Hello everyone and welcome again to another installment of RDK! I apologize for the long wait, but I had a lot going on. I will never abandon any of my stories. I will always update my stories even if it takes a while. I am proud to say that after six years, I am a college graduate. It feels so good to be done. So I plan to hopefully post this before a planned vacation trip with my family.
Avengers Endgame left me in tears, which I have not done for a movie in years. I was left mentally and emotionally exhausted. And just this week I saw Godzilla King of the Monsters and it was awesome. Long Live the King! Man, that was such a fun time. Now then this finishes the GMG and the beginning of the invasion portion of this arc. Since this chapter finishes the GMG, expect for this chapter to be nothing but fights. I apologize if any drag out, but I did not want to skip any fights and wanted to take my own spin as a lot of changes were made. I hope everyone is ready because we are approaching the endgame.
Now on with the chapter!
The Battle Royal Rages On! The Darkness begins to Descend.
The rescue team along with Lucy, Yukino, and Loki simply stared in shock at the other Lucy.
"What the hell is going on?! Why are there two Lucys!" Natsu comically shouted in confusion as he looked back and forth between the two Lucys.
"It can't be Gemini. They haven't been summoned." Yukino nervously said as sweat dripped down the sides of her cheek.
"You're not acting like Edolas-Lucy, either." Happy continued.
The second Lucy bit her lip anxiously before looking back up to her spectators. "I am sure you are aware of the Eclipse Gate, right?" she asked.
Everyone felt their eyes widen in recognition. "Wait you don't mean….." Lily began as the other Lucy nodded. "I used the gate to arrive here from the future."
"THE FUTURE?!" everyone shouted in shock.
"But why?" a stun Loki asked. Mirai Lucy began to wobble as her vision became blurry. "I n-n-n-needed to w-w-warn y...ou...all."
"Woah!" everyone shouted as Natsu and Wendy quickly ran up and caught her before she fell to the ground. "Is she okay?" a concerned Happy asked.
Loki gently touched her forehead. He frowned as he answered. "She's completely exhausted. Not to mention she's burning up. We need to get her out of here."
"This is really weird," Lucy muttered as she continued to look at her future self as everyone continued their trek out of the palace.
[Hisui's Viewing Balcony]
"Hisui-hime, what will do now that the keys have been retrieved?" Minister Darton asked as he looked towards the princess as he gazed out of her balcony.
"It doesn't matter." she finally answered. Darton blinked in confusion "Doesn't matter? What do you mean, princess?" He asked in a confused tone.
"I have already used the keys to release the locks on the gate. Now we have to do is wait. Whether we open the gate or not will depend on the outcome of the GMG today."
[Within the city arena]
"Hm. It's you." Gajeel grunted as Rogue appeared a few feet away. "Gajeel. I will beat you this time," he said a determined Rogue. Gajeel merely scoffed.
"You said that the last time. This time, I won't be as kind as before." Gajeel then began to release his magical power as a green aura enveloped his body as he glared at Rogue. "I won't be pulling any punches."
"So you finally here, Laxus," Orga said in an arrogant tone. Laxus smirked. "Orga, the black lightning mage."
"I hope you're ready to lose. I am a god slayer, meaning you are beneath me." Orga smirked. Laxus merely raised an eyebrow. "Hmph. You may slay gods, but can you slay a fairy?" Laxus challenged.
Orga glared as he began to release black electricity as it covered his body. Laxus retaliated as he released his own yellow lightning. The two mages of lightning continued to glare at another as their electricity clashed against one another.
"Hmmm, Gildarts Clive," Jura commented as Gildarts smirked in anticipation. "Well, looks like it's our turn to have some fun."
"THE NEXT BATTLES ARE ABOUT TO BEGIN!"
[Cliffside near the GMG Stadium]
"Don't you think we should do something?" Meredy asked in anticipation as she anxiously looked between her companions and the city arena.
"Like what Meredy? It's like Naruto said, no one would honestly believe our claims and we'd be going against the royal family of Fiore. We need to do this discreetly." Ultear countered before sighing. While she understood that did not mean she enjoyed sitting down and waiting for something to happen.
"But if what Future Lucy said is true, shouldn't we at least do something?" Meredy pressed on. Ultear looked to their third companion. "What do you think, Jellal?"
"Hmmm." Jellal mused in contemplation. "What's wrong, Jellal?" Ultear asked.
"There is something off with all this," Jellal said. His companions looked on in confusion. "With what Naruto told us?" Jellal shook his head. "No his warning matches the calamity that Lucy told us about. But there is something off with future Lucy," he said as began thinking about inconsistency with the other Lucy and an encounter during the GMG.
[Erza vs Kagura]
The two swordswomen clashed their blades against one another as dust and debris went flying in all directions around them. "I won't be holding back, Erza," Kagura warned as she pushed Erza back and dashed to strike her again. Erza held a strong stance as she retorted, "That's exactly what I want!"
However, Erza underestimated Kagura's strength as her sword swing was strong enough to send the red-hair mage flying back. Erza quickly flipped in mid-air as she began to change into a different armor.
"Requip: Heaven's Wheel!" Erza shouted as her attire transformed to her one of her most common armors. Erza quickly summoned two blades in her hands along with several blades around her as she dashed towards Kagura.
"Pentagram Sword!" Erza shouted, but Kagura managed to jump over the attack as she hovered over Erza.
"Strong Form!" Kagura shouted as she made an aerial dive and slammed into Erza. The Requip mage's armor easily shattered as the arena around them shattered as they began to fall to a lower level of the city arena.
"Slashing Form!" Kagura called as she got into a battoujutsu stance. Erza looked up as she saw the next attack coming and changed into a different armor. "Requip: Adamantine Armor!" Erza called, but it proved to be fruitless as Kagura ripped through her most defensive armor without issue.
"NO WAY!" everyone from Fairy Tail shouted in absolute shock. They knew better than anyone else the defensive capabilities of the adamantine armor, and to see it so easily destroyed was terrifying.
"IT TOOK THE JUPITER CANNON TO RIP THAT ARMOR APART!" Macao shouted. "AND KAGURA DID IT IN ONE ATTACK!" Wakaba replied back.
"She is strong," Makarov said as he stared at the projection in shock.
"This won't be easy for Erza," Mavis said in a serious tone.
At the Mermaid Heel Balcony, Anna and Irene were having their own discussion on the fight. "Kagura is definitely not playing around." Anna commented as she looked at her best friend/lover/co-wife "Are you worried?" Irene shook her head.
"I expected Kagura to not hold back. I know Erza will not let this hamper her so easily. I have faith these two will give us quite a show." Irene said in a confident tone. Anna gave a slight giggle as she returned her gaze to the projection.
At the statue, Naruto had sat down, cross-legged as he stared at the projection. "Come on, Erza. You can do it," he said with conviction in his voice.
"Ugh." Erza coughed out as blood oozed down her chin and the side of her lips. She turned in mid-air to see Kagura looking at her expectantly. "Is that it?" she challenged. Erza growled as body enveloped in a glow again. "Flight Armor! Flight Sonic Claw!" Erza shouted as she became a blur and blitzed passed Kagura. However, after the assault, Kagura only had a few scratches, but Erza's eyes widen as she cried in pain as several slashes appeared all over her body.
Kagura flipped in the air as she was enveloped in a dark blue aura. "Dash Form! Strong Form!" Kagura shouted as she aerial dive again to Erza. Erza saw the incoming attack and changed to her purgatory armor to withstand the attack, but the armor easily shattered as Kagura slammed into Erza and sending her into collision with the hard floor of the city arena.
Kagura quickly jumped back as dust and debris flew up. She waited for Erza's next move as she knew it would take more than that to finish her mistress's child. She blinked as she looked to see a bloody and injured Erza get out of the crater with the last bits of her armor falling off.
"I never thought I will ever meet anyone that could surpass Erza by such a margin," Makarov commented. Mavis nodded. "Irene-neesan really found an amazing mage for her guild," Mavis replied.
"Gravity Pressure x20!" Kagura called as Erza was forced to her knees again. Erza struggled to get up, but the damage she received was restricting her from doing so. Suddenly, Erza began to hear giggling in her head.
'You seem to be in quite the bind. Want any help?' the voice teased. Erza felt a vein pop in her head as her eye twitched a bit. 'Don't tease me, Aki! And not yet. I want to save our trump card for a while longer.' she replied back.
Aki simply giggled again in amusement. 'As you wish.'
"Dash Form!" Kagura shouted as she appeared right in front of Erza. "Gravity Curse x2! Barrage Form!" Kagura called as she hit Erza with a twenty hit combo that increased Erza's gravity every two times as she was sent flying into a stone pillar, which collapsed from the force of the impact.
Erza struggled to get up, but the debris and the spells cast on her prevented most of her movements. Kagura looked at her opponent with displeasure clear in her face.
"I'm disappointed Erza. I expected more from you." Kagura lectured before sighing. "Oh well, time to end this." Kagura dashed as she saw Erza summoned another weapon. Kagura mentally shook her head as nothing Erza had could save her. However, Kagura became shocked when Erza actually stood up and actually blocked Kagura's strike and managed to send her back.
Kagura skidded across the floor before she looked at her opponent in suspicion. "How did you manage to get out of my gravity spells?" Erza smiled as she showed Kagura her current blade. It was broadsword with a dark violet blade with the edges around the blade colored black.
"This blade is known as Gravity Core. This allows me to nullify any gravity affects on me and any damage I inflict causes the gravity of my opponent to increase, and I can change the amount of gravity on the blade and myself at any time.
Kagura smiled. "So you were waiting to use the blade when I used my gravity magic, right?"
Erza nodded with a smirk. "That's right. I needed to wait until you used your gravity spells to use it."
"Well, that nullifies my gravity spells. But do you have an answer for my blade?" Kagura responded as she got into a battle stance. Erza narrowed her eyes as she kept her smirk up.
"Actually I think I do." Erza was enveloped in a bright flash as she donned her Armadura Fairy Armor. In her hands were two new pair of blades. Both were a light purple with the right blade having red accents and designs, while the left had blue accents and designs. Kagura smiled. "I was wondering when you would dawn your strongest armor. What would you call those blades?"
"They are known as Blue Crimson. Now prepare yourself, Kagura!" Erza declared as she dashed towards her opponent. "Bring it Erza!" Kagura shouted back as she jumped to meet her opponent's strike.
[Gildarts vs Jura]
"Crush!" Gildarts shouted as he fired an energy blast that broke a giant wave of lava into small pieces that fell around the crush mage. Gildarts looked at his slightly downed opponent. Jura was breathing heavily as his robes were in tatters with several bruises all over his body. The two warriors look at one another before smirking.
"Ready to continue, Iron Rock Saint of Lamia Scale?"
"I am. What about you Ace of Fairy Tail?"
The two men continued to smirk as they charged one another. Jura made a hand sign with his right hand as he tries to prepare a Rumbling Mt. Fuji. However, Gildarts merely smirked and collected his magic into his palm and shouted, "Gekishin!" as he slammed his fist into the magic attack that destroyed the magic circle.
Jura slams his palms together and shouts, "Molten Diamond Mountain!" an orange and green magic circle appeared below Jura as large columns of lava rose from the earth as the columns all merged to form a molten golem with diamond arms and diamond spikes coming out of its back.
Jura roared as he thrust his palm forward as the lava golem roared as it reared back its diamond fist before throwing the ferocious haymaker into Gildarts. The crush mage was hurled back from the sheer force of the diamond fist as he was sent flying through several buildings before finally slamming into the stone wall connected to a bridge a few feet above him.
"TOU-SAN!/GILDARTS!" Cana and everyone else shouted in concern.
"OH MY! JURA HAS MADE A DEVASTATING HIT ON THE ACE OF FAIRY TAIL! CAN HE GET UP?!"
From the giant cloud of dust, a figure can be seen get out of the wall. Gildarts grunted as appeared out of the cloud. Gildarts popped and cracked his body to remove some of the stiffness he had. Despite having injuries all over his body, he looked perfectly fine.
"Hmm, not bad. I haven't had a work out like this in a long time." Gildarts than gave a challenging smirk to the lava golem. "Now it's my turn to repay you, right?" The golem gave a menacing growl.
Gildarts raised his fist as he condensed a portion of his crush magic into the palm of his hand. The ace of Fairy Tail closed his fist as a sphere of magical energy covered his fist. He looked up to give the golem a smirk. "Let's go, Jura!" Gildarts shouted as dashed towards the golem as the construct reared its fist for another devastating hit.
