyon had trapped Gray in. "Son of a bitch! That's why you kept running away instead of fighting!"

"Looks like you were right Lyon..." Gray said as he readied a bow and arrow made of solid ice, aimed directly at Racer. "I can clearly see everything now."

"It doesn't matter..." Racer said, standing up on trembling legs. "At that distance, there's no way he'll hit me!"

"Oh yes, he can..." Lyon said with a smirk before he lunged forward and grabbed ahold of Racer's leg, freezing it in a block of ice. "No matter what they do...when a Fairy Tail mage puts their heart into something...they're the strongest there is!"

Racer gasped in shock as he watched the ice arrow leave Gray's bow, closing the distance between them at an incredible speed. As the arrow neared, Racer frantically tried to free himself from the ice encasing his leg, but it was no use. Unable to dodge the attack, the ice arrow struck Racer in the chest, causing an explosion of ice shards and sending him soaring backward. With a pained scream, Racer crashed to the ground, scraps of ice surrounding him.

"Nice job Lyon, you were right about that guy's magic..." Gray said, walking up to his fellow apprentice and helping him back up onto his feet. "We did it."

"Did it?" Lyon repeated with a slight grin as he stood back up, his legs feeling a little wobbly. "There's still five of those bastards left..."

"It isn't over yet! I won't let you win like this!" A sudden exclamation surprised Gray and Lyon, both were shocked to see that Racer was back up, blood spilling from his mouth. Suddenly Racer ripped open his vest and charged towards Gray and Lyon. Both ice mages were stunned to see dozens of explosive lacrima strapped to his chest. "In the name of Oración Seis, I swear I won't go down alone! I'm taking at least one of you with me!"

"Damn it!" Lyon yelled as he collapsed down onto one knee. "I'm too worn out to cast any spells!"

"I got this!" Gray said, pressing his fist into his palm, grimacing as a sharp pain shot through his shoulder. "Ice Make Floor!" Slamming his hands on the ground, Gray coated the ground in front of him a thin sheet of ice. The sudden ice formation caused Racer to stumble and slip. "I've got be fast!"

Extending an arm outward, Gray morphed the ice floor beneath Racer into several spikes, each of them piercing one of the explosive lacrima attached to Racer. Instantly the explosive lacrima began to glow bright red, signaling they were about to blow. Clenching his extended fist, Gray changed the ice's structure once again, this time creating a block of solid ice encasing Racer and separating the explosives from his chest. A split second later the lacrima exploded in a brilliant fireball. Gray raised his arms to shield his face from the smoke and flying debris. Once the explosion died down, Gray lowered his to survey the damage. Racer laid on the ground charred and bleeding but still appeared to be breathing. The area surrounding Racer was burned to a crisp and smoking, with dozens of trees being impaled by large shards of ice. However, when Gray turned around to face Lyon, his heart skipped a beat. His fellow ice mage was lying on the ground face down, blood pooling all around him.

"LYON!?" Gray exclaimed as he sprinted over to Lyon's side, crouching down next him. Flipping Lyon over onto his back, Gray's heart sank when he saw three spikes of ice had struck Lyon. One was in his right arm, another was in his left shoulder, and the final shard of ice was stuck in his stomach. "Shit! Shit! Shit!" Gray immediately began to panic, not knowing what to do. At least Lyon was still breathing and the ice shards had punctured too deep, so Lyon didn't appear to be in any mortal danger, at least not yet. "Bandages! I need something to stop the bleeding!"

"Lyon-sama!?" Spinning around, Gray was surprised to see Sherry rushing towards them, tears in her eyes. "What happened?!"

"I don't have time to explain! We need something to bandage Lyon's wounds to stop the bleeding!" Gray said, frantically scanning his surroundings for anything he could use. "The ice isn't in there too deep, but if we don't stop-" Gray was cut off by the sounds of ripping fabric. Turning back around, Gray was surprised to see Sherry ripping off parts of her dress. "What are you-"

"Just shut up and pull the damn ice out of him!" Sherry exclaimed as she continued to rip off parts of her pink dress. Not wanting to further agitate Sherry, Gray did as he was told and carefully pulled the ice shards from Lyon's body. It was then Gray saw what Sherry was planning, as she wrapped the torn portion of her dress around the wound on Lyon's right arm, forming makeshift bandages. Suddenly Sherry gestured to Racer's unconscious form. "I need more to cover the wound on his stomach and shoulder, bring me that guy's shirt!"