As Gildarts was just a few feet away, the golem swung its attack, but Gildarts retaliated with his fist. The two fists collided and caused several shockwaves to run through the entire area around them and across the arena as the ground below them was ripped into pieces. However, this stalemate quickly ended as cracks appeared on the diamond fist before completely shattering.
Gildarts not wanting to waste any time dashed and jumped to the center of the golem and shouted, "All Crush!" as he slammed his fist into the golem's chest with a cross-shaped blast. The blast ripped through the golem-like it was paper as it was reduced into tiny bits of molten rock and diamond. Jura was sent flying back as he slammed into the floor several times before crashing into one last crater that was several feet away from Gildarts.
Jura coughed up a mouth full of blood as he clutched his chest in pain.
"UNBELIEVABLE! GILDARTS MANAGED TO DESTROY JURA'S GOLEM IN ONE HIT!"
"THIS BATTLE SEEMS WILL REACH ITS CONCLUSION SOON-KABOO!"
Jura slowly got up as he saw Gildarts in a guarded position, waiting for him to get up. Jura smiled as he began to release the last of his magical energy, which Gildarts retaliated in kind. "Are you prepared to finish this, Gildarts?" Gildarts smiled. "Yeah time to end this." Gildarts dashed forward as he jumped into the air until he was just above Jura. He collected his magical power into his fist again as Jura made a hand sign.
"Rumbling Mt. Fuji!"
"Kabutowari!"
BOOOOOOOOOM!
A massive explosion enveloped the two titans of their respective guilds as no one could see the outcome of their last collision.
"WHO WILL BE THE LAST MAGE STANDING IN THIS BATTLE OF TITANS?!"
When the smoke finally cleared, Jura was knocked down, while Gildarts was standing over him.
"THAT'S IT! JURA IS DOWN! GILDARTS GIVES FAIRY TAIL A MASSIVE LEAD!"
"THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT OLD MAN!" Cana cheered for her father. "HOORAY FOR GILDARTS!" everyone from the guild shouted.
Naruto was looking at the victorious crush mage with an amused smirk. "Heh. As strong as always Gildarts. I can't wait for another rematch."
Gildarts felt a shiver go down his spine before shaking it off as he looked at his defeated opponent. "That was a magnificent fight, Gildarts." Jura compliment as Gildarts nodded. "Yes, it was." Gildarts turned as he began to walk away.
"Good Luck, Gildarts." Gildarts waved back as he said, "Let's meet again for another round." Jura closed his eyes as he rested on the ground of the arena. "Yes, indeed."
[Gray vs Lyon]
"Ice Make: Dragons!" Lyone shouted as his dynamic ice constructs flew towards his opponent. "Ice Make: Swords!" Gray shouted as to cut through the constructs without much difficulty. Lyon shouted, "Ice Make: Rhinos!" a herd of ice rhinos made a stampede for Gray.
The ice mage of fairy tail clasped his hands together as he summoned a giant ice bazooka. "Ice Make Cannon!" He roared as he fired off his canon, which blew away the incoming herd. Dust of ice covered the area they were in, which blinded Gray on the location of his opponent.
Gray kept his guard up as he tried to pinpoint Lyon's position. He then jumped to the side as he narrowly avoided a slash from Lyon's ice sword. Gray summoned his own pair of ice blades as the two went through a series of strikes against one another.
The two made one final clash before jumping back, breathing heavily. Both had already gone through a previous battle that had to weaken them and their battle was much more exhausting as both knew the other's move extensively.
"Even after all this time, we are still completely even," Gray said with an exasperated tone, though he couldn't help but smile at his opponent.
"It's always been like that it seems," Lyon replied in a similar tone and with the same smile.
"Unfortunately, I don't have the luxury for a lost, Lyon. So come on!" Gray shouted as he got back up to cast another spell.
"You've read my mind, Gray!" Lyon retaliated as the two resumed their battle.
Unknown to the two men, in a city several miles from the capital as citizens watched the games from a projector, a certain man was watching the games. He was middle-aged with short dark blue hair. The most distinguishing feature was the scar on his chin and a silver earring on his ear. When the man saw Gray, he felt his eyes water as tears fell down his eyes.
"Gray, you're alive. Mika… our son lives….I wonder if he has unlocked your power yet." the man murmured as turned and walked away from the projection. It was time for him to return to his guild.
[Dimaria vs Minerva]
"Gah!" Minerva gritted out as she went skidding across the arena. She has several scrapes, cuts, and bruises all over her body. She glared up at her opponent. Dimaria smirked at her injured opponent as she held a broadsword on her shoulder. Dimaria had a few cuts and bruises on her body, but it was clear who had the advantage in this fight.
"Come on Minerva. Is that all you have?" Dimaria challenged. Minerva continued to glare as she staggered to get up. "Not even close." Minerva gritted out. Dimaria smirked.
"That's the spirit." Dimaria then dashes forward and swung her blade downward. Minerva managed to switch herself before the sword collided in the spot she was originally in. Dust and debris flew from the sheer force of Dimaria's attack. The blonde Valkyrie turned to Minerva's direction and swung her blade again as it sent a blast of energy towards the spacial mage.
Minerva had her palms enveloped in dark rainbow auras as the beam attack disappeared as it was about to reach her and reappeared right next to Dimaria as it exploded. But out of the smoke was Dimaria with barely a scratch on her.
"You think hitting me with my own attack will let you prevail! I have trained this body to handle worse than that!" Dimaria shouted in an amused tone. Minerva moved her arms as a giant sphere appeared above Dimaria as several large boulders appeared right above the blonde mage's head.
Dimaria clicked in annoyance. "I told you already...CHILDISH ATTACKS LIKE THIS WON'T WORK ON ME!" Dimaria shouted as she sliced through the falling debris without difficulty. She then looked down to the area glowing in a golden magic circle. She turned to see Minerva's malicious smirk.
"Try and stop this! Niel Wielg Mion! Terse Elcantaeus! Yagdo Rigora!" Minerva shouted as Dimaria was enveloped in a large explosion.
"She can use the spells to align with the 18 War Gods?!" Mavis shouted in shock along with anyone else that the knew the origins of Minerva's spell.
Irene and Anna narrowed their eyes. "She is a dangerous mage. But it would take more than that to defeat Dimaria." Irene said with a confident smirk as Anna nodded with a similar smirk curling around her lips.
Back in the arena, Minerva was breathing heavily as she was low on her magic reserves, but smiled in victory as she looked up at the dust cloud created from the aftermath of her spell. 'That may have taken a large amount of my magical energy, but I have won.' Minerva thought as she slowly stood up as she was about to walk away when she heard something.
Clapping. She was hearing someone clapping. She slowly turned her head to the source of the clapping as her eyes grew wide as she was who was doing it. Standing in the aftermath of her strongest attack was Dimaria with a giant smirk on her lips.
"You seem pretty pleased with yourself," Dimaria commented. She had several injuries all over her body with blood dripping from several openings, but she didn't look winded at all. Dimaria cracked her neck a few times before addressing Minerva again.
"That was quite the spell. But you still lack the power to do anything meaningful to me." Suddenly all amusement left her eyes as she gained a cold glint in her stare. "Now to end this," she muttered before everything seemed to pause for a second and then Dimaria vanished.
Minerva blinked as she was suddenly covered in various slash wounds. Minerva fell to her knees as she coughed out blood. She looked behind her to see Dimaria standing above her. "W-What the hell did you do?" she coughed out. Dimaria gave a teasing smirk. "Sorry. S-e-c-r-e-t. But I am surprised you survived my first assault, but this is the end."
Everything paused once more before Dimaria appeared behind Minerva as blood erupted from her shoulder. Minerva blinked for a few times before falling down.
"MINERVA IS DOWN! POINT TO MERMAID HEEL!"
Dimaria smiled as she limped forward as she was breathing heavily as sweat went down her forehead. 'Damn that was exhausting. Even after all my training, I can still only use my Age Seal to stop time about four or five times for several seconds. And just using it two times has left me this winded. Hopefully, I can relax for a bit.'
Dimaria paused as she heard footsteps approaching her. Her eyes widen as she saw Gildarts Clive appear out of the corner.
"Oh so I am fighting the Warrior Queen now, am I?" Gildarts asked with a smirk.
Dimaria just cursed under her breath before smirking at Gildarts as she summoned Durandal. "I really have shitty luck, don't I?" she asked herself before lunging at her opponent.
[Laxus vs Orga]
"Raging Bolt!" Laxus shouted as he fired a yellow bolt at his opponent. Orga smirked as he shouted, "120 mm Lightning Cannon!" as an arc of black lightning was released from the palm of his hands.
The two lightning attacks collided as an explosion of yellow and black lightning was expelled in every direction. As the lightning and dust cleared, Laxus and Orga remained standing as they stared at one another with confident smirks curled on their lips.
"Looks like you fairies are more than just talk." Orga mocked. Laxus scoffed. "Hmph. If that's impressed you. You haven't seen anything yet." Laxus retorted as he was covered in an aura of lightning that almost looked like it was a second skin on his body. "Lightning Mode," Laxus muttered. Orga looked unimpressed.
"About time you take this seriously. I'll humor you as I show you who the superior lightning mage is." Orga arrogantly claimed as he was enveloped in an aura of black and yellow aura. "Lightning God Aura."
The two mages stared each other down as the lightning from their auras collided with one another. Suddenly the two disappeared in a flash before colliding in the center as shockwaves ripped through the surrounding area. The audience looked on in awe as flashes of yellow and black lightning flew in every direction as the two mages collided against one another.
Shockwaves rippled from their collusion as buildings, columns, and the floor itself was ripped into pieces. The collisions continued for several more minutes until they slammed into one another one last time as the mages tried to push the other way. The two forces of lightning continued their tug as lightning flew around them from their attack as they landed back into the arena and jumped back from one another.
Laxus and Orga glared at one another. Both had scrapes, bruises, and wounds all other their body as they were slightly out of breath. As they continued to stare each other down, the sun was slowly setting as the sky took a deep amber orange.
"Keh! At least you have some skill. I'm glad this fight won't end too soon. I am enjoying myself too much." Orga proclaimed as his magical aura exploded outwards. Laxus merely scoffed. "Still full of yourself, eh? Is talking big all you can do?" Laxus mocked as he released even more of his magical power. "Let's continue this, Orga." The two lightning mages then charged at one another once again.
[Gajeel vs Rogue]
"Tetsuryukon!" Gajeel shouted as his transformed arm rammed it into Rogue. The shadow dragon gasped as he was slammed into a stone wall. Rogue coughed out blood as he fell back onto the floor on his hands and knees.
"Are you done yet?" Gajeel asked. Rogue grunted as he slowly got back up. "Give it up. You can't get stronger in one day. You couldn't beat me with your partner. What makes you think, you can face me now?"
"You are alone and you are not as strong as Natsu Dragneel." Gajeel felt several veins pop as he glared at the semi-risen dragonslayer. "What did you say?"
[Meanwhile at the Royal Palace]
Natsu wore an annoyed scowl on his facial features with his arms crossed as he tapped his arms with his fingers. "Jeez. This is complete bullshit." Natsu complained loudly. Everyone else just sighed in disappointment.
"Never thought we could get lost so easily. How shameful." Loki said in resignation. "This is quite a problem." Mira blissfully said.
"*SIGH* We were supposed to escape as soon as possible and contact everyone," Lily said in exasperation.
"We could always find some soldiers to fight and just get them to tell us where we have to go," Natsu said with a wild glint in his eyes. Everyone else shook their heads.
"Denied Natsu. We can't have the entire castle on us. Plus there's no guarantee they'll actually tell the truth." Mira lectured.
"Not to mention our guild is currently in the GMG. We shouldn't give a bad impression of our guild." Mira cheerfully said. Wendy sweatdrop at that comment. "I am pretty sure that option has been thrown out the window a very long time ago." she retorted.
"Hmmm." Lucy mused as stared at her future double. "Lucy you don't have to worry so much about that." Loki reminded as he tried his best to cheer up his mage. Lucy nodded with a smile. "Yeah."
"Even if there are two of you. I can love both of you!" Loki proclaimed proudly as he pulled a bouquet of flowers from out of nowhere. Everyone merely shook their heads.
"Idiot. Dial it down." Carla chastised.
"Hmmm." the other Lucy moan as she began to squirm a bit. "Look, she's waking up." Happy said as everyone and gathered around the duplicate Lucy.
"Are you okay, other Lucy?" Happy asked. "Where am I?" Mirai Lucy asked in a confused and lost tone.
"Not sure. I think we are in the dining hall of the castle?" Mira said in confusion as everyone took notice of their surroundings. Mirai Lucy looked rather nervous at still being inside the castle. "So we are still inside the castle?" she questioned out loud.
"Mirai Lucy-san. Can you remember anything clearly when you experienced these events….or at least some version of them?" Yukino asked politely.
Mirai Lucy hummed as she touched her forehead. "Hmmm. From what I recall, we escaped the Hell Palace before being recaptured by the royal guards again," she said.
"That's lame. Why didn't we fight back?" Natsu retorted in an annoyed tone. "We ended up back at the Eclipse Gate, which meant we couldn't fight with our magic." Mirai Lucy replied softly.
"Well, that's disappointing." Natsu and several others said in annoyance. "We were sent back into the prison until that time." everyone titled their heads in confusion.
"That time?" they said in unison. "Do you mean the opening of the Eclipse Gate?" Mirajane asked as Mirai Lucy's eyes widen. "How did-"
"Wendy's dad told us. He said that someone is using the royal family to open the gate." Yukino explained.
Mirai Lucy looked even more confused. "Wendy's dad?" she asked. Everyone frowned at her confusion. "Yeah, didn't you meet him?"
"I am...not sure. But it doesn't matter. We need to speak with the royal family. We need to stop them. We need to change the worst possible future."
"What exactly is this worst possible future, Mirai Lucy?"
[Hisui's Viewing Balcony]
"That person told me that all that awaits us is despair. On July seventh, ten thousand dragons will fly over the skies of Fiore and destroy the entire country until nothing is left."
"Can such an event occur?" Darton asked with a frown on her face.
"That is why we shall await the results of the GMG. If they match what that man said then we must open the gate." Hisui said in a resolute tone.
[Back to the Rescue Team]
Everyone just gaped as they heard of the calamity that would befall the capital and the rest of the country in a few hours. The same calamity that Naruto had warned Wendy about. However, the last thing they ever expected was a herd of dragons that would eradicate the entire country of Fiore!
"That's…..That's…...ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?!" Natsu screamed in comical outrage.
"I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!" Happy equally screamed in shock.
"Calm down you two. Shouting won't change this dire situation." Lily said in an attempt to calm the screaming duo.
"Ten thousand dragons will destroy the country," Mira said as she looked down in thought.
"I can't believe our home country will suffer such a terrible fate," Yukino said in a horrified tone.
"Now I see why daddy was very vague with his warning. It's not the easiest thing to believe or accept." Wendy said as she crossed her arms in thought.
"He must have come to help us survive this catastrophe." Carla guessed as everyone nodded. They were gonna need all the help they could get to survive this.
Mira Lucy just continued to look stunned.
"WE NEED TO PREPARE FOR BATTLE!" Natsu shouted as he grabbed a couple of spears and put a helmet on his head. "CALL EVERYONE! WENDY CALL YOUR DAD! I'LL RAID THE PALACE FOR WEAPONS!" he declared.
"ARE SERIOUSLY THINKING OF FIGHTING 10,000 DRAGONS?!" Lucy comically shrieked in shock.
"THAT'S NOT POSSIBLE NATSU!" Happy exclaimed at his pinkette partner.
'Daddy could probably fight the army of 10,000 on his own. Hell, he's killed that many before.'
'The problem is that he'll now have to worry about the collateral damage that may occur. Especially with us being caught right in the middle. Hopefully, mom and auntie can tip the scales.'
'Yeah, they can help tip the scale even more for us. But we'll need something else. Something more.' Wendy contemplated until her eyes widen at a sudden epiphany. 'Hey didn't dad tell us he'll explain where the five dragons went to 14 years ago?'
'Yeah?' Dark said in a curious tone.
'You think he'll bring them in to help us?'
Dark blinked a few times before turning her head to her guest. Grandeeney gave Wendy's dark counterpart a grim look as she nodded. Dark tilted her head. 'Probably. But we won't know until we ask him.' Wendy blinked as she wondered how exactly did her dad plan to reveal the missing dragons and bring them to the capital.
Suddenly Mirai Lucy couldn't take it anymore as she shouted, "Wait!" Everyone turned to the slightly older blonde. "You guys actually believe me," she said in a completely stunning tone.
All the members of the rescue stared at her in confusion. Natsu tilted her head. "So it was a lie?" he asked. Mirai Lucy's eyes widen in shock and horror. "WHAT?! NO! But it's just odd how easily you believed me."
Once more everyone just looked at her in confusion. "Why would we ever doubt Lucy's words," Natsu said in a firm tone. Mirai Lucy was stunned for several seconds before she looked away with a blush and smile.
Lucy grabbed her future counterpart's hand as she softly patted her hand. "You should give yourself more credit, other me. And you should have a little more faith in your friends." Present Lucy said with a teasing smile. Mirai Lucy just sweatdropped at the irony of the statement. "Are you lecturing yourself. I mean, what your saying is true, but it's still weird."
"Weird has been the norm for us since we joined Fairy Tail." Happy commented with everyone chuckling in agreement. "Yes, it has been." Loki began.
"And always will be." Mira finished in amusement.
"Mirai Lucy, what happens to the rest of us after we got captured again?" Happy asked. Mirai Lucy's face turned grim as she looked down at her lap. Everyone could feel the somber mood the future blonde was in. Mirai Lucy then felt her hand taken by two smaller ones, She looked up to see Wendy give her a sympathetic look. "We all died didn't we?" Wendy asked in a sad tone. Mira Lucy bit her lips as she trembled as she looked at the younger versions of her companions.
"Damn." was all the others could say. What else could they say after finding out that they all died?
'Well, that's a bit of a donner.' Dark said in a somber tone, wild Grandeeney looked sadden at finding out her daughter died in the future.
"I remember waking up from what felt a long sleep or maybe a coma. I don't recall how long it had been. It could have been days or maybe even weeks."
"What I do remember is waking up to the sight of hell. The fire was burning the ground. Stones and trees melting from the scorching heat. Smoke blurred burned my eyes and blistered my skin. The sky was blood red to match the hellish field below. All I could hear was the roars of the dragons that continued to destroy the land below them."
Everyone looked horrified as Lucy and Yukino covered their mouths in horror. "That's awful," Mira said in a sorrowful tone. "So how did you use the gate? Didn't you need the celestial keys to open it?" Natsu asked in a confused tone.
"I found the gate after wandering around for several days. I found that the gate had been opened prior to me finding it. I used the gate and here I was again. July 4th x793."
"July fourth?" Mira said out loud. "You have been here for several days?" Loki asked.
"Why didn't you arrive earlier to warn us?" Present Lucy asked. Mirai Lucy shook her head. "The date had already been set before I used it. I don't know if someone else used or planned to use the gate."
Everyone turned to look at one another before looking at Mirai Lucy. "We need to get out of here and get in contact with Jellal."
Mirai Lucy nodded. "I confronted Jellal and told him everything. He said he was going to talk with someone. I would have to guess that it was Wendy's dad."
Everyone nodded. "That makes sense." Present Lucy mused. "I will send him a message through our link. Hopefully, he'll think of something once we get out of here." Wendy said with everyone nodding in agreement.
Mirai Lucy looked down at her lap. "I'm sorry for not having a strategy. Besides not letting the gate open, I don't know how we are supposed to stop this."
Natsu walked over to the kneeling blond as he rested his forehead on hers. "Don't worry so much about it. We'll think of something. We always have. Thank you for giving us a chance to save our present and our futures." Natsu said sincerely. Mirai Lucy looked shocked before she began to sob softly as she muttered. "Thank you." with everyone else smiling at the scene.
[Meanwhile Gajeel vs Rogue]
Rogue panted as he was on his hands and knees. Gajeel looked down at his opponent with an annoyed glare.
"Are done talking bullshit? I believe you said I was weaker than Salamander. Wanna try saying that again?"
"Rogue," Frosch said in concern.
"Maybe this is the reason why you joined Fairy Tail," Rogue muttered to himself.
"What?" Gajeel growled as he glared at his downed opponent.
"I don't know if you remember but I used to look to you. I used to go by the name Raios." Gajeel blinked at this. The name sounded familiar as he had some recollections of a brat always tailing him but most of his early days in Phantom Lord were a blur. Plus nothing memorable happened for him to even attempt remembering.
"I heard about how you joined Fairy Tail after Phantom Lord was disbanded. I couldn't believe it. Why would you join the guild that destroyed your old one? It didn't make any sense. I began to resent you and made it my mission to surpass you. But now I see why you became so strong." Rogue's eyes soften as a small smile curled on his lips.
"Fairy Tail gave you friends. You had a family. You had a reason to get strong. You had something to fight for besides yourself." Rogue then scowled as began thinking about his own guild.
"Sadly Sabertooth is not like that. Companions and friends are seen as a hindrance and should be eliminated. You were right to call us hypocrites. We preach power is everything but still guarded our partners from anyone. It's only now that Sabertooth is changing. Still, looking back now, I don't know what I am fighting for anymore." Rogue suddenly had an arm grab him by the collar and lift him up into the air. Rogue raised his head to see Gajeel's angry scowl.
"You really are annoying bastard you know that." Gajeel snarled out. Rogue blinked in confusion. "What?"
"You heard me. Tell me is the frog, not your friend?" Gajeel asked with Rogue looking even more confused. "Frog?"
"Frosch agrees," Frosch said from the stands. Back in the arena, it finally hit Rogue that Gajeel was talking about Frosch "Frosch is a cat!" he retorted back.
Gajeel just raised an eyebrow as he gave an annoying cheeky grin. "Technically he's an exceed, right?" Rogue stared at Gajeel before a smile grew on his face. "Yeah."
'You are pathetic, Rogue.' a dark voice suddenly spat. Rogue jerked his head up in surprise at the voice.
'Where's your damn pride as a dragonslayer?!' the voice continued. 'What?' Rogue thought as still was confused at what was going on. He kept looking left and right for the source of the voice he was hearing.
'Look ahead. The enemy is right in front of you.' the voice said again. Rogue just continued to look confused and wondering if he was losing his mind as looked at Gajeel. 'Enemy. But-ARGH!' Rogue suddenly mentally screamed as he held his head in pain.
'Kill Gajeel!' the voice shouted.
'What?!' Rogue grunted in shock.
'Kill Gajeel!'
'Shut up.'
'Kill him. It has always been your destiny!'
'Shut up! Where are you?!' Rogue shouted as frantically looked for the source of the voice he has been hearing in the head. 'Here.' Rogue stopped as he slowly turned to his shadow as he saw an eye staring at him with a wicked smile adorned on the shadow.
'I am your shadow.' Naruto and several others perked up as they felt something occurring. "There is a malevolent magical force in the arena. It's coming from Rogue's and Gajeel's location." Naruto muttered as he narrowed his eyes. Not much longer until the end.
[Back with the rescue team]
"This way!" Mirai Lucy shouted with the rest of the group following close behind. "How do you know this is the right place?" Natsu questioned.
"I needed to know the right pathway to avoid the royal family." Mirai Lucy replied without looking back.
"We still need to talk with Princess Hisui!" Yukino shouted with Lucy nodded as she had nearly forgotten about it with everything going on.
"We'll talk to her, I promise. But we need to regroup with the others. This is a lot more complicated." Wendy said with everyone else agreeing, even Yukino and Lucy agreed as the situation had made an expected turn.
Suddenly several royal army soldiers came around the corner of the corridor the team was running towards. "There they are!" shouted one of the men. "Arrest the escapees and the intruders!"
"The royal army again?!" several members of the team shouted in exasperation.
"But why…" Mirai Lucy muttered in confusion. They weren't supposed to be here. Did someone know they would use these corridors? But who?! And how did they predict their decisions? Suddenly the rescue team got in front of both Lucy, Mirai Lucy, and Yukino.
"Forget it. We'll just have to fight them again." Wendy said as she summoned her blades.
"Right." Mira agreed as she went into her Satan Soul.
"Lucy. Mirai Lucy. Yukino. Stay back as they want you." Loki warned as his fists glowed in a golden light.
Natsu smirked as his fists ignited in flames. "I'm all fired up!"
[Back with Gajeel and Rogue]
"GAH!" Gajeel shouted in pain from another harsh blow from the now possessed Rogue.
"What's going on?!" several members from Fairy Tail shouted in confusion at the turn of events.
"Gajeel!" Levy shouted in concern.