"On it!" Gray said, before running over to Racer and tearing off his shirt, quickly handing it over to Sherry. After a few minutes, Sherry managed to craft several bandages from the torn fabric and successfully covered all of Lyon's wounds, temporarily stopping the bleeding. Releasing a sigh of relief, Gray sat down next to Lyon. "We...we did it...nice job Sherry. Lyon should be fine for now, we can have Wendy take a look at him later."

"Yeah..." Sherry muttered as she stared blankly at Lyon's bloodied body, her fists clenching tightly. "Those who hurt Lyon-sama...I'll destroy them!"

(Same Time: Back with Brain)

"ARGH!" Brain exclaimed, a suddenly being hit by a piercing pain in his head. Clutching his head, Brain began to breathe heavily, his body shaking slightly. "Racer...has been defeated...does that mean one pillar of the six demons has crumbled?" Stumbling over the altar within the cave, Brain violently swiped off whatever was atop it. "Ohhhhh...I took those brats too lightly...I never thought I'd have to wake him..." Tightly balling his fists, Brain turned to Midnight's still-sleeping form. "Midnight!" Midnight remained motionless for several moments before his eyes fluttered open. "I want all those light guild bastards dead! Every single one of them!"

"Okay..." Midnight muttered as he slowly got onto his feet, rubbing the back of his head. "Father..."

(Same Time: With Jura)

"That explosion just now..." Jura muttered, looking out into the distance and spotting a tower of smoke rising from the forest. "I hope everyone is okay..." Suddenly Jura whipped around, sensing a strong magical presence close by. "Come out now...I know you're here." Without warning the ground and forest surrounding Jura began to warp, turning almost into a liquid trying to envelop him.

"I'd expect nothing less from a wizard saint..." Hot Eyes said with a smirk as he appeared from the treeline.

"You won't defeat me so easily!" Jura exclaimed, extending his arm outwards. Moments later several pillars of hardened earth rocketed towards Hot Eyes.

"The same goes for me..." Hot Eyes said as he pointed two fingers towards the incoming pillars, turning them to mush at his feet. "My magic turns the earth soft, while yours hardens it...shall we see which is better?"

"There is no greater or lesser magic..." Jura said, his eyes narrowing as he slid into a fighting stance. "The one with the strongest ideals always wins!"

"Oh, that is where you're wrong." Hot Eyes corrected as his smirk widened considerably. "No matter the epoch, the one who always wins...are always the rich!"

(Same Time: Back with Lucy)

"I hope that explosion wasn't near Natsu..." Lucy said, staring down at Erza, the scarlet-haired knight's faces still contorted in pain. "Please get here soon Natsu, we don't know how much longer Erza has..." Just then Lucy perked up when she heard rustling in the forest nearby. Instinctively Lucy reached for her celestial spirit keys, her hand hovering just over Sagittarius'. "Who's there!"

"I made it!" Lucy's eyes lit up when she saw Natsu and Happy burst through the tree line, with Wendy and Carla following right behind him.

"Natsu!" Lucy exclaimed with tears in her eyes as she ran up to her pink-haired mate, hugging him tightly. "I'm so glad you're safe! And you managed to save Wendy!"

"Of course I saved her! Now let's get Erza healed up!" Natsu cheered with a toothy grin, grabbing the unconscious blue-haired dragon slayer from Carla and gently setting her down next to Erza. Reaching out, Natsu gently shook Wendy's shoulder. "Wendy...come on we need you to wake up...we don't have any time to spare..." After a few moments, Wendy's eyes slowly opened, instantly locking with Natsu's. "Heh, glad to see you're finally awake, Wendy."

"N-Natsu..." Wendy stuttered just before tears welled up in her eyes. Chocking back a sob, Wendy hid her face in her hands. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I really messed-" Wendy was cut off when she felt a strong pair of arms wrap around her, moments before she was completely enveloped by a comforting warmth. Looking up, Wendy's face flushed red when she saw that Natsu was hugging her. "Natsu?"

"Shhhh..." Natsu said, gently rubbing the back of Wendy's head. "You have nothing to be sorry for Wendy. I understand why you did what you did, but you need to understand that, that man isn't the Jellal you remember." Seeing the confused look Wendy gave him, Natsu released a light sigh. "I'll explain it to later once things have calmed down, but right now we really need you to heal Erza. Remember, she was bitten by that poisonous snake? We need you to save her! Please, I'm begging you, Wendy!"