Both Makarov's and Mavis's eyes narrowed as they saw the murderous glint in Rogue's eyes. Something that has never been seen before. "Something is going on." Makarov finally said with Mavis nodding in agreement.
"He's being possessed by something," Mavis said with Makarov glaring at the projection as Gajeel was slammed by another of Rogue's attack.
"Will Naruto intervene?" Makarov asked in a curious tone. Mavis continued to look at the screen before answering, "Maybe. Let's wait and let this play out."
Naruto continued to watch the battle as he wondered if he should intervene to get rid of whatever malevolent presence that's possessing Rogue. The issue is that the mysterious individual might just escape and things would be bad for Fairy Tail.
Naruto blinked as he saw a glow from his necklace. There was a bright flash as Naruto got Wendy's memories. He sighed as looked up again. "Good. They've got the two of them and future Lucy. Now all that's left is for them to get out." Naruto said to himself before sighing. "Things are winding down to the endgame," he muttered to himself as he looked back at Gajeel.
"Endure Gajeel."
[Meanwhile with Crime Sorciere]
"That magical energy…." Jellal muttered in slight shock.
"Its that person again!" Ultear replied.
"It's coming from the arena," Meredy commented.
"Yes, and it's the same one we have been feeling," Jella said before shaking his head. "No, to be more precise, it's the magical energy I was chasing on the third day of the games."
Ultear and Meredy frown as mulled over what Jellal said. "But it's not Future Lucy. She is too far to be able to do anything." Ultear said as Jellal nodded.
"There's something else about what future Lucy said." Ultear and Meredy looked at their partner in confusion.
"She said she arrived on the fourth, but we were trailing someone on the third. Which means…." Jellal trailed off as Meredy's and Ultear's eyes widen in horror. "That means someone else came from the future."
Jellal nodded. "That's right. And that same person is probably manipulating the royal family for their own benefits. But what could be their goals?" Jellal muttered to himself.
"WHAT IN THE WORLD?!" the three mages slightly jumped at the sudden burst from the arena. They all turned to see Gajeel eating the shadows?!
"GAJEEL HAS EATEN THE SHADOWS?!" everyone from Fairy Tail shouted in shock.
"He actually absorbed an attribute that's not iron." an impressed Mavis said.
"Just like Natsu with Laxus's lightning," Makarov said as he critically observed Gajeel's new transformation.
Naruto chuckled at the new development. "An Iron-Shadow Dragon," Naruto said in an amused tone. "Not bad."
[Gajeel vs Rogue]
"How did you do that?" A stun possessed Rogue said. Gajeel had taken a drastic turn with his new transformation. His skin was now a dark grey similar to his iron scales. However, it was much smoother, akin to a second skin and not like armor with the scales, and had a blue and silver shine to it. His hair was wilder with wisps of shadows coming out the strands and even out of his body. Finally, his eyes were completely white with a blue hue coming out of them.
Gajeel smirked menacingly at his opponent. "If Salamander can do it. There's no reason why I shouldn't be able to." the iron-shadow slayer suddenly disappeared before appearing beside Rogue and landing a nasty right hook.
"WHAT?!" the possessed Rogue shouted in shock, before melting into the shadows to avoid another attack. Gajeel did not miss a beat as he followed Rogue with his own shadow.
"They disappeared?!" Evergreen shouted in shock. Freed shook his head. "No. Not disappeared. They became one with the shadows." Everyone soon saw two different shadows slamming into one another, but the audience could tell one shadow had an advantage over the other. Freed turned to his other companion.
"Bickslow, can you tell which one is Gajeel?" he asked as Bickslow had already removed his helmet as he tried to keep track of the two shadows in the projection panel. "The one with the advantage is Gajeel," he said before frowning. "I think."
"You think?" Evergreen raised an eyebrow. Bickslow shook his head. "I am having trouble keeping up with them. Not to mention looking at souls from a projection is a lot more difficult compared to having them down in the arena.
Back with the battle of shadows, a hand grabbed the other shadow as suddenly Rogue was rising out of it. 'What the hell?! He's actually pulling me out of the shadow?!' Rogue screamed in his head. The Gajeel he remembered was nowhere near this powerful?! He looked to see Gajeel glaring at him with a giant smirk. "I have you now, punk," Gajeel growled.
Naruto couldn't help but smile at the spectacle he was witnessing. "Huh, he just got the power over shadows and can easily merge with them and drag Rogue out as if he's had it for years." Naruto just shook his head in amusement. "Kids these days."
Gajeel tossed Rogue up into the air. "Time to end this! Tetsueiryu no Hoko (Iron-Shadow Dragon's Roar)!" Rogue was completely enveloped by the roar as he blasted high into the air with dust and debris flying in several directions in a large portion of the city. Once the roar ended, Rogue came back down from the air with a large…..
BOOM!
When the dust cleared, Rogue was down and not getting back up.
"It's OVER! GAJEEL TAKES THE VICTORY!"
"That was awesome, Gajeel!" Levy cheered happily for her, not so secret crush.
Gajeel dropped to his knees in exhaustion as his transformation deactivated. "Hehehehe." Rogue darkly chuckled. Gajeel heard this as he glared at his downed opponent.
"What's so damn funny, you possessing freak?" he growled at Rogue. Possessed Rogue just continued to chuckle. "So this is the limit of the current Rogue, huh?"
"What?" Gajeel asked, not understanding whatever possessed Rogue said. Gajeel noticed a black shadow from under Rogue leave and suddenly disappear.
"The shadow vanished. What does this mean? Wonder if Naruto knows something about this." Gajeel muttered to himself.
"STOP!" a voice shouted. Gajeel looked up to see Frosch with its arms out in front of Rogue with tears in its eyes.
"Hmm?"
"I won't let you hurt Rogue anymore. If you hurt him anymore, he'll die." Frosch choked out.
Gajeel snorted as he turned his head away "The fight is over, so I won't do anything else to him."
"Frosch." a voice said in a weak tone. Both turned to see Rogue awake again.
"ROGUE!" Frosch shouted in joy before rushing and hugging Rogue's side. "YOU'RE OKAY?!" Frosch shouted in joy.
"Why are you here? OUCH! How did I get so badly beaten?" Rogue said as he flinched every time he moved a bit.
'So he doesn't remember.' Gajeel mused mentally. He wondered what exactly that was, but he'll have to worry about after the games are done.
'The malevolent magic has disappeared. Fishy-nii, what's going to happen.' Mavis thought to herself as the panels began switching to one of the remaining fights.
"It's gone again," Jellal said.
"Where do you think it went this time?" Meredy asked. Jellal shook his head. "Not sure. But something tells me we'll be dealing with it soon."
[Back with the Rescue Team]
"Kaaryu no Yokugeki!" Natsu roared as he slammed his blazing arms as he sent several army men flying.
"Regulus Impact!" Loki shouted as he sent another group of soldiers out.
"Tenryu no Tatsumaki!" Wendy cried as she sent several soldiers flying away.
"Water Pulse!" Mira fired a pulse of water causing a miniature tsunami to send several soldiers away.
"Taurus!" Lucy called on her celestial spirit. Yukino also brought out her own key. "Pisces!"
"Damn these mages are tough!" one of the soldiers commented in an exhausted tone.
"Anti-magic team. Prepare to fire!" called one of the commanders of the royal army battalion. One of the soldiers brought out a pistol as they fired a shot on Natsu.
"Ow!" Natsu shouted as he looked to see his shoulder bleeding. He flinched a bit as touched the wound. "That actually hurt," Natsu muttered as he glared as the person that shot him.
"Careful everyone. Those anti-magic weapons can do some serious damage." Wendy warned.
"We need to find a way out of here and fast," Loki said in a hurried tone. None of them could keep this forever. "I'm sorry. We should not have come this way." Mirai Lucy muttered in a sad tone.
"Carla, get behind me, it's dangerous." Happy warned as he got in front of Carla in a protective manner.
"Same to you," Lily said as he blocked a blow from another soldier and sent him flying. Suddenly a wall of acid appeared between him and the soldiers. "NEPPPAA!" shouted a familiar voice.
"What?" Lily asked himself in confusion until the wall disappeared and in front stood Neppa. "PAAN!" shouted the acid mage. Lily groaned in annoyance. "Oh great this bastard again. Which means…"
"You should not underestimate the Garou Knights," Kamika said as she began walking forward with Cosmos at her side. "Got that right, Kamika." replied the plant mage.
"Tai. Tai." Uosuke said in usual tone.
Kama came walking forward as he stood a few feet from Natsu. The only noticeable difference to his appearance was his missing armored mouthpiece. "We understand your philosophy and drive. However, you will hear mine. You will not leave this castle alive, so long as I draw breath from this body." Kama said in a resolute tone.
"Tch! Annoying bastards." Natsu said in annoyance as he began to release his magical power. Wendy also began to release her magical power.
"Dragon Force," Wendy muttered as she glared at the soldiers and the Garou Knights. "We don't have time for this."
"Lightning-Flame Mode," Natsu muttered as he was enveloped in his familiar lightning and fire aura.
[Lyon vs Gray]
The two students of Ur were on one knee breathing heavily. Both were on their last legs and knew they needed to end this soon.
"Ready to end this, Lyon?" Gray asked as he got back and prepared himself to use his next spell. Lyon chuckled as he got back as well. "Yeah." Lyon slammed his hands together and shouted, "Ice Make: Yamata no Orochi!"
"There it is," Gray muttered as he looked upon Lyon's strongest dynamic ice spell. Gray slammed his hands together and shouted, "Ice Make: Ice Cannon Fleet!" several ice constructs of large cannon appeared behind Gray. In total there were around twenty cannons with all of them aiming at Lyon and his ice construct and began firing.
The ice construct roared and began to either maneuver around the attacks or fire off its own to parry the cannon fire. "It'll take more than that to beat me, Gray!" Lyon called down to his opponent.
"I wasn't planning on it," Gray smirked. "Ice Make: Sword!" as two blades of ice formed in Gray's hands. He then began dashing forward towards Lyon. The fellow ice mage and his construct notice Gray's charge and began firing at him.
"Gah!" Gray grunted in pain as one of the head's attack managed to land on his abdomen. But he pushed past the pain and kept charging forward. Suddenly on the heads reared right in front of Gray and opened its wide jaws and clamped on Gray's right arm. Lyon looked at his opponent with a smirk. "You can't win, Gray."
CRACK!
"WHAT?!" Lyon shouted in shock as cracks appeared all over the ice serpent's head before shattering completely. From the dust, Gray appeared with his arm encased in light blue armor. "Ice Make: Gauntlet," Gray muttered before looking up at Lyon. Gray slammed his hands on the floor and shouted, "Ice Make: Geyser!"
Gray flew into the air just a few feet above Lyon and his construct. He then jumped into the air as he held his right arm into the air as it began to glow as it was encased in a giant ice drill. "Time to finish this! Ice Make Unlimited: Spiraling Ice Drill Breaker!" Gray roared as dove into the construct. The heads tried to stop Gray, but they were all pushed past and pierced the Orochi right at the center of its chest.
The result was instant as the drill pierced right through as cracks appeared all over the construct. "WHAT?!" Lyon shouted before both mages were enveloped in an explosion of ice and dust.
"GRAY/LYON!" shouted both guilds for their respective members. When the dust finally cleared both mages were on their knees heaving in complete exhaustion.
"*HUFF*. *HUFF*. Damn Gray, you really are amazing." Lyon complemented as he slowly got up.
Gray gave his rival a tired smirk. "So are you, Lyon." as he got back up as well.
"One last go, Gray?" Lyon asked with Gray nodding. "Yeah."
"Ice Make: Cold Excalibur," Gray called a large broadsword appeared in his hands.
"Ice Make: Dual Katana." as two blades appeared in Lyon's hands.
The two gave each other one last smile before dashing towards one another.
"Gray!"
"Lyon!"
"Ice Make Unlimited: One Sided Chaotic Dance!" the two shouted. The two hit each other everything they had left as their last speel collided against one another. Ice broke against ice until both mages were standing a few feet behind the other. Both were bleeding severely as they had cuts and lacerations all over their bodies. Their arms were bleeding profusely as they by their sides.
"I had a lot of fun fighting you, Lyon," Gray muttered softly as he began to fall down. Lyon smiled as he began to topple over. "Same here, Gray." Both ice mages feel with no chance of getting back up.
"BOTH GRAY AND LYON ARE DOWN! ITS A DRAW!"
"DAMN! We lost a member." Gajeel cursed as he heard the announcement. Everyone else was sad that they lost a member but knew that Gray did everything he could. Plus he took down Rufus, which was a key for them to win and he also knocked out the last member of Lamia Scale. Gray may have lost, but he had helped set the path for their victory, now it was up to everyone else.
"Gray still did his part. Now is up for the rest." Makarov lectured as everyone nodding in agreement.
"You would be proud of your students, Ur. They have come a very long way and to think they were mostly self-taught after your deaths. I wonder how strong they would have been had you completed their training. Don't worry about them. I'll keep an eye on them. It's the least I can do for you." Naruto said to himself.
[Erza vs Kagura]
Erza was once again slammed into another pillar. She coughed up blood as she fell to her knees. She looked up to see Kagura standing, but she was now winded as she had several gashes and bruises all over her body.
"Is that all Erza? I expected a lot more from your strongest armor?" Kagura mocked as she looked at the broken remains of Erza's strongest armor.
'I need to change armors. This one still wastes too much power. I need to focus all my power into the attack and not defending.'
"What do you intend to do, Erza?" Kagura question as she prepared to attack Erza again.
Erza narrowed her eyes as she looked at her opponent. 'Time to use that.'
[Flashback]
"What can I call you my inner dragon?" Erza asked as she looked curiously at the manifestation of her dragonslayer magic.
The other red-head scratched her chin in thought. "Hmm, You can call me whatever you like. Just nothing too weird please."
"Hmm." Erza thought before a light bulb went off in her head. "How about, Akiza?"
"Akiza." the other redhead said as she mulled the name in her head and how it sounded as it rolled off her tongue. "Yeah. I can even call you Aki-chan for short." Erza said in a cheerful tone. The other red head tilted her head before looking back at Erza with a smile. "I like it. Akiza it is then."
Erza quickly enveloped Akiza in a tight hug. Akiza was surprised at first before smiling brightly as she returned the hug. "It's nice to formally meet you, Aki-chan."
"Likewise, Erza." the two stayed in the warm embrace for several minutes before separating. "Now what would you like to ask me. I doubt you came here just to give me a name." Akiza said with a small grin.
"Well, I wanted to confirm some things with you."
"Let me guess. You're wondering if I am the voice you heard after seeing our father's past and Lucy's beating?" Aki asked with an amused raised eyebrow.
"Yes, you can imagine how confused I was at hearing another voice in my head. Though I was tempted to take your suggestions for what we should have done to Minerva." Akiza nodded grimly as she remembered what that little bitch did to their sister.
"Sorry about that. I should have contacted you a lot sooner, but you were preoccupied with other situations that I thought it was best to wait for a proper meeting when you wanted to reach out to me."
"Yes, I appreciate that. So much has happened in just a few days. I am honestly surprised I haven't just blown a mental fuse from all the surprises I've had."
"Come now, I say you handled it pretty well all things considered. Especially compared to our sister that had a few months unlike us." Akiza cheerfully reminded.
Erza nodded. "True."
"Now then what would you like to talk about?"
"I wanted to know about our power."
"If you're wondering if you can you dragonslayer magic, then the answer is no. At least not yet."
Erza frowned. "What do you mean? Kaa-san said she broke the seal that blocked me from accessing our power. Shouldn't I be able to use it?"
"In theory yes. However, you haven't ever let your body to properly accommodate the new power. Not to mention you won't be able to use any of your spells on your first try."
Erza mulled over and realized Akiza was right. Just because she had access to her dragonslayer magic, that did not mean she could use it right away like Natsu, Gajeel, Laxus, and Wendy can. "Damn. I guess that makes sense. But I was hoping to have it as a trump card in the finals."
"Now. Now." Akiza teased as she waved her finger back and forth. "Just because you can't use the spells doesn't mean you can't use the power of a dragonslayer?"
Erza looked confused. "What do you mean?"
"I mean you'll be to use our magical power to amplify your own abilities."
"How?"
"Let's talk all about that and get this partnership established." Akiza smiled as she turned and began walking deeper into the mindscape. Erza gave her own smile as she caught up with her inner dragon. "Lead the way, Aki-chan."
[End of Flashback]
[Fairy Tail OST: Erza's Theme]
'Aki-chan?' Erza thought to her inner dragon as she changed into her Clear Heart Clothing attire. 'Yes?' she asked politely. 'It's time.' Erza said in a serious tone. The Requip mage had to suppress a giggle as she heard Akiza cheer happily. 'Alright. Let's raise some hell!'
Kagura dashed forward as she prepared to slam Erza, but was surprised to see Erza blocked it with her broken blades. "WHAT?!" Kagura shouted in shock as Erza was enveloped in a dark pink magical aura. She pushed Kagura away as she landed gracefully on her feet. Kagura critically evaluated the aura that covers the injured Erza. "This magical pressure. It reminds me of...Irene-sama." Kagura said quietly.
Erza roared as her magical pressure exploded as she channeled her power into the sword handles with broken blades. Everyone watched in awe as the magical condensed into the hilts of the blades. Soon the energy began to change into a much darker shade of red, almost crimson. The energy then slowly erupted into the shape of slightly oversized broadswords. Erza sighed as she looked up at her opponent. "Behold the blades that have the power I inherited from my parents. The Belserion Blades." Erza proudly proclaimed as her magical aura rose flared up again.
Up in the stands of Mermaid Heel, Anna smile in amusement and awe at Erza's ingenuity of how she's applying her latent dragonslayer magic. She is using her latent power to increase physical attributes and enchanting her blades to give them even more destructive power. It was a novel idea. Anna was cut from her musing as he heard some sniffing from the side. She turned to see Irene rubbing her eyes. Anna couldn't help but smile fondly at her partner. "Irene are you crying?" she asked in an amused tone.
"No!" Irene said vehemently. "I just have something in my eye." Anna and the other members of Mermaid Heel just rolled their eyes in amusement before refocusing on the panel projection. Up in the statue, Naruto was smiling in amusement. "Go my benihime, and show them your power."
Erza and Kagura glare at one another before the redhead dash forward in a burst of speed that surprises Kagura as Erza landed a powerful roundhouse kick that sends Kagura into another stone column. "Argh!" Kagura grunted in pain.
"GO ERZA!" everyone from Fairy Tail and a good majority of the shouted in support for Titania.
Kagura quickly got out of the stone column as she gave Erza an excited smirk. "That's more like it. Dash Form!" Kagura shouted as she lunged at Erza. However, to her surprise and her guild, Erza actually managed to block Kagura's dash and is actually pushing her back. 'WHAT?!' Kagura screamed in her head.
"KAGURA IS ACTUALLY BEING OVERPOWERED?!"
Kagura was eventually pushed back as she jumped back. "Not bad," Kagura said with a smirk before getting serious. "But it'll take more than that to beat me! Barrage Mode!"
Erza smirked to the challenge. "Belserion Barrage!" Erza shouted as she started to parry Kagura's attack with both her enchanted blades. Kagura landed a few feet from Erza as she charged her sheath blade with her magical energy as she dashed towards Erza again.
"Blade Form!" Kagura slashed her blade down.
"Double Belserion Slash!" Erza retaliated with her own slash attack. Both mages managed to land their attacks as they are sent in opposite directions from the sheer force of their attacks.
"Argh!" Kagura grunted as looked down to see a cross-shaped wound just below her chest. She coughed up a bit of blood before smirked at an injured Erza getting back up again to continue to this fight. This was the first time in a while that someone outside her guild managed to push her this far.
Now she has found a rival to her besides the top members of her guild. Someone that can push her to what she is about to do. "Magnificent, Erza. I expected just as much. So for pushing me this far, I will give a rare opportunity." Erza became guarded as Kagura raised her blade and began to remove the seals tied around the hilt of her blade. With Mermaid Heel, everyone in the guild, except for Anna and Irene, felt their eyes widen in horror as a chill went down their spines.
"WAIT KAGURA-CHAN YOU CAN'T!" Beth shouted in shock. "YOU KNOW IT'S DANGEROUS TO RELEASE YOUR BLADE!" Risley shouted as well. All the members then turned to Anna and Irene with pleading eyes.
"Mistresses you need to stop them!" they all shouted in distress. Anna and Irene both gave comforting smiles to the other members of their guild. "Girls, you need to relax. I faith in Kagura and I have faith in Erza." Irene reassured her members. The girls did not look completely convinced as they turn back to the panel projections.
'Erza get ready as I sense a lot of magical power being suppressed by that sword. Once it's released….'
Erza quickly summoned a new blade. This was a light green broadsword with a silver-gray handle and blue markings on the blade itself and near the hilt of the blade. 'I know.' Erza replied as she charged her new blade with her dragonslayer aura.
"HAAAAAAAA!" Kagura roared as she charged at Erza with her entire blade charged in magical energy.
"Now! Runesave!" Erza screamed as she tried to slash Kagura's blade. Kagura immediately knew something was off and at the last moment moved to the right, but Erza still managed to slash the aura around the blade. Kagura's eyes widen as she felt her blade lose some of her power. She quickly recharged it with as much power she could and unleash it before Erza sealed it again. Erza quickly performed overhead slash to parry Kagura's horizontal slash.
"COUNTER/SLASH FORM!" the two shouted as their blades collided.
BOOOOOOOM!
A massive explosion erupted from the collision from the two attacks as two giant shockwaves rip across the arena. Everyone was left utterly speechless at the sheer destructive force of the two mages and many wondered if both were destroyed by their own power.
When the dust settles both girls were still standing, but it was clear they were on their last legs. Erza was bleeding badly from various lacerations around her body with the two largest lacerations on her right arm and leg. Her blade was still intact, but it had noticeable cracks near the center where it collided with Kagura's blade.
Speaking of Kagura, she was in a similar state of damage. Her entire attire was nearly completely destroyed. With only sections around her chest and skirt to protect her modesty. The rest of her attire was in tatter. Her ribbon was gone, she only had her left glove and parts of her sleeve, the right glove, and arm coat were gone. Her midsection was exposed with various cuts all around. Her leggings were completely shredded and her boots looked like regular shoes. Finally, most of the white of her attire had become red from the wounds all around her body and making it seem like she had worn a red outfit and not a white one.
"What…*COUGH*...Did you do?" Kagura asked out. Erza wobbled a bit before she steadied herself. "My blade can seal away magic or magical attacks. I can seal them back into the caster or into the blade itself. Then I can reflect it back to my opponent."
Kagura's eyes widen in recognition. "So you absorbed some of my blades power and then send it right back at me while enhancing it with your own power."
"Yes, but your attack had a lot of power behind it, causing our current predicament. I was hoping to seal the whole thing and send it back at you." Erza sighed in annoyance at how Kagura dodged her attack at the last moment.
"That was still an impressive move Erza. But we can't keep going forever, right?" Erza shook her head. "You are strong Kagura, but I can't afford to lose!" Erza began to release as much magical power as she has left as Kagura answered in kind as she was enveloped in her own dark blue aura.
"I will finish this with one strike," Kagura warned in a serious tone. Ezra's eyes narrowed. "Then so will I."
'Aki.' Erza called. 'Yes?'
'I need you to give me as much power as possible.'
'Are you sure?' Aki asked in a worried tone. 'Yes. Kagura will hit me with everything she has left and I will do the same.'
'You may not be able to handle all that power.' Aki warned. 'I trust you will handle it. I am putting all my faith in you Aki. So let's win together.' Though she couldn't see it, she could tell Aki was smiling as she was enveloped in a familiar dark pink aura as it also enveloped her blade. 'Yes, ma'am.'
The two swordswomen stared each other down before lunging for their final strike. "HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" the two cried as they collided for the last time. A bright white explosion enveloped the two as the audience was blinded as to who the victor would be.
As the light cleared along with the dust and debris, the audience could see two silhouettes near each other. One wobbled for a bit before steadying itself. The other silhouette wobbled before falling to their knees and collapsing. When the dust cleared it showed the one that fell was Kagura, but Erza was still standing, although she was using her blade to stay standing.
"KAGURA IS DOWN! THE WINNER IS ERZA!"
"SHE DID IT! HOORAY!" Everyone from Fairy Tail cheered.
"Well done my girls. Both of you were magnificent." Irene complimented as Anna nodded in agreement with the other members agreeing even though they wished that Kagura had won. It was still a good match.
"You are worthy of being called Titania, my dear benihime." Naruto complimented.
"I can't believe she managed to pull a win," Macao commented as he wiped the sweat from his forehead. "Never had any doubt!" Wakaba said while Macao looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Is that why you were shaking the whole time?" he teased as Wakaba glared at him. "Shut it!"