"We're going to need Erza's power to defeat Oración Seis..." Hibiki said as he walked over, his hands in his pockets. "We have some strong fighters on our side, but it will be tough if Oración Seis comes at us with everything they've got."

"Please..." Lucy said, lowering her head to hide the tears forming in her eyes. "Save Erza!"

"Guys...you don't need to do all this..." Wendy said with a smile as she crouched down next to the scarlet-haired knight, her hands glowing a faint green. "Of course I'll heal Erza, you didn't even need to ask. She's someone that is special to Natsu and Lucy, and I would hate to see the both of you sad if anything bad happened to her." Everyone breathed a sigh of relief as Wendy began to cure Erza of the poison flowing through her body, the discoloration in her arm slowly fading away. A silence fell over the group as they allowed Wendy to work in peace, even Natsu was giving her space so that he wouldn't disturb her. "I heard that Jellal did horrible things to Erza...and Natsu said that wasn't the Jellal that I know...I'm so confused right now...just what the hell is going on?"

(Somewhere Deep Within the Forest: With Cobra)

"This guy sure is strange..." Cobra thought, trailing slightly behind Jellal, successfully keeping his presence hidden. "I can't properly hear his heartbeat. If I could hear his heartbeat, I wouldn't have to follow him like this!" Cobra perked up slightly when he noticed Jellal stop before a massive tree covered in dozens of chains. "Why did he stop?" Cobra's eyes widened slightly as he gazed at his strange surroundings. "What the hell even is this place?! I had no idea there was something like this in the forest!" Suddenly Jellal pressed his hand against the tree and a faint light began to emanate from it. "Was Brain right? Did this guy seriously lead us to Nirvana?!" Without warning the tree burst in a massive ball of light, followed by a surge of incredibly strong magical power. Cobra felt a chill run down his spine as he gazed at the swirl of magical energy. "He really did find it! Now, our future...it's ours! It belongs to us now!"

(Same Time: Back with Brain)

"There's no doubt about it..." Brain muttered in awe as he stared the pillar of black light in the distance.

"Congratulation, Father..." Midnight said with a smirk, turning back to face Brain. "I'll kill all those pesky light mages before the middle of the night is upon us. You should quickly make your way towards that light, Fater."

(Five Minutes Earlier: Back With Natsu)

"*Sigh* I'm all done..." Wendy said with a smile as she wiped the sweat from her brow, releasing an exhausted breath. "I can't detect any more poison within Erza's body."

"She's really gonna be okay?" Lucy asked in a shaky voice, feeling tears form in her eyes.

"Yes, she's gonna make a full recovery," Wendy said, then as if on cue Erza groaned slightly, but it wasn't the pained grunts she had been making since she had been poisoned. "She should be back up on her feet in a little while, but she's no longer in any danger."

"Hell yeah! That was awesome Wendy!" Natsu cheered with a massive smile, rushing forward and scooping the blue-haired dragon slayer up, embracing her in a spinning hug. "I knew you could do it, Wendy!"

"Ohmygod! Ohmygod! Ohmygod!" Wendy endlessly chanted in her head as her entire face flushed near neon red, with her heart thundering in her chest. "Natsu is hugging me so tightly! This is completely different from when he hugged me earlier! Holy crap, was he always this strong!? His arms are freaking huge, and his chest is rock hard!" However, Wendy's excitement and raging hormones were soon quelled when she felt Natsu suddenly set her back down. The pink-haired dragon slayer gently gripped both her shoulders and they instantly locked eyes. "Natsu?"

"Wendy...I can't thank you enough for saving Erza. I don't know what I'd do if I had lost her..." Natsu said with a large smile, but Wendy could tell that he was fighting back tears. "I'll never be able to repay you."

"You don't need to repay me, Natsu...I was just helping someone special to me..." Wendy said as her cheeks once again burned bright pink, knowing what she was about to say to the pink-haired dragon slayer. "But there is something you can do for me."

"What is it?" Natsu asked, quirking an eyebrow in intrigue. "I'll do whatever I can, Wendy."

"Well...it's gonna be my birthday in a few weeks..." Wendy explained as she began to fidget slightly in embarrassment. "When that day comes...I want you to do something for me...something I've been thinking about for a while."

"And what would that be?" Natsu asked in a slightly confused tone, not understanding why Wendy was being so cryptic.