Erza finally sat down as exhaustion finally began to take its toll.
'You won't be able to fight again today at full power. You're too damaged for that. Not unless someone heals you. One hit and you may just fall over.' Akiza lectured.
'I just need to rest a bit and hope I recover some strength to be able to help.' She looked to see the sky was starting to become a dark blue. 'Fine.' Akiz sighed in amused exasperation. 'Just relax for now and congrats on the win. You hung in there like a champ and took the prize.'
Erza smiled a bit even though she flinched from the slight pain it caused. 'Thank you. But we know there is one more challenge we will need to face.'
'Indeed.'
[Laxus vs Orga]
"Gah!" Orga grunted in pain as he glared at his opponent. Laxus was slightly panting as he continued to smirk at Orga. "You were talking a lot before. But why the silence, huh? Did your bravado finally disappear?" Laxus mocked.
Orga glared at the blonde mage "Why you-" he growled, but he was soon interrupted by Laxus. "If you can't offer me anything else, then I suggest you surrender as your just wasting my time."
That was the final straw for Orga as he finally snapped. "YOU BASTARD! I'LL SHOW YOU WHOSE WASTING THEIR TIME!" Orga roared as his magical energy exploded in a giant yellow and black aura. Laxus's eyes narrowed as he felt Orga's power continued to increase as his body began to change slightly. His hair turned into a blood red as his magical aura transformed into a fiery red.
Orga sighed as he looked at Laxus with a confident smirk. "God Force," he mutters as his eyes locked onto Laxus. "You wanted to see well here it is. Now fall." Orga growled as he disappeared in flash.
"GAH!" Laxus grunted in pain as he was suddenly sent flying by a vicious hook from Orga. "LAXUS!" several of the Fairy Tail mages shouted in concern.
Orga tried to slam him into the ground, but Laxus managed to block an incoming attack with his knee. Laxus tried to land a left hook, but Orga jumped back to dodge as Laxus flipped and skidded to a halt as he glared at Orga roared, "Rairyu no Hoko!"
Orga smirked as he disappeared and slammed an elbow into Laxus's side as Laxus was sent sailing again, but Orga then reappeared above Laxus. The god slayer tried to slam Laxus with an overhead hammer attack, but Laxus crossed his arms to block it as shockwaves ripped through the ground below him.
Laxus slight faltered from the force of Orga's attack as the lightning god disappeared again. Laxus felt something grab his collar as he sees Orga begin spinning him before sending Laxus flying into one of the many statues in the capital.
"What's the matter. Where's your tough talk now?" Orga mocked. Laxus pushed the broken statue off of him as he got back up. Laxus was slightly panting as he now sported several bruises and injuries on his body.
Orga smirked as he began charging magical energy into his palms. "10 million Volt Vari!" he shouted as Laxus roared "Raging Bolt!" the two attacks collided into one another, but Orga's power managed to rip through Laxus's raging bolt.
Laxus managed to quickly dodge the volt vari, but suddenly Orga appeared right in front of him. The god slayer grabbed Laxus by his face and lifted him into the air as his hand began to crackle with electricity. Orga then slammed Laxus hard into the ground with a loud…...BOOOM!
"LAXUS!" his guildmates shouted in concern, especially Makarov. Laxus remained unmoving as his eyes were closed. Orga laughed at his downed opponent. "Remember your place below the tigers!" mocked in an arrogant tone. "To think you actually thought you could beat me. Now you know who's superior-" Before Orga could finish, Laxus suddenly rose up and landed a fierce uppercut that lifted him into the air.
"You talk too much!" Laxus growled as he followed up with a powerful roundhouse kick that sent Orga flying before he skidded himself to a halt as he glared at his now standing opponent.
"You can't win. You're nothing, but a botched dragonslayer of the second generation. You can't match my power." Orga began to release more of his power as his aura became bigger and much fiercer.
"We'll see about that." Laxus definitely declared before sighing. "Guess now is as good as time as any to cut loose," he said out loud to himself.
"What are you babbling about? Planning to bring out that pet of yours. Even if you did, it wouldn't be able to save you." Laxus merely smirked at his opponent.
"Not exactly. I'm saving Zeke for the final battle, but that doesn't mean he won't lend me a paw in this fight." Laxus explained.
"What are you talking about?" Orga asked in confusion. Laxus merely smirked. "Instead of telling you. I will show you." Laxus then began to growl as he began to release his magical energy again. Yellow electricity began to dance all over his body. However, something changed as Laxus's magical pressure continued to increase to higher feats. Suddenly to everyone's amazement, blue lightning began to be emitted from Laxus's body.
"BLUE LIGHTNING?!" everyone shouted in shock. They have never seen anyone emit blue lightning before. In fact, the only being that has been documented with blue lighting is a Zinogre. Suddenly several people in the arena had an epiphany on how Laxus's obtained his blue lightning. Laxus gave Orga a challenging smirk.
"You really think I never ate any of his lightning? That was one of the reasons why I lasted as long as did against him though we were pretty much even for the majority of our battle." Laxus explained before his magical aura began to change along with the two lightning auras.
"But then after seeing what Natsu did with my lightning, I decided to make my own version." Suddenly the two lightning auras melded together until the auras became one lightning aura. However, the most striking feature was that lightning was not blue or yellow, it was now…..
"THE LIGHTNING JUST TURN GREEN?!" Nearly everyone shouted in shocked awe and amazement.
"No not, green. More like…." Mavis began. "Emerald." Naruto finished.
[Fairy Tail OST: Fire Dragon vs Fire God]
"EMERALD LIGHTNING MODE!" Laxus roared as his magical aura exploded outwards before disappearing in a flash.
Laxus appeared right below Orga as he delivered a fierce punch to his gut. "Gah!" Orga coughed out as bile and blood flew out of his mouth. Laxus delivered a swift kick to Orga's face that sent him skidding for a few feet before he stopped himself.
Orga was enraged as he began to charge for his next attack. "Like a change in color will change anything!" Laxus scoffed. "Look who's talking."
Orga growled before he shouted, "25 million Volt Vari!"
Laxus began charging his emerald lightning into his right arm as it took the shape of a giant halberd "Rairyu no Houtengeki (Lightning Dragon's Heavenward Halberd)!" Laxus roared as he threw the giant construct of lightning.
The two attacks instantly collided, but to the shock of the entire audience, especially Orga, the halberd ripped right through the volt vari and made a beeline for Orga.
"WHAT?!" Orga shouted in shock as he had no time to dodge as the halberd made a direct hit as Orga was enveloped in a giant electrical explosion.
"LAXUS IS NOW OVERPOWERING ORGA!"
Orga jumped out of the explosion as he glared at Laxus. "Raijin no Dogo (Lightning god's bellow)!" Orga shouted out a giant blast of black lightning headed straight for Laxus. But the emerald lightning mage merely smirked in amusement "RAIRYU NO HOKO!" The two attacks collided again, but like before Laxus's roar was overpowering Orga's bellow.
Orga quickly dashed to the side to avoid the roar as he glared down at Laxus, only to receive a smirk that further infuriated Orga. "Black Judgment!" several black bolts descended from the heavens themselves. Laxus quickly jumped, dashed, and maneuvered away from all of the black bolts.
Suddenly, the bolts stopped as Orga appeared in front of Laxus with a lightning construct in the shape of a large hammer. "Thunder Hammer!" thinking quickly, Laxus called out, "Rairyu no Hoken!" the two attacks collided as shockwaves of green and black lightning ripped across the area around them and the surrounding area. Orga jumped into the air as he raised his arms over his head as they cackled with electricity. "Thunder Slam!"
"Electro Ball!" Laxus shouted to counter the attack. The two attacks once again caused another explosion. From the smoke, two streaks of lightning flew out and began colliding against one another. One would land a fist, while the other managed to land a kick. This back and forth continued for several minutes until they landed across one another breathing heavily. Both very heavily injured with their transformations flickering. Both knew they needed to end this with the next attack.
Orga roared as black electricity flew out of his body and destroy several portions of the surrounding area. He collected his fiery aura along with his black lightning into the palm of his hands in a giant red sphere with black electricity. "50 MILLION VARI!" Orga roared as he fired off a gigantic blast that was several times his own height. Laxus stared impassively at the beam heading towards him. He gave a slight growl as he roared to the heavens as emerald electricity flew out of his as his muscles began to bulge to inhuman proportions. His eyes became a solid shade of emerald as lightning was oozing out his eyes and mouth.
"Metsuryu Ougi: Baou Zakeruga!" Laxus shouted as a giant seal appeared in front of him as a gigantic emerald serpent emerged from it. Everyone's eyes widen at the sheer size of the creature. However, their jaws dropped when the serpent opened his mouth wide and actually began swallowing the volt vari as it made its way to Orga. The lightning god could nothing but watch in stun silence as the giant serpent approaching with a gaping mouth as it seems to grow from all the electricity it was absorbing. The Baou Zakeruga rose slightly into the air before diving bombing with open jaws right into Orga.
A massive explosion erupted as the entire city was brightened by the large emerald light as shockwaves ripped across the arena as everyone felt the force of that explosion. As the dust and debris calmed down, the audience eventually saw Laxus on one knee as he was panting heavily from exhaustion and his emerald mode completely gone.
They turned to his opponent as the dust finally cleared. Orga was completely wrecked with several lacerations and burns from the lightning attack. Laxus idly wondered if Orga was still conscious, but his question was answered as Orga toppled to the ground with a small *THUD* and did not show signs of getting back up.
"LAXUS TAKES THE VICTORY!"
"You have grown far more than I ever expected, Laxus," Makarov said in awe of his grandson's power. Sure he always knew Laxus was strong, but never to such an extent. He heard giggling as he turned to Mavis smiling at him. "Are you surprised? Sometimes children can grow far faster than you notice. He was always a talented mage and we are witnessing the power he has obtained from all the trials he has faced. He is truly an amazing mage. In fact, this generation has some very promising mages."
Makarov smiled as he gave a light chuckle. "Yes, they do. Only seems yesterday that he was such a troublesome child. Now? He is one of the guild's strongest and valued members."
"LAXUS!" Evergreen cheered for Laxus's victory. "I never had any doubt Laxus!" Bickslow shouted. "The Thunder Legion is proud of our great leader!" Freed exclaimed with tears of joy falling down his face.
"Not bad for an artificial slayer. He took the limitations and made the best of it. He has earned his title of dragonslayer." Naruto complimented as he looked at the time. It was 10:20. "Not much time is left," Naruto muttered as he turned back to the arena.
[Dimaria vs Gildarts]
[Fairy Tail OST: Endless Battle]
"Gah!" Dimaria shouted as skidded a few feet away from her opponent. "Well, Dimaria-chan? Is that all you got?" Gildarts asked with a smirk. Dimaria scoffed as she began releasing her magical power. "Not even close!" Dimaria cried as several bladed weapons appeared as they surrounded Gildarts.
Gildarts whistled as he looked around at all the blades surrounding him. "Deja vu. Erza can do something similar." Gildarts commented. Dimaria smirked. Let's see you handle mine!" Suddenly all the blades flew straight towards Gildarts.
The ace of Fairy Tail smirked as him he began to release his magical power. "Crush Pulse!" A gray shockwave erupted from Gildarts as all the blades were broken into pieces. Dimaria crossed her arms with her blade in front of her as she held her ground from the shockwaves caused by the pulse. She looked to see Gildarts smirking at her. "Well I will admit, yours are a lot faster. But the result is always the same!"
Dimaria narrowed her eyes as she gave a smirk as she raised her blade. A familiar golden light enveloped "BUSTER SLASH!" Dimaria roared as she thrust her downward as a giant wave of energy headed straight for Gildarts.
Gildarts reared his fist back and punched as he shouted, "All Crush!" A cross blast erupted from his fist as it collided with the arc of energy, however, the results were instant as the buster slash was cut into pieces. The All Crush continued sailing towards Dimaria. But suddenly, everything paused before Dimaria disappeared and was right below Gildarts's unguarded right side.
"What?!" Gildarts shouted as Dimaria's blade glowed again. "BUSTER SLASH!" Dimaria shouted as Gildarts was hit head-on with the attack as both were enveloped in an explosion. Gildarts and Dimaria were sent sailing back before skidding to a halt. Gildarts panted lightly as he now had a large gash on his right side with burns covering his right arm and the upper parts of his right leg.
Gildarts looked to see Dimaria on one knee and using her blade as a crutch. "Damn it," Dimaria swore. "I only have one time stop left in me." she sighed before slowly got back up as Gildarts waited for her to continue the fight.
When Dimaria looked up, she saw Gildart's impressed smile "Sugoi. I wasn't sure how you did it before, but now I understand. You're able to freeze time." Dimaria felt herself freeze. "But it looks like it takes a toll on your reserves and your body to perform it. So you usually have to finish a fight as quickly as possible if you're forced to use it, right?"
Dimaria gave an annoyed huff but gave an impressed smirk. "You really are a dangerous man, Gildarts Clive. Worthy of being called Fairy Tail's Ace." Dimaria then placed her blade forward as it pointed at Gildarts. "But I will still prevail!" Dimaria and her blade were enveloped in magical power.
Gildarts smirked as he got ready for the blonde valkyrie's next attack. "You can try."
"Buster Stab!" Dimaria shouted as she dashed forward. Gildarts waited till the last minute as he made a side swipe to dodger Dimaria's assault. He then grabbed her outstretched arm and flipped over his head before slamming back into the ground. A fierce shockwave erupted from the impact as a crater formed from the collision. Dimaria coughed up blood from the assault but had little to recover as Gildarts raised his fist before slamming it into her gut.
"Gekishin!" The crater Dimaria was in exploded in a giant geyser of silver magical energy. "DIMARIA!" the members of Mermaid Heel shouted as the valkyrie wizard saint was sent flying a few feet before she managed to skid herself to a stop. She proceeded to cough up puddles of blood as she tried to recover from Gildarts vicious attack.
"Ready to quit?" Gildarts asked.
"Not even close!" Dimaira shouted before she began releasing the last of her magical power. She was soon enveloped in a black and yellow explosion that blinded everyone. When everyone regained their sight, they were all surprised by Dimaria's change in appearance.
Everything below her body is covered in a black form-fitting suit with golden yellow lines that cover her entire body in eccentric patterns. Her face was no longer visible except for everything below her nose, which had taken a much paler complexion. The only indication of her eyes was one golden beady orb as her hair floated upward with a dark gold accent to it.
"Behold, my full power. God Soul: Kronos." Dimaria proclaimed in a semi-monotone voice. Gildarts raised an eyebrow as he observed his transformed opponent "God Take Over?" he asked.
"Surrender Gildarts. You can not win against a god." Gildarts couldn't help but laugh. "A god? Don't make me laugh!" he mocked. "I have face the embodiment of the apocalypse itself. And compare to that. This is a cakewalk!" Gildarts proclaimed as he released his magical power as his body was enveloped in a giant gray aura with the only silhouette being visible. Unbeknown to Gildarts, Naruto rolled his eyes in amusement at that last comment.
"Let's end this." Dimaira proclaimed as she charged her blade with her magical power. Gildarts reared his fist back as, once more, time froze again. However, due to her usage of age seal several times before, she could only maintain it for a few seconds as time began again as Dimaria appeared right below Gildarts. Gildarts launched his fist down as Dimaria swung her blade.
"ALL CRUSH!/BUSTER SLASH!" the two shouted as they launched their final attack as a massive explosion of gold and gray erupted from the collision as shockwaves ripped through the city arena once more. When the dust cleared, Gildarts was standing over a downed Dimaria.
"DIMARIA IS DOWN! GILDARTS HAS WON! MERMAID HEEL IS DOWN!"
"Oh, we were so close," Beth commented in a disappointed tone. "It's alright. Being in third place isn't so bad either." Risley reassured. Beth and everyone else nodded in agreement. "Yeah. Being considered the third strongest still is awesome." Anna and Irene had to giggle a bit at their guild's antics.
Anna then addressed everyone, "They all did so well. So did all of you. I am very proud of you girls." Anna preached in a prideful tone. Irene nodded in agreement. "Yes. We are proud to call ourselves the mistresses of Mermaid Heel!"
"Thank you. Anna-sama. Irene-sama." all the girls said as they bowed to their mistresses.
Back in the arena, Dimaria regained consciousness as she looked up at Dimaria standing above her. She knew had lost and while it was frustrating, she can't deny she had one hell of a fight. "Damn, you are a freak of nature, Gildarts."
Gildarts snorted. "I could say the same thing about you. That was an amazing fight, Dimaria. Maybe you could have won if you hadn't been so exhausted." Dimaria scoffed with a smirk. "HA! I could say the same thing about you. But I don't mind a rematch in the future. So what do you say?"
"Same with Jura. Name the time and place and I will take you on whenever you like." Gildarts assured as he turned and began walking away. "See you later. We have a tournament to win."
Meanwhile, the audience from the stadium was getting restless as Fairy Tail was just one win away from winning the GMG. Everyone was cheering for Fairy Tail, even the teams that had lost were getting in on the cheering.
"ONLY STING OF SABERTOOTH IS THE LAST MAGE OPPOSING FAIRY TAIL!"
"WHAT DO YOU THINK, YAJIMA-SAN?"
"HMM. FAIRY TAIL IS VERY CLOSE TO VICTORY."
"IT SEEMS LIKE A BIG GAMBLE TO FACE AN ENTIRE TEAM-KABOO!"
"TRUE, BUT FAIRY TAIL HAS LOST ONE MEMBER AND ALL OF THE MEMBERS ARE HEAVILY INJURED."
"ALL VERY TRUE YAJIMA-SAN! LET US SEE IF FAIRY TAIL CAN PULL A VICTORY!"
"Victory," Warren said in a stunned tone.
"We are so close," Nab said as his body shook.
"I never thought I would see this day." Jet said.
"R-Right? We were always in the last place." Droy said as he bit off on a cooked chicken leg with tears in his eyes.
"Bakas. It's still too early to celebrate." Max scolded even though he also had tears in his eyes.
"But we're so close." they all said.
"Yeah. Only Sting is left." Romeo muttered.
[Meanwhile with Sting]
"I had a feeling you guys would manage to pull an upstart. It's one of the many reasons I looked up to you guys." Sting said to himself as he stood up and launch a blast into the sky. The blast exploded like a giant firework in the shape of the Sabertooth insignia.
"I'M RIGHT HERE! SO COME AND GET ME, FAIRY TAIL!" he exclaimed in an excited tone. Sting walked into the open field as he awaited his last opponents. He did not have to wait long as the members of fairy tail arrived.
"Now this is a spectacle. I always wanted to face you all in combat and here's my chance." Sting said in an excited tone.
"Quite you blabbering. This is the last fight. So let's finish this." Gajeel grunted out. Sting chuckled. "Point taken. Now then since you're all still injured, I'll let you all attack. It'll only make things fair."
"You shouldn't underestimate us, Sting," Erza warned as she leans on her the stick she was using as a walking stick.
Sting shook his head. "I'm not. I respect you all. That's why I must defeat you! I will show Lector my power and defeat all four of you!" Sting exclaimed as he powered up to her Dragon Force form.
"I like that attitude," Gildarts commented.
"We'll see about that punk," Gajeel growled as went into his Iron-Shadow Mode.
[Fairy Tail OST: The Ultimate Final Death Battle]
"Give us, your best shot, Sting," Erza warned. Sting smirked. "Come!"
Gajeel disappeared into the shadows as he dashed towards Sting. He attempted to swipe him with his shadow iron claw, but Sting managed to jump back.
"Did you forget who's my partner? I have seen all of Rogue's moves! So you can't surprise me!" Sting mocked. "We'll see about that!" Gajeel retorted as jumped out of the shadow "Tetsueiryuken (Iron Shadow Sword)!" Gajeel shouted as his arm became a blade of metal and shadow was stretched towards the white dragonslayer.
Sting grabbed the outstretched limb and pulled Gajeel towards him. The shadow iron slayer managed to retreat in the shadows, but Sting smirked as he expected that. He raised his fist into the air as it glowed a pale white in magical energy.
"Flash Palm!" Sting called as he slammed his fist into the shadow Gajeel was in. "Gah!" Gajeel screamed as he jumped out of the shadow as he covered his eyes. However, Gajeel soon felt his throat get captured in a tight vice grip as he was hoisted into the air. He looked through his blurry vision to see Sting's cocky grin. "I have you now." Sting mocked.
"Rairyu no Hoko!" Sting's widen as he heard the spell being launched as he let go of Gajeel and jumped away as a roar of lighting went pass where he originally stood.
He turned to see Laxus glaring at the platinum blonde. "Don't forget you're fighting a team here, Sting," Laxus warned. Sting was about to retort before he jumped again to the side as Zeke stomped in the area he was in. The thunder beast glared at the dragonslayer as he gave a confident smirk that made Zeke growl.
Gajeel appeared behind Sting as he shouted, "Tetsueiryu no Goken (Iron Shadow Dragon's Hard Fist)!"
"Hakuryu no Senkoken!" The two slayers attacked one another in a flurry of punches as neither one refused to let up. Gajeel had a slight upper hand due to his dual element form, but his injuries allowed Sting to match him blow for blow and slowly gain an edge on him. Sting had to jump back as he dodged several arcs of lightning from Zeke.
"Rairyu no Hoken!" Laxus shouted as he fired his lightning fist construct. "Hakuryu no Hori Buresu!" Sting countered as an explosion erupted from the collision of the two attacks.
"Gah!" Sting screamed as he felt the claws of the Zinogre as they pierced his sides and part of his forearm.
"Tetsueiryukon (Iron Shadow Club)!" Gajeel summoned as he slammed Sting a few feet away. Sting quickly got back to his feet as Gajeel and Zeke tried to attack him again.
"Holy Lances!" He shouted as he sent both of his upcoming opponents back a few feet away from him. "Come on give me your best shot!"
Zeke growled as he fired off a giant lightning blast.
"Rairyu no Hoko!" Laxus roared.
"Tetsueiryu no Hoko!" Gajeel roared.
Sting rose his magical power as high as possible and roared. "Hakuryu no Hori Buresu!" The four attacks collided as they caused an explosion that blinded the mages from their respective opponent. Gajeel dropped to his knees as he lost his iron shadow mode. When the dust slightly cleared, Sting appeared right in front of Gajeel with his fist charged with magical power.
"Metsuryu Ougi: Holy Nova!" Sting roared as he slammed Gajeel into the gut and he was sent flying in a bright explosion. Gajeel landed with a harsh crash and he was not getting back up.
"GAJEEL!" the members of the guild cried, with Levy being the loudest.
"One down! Four to go!" Sting shouted. Zeke quickly pounced as Sting jumped back with Zeke's claws barely missing him. Zeke growled as lighting cackled all around his body as he pounced in a flash and slashed Sting's right shoulder. Zeke turned to scratch Sting again. Sting quickly turned and made a swift roundhouse kick and landed a dire hit to Zeke's cheek.
"Heel. mutt!" Sting mocked. However, Sting had no time to gloat as Zeke used his tail to land a harsh strike on Sting's defenseless chest for letting his guard down and sent to the ground. Zeke skidded a few feet before he stopped and growled again as he prepared to strike Sting again.
Sting was about to get but froze as he felt electricity dancing around his body. "What the hell is going on? What did you do to me?" Sting demanded as he glared at Zeke. The Zinogre made a throaty sound that sounds like a mocking laugh.
"Its called Thunder Blight. It paralyzes your body for a certain period of time depending on how badly you were hit. Base on that bruise, you be stuck for a minute or so. But that is good for me. Now let's see you take this!" Erza said as she appeared right on Sting exposed side with a katana blade glowing in magical power. "BELSERION SLASH!" Erza cried as she unleashed her attack. Sting could only say one thing at the point-blank range attack. "Shit." as he was enveloped in a dark violet explosion.
BOOOOOM!
When the smoke cleared, Sting was on knee clutch his bleeding chest, but still looked ready to fight. Erza was wobbling on her feet. "ARGH! Damn that really hurt." Sting said in an impressed tone. He now had a vicious wound going diagonally down his chest. "Damn it. You stubborn bastard." Erza cursed as she collapsed to the floor.
Sting couldn't help but chuckle. "Could say the same thing about you. Now, where is Laxus?" Sting asked when suddenly…..
BOOM!
When suddenly something landed a few feet away from him. When the dust settled, Gildarts was standing to face Sting. "Mine if I joined in?" he politely asked.
"Gildarts Clive," Sting said in a weary tone. Sting knew this was gonna be one hell of a fight. Sting stood up as he released his magical power again. Zeke appeared next to Gildarts. The two powered as they prepared for Sting's next attack.
"Hurry Up Laxus," Gildarts muttered as Sting lunged.