"That's a secret, you'll just have to wait until my birthday to find out..." Wendy said with a smile before she winked at Natsu. "Look forward to it Natsu, I'm sure it will truly be a special day."

"Alright, that's quite enough flirting!" Carla exclaimed in an annoyed tone, stepping in between Natsu and Wendy. "As you all can see, Erza has been healed, but I must please ask you not to use Wendy's sky magic anymore. You can probably tell that using that power uses up a large amount of her magical energy."

"Please don't worry about me!" Wendy stepped in as she shot Carla a defiant look. "I'm not some little kid anymore, I can handle myself!"

"That's what I like to hear!" Natsu cheered, patting Wendy on the back. "Just be confident in yourself, Wendy! You'll do great, I know it!"

"Yeah..." Wendy muttered as she turned her head away from Natsu, nervously rubbing her arm. "But what I did with Jellal..."

"That's in the past now..." Hibiki said, shooting Wendy a small smile to reassure her that everything was fine. "When Erza-san wakes up, we can strike back against Oración Seis."

"Right!" Lucy exclaimed full of energy as she smiled confidently, clenching both her fists. "It's time we took those bastards down!"

"We'll never let them get Nirvana!" Happy added, flying around the group.

However, the light mage's celebration was cut short when an explosion rang out in the distance. Turning towards the source of the sound, everyone was surprised to see a massive pillar of black shooting into the sky, intense magical energy circling around it. Natsu quickly grabbed ahold of Lucy and Wendy, before crouching in front of Erza, using his body to shield the three of them from a shockwave that was sent out by the sudden explosion of magical power. When the shockwave died down several seconds later, Natsu released the girls and turned back towards the beam of black light.

"Just what the fuck is that thing?" Natsu asked as he glared at the swirling magical energy. "I get a bad feeling just looking at it."

"I-It can't be..." Hibiki said in a nervous tone, staring at the beam of light in fear. "That's Nirvana!"

"No way..." Lucy said as she clutched a hand over her heart. "There's no way Oración Seis has beaten us!"

"That light..." Natsu growled, before engulfing his body in blazing blue flames, his teeth grit in rage. "That's where Jellal is!" Without warning, Natsu took off running into the forest, directly towards the source of the beam of black light.

"Wait, Natsu!?" Lucy called out as she chased after Natsu for a few steps but quickly gave up on trying to keep up with him. "What the hell do you mean about Jellal being there?!"

"Damn it..." Wendy said with tears in her eyes, tightly clenching her fists in self-loathing. "It's all my fault...this is all happening because of me..."

"I have to stop that bastard!" Natsu thought as he sprinted through the forest at breakneck speed, his blue flames scorching anything in his path. "I can't let Erza meet that son of a bitch! I'm not putting her through that! Not after what he did to her! I'm going to smash him, for good this time!"

With all the commotion going on, no one noticed Erza's eyes slowly flutter open.

(Same Time: Back with Gray)

"Damn it! What the fuck is going on!?" Gray exclaimed in a frustrated tone, before crouching down next to Lyon's unconscious form. "Whatever, we need to find Wendy fast, Lyon is still pretty beat up."

"Somebody is responsible for hurting Lyon-sama...somebody put his life in danger..." Sherry thought as her mind suddenly started to become clouded with dark and sinister thoughts. "Who is responsible..."

"Oi Sherry! Snap the hell out of it!" Gray yelled, trying to lift Lyon up off the ground. "Help me carry Lyon! We need to get him help!"

"Him..." Sherry thought as she gazed at the bloodied, half-melted spikes of ice scattered on the ground. Soon Sherry shifted her gaze to Gray, her eyes full of rage and hate, the eyes of someone ready to kill. "It was him..."

And done! I figured this was a good stopping point because things are really going to start kicking off next chapter and I didn't want to start all that now. The biggest thing I changed with this chapter, is that I didn't have Lyon jump off that cliff Racer and seemingly die in the explosion. I'm not a huge fan of fakeout deaths, so I decided to change up how Lyon got hurt. This way Lyon is still out of commission and we still get murderous Sherry! Next chapter will pick up where this one left off, but please remember that I'm working on my Batman story next, so you'll have to wait a little while for the next chapter of this story. Just please be patient and the next chapter will come out eventually! Remember to follow/favorite if you enjoyed, PLEASE REVIEW(I NEED AND APPRECIATE ALL OF YOUR FEEDBACK), check out my profile and other stories, and lastly PM me any ideas you might have for any of my fics. So until next time, I'm outta here!