[Flashback-Few Hours before the Finals]
"I want you to do something for me, Gildarts," Laxus said to the ace.
Gildarts looked curious. "What is it?"
"If it ends up that in the last fight we are together, and we lose three members I want you and Zeke to distract the enemy for me for a few minutes," Laxus said in a serious tone.
Gildarts felt his eyebrow rose in confusion. "What's this for?"
"Call it my last gamble to settle the fight. If it fails then you'll be our last man standing to earn us the win. The last hope." Laxus explained.
Gildarts hummed. "So all I have to do is not get beaten till the last fight and give a distraction? Sounds simple enough." Gildarts smirked. "I'm in. So what is your plan to settle the last fight?" he asked in a curious tone.
"Well…." Laxus began as he scratched the back of his head.
[End of Flashback]
"Gah!" Sting grunted as skidded for a few feet as glared up as his two opponents. Zeke had a few cuts, but nothing serious. Same with Gildarts as he barely moved from his original position.
"Doesn't matter who or what you guys throw at me. I will be the one to win this tonight. Sabertooth will win!"
Gildarts gave Sting a smirk. "That's where you're wrong. I could have ended this on my own. But I needed to keep you distracted for my teammate." Suddenly a golden light began to emit feet away from the three.
[Fairy Tail OST: Fairy Law]
"What the hell?!" Sting asked in shock. "FINISH IT LAXUS!" Gildarts screamed.
"TAKE THIS YOU BASTARD! FAIRY LAW!" Laxus shouted as a magic seal appeared below all of them with the fairy tail insignia. Soon a bright gold light enveloped all of them and the area around. The light was so strong that everyone had to turn their eyes away.
"That magic was created by Zeref, or at least its original version. Fairy Law is a more refined version. Anyone that the caster sees as an enemy will lose their magical power and their will to fight. A very powerful spell. However, one that can be countered if one knows the methods to do so." Naruto said to himself.
The light continued for several minutes until it finally began to disappear, but left a good portion of Sting's side covered in dust and smoke. Gildarts and Zeke were still standing, but Laxus had dropped to his knee as he was finally out of magical energy and was barely hanging on.
Gildarts quickly rushed to him, but Zeke stayed where he was. "You did it." Gildarts complimented.
"Yeah." Laxus panted. "Its finally over." the two then turned when they heard Zeke's growling. "What is it, Zeke?"
"Not yet." a familiar voice said from the smoke. "WHAT?!" the two shouted in shock. When the dust cleared, there stood a wobbly Sting as he glared at his opponents. Neither could believe that someone could still be standing after getting hit with Fairy Law. Hell Jose was rendered unable to fight after getting hit with it! Sting gave them a slight smirk. "I can still fight."
Laxus narrowed his eyes. "Damn it, just stay down already!" Laxus shouted in frustration. Gildarts walked forward as he was ready to fight.
Sting continued to take slow steps to them. "I must fight ing for Lector." one step. "Must keep fighting." another step. "Fighting." Sting then staggered and began to fall "Fig...ht..ing."
'Sting-kun you're the best! You can rest now.' Sting heard Lector say in his head.
'Lector. Gomen I can't fight anymore. Did I make you proud?' he asked mentally.
'You were amazing Sting-kun. You will always be the best.' Lector cheered. 'Arigato, Lector.' Sting thanked as he finally fell with a smile on his face. Everyone began cheering as a victor had been chosen.
"ITS FINALLY OVER! FAIRY TAIL WINS!"
"FAIRY TAIL!"
"FAIRY TAIL!"
"FAIRY TAIL!"
"LISTEN TO THOSE CHEERS! CONGRATULATIONS FAIRY TAIL AT BECOMING NUMBER ONE AGAIN-KABOO!"
"GOOD JOB. ALL OF YOU!"
"They really are amazing," Millianna said in amazement at Fairy Tail's victory. Everyone nodded in agreement. "Yeah, they are," Kagura said as Risley held her up with the others helped the other downed members of the team.
"Nice job Fairy Tail. You really know how to go WILD!" the members of Quatro Cerberus shouted together.
"We got beaten pretty hard," Sherria said with Lyon nodding. "Yeah. But I am glad they are the ones that won."
"We can celebrate the return of the Tenrou Team with their latest victory," Eve said.
"A late gift and celebration. But a grand one, nonetheless." Hibiki said in a cheerful tone.
"Congratulations, Fairy Tail." Ren said.
"Splendid work," Jura said in an impressed tone.
"Fairy Tail is amazing," Frosch said. Rogue nodded. "Yes, they are." Rogue turned to his exceed partner. "Frosch," he called. His partner turned to him.
"This is a new chance for us. For everyone at Sabertooth. I want to become someone that truly cares for his comrades. You especially." Rogue said with a smile. Frosch jumped a bit with a wide smile. "Me too!" Frosch cheered.
In one of the secluded areas of the arena, Minerva was sobbing at her team's loss. "Crying won't do anything." a voice said. Minerva looked up to see Dobengal standing over her. Minerva wiped her face as she looked at him with a small glare. "We lost," she said in a dejected tone. Dobengal nodded. "Yes. But through this loss, we forged something powerful. Something important."
Minerva looked confused, but also curious. "What's that?" she asked. "We became a true team. For the first time, Sabertooth was united."
"Yet we still lost." Minerva reminded him, but Dobengal merely shook his head. "That is because we still have a lot to learn." Dobengal then offered Minerva a hand. "So are going to lie there and keep crying, or are you going to do something about it."
Minerva looked at the hand for a few seconds before wiping her eyes again and grabbing the hand and standing up and giving Dobengal a determined glare. "Let's go to our team, master."
"We actually did it," Max said in a stunned tone.
"I never thought I would see this day," Laki said with a wide smile.
"We're no longer in last place," Nabbed said.
"First place, baby!" Romeo cheered.
"I can't believe we won." Macao cheered with tears falling down.
"Quit the crying man. It's unbecoming." Wakaba lectured, but he also had tears in his eyes.
"Well done fairy tail!" Makarov boasted loudly in a proud tone.
"Sugio Fairy Tail!" shouted Katja and Momon in amazement as their eyes turned into giant stars. Eclair just sweatdropped at their antics, but smiled at Fairy Tail's victory and actually cheered a bit. Something that got Katja and Momon smiling even more.
"Nice job you brats. You were pushed to the edge, but you all held on and preserved. You've earned the victory." Naruto said with a smile dancing on his lips. However, his smile left as he saw the time "I just hope you're ready for what is to come."
[Hisui's View Balcony]
"Sting would be the last man standing against Fairy Tail, but surrender to all five members," Darton said to himself.
"While not 100%. That person's prediction still came true. Fairy Tail prevailed against the odds. Now the battle for humanity begins." Hisui stood up as she began walking out.
"Come, Akame, Kurome. Darton get everything ready and get Najenda. We need to start getting ready."
Darton nodded. "As you wish."
[GMG City Arena]
Sting had regained consciousness as he walked over to the Fairy Tail team. "Hey, I wanted to ask. What happened to Natsu? Why didn't he participate?" he asked in a confused tone. All the members turned to one another.
"Did anyone get a message?" Gray asked after arriving just a few minutes ago. Everyone shook their heads. Suddenly, everyone felt a mental link get establish.
'Everyone.' a familiar voice called. 'Naruto/Father.' Every member and Erza said.
'I have an update from Wendy.'
Everyone became tense. 'Well, what happened?' Gajeel asked in an impatient tone.
'They managed to rescue Lucy and Yukino.'
'Really?!' everyone exclaimed. Everyone began celebrating, but Erza felt there was 'but' to this. 'What's the catch, father?' she asked after everyone calmed down.
'There has been…...a complication.' Naruto said after a slight pause. Everyone became confused. What could cause a delay in the rescue operation? 'What is it?' Makarov asked.
Naruto sighed before talking again. 'Unimportant but they will take slightly longer to get back. But for now…..CURAJA!' Suddenly everyone in the Fairy Tail Team and all the members of the other guilds that participated in the final day were enveloped in a similar green glow as their wounds were completely healed and their magical energy was restored to full capacity.
"Hey, we're completely healed," Gajeel said as he gave himself a once over as he tested his limbs.
"What going on?! I feel back to normal?!" Sting said as looked at his body in complete wonder. Zeke snorted as he shook his body a bit.
'I have healed everyone that participated in the finals. You will all need it. Team Fairy Tail should regroup with the rest of the guild and be ready for our next move.'
'Hai.' everyone said as they began moving to their rendezvous point.
[Back with the Rescue Team]
"Gah!" Wendy cried as hit and ensnare by several thorn wines. She glared at Cosmos in annoyance. "Are you enjoying my plants?" she asked. Wendy growled as the winds began to surround her. "Get the hell off!" Wendy screamed as she ripped the thorns off of her.
"Feisty as always, I see." Cosmos teased.
"PAN! PAAN!" Neppa exclaimed as he sent another acid blast for Lily to dodge. Lily was about to charge into another attack but suddenly reverted into his chibi form. "Shit! Of all times to revert back!"
"Lily!" Several members of the team shouted in concern.
"Time for executions!" Neppa called as prepared to attack Lily again.
"Damn, we are running low on power thanks to those anti-magic weapons," Loki said in concern.
"We can't give in!" Natsu declared as he punched another soldier out. "Surrender now!" Kamika exclaimed cheerfully.
"Tai! Taai!" Uosuke cheered as held Happy and Carla up until he felt something below him. "Hm?" He looked down to see a giant shadow below him and most of the area around him. "What's this?" he asked.
"Gah!" Uosuke cried as the shadow grabbed him and began to swallow him up. He heard several shouts and looked to see several other suffering the same fate.
"What's going on?!" one soldier cried.
"The shadows….?!" another soldier began.
"They're swallowing us!" one last soldier finished.
"Take my hand!" Wendy cried to Cosmos as she held onto the sky maiden for dear life as Wendy pulled her out of the shadow.
"Kamika!" Mira shouted as she got to another knight. Loki and Natsu were able to get Kama, but Neppa was swallowed as well.
"That was too close," Kamika said in a slightly frightened tone. Cosmos nodded as she looked at Wendy. "Thank you." Wendy gave a quick smile as she reverted back to her normal form. Everyone looked to see that everyone else was simply gone along with the shadow.
Lucy grimaced as she spoke. "Do you think they're dead?" she asked as everyone looked grim at the possibility. None of them like that possibility. Sure they were fighting, but none of Fairy Tail wanted any of them to die. The Garou Knights were concerned for the other members of their team and what could have done this.
"I don't know," Wendy said as she voiced everyone else's thoughts. Suddenly they heard someone chuckling. "Who's there?!" Natsu demanded. The group began to hear footsteps approaching them.
[Fairy Tail OST: Absolute Zero Silver]
"Hmm, this brings back such nostalgic memories. Natsu Dragneel. Wendy Marvell. Yukino Agria. Fairy Tail. Sabertooth. Ah, the memories are just flooding in." a voice mused out loud. Suddenly the eyes of Natsu, Wendy, and Yukino felt their eyes widen in shock.
"Wait this scent…" Natsu began.
"It's just like…." Wendy continued.
"You're a voice, I recognize…." Yukino stuttered out in shock.
Out from the shadows came an older looking young man. The most noticeable attribute of the young man was his hair. The hair was long and in a ponytail that went over his back. The majority of his hair was pushed back and completely silver-white in color. The left side of his face also had a tattoo going over the side of his eye. The right side of his face was completely covered by his black bands. However, they could see a scar extending over the bridge of his nose.
However, despite the change in appearance, they could all still recognize who he was. Or at least who he was before. "That's right. I am Rogue. And I have come from seven years in the future."
Less than one hour until the promised time comes.
We now have the big bad, Future Rogue. Now I will say that this Rogue is much stronger than his canon self. That will be explained in the next chapter. Also, I hope you enjoyed all the fights. I tried to make them last as long as possible and still be enjoyable, but it wasn't easy and I did not want to skip them. That would have been really cheap and unfair to the rest of you.
If the fights dragged out, I apologize, but I wanted to be as detailed as possible with these fights and how they would play out. I hope no one is too mad at how I made Dimaria weaker. But let's be honest her abilities are extremely hax and could break the GMG. I needed to find a way to make it fair. So I let have her abilities, but there is a price to using them. Hope you liked the last fight. There was no way this was ending like in canon. I wanted there to be a final battle, and I hope you liked it. Next comes the opening of the gates and for the invasion to begin!
Please favorite, follow, and review. Also, I may have a poll set up. So please check the poll, please!
